"Guys, settle down." "Settle down, you guys." "Who just threw that?" "I'll throw something back at you." "No, no more soda, you guys are crazy." "Taxi, taxi!" "No, no, I got that." "I got that." " Sorry, pal." " It's okay..." "You're stupid!" "That's just stupid!" "Hey, motherfucker!" "Where's the wallet?" "Give me that cake." "Where's Paul?" " Maurice?" " Oh shit, Mr. Duncan." "You know this dude?" "I had Maurice in my ninth grade bio class about five years ago." "I guess those extra help sessions didn't quite do it for you." "Let's go, man." "This guy's cool." "He's the best teacher I ever had." "Let's go." "Sorry about this, Mr. Duncan." "Honest mistake." "Got things under control?" "Paul, what took you so long?" "I ran into an old student, I got held up." " Mm-hmm, did you get the present?" " Yeah, yeah, voilà." "Gorgeous." "All right, let's do this." "Clara, get the lights." " Finally." " I know." "Ready?" "Everybody, everybody!" "How you doin', Jeff?" "Where is he?" "Where's my boy?" " Hey!" " Dad." "# Happy birthday to you #" "How, you doin'?" "# Happy birthday to you #" "# Happy birthday, dear Adam #" "# Happy birthday to you!" "#" " Hey, kid!" " You made me laugh." "So Dorset Prep, where is that exactly?" " Mars." " Oh, that's hilarious." "It's in the suburbs, a half hour away." "It's a great offer, but Paul hasn't made up his mind yet." "I bet that's a change from the school you teach at now." "Oh yeah, less crack, better cafeteria selection." "Don't mind Paul." "He's still grappling with his conscience." "Mom, Dad, this is the coolest present ever!" "Oh-ho, it looks good too, right?" "Do you think he needs more sugar?" "Yeah I know, I'm breaking every rule." " Hello, is Steggie in here?" " Beware." "Hey, cake for Steggie." " He can't eat that, it..." " Why not?" "He's an herbivore." "Oh, oh, he's an herbivore." "Okay, then I'll just take it back." " Wait, maybe leave it, just in case." " Take it back." " That's what I thought." " Good night." " Bye, Dad." " Good birthday?" " Yeah." " All right." " Good night, Dad." " Good night." "What was your favorite present?" " My jacket..." " Yay!" "...You got me." " You look so good in red." "What's on your agenda tomorrow?" "Uh, I have to stop by the gallery." "I have to pick up a lens I ordered." "I have to get a new pair of sneakers for Adam." "Ooh, I have to do you." "I could take care of that right now." "Have you thought about that job offer?" "You do realize it'd mean moving, right?" "So, we'd move." "You know we used to think we were pretty hip living down here." "I also used to think four Merit Lights and a Diet Coke constituted a meal." "Honey, I love this place as much as you do, but we've got a kid to think about." "And I just don't think any city is a great place to raise a kid these days." "Plus, you'd be making twice what you're making now." "I'm just not sure the timing's right and your photography is starting to take." "This is not about my photography." "Okay, I just can't shake this feeling that somehow..." "I'd be selling out." "Right." "Listen... you know how much I respect your ethics." "But this is about Adam." "Sometimes, ethics have to take a back seat." "Okay, your turn." " Okay, I'm going to a picnic..." " Yeah?" "And I'm going to bring an ant, a bagel, a croissant," " a ding dong..." " Like you?" "Mom!" " A ding dong..." " Yeah?" " Uh..." " Shoe store, 3:00!" " Yes!" " Take my hand." "I think if you pump them any more, they might explode." "Really?" "Kaboom!" " Do you want 'em or not?" " Yeah." " Do you want this?" " Yeah." "I'm just gonna go test these outside, okay?" "Okay, but don't go too far, okay?" "And how would you like to pay for this?" "A credit card, please." "Ma'am?" "I need your signature." "Sorry, so sorry." "All right, sorry." " Thanks." " Great." "Hello!" "You guys!" "Where's my greeting committee?" "Jess?" "I'm sorry, I got stuck at a teacher's conference." "Jessie?" "Machine voice:" "You have four new messages." "Paul, I..." "God damn it!" "We'll handle all the funeral arrangements." " God be with you." " Thank you for everything, father." "Honey?" "Excuse me, Jessie?" "Jessie Duncan?" "Yeah?" "It's Richard, Richard Wells." "Richard?" "Your wife was an undergraduate student of mine." "It's been years." "Actually, Richard, it's..." "it's kind of a bad time." "I know, I read about it in the paper." "I can't tell you how sorry I am." " Thank you." " Actually, do you have a minute?" "I'm sorry, I know this is a terrible time." "I don't think so." "Not right now." "But believe me, if there was any other way..." "The truth is, I went to some trouble to find you." "I'd like to help you." "Help us?" "I'm a doctor." "I specialize in fertility." "If we could just talk, it won't take long, I promise you." "We can go to a restaurant right over there." "I finished the residency in ob-gyn, but my real passion is research." " What is it you do, Paul?" " I teach biology." " You do?" " Can you tell us what this is about?" "Yeah." "The truth is, there is... there's no easy way to present this to you, so I'm just gonna come out and say it." "My clinic has perfected a procedure by which a single cell could be used to create a genetically-identical fetus... a fetus which could be carried to term and, in effect, be