ReGenesis s02e03 Episode Script

This has AIDS, it's from Africa.
You're in shock.
You've been injected with a hypodermic possibly exposed to HIV.
Now a woman and her baby halfway across the world are at risk.
Nobody knows that I quit.
NORBAC would have been finished.
We had a vaccine to design.
Where were you? You bailed on your own lab.
We've compared the protein structure of your particular strain with every available HIV drug.
It's predicted to be resistant to all of them.
All of them? Kids ate a chicken poisoned with prions.
Yeah, I remember that whole mad cow disease scare.
- I found I.
Q.
spikes.
- Where are you going next with this? Well, I've read about a British neuroscientist who's been working with people exposed to mad cow.
Jack, we're trying to trace back the strain before Sean to patient zero.
David, we've been infecting the cells in culture - with Audrey's HIV.
- Bob, what's the matter? I'm telling you she needs to have her baby out right away.
The baby's CD4 count.
HIV.
- What? - David.
Carlos, it's 3 o'clock in the fucking morning.
What's going on? Let me in, David.
Are you all right? Carlos? So I just thought David, I was just all right.
That's what happens when you drink.
Talk to me.
I need to I need to leave all this.
- My job, NORBAC, Canada.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, Carlos.
What's going on? I have to go back to Africa, David.
There are people dying there.
They need me.
They needed doctors 4 years ago, why'd you leave then? I couldn't breathe, I had to get out.
- I know the feeling.
- Okay, then you you know the feeling of when it's time to return.
You left the lab and now you came back, and I need to go back to Africa.
What happened to you over there? Why couldn't you breathe, Carlos? I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
No! Want anything in it? Sorry? Coffee, do you want anything in it? Sugar, honey, hair of the dog? Black, thank you.
I can't let you go, Carlos.
Not right now, okay? We get through this, we'll talk, and I promise you, whatever you decide is best for yourself, I will get behind it.
Do you have any clam juice? Doesn't everybody? And baking soda, and bitters, and aspirin, please.
I thought you didn't get hangovers.
When I do, I do.
That thing really work? My father's recipe.
It clears the head, dulls the pain, good for indigestion.
I'll ve to try it sometime.
Clam juice with baking soda bitters and aspirin.
What? Your father's a fucking genius.
Drink up.
We got a lot of work to do.
Well, we tried every HIV drug on the planet.
Yes, but we haven't tried every drug on the planet.
You think you can stop HIV with aspirin? Maybe, maybe.
There are many drugs made to solve one problem later discovered to solve another.
Right, so we take our most promising HIV cocktail, the one with Tenofovir and Viracept, and we add Viagra to it.
We add Tylenol, we add epilepsy meds, we add everything.
David, there are like 10,000 drugs out there, including behind and over the counter.
Yeah, what's your point? Well, one, to get this done in 2 days, - we don't have the manpower.
- We don't have enough Petri dishes.
And 2, we can't possibly get that many drugs here by this afternoon.
Then we get as many as humanly possible.
- It's crazy.
- Thank you.
I'll contact as many labs as I can.
What? - What? - What? Well, would it be logical to start with the anti-inflammatories to curb the element of HIV? No? Viagra was made for angina, right? It turns out it gave men big woodies.
Now, is there a connection between angina and big woodies? I don't think so.
So So, logically we assume that there is no logic.
We try every drug.
- It's still crazy.
- Yes it is.
But you know what? Sometimes, some pretty cool shit happens by accident, so let's go look for an accident.
What have we got to lose, right? Bob - The baby will be HIV positive in 2 days.
- Two days? Yeah, if he follows the same rate of infection as Audrey.
I mean, he could go even sooner.
His immune system isn't fully developed.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
David, this is a list of all the prescription and non-prescription drugs we can get our hands on.
Okay, thanks, Wes.
Bob, take a look at that.
Which labs are helping us? All these labs are available for help? They're clearing their plates.
Apparently we have some pull.
Audrey Graves has pull.
They understand the time crunch? - I made it very clear.
- Bob.
Mix and match with their most promising HIV cocktail and divide the total by 16 labs, taking into consideration each lab's manpower.
