The Outer Limits (1995–2002): Season 6, Episode 7 - Seeds of Destruction - full transcript
A small town veterinarian links an epidemic of tumors in humans to a new breed of genetically engineered corn.
Hell's teeth.
Oh, bless you.
Allergies.
That's right,
allergies.
Eddie, why don't you
start feeding the doggies?
Okay...feed the doggies.
Get the food
and feed the doggies.
Sal, what's
the matter?
It's, it's Carrie.
They found a tumor on her liver.
I'm so sorry.
And, um,
the air conditioning
is broken,
but I made a call,
and Mr. Rivers
is here.
He found something
he wants to show you.
Fully developed Fifth Limb
emanating from tumorous growth.
Third incident of animal tumors
in and around cornfield
in the past three months.
Unidentified skeletal anomaly.
Once again,
everything consistent
with Rampant ACCELERATED
cell growth.
Check incidence
of feline teratoma.
( wailing )
( gunshot )
( control voice )
There is nothing wrong
with your television.
Do not attempt
to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling
the transmission.
We control the horizontal
and the vertical.
We can deluge you
with a thousand channels
or expand One single image
to crystal clarity
and beyond.
We can shape your vision
to anything our imagination
can conceive.
For the next hour,
we will control
all that you see and hear.
( ♪ )
You are about to experience
the awe and mystery
which reaches from
the deepest inner mind
to
--The outer limits.
Who we are
and what we will become
are determined by our actions.
But are those actions planting
the seeds of our salvation
or destruction?
( radio )
...no let up in sight.
Today's weather
brought to you
by
--Macroseed,
working
hand in hand with farmers today
for a better,
positive tomorrow.
Over to you, Harold.
Neighbor called it in
this morning.
This is
how we found him.
Hey, Bob.
Hey, Linda.
Careful.
May I?
Yeah.
Let the coroner's
Office know
we're ready
to transport.
Hey, Linda.
He's got lumps on his face.
Here.
I know.
Oh, I thought I could
handle that.
All I'm saying is,
maybe Eddie would be
better off
in a special facility
Where they can
take care of him.
I don't want that.
Linda, Carol and Fred were
talking about a home
before They got killed.
Eddie's my nephew, Rex.
He's family --
I have to take care of him.
Maybe we could get
some help.
It might take some
of the pressure off.
We can't afford it.
We turned our lives
upside down
to come here
and help him.
I was lucky to get a job
at
macroseed.
I'll never make as much as a
lawyer in private practice here.
I know.
We'll figure something out.
Yeah.
Hey, none of that.
You'll catch something.
I already have.
Don't forget about
the church rummage sale.
Did Gaye rope you
into it again this year?
Oh, didn't you hear?
Gaye's in the hospital
up in springfield.
Tumor.
Just, uh...
had a pain in her side
and the next thing you know...
wham.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
It's benign,
but at her age it's...
Yeah.
So I'm doing
the rummage sale
this year.
So you all really
better be there.
We'll be there,
doc.
Hey, Eddie.
Hi.
I'll save
the heavy lifting for you.
Okay.
( woman groaning )
( Rex groaning )
As soon as
I get the results,
I'll call you.
It came on
so sudden.
It's worrisome, and unusual.
But these
bone growths
are usually
self-Limiting.
They only go so far,
then they stop.
Then we'll look
at our options.
Thank you, Dr. Wells.
Meanwhile,
Matt, I want to put
some dressing on this.
( moaning )
( Matt )
Wow.
Yeah.
Does it hurt?
Not really.
Maybe I should kiss it
and make it bigger.
Yeah.
@
Ah! My back!
What?
Ahh!
Oh, my god!
Help!
Oh, my god!
Tara.
I'll go get help.
Tara.
Tara!
Help!
Hey, Sal.
You want to eat in or out?
In.
We could break in
the back seat of my new car.
Stop.
What's the matter?
Think your husband
will catch us?
Reminds you
of the storeroom
in chemistry,
doesn't it?
Except we're
not 17 anymore.
Mm-Hmm,
you're right.
Now we know more.
Sally will
be back soon.
Then maybe we should
accelerate this process.
Did you hear about
Matt Hooper?
Yeah.
And Carrie Lattimore has
a teratoma on her liver.
Yeah...why are we talking
about this?
Because you work at
macroseed.
You think it's from the corn?
Why not?
Because we tested it,
that's why.
All right, well,
take a look at this cat.
Fibrous sarcoma is rare in cats.
Maybe 1 in 10,000 get it.
This is the third animal
with Massive tumors
that's come across
my table recently.
They've all been found
in the cornfields.
And look at this --
It's more like a teratoma.
Different cells randomly growing
abnormal tissues together.
It's weird that
this is happening right now,
don't you think?
