



"Rick Potion #9" is the sixth episode of the first season of Rick and Morty. It is the sixth episode of the series overall. It premiered on January 27, 2014. It was written by Justin Roiland and directed by Stephen Sandoval.

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Synopsis

A potion designed to make Morty attractive to one girl goes viral and infects all of Earth, so Rick has to clean up the mess by creating another mess.

Plot

Morty is very interested in Jessica, but lacks the opportunity to ever talk to her as he's either too shy or his attempts are shut down by Brad whenever he tries. With the annual Flu Season Dance coming up, Morty talks to Jerry about his issue. Jerry compares Morty's fondness for Jessica to his own fondness for Beth when he was a teenager. Rick overhears Jerry's story and reminds him that said fondness resulted in Jerry getting Beth pregnant at 17. Rick proceeds to warn Morty not to go to Jerry for romantic advice because, "his marriage is hanging on by a thread". An insulted Jerry remarks that there isn't a problem with his marriage. Unconvinced, Rick tells Jerry that he can believe what he wants but it's pretty obvious that Beth is looking for an excuse to leave him. Morty becomes upset and asks Rick not to talk about his parents in that fashion. In response, Rick tells Morty that what people interpret as, "love" is just a chemical that causes animals to breed and once that has happened, any true passion fades away. After Rick leaves, a depressed Morty goes upstairs to prepare for the dance and a nervous Jerry goes to check on Beth. Thinking about what Rick told him, Morty approaches Rick and requests a potion that can make Jessica like him. After a brief argument, Rick calls Morty a, "thorn in his ass" and gives Morty a serum based off the genetic makeup of voles, a rodent that pair bonds with its mate for life. Before leaving, Morty asks if there's anything that could go wrong with the serum and Rick answers no. Once Morty has left, however, Rick quickly adds, "unless she has the flu", but shrugs it off.

At the dance, Morty uses the serum on Jessica, and, save for her dilated pupils, it seems to be a success. When Brad sees Jessica holding Morty, he becomes angry and tries to wrestle him away from her. Things only get worse when Jessica begins to sneeze. The serum, which has piggy-backed onto the flu virus and has caused the virus to replicate in seconds, is seen to go airborne, infects Brad with the serum. Brad quickly apologizes to Morty but begins to make sexual advances on Morty which leads to another scuffle between Jessica and Brad. Eventually Principal Vagina leads Brad away, while Brad sneezes causing the serum laced flu virus to enter the fruit punch and air vents. Soon everyone at the dance is infected with the flu and subsequently the serum. Morty prays that everything go according to plan, when Jessica starts aggressively telling Morty to have sex with her on the spot, in front of the entire school. Morty is unsurprisingly mortified and Jessica's friend tells her to control herself, before she begins to make advances on Morty as well. Morty slowly backs up and notices that everyone in the room now has dilated pupils and they're all looking at him lustfully. Realizing what has happened with dread, Morty feebly whimpers, "Oh, crap!". The students and faculty swarm around Morty, with each of them violently competing to have Morty for themselves. Morty eventually manages to get away from everyone and makes a break for the exit where Rick is waiting for him. Rick tells Morty that he realized that he messed up and explains how this all happened. Terrified, Morty asks Rick what they're going to do and Rick tells him that he's already whipped up an antidote using praying mantis DNA as the base, claiming that they're the, "opposite of voles" due to their nature to only mate once before the female devours the male.

Rick releases his antidote along with a second, more powerful airborne virus. Upon releasing the new airborne serum, Rick tells Morty that the serum doesn't affect anyone related to Morty by blood so luckily it means none of his family will want to have sex with him. For a moment, the antidote appears to have been successful, until everybody starts growing mantis-like features and other appendages. Now not only do they still wish to copulate with Morty but also have the urge to behead and eat him afterward. This Mantis-love virus soon infects the entire Earth population, all of which not only wish to mate with Morty but consume him afterwards.

