Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:31 — 27.0MB)
A fascinating story about a girl who lived a second life.
A young doctor tells a contemporary about a new syrum that can heal any injury to the body. Mending tissues, growing new body parts, rejecting disease. All that’s left is to try it on a human experiment.
A woman is in the final stages of tuberculosis, and hers is just the chance they need. A day goes by, then 2, and after a week of steady recovery the results are amazing. The cured woman, Miss Zaelous, is about to be released, but the doctors want her to stay under observation to monitor her continued progress. She agrees to live in the doctor’s house.
Later on the streets, there’s a ruckus, and the doc learns that his experiment just committed murder. She rejects any help, claiming that her ability to adapt will get her out of her trouble. In the courtroom, a witness is called to identify her as the killer. Sure enough, the woman has the ability to adapt, and change her hair color, and appearance to cast doubt with the witness. The adaptability experiment has worked, but has the doctor created a monster?
Where will Miss Zaelous stop on her rampage of taking advantage of those around her? Might there be an operation that can be done to reverse the affects, or at least nullify them? The woman seems to sense what the doctors are planning and flies the coupe.
As time goes on, the doctores read about her antics in the newspapers. She has taken to getting involved with the atomic energy conference. Soon the adapted, glamourous,exotic woman is the talk of the world. Suddenly she returns to the doctors. What does this virtual Emporeress of the World want now?
The doctors have their chance to get rid of their experiment again, but poisons can’t kill her, anesthetics won’t knock her out, how can the doctors perform their surgery on her? A solution is hit upon, does it work?
Note: It isn’t addressed much in the short program, but it seems to be implied that the woman has either used unethical means to rise to the top, or has less than desireable plans now that she’s there. With a woman in such high promenince, their lame excuse at the end to her travelling companion won’t work for long, and I’m sure a search for the disappeared woman would start, and put our scientists in the hot seat.
Despite the character extremes, and holes in the story, I liked it, and the concept would be a very cool one if such technology ever came about. It would be a great idea for a superhero in a TV, movie, or comic book series.