And old man Rivers' tumors,
they were the same thing.
They're all accelerated growth
just like the tx-40.
Okay, you got me.
I'm actually an alien.
We mutated the corn
to meet our special
nutritional needs.
It's unfortunate that
you earthlings, you know,
can't handle it.
I'm serious.
Couldn't it happen?
I'll tell you what
the biochemists tell me, okay?
And you can trust me,
'cause, well, I'm a lawyer.
Harold...
yes, the corn has been
genetically altered,
and, yes, tx-40 was designed
for accelerated growth,
but it cannot cross to humans
or cats or other plants.
But it's all so sudden.
Linda, stuff like this
unfortunately
happens every day.
Now...
how about a little acceleration
of our own?
Harold.
Just a little?
Hmm?
( phone ringing )
( phone ringing )
( Harold groaning )
what?
I have to go.
Olly olly oxen free!
What do you want?
It fell off its nest.
Get that
out of here!
You come in here again,
you'll wish
you hadn't been born.
( mattress creaking,
woman moaning )
( truck Horn blasting )
( thunder crashing )
"And so Donald went back
to his cave..."
Hi.
Hi.
"All the other dinosaurs cheered
"And said that Donald was
the bravest dinosaur
in the whole wide jungle."
Called your office today
to see
if you wanted
to go to lunch.
I must have been
in the bathroom.
Yeah, I guess so.
( Eddie )
Read Donald.
Okay, Eddie.
Read Donald.
Sure.
"Donald's
great big day."
"Donald was a dinosaur.
"He wasn't as big
"As Albert the allosaur,
but he was much taller than
Peter the protoceratops."
All I'm saying is,
don't you want to have kids?
I don't want
to have one
until this thing
gets sorted out.
That's ridiculous.
You're overreacting.
Something is happening, Rex.
One day old man
Rivers is fine,
and the next he...
He looks like a monster
and blows his head off.
We have to move before
something happens to us.
Back to kansas city?
Anywhere.
The longer I wait to have a baby
the greater the chance
of birth defects.
Look at Eddie.
Linda.
He'll never be like other kids.
He'll never have a chance.
Maybe it's best
to put Eddie in a home
with other kids like him.
Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean it.
Eddie! Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
( sneezing )
Eddie, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean it.
I don't want to go away.
You're not going to go away.
You'll be with us always.
Mommy and daddy went away.
That's True,
but you're not going to go.
We love you too much
to let you go.
You're stuck with us, Buddy.
Oh...
and Mr. Fuzzy turtle?
Yes, of course.
Do you want to go
to the game tonight?
And pancakes?
And pancakes!
Computer Model indicates
MUTATING CELLS
increase exponentially
under ideal conditions.
Rex?
Eddie?
( door slamming )
( rustling )
( crashing )
Eddie?
What's the matter?
Eddie?
Oh, my god.
Oh, my God.
It hurts.
It's okay,
it's okay.
Everything's going
to be okay.
Shh, shh, shh.
I can't see too good.
I'm going to fix that, okay?
I'm gonna fix that.
Where's Rex?
He's...
he's at the game.
You walked home
alone?
I got lost at the game
and I couldn't find him,
so I came home.
It's okay, it's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Doc, I've got to talk to you.
Linda, I have
patients waiting.
You know where I was all night?
Springfield, with Eddie.
He's got lumps
like old man rivers.
Oh, my God.
Don't you see
what's happening, doc?
Carrie Lattimore,
old man rivers, Gaye Herman,
Tara Acton, Matt Hooper,
Eddie --
they all have tumors
that just suddenly appeared.
It's obviously
something
that was introduced
to the environment.
What else could it be
but the tx-40?
Linda, some people get
these things no matter what.
Not this quickly.
You probably
don't remember this,
but after you left for college
in the big city,
Hobson was a dying town.
Macroseed
--saved it.
They paid top dollar --
Better than top dollar
to rent these fields.
Tx-40 is safe.
So before We go
kicking up a ruckus,
let's get some facts first,
okay?
Tx-40 is hurting people, doc.
How come we don't have it?
We breathe the same air.
Now think about the people
that you mentioned.
Some of them live close
to the cornfields,
others live far away.
Upwind, downwind,
sidewind -- whatever.
There isn't any pattern,
ergo, it's not happening.
Or maybe we're missing
something.
How long have I known you?
As long as I can remember.
Pretty long time, right?
So I'm going to presume
that I know you pretty well.
I know what you're doing,
but you don't have to.
What am I doing?
Proving that you're better
than your mama.
This isn't about her.
It's about people getting sick.
I need to see the research
on tx-40.
I can't show you that.
That's proprietary information.
We're talking about Eddie.
I know, I helped drive him
to springfield, remember?
I have to know.
Hey, want to grab
some lunch?
