""Berlin, 14 May 2005." "Today I decided to resign from my position as head of the biotechnology institute." "I'm just wasting my time here." "As a scientist," "I have to go back to the origin of my interest, to that... innermost force, which binds the world together." "Back to the elementary." "I have to resume the research that I interrupted in Ireland... 3 years ago." "The artificial reproduction of organisms... without sexual contact." "Is it desirable..." "It is desirable for a scientist to ascertain... the feasibility." "Truth is like an elementary particle." "It can't be split into smaller parts."" "You don't need to pass grade school to do the job we're doing here." "Anyone who's on the ball leaves after 2 years, like you." " Here's to tenured positions!" " Cheers!" "It's a pity you're leaving." "To me you were always like... a Niels Bohr or a Heisenberg:" "A person of exceptional intellectual ability, someone with a totally unique way of thinking." "Anyway... it'll be a loss for all of us." "Especially for me, I suppose." "I always admired you." "So what are your plans now?" "To go back to Ireland?" "I'm not sure yet." "I need to think things over first." "Has it anything to do with that work that you never published?" "Maybe." "That too." "It bothers me that I never finished it." "Sure, I understand." "You are... one of those rare people, who have that thirst for knowledge." "I always thought I had it, too." "But I never went far enough." " One must be willing to go very far." " That's exactly right." "Yes!" "The thirst for knowledge!" "Only a few people have it." "But those few... are the most important power in the world." "They keep on researching... until one day they possess the key to rational knowledge." "Nothing in the history of humanity was ever more important... than the need for rational knowledge." "Western civilization has sacrificed everything to that need..." "Its happiness, its hopes, its religion and ultimately:" "Its life." "You were the only one who never bored me." ""Dear Mr. Djerzinski." "Due to construction of the new B17 road, your grandmother Wilhelmine's grave must be moved..."" ""...in the pleated maze of narrow Old Town alleyways, where even the eerie has its charms," "I happily give myself up to the game of chance... and gaze as women pass, old and tired of life..."" " Want to tell me your problem, Ben?" " Nothing." "What problem?" " You think Baudelaire's funny?" " No, not at all." "Good." "Would someone like to comment?" " Johanna please." " I think... eroticism was a driving force for Baudelaire's creativity, but that it made him lonely at the same time." "I'd say these lines reveal the classic, tragic core... of male fate." "Very interesting comments." "Would anyone like to add to that?" "Did you get my essay?" "Mr. Klement?" "What's the matter?" " Well?" "Did you?" " Did I what?" "Read my essay?" " Uh, yes, of course." " Well?" "It was very good, exceptional." "Really good." "Very sensitive." "Have you thought about becoming a writer?" " It never occurred to me." " You've got the talent." "Your essays are really..." "very good." " Goodbye." " Bye." "Won't you at least dance with me once?" "Come on." "I'll go back then." ""We envy and admire the Negroes for we want to become like them:" "Animals with a long cock and a tiny reptilian brain..."" "Come here." ""The Negroes are still in the Stone Age." "They can't acquire... our knowledge, they have no clue about hygiene... and they also spread AIDS."" "You're a true racist," "I can tell." "You're full of it." "That's good." "Peng, Peng, Peng, Peng, Peng!" "The stuff about Negroes is great." "It's strong, crazy, daring." "You're talented." " What about my essay on families?" " That's very good too." "You're a reactionary." "All great writers were reactionaries:" "Benn, Goethe," "Thomas Mann, Dostoyevsky." "But one has to fuck too, right?" "Sex parties... that's important." " So what do we do with this?" " Well, I thought... you might publish it." "My good man, what were you thinking?" "The Third Reich is history." "An article like this... could get me in real trouble." "Do you think..." "I haven't got enough trouble as it is?" "Do you think I can do whatever I like... just because I work for Rowohlt?" "Have you got anything else?" "Hey, dear brother!" " How are you?" " Right now things suck." " What's