Like Mother Like Daughter

By
Amanda Hurst

INT. LAB - NIGHT

The lab is dimly lit. Stacks of papers and folders litter
the tables. The lab is empty, except for one woman.
BEATRICE, a young, dark-haired woman, somberly gazes at a
baby floating in a tube. The baby is fully developed, as if
it is ready to be born at any time. The baby is connected to
a nutrient bag by an artificial umbilical cord.
Beatrice places her hand on the tube and whispers.
BEATRICE
Isabelle, can you hear me?
HENRY, a sharply dressed man, enters the lab behind Beatrice
and puts his arm around her.
HENRY
Can you believe it? It finally
worked.
Beatrices voice is quiet and melancholy.
BEATRICE
Its amazing.
HENRY
Well, its getting pretty late. We
should head home.
BEATRICE
Alright.
Henry and Beatrice exit the lab. As they leave, Beatrice
turns back to look at the baby again. Her face is full of
sadness.
INT. HENRY AND BEATRICES HOUSE - NIGHT
Henry and Beatrice lay in bed together.
HENRY
Well, tomorrows the day. We
finally get to show the world our
project.
Beatrice turns to face Henry and frowns. A tone of sadness
comes through in her voice.
BEATRICE
I wonder what people will think.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

(2)

2.

HENRY
Is everything alright? It seems
like somethings bothering you.
BEATRICE
Im fine. Just nervous about the
presentation.
Henry caresses her face.
HENRY
Dont be nervous. People will love
what weve done. Who wouldnt want
to live forever? Is that really all
thats bothering you?
BEATRICE
Of course. Lets get some sleep.
Beatrice turns off the lamp, and the couple goes to sleep.
INT. AUDITORIUM - DAY
An ANNOUNCER stands on a stage. Hundreds of people line the
rows of the auditorium.
ANNOUNCER
And now I present the esteemed Dr.
Henry Waters and his wife, Beatrice
Waters.
The crowd cheers loudly, and Henry confidently walks onto
the stage. Beatrice nervously follows behind him.
HENRY
Thank you. Thank you. I really
cant say how excited I am to tell
you all about what weve been
doing. As many of you know, we have
been experimenting with cloning for
some time.
A projector displays a series of images and videos related
to the project behind Henry.
HENRY
I want to give people immortality.
I want Beatrice and I to be able to
live together forever. I saw how my
mothers death tore my father
apart. I cant bear to experience
that same pain, and no one else
should have to either.
(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

(2)

3.

Henrys face grows somber, and his voice becomes more

forceful. Beatrice looks at him.
HENRY
This is why we must develop a way
for people to live forever. Our
method involves cloning people and
then modifying their genetics to
make them physically superior. The
clones will develop from fetuses,
and when they reach their prime
age, they will be frozen and sealed
away until we need their bodies to
replace those of the people they
were cloned from.
The projector shows images of DNA to illustrate the process.
It also shows diagrams of human bodies.
HENRY
Once the original person is ready,
they can be transplanted into their
new body, which will be stronger
and more resilient. By the time the
cloned body grows old, a new clone
will be ready for another
transplant.
Henrys mouth curves into a smile. Beatrice looks down.
HENRY
After years of research and
experimentation, we are proud to
announce that we have developed our
first successful genetically
enhanced human clone. It is a clone
of none other than my wife,
Beatrice.
The crowd cheers again. Henry looks at Beatrice and motions
for her to speak.
BEATRICE
IsabelleHENRY
The clone.
BEATRICE
The clone has been genetically
enhanced to be a physically
superior copy of myself. She is
growing as a normal human would,
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

(3)

4.

BEATRICE (contd)
from a fetus. Shes a normal girl
in almost every way and...
Her voice trails off and she looks down. Henry glances at
her with concern, but she doesnt look up.
HENRY
Well that concludes our
presentation. We thank you for your
support.
Henry rushes Beatrice off stage with a scowl on his face.
INT. HENRY AND BEATRICES HOUSE - NIGHT
Henry stands with his arms crossed looking out a window
while Beatrice sits in a chair nearby.
HENRY
What was that all about?
Beatrice doesnt answer but stares off into the distance.
HENRY
I told you not to name it. That
leads to attachment. Its an
experiment, remember?
BEATRICE
But shes alive. Shes a living,
breathing person now. Shes almost
ready to leave the gestational
tube. She could live a normal life.
We could raise her as our daughter.
Henry snaps around to face Beatrice and yells.
HENRY
Have you forgotten our purpose?
This isnt about raising children.
Its about living forever. Its so
we dont have to go through the
pain my father went through. I did
this for us.
Beatrice continues to speak softly.
BEATRICE
Maybe I dont want to live forever.
Henry stares at her with wide, astonished eyes and angrily
storms out of the room.

5.
INT. HENRY AND BEATRICES HOUSE - NIGHT
Henry and Beatrice lay as far apart as they can on their
bed, facing away from each other. Henry is asleep, and
Beatrice lies awake with tears streaming down her face.
INT. HENRY AND BEATRICES HOUSE - DAY
Henry wakes up and gasps. Beatrice is not in the room.
HENRY
Beatrice? Oh no.
Henry hurriedly gets dressed and rushes out of the house.
INT. LAB - DAY
Henry runs into the lab. Alarms are sounding, and people are
gathered around. Fluid is spilled all over the floor. The
tube is shattered, and the baby is missing.
HENRY
What happened? Wheres Beatrice?
LAB EMPLOYEE
Someone took the clone. No one has
seen Beatrice. We will check the
security camera footage to find out
exactly what happened.
Henry sighs and buries his face in his hands.
HENRY
Theres no need.
LAB EMPLOYEE
Doctor?
HENRY
I know who took the baby.
INT/EXT. BEATRICES CAR - DAY
Beatrice drives along a highway. Her face in panicked. In
her backseat, Isabelle is wrapped in a blanket inside a
basket. Beatrice speaks quickly.
BEATRICE
Ill keep you alive. Youll be my
daughter. Youre not just an
experiment.
Beatrice looks back at Isabelle, who is sleeping.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

(2)

6.

BEATRICE
Ill keep you away from him.
Beatrice drives off into the distance.
FADE OUT