Original subtitles

That's Howdean, our village,

a couple of hundred houses and cottages,

less than a thousand people living in them

with nothing remarkable ever happening.

There's the church,

early perpendicular, the vicar calls it.

The commons are at the cricket pitch.

The Crown and Anchor where we all have our pints in the evenings.

Mr Dean's General Shop and Post Office.

And there's the manor, Grant House,

where 15 generations of Grants have lived and died,

worked and fought and served their king and country.

And there's the squire, Sir Walter Grant,

hoping to bring home a pheasant or two for supper.

Sir Walter is proud of his well-kept estate,

but proudest of all of his son and heir, Robin

And that's Mrs Leggett.

Her husband was the village drunkard.

We have our share of men and women

who turned their own lives into nightmares,

but Leggett was the prize specimen.

He had a son too, name of Bill,

but he wasn't proud of him at all.

My name is Harvey, Dr Harvey.

Most people call me Doc, meaning no disrespect, I hope.

At the time my story commences,

I had been looking after the people of Howdean for ten years.

I brought their babies into the world

and watched their old and their sick die,

learning that pity is for the living,

and envy for the dead.

"Find the answer," some philosopher once said.

"That life is neither a feast nor a spectacle,

but a predicament".

There's nothing much to show you in Howdean,

nothing that would bring tourists to gape.

Nothing except perhaps that old burnt-out barn.

Yet it all began here as it ended.

But to me, it looked just like a disreputable eyesore

that afternoon when I peeped inside for the first time.

To them, of course, it was a fairy castle.

The girl's name was Lena, Lena Maitland

I think she must have been rising 11

when I came across them that afternoon

Let the tourney begin.

Sir Robin, Sir Bill, salute your queen

Done are you, Sir Bill?

Aye, young Sir Robin.

To the victor, Sir Robin, the royal laurels.

And now, Sir Bill, thou have, thou hath fought well,

for thou, the oak leaves.

Off he went, the defeated knight

I almost started after him,

but then I realised that I mustn't interfere,

for I wasn't asked.

Bill, come back!

Bill!

Now we've have hurt his feelings.

He'll be back Come on.

That was my first glimpse of the three of them,

of the material from which fate

fashioned the four-sided triangle.

Lena, the flash of impish beauty,

those two oddly bad friends,

Robin, solid and dependable and conscientious,

Bill, wild and impetuous.

But Bill was something else too.

That night I learned

that he was a most remarkable youngster

I don't think it's broken, sonny.

It's probably only a sprain.

No, a sprain would've swelled up more than that

I believe it's just a simple fracture,

probably a Colles fracture.

Don't think it'll even need setting.

How did it happen?

I was testing the breaking strain of rope, the tension.

He didn't care that I'd worked it out on paper,

so I got wild and swung on it myself.

And it broke.

Oh, well, we'll just run you along to the cottage hospital

and we'll see what the X-rays say, hmm?

Just pop this over your shoulder.

Mark Twain said that hunger was the handmaiden of genius

and Bill had plenty of her services,

a drunken bully of a father who,

until he was killed in a tavern brawl,

beat him and tormented him.

How could I refuse the appeal

which he never made consciously?

If I hadn't helped him, it would've been like smothering

something strong and fine at birth.

I became his teacher, though only for a little while.

For he soon outpaced me as a hawk would a sparrow.

When his mother died, I became his guardian

I watched him grow, his mind soaring,

and sometimes trembled at the dizzy heights,

for a genius is frightening too,

like lightning or an earthquake,

something we ordinary people could only endure and admire.

Yet he was still a boy in many ways.

Wild, unpredictable, given to sudden rages,

though most often he was angry with himself.

Robin and Lena were his constant companions.

Lena remained his queen,

but Robin was his staunch and unfaltering friend.

The years passed and Lena was the first to go.

Her mother took her back to America,

and soon afterwards, I was saying goodbye to the boys.

They went to Cambridge together to study science.

Bill, needless to say, had won a scholarship.