up?" " Who cares." "How are things with you?" "My parakeet died today." " My sympathy." "What did you do?" " I threw him in the garbage." "What else could you have done?" "Say mass?" "I recently gave Anne a silver garter belt." "She disappeared into the bedroom." " I'm ready, darling!" " I followed her." "I knew right away it was going to fizzle." "Just no way I could get it up." "She's a lousy cock-sucker, I felt her teeth, and she's got cellulite." "Should I tell her to get rid of her stretch-marks?" "Sorry for rattling on." "I'm just so tired... of jerking off." "I'll be 40 soon." "Once you start working, every year's the same." "The only events left in your life are the medical kind." " I'm already dead, pal." "Cheers!" " Cheers." "That... was really a very good essay." "Thank you." "I'm going now." " How much did you give him?" " Enough." "You'll be fine in a minute." "I can't go home." "I'll kill myself." "I'll really kill myself." "Mr. Klement, calm down, okay?" "You can stay here." "Listen to me, you can stay here." "My mother abandoned me when I was 2," "because of all that hippy shit." "My half-brother too." " She ran off to Poona." " Where did you grow up?" "With my grandmother." " What about your grandfather?" " He died just after I arrived, picking mushrooms in the forest." "When they found him 3 days later, the body had started to decompose." "First a corpse attracts certain flies:" "Musca," "Curtoneva." "When decomposition starts, more turn up, especially Lucilia and Calliphora." "And these..." "These mites, named after Italian starlets, make the cadaver grow more... and more liquefied." "The fermentation and decomposition" " produce butyric acid and ammonia..." " Bruno!" " Calm down, okay?" " Sorry." "But my mother... didn't even get in touch... when my grandfather died." "Even though my grandmother called her in Poona several times." "It made her very sad, you see." "I loved my grandmother very much." "How long were you at your grandmother's?" "Until I..." "Until she died." "Until I was thirteen." "It happened in the kitchen." "She pulled the handle down." "Fucking boiling hot soup all over her head!" "My grandmother was an excellent cook." "She always made me five-course dinners." "That day she was making... stuffed peppers, no... marinated peppers, stuffed zucchinis, rabbit... with couscous," "followed by nougat with mascarpone." " And what happened after she died?" " They stuck me in boarding school." "And what was that like?" " Open your mouth or I'll cut your balls off!" " No..." "Yes, I understand." "And you never saw your mother?" "Yes, I did." "She came back to Germany from Poona every year." "He picked me up from boarding school and took me to one of those hippy communes." "Hey Baby." " This is Bruno." " Hey, Bruno." "I'm Jane's lover." "I want you to feel free." "Throw off the shackles of civilization." "You can do that here." "Be free." "Okay?" "I knew I'd never be like them." "Beautiful creatures." "I'd never make the grade." "At the end of my vacation I crept into Jane's room." "I jerked off on my mother." "And this fucking cat was watching me the whole time." "But when I came, it suddenly closed its eyes." "I picked up a stone, went over... and smashed its fucking skull." "That was the last day of my vacation with mother." "By the way, you have a brother." " What d'you mean, I have a brother?" " Okay, a half-brother." " And why didn't anyone tell me?" " Lighten up." "Want to meet him?" "He's sort of a math genius." "Come on, let's go see him." "He lives nearby with his grandmother." " Hello Michael!" " Hello." "My God, you've grown up." "Don't you recognize me?" "Of course." " Do you like the Stones?" " Thanks." "This is Bruno." "Your half-brother." "I thought it's time... you two should meet." "Come on!" "I would have got you two together... ages ago, but it was too complicated." "Hi." "I'll let you two get acquainted." "I'll be back in an hour, okay?" "Go on!" "Don't be so uncommunicative!" "There's lots to talk about." "Bruno supports the release of all Red Army Faction prisoners." "What about you?" "Oh... well..." "Make a bit of an effort, okay?" "Do you want to come in?" " Looks really complicated." " It's not that bad." "I'm not that good at math." "Huxley's "Brave New World"." "I just read that." "Really?" "And?" " Yeah, it was quite okay." " I think