Michael Morning.
Harvey Good morning.
Michael My name’s Michael. I just moved in to number forty-three.
Harvey Way-ell, welcome to the neighbourhood, Michael.
Michael Thank you; ’preciate that.
Harvey Good to have you.
Michael And sorry, your name is …?
Harvey Thom. Thom Harvey.
Michael Good to meet you, Thom.
Harvey Settlin’ in okay?
Michael Yes, sir. So far.
Harvey You take care now.
Michael Sorry, Thom?
Harvey Yessir.
Michael It’s not … Dr Harvey, is it, Dr Thomas Harvey?
Harvey …
Michael Pathologist Dr Thomas Harvey?
Harvey Can I help you with something?
Michael Okay, full disclosure: my wife and I are science nuts and we would love to take you out for dinner some time.
Harvey That right.
Michael You like sushi?
Harvey Sushi?
Michael Raw fish. It’s a –
Harvey I, uh, I know what kinda food sushi is.
Michael We know a great place.
Harvey You lemme think about it?
Michael Absolutely.
Harvey Good meetin’ you, Michael.
Michael You’ll let me know.
Harvey You bet.
Michael Pleasure meeting you, sir.
Jon Hello Henry, how are you this morning?
Henry I can’t seem to find my cigarettes.
Jon I thought you’d given up?
Henry Oh.
Jon You’re not allowed to smoke in here, anyway.
Henry I was almost certain …
Jon How did you sleep, Henry?
Henry Tell you the truth, I didn’t stay awake to find out.
Jon Henry, do you know who I am?
Henry You’re not related to Janet Fletcher are you?
Jon I am definitely not related to Janet Fletcher, no. But what if I told you my first name was Jon …?
Henry Um …
Jon Take your time.
Henry Williams …?
Jon (genuinely excited) Henry, you clever bugger, well done. And what do you think it is that I do, Henry? What’s my job?
Henry Surgeon …?
Jon Ooh, not quite, but you’re very close. I’m a doctor; a professor, Henry.
Henry I’m sorry if I get a little mixed up.
Jon It’s not a problem.
Henry I have trouble remembering things, you see.
Jon Henry, I wondered if I might be able to ask you a couple of questions?
Henry Certainly.
Jon Some of these questions might seem a bit bizarre, but bear with me, alright?
Henry I will do my best.
Jon I’d like you to count to twenty please, Henry.
Henry Certainly. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven … eleven …
Jon (beat) Henry?
Henry I’m sorry?
Henry Hello Jon.
Jon Henry, I was wondering if I might be able to ask you some questions?
Henry I wonder if you might be able to help me find my wife? Her name is Margaret.
Jon Henry –
Henry I’m starting to worry about her …
Jon Henry, I’m going to read you a series of numbers, out loud, and what I’d like you to do, Henry, is to repeat each one in turn back to me, alright?
Henry Yes.
Jon Alright, here we go. Four six nine.
Henry Four six nine.
Jon Eight two six five.
Henry Eight two six five.
Jon Brilliant. Here’s the next one: ten three five seven two.
Henry Ten three five seven two.
Jon Yes, Henry. Okay. Nine seven three ten one six.
Henry Nine …
Jon Would you like me to give you the number one more time?
Henry I think so.
Jon Nine seven three ten one six.
Henry Nine seven three ten one … six.
Jon Henry: really well done. How do we feel about one more?
Henry …
Jon Henry?
Henry I’m trying to think!
Jon Alright, fair enough.
Beat.
Henry, is everything alright?
Henry shakes his head, growing upset.
Jon Alright, I think we should call it a day. Henry: you’ve done brilliantly. Alright? Bloody brilliantly.
Henry I’m worried about Margaret …
Martha Greg?
Greg Yes. Martha?
Martha I’m so sorry I’m late.
Greg Don’t worry about it.
Martha I had a call from my son just as I was about to leave.
Greg Nice coat.
Martha Thank you.
Greg Looks great on you.
Martha Thank you.
Greg Think you’ve got something in your –
He picks something from Martha’s hair.
Martha Oh.
Martha Odd.
Greg What conditioner d’you use?
Martha Sorry?
Greg Conditioner.
Martha John Frieda?
Greg Nice. Listen I hope you don’t mind standing?
Martha It was like this last time I was here.
Greg You’ve been here before?
Martha With Patricia, Pat, yes.