No thanks.
Gotta get this done.
Boss of mine.
Maybe we should talk.
You could have got
Rex fired today,
you know.
If it hadn't been me
who saw him, he'd be toast.
You're right.
But that's not the only reason
you called us both in here.
No.
I also want to impress upon you
the importance
of what you're doing,
or nearly doing.
Tx-40 is safe, Linda.
Bad P.R. Will kill it
just as dead
as if it was
causing these things.
I know.
That's why you got to be careful
about what you say.
You can't take back
bad publicity.
That's what I said.
Macroseed
--has been
very good
to all of us.
And we want to keep it that way.
So that's why
I'm going to let you see this.
I already cleared it
with the big boys.
So please, read it
before you do anything else.
I think
it'll put your mind at ease.
It's the data
on tx-40,
pure and
unadulterated.
And you can draw
your own conclusions.
Thank you.
Thanks, Harold.
No problem.
Linda, here.
There are two main ways
to genetically alter plants.
One is to shoot plant cells
with a particle gun.
They use microscopic pellets
coated with the dna
they want to add.
The other way to insert
the appropriate new Genes
is to use a bacterium.
Agro-Bacterium tumafascens,
which is first altered Itself
and then it inserts the new
genes into the target plant.
So what happened?
All their crossover tests
were performed on corn
that was altered
through radiation.
But after the Tests
someone decided
that bacteria was
to be used instead.
It was probably somebody
in accounting
who figured that
it would be cheaper.
All I can say is,
bacteria is a living thing.
It mutates
on its own.
You can't control it
completely.
Do you know
what tumafascens means?
Tumor-Inducing.
Now, according to this,
they're supposed to remove
the tumor-Inducing part before
they use the bacteria.
But like I said,
it's a living thing.
It might have found a way
to sneak around it.
God, doc, what have they done?
How could you do this?
Do what?
You do tests one way and Ignore
doing them again after making
major Changes
and switching to
bacteria to alter it?
Linda, it wasn't--
bacteria that changes
on its own.
We don't use bacteria anymore.
What?
We didn't want
to take the chance.
If you read
the rest of the document
you'd see
we phased that out.
Wasn't worth
the money we'd save.
Cooler heads prevailed.
It's all
right there.
I'm sorry.
Apology accepted.
Don't.
Don't.
Why not?
Because I don't want to.
All right.
No means No.
I could smell his aftershave.
No, it's
just my perfume.
Think I wouldn't
find out?
Sally saw Harold
leaving your Office
two days ago
at lunchtime.
That's why you didn't
answer my call.
You were
screwing him.
Weren't you?
God, you stink of him!
I called your office tonight.
You didn't answer.
I was with doc wells.
Fine.
Let's call him right now!
Then I went to talk
to Harold about the tx-40.
Oh, that's why his aftershave's
all over you.
Why do you do this?
What are you trying to do?
Beat your mom?
"I slept with More guys
than she did."
No.
Then why do you do it?
We love each other --
That's why
we got married.
What happened?
Rex...
no.
No.
Stay away from me.
I'm sorry.
No...Yeah, we're fine.
Fortunately,
we did the right thing.
Absolutely, it would have been
very bad,
but facts don't lie.
Yeah, we did good.
Score one
for our side.
I'll let you know
if anything else happens.
Okay, right...Bye.
Hey, man.
Harold,
what happened?
Rex.
Thanks for the warning.
I didn't know that--
No, you never do.
You're always thinking
about yourself. No one else.
That's not True.
Really?
Well, do you ever
think about me?
You ever think about us?
You ever lie in bed at night
and dream about us
being together?
Having kids,
having a family...
taking vacations,
huh?
Doing stupid things
and laughing about them?
Do you?
Sometimes.
Sometimes.
That's really
encouraging, Linda.
What?
Do you think
you were
just another notch
on the bed post?
No.
Is that what you tell youself
so that you're off the hook?
"Harold doesn't care
so I don't care either"?
I don't say that.
Then what do you say, 'cause...
I'm not psychic over here.
That I'm married.
Well, you don't have to be.
I know.
Maybe
we've been looking
on the wrong side
of the equation.
What do you mean?
When they tested
the tx-40
with human dna,
where did they find
that dna?
Average white Males,
middle-Aged guys.
And that's
the problem
with a lot of drugs
on the market.
They're tested
with Average white males.
Not women or kids
or whatever.
And what
they've found is
There are big differences
in how the drugs react
among the groups.
So maybe the people who are
affected aren't average.
Exactly.
Maybe they just have
a predisposition to those things
and tx-40 triggers it.
That's why we haven't all
been affected.
Yes!
Or maybe it's something
completely different.
The best thing
is to look for patterns.
What's everybody got
in Common?
Well, what about hormones?
