The Relic (1997)

Penelope Ann Miller: Dr. Margo Green

Photos 

Quotes 

• [Dr. Green, Dr. Frock and Dr. Cuthbert discuss the mysterious crates that arrived from Dr. John Whitney's research in Brazil] 

  Dr. Albert Frock : No words from John yet, but these crates arrived this morning. They were supposed to be on a ship, except there was some mix-up in Brazil, and they never made it. They were sent by air freight. Here, here, take a look at this.

  [holds up the relic to Dr. Green] 

  Dr. Albert Frock : The Kothoga.

  Dr. Ann Cuthbert : Could be.

  Margo Green : And what does this God specialize in?

  Dr. Albert Frock : South American tribe, the Zenzera, long thought to be extinct - They made a deal with Satan to vanquish their enemies. So Kothoga was born - Son of Satan. You have that look again, Margo.

  Margo Green : Why do we keep financing John Whitney's expeditions? As if superstition were the same thing as science.

  Dr. Ann Cuthbert : Anthropologists are permitted to believe in myth. It's part of their charm. In any case, our superstition exhibit is excellent box office for this Museum, and that benefits you, as well.

  Margo Green : Using superstition to bring people to the museum is like hiring topless ushers for the Bolshoi Ballet.

  Dr. Albert Frock : Well if they did, I might go to the Ballet.

  Dr. Ann Cuthbert : Do you really think the restoration department could do something with this?

  Dr. Albert Frock : Certainly, - Possibly even for the opening.

  Margo Green : What was in this other crate?

  Dr. Albert Frock : Except for the packing leaves, it was empty.

  Margo Green : Empty? Was there a packing list? There must have been something in here.

  Dr. Albert Frock : Crates were nailed shut when they arrived.

  Margo Green : [Dr. Green begins to notice a weird growth on the dozens of leaves]  Strange.

  Dr. Albert Frock : What?

  Margo Green : Do you think these are eggs?

  Dr. Albert Frock : Oh, no. More like fungus. Probably parasitical. Best not to take any chances.

  Dr. Ann Cuthbert : Quite right. Let's see to having those leaves and crates incinerated.

  [the two doctors leave the room when Dr. Green begins to think if she should study up on the mysterious growth] 

  Dr. Albert Frock : [from the distance out in the hallway]  Of course you can, Margo.

• [Dr. Green takes Lt. D'Agosta to Dr. Frock for questions and answers] 

  Margo Green : [Dr. Green knocks on Dr. Frock's door]  It's Margo.

  Dr. Albert Frock : Oh, who have you brought me?

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Uh, a policeman. Lieutenant D'Agosta.

  Dr. Albert Frock : Well, how goes the gradual extinction of the human race, Lieutenant?

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Uh, I'm doing what I can to keep it orderly.

  [Lt. D'Agosta and Dr. Frock shake hands] 

  Margo Green : You and the Lieutenant are kindred spirits. He's very superstitious.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Well, I don't know about very.

  Dr. Albert Frock : Well, you must excuse Margo, Lieutenant. She believes that science must destroy myth, and as a consequence, she has very little patience with superstitious people like us. Margo, did I ever tell you about my experiences with the Kai tribe in Bechuanaland?

  Margo Green : Yes, more than once.

  Dr. Albert Frock : I haven't told him.

  [Dr. Frock smiles at Lt. D'Agosta] 

  Dr. Albert Frock : The Kai tribe, Lieutenant, believed that headaches were caused by sorcery, and the kinfolk of the headache victim would identify the sorcerer, and then go off and murder him. Of course, the kinfolk of the sorcerer would feel they had to avenge his death, so they'd go and in turn kill the headache victim, and I'm sure you can imagine how it eventually all turned out.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : What's that?

  Dr. Albert Frock : Well, it's a medical miracle. Everybody stopped having headaches.

  [Lieutenant D'Agosta laughs] 

  Dr. Albert Frock : Lieutenant, what would a superstitious police officer possibly want with an old fossil like me?

• [Lt. D'Agosta and Det. Hollingsworth show up to the crime scene in the bathroom] 

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : This is not good.

  Martini : Never thought there'd be a worse way to die than a shark attack. Having my head ripped off never occurred to me.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Where is his head?

  Det. Hollingsworth : It's over there by the sink.

  Margo Green : [Dr. Green walks into the crime scene mistakenly]  Lieutenant D'Agosta...

  [screaming at the dead body and blood across the room] 

  Margo Green : Oh, my God! Oh!

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Get her out of here!

  Bradley : Lieutenant! Over here.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : [Det. Hollingsworth attempts to walk over the dead body]  No! Don't step over it

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : [Det. Hollingsworth brings his leg back to walk around the body]  It's bad luck. Jesus Christ.

