Masters of Science Fiction (TV Series)

The Discarded (2007)

James Denton: Barney Curran

Photos 

Quotes 

• [an airlock enters and Barney Curran enters. He has a friendly face and wears white regimentals] 

  Barney Curran : Hello. I was sent from Earth Central... to make you a really terrific offer.

  [the mutants are watching him in twitchy, grunting cynicism] 

  Barney Curran : My name's Curran. And you must be the Captain.

  [He holds his hand out to shake Bedzyk's. Bedzyk merely eyes him. After the commercial jump, the mutants are all shouting and pleading. Samswope begins pounding his cane against the side of the "Gulag" in a slow, menacing percussion] 

  Bedzyk : All right, listen up!

  [the mutants fall quiet. Samswope stops pounding] 

  Bedzyk : You all wanted to go to the Terraforms. Have we been to the Terraforms?

  [the crowd calls, "Yes!"] 

  Bedzyk : You wanted to go to Europa. Have we been to Europa?

  [the crowd calls, "Yes!"] 

  Bedzyk : Have we been to Mercury?

  [the crowd calls, "Yes!"] 

  Bedzyk : Have we been to Venus?

  [the crowd calls, "Yes!"] 

  Bedzyk : Callisto? Ganymede? Twice! TWICE we went to Ganymede! All right, then, back off! Back off. Let me talk to this guy.

• Bedzyk : Let me see if I can guess, Mr. Sanhedrin Earth neighbor. You want us to move our little load of misfits off L5 orbit or 'we'll blast your asses away.'

  Barney Curran : Oh, no, no, no, it's not that at all! In fact, I don't think any of us down there have any idea how hard it's been for you all.

  Bedzyk : Without the lubricant, huh? Just spit it out.

• Barney Curran : Do you think that Earth Central hates you? That we don't feel your pain? God, it's been 37 years! You, you have to believe we feel the guilt and torment of what the former generation did to you!

  Harmony Teet : Oh! That's why you never sent get well packages - or toilet paper?

  Samswope : Mr. Bedzyk and I have to tell our happy little band why you're here, Sheriff. So go ahead. By the way, I notice that you're a healthy, arrow-slim normal lad. Did they pick you preferentially to give us a little tweak of the antennae?

  [Curran opens his jacket to show that his chest is a mass of writhing, suppurating neurofibromas] 

• Barney Curran : And then a doctor, a Hungarian, came up with a serum.

  Harmony Teet : Do you hear what he's saying? Don't you get it yet?

  Barney Curran : A cure. The only thing that stops it from spreading is a serum synthesized from prepandemic enzymes that are only found in blood - in the blood of...

  Bedzyk : Of discards. Of us! Are you kidding me? You want our blood!