reborn." " Do you mean cloned?" " Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "This would be the identical boy down to the last chromosome on the last hair of his head." "This is how you wanna help us?" "I used to be affiliated with a hospital here and I had a chance to review Jessie's records." "You did what?" "I'm aware of the complications surrounding Adam's delivery, that it's impossible for you to conceive again." "You looked at her records?" "I had to be certain that Jessie's condition didn't preclude carrying a child and it doesn't, so yes, I can help you." "You can have him back, your son Adam, to birth again, to raise." " Adam's dead, God damn it!" " Paul." "Paul." " My son is dead!" " Paul, please." "You come at me with this?" "God knows what hell you've been through." "The last thing I want to do is make this time any harder." "But the truth is I can do this, and I want you to know." "What you're talking about is illegal, not to mention potentially immoral." "Illegal, yes." "Immoral, no." "We're talking about using life to create life, that's all." "And you've done this before?" "You've successfully cloned a human being?" "No, I haven't but only because I've been looking for an ideal candidate." "I read about what happened." "And I hope that if you two aren't interested" " in what I'm proposing here..." " What are you proposing here?" " He's not even sure that he can..." " That's not true..." "I am sure." "Still, it does come down to trust." " You'd be..." " Excuse me, your menus." "You'd be gambling on me as much as I'd be gambling on you." "My clinic is some 300 miles from here." "If you were to do this, it would mean moving there and I'll be honest with you, changing your lives entirely." "Paul's right, this is extremely against the law." "You'd have to sever all ties with family, with friends, with anyone who ever knew Adam." "Of course I would help with the relocation, and I can get you a job at the local high school." " You know what, I've heard enough." " Paul, please." " I know how upsetting this is." " No, no, no, you don't know!" "You could never know." " Let's go!" " You're right." "I'm sorry to have upset you." " Jessie..." " Jessie!" "I can be reached at this number." " DNA can be saved indefinitely..." " Jessie!" "But Adam's cells will only be viable another 72 hours." "So if you do change your mind..." "Practically a stranger." "I can't believe you're considering this!" "I can't believe you're not considering this." "Any idea how much could go wrong?" "Honey, I..." "listen, I love you, I love you." "I love you beyond words, okay?" "But only the tiniest thing has to go wrong and so much has to go right." "But what if it did?" "It still wouldn't be Adam." "It would be an identical twin." "It'd be like another kid." "But he'd have the same face and the same laugh." " In time, we can try again, I swear." " No, we can't." " You know we can't." " We'll find a way." "We can have..." "I don't want another child!" "I want Adam!" "I want him back." "You know what I kept thinking while I was waiting for paramedics... and he was in my arms... and I was watching him die?" ""This is the last time I'll ever get to hold him. "" "My little boy." " Hello." " Paul." "L..." "I just heard." "I'm so sorry." "Oh, yeah." "Thank you, Sam." "Um... so... how's Jessie taking all this?" "Actually, she's..." "she's not so well." "Right, of course." "Look, would you please just pass on my condolences to her?" "Yeah, I will." "Hey, Sam, can I..." "can I ask you something?" "Have you ever heard of a doctor named Richard Wells?" "Richard Wells." "Sure I've heard of him." "Why do you ask?" "He was an old teacher of Jessie's." "Really?" "He's the stuff of legend." "He was doing really advanced work on gene mapping." "We're talking way ahead of his time." "Anyway, last thing I heard, he sold his findings to a huge firm, made a ridiculous amount of money, and then just sort of dropped out of the game entirely." "Every once in a while I come across an article of his in a journal, consistently brilliant." "Like I said, he's..." "A genius." "Yeah, I know." " Paul, I'm so very sorry." " Okay, thanks." "Or you go like that." "One..." "Oh, ooh!" "Can't you see this?" "Three, two, one." "The game is live!" " Then all of a sudden..." " I'm right side up!" "Wait a second, you're confusing me." "Do you think that's a good idea?" "No, I think we should call it Adam." " Guess who?" " I don't know." " It's me, Adam." " I don't think I know an Adam." "I'm your son." " Ow!" "Ow!" " The family jewels." "Are we all in?" " Damn, what a handsome group." " Yep." " Hi, Mom!" " Adam!" " Hello..." " This hat." "I've never seen you wear this before." "Bad hair day, I guess." "I've never seen you wear any hat." "All cells are in essence clones... identical copies of one original cell." "The key to artificially stimulating replication is in shocking a specialized cell back to its pre-specialized state... its stem cell precursor..." "The cell as it was before it became a liver cell or a brain cell, or a relatively simpler cheek cell." "Once in this state, the cell's nucleus is immediately transferred to a mother's enucleated egg." "The transfer completed, the egg cell will then ideally accept the donor nucleus as its own." "At