THE FORKIE PHILOSOPHER

(1997)

***SPOILER ALERT***

Stumbled on a 90s sci-fi flick I had never noticed before and decided to have a look. It was a decent story, well-executed for what seemed like a modest budget. Turns out it was a US TV movie which explains why it may have been overlooked in the land down under. I am very glad I took the punt!

I have IMDb reviews to thank; or the first two anyway:

“An intelligent sci-fi film” & “Great movie for sci-fi afficionados”

Hit the nail right on the head! As an action film it was average; about the same as a thriller. Without the finance for flashy special effects, the film has little going for it in terms of mass appeal. That’s where the concept kicks in. The science fiction idea that serves as the spine for the whole adventure was great food for thought.

Again, it is nothing groundbreaking; cloning a human being and the countless conundrums that go with it. There are many fascinating directions a writer can take from this starting point. This story takes the corporate greed angle as its main through-line (right up my alley!).

We open with genius scientist, Johhny and his hard-headed business partner Frank. Clever casting has Frank played by Michael Ironside which has the audience doubting his morals and motives from the get-go; saves time. So, Johnny is the high-minded boffin trying to improve things for mankind, while Frank is the no-nonsense executive who turns the scientific stuff into money for himself and the shareholders; and to give Johnny such brilliant facilities for his work; win-win.

Frank’s ultimate goal with cloning is to sell immortality and make a fortune. Right now, they are only in their infancy, keeping the funds coming in through bold promises, backed by successful experiments. Johnny is too busy working on improving his technology to be concerned about finances. However, that opening scene does plant a foreshadowing seed when Frank says to Johnny:

“What, you think because you’re a scientist and I scurry around looking for the bottom line, that you’re immune? (scoff) My scientific friend, you would sell your soul to be on this year’s Nobel Prize list.”

After a violent encounter with ecological terrorists, Johnny sustains a critical head injury and wakes in a hospital still on the grounds of the facility. Here comes the bad news. Almost 20 years have passed – well that sucks. Worse news: you’re not the ‘real’ Johnny. You’re exactly the same with the same memories, likes, dislikes etc. but you’re a clone – ouch!!!

Good news, we made a few improvements: notice that you no longer need to wear glasses – you’re welcome. We also spruced up your immune system which will help in this disease-ridden dystopian future your (sorry, Johnny and Frank’s) corporation had a hand in creating, and now basically rules. A mysterious old dude named Bosch is the CEO of the corporation now and Frank is his trusted right hand.

Oh, almost forgot, one more little piece of bad news; we haven’t exactly perfected this cloning humans thing. After a while your body will reject its own DNA sequencing and you will fall apart. Johnny (the real Johnny) has been kidnapped by terrorists and all his research and files have been destroyed. Find him and find your salvation and the means to infinite wealth for the corporation.

From here the plot is pretty generic: underground rebels, gun-fights, espionage and such. The joy for sci-fi geeks is in the dialogue that goes on in between the action. The writer/s take a fair dinkum look into the philosophical implications of such incredible (maybe not so much now) technology:

• If you could provide eternal life, would you jealously guard it for yourself and a select few?
• Would you sell it to the highest bidders?
• What is the difference between having a clone that is exactly like you and transferring your consciousness to a healthy new body?

Awesome for some, boring and convoluted for mainstream audiences I would assume. Either way I will be delving into those conundrums another time. For now, I want to stick to the films main twist.

Not surprisingly, original Johnny is involved with the rebels trying to bring down the evil corporation. Unfortunately, clone Johnny has another bad tiding in store. Firstly, Original Johnny is not pleased to meet him and considers him an abomination of sorts. The real kicker, however, is that the genetic meltdown story was bogus and clones live a fairly standard lifetime – Frank and Bosch you bastards!

As we approach the climax, the hits keep on coming. Turns out original Johnny is really just the first clone, and clone Johnny is clone number 2. The real original Johnny is being kept alive via an elaborate life support system after an explosion in the lab. Bosch is a holographic projection of the genuine Johnny, connected by neural interface.

The plan had always been to have clone Johnny 2 get the missing research and then transfer original Johnny’s mind into a healthy clone…like clone Johnny 2.

And so, we arrive at the awful truth. Original Johnny was corrupted by his success. The praise and prosperity proved too tempting. Frank’s suggestion regarding the similarity between himself and Johnny proved very accurate. Greed and pride are birds of a feather.

Bosch: The night I went for the MRI scan, it turned out the head injury wasn’t all that serious. I went back to my research in two or three days. After that things went well. By the time I turned 40, I was already richer than I could ever have dreamed possible. Then came the Fed crash and the new corporate political structure. Suddenly I was one of the most powerful men in the world. You have no idea what that felt like, but believe me Johnny, you loved it. Wealth, power, but it became clear that something was missing: Immortality.

The major sting in that monologue is delivered with one word – YOU! “You loved it Johnny”. You, the good guy standing there. The guy who wanted to use science to make the world a better place. A guy convinced he had only noble intentions and would not be seduced by fortune and fame. The ‘you’ who faced the temptation is standing before you telling you that you took to avarice and hubris like a duck to water.

Now the question begs: would you do it again knowing what you now know? Great sci-fi always leaves you with intriguing questions.

I was instantly reminded of the shocking reveal in “Total Recall” (1990). The feeling of betrayal when the hero we have been so invested in, is a fucking villain! Sort of anyway. In that story Hauser is the genuine/original person and that person was a skunk. Quaid, the protagonist we have been following, is the result of reprogramming Hauser as a means to infiltrate the rebels. The ‘good guy’ is a fake …A painful pill to swallow.

Johnny 2.0 puts a fascinating variation on that uncomfortable paradox. 3 separate Johnnies, each beginning at a different time and then travelling different paths on their individual timeline.

1. Original Johnny: since birth until being placed on life support and living vicariously through Bosch.
2. Johnny 2.0 (the real number 2, not the one we have been following) was cloned when original Johnny was 35 with edited memories.
3. Johnny 3.0 (our Johnny) was cloned in this present and is 35, while the other Johnnies have aged nearly two decades. Whew!

Johnny 3.0: At 2 hours old I’m sure there’s a lot you haven’t told me.

After the lab accident Frank slaps OG Johnny in the life-support/hologram link machine so he can still run the company as Bosch. The first Johnny clone was then created to continue the research and the quest for immortality.

Bosch: His memories were selectively edited to prevent him from ever knowing he was a clone. But without the memories of wealth and power, he developed an annoying self-righteous sense of moral responsibility. He vanished leaving us with nothing but a 15-year-old brain scan.

And there it is in a nutshell. The only reason the two clones managed to avoid the wicked allure of prosperity was because they were never exposed to its tantalizing charm. Technically they were never given the choice so to put a tiny twist on the lyrics:

“I’m not a coward I’ve just never been tested.

I’d like to think that if I was I would pass.”

The Impression That I Get (The Mighty Mighty Bosstones)

Although all circumstances being equal, it seems inevitable they would take the megalomaniacal route their authentic self took and that is an ugly prospect to face. Imagine standing face to face with your future self and thinking “this guy is an arrogant asshole who may very well be evil”.

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A Jungian shadow paradox mindfuck! An unnerving glimpse into the potential darkness in your own soul. That is what makes this film such a brilliant fit for the cerebral sci-fi fans; kind of a smaller niche of the overall genre.