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What If Smiling Could Get You Infected? — Transcript

by Pondero · 2,767 words · 474 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00It's 9:14 in the morning, second period,
0:03biology.
0:04Mr. Brooks is drawing a white [music]
0:06blood cell on the board and every pen in
0:08the room moves at the exact same moment.
0:11>> [music]
0:11>> Scratch. Pause. Scratch.
0:14Nobody whispers.
0:1633 students and [music] 31 of them blink
0:19at the same time like one machine.
0:22And two rows ahead, by the window, a
0:24girl with a pencil behind her ear turns
0:26her head about 1 in. Maya.
0:29>> [music]
0:29>> She looks at you and you both smile just
0:32for a second. Because in a room of 33
0:34people, you're the only two who still
0:37can.
0:38That smile is the most dangerous thing
0:40[music] you've ever done.
0:42Because the chalk just stopped.
0:44Mr. Brooks is standing perfectly still
0:46with his back to the class.
0:48And without turning around, he says, "Is
0:50everything okay?" 31 heads begin to
0:53turn.
0:54So, what if a virus turned everyone into
0:57robots
0:58>> [music]
0:58>> except you and your crush? Here's how it
1:01works.
1:02One, the virus doesn't make you sick. It
1:05makes you perfect. Everyone who catches
1:07it keeps living their life but on a
1:09loop. Same routine, same words, [music]
1:12same second every single day. Your mom
1:15makes eggs at 7:02.
1:17Two, they can't tell who's human by
1:20looking at you. They find you by what
1:22you feel. A laugh, a scream, tears, a
1:26smile at the wrong moment. The second
1:28they notice a feeling, every one of them
1:30nearby turns at once. And they don't try
1:33to infect you, they try to remove you.
1:36And three, there are only two people
1:38left who aren't like them, you and her.
1:42But one of you is a lot less safe than
1:44the other. You don't know that yet.
1:46Remember it.
1:48Now, this sounds like a movie, but this
1:50part is real. In the rainforest, there's
1:53a [music] fungus that infects carpenter
1:54ants and takes over how they act. The
1:57infected ants leave their colony, climb
1:59a plant, and bite down on a leaf, often
2:02around the same time of day, like
2:03they're all following one clock.
2:06Before all this, you were just the guy
2:07in the back row, and Maya was the girl
2:09by the window who wanted to be a doctor,
2:11who read virus books for fun, and who
2:13once told the entire cafeteria how long
2:16germs survive on a doorknob.
2:18Nobody finished their lunch that day.
2:20You've had a crush on her for 2 years.
2:23Total words you've said to her? 11. Four
2:26of them were, "Is this taken?"
2:28Then the news started talking about a
2:30heatwave in the Arctic, melting ground.
2:33And this part is real, too. In 2023,
2:36scientists revived viruses that had been
2:38frozen in Siberian permafrost for tens
2:41of thousands of years. Those only infect
2:44amoebas. This one didn't. 3 days later,
2:47it was in every airport on Earth.
2:50In your town, it starts with a fever.
2:53One night, 14 hours of sleep. Then,
2:56people wake up different. You find out
2:59on a Tuesday. You come downstairs and
3:01your mom is in the kitchen making eggs.
3:03Normal. Except, it's exactly 7:02. She's
3:07wearing yesterday's [music] clothes, and
3:09when you say good morning, she answers
3:10in the same voice a GPS uses to say,
3:13"Turn left."
3:14>> Good morning. Breakfast is ready.
3:17>> You hug her. She lets you.
3:19Her arms don't move. It's like hugging a
3:21coat on a hanger.
3:23At school, your [music] best friend Dex
3:25is waiting at your locker. You show him
3:27the worst meme you've ever found. Dex
3:30has laughed at every terrible joke since
3:32second grade. Today, he just looks at
3:34it. Class starts in 4 minutes, and he
3:37walks away in perfect step with everyone
3:40else in the hallway.
3:41That's when you learn rule two.
3:44Lunch.
3:45A freshman named Tyler hasn't changed
3:47yet. He's still scared. And in the
3:49middle of the cafeteria, he starts to
3:51cry. [music]
3:53Quietly.
3:54And every head in the room turns toward
3:56him at the exact same moment.
3:58300 people stand up at once and walk
4:01toward him without a word.
4:03You never see Tyler again.
4:05And remember those ants?
4:07Real ant colonies can smell when one of
4:09their own is badly sick, and they
4:11destroy it to protect the colony.