which point, we let nature take its course." "She did great." "We just need to keep her here until tomorrow to make sure the implant takes." "But she did wonderfully." "She has to lie down for at least an hour, so why don't we go look at the house and I'll show you around?" "She's in good hands." "So, all these people and no one else knows?" "The procedure doesn't differ much from a standard implant." "So, as far as my staff's concerned," "Jessie's being treated as a high-risk in vitro, nothing more." " Dr. Wells?" " Thanks, George." "There you go." "Riverton's a great town, I think you're really gonna like it here." "It's a bit secluded maybe, but a wonderful community." "Nice people, lots of families... perfect place to raise a child." "So why don't you follow me?" "I'll show you around." "Beautiful country, isn't it?" "This whole area has a lot of history." "And the house itself is 100 years old at least." "Sorry, there's no furniture." "So I took the liberty of ordering some." "It should be here sometime tomorrow." "What if this didn't work, Richard?" "What if the implant doesn't take, the procedure's a bust... what then?" " It'll work, Paul." " You can't say that with any certainty." "Look, no one can say anything with any certainty." "I mean, even a routine pregnancy is fallible." "But if I can speak plainly, what more do you have to lose?" "Her." "Jessie." "She's pinned every hope in the world on this." "And I won't let her down, or you." "You have my word on that." "Is this for real?" "For now." "I can't believe this place." "Hey." " Look at this." " What is that?" "Oh my God, Paul." "You know what we could put down here?" "Darkroom?" " How are you feeling?" " I'm okay." "Jessie!" "Hon?" "I'm back." "I'm home to our... big home!" "Hey!" "Hi." "You said we'd never have a party in here." "Come on." " Come on, come on, push it." " I can't!" " Yes." " No, it hurts." " Yes." " You're doing fine, Jessie." "You're fully dilated, the head's already crowning, you just need to now push." " Something's wrong." " No, nothing is wrong." "Something's wrong, I'm telling you." "It's coming out." "It's fine." "You can see the head." "Keep pushing." "Push, push, push." " Keep pushing, push." " Good girl." " Come on, push, push, push." " Come on, come on." "Oh, there we go, okay." "All right, all right, we're out, we're out." "That's it." "It's okay." "Let me just hear you..." "let me just hear you scream." " You did great." " Come on, come on." "That's great, honey." "He's all right." "It's great." "I just need some breath from him." "He's all right." "Okay, how long?" "30 seconds, 31, 32... 33, 34, 35..." " 36, 37..." " We're gonna have to bag him." " 38, 39..." " What's wrong?" " 40 seconds, 41..." " 40..." " 42, 43..." " Come on, come on." "44..." "Oh, baby." "Oh, baby, thank God." "This is the same as last time, remember?" "It's him." "You wanted to give us a scare, didn't you?" "Oh, thank you, God." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Here you go, kiddo." "Good night, Adam." "My little boy." "I still think it's a little strange." "Huh-uh." "It's his name." "It's always been his name..." "Adam." "#..." "Birthday to you #" "# Happy birthday to you #" "# Happy birthday, dear Adam #" "# Happy birthday to you!" "#" "There you go, buddy." "Uncle Richard!" "Happy birthday, Adam." "Cake, cake, cake!" "Cake time!" "Cake!" "So, how's work going?" "It's good." "It's good..." "nice kids, bright too." "I don't know, sometimes I feel like I'm teaching fish to swim... at a Club Med." "You don't still miss your old school?" "No, it's more like I miss missing it." "Uncle Richard, want to help me fly it?" "Let's get it up there." "Keep it away from the trees." "So what was this word you said?" "Reeservoier." "It's a science word, Uncle Richard." "We've been learning about natural resources in school." "Oh, you mean a "reservoir. "" "Well, that's a lot like a lake, only it's a man-made lake." "But I thought God made everything." "Well, in a way He did, if you believe He created those people who figured out how to make a reservoir, right?" " Bye, guys, thank you." " See you later, Adam!" " Thanks, Paul, see you later." " Hey, kiddo!" "Bye, Adam!" "Why don't you come on inside, say goodbye to your friends?" "Thank you, Adam." "Bye, Adam!" " Bye." " Bye, Paul." "Adam!" "Bye!" "Hey!" "Birthday Boy!" "How many times I gotta tell you, you can't leave your toys around?" "Somebody's gonna trip and..." "For those of us who don't wear helmets in the house..." "What you doing?" "Where did you get this?" "It was a birthday present from Joey Smoyer." "Do you like it?" "Yeah." "Why don't you get some sleep?" "Dad, I've been thinking..." "About what?" "I don't think I like you so much anymore." " No..." " Gotcha!" "Ohh, somebody is in some very serious trouble." "Where do you think you're going?" "Where do you think you're going?" " I'm gonna smother you now." " Stop it, Dad!" "It's just in..." "some ways, he's so much the same, you know?" "But he's still his own person entirely." "And then..." "look at him." "I honestly forget sometimes, you know?" "And then something like that... that toy dinosaur thing will happen." "It's okay, it happens to me too." " I just worry, you know?" " What?" " If he ever found out." " He