Greg Great place, right?
Martha Mmm.
Greg So thanks for meeting with me, Martha. Pat speaks very highly of you.
Martha How do you know Patricia?
Greg We were at law school together.
Martha Yes.
Greg Back in the day.
Martha Right.
Greg Pat’s so great.
Martha She is.
Greg We used to go out. Put that out there.
Martha Oh, okay.
Greg Those were fuckin’ wild days.
Greg I fuckin’ love Pat. Mean she fuckin’, she was fuckin’. Up for it. D’you know what I mean? And I mean not in a slutty way or anything.
Martha No.
Greg Not in a slutty way At All. Mean that’s what I like about the whole bisexual movement. Mean I’m straight, don’t get me wrong. But. Honestly some of the nicest people I’ve spent time with often swing both ways.
Martha Interesting.
Greg So look, Martha, obviously I don’t need to tell you that anything you and I discuss this afternoon is –
Martha No, of course, I understand.
Greg It’s a juicy case, Martha, I’ll tell you that much. Married couple, mid-fifties, husband is on anti-depressants, has been for the best part of twenty years. It’s their thirtieth anniversary so they decide to go away. Only problem is, y’man’s medication has one particularly unfortunate side effect. Kills his libido, dead. Dick’s as limp as roadkill. Has been for best part of ten years. So he comes off.
Martha Comes off the anti-depressants?
Greg Comes off the anti-depressants so him and his wife can have a right good session, if y’see what I’m saying?
Martha Loud and clear.
Greg So off they go. They drive for I don’t even know what, four hundred miles, ’cross the country, and they stay in some remote bit of Scotland. At this point, y’man’s been off his medication for approximately a week.
Martha A week?
Greg A week. And as far as we know, so far no issues. After two days, he starts having trouble sleeping. On the third night, he wakes up, early hours of the morning, and stabs his wife of exactly thirty years eleven times. Next morning, he wakes up and he’s fucking horrified; devastated. Calls the police and says his wife’s been attacked.
Martha Jesus.
Greg He’s been on remand for six months since the arrest. Crucially, he has no memory whatsoever of the attack.
Martha Wow.
Greg So bringing it up to date, we’re looking to plead automatism and we’re after an expert witness to help us with an MRI, EEG and a full written assessment. So look –
Martha I’m … I’m sorry but I don’t think I’m the right person for the job.
Greg Oh no?
Martha No, I’m sorry.
Greg From what Pat tells me –
Martha I – I suppose the problem is I disagree with the basic –
Greg Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that?
Martha I’m not sure that I could say with any great confidence that this man was any more or less in control of his actions than he ordinarily –
Greg Let’s track this back for a moment.
Martha If I could finish –
Martha I don’t – I don’t necessarily agree with the legal view of responsibility.
Greg Get you.
Martha I’m sorry?
Greg I’m windin’ you up.
Martha Why would you do that?
Greg Do what?
Martha I thought we were having a serious conversation.
Greg We are.
Martha Then why are you making jokes?
Greg Okay. Wow. Sorry, okay; my bad. Why don’t we
talk about fee?
Martha I’m not interested in money –
Greg You’re not?
Martha I don’t want money.
Greg D’you not believe in money either?
Martha I’m – I’m sorry; I don’t know what Patricia told you –
Greg Martha: calm it down. Just hear me out. That’s all I’m asking.
Martha I understand that, but I don’t want to waste your time, that’s all.
Greg Maybe we should head somewhere else?
Martha What?
Greg I know a great Mexican place literally hundred yards away.
Martha I don’t want to eat Mexican food with you.
Greg Why not?
Martha Because I don’t want to.
Greg It’s on the firm.
Martha I’m not hungry.
Greg Coffee then.
Martha I find you strange and I don’t like the way you talk about Patricia.
Greg What?
Martha You’re strange, you’re weird – You touched my hair when I arrived which was a strange thing to do –
Greg Martha, mate.
He takes a hold of Martha.
Martha Please don’t touch me.
Greg Martha – Martha – Seriously –
Martha If you touch me again I’ll break your fingers. I’m serious, I’ll break your fingers and then I’ll walk off, I’ll walk off and no one will know it was me who did it.
Greg Mate, fuck’s sake, calm it down.
Martha No, you calm it down. Goodbye, Greg. I hope we never see each other again.
Greg Jesus, what a cunt.
