The Reconstruction of William Zero

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[ BIRDS CHIRPING ]

-WAKE UP.

WAKE UP, DAD.

-[ SIGHS ]

[ BOTH CHUCKLE ]

-KEVIN, COME IN HERE

AND EAT BREAKFAST FOR ME,

ALL RIGHT, BUDDY?

[ GROANS ]

-WHAT TIME IS IT?

-YOU'RE LATE.

-GUESS I FELL ASLEEP.

-DAD, CAN I RIDE MY BIKE?

-GO GET SOME BREAKFAS WITH YOUR MOM

AND THEN WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT.

-OKAY.

-DAD SAID I CAN RIDE MY BIKE.

-NO, YOU CANNOT.

GET BACK IN HERE WHERE YOU'RE

EATING BREAKFAST RIGHT NOW.

HE DID NOT SAY:

YOU COULD RIDE YOUR BIKE.

[ KITCHENWARE CLATTERING ]

-SO, WHAT'S BURNT?

-WHAT'S WHAT?

-BURNT.

-IT'S NOT BURNT.

IT'S WELL-DONE.

[ CHUCKLES ]

-[ CHUCKLES ]

BYE, MOM.

-MNH-MNH.

KEVIN GET BACK IN -- OH.

-HEY, ARCHER.

YEAH, LISTEN.

SO, SPECIMEN 22 AND 23,

WHAT HAPPENED?

RIGHT.

NO, BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS...

[ HEART MONITOR BEEPING ]

[ RESPIRATOR HISSING ]

[ LIGHT SWITCH CLICKS ]

-No, I understand.

The whole sequence is messed up.

We're gonna have to go back in.

I-it -- It's just not working

right now.

-OH, Y-- W-- ARE YOU GONNA EAT?

HERE, TAKE THIS

IN THE CAR WITH YOU.

-EXACTLY RIGHT, ALL RIGHT.

-YOU FORGOT YOUR COFFEE.

KEVIN, GET IN HERE.

-BUT I'M LOOKING

AT THE SAME THINGS YOU ARE.

-Yes, all right.

-EXACTLY.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT 48-C,

I REALLY BELIEVE

IT'S A WHOLE NEW WAY...

[ SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ]

[ HEART MONITOR BEEPING ]

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

-All right,

what do -- what do you mean?

[ ENGINE TURNS OVER ]

-LISTEN, WORK BACK, RIGHT?

-All right, which sequence?

[ HEART MONITOR BEEPING ]

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

-WORK BACKWARDS FROM THE GOAL.

SO IF WE'RE TRYING

TO ACHIEVE A --

-Yeah, no, we need to have you

come in.

-10:
00 A.M. NOW?

NO, I'LL BE THERE.

I'LL BE THERE.

[ CRASH, TIRES SCREECH ]

-[ GASPS ]

[ HEART MONITOR BEEPING ]

[ PIANO MUSIC PLAYS ]

[ CROW CAWING ]

-THAT'S GOOD. THAT'S GOOD.

ALL RIGHT. OKAY.

I'M GONNA LET YOU GO NOW, OKAY?

ALL RIGHT, HERE WE ARE.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT, GOOD.

[ WAVES CRASH ]

[ SEAGULLS SQUAWK ]

[ PROJECTOR WHIRRING ]

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

YOU REMEMBER ANY OF THIS?

HMM?

THAT'S OKAY.

YOU HIT THE WINDSHIELD

AT 36 MILES PER HOUR,

AND YOU'VE BEEN IN A COMA

FOR TWO WEEKS.

SO, TRUTH BE TOLD,

WE'RE VERY LUCKY

TO HAVE YOU HERE, ALIVE --

BREATHING, AT ALL.

-A CAR CRASH?

-YEAH, YOU HIT A TREE.

YOU SWERVED INTO A TREE.

-WHERE'S THE DOCTOR?

-THEY SAID

IT WOULD TAKE A FEW WEEKS

TO GET YOUR FULL MEMORY BACK.