won't find out." "What if he did?" "About what it would mean to him." "I just love him so much." "Both of you." "Meow!" "No!" "No!" "Help!" "Adam!" "Adam!" "It's okay, I'm right here." "Who are you?" "Dad!" " Adam!" " No." "Mom!" "Adam?" "Oh my God!" "Adam!" "Ow!" " Jesus, take it easy!" " Go away!" " It's okay, okay!" " No!" " It's okay, take it easy." " Stay away!" "Get away!" " Jessie!" "It's okay." " Get away from me!" " It's okay!" "Okay, okay!" " Get off!" " All right!" "It's okay." " Get off me." " Jessie!" " Honey?" "!" " Ow!" " Oh, God!" " Adam?" "Adam?" " What happened?" "I don't know, he just collapsed." " Call 911!" " I'm calling Richard." "Richard, thank God." "I want him in a hospital." "Paul, my staff and I can handle this." "Your staff don't even know about this." "They don't need to." "It's the same as always... we're close friends." "You know our arrangement." "Maybe we need to reconsider our arrangement." "It's five hours, he's still unconscious." "His respiration and color are good and he's responding to low-level stimuli." "He's basically just sleeping." "Except for some reason, he's not waking up." " He seems to have night terrors." " Night terrors?" "It's a sleep disorder." "A child screams in his sleep." "He may sit up, walk, even talk, but all attempts to wake him are futile." "No, no, you weren't there." "This is something entirely different." "All right... hold on a minute." "I know it's scary, but we talked about this... the possibility that things could change once Adam crossed the age at which he died." "Well, it's been eight years." "As of now, he's crossed it." "You said things could change..." "you never said anything like this." "Because I couldn't have known." "Look, he is the only one, period." "We are and always have been at the mercy of that fact." "Up to this point, we've had a map..." "Adam's first eight years." "But now we're entering uncharted territory." "We have no way of knowing who the Adam of age nine, age 10, age 50, is going to be, what problems he may or may not have." "I promise you, there's nothing more a hospital would be doing for him." "What's happening here, Richard?" "That's what I'd like to find out." "My feeling is it's probably nothing." "Let's just give it a little time, okay?" "Yeah." "The last eight years... no matter how happy I've been," "I've always had this feeling that somehow we wouldn't get away with this." "Not that someone would find out, just... somehow, we'd lose him again." "We're not gonna lose him." "It's okay, it's okay." "Boo!" " Oh, Adam!" " Oh my gosh!" " Hey." " But no, no, no... is he all right?" " He's fine." " You okay?" "I'm feeling hungry!" "Mommy!" " Come on, kiddo." " Everything's okay." "This is fantastic, fantastic." "Come on, come on." " You feel good?" " Ahh!" "My God, you slept enough." " Richard, thank you." " I'll see you all tomorrow." "Adam, dinner's on." "Jessie, he's not up here." "Adam!" "Hey, come on." "Adam!" "Hey!" "Adam?" "Adam?" "Adam!" "Adam?" "There you are." "What are you doing here?" "Didn't you hear me calling you?" "Hey... are you all right?" "I'm talking to you." "Adam?" "Hey, I'm talking to you." "Hey!" "Answer me." "Yes, Daddy?" "Did you hear me calling you?" "Your dinner is ready." "Go in the house." "No, Paul just said it was kind of a strange moment." "No, he seems fine." "Yeah, that's what I'm hoping..." "it's probably nothing." "I don't think it's anything to worry about, okay?" "All right, take care and I'll see you soon." "All right, well, thanks, Richard." "Take care." "I think we should take him to a specialist." "Richard doesn't think it's anything to worry about." "And his word's gospel?" "How long are we supposed to live like this?" "When does all this gratitude end?" " You sure you're okay?" " Yeah." " You sure?" " Yeah." "Bye, Mom." "Anybody know what this is?" "It's a big ugly visual aide." "Let's do it like this." "If you think of DNA as a fuse box, each of the genes are either switched on or off, depending on which cell we're talking about." "So that the genes responsible for say the length of Kevin's nose hair wouldn't be much use in his pinky toe." "So what, the gene isn't present?" "No, no, it's present, it's just inactive." "It's turned off." "It's dead." "You know what?" "Why don't you just take a look at chapter 11 for the rest of the period and then, you know, go?" "I'm going to put on a little show for you guys and you're going to pay me your lunch money." "So pay me and if you don't," "I'll beat the crap out of you for the rest of your life." "How about this?" "No." "How about... yes!" "Ha-ha!" "What are you going to do about it, huh?" "You're a tiny little boy." "What if his having outlived the life of that first original cell has somehow allowed some dormant problem to be switched on?" "Listen, maybe it's significant, maybe it isn't," "But the fact remains that any changes in health or behavior" "Could have occurred naturally the last time as well." " These night terrors..." " If that's what they are." "Paul, it's a common sleep disorder." "If there's anything he isn't, it's common." "What do you want me to say, Paul?" "That there's something seriously wrong with him?" " You don't think I'm just as concerned?" " No." "No, I don't." "You have every right