Harvey Come again?
Michael A road trip.
Michael You and me. You and me, we go see Evelyn, and we show her the brain.
Harvey Evelyn Einstein?
Michael Evelyn Einstein.
Harvey You wanna show –
Michael I wanna show Evelyn Einstein the brain. I called her, Doc. I called her up and I told her ’bout you, ’bout the conversations you and I had been having, and she said, ‘Okay: tell me more.’ So I did, I said, I said, I said, ‘Look: it’s all bullshit. All of it. You wanna know the truth? Thomas Harvey is a decent guy. Now how do I know that? Because I met the guy and we ate sushi together, that’s how I know.’
Harvey Michael –
Michael I wanna write about the whole history. Not some shitty, tell-all bullshit piece o’ junk; we’re talking reportage, Doc.
Harvey You curse too much.
Michael I wanna write about family, about heritage; about science.
Harvey You wanna innerview me?
Michael In part, sure. I wan’ us to spend some time together. I wanna get to know you, Doc.
Harvey What you see is what you get, Michael.
Michael Bullshit.
Harvey We oughta get you some soap.
Michael Listen. I know you don’t like talkin’ about it, and I respect that. I do. But, okay, look, here’s the thing: next year is gonna be the fortieth anniversary of the professor’s death.
Harvey (beat) Huh.
Michael Y’see what I’m sayin’? It’s a great time, Doc.
Harvey You spoke to Evelyn?
Michael You better believe it.
Harvey Called her up?
Michael Called her up.
Harvey She still livin’ in Albany?
Michael Berkeley.
Harvey Berkeley?
Michael Exactly.
Harvey Hell of a distance.
Michael Exactly.
Harvey Lotta gas.
Michael Well –
Harvey That’s some expenditure.
Michael The magazine’ll cover it.
Harvey The magazine …?
Michael Sure. I gotta run it past my editor, but sure.
Harvey Huh.
Michael Y’see what I’m saying? Harper’s, Doc; we’re talking quality.
Harvey Huh.
Michael Listen, take some time to think about it.
Jon Henry, I’d like to introduce you to someone. This is Sharon.
Henry I’m not …
Sharon Hello Henry.
Jon Henry –
Henry I’m sick of having this argument with myself.
Jon Henry, Sharon works at Queen’s Square. In London.
Sharon I’m a brain donation nurse.
Henry I am sick and tired of having this same argument over and over –
Jon Okay, Henry –
Henry I am asking you to stay out of my way.
Jon Understood.
Jon moves himself and Sharon out of Henry’s eyeline.
Jon and Sharon deliberately wait … and then re-engage with Henry.
Hello Henry. Henry, I’d like to introduce you to someone.
Sharon Hello Henry, I’m Sharon.
Henry We haven’t met before, have we?
Sharon No.
Henry I have trouble remembering things you see.
Sharon I know. It’s why I wanted to come and speak to you.
Jon You’re famous, Henry.
Henry I’m …
Sharon Neurological royalty.
Sharon You’re a very important person, Henry.
Jon VIP.
Henry I’m no good to anyone.
Jon Don’t be ridiculous; we’d all be out of a job if it weren’t for you.
Sharon Which is why I wanted to come and talk to you about tissue donation. Do you –
Henry No, I’m no good to … I’m in the way. I’m in the way. I’m in the way.
Jon Okay –
Henry suddenly shoves Jon, a burst of raw aggression; Jon is understandably taken aback.
Henry Where is she? WHERE IS SHE? You’re lying to me –
Jon Nobody is –
Henry You are lying to me, you are, you are lying, and you are –
Jon Henry, I need you to try and –
Henry again shoves Jon.
Henry Stay out of my way.
Jon Understood.
Henry Stay out of my way.
Jon raises his hands; a peaceful gesture.
Henry is very upset all of a sudden. The following might not be entirely audible.
I’m going to kill myself I’m going to kill myself if I, if I …
Henry (to Sharon) Margaret.
Jon Henry, this is Sharon.
Sharon Hello Henry.
Henry Hello my love …
Jon No, Henry, this is Sharon.
Martha Anthony?
Anthony We met at a party. That’s the good thing about the first year of undergraduate study, you get to interact with students from other subjects. I went outside to have a cigarette. I asked her what her subject was and she said physics. She was quite drunk, we both were.
Martha Anything else?
