THE NEW BREED

Dr. Stephen Ledbetter (Richard Thomas), a university scientist, has engineered machines that work in the body at the molecular level to repair damaged cells and correct any physical defects, rendering man impervious to disease. The "nanobots" are years away from going public, but Ledbetter is confident that they will herald the era of a new breed of man.

The university adminstrators are apprenhensive about such a breakthrough, and tell Ledbetter to back off the project. The next day one of Ledbetter's best friends is diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Andy (Peter Outerbridge) is given one year to live. This is especially devestating since he has just asked his longtime girlfriend (Tammy Isbell) to marry him.

Upset and frantic from the news, Andy sneaks into Ledbetter's lab and injects himself with fluid containing the nanobots. The next day, Andy's doctor reports that the cancer has almost completely disappeared. The nanobots in Andy's body gradually correct every defect, turning him into a perfect human and a powerhouse of virility, much to his fiance's surprise. When his body starts becoming a little too finely tuned, he confesses what he's done to Ledbetter, who is furious and insists on deactivating the nanobots. Andy argues that he is the perfect testing ground, and agrees to allow Ledbetter to deactivate the nanobots only if something goes wrong.

The results of Ledbetter's tests on Andy are miraculous, the nanobots continue to make Andy stronger, and enable him to heal immediately. But when Andy is submerged in water for a period of time, he wakes up the next day with gills in his neck. At this point, Ledbetter wants to deactivate them, but it's not that simple.

As the nanobots continue to make hideous "improvements" to Andy's body, he and Ledbetter realize that they must be stopped before they turn Andy's body into an impenetrable fortress.

By the next day, Andy is transformed into a complete freak, and he goes to see Ledbetter, ready to do anything to relieve the pain. He tries to cut his own th The next day, Andy's grieving fiance, Judy, cuts her finger on a shattered photo of Andy, which heals, miraculously, within moments.
 
 

Directed by: Mario Azzopardi          Written by: Grant Rosenberg

Starring: Richard Thomas, Peter Outerbridge, Tammy Isbell and Veena Sood

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