THEY SAID THE BEST THING TO DO

WOULD BE JUS TO WALK YOU THROUGH IT.

SO I FIGURED WE'D STAR AT THE BEGINNING, OKAY?

[ PROJECTOR WHIRRING ]

-WHERE ARE WE IN THAT?

-NAGS HEAD, EARLY '70s.

WE USED TO GO THERE TWO MONTHS

OUT OF EVERY YEAR...

BEFORE OUR FATHER PASSED AWAY.

THAT HAPPENED WHEN WE WERE 12.

HEART ATTACK.

HE WAS THE PICTURE OF HEALTH,

AND HE JUST DROPPED DEAD

RUNNING ONE MORNING.

-[ BREATHES SHAKILY ]

[ Voice breaking ] I'M SORRY.

IT'S -- I'M SORRY.

IT'S LIKE MY LIFE

NEVER HAPPENED.

I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.

MY HEAD,

IT -- IT JUST FEELS EMPTY.

I'M SORRY.

-IT'S OKAY.

HERE.

UH, WE USED TO EAT THESE

WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN.

OUR MOTHER FED THEM TO US

AFTER WE HAD:

OUR WISDOM TEETH PULLED.

-IS OUR MOTHER ALIVE?

-NO.

THAT ICE-CREAM SANDWICH

IS NOT GONNA EAT ITSELF.

YOU SHOULD:

TAKE A BITE OUT OF IT.

IT'S VERY GOOD.

YOU WANT TO HEAR A JOKE?

KNOCK, KNOCK.

-KNOCK, KNOCK.

-WHEN I SAY, "KNOCK, KNOCK,"

YOU REPLY TO ME, "WHO'S THERE?"

-WHO'S THERE?

-THAT'S GOOD.

BOO.

-BOO?

-YOU SAY, "BOO WHO?"

-BOO WHO?

-DON'T CRY.

IT'S JUST A JOKE.

-[ LAUGHS ]

[ Laughing ] I UNDERSTAND.

I GOT IT.

[ LAUGHS ]

-IT'S JUST A JOKE.

-[ SIGHS ]

I GOT IT.

-YOU'VE BEEN MARRIED NINE YEARS,

SEPARATED FOR FOUR.

-DOES SHE KNOW I'M OKAY?

-I DON'T KNOW.

-WHERE IS SHE?

WHERE IS SHE?

-I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW.

YOU'VE BEEN SEPARATED

SINCE KEVIN DIED.

-KEVIN.

-YOU REMEMBER KEVIN.

HE WAS 6 YEARS OLD,

AND HE DIED 4 YEARS AGO.

-I REMEMBER HIM.

IS THERE ANYONE LEFT?

-ME.

I'M HERE.

YOU WERE LUCKY.

-LUCKY?

-TO GET PREGNANT.

JULES CAN'T HAVE CHILDREN,

AND KEVIN WAS A FLUKE.

[ FILM WHIRRING ]

-DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME.

DON'T FILM ME.

FILM THE LIGHTHOUSE

AND THE OCEAN.

-AH, THAT'S NICE.

-YEAH.

WHAT? [ CHUCKLES ] STOP.

-TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES.

-TAKE OFF MY CLOTHES?

-YEAH.

-IT'S A PUBLIC BEACH.

-LET'S GO SWIMMING.

-I'M NOT GONNA GO --

IT'S 40 DEGREES IN THE WATER.

-YEAH, IT'S PERFECT.

-IT'S NOT --

JULES, COME ON.

YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS.

-I'M GOING. [ CHUCKLES ]

-COME ON. STOP.

-COME ON. YOU STOP.

-IT'S 20 DEGREES

OUT THERE, JULES.

-IT'S PERFECT.

-YOU WILL FREEZE.

-IT'S SO COLD. [ LAUGHS ]

-STOP TAKING YOUR CLOTHES OFF.

YOU'RE NOT GOING IN THE WATER.

COME ON!

-BUT I'M REALLY GOOD

AT SWIMMING.

-ONCE YOU HIT THE WAVES,

YOU'LL --

-OKAY.