Anthony I remember she told me her father had died when she was very young. He had a heart attack. She told me he used to read to her from The Time Machine. She said to me that she was obsessed with that book and that that was what drew her to physics. She committed to the idea that she could build a time machine and go back to him. And she loved Albert Einstein.
Martha Did she?
Anthony Oh yeah. She fell in love with him because of how he changed our understanding of time. Deborah told me that before Einstein, time seemed like a river, flowing in one direction; yesterday the past is upstream and we can never get back to it, and tomorrow is downstream and we’re constantly being swept along by the tide. But Einstein said no, it isn’t like that.
Anthony I can remember our first night together.
Martha You do?
Anthony Oh yeah. I was sick. I’d had too much to drink. I threw up all over her bathroom. I blocked the sink. It was so embarrassing.
Martha What did Deborah say?
Anthony She … Do you know, I’m not quite sure.
Martha Don’t worry.
Anthony She made a pot of coffee, I remember that. The morning after. We ended up talking about Einstein. He died when he was seventy-six. I can’t remember what it was that killed him, but it had the most extraordinary name. She told me that the person who did the … I’m not sure what you call it? You examine the, to try and work out what the problems were …
Martha Don’t worry.
Anthony The bloke who did the thing on Einstein took his brain. And his eyes. And Einstein was cremated. He was cremated without his brain and without his eyes. Awful. The bloke was a lunatic; he threw himself off the Brooklyn Bridge. We’re only aware of a tiny amount of what’s happening was what she said.
Martha What do you mean?
Anthony …
Martha Anthony? Anthony.
Anthony Yes.
Martha Alright?
Martha Anthony, I don’t know if I can help you, do you understand? You’re not going to see Deborah again. And I, I don’t know what to do with you. (Beat.) Maybe we ought to stop …
Anthony Margaret, can I ask you a question?
Martha Martha.
Anthony What?
Martha My name is Martha.
Anthony What did I say?
Martha Margaret.
Anthony Have I told you about Deborah?
Martha You have.
Anthony Is she on her way, do you think?
Martha No.
Anthony I’m starting to get a bit worried about her.
Martha I know.
Anthony Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world – do you know who said that?
Martha Who?
Harvey It’s a real honour to make your acquaintance.
Evelyn Well aren’t you a peach. Evelyn; it’s a pleasure. Get you fellas something to drink?
Evelyn Then let’s talk brains.
Harvey You bet. Well. I brought some photographs with me, if you would like to see some of those.
Evelyn Alright.
Harvey (shows Evelyn photographs) The majority of these were taken way back when – 1955. We took over two hundred photographs of the professor’s brain. From a variety of different angles, different aspects. That one right there (photograph) is the olfactory nerve, I believe.
Evelyn You performed the whole autopsy single-handedly, Dr Harvey, correct?
Harvey You bet.
Evelyn May I see it?
Harvey Yes ma’am.
Evelyn What was that like?
Harvey Humbling.
Evelyn Albie loved goose.
Harvey Is that right?
Evelyn He loved the fat of the goose. He loved fat. Whenever we ate ham, he would cut off the fat and fry it.
Harvey Coupla weeks before he died, professor came to see us. His, uh, his cholesterol was through the roof.
Evelyn He was a real drinker too.
Harvey Huh.
Evelyn Cheese, and wine, you name it … You weigh the brain?
Evelyn How much’d it weigh?
Harvey Just over two and half pounds.
Evelyn That it?
Harvey That’s a pretty normal weight for a brain.
Evelyn Oh yeah?
Harvey You bet.
Evelyn May I see it?
Harvey Absolutely.
Michael passes Harvey a small, brown cardboard box. Harvey removes from the box a smallish bell jar, filled with liquid, and home to several pieces of Albert Einstein’s brain. Harvey passes the bell jar to Evelyn.
Careful now.
Evelyn takes the bell jar and, gazing at it, inspects its contents.
Those are, I believe, from the professor’s hippocampus. We attribute short- and long-term memory to this particular region of the brain.
Evelyn grows upset. Harvey takes the bell jar from Evelyn and returns it to Michael, who returns it to the box. Harvey offers Evelyn a handkerchief.
Ma’am?
Evelyn No thank you.
Evelyn takes out her own handkerchief, blows her nose; perhaps she also coughs.
Dr Harvey, may I share something with you?
