Passchendaele Page #6

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You can keep that horse.

The soldier in

the modern battlefield...

...is beset with many challenges,

...most notably artillery.

Tissue damage results

from shell fragments,

...which are irregular in shape.

Wounds are therefore jagged

or, at best, unpredictable.

In the soft parts,

...wounds show deep

and extensive attritions...

...and are marked

by extensive effusion...

...of blood and/or serum.

Invariably, shell fragments

will introduce...

...foreign matter into the wound...

...making infection inevitable.

Your father wrote this. Jesus.

Pretty scary, eh?

Are you scared?

- No. Are you?

- No.

Do you want to introduce

some foreign matter into me?

Why should we wait?

Contused wounds

are vast erosions,

...large lesions...

...forming a cul-de-sac...

They are abrasions

with torn surfaces...

...and quivering

and herniated muscles.

They are doomed to suppuration...

...and are threatened

by grave complications...

...such as gangrene and tetanus.

In summary, artillery shells...

...will splinter,

...amputate, decapitate,

bisect...

...quarter or otherwise

grossly mutilate...

...the human frame.

In the worst of cases,

...a direct explosion

will obliterate the man.

The soldier will simply disappear.

Thank you.

Sergeant, you have anything

to add to this subject?

No. No, that's pretty

much what it does.

So you would agree

that artillery represents...

...the greatest challenge

to an individual on the battlefield?

Sergeant, do you agree?

No, sir. I'm sorry, I don't.

Um...

The single greatest challenge

to an individual on the battlefield...

...is trying to keep

his matches dry.

"Keep your matches dry?"

One of the wittier phrases...

...Dr. Walker singles out as

having turned his lecture into a farce.

Sir, I didn't mean.

- You have permission to speak?

- No, sir...

These are the drawings

of your machine?

They are.

- You had a diagnosis, did you not?

- Yes, sir. Neurasthenia.

And I think, we both know

what "that" means.

Your draftsmanship

is impressive.

- You're holding them upside down.

- So I am.

I'm not saying that

you're a coward, Sergeant.

I'm simply saying that I have been

keeping a very close eye on you,

...and what I see disturbs me.

You'll notice I've left out

certain mechanical secrets...

...that can only be revealed upon

payment of one million dollars.

A lovely round figure.

And what exactly will this invention

of yours accomplish?

It will bring the war

to an end in 48 hours.

Delightful. And how exactly

will it achieve that?

With this machine,

...an individual

can circle the globe...

...in exactly 15 minutes.

Sparkling.

We'll be in touch.

Thank you. Thank you.

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