Sir Walter had started a plastics factory

and wanted Robin to take charge of it.

I felt lonely when Bill had left.

For five years, he had been my whole life.

He had all the qualities that a plodding GP

might dream of possessing.

He was born to do great things.

I knew I could never achieve that.

He would instead of me.

As for Lena, apart from an occasional postcard,

bubbling and tantalising, we had no news at all.

Every afternoon when surgery was over,

I'd climb the hill and look down at our village,

where nothing ever happened.

And as the years passed, as I waited for Bill to come home,

I began to think that nothing ever would happen.

How did it go?

There is often less danger in the things we fear

than the things we desire

I should have remembered that the night Lena came back to Howdean.

She came back a self-confessed failure.

She had tried many things, art, music, writing,

but without success.

Now, weary and cynical,

she had returned to the scene of her childhood.

And so?

And so, I came back to sell the things

that Mother left behind and it'll give me enough

to live on for three, perhaps even four months.

And after that, I shall die in some reasonably unmessy fashion

I won't have you talk like that.

Your very words are blasphemy

I thought doctors were supposed to understand how

little life really matters.

There are many scapegoats for our sins and failures,

and the most popular is providence

I shan't blame anyone but myself

I didn't ask to be born, so I have the right to die.

You're wrong, Lena.

No one has that right.

No one.

Did you know Robin and Bill were back in Howdean?

No - Yes, they are.

You remember the old barn?

They've bought it and turned it into a workshop.

Bill's christened it "The Dump".

They're working there night and day on something big.

Something big?

Yes

I don't know what it is They won't tell me till it's finished.

But whatever it is, it's something that's costing

a lot of money and a lot of nervous energy.

They've rigged up a couple of bunks,

practically live in the place.

Would you like to see it?

Darling Doc, you're so transparent.

Of course, let's go see genius at work

Oh!

Hello, Bill Having fun?

We're demonstrating ways of turning the air blue.

Yeah, technical hitch.

The mastermind will recover.

Cigarette, anybody?

I'd like one, please.

Well, by all that's wonderful!

- It's the prodigal daughter. - Welcome home!

Hello, Robin.

Bill.

Doesn't she look wonderful, Bill?

What are all of these contraptions?

Well, that'd be rather hard to explain.

Most of them, have only just been invented.

They haven't got any proper names yet.

What Bill means is, he isn't sure yet if it'll work.

A few weeks more, we'll be able to give a demonstration

that'll speak for itself if it comes off and I'm sure it will.

Though Bill pretends it's doubtful The theory's watertight.

Oh, it all sounds terribly mysterious

and I'm afraid quite above my head.

Well, you see, you'd have to study Einstein.

And who is Mr Einstein?

Pretend you didn't hear.

It's a mess, isn't it?

I don't suppose with genius at work it could be any otherwise.

Oh, yes, it could.

They need regular meals, you know, and someone to remind them

that occasionally one is supposed to sleep.

A ministering angel, no less

I suppose you've picked me for the job?

No, thank you, Doc.

Well, gentlemen, thank you for a most interesting visit

and I hope that you'll invite me

when you present your masterpiece to the world.

Goodnight.

But, Lena.

But of course she changed her mind.

That's a woman's privilege.

She became cook, nurse, confessor, chief bottle washer,

and occasional mechanic to those two conspirators.

She became one of them,

sharing their disappointments,

getting on the right side of Sir Walter,

who was beginning to get worried over his investment

in the mysterious scheme.

Soothing his ruffled feelings when Bill was a little abrupt,

being the most wonderful thing in the world,

a woman who is also a companion

and a comrade to her menfolk

I saw little of her and the boys,

for I was told to keep away,

until one evening Robin asked me to pay a visit

to Grant House with him.

You say these experiments are certain to succeed?

There's no certainty about it, Dad.

Of course, we're more than hopeful and success would mean that.

Oh, yes, quite, quite You said all that 18 months ago,

when I gave you the? 1,000

I don't think your money's been wasted.

