ReGenesis s01e04 Episode Script

Good to have you back, David.
possibility of our miraculous cloning of Jesus.
What do you know about this Walsh guy? I didn't make a mistake David.
Okay, don't lose it on me, Bob.
Do you have any idea what you're saying here.
And the return of Christ is only the beginning.
- Is Hira on it? - She's been locked out.
Do you know Hira has a brother who's a member of a terrorist cell in Pakistan? I want her back.
So do I, when I'm satisfied she works for us.
Have you ever heard of a Dr.
Shelby Sloan? That's your father? You have no idea what I was capable of 15 years ago.
Well, Mick does.
We are entering a great new age of enlightenment.
I was approached by the Pakistani military.
While the rest of you were imaging the impossible, I was doing it! Best defence: mutually assured destruction.
Your dad's got to believe me now! I mean, he'll want a study.
The truth is, I created one son to save another.
Blood from which we have cloned the Christ child.
- Shit! - David, let's just go in the back.
- Oh, no, no, no.
- have been genetically broken down by 4 No, no! I've never been to a Muslim funeral before.
Weird how it's just men, huh? Bob, you don't have to stand here with me.
I don't mind.
I'll just go over afterward and say something to the family.
I'll see you back at the lab.
Mr.
Khan.
I I don't know why this happened.
I'm sorry.
My daughter was proud.
You made her feel ashamed! You! You Although the outbreak was contained, the terrorists behind the camel pox/Ebola epidemic are still at large and should be considered an ongoing threat to worldwide security.
NorBAC will continue its research in an effort to neutralize any further threat the Miranda virus may pose to the global community.
Though NorBAC was not conceived as a law enforcement agency, we will continue to assist authorities in their investigation of the person or persons behind the virus, as well as provide any information we can into the shooting death of Dr.
Hira Kahn which at this time appears to be the act of a lone gunman.
Ladies and gentlemen, on a personal note.
I think I speak for everyone at the NorBAC lab when I say that Dr.
Kahn will be sorely missed.
So, how was it? How did it go? What? The funeral.
I don't feel like listening to music right now.
So, were you and Hira tight, or? How long did you know her for? Yeah, you do know that school's the other way, right dad? It's fine with me, I mean I have to register.
I can register next year.
I'll take you to school after we stop by the lab, all right? Okay.
Fine.
Why is British intelligence getting involved? I don't know.
An agent Digby wants you to get back to him though.
- Collin Digby? - You know him? We've worked together before.
What about him? He's going to be in town tomorrow.
I'll set up a meeting.
Okay, what about the shooter? He's still uncooperative.
He's not talking.
Uh, the report says that he's suicidal, detached and signs of delusional psychosis.
Okay, anything else? Hira's replacement.
Are you still interested in Jill Langston? - Absolutely.
- Her background check cleared.
What do you want me to do about David? For now let's just get her on his radar.
Set up something informal.
Maybe in Chicago when he's there next week.
- Will do.
- Is that it? We've got a situation developing in the States related to a prion type disease.
- Prion? - Mad cow.
How bad is it? I don't know for sure, but I'm going to get an update this afternoon.
Okay, brief David on everything you've got.
Right.
Are you on a flight this afternoon? Sounds like I'd better be.
- I'll see you when you get here.
- Okay.
Thanks, Wes.
Just wait in the car.
I'll only be 5 minutes.
I don't want to wait in the car.
You know, when the police called and told me you were shot, I called mom and she asked me if it was in a bar.
That's because that's where your mother generally shoots people.
Is that where it happened? Dr.
Sandstrom? Excuse me, Dr.
Sandstrom.
- I know this is hard for you.
- Don't make it any harder.
Those people who gathered here the other day were devout believers in what we've accomplished.
- Even the guy with the gun? - No, of course not.
- Goodbye, Reverend.
- Dr.
Sandstrom, please.
You hold in your grasp the acknowledgement that Jesus will soon be reborn.
Go.
Your accreditation means a great deal to all of us involved in this project.
Really, what's a great deal? I think an honorarium wouldn't be out of the question given the importance.
Now, you're not trying to buy my opinion, are you? No, of course not.
I want the truth, Dr.
Sandstrom.
Oh, I can make myself believe.
A top scientist like you, I'm sure you'd command a substantial compensation for your services.
Say $100,000.
Wow, that much for the truth, huh? Well, I think that's fair.
I guess everyone's got their price, eh, Walsh? Apparently.
Asshole.
Jesus Christ.
You hit him! Did I? Go wait up in my office.
- I can't believe you! - Upstairs! Can I help? Do I look like I need any help? What do you want, Wes? I have a report for you from the CDC.
God.
What's that? Oh, Hira's stuff.
Make sure it gets back to her family, would you? - David, about this report.
- Ah, yes, We have 4 victims of an advanced prion type disease.
That sounds interesting.
What do you think, Mayko? What? Oh yeah, I guess we should just get back to work, huh? Caroline wanted me to brief you.
I'm briefed.
It's bullshit.
I'm sorry? Page 1: a 5 year old kid with prion disease? What? It takes at least 7 years for a prion protein to fuck up the brain and then at least another year after that before you die.
Where are you going? Does everything around here have to be about work?! What would you like it to be about? Hira's dead, David! Yeah, she's dead.
Got it.
Got it.
Wes, you got it don't you? Yeah, Wes has got it.
Wes has got it, I got it, even her family's got it.
They know just who to blame too.
- Stop it.
- Stop what? Life? Hira took a bullet, that's it, game over, we move on.
I've got to get out of here.
Caroline also wanted me to set up a meeting with you and a replacement for Hira.
- I'll get back to that later.
- Good idea, Wes.
Lilith, let's go.
Thanks.
You hit him! Did I? Wait upstairs in my office.
- I can't believe you! - Upstairs! Hello, Lilith.
I'm Bob Melnikov.
Remember me? - I did some tests on Mick.
- Hi.
I wanted to say that I'm sorry we couldn't come up with something to help Mick.
He's a nice boy.
Yeah.
Yeah, I thought we might have had a chance using gene therapy.
What do you mean, might have had a chance? - No, we still do, just not in - 5 minutes Lilith.
I started doing the analysis of snips in Mick's genome and found so many rare polymorphisms.
We just need to find the genes that are making him sick.
I thought we had found something on chromosome 19, but then when I looked closer, lots of healthy people have that gene too, so that was a dead end, but I'm not discouraged.
Good Then you could still find something? Oh, sure.
We'll keep looking.
He doesn't have a whole lot of time left.
- I know.
- Lilith, let's go.
Thanks.
You're pushing it pretty hard out there.
Yeah.
You in training or something? No.
Just keeping the cardiovascular in shape.
You must be pretty serious if you're out in weather like this.
Yeah.
So, what do you do when you're not running? - I work at a lab.
- Ah, a scientist.
- What kind of scientist? - Would you If you ask me, you scientists are getting a little out of control.
Well, I guess I'm not asking.
Like, I heard they grew this whole person in a jar in some Korean laboratory.
I mean, what's that about? I don't know.
I don't do that.
Well, what do you do? I try to make the world a little better, okay? That's what I do.
Making the world fucking better.
Fucking scientists! Okay, great, school.
Where are you going? Don't you want me to come in with you? No.
It's you first day.
Just go back to your lab, dad.
Okay, well.
You know, if you need me, just Yeah.
Spongiform encephalopathy, it's a brain wasting disease originally know as Kuru-Kuru.
It was passed from human to human by cannibals in Papua New Guinea.
- You're kidding.
- Not at all.
The women and children honoured their deceased ancestors by ritually eating their brains, therefore passing the disease on from generation to generation.
- I'm glad I'm not a cannibal.
- Oh, you can still get it, from infected meat, scrapie in sheep, mad cow in cattle.
It's very effective at crossing species.
- Any more good news? - I don't think that's good news.
Thanks, Bob.
I've got to get back to it.
Since 1990 when mad cow entered the human food chain, Who knows how many more are infected, having their brains slowly wasted.
Oh man, they wanted transcripts and proof of where I lived, and photo I.
D.
, and all this So, did you have all that stuff though? No, of course not.
Well, then aren't you going to go back there and to talk to them or? No way, I am totally out of there.
You're going to have to do it at some point.
Yeah, I don't I really don't care, Mick.
So, are you okay, or? What's up? Uh, nothing much.
I just got back from the hospital.
Oh, yeah? How often do you have to get tested and stuff? Every couple of weeks and it's no big deal.
So, how's your dad doing? - He's all right.
We talked.
- Yeah.
I've never seen him cry before.
So, what are you going to do about school? I don't know.
Life's too short.
Yeah, kinda know.
Oh, I was at my dad's lab today and I was talking to this Bob guy and he was explaining to me this idea he had to help you.
It's okay.
Hi.
Hi My dad's going to find something, Mick.
It's okay.
I'm serious.
It's okay.
David, I think I got one.
It looks like an old human strain.
Take a look at the sequence over here.
And this.
Oh shit, do you think this could be a piece of the Spanish lady? It is, David.
You want to? Not really.
Yes, you do.
Come on, dump it.
Dump it.
No.
Oh, Jesus.
Finally, icing.
You know, you're going to have to explain icing to me again, David.
You okay? I'm fine.
You know, I was thinking.
When you're lying in your casket with your family and friends standing over you, what would you like to hear them say about you? I don't know.
Maybe I'd like to hear them say that I was a great doctor or a fine son.
No, I know exactly what I'd like to hear them say.
And what's that? Look, he's moving.
Goodnight.
You going to bed already? Yeah, I am.
I'm kind of tired.
Did you get everything all squared away with school? Shoot! Aw, shoot hit.
- Hmmph! Good night.
- Good night.
Huh? Do you know Hira's father spit on me today.
Bob told me.
I don't know.
Maybe I deserved it, eh? I'm the one who dragged her back to the lab and pulled her into that crowd of people.
Don't even go there, David.
Why not? It's what happened.
Right? It's what happened.
What? Jesus.
Hey, slugger.
- It's good chicken.
- You like that? It's Carlos' recipe.
You soak the chicken in tequila, then you throw it on the barbeque, and then you forget about the chicken and you drink the tequila.
It's nice.
Shouldn't you be getting ready for school? Uh, I can't till I register.
I thought that's what you were doing yesterday.
To just register, dad, you need transcripts and photo I.
D.
, anyways, I'm handling it.
Good.
What's this? Oh, that guy called you.
He wants to talk to you or something.
- Danny Dexter.
- Yeah, who is he? Uh, he's this guy I used to kick around with in high school.
He's a hockey player now.
What are you doing about school again? Victim #2: Maurice White, 52, San Antonio, Texas, geriatric trainer.
Martin Crutchfield, 72 years old.
Santa Barbara, California, retired lawyer.
Last weekend he drove his car through an open market, killing 6 people, injuring 17, 2 critically.
He had no idea what he'd done.
Total loss of memory.
He died yesterday.
And finally, Sarah McKinley, Tampa Florida, - You got the pathology? - I do.
You're not hungover? No, I'm not.
Normal on your right, infected on the left.
Coroners pathology confirms brain deterioration consistent with some kind of prion disease.
You got any idea how a 5 year old brain ended up full of holes? Prions don't work that fast.
- Prions? You see, we all have these proteins in our brains called prions.
Millions of them.
They're so small you can't even see them under a microscope, and most of the time they're just sitting around behaving themselves.
But once in a blue, blue, blue moon, one of them goes bad.
It's kind of like Dr.
Jekyll turning into Mr.
Hyde.
And then Mr.
Hyde bumps into another Dr.
Jekyll and turns him into another Hyde and they tell two friends, and so on, and so on and so on, and eventually you've got all these hungry little Hydes going to work eating holes in your brain.
- But not this fast.
- How fast? It would take a brain 7 maybe 8 years to get in this condition.
All victims died within a week of showing symptoms.
Okay, so it's not behaving like it should.
It's infecting people who are too young, and it's shutting down the brain too fast.
It could be a virulent form of the disease we haven't seen before.
This prion disease, mad cow, whatever you want to call it.
- There's no test for it, is there? - Not until you're dead.
- And no cure.
- No.
So, how are they getting it? How are they getting it? There has to be a common link.
We need to know everything these people had to eat, whether they crossed paths, whether they were in the same place at the same time.
- I'm on it.
- We need to know everything about them, right down to the last protein.
That was a joke.
Get Bob on the brain tissue as soon as it gets here.
I want to run a mass spec on the prion fraction.
- Tell him to look for mad cow.
- Mad cow on steroids.
Yeah, and double check the coroner's pathology and made sure he got it right.
I'll do my own pathology.
I'm going to need access to that little girl.
- I'll arrange it.
- Where's Mayko? She wasn't feeling well.
I told her to stay home.
Oh, bullshit.
Get her ass in here, start sequencing the victim's DNA.
Tell her to start looking at their prion genes, anything they might have in common.
- Where are you going? - Lunch.
I see you still have the touch.
David! How are you? I'm great, really great.
Better than you, apparently.
I can't believe I'm looking at you.
Yeah.
Check it out, I dropped 11 Ibs, touch that! BMI's 25.
3.
- White production up? - Yes, not a rookie can touch me.
Double cheese, rare, right? Oh, yeah, you know.
Fuck it.
So, Danny, what're you doing in town? Well, David, I'll tell you.
Big boys want to huddle.
No way.
Yeah, little Danny Dexter's moving up.
Hmm.
Lilith moved in.
Wow, what is she? Like 14? - Fifteen.
- Ooh, tons of attitude.
- Just like the old man.
- Yeah, thanks.
All right.
See the game the other night? Yeah, when Biriliski went through the boards there.
What was that all about? You didn't hear? He's dead, David.
Fuck off! Heart attack.
Holy shit.
How old was the guy? Three years younger than me, perfect health, playing better than ever.
- Jesus.
- Yeah, they think it's - What? Steroids? - No, some kind of What do you call it? One of those hormones that they can't test you for.
The designer slops.
It's tough to find something like that if you don't know what you're looking for.
Yeah, but it beats pumping 'roids, right? - Oh, yeah.
Who told you that? - I don't know.
I heard it.
Why, do you think that shit's dangerous? I don't think, I know.
Oh, man.
You're not No! I couldn't afford it.
Besides, do I look like a fucking idiot? Yeah.
Fuck you.
Eight ball, corner pocket.
It's really amazing, isn't it? Something a billionth of our size can get into us and kill us in a week.
Do you remember "War of the Worlds"? I love that movie.
Those space guys thought they had our planet.
Shut up, Bob.
What got them in the end was a little, tiny earthly virus.
Just shut up! I'll clean that up.
Just leave it, okay! I don't want to talk about the goddamn movie.
- Sure.
- I'll have the numbers in a half hour.
Thank you.
Is everything okay? She's just a little tense, I think.
She'll be fine.
It's a little early for this, Bob.
No, I mean, yes.
I mean David wants me to run a DNA sample.
It's okay, Bob.
We all have those days.
Are you Are you the one who did the new autopsy on my baby? Yes, I'm Dr.
Carlos Serrano.
I'm very sorry about your daughter.
Uh, do you know anything yet? Can you tell me anything? I'm sorry, no.
We'll need to do extensive tests.
Of course.
Sarah was my only child.
Please.
The doctors, they said this thing comes from blood transfusions, tainted meat.
As far as we know, yes.
Well, she didn't get any blood and she ate the same things I ate, so How come she got sick and I didn't? That's what I'm going to find out Miss.
McKinley.
She was fine.
You know Sunday I went to her piano recital.
She played so beautifully.
Just the scales, you know, little things.
She she didn't miss a note and when she came home from school on Tuesday, she was tired.
She couldn't seem to control her hands.
It would be one of the first symptoms of the disease.
Oh, God.
I should have done something sooner.
No, no There's no way you could have known what was happening.
It got worse.
She couldn't play the piano.
She couldn't even remember her recital pieces, and then she seemed so lost.
She just looked at me.
She was so lost.
I'm so sorry.
The next day, she was seeing things that weren't even there.
She was having trouble walking.
The doctors, they did a scan of her brain, but there's was nothing There was nothing they could see, anyway.
But then they told me that she had this disease, something that only 60 or 70 year old people get.
Old people, you know? Yes.
Well, why? Why did this happen to my baby? The infectious prion didn't come from a cow.
What then? A sheep? Wild animal? What? Well, are you ready for this? It's a human prion.
You know, we've already ruled out a natural occurrence.
Statistically it's too much of a long shot.
- I know.
- So, what are you saying? It's a human prion, so these people had to be feeding on other people.
A 5 year old cannibal? Show me the numbers.
Hey, did you get anything off this? No, I haven't gotten to it yet.
I will, I will.
Okay, here you go.
This is the protein sequence from Mr.
White's brain prions.
The 52 year old from Texas.
And this is the sequencing for the foreign prion we found in his brain.
They look the same to me, Bob.
See this peptide right here? That's the difference.
Both human prions: One his, one from somebody else.
Well, that's just wrong.
Did you ever see "Sweeney Todd"? The poor guy probably didn't even know he was eating human flesh.
Is this the same in all the victims? Yeah, I'm waiting for Carlos to get back with new brain tissue from the little girl.
Who prepared the samples? Mayko ran the mass spectrometer, I analyzed it.
- Mayko fucked up.
That's the answer.
- I don't think so, David.
- I was right here with her when she - Mayko! Where's your lab book? Okay, where's the section on the sample prep? I didn't write that up yet.
What? You think you could have screwed up the mass spec on the prion sample? No.
Okay, well I think you did.
Do it over.
I didn't make a mistake! I don't care what you think, run the test again.
Well, could I ask why? Two human prions? Jesus, Mayko, could you just do what I ask?! The numbers don't make any sense?! I think you screwed up, okay?! Yeah, sure.
If anyone's goingto screw up around here it's probably going to be me! I think David just wants you to check I know what he wants from me, Bob! Fuck him! I think she's been having a hard time with Hira Just run another sample, Bob.
Sure.
What are you doing? - I always wanted this locker.
- It's mine, Bob.
- But you're going aren't you? - I didn't say that.
Yes you did.
Not in so many words, but you said it.
Put my stuff back, Bob! I didn't say I was going anywhere.
Mayko.
Mayko, you okay? Okay, here you go.
P-228, semi automatic, 10 round clip.
You can carry it in your purse.
You're not serious.
Best protection you can get.
I'm not going to carry a gun around.
It might make you feel a little safer.
I'm not going to carry a gun around! Okay, well if you change your mind, you know where to find me.
You want to go for a run? I already did that, Carlos.
- I'll go with you.
- I'm asking Mayko.
What's wrong with Hira? It's all right, I understand.
You understand? What do you understand? How can you understand? Because I have to May.
I can't change anything.
I have to understand.
It's perfect sense to me.
It's so easy for you isn't it, Carlos? Yeah, he's fine.
He just walked in actually.
Do you want to talk to him? Who is it? It's mum.
Hello, Sarah, how are you? "I anticipate we'll remain in seclusion until well after the Christ child is reborn, for his own safety and security, so that the Christ child " Yeah, okay bye.
Between your mother and that Reverend Walsh, I am definitely going to hell.
Yeah, well this is going to cheer you up.
A cop brought this by today.
- Walsh is pressing charges?! - You decked him.
I barely touched him! Well I rented "Anger Management" today just so you could get a general idea about I'm not taking anger fucking management classes.
What's all this? I was just hanging out with Mick today.
You know, Lilith, we are going over all the research.
Sure.
And I mean, I wish I could tell you everything's going to be fine but You know, I really don't need your Dr.
Phil shit, thanks.
Sorry.
No, no.
You're right.
You don't.
You know, I don't think I've got a single picture of Hira.
Why are the best pictures always out of focus? I didn't even get to know her that well, not really.
Which one of these 2? The one on the right.
You think there's something wrong with me, Lilith? Oh, where do I begin? How long was Mr.
White a vegetarian? I see.
And no common dentist? He never crossed paths with any of the other victims? Okay.
Thank you, Wes.
Hey.
How'd it go in Tampa? Uh, good.
I already ran the new samples from the little girl.
Same as before.
Human prions? We're not coming up with any external common links.
- Internal? - Maybe.
I found high titer antibodies in her blood, check all the other victims, same high levels.
An infection? I'm going to scan their blood for viruses.
It could be a common link.
Okay, you know what? I want you to check animal viruses too.
This thing's so bizarre, who knows.
Right.
David.
Caroline wants you to take a look at these.
What does she want me to do with them? - They're potential virologists.
- Later, Wes.
I took the liberty of setting up an interview with one of the candidates.
She's going to be in Chicago while you're there.
Look, don't do any more setting up okay, Wes? I will find a replacement for Hira when I am ready to find a replacement for Hira.
Her name's Jill Langston, Monday morning, 8 a.
m.
, your hotel.
I don't get up that early.
Hey, Bob.
Did you run the saliva on that beer bottle yet? What are you reading? Bob! Did you run the saliva on the beer bottle yet? Yeah, I put a report on your desk.
- Anything? - Nothing out of the ordinary.
- Steroids, hormones? - Nothing I could identify.
Good boy, Danny.
Good book? Yeah, good.
Cervantes still makes me laugh.
You got a minute? Sure.
So, I started looking for things that connected the victims.
- Internally, right? - Yeah, yeah, of course.
So, this is really cool.
I isolated their DNA and did microarrays on each of them.
What? You okay? Yeah.
I don't think you're a fuck up.
Yeah, I don't think you are either.
So, I thought I'd look for common genetic patterns that connected them.
The victims are 99.
99% like every other human out there but look at this.
What's that gene? A hot new transporter, just posted on the internet.
They think it channels proteins across the blood brain barrier.
See, see right there? The barrier's supposed to keep chemicals from crossing into the brain, right? But, with this transporter, it doesn't.
And the interesting thing is the victims all have this transporter.
- And it's really rare, David.
- How rare? Like 1 in 10,000,000 people have it.
So this little transporter gene is a trigger firing mutant prions from the blood to the brain at an incredible rate? So, the victims eats infectious agent, a huge mass of prions move into the brain, victim shows symptoms and is dead in a week.
If you're right, it would explain the accelerated course of the disease.
But it still doesn't tell us where it came from.
Nope, but it gets us a little bit closer.
Good work.
Oh, you can still get it from infected meat, scrapie in sheep, mad cow in cattle.
It would take a brain 7 maybe 8 years to get in this condition.
All victims died within a week of showing symptoms.
Both human prions: one his, one from somebody else.
So how are they getting it? The mice weren't affected.
We tried to suspend the prions in the air, but it wasn't possible.
- No exceptions? - None.
But there was a 48% success rate by aspirating the prions directly at the test animals.
So, that would mean transfer through a sneeze or cough.
Yeah, which would eliminate transfer by air, since the victims never came into contact with each other.
Yeah, they didn't.
No contact with each other, a vegetarian, What's the link? What's the link? - Carlos.
- Hey.
So, the water from San Antonio, Santa Barbara, Tampa, all your normal ingredients: barium, fluoride, nitrite, tetrachloroethylene, - but not one single prion.
- It was a long shot anyway.
Any family history of prion disease? No.
The first thing I checked.
Nothing.
David, this report just came in.
There's no common links to any doctor or dentist.
No common link, mad cow, tainted meat, vegetarian.
Fuck! I need more This thing's got to be coming out of the food chain.
It's the only thing we've got left.
I'll go back, get more details out of the victim's families.
I need a complete list of everything they ate for at least the last month, and I mean everything.
- Sorry, I'm late.
- What? What? - It's ALV, David.
- In all of them? - All of them.
- ALV? Avian Leukemia Virus.
We use ALV as a genetic trick to make human proteins in eggs which is what we use to make vaccines.
So, this could be spreading through flu vaccination? Flu vaccination, hepatitis, DPT.
What about chickens, eggs? Right, they could easily be carrying the ALV.
It makes perfect sense.
All the pieces fit.
Well, 3 common links are better than none.
- A super transporter, David.
- Oh, shit.
What is it? Mayko found a gene in all the victims.
We think it might be accelerating the prions into the brain.
Accelerating? So, if the prions move at a normal rate and people who don't have this super transporter Then the symptoms should start showing up in about 7 or 8 years.
How many people are we talking about? How many people ate a piece of chicken, an egg, or got a flu shot lately? Mad cow, where do you find prion samples? In 4 dead people.
Sarah McKinley ate chicken tenders at Lord of the Chicken at least 3 times in the last month.
You don't understand, this is a government operated lab I'm in now.
I told you, I don't know what they'd do if they found out.
- What did you take? - I don't know.
Well, it's not biaxin.
Now who is the wide world of sports is experimenting with gene doping? What? Good morning.
I'm looking for a new scientist, not a name dropper.
- How much of an asshole was I this morning? - You were up there.
I certainly have enough to go public and point a finger at White Valley Farms' chicken.
Surely you understand the ramifications of going public.
These chickens could be carrying a fucking death sentence for millions of people.