Meanwhile, Jerry approaches Beth and asks her if she still loves him. Beth tells Jerry that loving him is the equivalent of building a homeless shelter, work that nobody wants to do but people who care will do so anyway. She then is called in to work late to help out with some horses after an incident at the racetrack and Jerry begins to suspect she may be having an affair. Despite Summer's warnings, Jerry decides to stop by St. Equis Hospital where his wife works. On the way, he encounters a massive roadblock on the highway and is confronted by several mutated victims. Finding a shotgun in an abandoned police car, Jerry arms himself and shoots his way through the horde. After a successful surgery, Beth's coworker Davin makes a move before being infected by the Mantis-love virus. Just then, Jerry, in tattered clothes, busts in with a crowbar and beats him to death. Meanwhile, Rick and Morty travel to a secluded area in the desert. While Rick tries to concoct a third serum to undo all of his previous work Morty is watching the news and is horrified to find that the virus has spread across the entire planet. Rick then claims that he has created the solution by taking the DNA from several sources, including koala, rattlesnake, chimpanzee, cactus, golden retriever, shark, and dinosaur. Morty is confused by Rick's concoction and asks how it would put people back to normal, but only gets chastised by Rick for questioning him. As they fly over the town, Rick tries to build up hype so he can rub his supposed success in Morty's face, until Morty finally just grows tired of Rick's arrogance and releases the third airborne virus himself. At first the serum seems to have worked, as some people are returned to normal, but just as quickly, people begin turning into disfigured, humanoid blobs that Rick dubs "Cronenbergs." Rick then sarcastically says, "You're welcome." to Morty, claiming that he made him the, "mayor of, 'I told you so town'". The world is soon overrun with these disfigured monsters, and Jerry and Beth fight their way through them to survive, eventually reuniting with Summer.

As dawn breaks, Rick and Morty sit upon a rooftop overlooking the chaos around them. Rick tries to be light-hearted and jokingly points out that no one wants to have sex with Morty any more so they must be going in the right direction. Morty, on the other hand, is still absolutely horrified by the fact that the world was in ruin and asks Rick how he could have been so irresponsible. Not willing to take the blame, Rick reminds Morty that he was the one who asked for the serum to begin with, and claimed that Morty was a total creep. Morty accepts his responsibility for the disaster but he quickly reminds Rick that he was the one who botched the original serum, mixed a bunch of random genes together, hoped for the best and ended up turning the entire world population into Cronenbergs. Furthermore, Morty declares that Rick had to figure out a way to fix everything. At wits end for what to do, Rick then ultimately decides to use his final emergency solution. The scene cuts to Rick and Morty's garage, with Morty congratulating Rick on saving the world from the Cronenbergs. Rick asks Morty for his screwdriver, and gladly begins to finish his invention from earlier. Just as Rick twists the screw the third time, the device violently explodes, instantly (and messily) killing Rick and Morty. The Rick and Morty from the rooftop scene then step out from a portal, and Morty panics at the sight of incredibly bloody garage with the corpses of him and his grandfather lying limp and burnt on ground; until Rick calms him down by telling Morty that there are an infinite number of realities and in a few of them he managed to save the world from the viruses. Rick further explains the he just had to find one of those realities in which they died soon afterwards so that they could come in and take their place. A still horrified Morty asks Rick what was going to happen to the world they left behind only for Rick to tell him there's nothing they can do, so they shouldn't think about it. Rick further remarks that Morty should be glad that he messed as much as he did because if he hadn't, they would have been the versions of themselves that died in an explosion. The episode ends with Rick and Morty, burying their dead bodies in the backyard. Upon finishing, Morty, with a thousand-yard stare, returns into the house in a daze, looks around at his new home and sits on the couch, clearly shell-shocked by all that has happened.

