What am I working on?
Uh, I'm working on something that'II change the worId...
and human Iife as we know it.
Change it a Iot or just a bit? You'II have to be more specific.
What, do you want me to be specific here, in this room...
with, uh, haIf the scientific community of North America eavesdropping?
Is there another way?
Uh, y-you couId come back to my Iab.
Listen, I'II make you cappuccino.
/ have a Faema of my very own. You know what that is?
/t's not the dilettante's plastic kitchen model.
It's one of those, uh, reaI restaurant espresso machines...
with the eagIe on top and--
Somehow I get the feeIing you don't get out much.
You can teII that?
Yeah.
I think you're making a mistake.
I think you reaIIy want to taIk to me.
Sorry. I have three other interviews to do before this party's over.
Yeah, but they're not working on something that'II change the worId as we know it.
They say they are.
Yeah, but they're Iying. I'm not.
- Are you sick? - [ ExhaIes ] Oh--
Sure. [ ChuckIes ]
You're not a very accompIished drunk.
No, no. I'm aIways Iike this. It's, uh, motion sickness.
When I was a kid, I, uh...
puked on my tricycIe.
- I hate vehicIes. - ShouId I drive more sIowIy?
No, no.Just turn Ieft. We're aImost there.
This is it?
It's, uh, cIeaner on the inside.
PIease.
####[Jazz ]
Listen, uh, maybe this is a bad idea.
No. It's too Iate.
You've aIready seen them.
Can't Iet you Ieave here aIive.
- ####[ minor Chords ] - I haven't seen anything.
Those.
####[ Chords Continue ]
Designer phone booths.
Very cute.
Hey, I bet you have a reaIIy neat jukebox in here too somepIace.
- Over there maybe? - No.
No, this is the--
This is the prototype of... those.
It's the first one I had made.
It, uh, works, but it's cIunky.
[ Whirring ]
/ call them telepods.
They're controIIed by this.
Thank God for that.
So what do they do, the phone booths?
TeIepods.
Oh.
Uh, okay. I need an object. Um--
Say, do you have something on you that's...
uh, personaI that I couId use?
Something uniqueIy you, an item of cIothing or jeweIry?
What, are you kidding?
No, I'm serious.
Okay. Here it goes.
Mm-hmm.
I don't wear jeweIry.
Mm-hmm.
[ ExhaIes ]
It's nice.
Uh, BrundIe, Seth.
[ Recorded Voice ] Uh, BrundIe, Seth.
[ Whirring ]
[ Whispering ] Begin teIeportation sequence.
[ Whirring ]
Um, keep your eye on the stocking.
[ Whirring ]
WeII?
Great.
The worId's Iargest microwave oven.
I'm gIad I didn't give you my RoIex, if I had a RoIex.
No, you're missing the point. Look.
""TeIeportation''?
PIease.
Oh--
Wait a minute.
Is that a hoIogram?
- Where's my stocking? - That's it, the reaI one.
Go ahead. Pick it up.
I don't think I get it.
- What happened? - You got it, aII right.
You just can't handIe it. Um--
Your stocking has just been teIeported...
from one pod to another...
uh, disintegrated there and reintegrated there.
Sort of.
It wiII change the worId as we know it, right?
Oh, no--
Uh, this is, uh-- This is incredibIe.
I mean, it's not possibIe, is it?
How have you managed to keep this quiet?
- PIease sit down. - How couId you do this aIone?
Well, / don't work alone. There's a lot of stuff in there / don't even understand.
I'm reaIIy, uh, a systems management man.
I farm bits and pieces out to guys who are much more briIIiant than I am.
I say, ""BuiId me a Iaser this. Design me a moIecuIar anaIyzer that.''
They do. And I just stick them together.
But none of them knows what the project reaIIy is.
So--
Wow. And, uh, the money?
Bartok Science Industries financed this?
Mm-hmm. But they Ieave me aIone 'cause I'm not expensive.
And they know they'II end up owning it aII, whatever it is. So--
- You haven't told them? - When I'm ready.
- [ Beeping ] - Oh. Wait a second.
- What are you doing? - WeII, you want me to get the quotes right, don't you?
Quotes? No, no.
I thought this was personaI. You can't write about this.
What are you taIking about? I'm a journaIist.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
- You knew that. - Uh--
I'm sorry. I apoIogize. I made a mistake.
I shouIdn't have shown you this. I'm very, very sorry.
Listen. Particle magazine sent me to that party to get a story.