Hold on.
We get 5,081 combinations.
Aberhold-Shard gets 260, Ace Bioneer gets 300 - Bob.
- Hmm? Let's get the dish totals to Wes ASAP, - and get to work on our own dishes.
- Sure.
Looks like little Sam there has mastered occlusion and perspective.
Is that that unusual? Uh, he's seven.
Oh, I love kid's art.
Look at this one.
Uh, can't figure it out.
I think it's a ceiling fan.
He drew the parts disassembled.
Wow.
Hello, I'm principal Oakley.
You're the people from NORBAC.
Yes, Mayko Tran.
Hey, I'm Simon Jessup.
I understand you may have some good news for us.
We hope so.
We have evidence that 1 in 4 of the kids who ate the prion contaminated chicken last year are showing dramatic spikes in I.
Q.
- You mean they may actually be better off? - Well - We'll know more when we've done a few tests.
- Of course.
If there's anything you need Just a few bouncing bundles of joy.
There's something just as important as finding the right cocktail.
- What? - Getting it to Africa in time to put the brakes on this strain.
It'll take years for it to get through all the regulatory hoops.
Then I'll take it there myself.
You really think the American drug industry's gonna let this out in the world without American companies profiting from it? You know, it's all going to be pointless if we cannot find the origin of this strain.
Nah, I'll tell you what.
You find patient zero, I'll find a way to get the drugs to Africa.
You got a deal.
How's it going? - We're missing Galantamine.
- I ordered it, David.
I know you want every drug.
I know I ordered it.
I don't see it, Bob.
I know the whole point of this experiment is that we try every drug we can get, and Galantamine is in a class of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors that we are going to use.
I know I ordered it.
Bob, Bob, get somebody down to this clinic, okay? - They'll have it, it'll be fine.
- Okay, David.
No, I'll go myself.
I'm sorry about the mix-up.
There you go.
I told you your brain wouldn't explode, didn't I? Though a little bit did melt out your ear.
- You talk weird.
- Oh dear, shame.
That's another one we're gonna have to guillotine.
You do have a way with kids.
- A strange way, but - I love kids.
I'm still one myself.
How many more do we have to see? Uh, about 30 more.
I hate kids.
I hope the next one doesn't smell like frogs too.
Hello, please come in.
Ruby McGhee Oh, there you are.
Okay, Ruby, so this is kind of like a a brain beauty contest, all right? And the more flashy colours that we see on our computer, the better.
And it helps if you wear the magic hat.
Electroencephalogram helmet.
Right, yes.
- I read about it in a magazine.
- Wow, Tiger Beat sure has changed from when I was a little girl.
I don't read Tiger Beat.
Okay, Ruby, you want to try to tell me everything you remember about the picture? All right.
There were 3 kids swinging on a tire swing.
That's right.
And there was 3 men jogging, all with their left foot forward.
That's very good.
And one had a white baseball hat, and the other had a jacket.
Anything else? Do you want me to tell you everything? Hmm Sure.
Okay There was someone in the playground holding and 1 was yellow.
The orange one had the longest string.
There's a place to play in the water, and these 3 boys who are way too old be playing in the playground were standing in misty spray things, and these 2 little babies were waiting for their turn.
And in the sky there were 2 clouds, 1 kite with 2 tails and - Hey.
- Okay, so we got the Galantamine, Accupril, Benazepril, Calan, Digitoxin, Lanoxin - Herdofoxen.
- Xanax, Ritalin, Dilantin, Trimethadione, all the antibiotics, manpower at all the other labs and a giant robotic arm at Jarrell Pharmaceuticals.
What's 11,291 times 16, divided by 7? - Did I miss something? - No.
I was just kidding.
Okay Ruby, thank you very much.
So I'm not gonna die? Ruby, you're not even sick.
Then let's go home.
- Where's your backpack? - In my classroom.
Why don't you go get it and I'll meet you in the hall? - All right.
- See you later, Ruby.
- Ciao, Ruby.
- Bye! - Can I ask you something? - Please.