Harvey Please. And call me Thom.
Evelyn Two months ago now, I had a telephone call from a gentleman working on a book. About Albie. The gentleman, a fella named Brian Schulman, put it to me that I had not been told the whole truth about my lineage. He put it to me that the man I thought to be my father, Hans Albert, was in fact my brother. The theory goes, when Albie was sixty-two, he had an affair with a ballet dancer. When he was alive, Albie’s executor did everything he could to keep my … father’s indiscretions well and truly buried. But as soon as he died, Thom … Well, you get the picture. Dr Harvey, I wonder if you might be kind enough to bring your research to a close? I fear there is nothing whatsoever remarkable about Albie’s brain. But, more importantly, I would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind as to return the brain. To me. In its entirety.
Harvey I, uh … I’m sorry, I’m, I’m not quite sure I … quite …
Evelyn My hope is that the brain can be used to perform a DNA test. I hope you will understand.
Harvey I can … I can certainly give you a portion of the … But I’m, I’m sorry, there is still a great deal of work still to be done, that needs to be done.
Evelyn How so?
Harvey Studies, there are still … We have, we have portions of … all over the world. Some of the, some of the top guys in … We have guys in, in Tokyo, Germany, Canada –
Evelyn Dr Harvey –
Harvey And, and, and recently, I’ve been working with a gentleman named Britt Abraham from the University of Alabama and, and Britt and I, we, we have a paper coming out. We have a paper coming out. Alterations in cortical thickness and neuronal density in the frontal cortex of –
Harvey And, and, and Steven Pinker, you know Steven Pinker? He’s going to be –
Evelyn Dr Harvey –
Harvey In the New York Times, he’s going to be writing about –
Evelyn Thom, I think you and I both know that there is nothing whatsoever remarkable about Albie’s brain.
Harvey No.
Evelyn Albie worked like a dog and he treated his family like crap.
Harvey No.
Evelyn He worked and he worked and he worked day after day after day and he found the time and the energy required to do so through sheer neglect. Most of my family, Dr Harvey, they hated Albie. They loathed him. They found him to be arrogant, selfish –
Harvey No. Your grandfather –
Evelyn Albie was not a genius because of his brain; he was a genius because he worked himself to death.
Harvey A hundred years ago we thought the universe was static. We had no idea of its scale, its extraordinary scope. But he changed all that, your –
Harvey No, we, we went from being the centre of the universe to just some little piece. But it sure as hell didn’t happen overnight. Science proceeds and confounds and enlightens through its continued and systematic observation of our world, exactly as it is.
Evelyn Dr Harvey, please stop.
Harvey Favours – You know – ‘Chance favours the prepared mind’, you know who said that?
Evelyn It’s time to stop, Thom.
Harvey I’m … I’m sorry, but I, I cannot do that. I’m sorry.
Evelyn That’s okay.
Harvey I disagree. I’m sorry.
Evelyn Don’t apologise.
Harvey I cannot share your point of view. (He is growing upset.) I’m sorry. That I cannot do. I wanna help you, Evelyn, but stopping is something that I cannot … I’m sorry.
Evelyn I understand.
Jon Martha?
Martha Yes.
Jon Jon.
Martha Jon, hi.
Jon Thank you for meeting with me; I know you must be very busy.
Martha Occasionally.
Jon Occasionally; I like that. So … I have absolutely no idea where to begin. So I’ll start at the start and you just tell me if you want me to hurry the hell up and get to the end. Now, and this is going back, God, donkey’s years, I was given the opportunity to meet a patient named HM.
Martha Wow.
Jon I know; turned out this bloke I’d read about during my PhD was in a home half an hour down the road. Since that first meeting, I’ve met with Henry, on and off, once or twice a month across virtually the whole of my career. Some months I see more of Henry than I do my own wife. Henry recently turned eighty and, as such, one thing I am very personally keen to do is ensure that we are given the opportunity to study Henry’s brain following his death.
Martha Of course.
Jon In order to secure a donation, we’ve had to explore various, how do I put this, ‘avenues’. One of which, of course, was whether or not Henry has any living relatives. Now I have to be honest with you, Martha, I have agonised over the appropriate – Let alone – Anyway, the best thing might be to just …
Jon hands Martha a sheet or two of paper. Beat.