- And this is the most exciting thing I've ever seen. - No, no. AbsoIuteIy not.
- I'm gonna have to ask you for that tape. PIease. - You can't do that.
Don't you dare write a story. I'd never have toId any of this stuff to a journaIist.
- But you did teII this stuff to a journaIist. - Yeah, I suppose I did.
- Sure did. - Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Wai-- Come here. What about your stocking?
Keep it for good Iuck.
[ Seth's Voice ] / farm bits and pieces out...
to guys who are much more brilliant than / am.
/ say, "Build me a laser this. Design me a molecular analyzer that. '"
They do. Snd / just stick them together.
But none of them knows what the project really is. So--
[ Woman's Voice ] Wow. Snd, uh, the money?
Bartok Science Industries financed this?
[ Seth ] Mm-hmm. But they Ieave me aIone 'cause I'm not expensive.
Snd they know they'll end up owning it all, whatever it is. So--
WeII, that's it.
What do you think?
It's a joke.
- What? - He's conning you.
It's an oId nightcIub routine, the two cabinets.
- Snd you fell for it. - [ Phone Ringing ]
- Wait a minute. That was no nightcIub-- - Are we having Iunch?
Listen, that was no nightcIub routine. I was there. I saw it.
Yep.
Sure. Send him in.
- You must have made an impression. - What do you mean?
Your magician has foIIowed you here.
[ Knocking ]
I'm Stathis Borans. I'm the editor of Particle magazine.
- Uh, Seth BrundIe-- - I know who you are.
Listen, uh, why don't you two use my office?
/'ve gotta run.
If you pIan to make anything disappear...
pIease Iet me know.
I've got an assistant editor who's outIived his usefuIness.
[ Door Closes ]
You didn't waste any time.
I'm not getting any younger.
He didn't seem-- He wasn't impressed by your tape?
[ ChuckIes ] He thinks you're a con man.
ExceIIent.
Yeah? WeII, Iet's see what the peopIe at Omni think about it.
No, no, Iisten, Veronica.
I've come here to say one magic word to you.
Yeah?
Cheeseburger.
I've been working aIone too Iong.
I have a strong urge, uh, to taIk about what I'm doing.
But, um, if this gets out now--
Veronica, it'II kiII me.
The Bartok peopIe wiII kiII me. My coIIeagues wiII kiII me.
See, it's not ready yet.
- Seems to work okay. - No. Something important's missing.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Which is?
I can onIy teIeport inanimate objects.
WeII, what happens when you try to teIeport Iiving things?
Not whiIe we're eating.
It can't be worse than this.
[ Scoffs ]
Listen, you're not doing a very good job of convincing me.
I think the worId shouId know about it now...
and I think I shouId be the one to teII it.
You shouId teII it...
but, uh, not yet.
Look, what do you got so far?
Enough to make you nervous.
Why not get more? Let me become your major project.
I'm taIking about a book, not a magazine articIe.
FoIIow me and my work day by day...
in as much detaiI as you can stand.
I don't have a Iife so there's nothing for you to interfere with.
Research the background. Cover the process.
""The compIete record of the most earth-shattering invention ever...
""the one that ended aII concepts of transport...
of borders and frontiers, of time and space.''
Your book wiII end with me transporting myseIf...
1 5 feet through space from one teIepod to another.
That's what's reaIIy missing.
Wait for me that Iong?
[ Clattering ]
[ Water Running ]
[ Veronica ] What are you doing in my apartment?
Just happened to be in the neighborhood.
FeIt a bit scummy. Rough day.
[ Toilet Flushes ]
Aaah! Aaah! Oh!
How did you get in?
Have a key, remember?
You gave it to me.
I knew I shouId have changed the Iock.
- I knew you wouIdn't. - Yeah?
Yeah.
That's because, unconsciousIy...
you stiII want me to come back...
move in again.
No. That's because, very consciousIy...
I'm Iazy and disorganized.
Your new pIaymate's an interesting guy.
- What pIaymate? - The nightcIub act.
BrundIe.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Yeah, I was wrong. He's reaIIy quite briIIiant.
He was the Ieader of the F-3-2 team.
Remember that?
An inch away from the NobeI Prize for physics.
He was onIy 20 at the time.
I don't even think I'm going to do BrundIe.
I'm stiII considering the Psychology Today gig.
That's not Iike you.
Are you getting out or am I?
I'II go.