it's a really important book." "I'm convinced that our society is moving towards exactly... what Huxley describes in his book." "Stricter controls on reproduction... will one day lead to a total separation of procreation and sex, resulting in artificial human reproduction." " It says that?" " That's exactly what we're striving for, only so far unsuccessfully." " Hi." " Hi." "Bruno, my half-brother." "Annabelle." " I didn't know you had a brother." " Neither did I until just now." " Want to go outside for a while?" " We can't." " Hello!" "Who are you?" " Annabelle." "Your girlfriend?" "I understand:" "You haven't been intimate yet." "Don't be ashamed, sex is beautiful:" "Treat it naturally, to maximize... your partner's enjoyment." "Well, I must get Bruno back to boarding school... and be in Frankfurt in 3 hours." "My flight to Bombay leaves at 8." "Have you got my new number in Poona?" "I'll write it down for you." "You can reach me there." "So did you two get to know each other a bit?" " Okay." " Okay." "Bye, Annabelle." "And don't forget to use the pill." "It's vital to your emancipation." " And how was your first relationship?" " My first relationship?" "It was at my grandma's funeral." " So, sweetie, isn't that nice?" " Her name was Annick." "Do you like that?" "Bruno, it's been a long session." "I think we should finish for now, okay?" "Try to get some rest, and we'll meet again..." " in 3 days." "Alright?" " Okay." "Please go now." "Thank you, Dr. Schäfer." "There she is." "It's a disgrace..." "having to rebury her because of a road." "Don't look." "I have to break open the coffin." "I told you not to look!" "It's always the same." "They always look." "A coffin like that can't last 20 years." "The headstone will be moved tomorrow." "I'll show you the new grave." "You have to come and sign the register." "Michael!" " Hello, Mrs. Stevens!" " What a surprise!" " I was just..." " Come in!" " I don't want to disturb you." " Really!" "Come in!" "Well!" "How nice!" " Just look who's here!" " Michael," " what are you doing here?" " Hello, Mr. Stevens." " You look well." " Thanks." "You too." "How are you?" "The same." " Hello Michael." " Hello Annabelle." "You'll stay for dinner, won't you?" "We're having roast pork." " Sure." " Want a drink?" "A beer?" "Please." "Here." "They were moving my grandmother's grave so I thought I'd stop by." "Come into the kitchen and we can catch up." "It's a coincidence that I'm here." "I just came to help my mother." "I've read about you in the papers." "You've become famous." " What do you do?" " I live in Berlin too." "I'm a librarian." "Are those the same glasses?" "Why didn't you answer my letters?" "I used to hate you for that." "It was all so long ago, but I still think about it sometimes." "I read them just a few days ago." "Really?" "With Grandma." "You had just arrived here." "It was before we started to school." "Oh God, look how Bruno was always trying to look cool." "With those awful shoes on." "Why didn't you ever kiss me?" "Would you perhaps like to kiss me now?" "I think I would." " Your brother is here." " Michael." "Hi, Bruno." "I'd never have thought Mum would die here in Germany." "Why didn't the old slut... stay in Poona?" "Apparently she converted to Islam, inspired by some Sufi mystic shit." "Now she's shacked up with some weirdos in an abandoned house." "Real hippies." "Hard to believe they still exist, yet their numbers are growing." "With all the fucking unemployment, they're thriving." " Jane is in there." " Thanks." "You want to be cremated?" "Okay." "You'll be cremated when this is over." "And what's left of you goes in a bag!" "I think she got that." "She wanted to stay young, that's all." "Didn't want... her kids reminding her she was from another generation." "What's so bad about that?" "Everyone has come, everyone is here!" "When she has heard this song, she will die, mommy dear!" "Everyone has come, everyone is here!" "From Galilee... and Canada too..." "I think she's dead." " Are you okay at the clinic?" " Yeah, it's cool." "I have my lithium." " Should I take you somewhere?" " I'm off to Rostock now, to a brothel." "I'll go back to the clinic tomorrow." "There are loads of brothels in Rostock." "I won't be able to get it up because of the fucking lithium, but never mind." "Take care, Bruno." "Take care, old pal." "Help