Ruby ate all that infected chicken last year and ever since she's been poked and prodded MRIs, blood tests, X-Rays.
It's been 6 months and no one has any answers.
Well, it's just that right now, there's no way to tell for certain whether someone exposed to prion disease actually has the disease.
Ruby gets a runny nose, coughs and I start thinking this is it, She's gonna die.
We need answers, please.
So, the drugs are doing their drug thing, we'll check 'em in 12 hours.
- How's it going with patient zero? - Slow.
Sean moved around a lot.
It seems he met a lot of different people in a lot of different places.
How are you holding up? Okay.
It's hard to sleep these days.
You know they've got drugs for that.
In fact, Bob's got all of them over there.
Goodnight.
- Okay.
- Carlos.
- Wes, let me ask you something.
Sean sent these 2 emails in the last month.
Does not say where they were from.
Is it possible to trace what computer they were sent from? Sure, forensic email tracing.
Well, this shouldn't be a problem at all.
What are you thinking? This girl is in 2 of the pictures.
One was sent late at night, the other very early in the morning, and Sean seems happy in them.
She's very pretty.
Just a hunch, but if you find something, let me know.
Sure.
Thank you.
A quarter of the kids had bloody amazing beta activity.
Come see.
Look at that.
Tiny little hippocampuses, and dentate gyri firing away, so cute.
So it's not overall I.
Q.
that's higher, it's visual memory.
Right, yeah.
That's mostly where it's occurring.
Okay, where is Ruby McGhee's PET output? Here.
I mean, her right hemisphere alone could power 5 city blocks.
Your "live, die or thrive" theory might need to be adjusted.
It seems that with prion poisoning some live, some die, and some become bloody visual geniuses.
Well, it's still early stages.
Right, well, I mean, we're off to a great start.
Uh, yeah.
Well Okay, I will see you tomorrow.
All right.
Tomorrow, then.
- It's not time.
- What? It's close enough.
We have to let the drugs work for 12 hours.
Bob, it's been 12 hours minus what? Ten big fat minutes? I'm checking the dishes.
Wait.
Are the viruses thriving in the cells? Yeah, so far.
Wait a sec.
David.
David, David, David.
We have a winner.
- It works, one of the cocktails.
- No shit? Yeah, none.
It halts replication of Audrey's HIV.
A drug from a clinical trial and a couple of existing HIV drugs.
- This is a non-HIV drug.
- Freaking Paroxetine.
And antidepressant, eh? How appropriate, I couldn't be happier.
Good work.
I need you to wrangle me experts on Tenofovir, PA-457, Viracept and Trimethadione.
I also need somebody here working on Paroxetine - and I need to speak to a hospital lawyer.
- Can I get you a coffee, too? No, you can get the cocktail to Audrey for her 1st dosage and get me a meeting with her son's pediatrician.
Was that subtle sarcasm? No.
Oh, too bad.
Sarcasm would work well with that bland exterior of yours.
- Yup.
- Hi, it's Mayko.
Uh last year there were at Linderville Elementary, and this year they've got 540.
- Two lucky ones escaped.
- Well actually 9 escaped and no one is monitoring them.
So? So the picture is incomplete.
Okay.
Well, 9 kids is statistically irrelevant.
Nothing is statistically irrelevant.
Yeah.
So what we should What we should do is we should - Mayko Tran.
- Stop it, stop it.
I don't want to stop.
You have a fantastic name.
You want to know a secret? - It's not my real name.
- No way.
No way.
Well, Mayko is, but Tran, no.
What is it? You won't think it's so fantastic.
Shut up! Tell me, please, what is it? Binghamton.
- Binghamton? - It's not Vietnamese.
- Well, I didn't think it was.
- Ha! Ha! Yeah.
And Nora Taylor and Wallace Binghamton adopted me and raised me as an ethical atheist in a hippie mountain town in B.
C.
My dad published the local paper, mom was a potter.
I changed it to Tran when I turned 18, you know, mini identity crisis.
- Want to know my middle name? - Yes.
- You swear to secrecy? - Hmm.
- You absolutely swear? - I swear.
Okay.
Seabert.