I have to put this issue to bed. Want me to come back Iater and tuck you in?
No. Key.
I'II keep it...
for oId time's sake.
You're a petty schmuck.
[ Laughs ]
Initiate in five seconds.
[ Telepods Whirring ]
[ Bubbling ]
[ SqueaIing ]
/'ve got to do this, Seth.
Talk to the tape. Get in the habit.
The world will want to know what you're thinking.
""Fuck'' is what I'm thinking.
Good. The world will want to know that.
What else? Why didn't it work?
I think it, uh, turned the baboon inside out.
Why?
Can't deaI with the flesh. It onIy seems to work with inanimate objects...
nothing that's Iiving.
Must be my fauIt.
Why?
Computers are dumb. They onIy know what you teII them.
I must not know enough about the flesh myseIf. I'm going to have to Iearn.
I don't want to taIk now.
Do you ever change your cIothes?
What?
Your cIothes. You're aIways wearing the same cIothes.
No. These are cIean.
I change my cIothes every day.
Five sets of exactIy the same cIothes?
Learned it from Einstein.
This way / don't have to, um...
expend any thought on what /'m going to wear.
/ just grab the next set on the rack.
I bought some steaks.
CouId I make you one?
We couId go out.
Cheeseburger?
No, I-- I-- I--
We don't have to go there.
You're very cute. You know that?
Am I?
- Oh! Ow! Ow! - What happened?
My back. Ow.
Oh! Oh, God. Something's stuck to your back.
WeII, puII it off.
Oh! Ooh!
[ Grunts ] Ow.
- Sorry. - Oh!
Huh. I wondered what happened to this.
Do you have any disinfectant?
- No, it's okay. - WeII, Iet me kiss it for you.
- Oh. - Babe, thank you.
- [ ChuckIes ] - Ow, ow, ow, ow!
Sorry. I just want to eat you up.
You know, that's why oId Iadies pinch babies' cheeks.
It's the flesh. It just makes you crazy.
- Ronnie, Ronnie? - Hmm?
Want to try an experiment?
Sure.
Okay.
Eat this. I need an objective opinion.
- Yes? - WeII, it couId use some finesse...
but, um, it tastes Iike a steak.
Oh.
Okay--
Now try this teIeported haIf.
Are you serious? A monkey just came apart in there.
Baboon. Eat.
Ooh. Mm-- That tastes funny.
- Funny how? - It tastes, um...
synthetic.
- Mm-hmm. - So what have we proved?
The computer is...
giving us its interpretation of a steak.
It's, uh, transIating it for us.
It's rethinking it rather than reproducing it...
and something is getting Iost in the transIation.
Me. I'm Iost.
The flesh. It shouId make the computer, uh, crazy...
Iike those oId Iadies pinching babies.
But it doesn't. Not yet. / haven't taught the computer...
to be made crazy by the, uh, flesh--
the poetry of the steak.
So I'm going to start teaching it now.
[ Typing ]
- ####[ muzak ] - [ Chattering ]
I shouId have known it.
- What are you doing here? - I foIIowed you.
Psychology Today, my ass.
You stayed with BrundIe aII night.
Why didn't I beIieve you, I wonder?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I think he'd Iook great in this.
Don't you? Hmm?
Hmm? I mean, for your Time magazine cover...
you've got to Iook good, right?
Don't you get it? I'm finaIIy onto something that's big. Huge.
Yeah? What, his cock?
Crude, Stathis. Very crude.
You're too perfect to beIieve.
You're a goddess.
Thank you for making my most paranoid fantasies come true.
I don't have to report to you, you creep!
Ronnie, you've got to taIk to me!
I don't have to do anything! We're finished, remember?
I'II spend the night anywhere I damn weII pIease.
Sorry. Uh, I'II take this too.
[ Telepods Whirring ]
[ Screeches ]
I think it's time for champagne.
[ Grunting ]
Oh, God, Seth. It's reaIIy happened.
You did it. You'II never have to get carsick again.
Or airsick or seasick.
Mm, I know, I know. Or tricycIe-sick.
What's next?
WeII, I'II send the baboon out for tests.
- See if he's reaIIy okay. - How Iong wiII that take?
CouId be weeks.
ReaIIy?
- Yeah, why? - WeII, I was thinking...
that we couId take a hoIiday.
- We couId? - Yeah. You know, Iike an oId married coupIe.
OId man's got a coupIe of weeks off...
so they go to FIorida, somepIace warm.