4:14Scientists call it social immunity. And
4:16to them, a feeling smells like sickness.
4:20Before you can move, someone grabs your
4:22wrist and pulls you through a door.
4:24The biology storage room.
4:26Plastic skeletons, old microscopes, and
4:29her.
4:30>> You're not one of them.
4:31>> Neither are you.
4:33>> Then stop looking scared. They can see
4:35it.
4:36>> And that's how you have your first real
4:38conversation with your crush.
4:40Whispering
4:41behind a plastic skeleton.
4:43>> His name's Gary. Don't ask.
4:45>> So you make a plan. If they hunt
4:47anything different, you stop being
4:49different. Every morning, you both sit
4:52in the same seats, write at the same
4:54speed, and stare at the board like
4:56[music] there's nothing behind your
4:57eyes.
4:58You practice in the mirror.
5:00Maya is terrifyingly good at it. You
5:02look like someone [music] trying not to
5:03sneeze.
5:05For 8 hours a day, you're robots, too.
5:08>> [music]
5:08>> And then you discover the best part. At
5:11exactly 9:00 p.m., every robot in town
5:13stops what they're doing, walks to the
5:15football stadium, and stands there,
5:17[music] shoulder to shoulder, facing the
5:19same direction until 5:00 in the
5:21morning.
5:2238,000 people in the dark, breathing at
5:25the same time.
5:27Nobody knows why.
5:28But for 8 hours every night, the whole
5:30town belongs to two [music] people.
5:33And honestly, at first, it's the best
5:35thing that's ever happened to you.
5:38You break into the ice cream shop and
5:39try all 31 flavors. Mint chip comes
5:42last. She says it tastes like toothpaste
5:45that gave up.
5:46She teaches you to drive in an empty
5:48mall parking lot, and you hit a shopping
5:49cart at 4 miles an hour.
5:51>> That cart had [music] a family.
5:53>> You lie on the roof of the library and
5:55she names the stars. All wrong. On
5:58purpose.
5:59That one's Gary. That one's also Gary.
6:02And one night, in the middle of the
6:04empty highway, under the [music] street
6:05lights, she makes you dance.
6:08No music. She hums.
6:10You're terrible. [music] She's worse.
6:12>> Technically, this is our first date.
6:15>> Technically, you're the only girl on
6:17Earth.
6:17>> So, I'm out of your league by default.
6:20>> And every night, you leave a note on the
6:22fridge for your mom. Love you. Eat
6:24something green.
6:25Every morning [music] at 7:02, she reads
6:28it, folds it in half, and throws it
6:30away. And every night, you write a new
6:32one.
6:33Quick test.
6:34>> [music]
6:34>> Robots don't subscribe. They don't feel
6:36anything. So, if you're human, prove it.
6:40Hit subscribe and stay with me. Because
6:42this is where it starts to go wrong. The
6:44first problem is that being blank is
6:47exhausting.
6:48Day 23. [music]
6:49Dex's phone lights up, and his lock
6:51screen is a photo of you two at the
6:53beach, laughing. Your eyes sting. Just
6:56for a second. And Dex stops walking.
6:59>> Is everything okay?
7:00>> Then 10 more people stop. You run. 10 of
7:03them behind you. Not shouting, just
7:05running at exactly the same speed. You
7:08hide in a dumpster for 3 hours. You make
7:11it. Barely.
7:13New rule. Never look at old photos.
7:16The second problem is the one Maya won't
7:18talk about. She gets nosebleeds. Some
7:20nights she's burning hot and says it's
7:22nothing. [music]
7:23And once, on the library roof, in the
7:25middle of a sentence, she just stops.
7:28Her face goes blank. Her eyes go flat.
7:31And she says, in a voice [music] that
7:32isn't hers,
7:33>> Class starts in 4 minutes.
7:35>> Then she blinks, wipes her nose, and
7:38laughs like it's nothing.
7:39It is not nothing.
7:41That night, she makes you promise.
7:44>> If I ever turn into one of them,
7:46>> [music]
7:46>> you run.
7:47>> Maya.
7:48>> Don't wait. Don't try to fix me.
7:51Promise.
7:52>> You promise.
7:53You're lying. She knows you're lying.
7:56And then, day 39. Maya walks past Dex in
7:59the hallway, [music]
8:00coughing into her sleeve. And Dex stops,
8:03turns, looks right at you. And for 3
8:06seconds, [music] he's Dex again.
8:08>> Bro?
8:09>> Then his face goes blank and he walks to
8:11class.
