The Starzl Mutation
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| "29 - The Starzl Mutation" | |
| Writer | Amy Berg Craig Sweeny |
|---|---|
| Director | Allison Liddi |
| Season | 3 |
| Transmission date | August 6, 2006 |
| Preceded by | "The Ballad of Kevin and Tess" |
| Followed by | "The Gospel According to Collier" |
"The Starzl Mutation" is an episode of the science fiction television series The 4400.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
A former Army Ranger who was recruited for a secret government program contacts NTAC when an experiment giving he and his workmates 4400 abilities goes wrong, causing one patient to go on a killing spree.The wedding of Isabelle and Shawn is interrupted by a returned Jordan Collier, who asks Shawn if he knows who he is.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Significance
[edit] The mutation
Starting in 1969, Seattle Presbyterian Hospital used a flawed radiation machine to treat their cancer patients. The microswitches that controlled the machine weren't working right, so the doses were wrong. This went on for just under five years. Once the hospital figured out what they were doing they tested everyone who had ever been exposed to it and in some cases the radiation induced a small mutation. This mutation is a slight alteration of the eleventh chromosome. It was named the Starzl mutation, after the company that made the bad machine. The mutation is replicable, meaning people that got it passed it onto their children. The Starzl mutation is both harmless and conserved in those offspring, they live normal healthy lives. While the offspring of a returnee normally do not retain the ability to generate promicin, a second-hand report from John Shaffner (an ex-special ops soldier) suggested that the offspring of a 4400 and a Starzl mutant will be "promicin-positive", meaning they will have abilities. This is believed by Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris to be the reason why the abductees were returned to the Seattle area - it is the only place they are likely to encounter individuals who possess the Starzl mutation and therefore the only place they are likely to produce children with 4400 abilities.
This and other facts in his possession suggest Dennis Ryland has access to a source of information not generally available even to NTAC. Ryland will only say that such things happen far above his security clearance.
[edit] Cast
- Claudio Borghi - Brian George
