The Thing with Two Heads

(The Thing with Two Heads)

The Dr. Maxwell Kirshner is a world reputation surgeon specialist of transplants. He is behind the Kirshner Transplant Foundation. With the assistance of his direct colleague, the Dr. Philip Desmond, they have already succeeded many kind of transplant. But in secret, in the private laboratory of his personal cellar, Kirshner has succeeded a world premiere experiment. An operation in two step has allowed him to successfully transplant the head of a gorilla on the body of another one.

But the success of this exploit is dictated by a much more personal scheme. The Dr. Kirshner is dying. Victim of a stomach cancer that spread he only have a few weeks living duration. Unveiling his experimentation to his friend, the Dr. Desmond, he asks him to help him to realize on himself the fantastic operation. Desmond accepts and puts in quest of a donor. By the difficulty to find the ideal one and the emergency of the intervention, the alone solution consists in making a call beside the prisonners soon condamned to death penalty. By bequeathing his body to the science, the candidate will be able to obtain a few days delay.

Jack Moss accepts. On the point to be executed on the electrical chair, it is for him an opportunity to get. This situation allows him to gain thirty days on the date of his death and thus to give his friends the necessary time to provide evidences of his innocence.

In the greatest secret and so as not to wake up the public curiosity, the operation is attempted in the private hall of the Professor Kirshner. Desmond directs the first phase of the intervention with brio and Moss body now possesses a second head. When the brain of Kirshner will have taken possession of his new body, the second phase consisting in suppressing definitively the head of the donor, will be envisaged. The awakening of the professor is bit agitated when he notices that his host is black. Desmond knew his racist propensity but, pressed by time, it was the only foreseeable solution allowing to save his life.

Well decided to continue to prove his innocence, Jack escapes. He takes in hostage, the Dr. Fred Williams, a black surgeon specialist of reject phenomena. Integrated in the team of Philip Desmond, Williams was a considerable advantage in the success of the operation. Kirshner had nevertheless thrown him back because of the color of his skin.

Escaping on an all-ground motorbike, the police throws to their chase and a long pursuit race implying some fourteen cars finishes with the complete destruction of the float. Moss gets convince Williams about his innocence. Despite Maxwell Kirshner's protests, the black physician accepts to cut out the foreign head grafted on Jack's body. But now Kirshner begins to find back the usage of his new members…

 Spoiler ! the end of the story is revealed below…

Kirshner stuns his host and escapes Williams. He renders in his personal laboratory so as to attempt himself the operation that aims to subtract the Moss's head. Fortunately Williams and Lila, Moss's girlfriend, find back his trace. They intervene just in time before the Professor begin the anaesthesia. Williams will finally practice the difficult operation with brio, rendering the body of Moss to his unique owner. About Kirshner's head, it is artificially maintained in life until a new donor is found.