The Adaptive Ultimate
Encyclopedia
"The Adaptive Ultimate" is a science fiction
short story
about an experimental medical treatment gone awry. It was written by Stanley G. Weinbaum
and first published in the November 1935 issue of Astounding magazine under the pen name "John Jessel". It was collected in various editions of A Martian Odyssey, as well as the 1979 The Best Of Stanley G. Weinbaum.
The story was dramatized on the radio program Escape
March 26, 1949 and later that year on the television program Studio One episode called "Kyra Zelas" (the name of the title character) aired on September 12, 1949. It was dramatized on June 20, 1952 on the television show Tales of Tomorrow
under the title "The Miraculous Serum" (Season 1, Episode 38), and again on December 3, 1955 on the television show Science Fiction Theatre
under the title "Beyond Return", starring Zachary Scott
and Joan Vohs, with the story credited to John Jessel. A film version was released in 1957 as She Devil, starring Mari Blanchard
, Jack Kelly
, and Albert Dekker
.
In the 1971 Astounding/Analog
All-Time Poll, the story tied for 16th in the Pre-1940 Short Fiction classification.
, the most adaptable creatures he could find. Bach is skeptical, but has a patient only hours from death due to tuberculosis
(at the time an incurable disease). With nothing to lose, a drab, plain woman named Kyra Zelas agrees to the treatment.
The results are beyond Scott's wildest dreams. Within a week, Zelas is well and is discharged from the hospital. Shortly afterwards, she murders an old man in a park for his money. She is quickly arrested and brought to trial. A witness describes the killer as a skinny brunette, but the Kyra Zelas on trial possesses a stunning figure and pure white hair, and the case is dismissed. Scott and Bach attend the trial; Bach notices that when sunlight strikes her hair, it turns blonde immediately. The two doctors reach the conclusion that Zelas has become adaptive to an extreme degree. This hypothesis is confirmed when she accepts an offer of shelter from Dr. Bach, allowing the two men to make observations.
During her stay, Zelas confesses her crime to Scott. She also tells him that she thinks she wants him. At that moment, her already-great beauty intensifies; Scott realizes that she is adapting once again, to make him love her, but even knowing this, he falls under her spell.
From experiments on guinea pigs, the doctors find that the adaptive ability is connected to hypertrophy
of the pineal gland
, but when they try to put Zelas to sleep with gas in order to operate on her, she is unaffected - she quickly develops an immunity. After stealing a car and killing a child in a hit-and-run accident, Zelas leaves to acquire power to protect herself.
When next the doctors hear of her, they find that she has become engaged to a rising politician, the Secretary of the Treasury. As time passes, she is more and more in the news, hinting that her influence is growing. One day, she returns for an overnight visit to try once more to woo Scott, but fails. Scott and Bach realize that they will have only one chance to stop her grandiose schemes, but how?
Then Scott finds her weakness: no organism can adapt to its own waste products. They pump carbon dioxide
gas into her room to knock her out as she sleeps. Even so, she almost escapes.
The doctors are able to operate on her pineal gland. Afterwards, she reverts to her former appearance, with just a hint left of the magnificent beauty she once possessed, but to Dr. Scott's eyes, she has not changed in the least.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
about an experimental medical treatment gone awry. It was written by Stanley G. Weinbaum
Stanley G. Weinbaum
Stanley Grauman Weinbaum was an American science fiction author. His career in science fiction was short but influential...
and first published in the November 1935 issue of Astounding magazine under the pen name "John Jessel". It was collected in various editions of A Martian Odyssey, as well as the 1979 The Best Of Stanley G. Weinbaum.
The story was dramatized on the radio program Escape
Escape (radio program)
Escape was radio's leading anthology series of high-adventure radio dramas, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954. Since the program did not have a regular sponsor like Suspense, it was subjected to frequent schedule shifts and lower production budgets, although Richfield Oil signed...