And now another few months or a few weeks would see the job finished.

A few weeks, a few months,

a few years and? 2,000.

Oh, Rob, I'm not unreasonable, you know that.

But the answer is definitely no, not another penny.

I wanted you to take over the plastic business,

but you refused

I staked? 1,000

and I'm not going to throw good money after bad.

And I'm surprised at you, Harvey,

encouraging them in this wild goose chase

instead of making them see reason.

Perhaps reason means something different to me

I think there's method in their madness.

Goodnight, Sir Walter.

Goodnight, Father

I hate to tell Bill.

- Don't tell him. - But what on earth will we do?

Just say Sir Walter wanted a week or so to think things over.

- Yes, but. - I have a few hundreds in the bank.

That'll do to carry on with,

and I shall have to think what I can do about the rest.

Doc, you're an.

Old fool, eh?

Well, I must hurry, not much time to waste.

You know, Doctor, if you hadn't been in such a hurry,

we could have got a much better price for such a well-established practice.

Yes, but you see, Simpson, I was in a hurry.

Thanks for all your help anyway.

That's all right There it is.

Thank you

Oh, what a terrible night, but I had to come.

Well, you just sit down by the fire now and relax

and I'll get you a nice hot drink.

Oh, I really can't stay.

Doc, do you have some Benzedrine?

Those two boys can't keep going on coffee alone.

Then they should rest.

You'll all be going down with nervous prostration

if you don't take some time off soon.

No, really, Lena.

Oh, I admit the last three days have been pretty grim,

but they're almost sure that they've got it now.

One last effort - Come on.

You know, Doc,

I never thought I could get so enthusiastic

about something I don't even know.

Hello, Harvey here.

Well, it's for you, Lena.

Hello - Lena, we've got it licked.

We're ready for the first demonstration.

Curtain going up in ten minutes, you'd better hurry.

They think they've got it and they want to show us.

Come on, Doc, this might be it

Is this it? Have you really got it?

Be with you in a second.

- Well, we're almost sure it will work. - What do you mean "almost"?

I'm the cautious one, do you remember?

Don't you think you ought to tell me what it's all about?

You think our principal backer ought to know?

You know you're just dying to tell him.

All right.

But what are they?

We call it a reproducer.

You might also call it a duplicator.

How does it work? What does it do?

Well, that's not so easy to explain

I could fill your head with figures and names.

Millikan and Faraday and Newton

Dalton, Rutherford, Planck and Oppenheimer.

Not to mention Mr Einstein Even I now know who he is

We can give you a lecture on atoms and protons,

on the theory of indeterminacy and heavy water.

Not to mention something called a wavicle,

which is half wave and half particle.

Hold on, I'm dizzy already.

Can't you put it into words of one syllable?

We'll do better than that We'll show you.

Let Doc have the honour of choosing the very first object for the reproducer.

What'll it be, Doc?

Pick anything you like, any object.

Anything? But what material?

- Stone, metal, fabric? - Anything at all.

What about that?

All right.

Now, you just sit down and relax.

You're the audience, we have to do the work.

And don't be disappointed if the show isn't quite perfect yet.

You'll be careful with that? I've had it for years.

Right

- You know what you have to do? - Yes

Whenever you do, watch that meter.

Ready

Alpha 17.

Alpha 17.

Five.

Five.

Beta two Beta two X.

Beta two.

Beta two X.

Twelve

Twelve.

Gamma seven.

Gamma seven

Thirteen.

Thirteen.

Zeta 11.

Zeta 11.

Fourteen.

Fourteen

Full power.

Now!

Switch off!

Off.

Oh, we've done it, it works!

Oh, Robin, isn't it wonderful?

Bill, it works, it works!

There you are, Doc.

But this is incredible.

It's an exact replica.

Even to this bent link.

Look at that.

How on earth did you do it?

Well

I'll try to explain, but it won't be simple.

Crudely then,

- you know what matter is? - Hmm?

Sure, you know, the stuff everything's made out of,

windows, doors, watches, even doctors.