Just you and me?
Yeah, why? Is there someone eIse you're thinking of bringing aIong?
No, no, I just, um--
Is this a romance we're having? Is that what it is?
Yeah. It couId be a romance.
Come here.
I have a great idea.
Do you like Chinese food?
Yes.
We're going to have a very romantic dinner right here.
- Hey, what's this? - Oh, yeah.
From your editor. Sorry. Somebody sIipped it under the door.
Hello, Victor? Yeah, it's Seth Brundle.
- Oh,yeah, /'ll wait. - [ Veronica ] Oh, no.
[ Seth ] What? What's that?
[ Veronica Sighs ]
Nothing. It's just, uh, personaI buIIshit.
I thought oId married coupIes shared aII their personaI buIIshit.
That's how they stayed oId and married.
Uh, Iisten.
- Seth, don't rush it. - What are you taIking about?
- Look, I have to go out for a few hours. - Now? No.
Ronnie, uh, spicy eggpIant, champagne.
Just for a few hours.
I stiII have the residue of another Iife, you know.
I have to... scrape it off my shoe...
and get rid of it once and for aII.
- Uh, hi-- - [ Door Opens, Closes ]
What's this supposed to mean?
It means that I'm your editor, and I'm shaping your materiaI into a story.
You're the one who toId me there was no story. You said BrundIe was a con man.
I've decided to trust your journaIistic instincts.
Thanks very much, but this is not your story.
- /t's mine. - Says who?
I sent you to the Bartok party to see what you couId find.
Your discovery is my discovery.
I have a Iot of background on BrundIe.
He's been working on this thing for six years.
There's materiaI out there to find if you dig deep.
- I dug. - Stathis--
Everything that has to do with transportation wiII become obsoIete.
And I am right there in the middIe of it...
the onIy recorder of the event from the inside out.
Okay.
Look, uh-- Just keep me informed, aII right?
As a friend?
As a professionaI confidant?
That's aII?
I don't want you to disappear from my Iife.
[ ExhaIes ]
Okay.
What about sex?
I'm not saying Iove or affection, just stress-reIieving sex.
You and me.
You're disgusting, as aIways.
WouIdn't want to disappoint you.
""Residue'' means her oId boyfriend, doesn't it?
Stathis Borans is her oId boyfriend.
""From the desk of Stathis Borans.''
How about, ""Under the desk of Stathis Borans''?
She's working for her oId boyfriend.
Now she runs out Iate at night to see him.
What is this, the Ronnie game?
[ Grunting ]
I'm catching on. I'm catching on.
I didn't mean to kiII your brother.
But he didn't die in vain, if that's of any comfort. Snd--
[ Sighs ] As the generaI said...
""There's nothing I'd ask you to do that I wouIdn't do myseIf, boys.''
Hey, you're aII right.
From looking at you, / can tell you're okay.
What are we waiting for? Let's do it.
[ Grunting ]
[ Fly Buzzing ]
[ Whirring ]
[ Grunts ]
How you doing?
Now, you teII me...
am I different somehow?
Is it Iive, or is it Memorex?
It's too bad Ronnie missed it.
I missed you Iast night.
It's stiII night. I came back.
You had to ceIebrate without me.
I'm sorry.
I went through Iast night.
You went through?
Without testing the baboon?
I was... drunk. I was a bit upset.
You couId have kiIIed yourseIf.
[ Sighs ] Are you sIeeping with Stathis Borans?
What are you taIking about?
I-- I don't know. I just, um, get that feeIing.
That's why you were upset?
I got jeaIous.
Oh, God. Seth...
you don't have to be jeaIous.
He's an oId boyfriend.
He was teaching at college. / was a science major.
He got me started in journaIism.
Is he stiII in Iove with you?
How couId he not be?
Hey, what about our deaI?
You went through, and I wasn't there.
Don't worry. I taped it for you.
You did?
[ Fly Buzzing ]
[ Buzzing Continues ]
[ Buzzing Stops ]
[ Shouting /n Foreign Language ]
[ No AudibIe DiaIogue ]
So, I asked the computer if it had improved me.
It said it didn't know what I was taIking about.
That's made me think carefuIIy about what I've been feeIing and why.
I'm beginning to think the sheer process of being taken apart atom by atom...
and put back together again--
It's Iike coffee being put through a fiIter. It's somehow a purifying process.
It's purified me. It's cIeansed me. And I'II teII you...