yourself." "It's funny, isn't it?" "I always thought you'd be married with kids and all." "It never would've occurred to me you might be alone." "Well, I never had much luck with men." "I slept with dozens of men, but none of them are worth... remembering." "Does my frankness bother you?" "It began with the guy I danced with that evening." "Do you remember?" "I wasn't remotely in love with him." "But after you left I met him regularly." "It went on for two years:" "At 19..." "I got pregnant and had an abortion." "I never saw the guy again." "He joined a satanic cult somewhere in California." "Two years ago I saw a TV report about snuff films." "They'd just arrested him." "He'd been cutting women's limbs off." "Just imagine, if you'd had his child." "Anyway..." "I've been off men for a while now." "I was tired of being treated... like some piece of meat." "I tried women too, but that didn't work out either." "So now I spend my evenings here, reading and drinking tea." "Don't worry." "I've got used to being alone." "Sometimes I could use a man, it's true." "I'm scared at night... and I can't get to sleep." "Tranquillizers... and sleeping pills sometimes just aren't enough." "I still can't believe we're sitting here together." "Neither can I." "That's at my grandma's, isn't it?" "I'm going to show you a secret, but promise you won't laugh." "I promise." "Sit down." "Here." "I kept everything." "For years I kept an album." "Every postcard you ever sent me." "Even our school IDs." ""Dear Dr. Sommer, I'm 15 and in love with a boy." "I've known him since I was little." "I'm still young but I think..." "I want to spend my whole life with him." "But I'm a bit worried... because he won't kiss me." "Could he be... a late-developer?" "Annabelle S. Winzhofen"" " Did you really write that?" " You know what his answer was?" ""Dear Annabelle, I don't mean to upset you, but it's very rare for a childhood friend to become a girl's boyfriend." "He's more likely to become a friend, a loyal friend, who can help you deal with feelings roused by your first flirts." Sad, huh?" " What he wrote was dead wrong." " But it came true anyway." "And what about you and women?" " Not so great." " In what way?" "Well..." " But you had lovers?" " I've..." "I've..." "You've never ever slept with a woman?" "No." "You look like you did back then." "You feel like you did then." "You can't imagine how long I was in love with you." "I think it started when I was 5." "It never really stopped." "Hi..." " You look good." "Nice suit." " CA summer sale." "I thought I'd dress like a civil servant to get laid more." " Civil servants are more liberal." " So you're..." " working on the curriculum committee?" " I have no choice." " I'm going on vacation first." " Where to?" "Some camp." "The catalogue says there's a high woman ratio." "Maybe I'll get lucky." "It's a kind of nudist camp... with spiritual courses and stuff." "With my luck they're all ecofreaks." "But at least they aren't so prudish." " Anyway, something'll come together." " Good luck." "Thanks." "Anne wants a divorce." "He's moved out with the baby." "Shit!" "I really wanted..." "I really wanted to be a good father." "Shit!" "Two more shots, please." " Go away." "I'm not interested." " Dad!" "It's me..." "Bruno." " Don't you recognize me?" " Of course, Bruno..." "Bruno, my boy." "How could I forget?" "It's been a long time." "I had a few guests round last night and haven't cleared up yet." "Sit yourself down." " You're well." "You got married, right?" " How did you know?" " Through the grapevine." "You don't want one?" " Oh I do." "I'm on vacation." "I fixed all their noses." "That one... used to look like the Elephant Man." "But not one of them called me when I went bankrupt." "I was an asshole." "I missed the market for silicon tits." "I was so arrogant back then, I just thought... it was a fad that had spilled across the Atlantic." "I should've known:" "Anything from the US... is successful over here." "Fischer, the guy who swiped my clients back then, now he's refusing... to invest in cock enlargement." "He's just as stupid as I was then." "If I was 30 years younger..." "I would... jump at cock enlargements." "Sorry, I think I have to lie down for a bit." "I just wanted to say hello." "That's nice of you." "I'll see you out." "Can you lend me a bit of money?" "Sure." "Thanks." "Call