8:12You have no idea what that was. [music]
8:15Maya does.
8:16She doesn't tell you. That matters
8:18later.
8:19Which brings us back to biology.
8:21Day 41. The chalk has stopped. Mr.
8:24Brooks is standing perfectly still. And
8:2731 heads turn. Not toward you. Toward
8:30her.
8:31Because when Maya smiled at you, her
8:33nose started bleeding. Bright red onto
8:36her notebook. And she's scared. Really
8:39scared. And they can see it.
8:41>> Is everything okay?
8:42>> 31 chairs slide back at the same time.
8:45[music] You have about 2 seconds to
8:47think.
8:48They hunt feelings. So, you give them a
8:50bigger one. You stand up on your chair
8:52and you laugh. Loud. Fake. The worst
8:56laugh in human history.
8:58Every head snaps toward you. You grab
9:00Maya's hand and run. Hallway, 40 m.
9:04Stairs. Behind you, 31 footsteps,
9:07perfectly in sync. You hit the storage
9:09room, slam the door and shove a whole
9:11shelf in front of it. Sorry, Gary. And
9:13then?
9:14Nothing. No banging, no shouting.
9:18Through the little window in the door,
9:19you can see them. Standing in the
9:21hallway.
9:22Waiting.
9:23Robots don't get tired. It's 9:22 in the
9:26morning. They won't leave until 9:00
9:28p.m. 11 hours and 38 minutes.
9:32And that's when Maya finally tells you
9:33the truth.
9:34>> I'm not like you.
9:36>> She opens her notebook. Every page has a
9:38date and a number. Her temperature. 41
9:41days. Not one of them normal.
9:44>> I caught it on day one. Like everyone
9:46else.
9:47>> But you're still you.
9:48>> Because I've been fighting it. [music]
9:50Every second since day one.
9:53>> The nosebleeds, the fevers, the blank
9:56[music] moments on the roof? It was
9:57never nothing. It was a war inside her.
10:01And she's been losing it slowly. Smiling
10:03at you the whole time. You. Then why am
10:06I fine?
10:07>> Because you're lucky. I'm just stubborn.
10:10>> And this part is [music] real. Some
10:12people are born with a broken version of
10:14a gene called CCR5.
10:16The most common type of HIV uses that
10:18gene like a door into your cells.
10:20[music]
10:20No door, no way in. Maya thinks this
10:23virus can't get into you, [music]
10:24either. You're not strong. You're
10:27locked. But her body did something yours
10:29never could. Because it fought, it
10:32[music] learned. In 1995, a man survived
10:35Ebola in Congo. Years later, scientists
10:38found that his blood [music] still
10:39remembered the virus. And they built a
10:41treatment out of his antibodies. It was
10:43[music] approved in 2020. And after 41
10:45days of fighting, the virus inside Maya
10:48isn't the same anymore. Her body beat it
10:50down into something weak. Something that
10:52pushes the strong one out.
10:54>> Dex knew you for 3 seconds. [music]
10:57Remember?
10:58>> Because she coughed next to him. And for
11:003 seconds, he came [music] back. There's
11:02even a real version of this. The oral
11:04polio vaccine uses a living weakened
11:07virus. And it can spread from [music] a
11:08vaccinated child to the people around
11:10them, protecting them, too.
11:12>> Every night at 9:00, they all [music]
11:14stand together.
11:1638,000 of them.
11:18Breathing the [music] same air.
11:21If I stand in the middle for 10 minutes,
11:24it spreads.
11:25>> And they carry [music] it everywhere.
11:27Because they never break routine.
11:29Bus drivers drive their routes. Pilots
11:31fly their flights. The same way the
11:33virus crossed [music] the world in 3
11:35days, the cure could, too.
11:37They'll see you. They'll kill you.
11:39>> Not if I don't feel anything.
11:42>> Then she says the part she's been
11:43hiding.
11:44>> My body can't keep fighting.
11:46I don't have weeks.
11:48I have tonight.
11:49>> You don't say anything for a long time.
11:52>> [gasps]
11:53>> Then you say the only thing that makes
11:55sense.
11:56You.
11:57Then I'm coming with you.
11:598:59 p.m.
12:01Outside the door, 31 robots stand
12:04perfectly still.
12:059:00.
12:07They turn all at once and walk [music]
12:09away.
12:10You and Maya follow them.
12:11Faces blank, matching their steps. Left,
12:15right,
12:16left.