- Oh, yes, what else? - Well, all through the ages,

men have used matter to create energy,

wood to create heat, coal to make electricity.

Out of inactive, inert mass,

we've created movement, force.

Yes, I've got that.

Well, fairly recently,

we found ways of making matter out of energy,

sort of reversing the process.

It was first done some years ago by the GE Labs in New York.

Their machine, the Betatron, used high-powered X-rays

and produced brand new electrons,

freshly created particles of matter.

You've lost me somewhere on the Bayou, but never mind, Bill.

Oh, just let's forget all the scientific jargon.

You must take it on trust, Doc, we can reproduce anything in the world.

- Gold, platinum, diamond. - The Venus de Milo.

Aureomycin, all the rare and costed drugs,

all the blood plasma the world wants.

But this is terrific.

Have you thought out the tremendous implications?

What's there to think out?

We've done it! That's all that matters.

Not quite, Bill.

We've a responsibility to ourselves, to the world.

There's your father, Robin After all, he advanced the first thousand.

Don't you think he ought to be told?

Well, I thought of keeping it a secret until we get organised,

until we discover the best way of using the reproducer

Robin, I think your father has a right to know.

All right, let's tell him.

After all, we can always buy out his share.

Oh, let's don't talk business tonight

I feel like celebrating

I took enough out of the petty cash

to buy a couple of bottles of champagne.

Come on, let's go try it I've even got a bucket of ice.

Would you care to endorse it, Sir Walter?

Thank you.

You can watch us first if you'd like.

Right

Ready?

Alpha 21.

Alpha 21.

Five - Five.

Beta 4 Beta 4X.

Beta 4.

Beta 4X.

Seven - Seven.

Gamma 12.

Gamma 12.

Twenty - Twenty.

Zeta 13.

Zeta 13.

Thirteen!

Thirteen.

Full power!

Now!

Robin, Bill, Harvey,

do you swear this isn't some some trick?

This second cheque even the numbers are the same.

- It's really. - Yes, yes, created out of nothing.

Reproduced, if you like.

Of course, one of them's no good.

Well, we didn't exactly intend to go in for forgery, Sir Walter.

Of course, it would be different if they were gold bars

or a couple of ton of platinum,

or perhaps a hundredweight of rubies.

And you say you can reproduce anything?

Anything at all.

If it's not too large to go into the domes.

Of course, we could build new domes, any size.

- Does anybody know about this? - No one but us.

Then I implore you not to tell anybody,

until I've had time to get in touch with the proper authorities.

What have the proper authorities got to do with it?

It isn't a secret weapon - Oh, isn't it?

You say you can reproduce anything?

Atom bombs, poison gas,

- bacteria by the billions. - But we would never do a thing like that.

My dear, of course I know you wouldn't.

Neither would my son here, nor would Bill.

Well, I'm not so sure about Bill.

He might do it in a spirit of detached scientific curiosity.

Now, what you've got to decide is, what you want yourselves.

Two things, Dad.

Security so our work shouldn't be disturbed.

Oh, I think the government would insist upon that anyway.

Mm-hm - And what else?

Our equipment is rather makeshift.

We have to make it safe and efficient,

so I suppose we need a new place

and a larger source of power.

And of course, the originals of the things to reproduce.

Yes, rare drugs, complex and costly medical apparatus.

Electronic computers, radium.

Works of art to make beauty available to all.

They're not in this for personal gain, Sir Walter.

Now listen, you've achieved something immense,

but you've got to watch every step.

I think you want too little and yet too much.

Will you trust me to handle this?

Your Uncle Henry is the logical man to approach.

He's the Permanent Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs.

Yes, he's also a stuffed shirt.

Oh, really, Robin!

He's also a statesman

I'll explain everything to him.

Of course, you'll have to brief me, you know,

in non-technical language,

and we'll be guided by what he says

I'm not so sure about that, sir.

And why not, young man?

Well, this is something for all mankind, not just for one country.

If Lord Grant wants to keep it just for ourselves,

I would resist that with all my might.