-[ CHUCKLES ]

-OH, MY GOD, IT'S COLD!

-I'M NOT COMING IN.

I'M NOT COMING IN.

I'M NOT COMING IN!

WILL YOU MARRY ME?!

-YOU WORK IN A LAB

AT NEXT CORPORATION.

-WHAT IS THAT?

-IT'S

A GOVERNMENT-CONTRACTED LAB

FOCUSED ON THE STUDY

OF CHROMOSOMES, OKAY?

-WHAT DID I DO THERE EXACTLY?

-YOU WERE ONE

OF THEIR LEADING GENETICISTS.

BEFORE KEVIN DIED,

YOU'D BEEN WORKING

100-HOUR WEEKS.

-[ PANTING ]

-IT HAD BEEN A WHILE

SINCE YOU'D SEEN YOUR FAMILY.

-ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?

-[ PANTING ]

WHY DIDN'T SHE WANT TO SEE ME?

-BECAUSE YOU WERE DRIVING.

KEVIN WAS RIDING HIS BIKE

AND YOU WERE DRIVING,

AND YOU HIT HIM.

AND THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED.

YEAH.

-IS IT OKAY IF I LIE DOWN?

-AND HOW DID

THE RESULTS COME IN?

MM.

I SAID THURSDAY.

-Not Thursday.

We have some real problems here.

-TOMORROW?

IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM REASONABLE.

I DIDN'T SAY

IT WAS UNREASONABLE.

I SAID IT DIDN' SEEM REASONABLE.

WE AGREED ON THURSDAY,

AND I'D LIKE TO STICK TO THA IF WE CAN, OKAY?

-I don't care what we agreed to.

-OKAY.

OKAY. TOMORROW.

MAKE IT OUT TO ARCHER.

THANK YOU.

OKAY.

BYE.

I'LL HAVE TO STEP OU FOR A WHILE, WILLIAM.

STAY HERE.

DON'T GO OUTSIDE.

I JUST DON'T THINK

YOU'RE READY IS ALL.

IF YOU NEED ANYTHING

OR IF ANYTHING HAPPENS,

JUST PICK UP THE TELEPHONE...

[ PEN CLICKS ]

...AND DIAL THESE NUMBERS

AND CALL ME.

WILLIAM, YOU PUT THIS CEREAL

IN A BOWL WITH MILK,

AND THAT'S HOW YOU EAT CEREAL.

OKAY.

-[ CRUNCHING ]

[ DOOR BEEPS ]

-CELLULAR DEGENERATION

DATES THIS PROXY

AT EXACTLY THE SAME AGE

AS THE PROTOTYPE.

WE GRAFTED:

THE TELOMERASE PROTEIN

AND USED IT AS AN RNA TEMPLATE

LIKE YOU SAID.

SAME RESULTS EVERY TIME. LOOK.

CELL DIVISION RATE IS PERFECT.

THEY'RE PRETTY MUCH EXACT CLONES

IN EVERY PHYSICAL WAY.

THEY'VE GO THE SAME BLOOD PRESSURE,

SAME BRAIN FUNCTION,

SAME RESPONSE TIME,

BUT...WE'VE RUN

INTO SOME OTHER ISSUES.

MASSIVE BRAIN TUMORS

HAVE DEVELOPED:

IN 7 OUT OF 10 OF THEM.

-70% HAVE BRAIN TUMORS?

[ GUNSHOT ]

AND HOW LONG DO THEY LIVE?

-THEY'RE NOT GONNA MAKE I A MONTH.

[ KNOCK ON DOOR ]

-I HATE TO DO THIS TO YOU

ON YOUR FIRST DAY BACK,

BUT WE HAVE SOME VISITORS

FROM UPSTAIRS.

[ DOOR BEEPS ]

-WHAT DO YOU MEAN "UPSTAIRS"?

-THEY'RE DOWN HERE TO TALK ABOU WHAT HAS BECOME

A VERY SENSITIVE ISSUE.

-WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

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