Growth hormones.
Carrie could have been going
through a growth spurt.
And Matt and Tara...and Eddie
are in their prime high-Level
hormone years.
Raging hormones.
Yes.
Of course, that doesn't explain
old man Rivers.
Yeah.
There's the rub again.
Yeah, there's the rub.
( flies buzzing )
son of a bitch.
You wanted proof?
Here it is.
Carrie Lattimore has
a teratoma on her liver.
Eddie has lumps on his head.
Matt, Tara -- all of them
are suffering from UNCONTROLLED
accelerated cell growth.
And the tx-40 is causing it.
Anyone with
an above-Average levels
of human growth hormone
is susceptible.
Kids in growth spurts,
old men taking supplements.
You name it.
I think she's right, Harold.
Unbelievable.
I should call
the board.
We'll have
to check this out.
Can't, uh...
Yeah, we'll have
to check this out.
Good work.
Thank you.
( phone ringing )
Yeah.
Yeah.
Rex?
Rex.
Linda, Harold Zimmer here.
Our lab just finished running
the first round of tests.
We used some blood
from Matt Hooper.
Doesn't seem to be any
interaction with the tx-40.
We're going to keep checking,
but, well, we'll let you know.
( beep )
Linda, doc wells.
I called the lab
up in springfield
to do a test on a blood sample
from Mr. Rivers.
They said the tx-40
didn't have any interaction,
so if it's not the corn
triggering it,
I don't know what it is.
( beep )
( Harold )
it cannot cross
to humans.
Oh, my God.
( busy signal )
Oh, come on, doc,
get off the phone.
Rex, I'm on my way
to doc wells' house.
Don't worry, but I think
you should meet me there.
( sneezing )
( Horn honking )
Doc?
Doc, it's Linda Andrews.
It's not the corn.
It's the milkweed.
The corn dna is transferred
to the milkweed.
Hello, Linda.
So surprised.
Are you going to shoot me?
Maybe.
Let's go.
You always were determined,
Lin.
That's why you were the captain
of the cheerleaders.
You weren't the best,
but you were determined.
You didn't get there first,
but you always got there.
So I'm right.
Yeah, unfortunately.
Our lab confirmed it
this afternoon.
It's the pollen
from the milkweed.
You can't cover this up.
Yes, I can -- I have to.
See, we can't afford
bad publicity, remember?
We can't let some freak
crossover mutation
wipe out years
of research and planning.
We'll just get rid
of the milkweed.
No problem.
You can't get rid of all
the milkweed in the country.
Even if you could,
how could you
guarantee
that tx-40 wouldn't cross
to something else?
Good old doc, huh?
You're too quick for me.
Don't do this, Harold.
You know what your problem is?
You're always
searching for a crusade.
Searching for something to fill
up what's missing inside.
Make you important.
Me, Rex, Eddie, your work.
We're all just
trying to fill the void.
Now you got your teeth into
something really big.
And you won't let go.
But you have to.
No, I don't.
It's too late,
Harold.
Look, I could put in
a good word for Rex.
I'll transfer him
to kansas city,
get him a raise.
You guys could
start over again,
and get the best help
for Eddie.
Eddie is going to die,
and it's all because of people
like you playing god.
I'm sorry about that.
But you could start over.
Screw you.
Well, I'm going to take that
as a no.
Or you could change your mind.
You have
in the past.
You don't care
about anybody, do you?
Actually, doc,
I care about
the whole world.
You know, when a disaster
happens, doctors perform triage.
Not everybody lives --
You know that.
The process is
designed
to maximize the number
of survivors.
It's the same
with medication.
The fda certifies
thousands of drugs
knowing full well that a small
but acceptable percentage
of people will have
a fatal reaction to them.
Why?
Because many, many more people
will benefit.
The cost is worth the benefit.
Tx-40 is worth the cost.
What'll it cost you
if it doesn't roll out?
A few million.
The Miracle of stock options.
You only care about yourself.
It's a common disease
these days.
The only thing I can
prescribe for it
is a long, hard look
in the mirror.
It's a shame
some people don't have
the spine for it.
Oh, I can, I can do it, doc.
Yeah.
'cause...I like what I see.
More's the pity on you.
Stop!
Every great step
demands sacrifice.
Doc!
Hey!
Poor doc.
He was trying to save me.
He came in here
distraught.
You felt
I was responsible
for what happened
to Eddie,
and you couldn't accept
that tx-40 wasn't guilty.
He tried to stop you
and you shot him.
And I tried to wrestle
the gun from you.
It went off,
killing you,
but not before
you shot me in the leg.
Ah!
I got your message.
You all right?
Yeah.
I'm sorry,
I'm sorry.
It's okay.
( control voice )
Let us always remember --
as we sow,
so shall we reap.