me when you get there and tell me what it's like." "I promise." " I'll miss you." " I'll miss you too." "I'll miss you." "I'll be back soon." "I'll call you." ""Prolegomena for a complete replication." "The following 80 pages contain proof that every genetic code, regardless of its complexity, can be rewritten in a stable standard form." "This means that every kind of animal, however highly developed, can be transformed into a similar species." "Humans included." "14 November 2001"" ""Upturn the semi- rigid ones to solidify the dome..."" " Those fucking Chinese!" " Hello?" " Did you just get here?" " Yes." "Need some help with your tent?" " No, thanks." "I'll manage." " Come on!" "Stupid cow's still breast-feeding." "But she does have nice tits." "I should stick around here." "I should stick around here." "Now get up please!" "You're tense, Jasmin." "Don't do it if you don't feel up to it." "Thank you." "Please hold hands." "You must feel your partner's tension." "And merge..." "Always merging..." "observing the oneness of your bodies." "You can work in pairs." "Walk around the space." "Open your chakras, your energy center..." " and take time for your encounter." " Shall we?" " Come on." " How about it?" "Sure." " Shall we work together?" " Us two?" "Shall I massage you?" "Bene." " Hi." " Hi." " Would you like a glass?" " Yes, thanks." " Cheers!" " Cheers." " You're not dancing?" " No." " African music is too..." " Primitive?" "No, of course not." " Too rhythmic?" " No, it's just not my rhythm." "But I do love Brazilian dancing." " How are you?" " Really good." " And you?" " Why Brazil?" " Because Brazil is full of energy." " Hey, dance the samba with me!" " Samba, all night long!" " All I know is:" "Fucking Brazil is full of mindless fanatics, obsessed with soccer and motor-racing." "I see the massage did you good." " I feel like I've been reborn." " It was very good..." "We could go to Brazil together, Katja." "We could drive through the favelas in an armored minibus and look at little 8-year- old killers and little whores dying of AIDS at 13." "Later we can hang out at the beach with filthy-rich drug dealers..." " and pimps." " You must have suffered a lot." " Come on, let's go somewhere else." " What did Nietzsche say... of Shakespeare?" ""What he must have suffered... to be so desperate to play the clown."" "Katja, I want to lick your pussy." " Right now?" " Yeah, sure." "I have a right to go in there." "I have a right to go in there." " Nice camper." " I can't tent any more:" " Back problems." " Do you know this place well?" "I've been coming here for 5 years." "I've had no choice... since my husband left me for a younger woman." " Cheers." " Cheers." "It's easier for men to grow old alone." "They drink bad wine, sleep and snore, and the next day they start again," " till they die, which doesn't take long." " Why do you think..." " it's different for women?" " We're tougher." "We last longer." "Our bodies are no longer desirable... and we suffer because of it." "We can't live... without being loved." "We get a few one-night stands, but no love." " That's men for you." " You're exaggerating a bit, Christiane." "I'd really like to turn you on." "I believe you." "I get the impression that you're quite nice." "Selfish and nice..." "These courses are mostly attended by old women's libbers." "Talk to them and you'll see they don't believe... in this shit about chakras, crystals and spectral vibrations." " Hello Christiane." " Hello Katja." "What are you up to?" " I'm going to 'Dance Your Job'." "And you?" " I'm just chatting." "See you then." " Do you know her?" " Oh yeah." "I was in a flat... share with her 20 years ago, but not for long." "I could never stand feminists." "That bitch and her friend were obsessed with rotating the kitchen chores." "Then, after turning every available man into a miserable, impotent neurotic, they systematically mourned... the end of masculinity." "So after sending their men packing they ended up getting humped... by lousy Latino machos." "Eventually they got themselves... banged up and started making jam." "What are you thinking about?" "About my life." "I used to love life." "I loved life so much." "I was sensitive and loving, and always enjoyed sex." "Something's gone wrong." "I'm not sure I know what." "But... something's gone wrong in my