Hold your horses, Bill.

No, Doc, he's right.

But I'm sure we can work out a way that's satisfactory to both sides.

And I agree with Dad that we shouldn't be too hasty.

Well, that's settled then

I'll go up to London tonight.

Well, I suppose you'll come to the point sooner or later.

I know you pretty well, Bill

I've nursed you through some black moods.

What is it?

It's a paradox, that's what it is.

A bloke said once that a paradox is only a truth

standing on its head to attract attention.

Look, I must be serious.

It is serious.

And that girl, that

silly, wonderful Lena.

She doesn't know what she wants.

I do.

I know what I want.

I want her.

I need her.

I love her.

Why don't you tell her so?

You know how it is.

She doesn't know what she needs She might.

Turn you down?

That can't be helped.

It shouldn't stop you from trying.

It does stop me.

I know what it is.

It's pride.

I can't help it.

I'm too sensitive.

Would you

would you sort of probe her, Doc?

Would you?

Yes, of course I will, my boy,

but you must give me time.

At the moment, all our minds are too full of this invention of yours.

When we've got organised a bit, I'll talk to her, I promise.

But you must leave me to choose the moment, all right?

Yes, of course.

I want her to know and I can't tell her myself.

Thank you, Doc.

Thank you for everything.

Now, Bill, try to behave yourself

I know it's not easy, but it's worth it.

Well, is it?

I'm tired of the whole reproducer, Rob.

It was fun developing it,

but now I'd rather start on something new.

I didn't know you felt like this, Bill.

Just think, in a few months,

the hospitals of the world will have all the radium they need.

No polio victim need die now for the want of an iron lung.

And all the beauty we can give to the people

who never before owned a great painting

or a beautiful statue.

No, I'm not tired of our work yet.

Well, perhaps you're right.

Come on, let's go downstairs.

Oh, well I've put it off All right, I'll

Erm.

Look, erm, I'm not very much of a hand at making a speech,

but I feel that this is an occasion.

The presence of a distinguished statesman,

who is also a member of my family,

makes me feel doubly diffident.

But you won't, I know, grudge me a few words.

I think I can flatter myself that I was among the first.

In fact, I was the very first

to realise the world-shattering importance of a reproducer.

Some men might have refused to invest

in a seemingly fantastic venture,

but I had faith in these brilliant young men.

I had faith to the tune of a very substantial sum.

Hear, hear!

However, my faith was fully justified.

My expectations are more than fulfilled

I'm happy to say that the government has given its full consent to our plans

and Lord Grant is here to discuss

the implementation of our suggestions.

What Walter means is we're willing to do as you wish.

- Within reason. - Yes, yes, of course.

Now may I give you a toast

to the Universal Reproducer Company.

May it transform the world

into a place of peace and plenty

The Universal Reproducer Company.

Now, Walter, we've got to be practical about this.

First of all, I want all the blueprints

and formulae transferred to our safe custody,

and the sooner the better.

Yeah, of course, Henry

I can quite see that security is of the highest important.

Exactly, and I want these two geniuses of yours

to come up to London and explain everything in detail to our big boffins.

Yes, I think that's very practical

I'd be very glad to come up with you myself.

That may not be necessary.

Let's ask them anyway whether they can make the trip.

Where is Robin?

I saw him a moment or two ago

I think he was with Lena - Hmm.

Dad, Mother, everybody.

Congratulate us Lena and I are going to be married

- Darling! - Congratulations

I'm so glad It's the most wonderful news

- I'm really very, very happy. - Well, this is a surprise

Steady, Bill.

Thanks, Doc.

Almost made a fool of myself.

I thank you for something else too.

What's that, son?

Not speaking to Lena about that evening when I.

Isn't it wonderful, Bill?

I never thought she'd have me.

I'm terribly glad, Rob

for both of you.

I know you'll be very happy.

Thanks, Bill

Will you come back to my place, Bill?

Thanks, Doc.

I can manage

by myself.

Bill.