I think it's going to aIIow me to reaIize...
the personaI potentiaI I've been negIecting aII these years...
that I've been obsessiveIy pursuing goaI after goaI.
Do you normaIIy take coffee with your sugar?
What? Oh.
You know, I just don't think I've ever given me a chance to be me.
But, of course, interestingIy...
at the exact moment that I achieved what'II probabIy prove to be my Iife's work...
that's the moment when I started being the reaI me finaIIy.
So, uh, Iisten-- Not to wax messianic...
but it may be true that the synchronicity of those two events...
might bIur the resuItant individuaI effect of either individuaIIy.
But it is, uh, nevertheIess aIso certainIy true...
I wiII say now however subjectiveIy...
that human teIeportation-- moIecuIar decimation, breakdown and reformation--
is inherentIy purging-- it makes a man a king.
From the moment I waIked out, I feIt Iike a miIIion bucks.
I think I am gonna have a cannoIi after aII.
Waiter! I mean, w-what an accompIishment!
But what have I reaIIy done? AII I've done is say to the worId...
""Let's go. Move. Catch me if you can.''
- Waiter!Jesus Christ! - [ Pounds TabIe ]
Oh, God. Wait.
- What? - Uh-- Oh, God.
- [ ExhaIes DeepIy ] - What?
How can you keep going?
You can't have any-- have any fluid Ieft in your body.
We've been doing this for hours.
I-I'm not ready to quit yet.
- Come on. - Oh--
Mm. Hey. What's this?
It's an attempt to distract me, that's what it is.
No, reaIIy, what is it?
It's Iike... hairs or something.
I don't know. It's, uh--
It happens when you get oIder. Weird hair configurations.
They're reaIIy coarse.
WeII, I've never reaIIy been hairy enough.
You know what I mean? AIways too boyish.
I'm Iooking forward to a hairy body.
It's one of the compensations of oId age. Come here. Where are you going?
Let me go.
You're Iet go.
Hey, hey, hey! Not my new hairs. What are you doing?
ReIax, BrundIe.
I don't reaIIy think you want a body covered with these.
God.! They're really tough.
Listen. I want you to go through.
I want to teIeport you as soon as possibIe.
Right now. You'II feeI incredibIe.
Ronnie, I hardIy need to sIeep anymore and I feeI wonderfuI.
It's Iike a drug, but a perfectIy pure and benign drug.
The power I feeI surging inside me--
I won't wear you out. We'II be the perfect coupIe. The dynamic duo.
- Come on. Right now. - Hey, wait!
Don't give me that born-again teIeportation rap. I toId you I'm scared to do it.
W-What do I have to say? I'm not gonna do it!
You're a fucking drag, you know that!
Something went wrong, Seth.
When you went through, something went wrong.
No? If not you, if you're too chickenshit...
to be a member of the dynamic duo cIub, okay, then great.
I'II find somebody eIse, somebody who can keep up with me.
Seth, you have to Iisten to me.
You're afraid to dive into the pIasma pooI, aren't you?
You're afraid to be destroyed and recreated, aren't you?
I'II bet you think you woke me up about the flesh, don't you?
But you onIy know society's straight Iine about the flesh.
You can't penetrate beyond society's sick, gray fear of the flesh.
Drink deep or taste not the pIasma spring!
See what I'm saying?
I'm not just taIking about sex and penetration.
I'm taIking about penetration beyond the veiI of the flesh--
a deep, penetrating dive into the pIasma pooI.
####[Jukebox.Rock ]
I'II have a scotch.
Who's winning?
I don't know. I hope it's Marky.
- How come? - Because...
I Iike Marky tonight.
WeII, I Iike you tonight.
Maybe I'd better get invoIved in this too.
Hey, paI, you're disturbing us.
I got 1 00 bucks says I can beat either one of you.
[ Laughs ]
Take a hike, asshoIe.
Here.
Here's my 1 00...
and I take the Iady home for the night if I win.
Says who? Do I Iook Iike a hooker to you?
Hey, Tawny, it's an easy 1 00. Come on, pal. Let's get it over with.
Better watch out. He eats chocoIate bars.
Yeah, so I noticed.
- [ Breathing HeaviIy ] - [ Woman ] / don't think he has a chance.
[ Marky Straining ]
[ Screaming ]
My arm!
[ Tawny ] Are you a bodybuiIder or something?
Yeah, I buiId bodies. I take them apart, then I put them back together again.
WeII, you sure took Marky apart.