to worry." "But for eight years, we've known what to expect." "Most parents never have the benefit of hindsight." "From now on, neither do we." " "We"?" " You know what I meant." "Can I get back to my patients, please?" "Ever want to have any children of your own, Richard?" "Jessie's always saying how great you are with Adam." " It seems like such a shame." " Paul, he's your son." "Believe me, I know what he means to you." "But maybe you can keep in mind what he does mean to me." " Here they come." " Oh, hey there!" "There you are." "Why so glum, chum?" "There's this new kid, Roy Hazen, he's always showing off, like how high he goes on the swings and stuff." " He's a total ass wipe." " Hey!" "Where did you learn that language?" "I don't know." "I don't like it." "Get in the car." "Whoa!" " Oh, God!" " Adam." " Are you all right?" "Are you all right?" " I'm fine." " Adam!" " I didn't see you." "I'm sorry." "Oh, God, I didn't see you." "I came so close to hitting you." "Do you know that?" "Do you know you could have been killed just now?" "Do you?" " How many times do I got to tell you..." " Daddy, you're hurting me!" " To keep your bicycle off the street?" " Paul!" "What's the matter with you?" " You okay, honey?" " Yes." "You sure?" "Hello?" "Yeah, I would, actually." "Let me get a pen." "Dr. Lieber?" "Okay." "In Beauford?" "Great." "Sam, I appreciate this." "Talk to you soon." "Bye." "Who's that?" "Wrong number." "Adam!" "Adam?" "Adam, open the door." "Open the door, son." "Open the door!" "Adam?" "Open the door." "God damn it!" "Open the door, son." "What..." "why is the door locked?" " What?" " How... the curtain." " What?" " The curtain." "He was under there." "No, no, no, no, look." "What are you talking about?" " Look, it's fine." " No, no." "Don't let him hurt me." "Shh, there's nobody going to hurt you." "Look, look, look, it's okay." "Shh, calm down." "It's all right." "I think you just had a bad dream." " No." " Huh?" " I saw it." " What?" "What did you see?" "Adam, talk to me." "Please." "Please, you got to talk to me." "I can't help you if I don't know what this is." "I just..." "I know something." "Okay, what?" "What is it?" "Something bad is going to happen." "No, it's not." "I'll never let anything bad ever happen to you." "Not to me." "Listen to me, you're my son, you understand that?" "Huh?" " Say it." " I'm your son." "That's right." "We're gonna be okay." "We're going to be okay." "So, how many eggs did you retrieve?" "I only retrieved three." "I thought that would be enough..." " Richard, hi." " Hi." "I'm sorry if this is a bad time." "No, it's fine." " Excuse us." " Sure." "What's the matter?" "You look..." "I need to speak with you about something..." "I have to stop off at home for some papers." "Why don't I fix us some lunch?" "Hey, hey, how would you like that?" "I just got an idea." "How about we have a swinging contest?" " Yeah!" " You guys will be the judges." " We'll make it very fair." " Yeah." "Ladies first." "Ha ha." "Don't go too high, you'll start crying." "Don't break a nail, oh, no!" "Come on, you chicken." " Oh, what's that for?" " Nasty monkey." "Adam Duncan, you stop that at once!" "No spitting." "Come on, come down from there." "Come down." "Come down right now." "No... hey!" "Hey..." "Adam?" "So what you're saying, these nightmares might have started at this age anyway?" "Or possibly triggered by any number of things... school, stress, tension at home." "Yeah, well..." "Paul is convinced that somehow Adam's cells have..." "Retained memories of his first life?" "There's an often cited experiment... a rat was trained to run a maze, killed, then ground up and fed to a second rat." "The second rat, when presented with the same maze, completed it in record time, proving that memory lived on in those ingested cells." "It's fascinating, really, also a bunch of nonsense... an urban legend." "So, it's not possible he's remembering?" "No, no." "Thank God." "Frankly, I'm more concerned about Paul's working up these strange theories." "Paul is just having a tough time right now." "It's good." "He's never felt as comfortable here as you, has he?" "No." "You don't think he'd ever try to leave, do you?" "Jessie, that can't happen." "Out here in the middle of nowhere, it's easy to forget the consequences of what we've done." "But if anyone ever found out, you might never see Adam again." "I know." "I can trust you to rein Paul in?" "Yes." "Okay, well, I'll go ahead and see if the auditorium's available." "Right." "Sorry, I just got the message." "They called me at the high school." "Apparently, they couldn't reach you?" " I was out." "How's Adam?" " He's fine, Mrs. Duncan." "I have him waiting in my office right now." "I don't know exactly how to say this, but... his behavior has distanced some of the other children." "And the thing is, he could have seriously injured himself." "Let's go in and see him, okay?" "Is that wine on your breath?" " I was having lunch." " With who?" "Why are you so upset?" "It was just lunch." "I just wanted to talk to him about Adam." "God, Paul." "Wait, where are we going?" "To get a second opinion." "Are you kidding me?" "Am I smiling?" "About these night terrors... you're confident that's what this is?" "I see it in a number of kids Adam's