Henry was married to a lady named Margaret who very sadly died giving birth to their first, well, only I suppose, daughter. Henry’s pre- and post-operative consultant, a bloke named Victor Milner, made various attempts, according to his notes this is, to break the bad news to Henry. But of course Henry’s condition meant that he couldn’t even remember to forget. He asks for her even now.
Martha Jesus.
Jon Henry and Margaret’s daughter was adopted and, in 1971, at the age of eighteen, she gave birth herself … Well, you can, you can read the rest for yourself I’m sure.
Martha (beat) Can I hang on to this?
Jon My God – please. I thought for the sake of clarity I’d try and condense everything into a single document.
Martha No – Thank you – It’s very … Clear. Christ, I – (Laughs a little perhaps.)
Jon I hope it’s not too much of a bombardment?
Martha I don’t suppose you have any cigarettes do you?
Jon takes out a packet of cigarettes, offers one to Martha. Martha takes a cigarette and Jon lights it. Beat.
Do you mind?
Jon Not only do I not mind, I might even join you.
Martha and Jon smoke.
Martha I’m trying to give up.
Jon Have you tried those e-cigarettes?
Martha I haven’t.
Jon Are you alright, Martha?
Martha I think so.
Patricia You have a son.
Martha (bit drunk) What?
Patricia You. You have a son.
Martha Who says?
Patricia Don’t fuck around.
Martha I’m sorry.
Patricia Don’t fuck around and make jokes.
Martha I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Yes. I have a son. I am mother.
Patricia Fuck’s sake, Martha.
Martha His name’s Ben.
Patricia How old is he?
Martha Who – how do you know?
Patricia How old is he?
Martha Why does that matter?
Patricia I don’t know but for some reason it does.
Martha Is it better if he’s younger or older?
Patricia Nothing makes it better.
Martha How do you know?
Patricia Greg.
Martha Who the fuck is Greg …?
Patricia The guy who you told you were gonna break his legs, ring any bells?
Martha Actually it was his fingers, it was his fiddly fucking fingers.
Patricia Are you drunk?
Martha A bit.
Patricia Greg is a friend, do you understand?
Martha Greg is a misogynist.
Patricia I think you have a problem. I think you have a problem with drink and I think you have a problem with telling the truth.
Martha What?
Patricia And I know you don’t believe in free will, but I think you seriously need to exercise a bit of, like, self-fucking-control.
Martha I’m sorry, I’m sorry, ‘self-control’? Do you have any idea – No, you know what, when you’ve – When you’ve actually – Because I can’t imagine what it must be like being you, how hard it must be being young, and brilliant, and funny, and fucking, with things actually ahead – So I’m sorry if I’ve had a bit to drink and I’m sorry if I lied to you but I’m afraid the truth is, the real truth is, I don’t know anything about it, I don’t know anything about anything, and I have to look at these patients and these people and their families, while they babble on and on and on, I have to look at them, in the eyes, in the eyes, and I have to tell them it’s going to be alright – But really what I wanna say is, what I really wanna say is: we’re pointless. We are pointless. We’re a blip. A blip within a blip within an abyss. So, yes, I have had a bit to drink because, otherwise, frankly, I think I’d be tempted to drive a fucking hammer through my head.
Patricia (beat) I literally don’t even know what to say to that.
Martha …
Patricia I’d like you to leave.
Martha That’s fair enough. That was probably a bit much.
Patricia It was.
Martha I think you’re amazing, Patricia, and I’m sorry I lied to you.
Patricia Yeah.
Martha I mean it, I think you’re amazing.
Michael Hey, buddy, how’s it going? Good news –
Harvey Not too good, actually.
Harvey I read your article.
Michael What’d you think?
Harvey Who the hell do you think you are –
Michael Whoa, Doc –
Harvey Reportage; are you kidding me?!
Michael Doc, take it easy.
Harvey You have embarrassed me – You have embarrassed my family –
Michael Okay, Doc, you need to –
Harvey I had a call, I had a call from my son, my son Robert –
Michael Doc –
Harvey Elouise is, is, is, inconsolable –
Michael I’m sorry to –
Harvey What does any of what happened between –
Michael Okay, look –
Harvey What does any of what happened with me and you have to do with Elouise?
Michael Doc, you’re missing the p—
Harvey She is an extraordinary human being, whom I loved, whom I loved, Michael, you understand that, and you have reduced her to –
Harvey Can you please stop shouting at me for, like –
Harvey It is BS, Michael. It is a joke. A joke. You’ve turned this whole, this whole thing into a, into a –
Harvey A freak show, you turned it into a freak show.