Bill

Bill.

Oh, it's you, Doc.

What are you doing out here?

Come inside and I'll tell you

I've got to tell somebody.

I have suggested to Rob that we try and see

just how far the reproducer would take us.

Purely as a matter of curiosity.

And what does he think of the idea?

Not much.

Well, you know Robin and his code of honour.

He said he was a physicist, not a biologist.

And the current of electricity we'd have to pass through

the guinea pig or rabbit, or whatever it was,

would be rather painful.

Well, I didn't think of any much of that objection.

After all, chloroform or morphia would eliminate it.

So you gave it up for a while?

Yes.

But a week ago,

I started with a guinea pig.

Oh, yes

I did have two guinea pigs, perfect replicas.

And this one, the original, came round all right when the dope wore off.

But the duplicate

well, it didn't live.

I tried everything.

Massage, adrenaline.

I even built a miniature iron lung It was no use.

Did you try surgery?

I made an incision, massaged the heart, didn't work.

Perhaps it's just as well that it didn't.

But it's got to work, and you've got to help me, Doc.

Oh, how can I help?

Well, I've got something.

It's really an adaptation of a gadget called the autojector.

I haven't got it perfect yet.

It's a matter of spinal surgery and I'm no hand at that.

If you could give me just a little help, Doc

I don't know, Bill This is very different from anything you've ever asked me before.

I shall have to think it over.

I'll tell you tomorrow.

Yes.

You do that, Doc.

I'll be waiting

I haven't got much time left.

Not much time.

That night for the first time,

I felt that there was something strange,

something feverish in Bill,

that he was driven by a force he couldn't control.

The words of Solomon burned in my mind.

"Love is strong as death.

Jealousy is cruel as the grave".

But words didn't help.

I knew from the beginning that I would help him

I also knew that I'd hate helping him, I thought,

but even thought stopped short.

This is my last card, you know?

How does it work, Bill?

You gave me the clue

I realised from what you said,

that I had to have something acting not only as a heart pump,

setting up a circulation artificially,

but also a gadget that oxygenated the blood at the same time.

If this fails, I'm done.

Come on.

All right, I'm not gonna hurt you.

- Would you hold him there? - All right, Bill.

There, he's gone nicely to sleep

Full power!

Now!

Well, Doc, we've done it.

- You've done it, Bill. - We, I, what's it matter?

Isn't the secret simple?

Just pump the blood through the veins

till the creature's own heart pump begins to work in sympathy.

Bill, I beg you, now that you've got it,

don't do anything hasty.

It's a terrible secret, an immense responsibility.

No one really should know about it

I myself don't want to know what modifications you've made

to your original autojector.

Believe me, Doc, I'm not interested in turning out rabbits by the million.

Leave that to nature.

I think you know why I've done all this.

I think you know, and you'll help me, won't you?

No, Bill, I won't

I can't help you I can't!

You'll have to do it yourself

A week after that fantastic night, Lena came back.

Robin had to stay in London,

where the talks with government experts were still continuing.

Lena looked as happy as any human being could ever be.

I watched Bill.

He seemed to be composed, almost serene.

Lena told us that she'd come back to prepare their new home

and to ask Bill to join Robin in London.

Don't be a stubborn mule, Bill They need you up in London.

Oh, Robin can deal with all that, he's to the manor born.

I'd only get impatient and spoil things.

Well, I can't put you in a straitjacket and post you off,

but I do think you're being silly.

No, I don't think so

I've got something else to do.

Something much more important.

Come for a walk and I'll tell you.

Our genius is in one of his moods.

Do you mind, Doc?

As I watched Bill carrying off Lena that afternoon,

a chill came over me.

It was as if they'd suddenly become ghosts,

intangible and lost in the shadows

I pitied Bill and I trembled for Lena.

Yet, there was nothing I could do

Bill, I think that above all, we should be honest with each other.

That's what I've been trying to do all the time.

You must have known how it was,

ever since Robin and I fought that duel with the wooden swords.