  Bradley : There's a half-burnt joint on the floor.

  [chuckling] 

  Bradley : Seems our boy was having a little pot in the potty.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Pot's a misdemeanor. Decapitation seems a bit severe.

  [the forensics team member continues to chuckle] 

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : I want the blood on the walls. Get a ballistic analysis. Pinpoint source, speed, force - Full splatter pattern.

• [Lt. D'Agosta tells Dr. Green about his good luck bullet that helped him become superstitious] 

  Margo Green : What have you got there?

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Good luck bullet.

  Margo Green : Superstitious, I remember now.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Yeah.

  Margo Green : So does your bullet have a story?

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : I was on the beat my rookie year, and I saw this guy who'd locked his keys in his car with his motor running. He's got a clothes hanger, and he's trying to get the lock off. So I go over to try to help him out, and what I didn't know was that he'd just robbed the liquor store a block away. So, he's concentrating so hard that he doesn't see me until I'm right up on top of him, and I surprise him. He turns, and...

  [D'Agosta makes a gun with his hand and makes a pop sound] 

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Point-blank range. Doesn't pop, though. Doesn't go off. This bullet.

  [D'Agosta calmly holds the bullet out in the air between both of them] 

  Margo Green : So, what did you do?

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Took the gun away from him and beat the shit out of him. Anyway, the forensics told me later that the bullet's perfect. It should have fired. I should be dead.

  Margo Green : So in other woods, a miracle of physics?

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Maybe just plain, old-fashioned good luck.

  [Margo smiles] 

• Margo Green : Can you identify these species?

  Dr. Greg Lee : Oh, now you want my help.

  Margo Green : Look, can you identify them or not?

  Dr. Greg Lee : Hemidactylus Turcicus. It's a Turkish gecko.

  Margo Green : Gecko?

  Dr. Greg Lee : Yeah, a lizard.

  Margo Green : Yes, I know what a gecko is, but reptilian and beetle D.N.A., on the same strand?

  Dr. Greg Lee : Well, maybe your source is contaminated.

  Margo Green : It's not contaminated, I scraped the cells myself.

  Dr. Greg Lee : Then it's your software. Of course, I'd be shocked to think it might not be 100% accurate.

  Margo Green : You can get back to the Blaisedales now.

• [Dr. Green continues to search a way out of the lab offices in the museum] 

  Dr. Albert Frock : Are you lost, Margo?

  Margo Green : [continuing to roll Dr. Frock around in his wheelchair]  Of course I'm lost.

  Dr. Albert Frock : Just checking.

• [the Museum guard welcomes Dr. Green to the Museum with the crowds of students coming in] 

  Guard Frederick Ford : Good morning, Dr. Green.

  Margo Green : Good morning, Fred.

  Guard Frederick Ford : These kids are driving me crazy.

  Margo Green : Careful. They're our future benefactors.

  [both smile and nod] 

• [Dr. Green shows up to work after the first murder] 

  Dr. Greg Lee : Did you hear?

  Margo Green : No, but I'm guessing you're going to tell me.

  Dr. Greg Lee : Someone's been killed.

  [a slight pause as Dr. Lee walks up to Dr. Green to whisper] 

  Dr. Greg Lee : Murdered.

  Margo Green : Oh, my God.

  Dr. Greg Lee : They're not telling us who. All I know is, they cut off the whole basement level.

  Margo Green : Murdered?

  Dr. Greg Lee : I'm betting it's Colonel Mustard with a candlestick.

  [Dr. Green walks off] 

  Dr. Greg Lee : What? What are you thinking? You think I'm an asshole, right? Is that it?

  [makes a goofy face at her] 

• [the two kids skipping school and Dr. Margo Green arrive to the museum at the same time] 

  Josh : Let me get this straight. We finally cut school, and you want to go to the museum. Maybe afterwards, we can go to the library?

  Student : They've got Mummies in there. Eyeballs in jars, dead stuff.

  Josh : See, man, I don't know about this stuff.

  Student : Look, we can go in with them.

  [points at a bus of other students arrives to visit the museum] 

  Student : Check it out, and split. I mean, we can't go to an arcade yet, anyway. We'd be noticed. So, what are you, scared?

  Josh : No, I'm not scared.

  [the two kids walk up and stare at Margo who's dressing outside the steps into the museum] 

  Margo Green : Hey, didn't your parents teach you not to stare?

  Josh : Didn't yours teach you to not get dressed in the street?

  Museum Worker : Good morning, Doctor Green.

  Margo Green : Good morning.

  Josh : Doctor?