March 26, 1949 and later that year on the television program Studio One episode called "Kyra Zelas" (the name of the title character) aired on September 12, 1949. It was dramatized on June 20, 1952 on the television show Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others...
under the title "The Miraculous Serum" (Season 1, Episode 38), and again on December 3, 1955 on the television show Science Fiction Theatre
Science Fiction Theatre
Science Fiction Theatre is an American science fiction anthology series that aired in syndication from April 1955 to April 1957. It was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv.-Overview:...
under the title "Beyond Return", starring Zachary Scott
Zachary Scott
Zachary Scott was an American actor, most notable for his roles as villains and "mystery men".-Life and career:...
and Joan Vohs, with the story credited to John Jessel. A film version was released in 1957 as She Devil, starring Mari Blanchard
Mari Blanchard
Mari Blanchard was an American actress, known for her roles as a B movie femme fatale in American films of the 1950s and early 1960s.-Career:In the late 1940s, Blanchard was a successful print model and film extra...
, Jack Kelly
Jack Kelly (actor)
Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of "Bart Maverick" in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962...
, and Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker...
.
In the 1971 Astounding/Analog
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
All-Time Poll, the story tied for 16th in the Pre-1940 Short Fiction classification.
Plot summary
Dr. Daniel Scott approaches his colleague, Dr. Herman Bach of Grand Mercy Hospital, looking for a human test subject. Scott claims that recovering from a disease or injury is merely a matter of adaptation. He has derived a serum from fruit fliesDrosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
, the most adaptable creatures he could find. Bach is skeptical, but has a patient only hours from death due to tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
(at the time an incurable disease). With nothing to lose, a drab, plain woman named Kyra Zelas agrees to the treatment.
The results are beyond Scott's wildest dreams. Within a week, Zelas is well and is discharged from the hospital. Shortly afterwards, she murders an old man in a park for his money. She is quickly arrested and brought to trial. A witness describes the killer as a skinny brunette, but the Kyra Zelas on trial possesses a stunning figure and pure white hair, and the case is dismissed. Scott and Bach attend the trial; Bach notices that when sunlight strikes her hair, it turns blonde immediately. The two doctors reach the conclusion that Zelas has become adaptive to an extreme degree. This hypothesis is confirmed when she accepts an offer of shelter from Dr. Bach, allowing the two men to make observations.
During her stay, Zelas confesses her crime to Scott. She also tells him that she thinks she wants him. At that moment, her already-great beauty intensifies; Scott realizes that she is adapting once again, to make him love her, but even knowing this, he falls under her spell.
From experiments on guinea pigs, the doctors find that the adaptive ability is connected to hypertrophy
Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy is the increase in the volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells. It should be distinguished from hyperplasia, in which the cells remain approximately the same size but increase in number...
of the pineal gland
Pineal gland
The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland in the vertebrate brain. It produces the serotonin derivative melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns and seasonal functions...
, but when they try to put Zelas to sleep with gas in order to operate on her, she is unaffected - she quickly develops an immunity. After stealing a car and killing a child in a hit-and-run accident, Zelas leaves to acquire power to protect herself.
When next the doctors hear of her, they find that she has become engaged to a rising politician, the Secretary of the Treasury. As time passes, she is more and more in the news, hinting that her influence is growing. One day, she returns for an overnight visit to try once more to woo Scott, but fails. Scott and Bach realize that they will have only one chance to stop her grandiose schemes, but how?
Then Scott finds her weakness: no organism can adapt to its own waste products. They pump carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
gas into her room to knock her out as she sleeps. Even so, she almost escapes.
The doctors are able to operate on her pineal gland. Afterwards, she reverts to her former appearance, with just a hint left of the magnificent beauty she once possessed, but to Dr. Scott's eyes, she has not changed in the least.
Listen to
- The Adaptive Ultimate on Escape, CBS radio, 1949 (cited episode author is "John Jessel")