age." "Scares the bejesus out of the parents, but the kids outgrow it." "As for Adam's recent changes in behavior, well, he's poorly rested..." "No, you don't know him." "This is something else." "He won't leave me alone." " Who?" " Zachary." "Zachary?" "!" "Mr. Duncan, who is Zachary?" "Is he a boy in his class?" "I don't know." "Honey, who is Zachary?" "He's the boy who lives in my dreams." "Talk to me, pal." "This boy told you his name was Zachary?" "Not really, I kind of just know." "And you've never seen his face?" "He doesn't like to show it, but I know because of his jacket." "What kind of jacket?" "Just let him answer." "It's red with white sleeves." "Where are we going?" "Where are we going?" "Where's who going, Adam?" " Adam?" " Zachary." "Zachary?" " And where are you?" " Where we live." "I don't want to do this." "This is crazy." "According to who?" "Richard?" "Listen, there's something he's not telling us, Jessie, I know it." "The way he is handling this, the way he stays so close to us." " He cares about us." " I don't..." "Zachary, Zachary, where are you?" " Tell me about Zachary." " He's never even known a Zachary." "What are you trying to tell us, Adam?" "Say it." "Say it!" " That's enough, stop it." " Tell us what you're trying to say." "If you don't understand it, how do you expect to beat it?" " I don't want to understand it." " You're dead!" "Paul, watch out!" "Are you okay?" "Honey, you okay?" " Is he all right?" " He's okay." "You're all right, you're okay." "I'm sorry." "Okay, kiddo, there you go." "You're home now, all right?" "You just go to sleep, all right?" "Dad... did I die?" "Of course not." "You've been right here with us." "Go to sleep." "Oh my God, that's what this is." "He's remembering his first life in his dreams." " Kids say things like that." " A boy?" "In the city?" "Jesus, it's possible." "If certain genes from the cell used in the procedure managed to retain certain memories..." " He's not remembering." " How can you say that?" "Because he can't." "Honey, wake up." "We're at school." "Okay now, I want to see everyone in your family outside your houses in the pictures, okay?" "Take your time." "Lots of colors." "And don't forget to write your name on it." "Nice and big." "I want to put these up around the classroom." "Beautiful." "You can put pets in your pictures... dogs and cats." "Have some fun." " Hi, Pat." " Hi, Jessie." "I just thought I'd stop by to see how the stuff's doing." "Come in." "Very well." "Richard Wells was in yesterday." "He bought this big one and these three small ones on the spot." "That's great." "Excuse me a second." "Hello." " Hi." " Richard, hi." "I just thought I'd see how Adam's doing." "Not so well, actually." "He had another night terror last night." "Paul even managed to get him talking this time." "I'm wondering if we can use his ability to vocalize in that state to our advantage." "I don't know." "What would that entail?" "Well, for starters, I'd like you to bring him in again." "I'm not sure Paul would be comfortable with that." "But I thought we agreed you're gonna try to rein him in." " I know we did." "I'll talk to him, okay?" " Please do." "I need to go, Richard." "Good bye." "Come on, you guys, let's go!" "Come on, you chickens!" "Wussies!" "Let's go!" "I'm doing it!" "You can too!" "Are you afraid of something?" "Let's go!" "Come on, let's go!" "Jeez, buddy!" "Let's go!" "Come on, come on!" "Come on, I'm doing it!" "You can!" "What are you, babies?" "You want your ba-ba?" "Let's go!" "Who's there?" "Oh, no." "Please be okay." "Please don't touch this." "Jessie?" "You down there?" " Did you hear me?" " Huh?" " You okay?" " Are you hungry?" "Hi, Mom." "Hi, Dad." "Yeah." "You hungry?" "Hello?" "No, I'm sorry, Tanya, he isn't." "Tanya, slow down." "Hold on, I'll ask him right now." "Hold on." "Adam, roy's mother says he hasn't come home from school yet." " Do you know where he might be?" " No." "Wait, wait, wait." "What were you doing down at the river this afternoon?" "Just playing." "With who?" "I'm not supposed to say." "Adam, can you answer me?" "Go to your room." "Now!" "I'm sorry, Tanya, he doesn't know." "Yeah, good luck." "You said Richard mentioned using his ability to vocalize to find out more." "Call him." "We'll bring Adam in tomorrow." "Adam, what's the name of the school?" "Can you tell me the name of the school?" "Pius..." "S- s-street." "Could it be Saint Pius?" "Are you sure this can't hurt him?" "It's a mild tranquilizer." "We're just poking around to see what we dig up." "Right Paul?" "Yeah." "Adam... is Zachary in there?" "In school?" "They all are." "They all are." "Are you sure you wanna do this?" "Z- zachary." "Clark." "Z- zach..." "We know this name?" "Zachary Clark?" "Who is Zachary Clark?" "They think I'm him." "Are you him?" "Are you Zachary?" "Who are you?" "They think I'm him." "They think I'm him!" "They think I'm him!" "They think I'm him!" " No!" " Adam!" " Adam?" " Richard, release him." " It's hurting him." " Adam?" "Wake up." " Hot!" "Hot!" " Wake up, honey." "Adam?" "Goddamn it, do something!" "Adam?" " Hot!" "Hot!" " Adam, wake up." "Adam?" "Zachary?" "Honey?" " Daddy?" " Yeah." "You're okay." "You're okay." "Hey, why'd you call him Zachary?" "Answer me, Richard." "Because he wasn't