But I didn't I didn't know until that night at Grant House.

And even then - It was too late.

- Even if I had known before. - I know that.

I knew it even if I couldn't quite face it.

Even if it weren't Robin.

But you can help me, Lena You must help me.

- Help you? - Yes.

While you and Robin were away,

I found something.

I found a way to make another Lena.

Another Lena?

I think he's considered all that

and he's absolutely certain there's no danger of any harm to you.

He told me that every brain cell,

every nerve would be reproduced intact

and in perfect working order.

Well, here, I sound as though I'm arguing on his side,

but I only want you to know the facts,

and then to be quite sure of yourself

before you finally make up your mind.

What about after?

Will she be different after we're separated?

Like a twin sister?

Yes, I'm pretty sure of that.

Oh, if only I could talk to Robin!

But he'd never.

My dear.

You know how fond I am of the three of you,

and I do honestly believe

that you could make Bill happy without losing Robin,

without impairing your own happiness in the least.

But as I said before, it is for you to decide

Full power!

Now!

Switch off!

Do you want to go in?

No.

But I must look.

Surprised?

No.

I just can't seem to find the right words

Bill called her Helen,

but even this was only another form of Lena.

I made a couple of silly mistakes at first.

Forgot that Helen would have the same memories as Lena

after the moment of her creation.

But after a few hours, my embarrassment wore off.

Helen helped too, she was natural, unaffected.

Then they went on for a holiday,

for, as Bill said, Helen had to get used to him.

I watched that train pull out

and I should have been happy too.

If I wasn't, it must have been my fault,

or the fault of the small, still voice

that cried a warning inside me

Go on.

Oh, it's nice

No regrets?

Ten days now.

Ten mad, wonderful days.

Lena's known me all my life.

But you, Helen

you see inside me.

You know what I really am.

Suppose you hadn't liked what you found?

Seems strange that you never wanted me to take this ring off.

Perhaps because it's part of you,

until I give you mine

Robin, darling

Why have sandwiches no imagination in this country?

Perhaps it's a general lack of

I must turn my great brain onto inventing something

really choice in the way of sandwiches.

I think I'll take a swim.

Yes, all right, darling

I'll guard the camp

Helen!

Helen! Come back!

Come back!

What is it, Bill? What's happened?

Come up here.

Doc, for perhaps the first time in my life, I'm frightened.

Yesterday, we were having a picnic on the beach.

She went for a swim.

If I hadn't been quick.

What do you mean?

She tried to commit suicide.

Only just got there in time.

She didn't struggle and there was something in her eyes,

as if she'd spoken aloud,

"I'll try again and again until I succeed."

I could see it in her eyes.

But I thought you were happy down here, that everything went so well.

It did, it was wonderful.

The first two weeks

the plans I made, I felt I could share everything with her.

And then suddenly.

She won't tell me and I can't press her

I can't hurt her.

Will you talk to her, Doc?

Will you find out what it is?

Of course I will, my boy, at once

Who is it?

It's Doc, Helen, may I come in?

Come in, Doc.

Did Bill send for you?

I'm too old to learn how to lie.

What did he tell you?

That yesterday you tried to kill yourself.

Why?

Do you remember what I what Lena said once?

I didn't ask to be born, so I had the right to die.

These are just words, Helen.

You must have had a reason.

Well, that night when I opened my eyes for the first time and saw him,

the first conscious image,

the first thought in my mind was not of Bill.

It was of Robin.

Don't you understand?

Bill created me in the image of Lena.

He wanted another Lena, no more, no less.

He succeeded, he succeeded perfectly.

I am Lena,

not just her twin.

We knew that, my dear We knew that.

But you didn't know.

You didn't stop to think that I'd be born not only to think

and act as Lena, but also to feel exactly as she does,

to be her image in everything.

Above all, in her love for Robin

I can't blame Bill or anybody else.

The first time, I thought I could bear it somehow.

