4بخش

Yo, Lenny! I thought you split for good.

Sammy couldn’t pick up any new skills at all.

But I find something in my research: Conditioning.

Sammy should still be able to learn through repetition.

It’s how you learn stuff like riding a bike. You just get better through practice.

It’s a completely different part ofthe brain from the short-term memory.

So I had the doctors test Sammy’s response to conditioning.

Just pick up any three objects.

That’s a test?

Where were you guys when I did my CPA?

Sorry.

Ow! What the fuck?

It’s a test, Sammy. Test this, you fucking quack.

Some ofthe objects were electrified.

They’d give him a small shock. They kept repeating the test, always with the same objects electrified.

The point was to see if Sammy could learn to avoid the electrified objects…

not by memory, but by instinct.

Natalie, right? Who the fuck is Dodd?

Guess I don’t have to worry about him anymore. What the fuck have you got me into?

Come inside.

Who is he? Calm down. Okay?

This is my problem. You offered to help. It has nothing to do with your investigation.

How did you get me into this?

You offered to help when you saw what he did to my face.

How do I know he did that to your face? Because I came straight to you after he did it.

I showed you what he did, and I asked you to help me.

And I just take your word? Yeah.

Something doesn’t feel right.

I think someone’s fucking with me, trying to get me to kill the wrong guy.

Did you? What?

Kill him? Of course not!

Hey.

Sit down, okay? Sit.

This has nothing to do with you.

You helped me out, and I’m grateful.

You have to burn them.

Leonard, you decided to help me. Trust yourself.

Trust your own judgment. You can question everything.

You can never know anything for sure. There are things you know for sure.

Such as?

I know what that’s gonna sound like when I knock on it.

I know what that’s gonna feel like when I pick it up.

See? Certainties. It’s the kind of memory you take for granted.

You know, I can remember so much.

The feel ofthe world… and her.

She’s gone.

And the present is trivia, which I scribble down as fucking notes!

Hey. Come on. Try and relax. Come on.

“She has also lost someone.

She will help you out of pity.”

They kept testing Sammy for months…

always with the same objects carrying the electrical charge.

Ow! What the fuck?

It’s a test, Sammy. Test this, you fucking quack!

Even with total short-term memory loss…

Sammy should have learned to instinctively stop picking up the wrong objects.

All the previous cases responded to conditioning. Sammy didn’t respond at all.

It was enough to suggest that his condition was psychological, not physical.

We turned down his claim on the grounds that he wasn’t covered for mental illness.

His wife got stuck with the bills, and I got a big promotion.

Conditioning didn’t work for Sammy, so he became helpless.

But it works for me.

I live the way Sammy couldn’t.

Habit and routine make my life possible.

Conditioning. Acting on instinct.

Awake.

Where am I?

Motel room.

Some anonymous motel room.

Nothing in the drawers, but I’ll take a look anyway.

Nothing except the Gideon Bible.

Lenny! Open up!

Just a minute.

Open the door.

Lenny.

Open the door.

Come on!

Hi, Teddy.

Finished playing with yourself, Lenny?

I get it.

Amorous neighbors.

What are you doing here?

You called me. You said you needed my help.

I’ve had more rewarding friendships than this one.

Although I do get to keep telling the same jokes.

What the fuck is that?

Who the fuck is that? You don’t know him?

No! Should I?

Wait a minute.

Is that John G? I don’t think so.

You don’t think so? You didn’t write it down? I might’ve fallen asleep before I did.

For Christ’s sakes!

Ask him.

What’s your name?

Your name.

Dodd. Who did this to you?

What? Who did this to you?

You did.

I’m not gonna help you kill that guy. No, just let me think for a minute.

Okay, Natalie. Who’s Natalie?

Natalie who? Why?

Maybe I know her. Look. We gotta get him out of here.

All right, all right.

He’s gotta have a car, right?

We take him down to his car, tell him to get the fuck out oftown or we’re gonna kill him.

We can’t walk him out of here tied up and bleeding.

How the fuck did you get him up here? I don’t know.

You don’t know.

Yes, I do. This is not my room.

It must be his room. Great! Let’s go.

No, no. We can’t just leave him here. Why not?

Because the maid’s gonna walk in. She’ll see him, call the cops. He can ID us.

Okay. We untie him…

we clean him up, and we march him out of here with a gun in his back.

A gun. Why would I have a gun?

It must be his. I don’t think they’d let someone like me carry a gun.

Fucking hope not.

Which one?

We should probably steal his car. You know, teach him a lesson.

Shut up.

That’s all right for you to say. You’re the one with the Jag.

Get in. I’m gonna ride with him. You follow us.

Give me your keys.

Take your own car.