Michael In what universe is you carting around some dead guy’s brain in the trunk of your car not –
Harvey You son of a bitch, it is my life!
Michael Oh gimme a – Where’s the proof? Huh, Doc? Where’s the evidence, where’s this hallowed research –
Harvey The reason … The reason we haven’t published, yet, is because –
Michael Doc, Jesus Christ, admit it: you got it wrong. You made – You took some guy’s brain – You went, okay, gee, maybe there’s something in this –
Harvey You are a liar.
Michael Yeah, well, you’re deluded, so.
Harvey There is not one ounce of truth –
Michael Truth, you wanna talk about truth? How about the fact you met some guy once, once, Doc – you drained his piss and then you cut him open and you stole his fuckin’ brain, and then, then, you had the nerve to act like some –
Harvey I did not –
Michael Evelyn was right, Doc: leave it the hell alone.
Harvey You have –
Michael Move on.
Harvey The goal –
Michael Are we done here?
Harvey The goal of science is to eliminate the subjective viewpoint in order to reach an objective –
Michael What in God’s –
Harvey We had a deal!
Michael Yes, we did. And I stuck to that deal. I paid for the gas and I got you a meetin’ with Evelyn. Oh, and by the way, a little company you mighta heard of called Paramount Pictures might have a little something to say about my –
Harvey You, sir –
Michael Paul Newman, Doc, hearda him?
Harvey I’m not interested –
Michael You know how much money they wanna throw at this thing?
Harvey You lied. You lied to me.
Michael Yeah, well, maybe I did. Maybe I did. But you lied to yourself, and I dunno which is worse.
Beat.
You shoulda just let the fucking thing be cremated.
Martha Hello Henry.
Henry Hello.
Martha I’m Martha.
Henry Hello Martha.
Martha How are you?
Henry I’m waiting for Margaret. Margaret and I are newlyweds.
Martha Congratulations.
Henry Thank you. We’re going to London.
Martha I’m from London.
Henry We haven’t met before have we?
Martha We’ve not, no.
Henry I wasn’t sure. I have trouble remembering things, you see.
Martha I see.
Henry I’m waiting for an operation. Once that’s all done and dusted, Margaret and I will be able to take our honeymoon.
Martha Do you know where?
Henry Brighton. Margaret wants to visit the West Pier. She wants to see the starlings. The formations. I don’t suppose I might be able to trouble you for a cigarette?
Martha Is that allowed?
Henry I think so.
Martha lights a cigarette for Henry; lights a cigarette for herself.
(Beat.) Hello. Martha?
Jon He’s, um. Henry, I’d like to introduce you to someone: this is Martha.
Henry Hello Martha.
Martha Hello Henry.
Henry I’m waiting for Margaret.
Martha Yes.
Henry Margaret and I are newlyweds.
Martha Congratulations.
Henry Thank you. We’re going to London.
Henry We haven’t met before have we?
Martha Um, we have. Actually we have.
Henry I’m sorry. I have trouble remembering things, you see.
Martha Yes.
Henry I’m waiting for an operation. Once that’s all done and dusted, Margaret and I will be able to take our honeymoon.
Martha Do you know where?
Henry Brighton. Margaret wants to visit the West Pier. She wants to see the starlings. The formations.
Martha Henry, um. There’s something I wanted to speak to you about, if that’s alright.
Henry Please.
Martha Okay.
Beat. Martha can’t quite manage to say it, to explain why she’s here to see Henry. She grows upset.
Henry Hello.
Martha (beginning to pull herself together, as it were) Hello Henry.
Henry Here –
He offers Martha his handkerchief.
Martha Thank you, Henry.
Henry We haven’t met before have we?
Martha We have. But don’t worry.
Henry I have trouble remembering things, you see.
Henry Yes.
Martha Jon tells me you’re a bit of a pianist?
Henry I don’t know.
Martha My son’s a musician. I’d love to hear you play. If you didn’t mind.
Henry Alright.
He moves to the piano and takes a seat. Beat.
What do you want me to play?
Martha I don’t mind. Whatever you want.
Beat. Henry plays the melody taught to him by Margaret. He plays with great confidence and fluidity; it’s fucking brilliant.