12:19The stadium is the loudest silence
12:21you've ever heard. The center of the
12:23field is 90 m away.
12:25Through them.
12:2770 m.
12:28Maya's nose starts bleeding again. She
12:30doesn't wipe it.
12:3250.
12:33A woman in a nurse's uniform turns her
12:35head [music] an inch toward you. You
12:37don't breathe. She turns back.
12:3930.
12:41Your mom is standing in the front row,
12:42still in her apron. You don't look. You
12:45can't.
12:4710. The center circle.
12:49>> 10 minutes. Don't feel anything, no
12:52matter what.
12:53>> Minute one. 38,000 people breathing her
12:57air.
12:58Minute three. Her hand starts to shake.
13:01Minute five. Her knees bend, just a
13:04little, and you catch her elbow without
13:06moving your face.
13:07Minute seven.
13:09She coughs. Once, and 38,000 [music]
13:13heads turn at the exact same moment.
13:15>> Is everything okay?
13:17>> 38,000 voices. One sentence. And they
13:20start walking toward her. The circle
13:23closes. 20 m. 10. And this is the
13:27hardest part. Rule two. If you feel
13:29anything right now, they'll take you,
13:31too. She made you promise. Minute eight.
13:355 m. Minute nine. A hand reaches toward
13:38her face, and you break your promise.
13:41You step in front of her, wrap your arms
13:43around her, and you feel everything.
13:45[music]
13:46All of it, at once. Minute 10. And they
13:49stop, mid-step. 38,000 people frozen
13:53with their hands out. Then, somewhere in
13:56the stands, a man blinks. A baby starts
13:59crying. Someone whispers, "Where am I?"
14:02Someone laughs, confused. And then the
14:04[music] whole stadium fills with the
14:06most beautiful noise you've ever heard.
14:09People crying, hugging strangers,
14:12feeling things, all at once. And in the
14:15middle of it Maya slips down in your
14:17arms onto the grass. She's so light. Her
14:20fever is gone. Everything is gone. She
14:23used all of it.
14:24>> Did it work?
14:25>> Listen. She listens. 38,000 people alive
14:30again.
14:31>> Told you stubborn.
14:33>> You can't go. We never even had a real
14:35date.
14:36>> We had 41.
14:38>> She reaches up and touches the corner of
14:40your mouth.
14:40>> Hey, you can smile now. Nobody's going
14:44to hurt you for it.
14:45>> And then she's gone. The world woke up
14:48and the one person who saved it didn't.
14:51Somewhere behind you someone is shouting
14:53your name. Not in a GPS voice, in a
14:56voice that cracks. Your mom still in her
14:58apron pushing through the crowd. She
15:00grabs you and holds on so tight it hurts
15:03and this time her arms move. In the
15:06weeks after the world goes back to
15:08normal, almost. Nobody remembers the 41
15:11days. To them it was a long strange
15:14sleep. The news calls it the stillness.
15:17Nobody will ever find her name in a
15:19single report, but you know it and so
15:22does Dex. He remembers one thing, three
15:25seconds in a hallway and a girl coughing
15:27into her sleeve. Monday, 9:14 a.m.
15:30second period, biology. Mr. Brooks is at
15:33the board drawing [music] a white blood
15:35cell.
15:35>> Your immune system remembers every fight
15:38it ever won. [music]
15:39>> And the room is loud. Someone's
15:42whispering.
15:43Dex is asleep with his mouth open
15:45and two rows ahead by the window
15:47>> [music]
15:47>> there's an empty desk.
15:49Every Monday there are fresh flowers on
15:51it. Nobody knows who leaves them.
15:53Once you came in early and saw a man in
15:56a long charcoal coat walking away down
15:58the hallway. He didn't look back.
16:01You open your biology book and tucked
16:03inside there's a note in her
16:04handwriting.
16:05She must have left it there on day 41
16:08before the stadium.
16:09>> If you're reading this,
16:10>> [music]
16:10>> it worked. Now go be loud. Love, M.
16:15>> And for the first time in 41 days you
16:18smile in class.
16:19>> [music]
16:20>> Nobody turns around.
16:22So now I want to know two things. If the
16:24whole world went quiet and you could
16:26save [music] only one person, who would
16:28it be?
16:29And would you have kept your promise to
16:31Maya or broken it, too?
16:33Tell me in the comments.
16:34And if this story made you feel
16:36something, [music]
16:37that's how you know you're still human.
16:39Subscribe and I'll see you in the next
16:40one.

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