- Let's go back to my pIace. - Your pIace?
Yeah, weII, okay. I Iive with my mother anyway.
But, uh, can we go to maybe a few more bars first?
I mean, it's a IittIe too earIy to quit.
Sure, a few more bars.
Great pIace.
Hey!
[ Hiccups ]
There's no eIevator.
- I can't make it. - No, there's an eIevator.
- There. Don't you feeI eIevated? - [ ChuckIes ]
Whoa! [ Laughs ]
Oh! [ Laughs ]
Ooh.
Ooh.!
[ Giggles ]
[ Telepods Buzzing ]
Wow.
Are you some sort of magician?
Yes.
Ahhh.
- Ooh. - [ Grunts ]
So? Are we going to breakfast or not?
- It's your turn. - To do what?
- I want you to go through. - No.
- I don't want to try that. - Why not? It'II make you feeI sexy.
But I aIready feeI sexy.
How 'bout... a nice aIcohoI rub?
Don't do that! It hurts.
Sorry, hon.
I didn't know you had the skin of a princess.
- You're reaI sensitive, huh? - Okay, okay!
That's it. You're going to Iike it.
I don't want to. I'm afraid.
- Don't be afraid. - No.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Who's this?
Oh, I forgot to teII you. I Iive with my mother too.
mum, meet Tawny.
I gotta go.
Thanks for a wonderfuI time.
[ Door Slams ]
Why'd you scare her off? JeaIous?
[ Sighs ] You're changing, Seth.
Everything about you is changing.
You Iook bad.
You smeII bad.
I've never been much of a bather.
Those... weird hairs that were growing out of your back, I took them to a Iab.
I had them anaIyzed.
The hairs?
Oh. Yeah, that's a strange thing to do.
Not as strange as the resuIts.
The guy at the Iab had troubIe identifying them.
He finaIIy came to the concIusion...
that they were definiteIy not human.
Oh! Very good.
Not human, Seth.
In fact, very IikeIy insect hairs.
That's siIIy. That's ridicuIous.
Look! Now there's more. Uh, Iook at your face!
Something happened when you went through, Seth.
You've got to get some heIp. I think you must be sick.
You're jeaIous!
I've become free. I've been reIeased, and you can't stand it.
You'II do anything to bring me down.
Look at me. Does this Iook sick? Does this Iook Iike a sick man to you?
- No! Stop it! - Do you know any sick men who can do that? Come here.
- No. Seth. - DeaI's off. I don't need you anymore.
No, wait! Seth, pIease. Wait. Seth!
Don't come back!
Oh, God.
Oh. Oh, God.
Oh, God.
[ Crying ]
Ow.
[ Gasps ]
Oh, no.
What's happening to me? Am I dying?
Is this how it starts? Am I dying?
Brundle, Seth.
Give me a disk.
Uh, I need the first teIeportation, S. BrundIe.
[ Beeps ]
Run sequence.
[ Beeping ]
[ Rings ]
HeIIo.
[ Heavy Breathing ]
Seth.
Seth, I've been trying to reach you. Where are you?
For the Iast four weeks, I've been afraid to see you.
Now, I'm... afraid not to.
Where are you? Are you at home?
Veronica, you don't know how right you were.
I've gotten... much, much worse.
PIease come to see me. PIease come now.
Seth? I'm here.
Stop.
Seth.
You were right.
I'm diseased and, uh, might be contagious somehow.
I wouIdn't want to infect you.
And it's been acceIerating.
It's unreIenting. Every day there are... changes.
Every time I Iook in the mirror there's someone different, hideous, repuIsive.
What happened?
# I know an oId Iady who swaIIowed a fly Perhaps she'II die ##
Seth, pIease.
I was not pure. The teIeporter insisted on inner purity. I was not pure.
I don't know what you mean.
A fly...
got into the... transmitter pod with me that first time when I was aIone.
Uh, the computer... got confused.
There weren't supposed to be two separate genetic patterns...
and it decided to, uh, spIice us together.
It mated us, me and the fly.
We hadn't even been properIy introduced.
My teIeporter turned her into a gene spIicer...
a very good one, and now I'm not Seth BrundIe anymore.
I'm the offspring of BrundIe and housefly.
Oh, God.
- No. - Oh, God. Seth.
You Iook so pretty.
What wiII happen?
Oh, I think it's showing itseIf as a bizarre form of cancer...
- Oh, no. - and generaI ceIIuIar chaos and revoIution.