Captioning performed by
Western Captioning service ltd.
Vancouver, B.C. 2000
Oh, bless you.
Allergies.
That's right,
allergies.
Eddie, why don't you
start feeding the doggies?
Okay...feed the doggies.
Get the food
and feed the doggies.
Sal, what's
the matter?
It's, it's Carrie.
They found a tumor on her liver.
I'm so sorry.
And, um,
the air conditioning
is broken,
but I made a call,
and Mr. Rivers
is here.
He found something
he wants to show you.
Fully developed Fifth Limb
emanating from tumorous growth.
Third incident of animal tumors
in and around cornfield
in the past three months.
Unidentified skeletal anomaly.
Once again,
everything consistent
with Rampant ACCELERATED
cell growth.
Check incidence
of feline teratoma.
( wailing )
( gunshot )
( control voice )
There is nothing wrong
with your television.
Do not attempt
to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling
the transmission.
We control the horizontal
and the vertical.
We can deluge you
with a thousand channels
or expand One single image
to crystal clarity
and beyond.
We can shape your vision
to anything our imagination
can conceive.
For the next hour,
we will control
all that you see and hear.
( ♪ )
You are about to experience
the awe and mystery
which reaches from
the deepest inner mind
to
--The outer limits.
Who we are
and what we will become
are determined by our actions.
But are those actions planting
the seeds of our salvation
or destruction?
( radio )
...no let up in sight.
Today's weather
brought to you
by
--Macroseed,
working
hand in hand with farmers today
for a better,
positive tomorrow.
Over to you, Harold.
Neighbor called it in
this morning.
This is
how we found him.
Hey, Bob.
Hey, Linda.
Careful.
May I?
Yeah.
Let the coroner's
Office know
we're ready
to transport.
Hey, Linda.
He's got lumps on his face.
Here.
I know.
Oh, I thought I could
handle that.
All I'm saying is,
maybe Eddie would be
better off
in a special facility
Where they can
take care of him.
I don't want that.
Linda, Carol and Fred were
talking about a home
before They got killed.
Eddie's my nephew, Rex.
He's family --
I have to take care of him.
Maybe we could get
some help.
It might take some
of the pressure off.
We can't afford it.
We turned our lives
upside down
to come here
and help him.
I was lucky to get a job
at
macroseed.
I'll never make as much as a
lawyer in private practice here.
I know.
We'll figure something out.
Yeah.
Hey, none of that.
You'll catch something.
I already have.
Don't forget about
the church rummage sale.
Did Gaye rope you
into it again this year?
Oh, didn't you hear?
Gaye's in the hospital
up in springfield.
Tumor.
Just, uh...
had a pain in her side
and the next thing you know...
wham.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
It's benign,
but at her age it's...
Yeah.
So I'm doing
the rummage sale
this year.
So you all really
better be there.
We'll be there,
doc.
Hey, Eddie.
Hi.
I'll save
the heavy lifting for you.
Okay.
( woman groaning )
( Rex groaning )
As soon as
I get the results,
I'll call you.
It came on
so sudden.
It's worrisome, and unusual.
But these
bone growths
are usually
self-Limiting.
They only go so far,
then they stop.
Then we'll look
at our options.
Thank you, Dr. Wells.
Meanwhile,
Matt, I want to put
some dressing on this.
( moaning )
( Matt )
Wow.
Yeah.
Does it hurt?
Not really.
Maybe I should kiss it
and make it bigger.
Yeah.
@
Ah! My back!
What?
Ahh!
Oh, my god!
Help!
Oh, my god!
Tara.
I'll go get help.
Tara.
Tara!
Help!
Hey, Sal.
You want to eat in or out?
In.
We could break in
the back seat of my new car.
Stop.
What's the matter?
Think your husband
will catch us?
Reminds you
of the storeroom
in chemistry,
doesn't it?
Except we're
not 17 anymore.
Mm-Hmm,
you're right.
Now we know more.
Sally will
be back soon.
Then maybe we should
accelerate this process.
Did you hear about
Matt Hooper?
Yeah.
And Carrie Lattimore has
a teratoma on her liver.
Yeah...why are we talking
about this?
Because you work at
macroseed.
You think it's from the corn?
Why not?
Because we tested it,
that's why.
All right, well,
take a look at this cat.
Fibrous sarcoma is rare in cats.
Maybe 1 in 10,000 get it.
This is the third animal
with Massive tumors
that's come across
my table recently.
They've all been found
in the cornfields.
And look at this --
It's more like a teratoma.
Different cells randomly growing
abnormal tissues together.
It's weird that
this is happening right now,
don't you think?
And old man Rivers' tumors,
they were the same thing.
They're all accelerated growth
just like the tx-40.
Okay, you got me.