- Seabert? - Yes.
Ha! Ha! - It's not as funny as Binghamton.
- Oh, shush.
Ha! Ha! - I don't think.
- It is pretty funny.
- Uh-uh.
Meet patient zero.
Both emails came from a computer belonging to Afi Lundi.
The girl in the photos.
They came from her home computer in Nampula, Mozambique.
She was working as a nurse there in an orphanage.
I called, Sean was there at the same time.
I guess they had a thing, just as you suspected.
- Where is she now? - She's dead.
They gave her HIV drugs at a clinic in Nampula.
No effect.
I read the medical report, her HIV was an unknown strain, it progressed very rapidly to AIDS.
She was dead within a month.
There are many ways I could have become sick.
Perhaps I have a husband.
Perhaps he laid with a prostitute who could not afford condoms.
He gave me to his friend for the night in thanks for him helping to fix our hut.
Or maybe it was the day I turned 12, while they performed the circumcision.
They had used the same blade on the 10 girls before me.
Have you forgotten what it is like? Stop thinking that you can save everyone.
Lawyers cannot be allowed to dictate policy to us, all right? They know nothing about what we do.
- How's it going? - I'm not sure.
Lawyers are risk-averse mice, all right.
They answer to a law that looks backwards, not forwards.
Tough shit! Because that little baby does have it, and he doesn't have time for you to go back to your goddamn lab and spend years trying to figure out the fucking dosage.
Side effects.
Neurological pediatrics.
Can you fucking believe that? Liver dysfunction, FDA, Canada Health.
Get those sleepwalking, goddamn morons out of my lab right now.
- You told me to put them there.
- Good news, David.
The Paroxetine is working.
It'll only work if we can use it, Bob.
- How are you doing? - Well, they could have been real scientists, but they copped out and became doctors instead, or scientists who work for big drug companies because they like security, so I'm not exactly running with wolves here.
You? Lawyers, they learn early that if they say yes, it might come back and bite them in the ass, so for the rest of their lives, all they say is no.
Maybe you should switch.
The medical guys think they're gods, they can't back down to a mere scientist.
But they're used to listening to administrators.
David, you said so yourself.
And lawyers aren't used to a scientist who fights back.
Gentlemen, I cannot let a bunch of doctors and scientists dictate social policy.
They are risk-adverse mice.
Yeah, I remember her.
Afi Lundi, sure.
She worked with AIDS patients all over Africa.
Yeah, she was just in my clinic last year.
I was sad to lose her.
She was always rocking the little ones and singing them African lullabies.
Ahem.
You know, it's amazing how a little love and attention lessens even the most unbearable suffering.
She went to Mozambique to start a programme for orphans.
To help them gain self-sufficiency, but I never heard from her again.
I think that she and Sean were lovers and He got sick too.
She died.
Oh, shit.
So this little girl in Nampula, it was her blood that infected Afi.
She's our new patient zero.
She died 2 weeks before Afi.
Have any new cases surfaced in Mozambique? None.
That they know of This has been Africa's struggle for many years.
It's what Sean was trying to make people understand.
How are you doing on the new HIV cocktail? It's not easy, Wes.
It's a sick fucking disease.
It must be hard for you to be on a cocktail the rest of your life.
Believe me It sucks.
Yeah.
And could you please forward his report card to me? That's right, tran@NORBAC.
ca.
Okay, what was he diagnosed with? Do you mind me asking why he's seeing a psychologist? perfect recall of entire paragraphs.
Yeah, I was curious about your daughter Kara.
She was in the study in Linderville, and Oh no, I didn't know.
I'm sorry.
Yes, what drugs did you study? Yes, Theophylline, Wafarine, Heparin, aminoglycosides.
Doctor Lewinsky and Meyers gave me some.
They gave me some individualized pharmacokinetic models to calculate the most appropriate dosages for everything from nitroprusside to midazolam.
Carlos Serrano.
Ah, Dr.
Preston.
Yes, thank you for returning my call How effective have the computer models been? 95% confidence level? Esta muy bien.
- That's fantastic.
- Hey.
Okay, let me call you right back.
