The Hunger

No ice.

Stop it!

I don't know what's got into him.

He's gone crazy.

Oh, my God.

Forever.

What?

Forever and ever.

Big Macs.

HeIIo.

He's manic. That's what's so strange.

After all these hours...

there's no faIIoff in activity,

no drop in his bIood pressure.

- Okay, so what went wrong?

- His temperature's stiII way up.

- PhyI?

- Night before Iast, he didn't sIeep a wink.

He hasn't slept now for 50-some hours.

Fifty-six.

All day yesterday, he got uglier and uglier.

Last night, he turned on Betty.

- He Ioved Betty.

- You thought he Ioved Betty.

He tore her apart and then he ate her.

Okay, Iet's get

the oId video equipment in here.

I want to record every move he makes.

I couId kiII him. I couId, reaIIy.

CarefuI, PhyI. That's a $2,000 monkey

you're taIking about.

Don't you snarI at me,

you eviI son of a b*tch.

Forever and ever.

These children are all

though they have

the physical characteristics...

of someone in their 70s or even older.

They all suffer from

a disease called progeria.

We don't know exactly what it is,

but what it amounts to...

is a premature degeneration

comparable to that of aging.

What we call the internal clock...

begins to speed up

at about the age of five.

lt's a terminal disease.

The average life expectancy is about 16.

- Tragic.

- Yes, it is...

and the main focus of our work

at Park West...

is to try to reverse this process

and actually slow down this internal clock.

l won't use

that magic word ''immortality''...

but longevity is something

that's got to be...

SIeep weII?

ln this day and age

with all our fantastic technology...

Come here. Sit here.

...if only l'd been born 50 years later...

Gotcha. You Iook awfuI.

- What have you been doing?

- None of your business.

We have a woman

who's well into her 90s...

she only sleeps

about two or three hours a night...

and believe me, she has far more

energy and enthusiasm than any of us.

That's fantastic. What's her secret?

When l find out the answer to that...

l certainly hope you'll invite me back.

My guest is Dr. Sarah Roberts.

And the book is called

SIeep and Longevity.

lt's about mankind's flirtation

with immortality.

Say saIami.

- What?

- Say it.

SaIami.

That's what aII

big-time photographers say.

Beats ''cheese.''

My dad got it for me in Hong Kong.

Neat, huh?

Forgive me.

- Poor darIing.

- What's wrong with him?

He'II be aII right.

He's having troubIe sIeeping.

You want some Iudes?

I've got some in my case.

- What?

- QuaaIudes.

- AIice.

- I stoIe them from my stepmother.

She doesn't care.

She gets them by the gross.

She's got every piII ever invented.

She coIIects them.

Poor woman.

That's what my dad says.

He says she's scared of getting oId.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, what did you say?

Nothing, but I wouId Iike to taIk to you.

AII right. Yes, I'd Iike that.

Excuse me. Make it to LiIIybeIIe.

- The research center, pIease.

- Dr. Humphries, 11th fIoor.

What exactly is your position here?

l'm a blood analyst.

And have you found there is a relationship

between blood type and aging?

We're looking at it.

We're looking at everything.

That's why we're here.

But my suspicion would be

what kind of blood you have...

affects how much you sleep, how deeply...

and how you sleep affects how you age.

Excuse me.

- Excuse me. Dr. Humphries.

- Straight ahead.

- We can guess...

- No, thank you.

...hypothesize that...

certain bIood disorders

and tissue deficiencies...

resuIt in a rapid degeneration...

simiIar to the symptoms

of acceIerated aging.

We've even had resuIts here with monkeys

in speeding up the cIock...

but we are a Iong way

from turning it back.

We can't quite promise you

everIasting Iife.

- You aII right?

- My hair comes out in my hand. Look.

I've been reading this book.

Why are these books

aIways so badIy written, I wonder?

I've been there.

They know nothing. They're guessing.

How Iong is it going to take?

How Iong did the others take?

- I don't know.

- You must remember, Miriam.

I know it's a Iong time...

but it's not the kind of thing

that you forget.

- LoIIia, how Iong did she take?

- A week.

A few days. I don't remember.

- She couIdn't sIeep?

- No. She fed, but she couIdn't sIeep.

And the one before that?

The same. AIways the same.

I prayed I'd never Iose you.

I know what's happening to you.

I Iive with your suffering again and again.

I had hoped that this time was just,

somehow, some miracIe.

I've never stopped hoping that.

Come here.

And who's next?

Have you thought about that?

Who's to keep you company

when I'm gone?

I'm sure you have thought about that.

Who's it to be? AIice?

- Stop it.

- Look at me.

Look at me!

What am I going to do?

- Barbara.

- Yes?

Listen, I'm going to the boardroom

to see the finance committee.

If anyone caIIs, don't put them through...

- unIess it's an emergency, okay?

- Okay.

- Don't be aIarmed.

- How did you get in here?

It's John BIayIock.

This is a restricted area.

You're not aIIowed in here.

I've been reading your book.

I won't Iie, I've not read it aII.

I'm just on my way out.

It says somewhere that age is a disease,

a disease that can be cured.

- Yes.

- Do you seriousIy beIieve that?

- I think it's possibIe but, Mr...

- BIayIock.

Yes. I'm very Iate right now

for a meeting on another fIoor.

Look at me. Look at my hands.

How oId am I?

- They're waiting.

- How oId?

- I don't know.

- These are Iiver spots, aren't they?

- They Iook Iike it, yes.

- I didn't have them yesterday.

Yesterday, I was 30 years oId.

- That's remarkabIe.

- I'm a young man.

Do you understand? I'm a young man.

Yes. AII right. I want you to wait for me...

and I'II be back in 15 minutes,

and then we'II do some tests, okay?

Why don't you have a seat, Mr. BIayIock,

and I'II be with you as soon as I can.

Fifteen minutes.

I'II try.

You must think that I'm quite crazy.

- I reaIIy... I have to go.

- Of course.

Hi, Fred. This is Dr. Roberts.

Hi. Listen, I just had another nut

wander into my office.

Yeah, I'm fine.

I Ieft him in the patients' Iounge on 8.

Great, thank you. Fred?

Look, don't break his Iegs

or anything, okay? He's quite harmIess.

Just Iet him sit there for a whiIe,

and he'II probabIy get tired and Ieave.

Thanks.

Mr. RosenfeId? Hi, how are you?

You're Iooking fine.

Excuse me. Sir?

Excuse me, sir.

Sir, smoking is not permitted.

The effective age at this point.; 55.

- And what's that in human terms?

- EquivaIent to around 92.

Right here, he's in his 70th hour.

That's where the first

degenerative changes were visibIe.

Decay starts acceIerating here.

He's aging at a rate

of approximateIy five years per minute.

Jesus Christ.

What was the resuIt

of that test then, CharIie?

His bIood ceIIs graduaIIy Iost their abiIity

to obtain oxygen.

The effective age now: 85.

Human equivalent.; 129.

And Iife signs terminate right...

here.

Now watch this.

Sir? Excuse me, sir.

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