I'm actually an alien.
We mutated the corn
to meet our special
nutritional needs.
It's unfortunate that
you earthlings, you know,
can't handle it.
I'm serious.
Couldn't it happen?
I'll tell you what
the biochemists tell me, okay?
And you can trust me,
'cause, well, I'm a lawyer.
Harold...
yes, the corn has been
genetically altered,
and, yes, tx-40 was designed
for accelerated growth,
but it cannot cross to humans
or cats or other plants.
But it's all so sudden.
Linda, stuff like this
unfortunately
happens every day.
Now...
how about a little acceleration
of our own?
Harold.
Just a little?
Hmm?
( phone ringing )
( phone ringing )
( Harold groaning )
what?
I have to go.
Olly olly oxen free!
What do you want?
It fell off its nest.
Get that
out of here!
You come in here again,
you'll wish
you hadn't been born.
( mattress creaking,
woman moaning )
( truck Horn blasting )
( thunder crashing )
"And so Donald went back
to his cave..."
Hi.
Hi.
"All the other dinosaurs cheered
"And said that Donald was
the bravest dinosaur
in the whole wide jungle."
Called your office today
to see
if you wanted
to go to lunch.
I must have been
in the bathroom.
Yeah, I guess so.
( Eddie )
Read Donald.
Okay, Eddie.
Read Donald.
Sure.
"Donald's
great big day."
"Donald was a dinosaur.
"He wasn't as big
"As Albert the allosaur,
but he was much taller than
Peter the protoceratops."
All I'm saying is,
don't you want to have kids?
I don't want
to have one
until this thing
gets sorted out.
That's ridiculous.
You're overreacting.
Something is happening, Rex.
One day old man
Rivers is fine,
and the next he...
He looks like a monster
and blows his head off.
We have to move before
something happens to us.
Back to kansas city?
Anywhere.
The longer I wait to have a baby
the greater the chance
of birth defects.
Look at Eddie.
Linda.
He'll never be like other kids.
He'll never have a chance.
Maybe it's best
to put Eddie in a home
with other kids like him.
Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean it.
Eddie! Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
Eddie!
( sneezing )
Eddie, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean it.
I don't want to go away.
You're not going to go away.
You'll be with us always.
Mommy and daddy went away.
That's True,
but you're not going to go.
We love you too much
to let you go.
You're stuck with us, Buddy.
Oh...
and Mr. Fuzzy turtle?
Yes, of course.
Do you want to go
to the game tonight?
And pancakes?
And pancakes!
Computer Model indicates
MUTATING CELLS
increase exponentially
under ideal conditions.
Rex?
Eddie?
( door slamming )
( rustling )
( crashing )
Eddie?
What's the matter?
Eddie?
Oh, my god.
Oh, my God.
It hurts.
It's okay,
it's okay.
Everything's going
to be okay.
Shh, shh, shh.
I can't see too good.
I'm going to fix that, okay?
I'm gonna fix that.
Where's Rex?
He's...
he's at the game.
You walked home
alone?
I got lost at the game
and I couldn't find him,
so I came home.
It's okay, it's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Doc, I've got to talk to you.
Linda, I have
patients waiting.
You know where I was all night?
Springfield, with Eddie.
He's got lumps
like old man rivers.
Oh, my God.
Don't you see
what's happening, doc?
Carrie Lattimore,
old man rivers, Gaye Herman,
Tara Acton, Matt Hooper,
Eddie --
they all have tumors
that just suddenly appeared.
It's obviously
something
that was introduced
to the environment.
What else could it be
but the tx-40?
Linda, some people get
these things no matter what.
Not this quickly.
You probably
don't remember this,
but after you left for college
in the big city,
Hobson was a dying town.
Macroseed
--saved it.
They paid top dollar --
Better than top dollar
to rent these fields.
Tx-40 is safe.
So before We go
kicking up a ruckus,
let's get some facts first,
okay?
Tx-40 is hurting people, doc.
How come we don't have it?
We breathe the same air.
Now think about the people
that you mentioned.
Some of them live close
to the cornfields,
others live far away.
Upwind, downwind,
sidewind -- whatever.
There isn't any pattern,
ergo, it's not happening.
Or maybe we're missing
something.
How long have I known you?
As long as I can remember.
Pretty long time, right?
So I'm going to presume
that I know you pretty well.
I know what you're doing,
but you don't have to.
What am I doing?
Proving that you're better
than your mama.
This isn't about her.
It's about people getting sick.
I need to see the research
on tx-40.
I can't show you that.
That's proprietary information.
We're talking about Eddie.
I know, I helped drive him
to springfield, remember?
I have to know.
Hey, want to grab
some lunch?
No thanks.
Gotta get this done.
Boss of mine.
Maybe we should talk.