Don't you realise

that I share all of Lena's memories

after the time I was created

My dear, I do want to help you and to help Bill too

Bill, I beg of you, listen to me

I know how you love Helen, just as you loved Lena

I know that now she means everything to you

I understand that, but, Bill

happiness isn't our birthright, only its pursuit is.

There are other kinds of happiness,

other ways of achieving it.

Doc, I don't believe in all that.

In all my life I've only wanted two things.

Knowledge and.

Well, I suppose love.

I used the first to try and gain the second.

But now.

Don't hold on to her, Bill.

Let her go.

Even if I did let her go, what good would it do?

Don't forget, there are two of them

in love with the same man.

If I accept my own loneliness and longing,

that won't lessen hers.

Thank you, Doc, for everything.

I seem to be saying that all my life, don't I?

I want you to go back to Howdean.

How can I? How can I leave you two?

No, please Trust me.

Just give me a little time.

All right, Bill

I hoped you'd come here.

Where is she?

Bill, Doc told me what you're going to do and that you needed help,

but don't you think you've done enough?

You're not God, Bill.

What if something should go wrong?

Nothing can You ought to know that, Lena.

I thought you'd want this just as much as I do.

I?

Have you forgotten Robin?

What do you want me to do?

Control the high-voltage apparatus.

I can't be in two places at the same time.

You've done it before

I'll cue you.

Helen, you trust me, don't you?

I've worked it all out, there can be no danger.

Bill, how can you be sure it'll work?

Darling, I can't explain in detail.

This new contraption is a modification

of a treatment they use in nervous diseases.

Now, I don't mean to imply that you're not sane.

You see, thought is an electrical process itself.

Memory is stored in the cells of the brain and can be drawn off

just to draw electricity out of a battery.

Don't worry about that.

You'll sleep after the first two seconds.

At the end, when you wake up,

you'll have no memories and no regrets.

You know I wouldn't hurt you for anything in the world.

But even if I gave up everything,

it wouldn't make you happy.

Yes, Bill, you're right.

An empty mind and a new beginning

Ready, darling?

Goodbye, Robin.

Well, I didn't expect to see you

I had to come back to fetch Bill.

But I thought you could settle everything without him.

So did I, and then I found out

that the blueprints and formula were incomplete.

You know how careless Bill has always been about these things.

There were a dozen details which I didn't know myself.

The latest improvements he had made, some essential ones.

But where is he and where's Lena?

She wasn't at the house.

Sit down, my boy.

This is going to take a little time.

I'm afraid I've got a bit of a shock for you, Robin.

No, no, don't worry Lena's perfectly all right.

Well, it's no good beating about the bush.

Bill's been in love with Lena for some time.

Bill?

Where is he? I must talk to him.

If this should come between us.

You ought to know that nothing could make any difference

between you and Lena.

She loves you.

Poor Bill.

Poor Bill, indeed.

For a time he was happy.

Happy?

You remember those live experiments he was so keen on

and that you disliked so much?

Yes.

He carried on with them alone and

he succeeded.

What?

He then asked me and Lena to help him to create another Lena.

Another Lena?

There is another Lena, Robin

Bill!

I've got Helen!

Lena!

Don't be a fool, Robin!

- There's nobody alive in there now. - Let me go!

- Robin! - Let me go!

It's all right, Robin, she's not badly hurt.

There is one thing though.

What is it? I must know.

She's lost her memory She can't remember anything.

What? But then it must be.

Now, now, Robin, calm yourself.

It could still be the Lena, you know.

Anything could have happened in that barn.

Doc, please, I'm not a child.

You saw Lena and the other one.

You told me yourself that there was no way of telling them apart.

Yes, I did say that.

- There was no way unless one knew. - Knew what?

When Bill created Helen,

he had to use a contraption of his,

an autojector in order to start her heart beating.

It left two tiny scars on the back of her neck.

Then there is a way?

Doc, did you look?

No.

No, I didn't dare.

Or perhaps I felt it was your right to.

Thank you, Nurse.

This is Robin, my dear.

Let me look at you again, dear.

Lena

Lena