responding to his own name." "That's bullshit!" "I want the truth." " You set me up!" " It's okay, it's okay." "You needed my okay to push him, but you wanted him pushed." "Why?" " Paul, you've gone completely..." " Stop telling me what's wrong with me, and tell me what's wrong with my goddamn son!" "Paul..." "I wish I could help you." "Adam's changing." "He's getting worse." "Sometimes it's like there's two of him." "He's destructive." "He's tried to harm himself." "The other kids at school are scared of him, Richard." "There's something you're not telling us." "There have been times I've seen you talking to him and he's in that same blank state, but he listens to you, doesn't he, huh?" "Don't push me, Richard." "Adam's all I care about in the whole world." "I'll go public if I don't get some answers soon, you understand that?" "You understand I'll go public?" "I'm not kidding." "I swear to God, I'll tell the whole goddamn world what you've done." "What we've done, Paul." "What we've done." "Maybe you're right." "Maybe he is remembering." "Or maybe it's something else." "Why that name, Zachary Clark, or the school?" "Look, I have tomorrow off," "It's a few hours drive into the city." " I'm gonna look into it." " No, Paul, absolutely not." " If Richard found out..." " He won't." "I'll leave in the morning." " I won't be back until afternoon." " Paul, no." "Hold on." "No!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Nooo!" "No!" "My baby!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "No!" "My baby!" "My baby!" "My baby!" "My baby!" "No!" "No!" "My baby!" "Jessie, can I see you?" "Now?" "I told you." "What?" "It doesn't mean..." "You're the one who said he never got along with that boy." "The twins said they saw Roy playing down by the water, that he'd been showing off." "They're all but sure he fell in." "You're not?" "I'm not sure of anything right now." "No matter what he does, he's still our son." "Do you find that comforting right now?" "Huh?" "What are you saying?" "You wish we'd never done this?" "Good night, baby." "Mommy loves you." "You scared me." "It's okay, Mommy." "Shit." "Sorry, there's nothing here." "Are you sure this is the only Saint Pius?" "Well, it's the only one in this city." "Like I said, they've been closed for some time now." "What about past student records, like a search by name?" "I'm looking for a Zachary Clark." "Well, by name could take a while." "I can wait." "A few weeks?" " Hi." " Yes?" "Sorry to bother you." "My name's Paul Duncan." "I know this sounds crazy, but I'm here about Zachary Clark." "Does that name mean anything to you?" " He's a young child, a boy." " No, I'm sorry." "What about the previous owners?" "Did they have any children?" "Melinda." "I'm sorry." "No, there were no previous owners." "My husband and I bought this place about six years ago when it was just a burnt-down shell." "And he's an architect, so we restored it." " So, it was just vacant?" " Well, for a few years, yeah." "But I don't know anything about its previous owners." " Right." " I'm sorry." " I'm sorry, I just..." " I'm sorry to bother you." "Sorry, the nanny... we interviewed quite a few nannies, mostly by phone, but I remember speaking to one who I could have sworn said she used to work for the family who used to live at this address." "I think that I saved her contact information, if..." "Great, thank you." "Cora Williams?" "You don't know me, but I need to talk to you." "It's about Zachary Clark." "Come in." "Machine voice:" "You have no messages." "Damn it!" "I had hoped I'd never hear that name again." "What did he do?" "There had been incidents at school." "He never had any friends, used to come home with all sorts of scrapes." "Once they locked him in an empty classroom." "A teacher finally found him, terrified and shaken." "But that was before he started acting up." "Pretty soon, those kids got wise and just left him alone." "Then there was the fire." "The fire at Saint Pius?" "Cora:" "They never found out how the fire got started, but I knew." "And when Zachary came home, I asked him about it." "He just gave me this smile." "Adam?" "I swear, when I looked into those eyes of his," "I didn't see anything but evil behind them." "I kept my distance." "I was scared of what else he might be capable of... all these terrible thoughts running through my mind." "It was just the two of us at home that day." "He was taking his bath when it suddenly became clear to me what I had to do." "He never even heard me come in." "I tried to go through with it." "I swear I tried, but..." "I just..." "I couldn't." "I just couldn't." "When his mother came home," "Zachary didn't say a word about what I'd done." "Are you here?" "I was at home the next day, when I was struck by the most awful premonition." "I hurried right over." "Two blocks away, I could already hear the sirens." "Then I saw all that smoke." "I rushed into the house, blinded by all those flames, praying I wasn't too late." "But you were." "It turned out his mother was already dead by then." "Cora:" "I remember it was freezing cold that day." "It was always cold in that big house." "Adam?" "Cora:" "So she went down the stairs to the basement, to check on the water heater." "Are you down there?" "And that's where