Thank you.
It's going good with the lawyers, how are you doing? Okay.
I talked with Jennings at Harvard, Davies, U.
C.
L.
A.
, computer-assisted dose determinants.
- And? - They figured out the dosage curve for every adult drug that has an accepted preemie dose, averaged them all and then designed a formula for predicting - preemie dosages in adult drugs.
* - You got a dosage ? I got a dosage.
What if we wait a little while, just till he's stronger? Or test it out on me for a few days before giving it to him? What you're saying makes perfect sense, except with this strain of HIV, we have no time.
What about the risks, the side effects? For him, not me.
No risk or side effect is as bad as what's heading his way.
What about the dosage? These are adult drugs.
Well, I'm sorry.
You're not going to like this.
The dose is a smart guess.
It hasn't been tested.
We just have no time, but I think if we act now there's a good chance he'll never progress to infection.
So I should just throw the dice with my son's life? We make no promises, but there's no alternative, Audrey.
None.
We would like to give him his 1st dose today.
He'll be monitored constantly.
The doctors will adjust the dose over and over till they have it right.
In 6 months he could be HIV-free.
And never have to take the drugs again.
It wasn't prions, it was the accident, David.
Well, you know, maybe that's maybe that's good news.
A dead little girl, yeah.
I'm thrilled.
Did she have a previously registered I.
Q.
increase? Yeah.
Well, that's good.
Exhume the body.
Well, her parents, they refused.
What? No.
You've got to exhume that body, we need a sample of the brain tissue to see if there's plaque.
I know, which is why we're on our way to Pittsburgh.
Okay, bye.
We've consulted our Church, we've prayed for God's guidance and We're afraid that the answer is we cannot allow Kara's body to be autopsied.
What we could learn from her could help us help all the other kids back in Linderville.
Do you know what it's like to lose a child? Your only child? No, I'm sorry, I don't.
I know if I lost my son, I would hardly be able to breathe.
I can't imagine your pain.
- I have a boy.
- How old is he? Andrew is 7.
It's the same age as Kara.
He looks like you.
Yeah, he has my personality too, unfortunately.
I know if I lost Andrew, I would I'd try and make some good out of it You know, find some greater purpose.
What if the greater purpose for Kara was to help others? What if she was a gift from God to all those other parents in Linderville, and her death had a reason just like her life did? I think if you pray on this a little more, you'll find that this could mean the gift of life for so many others and a consolation to you for your terrible loss.
Thanks.
I cannot believe you just did that.
It's like you spoke their language fluently.
Well, my father was a good Protestant, he never missed a service.
God, you are full of surprises.
- I had no idea you had a son.
- Andrew is the love of my life.
It must be hard being away from him.
It's awful, yeah, but he has a fine mum.
So how long have you been divorced? You're not divorced.
No.
Separated? No.
Well, what are the options? No, that's not an option.
I don't know, just give Glen whatever he needs to take away his pain.
No, I don't know that and you don't know that, but let's just assume he has pain and do something! All right.
All right.
Thanks, doctor.
Oh Bob! What are you doing here? I work here.
- You were crying.
- I know.
Bob, it's nothing.
I don't understand, the baby results are good.
- That's happy news.
- I know, Bob.
It's just You know, sometimes people, for different reasons, they Oh.
Caroline, you know, yesterday, when you were at the chronic care facility next to pharmacy and didn't know that I saw you, but I did? Bob, I really need to get inside.
It was really strange to see you somewhere other than here, because when you're here you're always serious, and when you're not here you're different.
Bob, I really don't want to talk about this.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Can I ask you one question? What question? Were you visiting someone at the chronic care facility? My nephew, Glen.
Why? How? Well he ran every day training for the Rhode Island High School track finals And the one morning a couple of years ago he just fell.
He had a stroke.
Never woke up again.
He had a stroke? He's so young.
My sister Meg quit her job and stayed with him practically 24/7 at a Boston care facility - until she died.
- Of what? Cancer.
Breast cancer.
When Meg was dying, a year ago now, she asked me to become his legal guardian.
That's lucky for you.