  Student : What kind of Doctor are you?

  Margo Green : I'm an Evolutionary Biologist.

  Student : What's that?

  Margo Green : Someone trying to figure out where our tails went.

• [Dr. Green tells Lt. D'Agosta about the purpose of the beetles at the Museum while walking through the labs] 

  Margo Green : [to the lab workers]  What's the soup today?

  Dr. Brown : Rhinocerus Megarhinus.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : He's making Rhinocerus soup?

  Margo Green : It's a maceration tank. Skin 'em, toss 'em in the warm water, wait until the meat and flesh fall off, and then give 'em to the beetles.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Beetles as in bug beetles?

  Margo Green : Domestic beetles are a fairly common insect. They eat the flesh off almost anything. They pick the bones clean.

  Graduate Student : Better watch yourself. Someone left the glass case open last night, and a bunch hit the highway.

  Margo Green : They know better than to head for the cafeteria.

• [Dr. Green notices a penny sitting on the floor of the lab office while talking with Lt. D'Agosta] 

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : [Dr. Green leans down to pick it up]  Wait. Is it face up?

  Margo Green : Down.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Don't touch it. Face down is bad luck.

  Margo Green : Don't tell me you're superstitious.

  Margo Green : [Dr. Green leans down to pick the penny off the ground]  Sorry, but around here, ever penny counts.

  [Lt. D'Agosta continues to follow Dr. Green through the lab] 

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : What the hell is all this?

  Margo Green : This is one of six storage areas for the collection. The Museum has something like 3 million specimens. The exhibition areas only show about 2% of what the Museum owns.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Doesn't look like a good place to light a match.

• [Dr. Green is startled when a anatomical skeleton slams against her lab window and begins speaking] 

  Charlie : Dr. Green, I've worked myself to the bone! Please, let me go home. I need to rest!

  [Dr. Green laughs when all of the students raise up outside of the lab window] 

  Margo Green : All right, you guys. You can finish tomorrow morning. Go on. Take a hike.

  [Charlie waves goodbye with the skeleton hand as the group walks off] 

• [Lt. D'Agosta walks into a room where Dr. Green is giving a practice speech to herself up on stage] 

  Margo Green : [practice speech]  It's the consistent repetition of sequences of 3 that are unique to each individual, but before you begin D.N.A testing, you have to be able to identify the specimen. With your financial grant, the complicated, tedious task of specimen identification will become a quick, certain, analytical technique. Um... procedure... mode? System? Just give me the goddamn money. Shit.

  [Dr. Green covers her face with her hands] 

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : [D'Agosta makes his presence known when clearing his throat]  Ahem.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : [Dr. Green blocks the light hitting her eyes to see who's there]  The kids in your lab told me where to find you.

  Margo Green : Oh. Well... I was just rehearsing.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : You were really good.

  Margo Green : Yeah, right.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Really good ending.

  [Dr. Green walks off stage when Lt. D'Agosta goes after her] 

• [Lt. D'Agosta talks to Dr. Green and Dr. Frock about the Kothoga being real] 

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Somebody want to tell me what in God's name that was?

  Dr. Albert Frock : I think it's the Kothoga. John Whitney must've found it somewhere, somehow, and sent it back to the museum. For God's sake why wouldn't he give us warning?

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : How big were those crates that John Whitney sent back?

  Dr. Albert Frock : Not very big.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Then how the hell did something like that fit inside one of them?

  Margo Green : In those crates that Whitney sent back, the artifact was packed with a leaf specimen that carried a parasitic fungus. The fungus was loaded with hormones - animal hormones - that are produced in the thalamoid region of the human brain.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : You mean the hypothalamus.

  Margo Green : I know this is crazy, but maybe this animal started out as something else - A chameleon, a lizard, or maybe even a dog. It ate those leaves, and is changing into whatever it is now... to what we just saw.

  Dr. Albert Frock : You're not crazy, Margo. Don't you see, girl? It's the callisto effect. It's really true. The Kothoga myth was based on fact. The people of the Zenzera tribe, when they were threatened by an enemy, they must have fed some of those hormonal leaves to some animal, and it caused a riot in its D.N.A., and it was transformed into some horrific beast. But the beast needed those hormones to stay alive, so when it was big enough and deadly enough, they stopped feeding it.

  Dr. Albert Frock : So it would have to find some other way to get the hormone.

  Dr. Albert Frock : They're enemies. Yes, and when the enemies were dead and it had no more hormones, it would eventually die, and the Zenzera would come out from hiding.

  Lt. Vincent D'Agosta : Well, we don't have time to wait for eventually, so here's my question, how the fuck do we kill that thing?