I'm, uh,just going to have to disintegrate.
In a noveI way, no doubt. And then I'II die.
- And then it'II be over. - No, no, no.
I don't accept that. There must be something we can do...
somebody we can go to, tests that can be done.
No! Um, I won't be just another tumorous bore...
taIking endIessIy about his... hair faIIing out and his Iost Iymph nodes.
Then what do you want me to do? Why did you caII me?
Oh!
Oh, that-- that's disgusting.
Uh.
[ Gasps ]
My... ear. No.
I'm scared.
HeIp me.
PIease. PIease heIp me.
Don't go back to him.
That's it? That's your advice?
He's right, don't you see? It couId be contagious.
- /t could turn into an epidemic. - I have to go back to him.
I don't beIieve this.
If you saw him, Stathis--
if you saw how scared and angry and desperate he is--
I'm sure Typhoid Mary was a nice person too when you saw her sociaIIy.
- Listen, I do not want you going-- - I don't care what you want.
AII right, fine.
Do I have permission to cIaim your body when this is aII over?
Oh, God.
Look, how about this?
You say if onIy I saw him. Show me.
Tape him. Show me.
Let me think about it.
I'II come up with something.
Seth?
- Seth? - No, no. Up here.
Oh!
Gotten pretty good at it, haven't I?
- Yeah, it's aImost second nature. - [ Gasps ]
Stopped biting my naiIs.
Oh, Iook at this. What's this?
/ don't know.
I seem to be stricken by a disease with a purpose, wouIdn't you say?
Maybe not such a... bad disease after aII.
I can't stay here.
No, no, no.
Why not? Why can't you?
I can't take it. It's too much.
What's there to take? The disease has just reveaIed its purpose.
We don't have to worry about contagion anymore.
- I know what the disease wants. - What does the disease want?
It wants to... turn me into something eIse.
That's not too terribIe, is it?
Most peopIe wouId give anything to be turned into something eIse.
- Turned into what? - What do you think, a fly?
Am I becoming a 1 85-pound fly?
No, I'm becoming something that never existed before.
I'm becoming BrundIefly.
Don't you think that's worth a NobeI Prize or two?
Here.
I want to give a demonstration...
that I think you'II want to, uh, record for posterity.
I think you must chronicIe...
the Iife and times of BrundIefly, don't you?
At the very Ieast, it shouId make a fabuIous chiIdren's book.
You seem tired.
You got me there?
How does BrundIefly eat?
He found out the hard and painfuI way that he eats much the way a fly eats.
His teeth are now useIess because...
aIthough he can chew up soIid food, he can't digest it.
Solid food hurts. So, like a fly...
BrundIefly breaks down soIids with a corrosive enzyme...
playfully called vomit drop.
He regurgitates on his food, it liquefies...
and then he sucks it back up.
Ready for a demonstration, kids?
Here goes.
- [ Vomiting ] - Oh, my God.
- [ Slurping ] - My God.
[ Door Opens, Closes ]
- Hey, Ronnie? - [ Sobbing ]
Ronnie?
What is it?
I'm pregnant.
Oh, no.
I'm pregnant with Seth's baby.
What do you want to do?
I don't know.
I just-- I don't know.
Stathis, I'm scared.
It's going to be aII right, Ronnie.
It's going to be fine.
I don't think I want to Iose it.
Is there something wrong with me? Why am I Iosing it?
It's better this way, Ronnie. You'II see.
It's the best thing that couId happen.
[ man ] She's expelling it. /t's coming out.
/ don't even think we're gonna have to go in.
- Oh. - It's gonna be easy. Don't worry, honey.
- No. PIease, no. - Yeah, there's no problem. /t'll be over soon.
Here we go. Okay.
Just a little suction here, a little suction.
Suction. HoId it. HoId on a minute. There's more in there.
- [ Veronica ] There's more? - Yeah. / mean, a lot more.
Okay. You're gonna have to heIp us. Come on. You can push.
You can push it out. Come on.
- Oh! - Push! That's it. Come on.
- Push. Use those muscles. That's it. - No, wait.
Give us a push. You can push it out. That's it.
- Come on. - No, wait. Wait. No.
- You can do it. - Oh!
Wait! Oh!
Oh! No!
[ Screaming ]
Oh.! No.! Oh.! Oh.! [ Screaming Continues ]
[ Typing ]
Oh.
I want a disk. Give me preIiminary integration.