Right.
So, I arranged for him to come to Toronto to be closer.
- How often do you visit? - Three times a week And sometimes two And sometimes one, which is not enough.
Well would you mind if I did? What? Visit him too.
No.
I wouldn't mind.
Mayko, come on, don't Look I mean, just stab me 50 times with the garden shears, just don't do the silent treatment.
God, I had sex with a married man.
What? Well Oh, bloody hell.
No, look, Nicole and I we understand, okay, that love and lust and the desire for long-term relationships all occur in separate regions of the brain.
So listen, we've got all 3 working their arses off for each other, but over here on the left, this biochemical activity lust, sometimes just kicks off for other people and there's nothing you can you can't just switch it off on command.
So, you know, rather than mute our lust, we explore it.
I did not deceive Nicole by enjoying an evening with you.
No, you deceived me.
I'm sorry, I didn't I mean In London, in the circles I travel, people are just open-minded.
Well, I'm an ethical atheist, remember? My mind leads, not my hormones, I expect no less from the man I'm with.
Mayko, I'm sorry, okay? But you know, if it was that important to you, you should have asked.
Well, if I was that important to you I wouldn't have had to.
Hey, why the long faces? Brain tissue from the dead girl.
Ah, shit.
Plaque.
- Classic case of prion disease.
- Right.
If the swimming pool hadn't done her in little Kara would have been dead in a few years anyway.
Okay, so the I.
Q.
increases predict the disease.
Oh, hey, not necessarily.
- There's just one case, eh? One child.
- Right, nothing's certain.
Yeah, but it's not good.
Well, we can't jump to conclusions here.
This is one finding, Mayko.
It could be an anomaly.
One point of light doesn't make a line, right? Okay.
Well, thanks, guys.
How is he? Did you notice that Richard has 10 fingers and 10 toes? I love his little fingernails, they're like paper.
He looks good.
We won't know for certain for about 6 months if he's HIV negative But it looks good.
Soon you'll be able to take him home, and get on with your life.
I'm just starting to let myself think about stupid things, like is he gonna love crossword puzzles like I do? Is he gonna hate strained peas? - I know don't, maybe I shouldn't - Of course you should.
You should think about the future.
Now Richard has one.
We found a cocktail, I'm sending it to you.
What am I gonna do with it? I know you have connections in South Africa, you can have the drug reverse-engineered and shipped to clinics in Mozambique.
No such thing as proper channels? Come on Jack, you know that would take too long.
By the time it would get to Mozambique, more of this strain could surface and stumble out of control but if you do it, you can get it there pronto.
Tell me, Carlos.
When am I getting back my favourite doctor? You know, I yearn to go back to Africa, Jack, I really do.
I love the people and I want to help them, but I made a bigger impact on HIV the last few days at NORBAC than I did 18 months in Africa.
This is where I'm meant to be.
Okay.
Goodbye, my friend.
Bye.
Ruby McGhee.
I'm 7 years, 11 months and 12 days old.
- Your birthday's coming up.
- Yup.
- You having a party? - Two: one for my granny and cousins and one for all my friends at school.
When I turn 9, I'm getting I'm having a sleepover, and when I turn 16, I'm getting a Porsche Boxter.
- Sounds you got big plans, Ruby.
- Yup.
Bob, meet Glen.
Hi, Glen.
Next time on ReGenesis: We have 3 hours before the conference.
That should give us enough time.
- Eat your breakfast.
- Hey! Come on, Bob.
You really think it's safe to be down here? What do you want, then? A couple weeks ago, she started feeling bad, and then she started getting dizzy and she lost her appetite.
She needs to see a fucking doctor, okay? We're talking about a cure for juvenile diabetes.
Oh, my God! Should he deteriorate further, would you like us to take measures to sustain his life? Why do you people keep asking me that? I'm sorry.
You do understand that what we're doing is not helping Glen, it's just keeping him alive.
I understand.
We've intercepted messages from hackers trying to crack NORBAC's website.
If you would rather work with us than against us, become a NORBAC field agent and receive a new mission each week.
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Become a part of it at regenesistv.
com.