Pluto Volume 6 Act. 41 Sahad - Page 27 - Act. 41 : Sahad [Holland] [Old Town, Amsterdam] Woman: Oh, yes... - Page 28 - Woman: Absolutely, I do know him. Sahad... He lived in our building. That room, on the third floor... - Page 29 - Woman: You see those nice flowers in the windowbed? Sahad planted those there. Gesicht: They look nice. Woman: Oh, even a robot can tell? Well, you know Sahad, he was studying flowers. It's been years since he was here, but those flowers are still alive and well. I asked him, aren't there flowers that stay alive and in bloom all year round? It would be so much less work! Gesicht: And what did he say...? Woman: Flowers have to wither up and die once they make seeds. Of course, he's right. - Page 30 - Act. 41 : Sahad Gesicht: They have to wither up... And die... - Page 31 - Gesicht: Would you happen to have... a picture of him? Woman: Hmmm, well I think I do... But my old data is all on the old computer... it's probably in storage. I'll look for it, and you can come back later. Gesicht: Thank you. Woman: But why...? If Europol is asking, has Sahad gotten into...? Gesicht: Not quite... Woman: Of course. Such a good man would never find himself in trouble. And believe me, he was a good man. You'd never think he was a robot. - Page 32 - [University of Amsterdam] Professor: He was an excellent student. No, excellent isn't the right adjective... Enthusiastic... Perhaps "desperate" is the word I want. - Page 33 - Gesicht: Desperate... Professor: Yes... Sahad loved his homeland. Very much so. He was consumed by a passion to turn Persia's deserts into flowers. His research was actually quite innovative. One day, he says to me... "Professor, look how healthy Igor has become." Gesicht: Igor...? Profesor: One day, Janus became sick. One day, Ishtar became healthy. - Page 34 - Professor: All names of his tulips. He gave every single one of his tulips a name. According to him, this made them grow better. Now, don't take this the wrong way... But he was a robot. The most scientifically-advanced robot in Persia... And he would say these very unscientific things. Gesicht: Unscientific... I see. - Page 35 - Professor: Indeed. No basis for any of it. I'd like to show you something. This. - Page 36 - Gesicht: It's... a tulip? Professor: That's right. A tulip that Sahad planted. It has stayed perpetually in bloom... ever since he left. Gesicht: How many years ago...? Professor: Three years. He asked that it not be planted in the ground, under any circumstances, until he returned. If he does not come back, we will study it, I'm sure. - Page 37 - Professor: I'd almost say this flower is waiting for him, too... But... That would be unscientific, now, wouldn't it? Gesicht: Does this tulip have a name too...? Professor: I'd say so... No doubt he gave it one... - Page 38 - Anton: Thank you very much. Woman: Anton, can you deliver these to the Van Dykes' store? Anton: Okay! Gesicht: He's a hard worker. Woman: I don't know what I'd do without him. - Page 39 - Gesicht: I just met a flower-selling boy in Persia, before I came here... But he didn't seem as happy as that... Woman: Persia... That was Sahad's country. Gesicht: Did he come to this store often? Woman: Yes, every day... He would help out at the store, in between studying for school... He didn't seem to have many friends. But he would tell me about all kinds of things. He wanted to fill his country with flowers... It's funny, even his robot dreams could fill my human heart with joy... - Page 40 - Woman: But... One day, he was different than usual... He was going back home... He wanted to join the military. I told him, just because the war has lasted this long, doesn't mean that YOU need to be a soldier, of all people. And then... - Page 41 - Woman: He said his father had died in the war... Gesicht: His father... Woman: There was nothing I could say to him... And then Sahad said, very sadly... Maybe I... Will turn out like him... Gesicht: Him...? - Page 42 - Woman: What was the name...? The name of the tulip... Gesicht: I did hear about that. He gave his tulips names... Woman: Sahad was experimenting in flower cultivation, at a Persian-owned facility in Zaandam. Many of his tulips were growing there. He was desperate to create a strong flower that could survive the wastes of the desert... He always needed it to be stronger... Stronger, stronger... One day, he came to check on his flowers, like always. Sahad: (skshh) - Page 43 - Woman: And what he saw... - Page 44 - Woman: Was a single tulip... With all the others wilted into dust... And the name of that tulip... was... Pluto... - Page 45 - Woman: Ah yes, I found it. Here's Sahad's picture. Gesicht: I'm sorry for all the trouble I've set you to... Woman: Let's see now... How do you do this...? Gesicht: Like this, I believe. (vwum) Woman: Yes, that's it. - Page 46 - Woman: He sent it to me when he applied for tenancy. There it is. Doesn't he have the nicest smile? Gesicht: This photo has been trimmed. Woman: Yes, there was another man in it with him... Photo: (vweee) Woman: I believe it was taken with his father... Gesicht: His father...? Photo: (vweee...) - Page 47 - Woman: But because he's a robot, that would mean Sahad's "father" was his creator, right? Gesicht: But this is... Dr. Abra...!! - Page 48 - Gesicht: His father... Dead...? Roosevelt: You're getting closer, Gesicht. - Page 49 - Roosevelt: Very impressive, don't you think? Your investigative skills are excellent... But that's not all. Your ability to achieve your goals... Your weapons systems... and your zeronium. If I had to say... Why, you, Gesicht, have been the most powerful weapon of mass destruction yet. - Page 50 - Roosevelt: Perhaps even Pluto will fail to beat you. No, it's true. However, there is one good way to kill him. Would you like to know what that is...? Well, then... - Act. 41 End -