The Lazarus Effect Page #2

Hey, guys, do you think he remembers?

Dying?

Mm... Dogs don't have memories, so, no.

- Dogs definitely have memories.

- Dogs form associations.

Leash means walk. Keys mean car ride.

It's not the same thing, bro.

That's what a memory is, man.

It's like... No, we're settling this.

- Settle it. Let's look it up, b*tch.

- I don't wanna hear your sh*t.

OK. I'm cool with that.

Hey, Rocky, what do you think?

Did you see a big white light? Huh?

You know, that part's actually true.

- You know what the pineal gland is?

- No.

It produces DMT, which is

the base compound for our serum.

Basically, nobody knows why,

but the moment you die,

right then, your brain just floods your

system with this massive blast of DMT,

which is the most potent psychedelic

on the planet.

And when you think you're seeing

the light at the end of the tunnel,

or the blessed Virgin Mary, um...

- Did I do that the wrong way?

- Mm-mm.

Anyway, it's just a big trip that

you're having, really, it's all it is.

- I disagree. I do.

- Oh, you disagree, really?

- We've had this discussion before.

- Yeah, I just think you can't discount

every near-death experience

based on one theory.

Of course. But if you're going

to make a bet,

why not bet on a scientific theory

as opposed to, you know,

St. Peter and the pearly white gates?

- Why?

- Because one is empirical and one is,

you know, it's a cute story, but it's...

No, it's not. I mean, whatever you

wanna call it, the soul, consciousness,

it's just neural impulses firing in

your brain, right? That makes it energy.

Energy can't be created or destroyed,

it can just be transformed

from one thing to another.

So that's not superstition,

that's science.

So what's your theory?

I think, maybe when we die, the DM is there to help our souls move on,

to get them wherever

they're supposed to be.

- You know, open the door for them.

- So the DMT is like a doorman

who is like,

"Here. Here's life, here's death.

I'm gonna open this up

and usher you through."

- Maybe.

- And you give him a tip.

I just think it's arrogant

to reduce everything that happens

at the moment of death

to one chemical equation.

The fact is, we just don't know.

Yet.

- Whoa. What's the HDR?

- Uh, 2.2 seconds.

That's well within levels.

Whoa. That's weird.

The serum is still present

in the bloodstream.

Yeah, it's supposed to dissipate within,

like, a few hours.

Man, there's some crazy activity

going on in the brain stem.

Are you guys sure you wanna

keep this thing in your house?

- Why?

- One of the symptoms of hypothyroidism

is extreme aggression.

This thing could

go Cujo here in a hurry.

It's alive! It's alive!

Come here.

You are my friend.

Sh*t!

Niko?

Whoa.

Sh*t.

Rocky?

Here, boy.

Come here, you little sh*t.

It's OK, bud.

You're just freaking out, man.

Sh*t. OK, OK, OK.

If you ask me, I think we should

put that thing down, now.

- At least you're not overreacting.

- Overreacting, my ass!

OK? There's something

seriously wrong with that animal.

It's like it was possessed or something.

- How long were you out of the room?

- I don't know, 20 seconds, tops.

- And no, I wasn't smoking.

- Hey, guys?

This stuff was on the top shelf,

and even if you left the cage open,

there's no way he could've got up here.

OK, so far, we've seen

three distinct phases of development.

Phase one:
Subject is resuscitated

through an infusion of LAZ-510 serum

and targeted electrical stimulation.

Phase two:
The serum remains in

the bloodstream longer than anticipated.

Phase three:
Metabolic functions

produce a potentially disruptive

hormonal imbalance.

Subject shows signs of confusion,

loss of appetite,

and marked signs of aggression.

Now we're in phase four, I guess.

The subject's brain

continues to create new neural pathways

at an unprecedented and alarming rate.

Jesus! Oh, my God,

you scared the sh*t out of me.

You coming to bed?

Yeah, I'm kind of in the middle

of something. I'll be there in a minute.

OK.

What the hell is going on here?

Dr. Walton,

can you hold on for a second?

- Uh, yeah.

- I'll meet you downstairs.

Sure.

The dean needs to talk to you.

Honestly, did you for one second

consider the implications of this?

Eighty-three percent of our student body

identify as religious.

You throw in the alumni donors,

that number's more like 90 percent.

Don't play the religious card.

This has nothing to do with religion.

You were the one who decided

to do an unsanctioned experiment,

in direct violation of the Review Board

and the grant agreement

which you signed.

Which says, you were

going to "study new methods

of arresting neural decay

in coma patients."

Yes, exactly! That is how it started.

But how do you think that penicillin

was discovered? Or Teflon?

Or even Coca-Cola, for that matter?

Accidents that happen in the lab.

Accidents that lead

to new lines of inquiry.

You are a doctor, you understand

how science works. It's by adapting.

You're not adapting. You are playing God

with a bunch of dead animals.

You had to know this was coming.

How do you know all this?

No way you could've known

about those animal trials.

We have the right to review any material

that's posted to our server,

- including video footage.

- Bullshit.

Somebody fed this to you, specifically

to get this project shut down.

Was it one of your big pharma friends?

Did somebody donate a medical wing

or a new student union?

Who was it?

Pull the hard drives,

any security key cards.

- Hey...

- Any samples.

- Any and all samples you may find.

- What is this?

- Oh, you must be Dr. McConnell.

- Yes.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

I've been a fan of your work.

Effective immediately,

all research material

is considered

the sole intellectual property

of Crylonis Pharmaceutical

and its subsidiaries.

- Stop. What?

- Hey, that's personal property, man!

I don't understand.

We're operating under a grant

- from Werner-Goss Biotechnical.

- And as of two hours ago,

Crylonis Industries became the

principal shareholder in Werner-Goss.

- No, you can't do this.

- Pursuant to the grant agreement

signed by Frank Walton, "any violation

of IACUC Review Board standards

shall herein negate

all claims of ownership

and revert intellectual property rights

back to the holding corporation."

Which is, in this case, us.

I'm sure it must be difficult for you,

but there's an important lesson

to be learned here:

There's always a consequence

for breaking the rules.

- What happened?

- They took everything.

You have to admit

it's quite the coincidence.

You show up out of nowhere,

videotape everything, and then poof,

they take it all,

including our backup data.

Hang on. We made her keep all the

footage in the lab. It's not her fault.

We lost everything.

Four years of our lives,

our reputations, everything.

If it's not her, then please tell me,

what the hell happened?

If they wanted the serum,

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