You could have got
Rex fired today,
you know.
If it hadn't been me
who saw him, he'd be toast.
You're right.
But that's not the only reason
you called us both in here.
No.
I also want to impress upon you
the importance
of what you're doing,
or nearly doing.
Tx-40 is safe, Linda.
Bad P.R. Will kill it
just as dead
as if it was
causing these things.
I know.
That's why you got to be careful
about what you say.
You can't take back
bad publicity.
That's what I said.
Macroseed
--has been
very good
to all of us.
And we want to keep it that way.
So that's why
I'm going to let you see this.
I already cleared it
with the big boys.
So please, read it
before you do anything else.
I think
it'll put your mind at ease.
It's the data
on tx-40,
pure and
unadulterated.
And you can draw
your own conclusions.
Thank you.
Thanks, Harold.
No problem.
Linda, here.
There are two main ways
to genetically alter plants.
One is to shoot plant cells
with a particle gun.
They use microscopic pellets
coated with the dna
they want to add.
The other way to insert
the appropriate new Genes
is to use a bacterium.
Agro-Bacterium tumafascens,
which is first altered Itself
and then it inserts the new
genes into the target plant.
So what happened?
All their crossover tests
were performed on corn
that was altered
through radiation.
But after the Tests
someone decided
that bacteria was
to be used instead.
It was probably somebody
in accounting
who figured that
it would be cheaper.
All I can say is,
bacteria is a living thing.
It mutates
on its own.
You can't control it
completely.
Do you know
what tumafascens means?
Tumor-Inducing.
Now, according to this,
they're supposed to remove
the tumor-Inducing part before
they use the bacteria.
But like I said,
it's a living thing.
It might have found a way
to sneak around it.
God, doc, what have they done?
How could you do this?
Do what?
You do tests one way and Ignore
doing them again after making
major Changes
and switching to
bacteria to alter it?
Linda, it wasn't--
bacteria that changes
on its own.
We don't use bacteria anymore.
What?
We didn't want
to take the chance.
If you read
the rest of the document
you'd see
we phased that out.
Wasn't worth
the money we'd save.
Cooler heads prevailed.
It's all
right there.
I'm sorry.
Apology accepted.
Don't.
Don't.
Why not?
Because I don't want to.
All right.
No means No.
I could smell his aftershave.
No, it's
just my perfume.
Think I wouldn't
find out?
Sally saw Harold
leaving your Office
two days ago
at lunchtime.
That's why you didn't
answer my call.
You were
screwing him.
Weren't you?
God, you stink of him!
I called your office tonight.
You didn't answer.
I was with doc wells.
Fine.
Let's call him right now!
Then I went to talk
to Harold about the tx-40.
Oh, that's why his aftershave's
all over you.
Why do you do this?
What are you trying to do?
Beat your mom?
"I slept with More guys
than she did."
No.
Then why do you do it?
We love each other --
That's why
we got married.
What happened?
Rex...
no.
No.
Stay away from me.
I'm sorry.
No...Yeah, we're fine.
Fortunately,
we did the right thing.
Absolutely, it would have been
very bad,
but facts don't lie.
Yeah, we did good.
Score one
for our side.
I'll let you know
if anything else happens.
Okay, right...Bye.
Hey, man.
Harold,
what happened?
Rex.
Thanks for the warning.
I didn't know that--
No, you never do.
You're always thinking
about yourself. No one else.
That's not True.
Really?
Well, do you ever
think about me?
You ever think about us?
You ever lie in bed at night
and dream about us
being together?
Having kids,
having a family...
taking vacations,
huh?
Doing stupid things
and laughing about them?
Do you?
Sometimes.
Sometimes.
That's really
encouraging, Linda.
What?
Do you think
you were
just another notch
on the bed post?
No.
Is that what you tell youself
so that you're off the hook?
"Harold doesn't care
so I don't care either"?
I don't say that.
Then what do you say, 'cause...
I'm not psychic over here.
That I'm married.
Well, you don't have to be.
I know.
Maybe
we've been looking
on the wrong side
of the equation.
What do you mean?
When they tested
the tx-40
with human dna,
where did they find
that dna?
Average white Males,
middle-Aged guys.
And that's
the problem
with a lot of drugs
on the market.
They're tested
with Average white males.
Not women or kids
or whatever.
And what
they've found is
There are big differences
in how the drugs react
among the groups.
So maybe the people who are
affected aren't average.
Exactly.
Maybe they just have
a predisposition to those things
and tx-40 triggers it.
That's why we haven't all
been affected.
Yes!
Or maybe it's something
completely different.
The best thing
is to look for patterns.
What's everybody got
in Common?
Well, what about hormones?
Growth hormones.
Carrie could have been going
through a growth spurt.