he was... just waiting for her." "So you're saying Zachary killed his mother." "He used a hammer he took down from the wall." "And when he was done, he set a fire." "Then he went upstairs and finished playing." "That's where they found his body." "Where was his father?" "Oh, he was at the hospital like always." "The hospital, he was a doctor?" "A baby doctor, yeah." "Only, he seemed more like a scientist to me." "Come on, come on." "Come on." "Goddamn it!" "Are you home?" "Jessie?" "Pick it up if you're there, please." "Listen, I gotta talk to you right away, it's important." "Call me as soon as you get this." "I love you." "Adam?" "Honey, you shouldn't have opened that." "You shouldn't have touched that box." "Adam?" "Is this me?" "Honey, let me explain." "Adam." "Zachary." "What?" "!" "I need to speak with Richard Wells." "I'm sorry, but Dr. Wells is at the Hazen funeral today." "A funeral where?" "Honey, don't be scared." "It's okay." "I'm right here." "Just be careful, okay?" "What was that?" "Honey..." "Mommy?" "Adam, where are you?" "Adam?" "Adam can't come out to play right now, Mrs. Duncan." "Wait." "Wait!" "Let me explain." "Adam." "You couldn't use him, could you?" "Zachary." "You couldn't use him." "Maybe it never even occurred to you to try." "No, it occurred to me." "But the fire destroyed him, right?" "You didn't even have a viable cell." "His genetics I could salvage, but it was no more than pieces of a map." "I saved what I could, but after that..." "I was this close to perfecting the procedure, you can't possibly fathom that kind of torture." "To have this knowledge, this power, and know there's nothing more you can do about it." "But you did do things about it, Richard." "Once you had Adam's cell, you could preserve his physical characteristics and manipulate certain genes... intangibles, like cognition, personality, his memory." " I'm right, aren't I?" " Except for one thing." "There was no way to predict the results." "I could only wait and hope for a glimpse of him, the mere indication that something had lived on." "Lived on?" "Do you have any idea what you've done to my son?" "!" "To my family?" "I'd think you of all people would understand, seeing as we were both after the same thing." "I just wanted him back." "You experimented with a human life!" "So did you." "So did your wife." "No, I would say there's a huge difference..." "Is there, Paul?" "Do you think you can just open Pandora's Box and then just close it again?" "We trusted you, goddamn it!" "We had no way of knowing." "What you did goes way beyond..." "Beyond what?" "Societal standards?" "You name me a single medical advancement that didn't." "Tell me something." "If I'm not supposed to do this, Paul, then how is it that I can?" "Because you're a scientist." "Only this isn't about science or evolution..." "it's about moral trespass, about your ignoring what's right and wrong." "And what about you, Paul?" "Have you trespassed?" "I don't know." "Yeah, maybe this is my punishment for wanting something that I never should have had." "And if that's the case, then so be it." "But believe me when I tell you, I'm gonna do everything in my power to save my child and see that you pay for what you've done." " Paul..." " No, this is over, you understand?" "We're gonna go to the police, and then we're gonna find someplace, anyplace that can help him." " You're not going anywhere..." " Like hell I'm not!" "That was an experiment." "That experiment failed." "We can always terminate and try again." "Terminate?" "That's my son you're talking about." "Our son!" "He's yours because I gave him to you." "You stay away from him!" "You hear me?" "You stay away!" "You were lucky to have him as long as you did." "You had nothing when I found you." "I gave you a child, a house, a job." "Anything in your life that you value, I provided." "You remember that, you... you ungrateful piece of shit!" "Why, why, why didn't he listen?" "Adam!" "Adam?" "Are you in here?" "Adam, where are you?" "Let go." "Let go of the axe." "Adam." "Adam." "Yes, Daddy?" "Who are you?" "Who are you right now?" "I'm your son." "Come on, Max, throw it." "Throw it, come on." "Man:" "Goes upstairs." "All right, if you guys can paint that out by Thursday, that'd be great." " Mr. Duncan, that's gonna look great." " Great." " How are you doing?" " All right." "These are going downstairs." "Go, go, go!" "Hey, how do you like your new room?" "It's not finished yet." "Hey, kiddo, look..." "It's a big change, we know." "But those doctors you've been working with, they all say this change could be really good for you, right?" "Sweetie, you've been doing so great." "And I bet... in a new town, with new friends, you're gonna do even better." "I know." "Mrs. Duncan?" "Coming." "Hey..." "I got three boxes downstairs" "And they're all labeled..." ""Toys. "" "How about you give me a hand unpacking 'em?" "Yeah?" "Man:" "Where would you like these?" "Oh, careful with that, it's going downstairs." "Hey, kiddo, I thought you were..." "Adam?" "Ahh!" "God!" "I thought you were coming down." "Are you all right?" "You'd tell me if there was anything..." "Nothing's wrong, Daddy." "I'm fine." "All right." "Trust me." "This is gonna be great for us." "Hey." "It's a place we can start all over."