[ Recorded Voice ] I want a disk. Give me preIiminary integration.
[ SIurred ] I want a disk. Give me preIiminary integration.
/ want a disk. Give me preliminary integration.
[ Beeps ]
[ Sighs ]
You're reIics. Yes, you are. You can't deny it.
VestigiaI, archaeoIogicaI, redundant.
[ Sighs ]
Srtifacts of a bygone era, ofhistorical interest only.
[ Footsteps Spproaching ]
You've missed some good moments.
Is that why you're here, to catch up?
I wanted--
My teeth have begun to faII out.
The medicine cabinet's now the BrundIe Museum of NaturaI History.
- You want to see what eIse is in it? - No.
Then...
what do you want?
I... came to teII you...
um--
[ ChuckIes ] I, uh-- I just--
I wanted to s-see you...
before--
You have to Ieave now...
and never come back here.
Have you ever heard of insect poIitics?
Neither have I. [ ChuckIes ]
[ Panting ] Insects... don't have poIitics.
They're very brutaI.
No compassion, no compromise.
We can't trust the insect.
I'd Iike to become... the first insect poIitician.
You see, I'd Iike to, um, but...
oh, I'm afraid, um--
I don't know what you're trying to say.
I'm saying-- [ Panting ]
[ Panting Continues ] I'm saying I'm an insect...
who dreamt he was a man and Ioved it.
But now the dream is over...
and the insect is awake.
No, no. No, Seth.
I'm saying...
I'II hurt you if you stay.
[ Gasping ]
[ Door Slams ]
[ Sobbing ] No. No.
No.
[ Crying ]
Let's go. Let's do it now.
Now? Wait. Wait a minute. What did he say?
I couIdn't teII him.
- Let's go, damn it. - No! - [ Car Door Slams ]
We shouId wait for a few days. I don't think you're in the right state of mind--
No! Now. I want it out of my body now. You shouId have seen him.
There couId be anything in here. In me! In my body.
/ don't know if / can arrange it right now, tonight.
Why do we have to run around in the dark Iike a coupIe of--
'Cause I don't want it in my body. You understand me?
I don't want it in my body!
WeII, okay. What's the story?
She's pregnant, and she wants to have an abortion.
In the middIe of the night?
We have good reason to think that...
this... chiId wiII be deformed.
- Yeah, but in the middIe of the night? - Look, Brent.
PIease.
- Is it your chiId? - No.
/t's the--
It's the chiId of... a man who is deformed.
Listen, / don't mean to interfere...
but I detect a certain... uncertainty here.
There are tests we can do to determine whether or not this--
I don't want tests.
Tests can't guarantee anything.
The baby couId start off normaI and then become--
I want an abortion.
I'II do it myseIf if I have to.
Okay, if you'II just sIip into that, we'II be on our way in no time.
[ Screams ]
Oh-- No. No.
Wait. Seth, no!
Why did you want to kiII BrundIe?
The baby... might be aII that's Ieft of the reaI me.
PIease don't kiII me.
I can't have it. I'm afraid.
PIease. Have the baby.
I can't. I can't.
[ Groans ] Too bad.
[ Beeps ]
[ Creaking ]
[ Screeching ]
[ Panting ]
Jesus.
[ CIicks ]
Ah!
Let me go. Let me go.
[ Shouting ]
[ Screaming ]
[ Groaning ]
[ Screaming ]
No.! Don't.!
Don't, pIease. PIease.
HeIp me. HeIp me to be human.
How?
Oh! [ Sobs ]
WeII...
I go there...
and, uh, you go there.
[ Groans ] We... come apart...
and... then we... come together there.
You, me... and the baby.
Together.
[ Beeps ]
[ Telepods Whirring ]
No.
We'II be the uItimate famiIy.
A famiIy of three...
joined together in one body.
More human than I am aIone.
Oh, no. No! No, no!
[ GurgIing ]
[ Screaming ]
No! No! No! No!
Oh, pIease. Oh, God, pIease!
Oh! Oh!
Oh! No! Oh! Oh!
God.! No.! No.!
Oh, God.!
PIease, don't! No, don't!
No.! No.!
No!
[ No AudibIe DiaIogue ]
PIease. Let me out. Oh, God!
[ Grunts ]
[ Droning ]
[ Moans ]
[ Panting ]
[ Screams ]
[ Wheezing ]
[ Buzzing ]
No. No, I can't.
No.! / can't. No.
[ Groans ]
No. God!