Predestination Page #3

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I'll go to the Board of Appeals.

I'll do everything to get you reenlisted.

I promise.

Trust me, Jane.

And that was it.

Because of a stupid fight I was done.

I had to support myself.

I couldn't rely on Mr. Robertson's promise

to see me through.

- You're a witch?

- That's what I've been trying to tell you.

To earn money I worked

as a mother's helper.

This family simply wanted a cheap servant.

That was when

I first discovered confession stories.

I didn't care if they were real or fake.

It was a great way to pass the time.

I did housework during the day

and went to school at night.

When eating in formal situations,

rest your knife and your fork on the plate

between mouthfuls or to talk.

Charm class was a way

of proving to the Appeals Board

that I was working on my decorum.

If you're finished with your meal...

It was the first time

I wasn't good at something.

And when I wasn't expecting it,

I met him.

I'm so sorry.

There he was.

Are you lost?

He told me he was waiting for someone.

Well, you know what they say about

good things happening to those who wait.

"But only the things

left behind by those who hustle", he said.

I couldn't believe it.

It was a quote by Abraham Lincoln

- and I was thinking the exact same thing.

- I was thinking the exact same thing.

What are the odds?

He was handsome, rich.

He treated me with a kindness

that I'd never experienced before.

You know, he actually had wads

of $100 bills in his pocket.

More money than I'd seen in my whole life.

He told me he'd take care of me.

All show, right?

- Do you shoot pool?

- Yeah.

With the Fizzle Bomber

attacks becoming larger and larger,

many New Yorkers fear

a bombing of mass scale is inevitable.

Over 10,000 have already evacuated

upstate into surrounding counties...

He was different.

I liked him.

He was the first man

who was nice to me without playing games.

I was young and in love.

Famous last words.

Haven't you ever done

something stupid for love?

Once.

So you understand.

I do.

I never thought it would happen.

Falling for someone.

All my little rules

about being pure went out the window.

It was the happiest time

of my life but it didn't last long.

One night, he sat me down.

Told me to wait for a moment.

Where are you going?

He told me he'd be right back.

And then?

And then nothing.

I never saw him again.

He never came back.

Well, maybe he had a good reason.

Okay.

I didn't deserve it.

Somehow I'd managed to convince myself

that it had been all for the best.

I hadn't really loved him.

It was just a fling.

I was more eager than ever

to rejoin Space Corp.

I'd been let down in my life so many times

why should I have gotten

my hopes up, right?

Then sometimes

people surprise you.

I hadn't been entirely

truthful with you, Jane.

About what, sir?

In order to protect our nation's citizens,

it's important we keep

certain government operations confidential.

Wouldn't you agree?

Yes, sir.

I work for an organization

whose primary purpose

is not space travel.

It's reshaping wrongdoings.

We use Space Corp, among others,

as a means

of finding people who are special.

They are what

you might call a recruitment agency.

I don't understand.

A recruitment agency for what?

For people with exceptional abilities.

People like yourself.

People without families.

Without husbands and wives and children.

No past.

No ties to the future.

You see, the work we do is complicated

and it requires employees with

advanced motor skills, remarkable memories.

It's a job for the best and the brightest.

For the elite.

The elite?

I couldn't believe it.

Seemed like I had

a bright future ahead of me.

I didn't really understand

what the job meant.

They were very covert and secretive but

I knew it would change

my life for the better.

And they didn't insist on virgins.

They were different to Space Corp.

It wasn't until my skirts got tight

that I realized my future was over.

You were pregnant?

Yeah, wouldn't you know it?

My mystery man had left me

with more than just a broken heart.

So that bright future,

that girl who was elite?

She was gone.

And I never saw Mr. Robertson again.

With nowhere to go I

landed in a charity ward

surrounded by other big bellies

and trotted bedpans

until my time came.

I never felt so alone.

One night I found myself on an

operating table with a nurse saying...

Relax, Jane. Relax.

Now breathe deeply.

How do you feel?

Tired.

That's natural.

A cesarean can be difficult.

You pulled through fine.

A cesarean? Doctor, is my baby okay?

Your baby's fine.

Is it a boy or a girl?

It's a healthy little girl.

Seven pounds three ounces.

You know it's something...

...to have made a baby.

I remember thinking I would tack

on the admission form "Mrs."

Let her think her papa was dead.

No orphanage for my kid.

But then the surgeon kept talking.

What is it, Doctor?

Have you ever had

a thorough examination before?

Yes.

What'd the doctors tell you?

Nothing.

I thought everything was fine.

So no doctor's ever told you that

your internal set up

was different than most?

No.

What are you talking about?

Why?

Did you ever hear

about that Scottish physician?

She lived as a female till she was 35,

and then she had surgery

and became legally and medically a man?

She got married. Everything was okay.

What's that got to do with me?

When we performed your operation

we found something very unique.

One of a kind, actually.

After I successfully removed your baby

I called for the Chief of Surgery.

We held consultation

and we worked for hours

to reconstruct you the best we could.

Reconstruct?

You had two full sets of organs, Jane.

Female and male.

Both immature

but the female set

well enough developed

for you to have a baby.

But I'm afraid, my dear,

the excessive bleeding from the birth

forced us to perform a hysterectomy.

We had to remove your ovaries and uterus.

What are you saying?

But the reconstruction

allowed us to create a male urinary tract.

Further surgeries will be required.

To become a man?

Is this some kind of joke?

I'm afraid it's not.

You're young.

Your bones will readjust.

We'll watch your hormonal balance.

It's not a death sentence.

Your life can continue.

You're the best thing

that's ever happened to me.

Have you thought of a name yet?

Well, I was thinking of Jane,

after her mother.

I guess it was a way

of keeping the name in the family.

After all, I knew eventually

I would have to change mine.

That's a good name.

My feelings changed to cold determination.

I had to do right by my baby Jane.

But two weeks later

that didn't mean anything.

Why?

She was snatched.

- Snatched?

- Yeah.

What do you mean "snatched"?

Kidnapped.

Stolen from the goddamn hospital nursery.

I mean how's that for taking

the last a man's got to live for?

When the nurse

had her back turned, someone walked in

and walked out with her.

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