And Matt and Tara...and Eddie
are in their prime high-Level
hormone years.
Raging hormones.
Yes.
Of course, that doesn't explain
old man Rivers.
Yeah.
There's the rub again.
Yeah, there's the rub.
( flies buzzing )
son of a bitch.
You wanted proof?
Here it is.
Carrie Lattimore has
a teratoma on her liver.
Eddie has lumps on his head.
Matt, Tara -- all of them
are suffering from UNCONTROLLED
accelerated cell growth.
And the tx-40 is causing it.
Anyone with
an above-Average levels
of human growth hormone
is susceptible.
Kids in growth spurts,
old men taking supplements.
You name it.
I think she's right, Harold.
Unbelievable.
I should call
the board.
We'll have
to check this out.
Can't, uh...
Yeah, we'll have
to check this out.
Good work.
Thank you.
( phone ringing )
Yeah.
Yeah.
Rex?
Rex.
Linda, Harold Zimmer here.
Our lab just finished running
the first round of tests.
We used some blood
from Matt Hooper.
Doesn't seem to be any
interaction with the tx-40.
We're going to keep checking,
but, well, we'll let you know.
( beep )
Linda, doc wells.
I called the lab
up in springfield
to do a test on a blood sample
from Mr. Rivers.
They said the tx-40
didn't have any interaction,
so if it's not the corn
triggering it,
I don't know what it is.
( beep )
( Harold )
it cannot cross
to humans.
Oh, my God.
( busy signal )
Oh, come on, doc,
get off the phone.
Rex, I'm on my way
to doc wells' house.
Don't worry, but I think
you should meet me there.
( sneezing )
( Horn honking )
Doc?
Doc, it's Linda Andrews.
It's not the corn.
It's the milkweed.
The corn dna is transferred
to the milkweed.
Hello, Linda.
So surprised.
Are you going to shoot me?
Maybe.
Let's go.
You always were determined,
Lin.
That's why you were the captain
of the cheerleaders.
You weren't the best,
but you were determined.
You didn't get there first,
but you always got there.
So I'm right.
Yeah, unfortunately.
Our lab confirmed it
this afternoon.
It's the pollen
from the milkweed.
You can't cover this up.
Yes, I can -- I have to.
See, we can't afford
bad publicity, remember?
We can't let some freak
crossover mutation
wipe out years
of research and planning.
We'll just get rid
of the milkweed.
No problem.
You can't get rid of all
the milkweed in the country.
Even if you could,
how could you
guarantee
that tx-40 wouldn't cross
to something else?
Good old doc, huh?
You're too quick for me.
Don't do this, Harold.
You know what your problem is?
You're always
searching for a crusade.
Searching for something to fill
up what's missing inside.
Make you important.
Me, Rex, Eddie, your work.
We're all just
trying to fill the void.
Now you got your teeth into
something really big.
And you won't let go.
But you have to.
No, I don't.
It's too late,
Harold.
Look, I could put in
a good word for Rex.
I'll transfer him
to kansas city,
get him a raise.
You guys could
start over again,
and get the best help
for Eddie.
Eddie is going to die,
and it's all because of people
like you playing god.
I'm sorry about that.
But you could start over.
Screw you.
Well, I'm going to take that
as a no.
Or you could change your mind.
You have
in the past.
You don't care
about anybody, do you?
Actually, doc,
I care about
the whole world.
You know, when a disaster
happens, doctors perform triage.
Not everybody lives --
You know that.
The process is
designed
to maximize the number
of survivors.
It's the same
with medication.
The fda certifies
thousands of drugs
knowing full well that a small
but acceptable percentage
of people will have
a fatal reaction to them.
Why?
Because many, many more people
will benefit.
The cost is worth the benefit.
Tx-40 is worth the cost.
What'll it cost you
if it doesn't roll out?
A few million.
The Miracle of stock options.
You only care about yourself.
It's a common disease
these days.
The only thing I can
prescribe for it
is a long, hard look
in the mirror.
It's a shame
some people don't have
the spine for it.
Oh, I can, I can do it, doc.
Yeah.
'cause...I like what I see.
More's the pity on you.
Stop!
Every great step
demands sacrifice.
Doc!
Hey!
Poor doc.
He was trying to save me.
He came in here
distraught.
You felt
I was responsible
for what happened
to Eddie,
and you couldn't accept
that tx-40 wasn't guilty.
He tried to stop you
and you shot him.
And I tried to wrestle
the gun from you.
It went off,
killing you,
but not before
you shot me in the leg.
Ah!
I got your message.
You all right?
Yeah.
I'm sorry,
I'm sorry.
It's okay.
( control voice )
Let us always remember --
as we sow,
so shall we reap.
Captioning performed by
Western Captioning service ltd.
Vancouver, B.C. 2000