The Manhattan Project Page #3

---

and I think there's

something wrong with the car...

and I'm a little scared.

OK. Come on through.

Tell me when.

OK, get ready.

Now.

Thank you so much.

Your left front tire's

flatter than a pancake.

- Oh, no. Really?

- Take it easy.

We'll get you fixed up.

Some night, huh?

You got a spare?

A spare what?

A spare tire.

Yes. Information...

you got a phone number

for emergency road service?

Yeah, I'll hold.

Excuse me. Call you back.

Central office?

Charlie?

Ben Bozeman over at Medatomics.

Is it raining down there?

Well, it is here.

Electric storm. It's

fritzing up the whole system.

What? No.

Radiation checkpoints are OK.

What can I tell you?

There's thunder and lightning.

I keep getting these brownouts.

What?

Of course I did.

They're just flipping over.

You know these damn things.

Every time you get

a power surge, they go crazy.

What?

A and B corridor

just both went at once...

if you can believe that.

Tell you what, I'm gonna do

an on-site check...

and wait till the storm passes

to reset. OK?

I hate to go in there, Charlie.

They got stuff in there that

zaps your gonads right out.

What seems to be the trouble?

You know something?

This jack isn't going to work.

This jack is Mickey Mouse.

- Hey, Ben.

- Hey, Terry.

Looks like rain.

What do you think?

What's the matter?

Damn storm

fritzed up the whole system.

- Did you call it in?

- Did I call it in?

To tell you the truth...

I'd rather have one good dog

than all that fancy equipment.

Why don't you give me a hand?

- Where's the lug nuts?

- The what?

The things

that hold the wheel on.

Um, what do they look like?

Well? Oh, my God.

You were brilliant.

All that crying with the guard.

Thanks.

Can we get out of here now?

Genius.

That's some sweetie, huh?

Come on, now,

you're a married man.

A man can still have a little

snack between meals, can't he?

Good-bye, sweetheart.

All right. First thing tomorrow

we take it to Dr. Nicci.

- Who?

- Bob Nicci.

A friend of my father's

in the chemistry department.

- He'll verify what it is.

- I told you what it is.

Yeah, but I need a second

source for my article...

like Woodward and Bernstein.

Who's that?

- Article, huh?

- Yeah. Why?

I have another thought.

Paul, that's very sick.

I thought you wanted proof.

That's proof.

But we have the stuff.

Isn't that enough?

- Enough for what?

- An article. An expos.

In, like, Rolling Stone.

I bet they'd publish it.

Rolling Stone? Come on.

Who's gonna care

about a couple of kids...

who stole some stuff

from a lab somewhere?

You want a story?

Write one about a kid

who builds an atomic bomb.

Do you realize

what you're saying?

- Yes!

- You are weird.

I'm weird?

I didn't make that stuff.

No.

It's too dangerous, isn't it?

It's just a piece of equipment

like a toaster or a clock.

A bunch of parts

that have to be put together...

so you just never

put them together.

Look, people used to be

afraid of cars...

because they didn't

understand them.

Cars don't kill people.

Cars have killed more people...

than all the atomic bombs

that were ever made.

That's not a logical argument.

I'm not talking about logic.

I'm talking about

the first privately built...

nuclear device

in the history of the world.

Well, thank you

for a very interesting evening.

- Science fair. Really?

- 45th annual science something.

You get to go to New York.

Oh, that's the same one

that Roland's entering, huh?

"Retinal deprivation

and auditory enhancement...

in the common cricetus. "

Zoology?

Uh-huh. I'm gonna raise

a generation of hamsters...

in the dark and see

if it improves their hearing.

Oh. That's kind of

a weird experiment.

The field's wide open. I think

I've got a chance to win.

Well, then, go for it.

It's great to see someone

turn over a new leaf.

C4, high explosive.

It's very stable.

It's fantastic stuff.

Just don't be around

when it goes off, OK?

Say, Paulie, what are you

going to do with this stuff?

No. Don't tell me.

Make it sixty.

So, you been down

to the garage much?

A little.

How's the army?

Eh, it's a living, right?

Take care, genius.

Don't blow yourself up.

Dr. Wilson, got a minute?

This is lot thirteen.

It's completely flat.

- Did you recheck it?

- Yeah. Three times.

Run a full spec analysis,

and keep this between us, OK?

Sure. Yeah.

Hydrolyzed animal protein,

glycerin, USFDA coloring #5.

- What the hell is it?

- It's shampoo.

Shampoo?

We think either one

of the generic local brands...

or maybe something called

Alberto's VO5, plus glitter.

Glitter?

Shredded aluminum foil like

they use on a greeting card.

Thank you, Howard.

Somebody has a pretty weird

sense of humor.

John, the timekey record

has you in the building...

four weeks ago Sunday night,

- This is a mistake.

- You weren't here?

- Somebody was, with your card.

- That's impossible.

Look, Miles, it's a computer.

They're not infallible.

Wait a minute.

Wasn't that the night

of that big electrical storm?

I don't know. So what?

- Oh, my God!

- What?

Well, there's your answer.

There was a power dropout...

and you had some garbage

in the system.

It says right here,

"Mathewson, 11:
08 P.M."

I know, but do me a favor.

Just check it out, will you?

I mean, you know these guys.

It's like cabin fever.

It happens all the time.

I'm sure it'll turn up again.

Cabin fever?

When I was at Livermore,

there were two guys with mice...

It's a significant amount.

I have to report it.

Oh, come on.

They'll be all over us!

Look,

I'm on a crash program here.

You want to bring everything

to a dead stop...

just because

you've got a little glitch?

I'm sorry, John.

I don't make the rules.

Listen, can I talk to Paul?

Paul's away

till tomorrow night.

Oh? Where?

New York. He has a project

in a science fair.

He didn't tell you?

No.

What kind of project?

Something at school,

guinea pigs... no, hamsters.

Why, what's up?

Oh, it's nothing.

I just had some tickets

to the ball game.

- Oh, gosh.

- What?

They need me on the floor.

Listen, what hotel is he at?

The New York Penta.

OK, great.

Maybe I'll give him a ring, OK?

Great. Well, listen,

I better go. Bye-bye.

You're saying you never

actually went inside...

and saw what he was doing?

- No.

- Why not?

He never asked me.

What's the problem?

Was he sexually abusing

the hamsters or something?

You're in section ninety-six.

That's in the balcony.

The judges

are circulating now...

and final eliminations

start at 3:
00.

- Do you have accommodations?

- I'm a guest of the hotel.

- What is that?

- The key to the room.

Ah, very scientific.

Hey, Roland, what do you say?

Keep away.

Just keep away from me.

- Good luck, Roland.

- Yeah, sure.

Keep in touch.

My project has to do

with tracking Halley's comet...

for the duration

that it will be here.

Halley's comet

will be most visible...

What are you doing

after the fair?

- Tonight?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes