The Outer Limits (1995) s05e10 Episode Script
The Shroud
1 ( laughing ) ( heart beating ) I'm sorry.
I am so sorry.
I got held up on a call.
How are you doing? Do you know any of these people? I feel like everyone's staring at me.
There's no one staring at you.
Marie, there's nothing to be nervous about, okay? There's no one better than Dr.
Cowlings.
You said that yourself.
It's not that.
It's ( phone ringing ) It's the same the same old thing again? How can having a baby be going against God's will? That's If god wanted us to have a child, why would we need all this? We can have a child.
We're just getting a little help, that's all.
In vitro Fertilization feels like more than just a little help.
I just hope we're doing the right thing.
The right thing is "To be fruitful and multiply.
" We are doing the right thing.
And you are going to be such a good mom.
( nurse ) Justin and Marie welles? You're doing great, Marie.
I need you to relax just a bit more here.
All right.
Now take a deep breath.
Good.
Okay, the speculum is in place, and now we need the embryo.
Catheter, please.
Okay, now I'm going to gently insert the catheter into the cervix and deposit the embryo.
And hopefully he'll find a nice place to settle down.
He? You think it's a boy? Or she he or she.
You're doing just great, honey.
In about ten days we'll do a beta H.
C.
g.
And if that's positive, we'll wait a few weeks and take an ultrasound and try to find a fetal heartbeat.
If we find one, we'll consider you officially pregnant.
And guess what? We're done.
That's it? That's it.
I need you to lie still.
I'm just going to make sure the embryo is out of the catheter.
Dr.
Cowlings, thank you.
( man ) What do you think? She's an excellent candidate to carry full-Term, if the embryo takes.
Don't worry.
He'll be a perfect clone.
It truly is a Miracle.
After 2,000 years, we'll only have to wait another nine months.
Nine short months before He will once again walk the earth.
( control voice ) There is nothing wrong with your television.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling the transmission.
We control the horizontal and the vertical.
We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand One single image to crystal clarity and beyond.
We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive.
For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear.
( ) You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest inner mind to The outer limits.
Man's empirical pursuit of science has often been at odds with his need for religious faith.
But what happens when these two beliefs collide? "I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in Darkness.
" John tells us that is what Jesus said.
God wants us to follow him.
Is that so hard? Well, for some it is.
You know the kind If they can't see it, touch it, taste it, it doesn't exist.
I understand the difficulty the rational mind has in absorbing the miracles of religion.
I do, and that's why Thomas tilford is in the business of shepherding those wayward sheep back into the flock.
I don't wear a bad hairpiece, and I don't dress in sparkly jackets to get their attention.
I don't deal in superstition or desperation or despair.
I don't ask for any giant leaps of faith.
I say, "Go ahead Believe only in what you can see and taste and touch.
" I let scientific fact do my preaching.
I let scientific fact address the rational mind, and that is guaranteed to make a believer out of a non-Believer any day of the week.
That's what I deal in.
I deal in real.
As I said earlier, today is an historic day.
I do not stand here of my own will.
God has brought me and all of you here together for a very special revelation.
Today's sermon has been all about proof.
Well, my friends, I have something to show you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I intend to offer up now, to the faithful and the faithless alike, that Jesus Christ actually walked the earth 2,000 years ago.
And here is where I got that proof.
My god, is that the real thing? The shroud of turin.
At long last we have empirical evidence that this is not a fake.
Early dating placed the origin of the shroud around 1260 A.
D.
But a biological varnish was found on the fibers.
That varnish, when stripped off, revealed that the shroud is in fact nearly 2,000 years old.
We have extracted actual dna from Deep within its holy fibers.
And we will prove that this dna belonged to the son of God.
In the coming weeks the shroud must be returned after being on loan to us for nearly two years.
But I couldn't let it go back without sharing this exciting news with all of you.
God willing, and with your continued prayers and contributions, the Thomas tilford Institute will continue to do his work.
Bless you.
See you next time.
Ahh! Honey, are you okay? Is it the baby? ( Marie ) if it's not labor, what is it? What's wrong? Is the baby okay? Just lie still.
Please, don't let anything happen, Dr.
Cowlings.
It's going to be all right.
Why can't you just tell me what's wrong? B.
P.
170 over 115.
Pulse 130.
What are they doing? I need you to calm down.
I think there's something wrong with the baby.
Trust me I need you to listen.
The lord is watching over you.
Let him work through me.
God will guide you and protect you through this, as he always has, as he always will.
He loves you and your baby.
He loves you and your baby.
God won't let anything happen to you.
God won't let anything happen to you.
Every step of the way there's been problems.
Well, we'll get through it.
It'll be fine.
Well, we don't know what caused the cramping, but it didn't affect the baby.
Thank god.
( dr.
Cowlings ) I want you to take it easy for the next few days.
She will, believe me.
Good.
Could I talk to you for a minute, Justin? Sure.
I'll be right back.
He'll tell you what's going on when he gets back.
No, he won't.
He doesn't want me to worry.
You're supposed to be taking it easy.
I want you to go home, get some rest, and stop worrying.
I told you, nothing is wrong.
Hello.
Marie? There you are.
Sorry I'm late.
I had to go back to the Office.
Budget things couldn't wait.
Honey? Hey, I said I'm sorry.
You've been crying.
What's the matter? The baby's not ours.
Honey what do you mean the baby's not ours? I saw the blood type on the report today.
I'm "A" Negative, you're "O" Positive, the baby's "A-B" Negative.
It can't be ours.
I looked it up.
How can they make this kind of mistake? What if someone else has our baby? Or they won't let us keep this baby? Or they'll take this baby away because it's not ours? We have to call Dr.
Cowlings and find out what's going on.
We have to get a lawyer.
We need to know our rights.
No, no, I don't think that we should do that.
Did you hear what I just said? The baby's not ours.
The baby's ours.
The baby's it's ours, it's just it's not mine biologically.
What are you talking about? You know.
You know how much we both wanted this baby.
What are you saying? When I was tested I found out that I couldn't father a child, in vitro or otherwise.
Then who's the father? Does it matter? "Does it matter"? Yes.
I'm going to love this baby no matter what.
I'm going to be sick.
Marie.
I can't even look at you.
Marie, stay where you are.
How could you do this? How could you do this to us? Be quiet.
The neighbors will think I'm What? That you're a lousy person? That you practically allowed them to rape me? Stop it! Ahh! I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
What is it? ( Justin ) Well, I'm not going anywhere until I find out what happened.
It's not your child.
What do you care? Marie, please.
What? Please what? I hope I'm not intruding.
Dr.
Tilford.
Justin.
Marie.
Reverend, it's nice to meet you.
I understand you've been having a time of it.
I thought I'd come down and say hello.
I understand you want to leave? Yes.
I'd like you to stay.
The Thomas tilford fertility program is just getting off the ground.
I'd hate to see it marred.
At least let Dr.
Cowlings finish her exam, won't you? Honey, Dr.
Tilford was kind enough to come down and Offer us his blessing.
The least you could do is stay.
I'm sorry.
Marie.
Marie.
I think it's time you knew everything there is to know about the child you're carrying.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll stop for just a moment, I'd like to formally introduce to you Marie welles.
Dr.
Tilford It's all right.
It's time Marie understands the Miracle the birth of her child represents.
I understand the Miracle.
I know I.
V.
F.
Is No, you don't understand.
I'm not talking about I.
V.
F.
I'm talking about a True Miracle.
Most of us go through life not knowing what role we are intended to play in God's grand scheme.
But you, Marie God has smiled on you, and on me.
You are part of an incredible project designed to fulfill a prophecy.
That prophecy is the second coming.
I don't I don't understand.
The child you carry belongs to the world.
The child you carry is the son of God.
What are you talking about? That's ridiculous.
These vials are holy.
They contain strands of dna taken from the shroud of turin.
Christ's dna.
What is this? Try to understand, Marie.
This is the actual Strand we used.
We removed the nucleus from one of your eggs, and replaced it with dna from the shroud.
It's all part of the plan.
In partnership with you and Justin, this plan will come to fruition.
This, Marie This is the child you carry.
I don't believe you.
You you would have told me.
You wouldn't have just done this to me.
You would have let me choose whether or not to do something like this.
Wouldn't you? Justin? ( tilford ) You don't choose god.
God chooses you.
You have been blessed, Marie.
I don't believe you.
I don't believe you.
What's all this? Come and sit down, my dear.
I'm, uh, afraid I don't recognize you.
Have you been here before? No.
I'm not catholic.
Is there something you'd like to talk about? I don't know if I if I can be a mother to this child.
Do you love this baby? Isn't that all that matters? If it helps you, feelings of inadequacy are not uncommon for new mothers.
Is that what this is all about? You don't feel worthy of this child? When I was growing up, I watched my dad watched him control my mom, bury her self-Esteem.
I thought, "I'll never let that happen to me.
When I get married, things will be different.
" But I was fooling myself.
My husband did the same thing to me, only more artfully.
He made all the decisions, but let me think I had a say in them.
And now, after being lied to by my father and my husband, I find myself being lied to by my faith.
I wonder if the church, whose authority I've never questioned, is there to serve God's purpose or its own.
So, do I feel worthy of this child? No, I don't.
He should have a mother with a little more strength of character, don't you think? It seems to me that you have tremendous character.
And I believe that you will find yourself the most deserving mother a Child could ever have.
How can you be so sure? As you have faith in him, I have faith in you.
She's just leaving now.
I'll keep an eye on her.
What am I supposed to do? ( ) ( ) show me.
( dr.
Cowlings ) It's right in there we found it late last night.
Its probably been developing for weeks, possibly months.
How did you let this get by you, Gail? We had stopped MONITORING genetic material.
We were monitoring fetal development.
Is this a naturally occurring anomaly, or was it brought on by something we did? It looks like a natural occurrence.
I did run this through our database to see if we had anything like it on record.
We found a match.
We ran a study several years ago on a man who claimed to have telekinetic abilities.
He possessed an ALMOST identical genetic deviation, although to a much Lesser extent.
What are you suggesting? What if the person we cloned, the person whose dna was on that shroud, is just a man? What if he possessed that 1 in 10 billion chance genetic anomaly that gave him telekinetic abilities? What if those abilities, in ancient times, were misinterpreted, and people believed he was the son of God? This is the son of god! Because you say it is? You've engineered this birth practically from day one.
Right down to the date he was born.
For your information, december the 25th is an arbitrary holiday based on a lie.
A birth at any other time of year would take the flair out of things.
This is nothing short of a Miracle.
Are you saying that an unborn child, without consciousness, but with telekinetic abilities is making those stuffed animals fly? Or do you believe that Marie is causing these events? No, but I do believe there could be a connection.
What if Marie's emotional reactions are the input and the child's involuntary responses are the output? That's your explanation? Whatever the explanation, if this mutation evolves, moving objects will only be a beginning.
Now you're proving my point, Gail.
Christ performed miracles of escalating proportion as he got older.
This is an interpretation.
Said the agnostic.
Do you need proof because you doubt? God knows, Gail, you were not brought on board for your beliefs, or lack thereof.
But even you must be moved by the discoveries we've made.
It's an incredible scientific discovery, but I think Marie Should know, I don't believe it's the son of God.
It's not your decision.
You should not be quarreling with your wife.
I don't know if she's going to forgive me.
Maybe she's better off without me.
Absolutely not.
Mary was not a single mother, Justin.
What does that mean? Understand me.
I'm not going to let anything, anything Compromise this blessed event.
Whether you like it or not, you are, for all intents and purposes, the Joseph figure in all this.
Joseph? But if I'm Joseph, who does that make you? Go make up with your wife.
Think I will.
Justin watch your tone with me.
Hi.
Hi.
Can we, uh can we talk? It's freezing out here.
What could you possibly have to say to me that you couldn't say inside? It's bugged.
What? Our house It's bugged.
Cameras, microphones.
I found one in the kitchen a few weeks ago.
I knew tilford wouldn't let us out of his sight.
I didn't say anything because Marie, because I was blinded.
I know I don't deserve it, but I want your trust again.
I want you to give me another chance.
It's not that easy.
Nothing nothing can make up for what I did.
I know that.
I believed I was helping to do god's work.
I got swept up in the whole You don't know what's going on until you step back.
Tilford believes that god is working through him, and I thought that too.
I was afraid to think for myself.
But now I see.
Tilford is moving away from god Away from god And he has been for some time.
I don't want to follow him down that path anymore.
I know you can't forgive me.
I just want you to understand why I did what I did.
I still love you.
Ahh! Are you okay? Oh.
We're going to get you over to county.
We'd be better off with Dr.
Cowlings.
Absolutely not.
They have a vested interest in this baby, Justin.
He deserves the best care I can get for him.
Dr.
Cowlings is it.
I don't want you anywhere near those people.
Justin, if we're going to be together, you're going to have to stop making decisions for me.
It could have been false labor, but I would like to run more tests.
Welcome back.
I just wanted to stop by and bury the hatchet.
This should be a time of rejoicing, not of strife.
If there's anything I can do.
I want you to leave.
I know about the surveillance, the lies I know everything.
What makes you think I won't go to the police? The police? You don't understand this.
This has nothing to do with the laws of man.
You don't have a clue, do you? About what you've done, what you're doing.
Marie, open your eyes.
Look out there.
Children are killing children.
Infidelity, divorce, immoral lifestyles are rampant.
Never have we needed god more than now.
It's not your place.
Let's find out what caused her pain, and then you can debate this all night.
Marie, you're doing so much better than the others.
How many people have you done this to? We have refined the process.
This baby is perfect, isn't he? There's your answer.
Marie.
Wait, Justin, think of her Think of the baby.
That's exactly who I'm thinking of.
Wait, you mustn't leave.
Please, you mustn't leave.
Let go of me! Dr.
Tilford.
Dear God.
Please wait here.
Are you okay? Mm-hmm.
Still a little dizzy.
Justin, Marie.
I need for us to come together.
The devil has gained momentary ingress.
I felt his presence in that room.
For the sake of the baby, we have to put aside our differences You wouldn't do anything for the sake of the baby.
That's where you are wrong, Marie.
Everything I do is for him.
What's that? A teaching tool.
Miraculous as cloning is, it reproduces the body only.
He will need to be instilled with all that he was to fully become who he is.
He will rise to take his place among the peoples of the world, and then he will rule from on high, and everything will change.
Everything.
And what will our role be in all this? The same role you're always going to play.
You're his parents.
What did you have in mind? Weekend visits? What if our child doesn't want to be your puppet and rule from on high? What if he wants to slip quietly into the background and have nothing to do with Thomas Tilford and his institution? That is not god's plan.
Even you can see that.
I'll tell you what I see.
You want to raise this child, influence him, manipulate him, and stand at his right hand when he grows up.
You want to create god in your own image, reverend tilford.
And there could not be a more unholy act than that.
See that they return to their room.
Have you thought about what's going to happen to us after the Baby's born? Tilford knows we're not going to keep quiet about this.
He's probably got standby marys and josephs waiting to take our place.
If anything happens to us, there'll be no one but him to take care of the baby.
We can't let that happen.
We won't.
Would you get me a wet cloth, please? Thank you.
Let's go, let's go.
No! Justin! Come on, we're almost out.
It's locked.
No! Go! Consider yourself blessed.
Oh, god, I think I'm having contractions.
How far apart? Five or six minutes.
We have got to find a hospital.
They'll be looking for us there.
No, no hospital.
( phone ringing ) Anything? No, But they can't be that far ahead.
I don't care what you have to do Find them.
No! Justin, I think the Baby's coming.
There's a barn.
Hang on.
All we need is three wise men.
Okay, push.
Push, push.
Come on.
Come on, Marie, push.
Come on, push.
Push.
Okay, breathe, breathe.
There's the head.
Here comes the head.
( baby crying ) Surprise, surprise It's a little boy.
Hello, hello.
Shh-Shh.
They're in the barn along highway three, about three miles north of Anderson.
He's beautiful.
Where are they? Chris, are they in there now? They're in the barn with the baby.
You saw the face of god? He's not god.
Let me talk to them.
Leave them alone.
I have to see him.
I have to see the son of god.
They don't need you and they don't want you.
He is who he is, not who you want him to be.
Let me go.
Thomas! You folks need a ride? Yes, please.
Thank you.
( control voice ) in man's unending pursuit of salvation, the distractions of his science or his religion may be the very thing keeping him from his creator.
Captioning performed by Western Captioning service ltd.
Vancouver, B.
C.
1999
I am so sorry.
I got held up on a call.
How are you doing? Do you know any of these people? I feel like everyone's staring at me.
There's no one staring at you.
Marie, there's nothing to be nervous about, okay? There's no one better than Dr.
Cowlings.
You said that yourself.
It's not that.
It's ( phone ringing ) It's the same the same old thing again? How can having a baby be going against God's will? That's If god wanted us to have a child, why would we need all this? We can have a child.
We're just getting a little help, that's all.
In vitro Fertilization feels like more than just a little help.
I just hope we're doing the right thing.
The right thing is "To be fruitful and multiply.
" We are doing the right thing.
And you are going to be such a good mom.
( nurse ) Justin and Marie welles? You're doing great, Marie.
I need you to relax just a bit more here.
All right.
Now take a deep breath.
Good.
Okay, the speculum is in place, and now we need the embryo.
Catheter, please.
Okay, now I'm going to gently insert the catheter into the cervix and deposit the embryo.
And hopefully he'll find a nice place to settle down.
He? You think it's a boy? Or she he or she.
You're doing just great, honey.
In about ten days we'll do a beta H.
C.
g.
And if that's positive, we'll wait a few weeks and take an ultrasound and try to find a fetal heartbeat.
If we find one, we'll consider you officially pregnant.
And guess what? We're done.
That's it? That's it.
I need you to lie still.
I'm just going to make sure the embryo is out of the catheter.
Dr.
Cowlings, thank you.
( man ) What do you think? She's an excellent candidate to carry full-Term, if the embryo takes.
Don't worry.
He'll be a perfect clone.
It truly is a Miracle.
After 2,000 years, we'll only have to wait another nine months.
Nine short months before He will once again walk the earth.
( control voice ) There is nothing wrong with your television.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling the transmission.
We control the horizontal and the vertical.
We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand One single image to crystal clarity and beyond.
We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive.
For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear.
( ) You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest inner mind to The outer limits.
Man's empirical pursuit of science has often been at odds with his need for religious faith.
But what happens when these two beliefs collide? "I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in Darkness.
" John tells us that is what Jesus said.
God wants us to follow him.
Is that so hard? Well, for some it is.
You know the kind If they can't see it, touch it, taste it, it doesn't exist.
I understand the difficulty the rational mind has in absorbing the miracles of religion.
I do, and that's why Thomas tilford is in the business of shepherding those wayward sheep back into the flock.
I don't wear a bad hairpiece, and I don't dress in sparkly jackets to get their attention.
I don't deal in superstition or desperation or despair.
I don't ask for any giant leaps of faith.
I say, "Go ahead Believe only in what you can see and taste and touch.
" I let scientific fact do my preaching.
I let scientific fact address the rational mind, and that is guaranteed to make a believer out of a non-Believer any day of the week.
That's what I deal in.
I deal in real.
As I said earlier, today is an historic day.
I do not stand here of my own will.
God has brought me and all of you here together for a very special revelation.
Today's sermon has been all about proof.
Well, my friends, I have something to show you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I intend to offer up now, to the faithful and the faithless alike, that Jesus Christ actually walked the earth 2,000 years ago.
And here is where I got that proof.
My god, is that the real thing? The shroud of turin.
At long last we have empirical evidence that this is not a fake.
Early dating placed the origin of the shroud around 1260 A.
D.
But a biological varnish was found on the fibers.
That varnish, when stripped off, revealed that the shroud is in fact nearly 2,000 years old.
We have extracted actual dna from Deep within its holy fibers.
And we will prove that this dna belonged to the son of God.
In the coming weeks the shroud must be returned after being on loan to us for nearly two years.
But I couldn't let it go back without sharing this exciting news with all of you.
God willing, and with your continued prayers and contributions, the Thomas tilford Institute will continue to do his work.
Bless you.
See you next time.
Ahh! Honey, are you okay? Is it the baby? ( Marie ) if it's not labor, what is it? What's wrong? Is the baby okay? Just lie still.
Please, don't let anything happen, Dr.
Cowlings.
It's going to be all right.
Why can't you just tell me what's wrong? B.
P.
170 over 115.
Pulse 130.
What are they doing? I need you to calm down.
I think there's something wrong with the baby.
Trust me I need you to listen.
The lord is watching over you.
Let him work through me.
God will guide you and protect you through this, as he always has, as he always will.
He loves you and your baby.
He loves you and your baby.
God won't let anything happen to you.
God won't let anything happen to you.
Every step of the way there's been problems.
Well, we'll get through it.
It'll be fine.
Well, we don't know what caused the cramping, but it didn't affect the baby.
Thank god.
( dr.
Cowlings ) I want you to take it easy for the next few days.
She will, believe me.
Good.
Could I talk to you for a minute, Justin? Sure.
I'll be right back.
He'll tell you what's going on when he gets back.
No, he won't.
He doesn't want me to worry.
You're supposed to be taking it easy.
I want you to go home, get some rest, and stop worrying.
I told you, nothing is wrong.
Hello.
Marie? There you are.
Sorry I'm late.
I had to go back to the Office.
Budget things couldn't wait.
Honey? Hey, I said I'm sorry.
You've been crying.
What's the matter? The baby's not ours.
Honey what do you mean the baby's not ours? I saw the blood type on the report today.
I'm "A" Negative, you're "O" Positive, the baby's "A-B" Negative.
It can't be ours.
I looked it up.
How can they make this kind of mistake? What if someone else has our baby? Or they won't let us keep this baby? Or they'll take this baby away because it's not ours? We have to call Dr.
Cowlings and find out what's going on.
We have to get a lawyer.
We need to know our rights.
No, no, I don't think that we should do that.
Did you hear what I just said? The baby's not ours.
The baby's ours.
The baby's it's ours, it's just it's not mine biologically.
What are you talking about? You know.
You know how much we both wanted this baby.
What are you saying? When I was tested I found out that I couldn't father a child, in vitro or otherwise.
Then who's the father? Does it matter? "Does it matter"? Yes.
I'm going to love this baby no matter what.
I'm going to be sick.
Marie.
I can't even look at you.
Marie, stay where you are.
How could you do this? How could you do this to us? Be quiet.
The neighbors will think I'm What? That you're a lousy person? That you practically allowed them to rape me? Stop it! Ahh! I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
What is it? ( Justin ) Well, I'm not going anywhere until I find out what happened.
It's not your child.
What do you care? Marie, please.
What? Please what? I hope I'm not intruding.
Dr.
Tilford.
Justin.
Marie.
Reverend, it's nice to meet you.
I understand you've been having a time of it.
I thought I'd come down and say hello.
I understand you want to leave? Yes.
I'd like you to stay.
The Thomas tilford fertility program is just getting off the ground.
I'd hate to see it marred.
At least let Dr.
Cowlings finish her exam, won't you? Honey, Dr.
Tilford was kind enough to come down and Offer us his blessing.
The least you could do is stay.
I'm sorry.
Marie.
Marie.
I think it's time you knew everything there is to know about the child you're carrying.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll stop for just a moment, I'd like to formally introduce to you Marie welles.
Dr.
Tilford It's all right.
It's time Marie understands the Miracle the birth of her child represents.
I understand the Miracle.
I know I.
V.
F.
Is No, you don't understand.
I'm not talking about I.
V.
F.
I'm talking about a True Miracle.
Most of us go through life not knowing what role we are intended to play in God's grand scheme.
But you, Marie God has smiled on you, and on me.
You are part of an incredible project designed to fulfill a prophecy.
That prophecy is the second coming.
I don't I don't understand.
The child you carry belongs to the world.
The child you carry is the son of God.
What are you talking about? That's ridiculous.
These vials are holy.
They contain strands of dna taken from the shroud of turin.
Christ's dna.
What is this? Try to understand, Marie.
This is the actual Strand we used.
We removed the nucleus from one of your eggs, and replaced it with dna from the shroud.
It's all part of the plan.
In partnership with you and Justin, this plan will come to fruition.
This, Marie This is the child you carry.
I don't believe you.
You you would have told me.
You wouldn't have just done this to me.
You would have let me choose whether or not to do something like this.
Wouldn't you? Justin? ( tilford ) You don't choose god.
God chooses you.
You have been blessed, Marie.
I don't believe you.
I don't believe you.
What's all this? Come and sit down, my dear.
I'm, uh, afraid I don't recognize you.
Have you been here before? No.
I'm not catholic.
Is there something you'd like to talk about? I don't know if I if I can be a mother to this child.
Do you love this baby? Isn't that all that matters? If it helps you, feelings of inadequacy are not uncommon for new mothers.
Is that what this is all about? You don't feel worthy of this child? When I was growing up, I watched my dad watched him control my mom, bury her self-Esteem.
I thought, "I'll never let that happen to me.
When I get married, things will be different.
" But I was fooling myself.
My husband did the same thing to me, only more artfully.
He made all the decisions, but let me think I had a say in them.
And now, after being lied to by my father and my husband, I find myself being lied to by my faith.
I wonder if the church, whose authority I've never questioned, is there to serve God's purpose or its own.
So, do I feel worthy of this child? No, I don't.
He should have a mother with a little more strength of character, don't you think? It seems to me that you have tremendous character.
And I believe that you will find yourself the most deserving mother a Child could ever have.
How can you be so sure? As you have faith in him, I have faith in you.
She's just leaving now.
I'll keep an eye on her.
What am I supposed to do? ( ) ( ) show me.
( dr.
Cowlings ) It's right in there we found it late last night.
Its probably been developing for weeks, possibly months.
How did you let this get by you, Gail? We had stopped MONITORING genetic material.
We were monitoring fetal development.
Is this a naturally occurring anomaly, or was it brought on by something we did? It looks like a natural occurrence.
I did run this through our database to see if we had anything like it on record.
We found a match.
We ran a study several years ago on a man who claimed to have telekinetic abilities.
He possessed an ALMOST identical genetic deviation, although to a much Lesser extent.
What are you suggesting? What if the person we cloned, the person whose dna was on that shroud, is just a man? What if he possessed that 1 in 10 billion chance genetic anomaly that gave him telekinetic abilities? What if those abilities, in ancient times, were misinterpreted, and people believed he was the son of God? This is the son of god! Because you say it is? You've engineered this birth practically from day one.
Right down to the date he was born.
For your information, december the 25th is an arbitrary holiday based on a lie.
A birth at any other time of year would take the flair out of things.
This is nothing short of a Miracle.
Are you saying that an unborn child, without consciousness, but with telekinetic abilities is making those stuffed animals fly? Or do you believe that Marie is causing these events? No, but I do believe there could be a connection.
What if Marie's emotional reactions are the input and the child's involuntary responses are the output? That's your explanation? Whatever the explanation, if this mutation evolves, moving objects will only be a beginning.
Now you're proving my point, Gail.
Christ performed miracles of escalating proportion as he got older.
This is an interpretation.
Said the agnostic.
Do you need proof because you doubt? God knows, Gail, you were not brought on board for your beliefs, or lack thereof.
But even you must be moved by the discoveries we've made.
It's an incredible scientific discovery, but I think Marie Should know, I don't believe it's the son of God.
It's not your decision.
You should not be quarreling with your wife.
I don't know if she's going to forgive me.
Maybe she's better off without me.
Absolutely not.
Mary was not a single mother, Justin.
What does that mean? Understand me.
I'm not going to let anything, anything Compromise this blessed event.
Whether you like it or not, you are, for all intents and purposes, the Joseph figure in all this.
Joseph? But if I'm Joseph, who does that make you? Go make up with your wife.
Think I will.
Justin watch your tone with me.
Hi.
Hi.
Can we, uh can we talk? It's freezing out here.
What could you possibly have to say to me that you couldn't say inside? It's bugged.
What? Our house It's bugged.
Cameras, microphones.
I found one in the kitchen a few weeks ago.
I knew tilford wouldn't let us out of his sight.
I didn't say anything because Marie, because I was blinded.
I know I don't deserve it, but I want your trust again.
I want you to give me another chance.
It's not that easy.
Nothing nothing can make up for what I did.
I know that.
I believed I was helping to do god's work.
I got swept up in the whole You don't know what's going on until you step back.
Tilford believes that god is working through him, and I thought that too.
I was afraid to think for myself.
But now I see.
Tilford is moving away from god Away from god And he has been for some time.
I don't want to follow him down that path anymore.
I know you can't forgive me.
I just want you to understand why I did what I did.
I still love you.
Ahh! Are you okay? Oh.
We're going to get you over to county.
We'd be better off with Dr.
Cowlings.
Absolutely not.
They have a vested interest in this baby, Justin.
He deserves the best care I can get for him.
Dr.
Cowlings is it.
I don't want you anywhere near those people.
Justin, if we're going to be together, you're going to have to stop making decisions for me.
It could have been false labor, but I would like to run more tests.
Welcome back.
I just wanted to stop by and bury the hatchet.
This should be a time of rejoicing, not of strife.
If there's anything I can do.
I want you to leave.
I know about the surveillance, the lies I know everything.
What makes you think I won't go to the police? The police? You don't understand this.
This has nothing to do with the laws of man.
You don't have a clue, do you? About what you've done, what you're doing.
Marie, open your eyes.
Look out there.
Children are killing children.
Infidelity, divorce, immoral lifestyles are rampant.
Never have we needed god more than now.
It's not your place.
Let's find out what caused her pain, and then you can debate this all night.
Marie, you're doing so much better than the others.
How many people have you done this to? We have refined the process.
This baby is perfect, isn't he? There's your answer.
Marie.
Wait, Justin, think of her Think of the baby.
That's exactly who I'm thinking of.
Wait, you mustn't leave.
Please, you mustn't leave.
Let go of me! Dr.
Tilford.
Dear God.
Please wait here.
Are you okay? Mm-hmm.
Still a little dizzy.
Justin, Marie.
I need for us to come together.
The devil has gained momentary ingress.
I felt his presence in that room.
For the sake of the baby, we have to put aside our differences You wouldn't do anything for the sake of the baby.
That's where you are wrong, Marie.
Everything I do is for him.
What's that? A teaching tool.
Miraculous as cloning is, it reproduces the body only.
He will need to be instilled with all that he was to fully become who he is.
He will rise to take his place among the peoples of the world, and then he will rule from on high, and everything will change.
Everything.
And what will our role be in all this? The same role you're always going to play.
You're his parents.
What did you have in mind? Weekend visits? What if our child doesn't want to be your puppet and rule from on high? What if he wants to slip quietly into the background and have nothing to do with Thomas Tilford and his institution? That is not god's plan.
Even you can see that.
I'll tell you what I see.
You want to raise this child, influence him, manipulate him, and stand at his right hand when he grows up.
You want to create god in your own image, reverend tilford.
And there could not be a more unholy act than that.
See that they return to their room.
Have you thought about what's going to happen to us after the Baby's born? Tilford knows we're not going to keep quiet about this.
He's probably got standby marys and josephs waiting to take our place.
If anything happens to us, there'll be no one but him to take care of the baby.
We can't let that happen.
We won't.
Would you get me a wet cloth, please? Thank you.
Let's go, let's go.
No! Justin! Come on, we're almost out.
It's locked.
No! Go! Consider yourself blessed.
Oh, god, I think I'm having contractions.
How far apart? Five or six minutes.
We have got to find a hospital.
They'll be looking for us there.
No, no hospital.
( phone ringing ) Anything? No, But they can't be that far ahead.
I don't care what you have to do Find them.
No! Justin, I think the Baby's coming.
There's a barn.
Hang on.
All we need is three wise men.
Okay, push.
Push, push.
Come on.
Come on, Marie, push.
Come on, push.
Push.
Okay, breathe, breathe.
There's the head.
Here comes the head.
( baby crying ) Surprise, surprise It's a little boy.
Hello, hello.
Shh-Shh.
They're in the barn along highway three, about three miles north of Anderson.
He's beautiful.
Where are they? Chris, are they in there now? They're in the barn with the baby.
You saw the face of god? He's not god.
Let me talk to them.
Leave them alone.
I have to see him.
I have to see the son of god.
They don't need you and they don't want you.
He is who he is, not who you want him to be.
Let me go.
Thomas! You folks need a ride? Yes, please.
Thank you.
( control voice ) in man's unending pursuit of salvation, the distractions of his science or his religion may be the very thing keeping him from his creator.
Captioning performed by Western Captioning service ltd.
Vancouver, B.
C.
1999