life." "My life isn't much better." "My nerves are shot." "I drink and take loads of pills." "Will we see each other again?" "I don't know how I'd get by without you." "Well..." "I'm sorry to say the test... shows some abnormal cells." "It means we'll have to perform an abortion." "You were due here a month ago for a smeartest, instead you go off the pill, without consulting me, and get pregnant." "Do you like it?" " Yes, very much." " I've got more of them." " If you like, I'll show you later." " Sure." " When do you wear stuff like that?" " Do you fancy going out?" "Shall we have another drink?" " Hi." " Hi." "Your girlfriend's really sexy." "So is your boyfriend." " Cheers!" " Cheers!" " Have you been here before?" " Not together." "We come every weekend." "This is where we met." "We met in a whirlpool." "You can go ahead and touch me if Christiane allows." "Go ahead." " You know that I'm very happy with you?" " Really?" "I think I'm very happy with you." "I'd like to live with you." "I suppose we were unhappy long enough." "We've had enough of that." "I think..." "I think we can be happy till the end." "I think I love you." "Really?" "I think I love you too." " Hello." " Hello Michael, it's Edeltraud." " Who?" " Annabelle's mother." "Annabelle has had an abortion and she's not well." "She has to have another operation, that's why I'm calling you." "I see." "I'll come at once." " Hello Michael." " Hello." "She doesn't know I called you." "She's okay, but they removed her womb." "She's asleep upstairs now." "In all the years they've been married they've never seriously argued." "She managed the household." "He went to work and paid for the house." "They've spent all their free time and every night together." "Be careful!" "For as long as I can remember... they've always been faithful..." "and happy." "Never wanted more from life." "I'm so glad to be with you." "Really?" "I'll stay with you until you're well again." "Annabelle?" "Yes?" "Will you come to Ireland with me?" "Are those spots back again?" "It's not that bad." "I just can't take those pills... for my backache any more." "I'm somehow allergic to them." " Don't worry." " But you have to see a doctor." "I promise." "What's the matter?" "What happened?" "My back." "I can't move." "The diagnosis is relatively simple." "She has coccygeal necrosis." "It's reached an incurable stage." "Her legs will be permanently paralyzed." "I'm sorry." "Why didn't you tell me?" "It wouldn't have changed anything." "I wanted to enjoy my time with you for as long as I could." "I still have to get used to this." "You're moving in with me." "You're coming to my place." "Are you sure?" "Are you sure it's what you want?" "Don't feel obliged." "You have a few years ahead of you." "You're not obliged to spend... the rest of your life with a cripple." " Where should I take you?" " Back to my flat." "It's better this way." "You have to be sure... it's what you want." " What happened?" " A women jumped from up there, a disabled woman." " What happened to her?" " What do you think... happened to her?" "Bruno?" "What happened?" "I'm back." "Bruno, what's the matter?" "I don't want to go on living." "You've got a 9:30 appointment with Dr. Schäfer." "Take your tablets now." " They don't help." " Yes, they do." "Without them, you'd be a lot worse." " What will I do now?" " Take your tablets." " Good." "I'll pick you up at 9:30." " May I come with you?" "Come on." "Bruno, I have things to do." "Can I leave you alone for a moment?" "See you later." "Christiane?" "Christiane?" "Christiane?" "Christiane?" "It's a miracle!" " How could that happen?" " It doesn't matter now." "The main thing is I'm here." " It's all my fault." " No, it isn't." "I just snapped." "I never would have thought..." "I was capable." " I'm such a coward." " No, you're not." "I even heard the phone but I was already in the air." "I don't ever want to be without you." "Never again." "Bruno?" "Come on, I'll take you to your room." "Your program's about to start." "Come on." "Hello." " Hello." " We thought... we'd pay a surprise visit." "We wanted to pick you up and go for a drive." "It's so nice outside." "Thank you." "It was a great idea to come here." "Do you like it here?" "It's lovely." "When are you going to Ireland?" "Soon." "You can both come and visit us." "I think we'll stay here for now."