After the credits, the remainder of the C-137 Smith family is shown living out of a van fitted with armor and survival equipment and roasting a dead Cronenburg over a fire. Summer (C-137) creates her own TV shows standing in a cardboard box while her parents, Jerry (C-137) and Beth (C-137), admit they don't miss Rick and Morty at all and despite the world falling apart, they have actually found happiness. Meanwhile, Cronenberg Rick and Cronenberg Morty transport from a reality they call Cronenberg World in which Cronenberg Rick accidentally turned everyone into normal human beings.

Characters

Major Characters

Minor Characters

Songs

Flu Hatin' Rap

Mazzy Star - Look On Down From The Bridge

Deaths

Many Cronenbergs Davin (C-137)

Rick Sanchez (replacement dimension)

Morty Smith (replacement dimension)

Locations

Transcript

View the full transcript of this episode here.

Quotes

Jerry: Well, try not to worry about it, Morty. You're a good kid and there's not a premium on that right now, but you'll be getting girls sometime after Brad's out of shape.

Well, try not to worry about it, Morty. You're a good kid and there's not a premium on that right now, but you'll be getting girls sometime after Brad's out of shape. Morty: You're missing the point, dad. I don't want girls. I want Jessica.

You're missing the point, dad. I don't want girls. I want Jessica. Jerry: Ah, well, I remember feeling that way about a young lady named Your Mom and that's not an urban diss. Your mom was my Jessica. I remember the first time I saw her. I thought-

Ah, well, I remember feeling that way about a young lady named Your Mom and that's not an urban diss. Your mom was my Jessica. I remember the first time I saw her. I thought- ( Rick enters the room)

Rick: I should get her pregnant and then she'll have to marry me.

I should get her pregnant and then she'll have to marry me. Jerry: I beg your pardon, Rick. Inappropriate.

I beg your pardon, Rick. Inappropriate. Rick: Sorry, please proceed with your story about banging my daughter in high school. I'm not sure you wanna take romantic advice from this guy, Morty. His marriage is hanging from a thread.

Sorry, please proceed with your story about banging my daughter in high school. I'm not sure you wanna take romantic advice from this guy, Morty. His marriage is hanging from a thread. Jerry: My marriage is fine, thank you!

My marriage is fine, thank you! Rick: Jerry, it's your house, whatever you say it is is how it is. But, I think a blind man could see that Beth is looking for the door. I barely have a reason to care and even I notice.

Jerry, it's your house, whatever you say it is is how it is. But, I think a blind man could see that Beth is looking for the door. I barely have a reason to care and even I notice. Morty: Come on, Rick! Don't talk about my parents like that.

Come on, Rick! Don't talk about my parents like that. Rick: Listen, Morty, I hate break it to you, but, what people call "love" is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. I did it. Your parents are gonna do it. Break the cycle, Morty. Rise above. Focus on science.

Listen, Morty, I hate break it to you, but, what people call "love" is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. I did it. Your parents are gonna do it. Break the cycle, Morty. Rise above. Focus on science. ( Rick leaves the room)

Morty: Alright, well, I'm gonna go get dressed for the dance.

Alright, well, I'm gonna go get dressed for the dance. Jerry: Yeah! I'm just going to... check on your mom.

Rick: Alright, Morty. I just gotta (Belch) combine it with some of your DNA.

Alright, Morty. I just gotta combine it with some of your DNA. Morty: Oh, well, okay.

Oh, well, okay. (Morty unzips his pants)

Rick: I need a hair, Morty. I need one of your hairs. This isn't Game of Thrones.

Jerry: Beth, do you still love me?

Beth, do you still love me? Beth: Ugh, what kind of question was that?

Ugh, what kind of question was that? Jerry: A ... yes or no kind?

A ... yes or no kind? Beth: Jerry, do you want homeless people to have homes?

Jerry, do you want homeless people to have homes? Jerry: Yyyyes?

Yyyyes? Beth: Are you gonna build them?

Are you gonna build them? Jerry: Nnnno?

Nnnno? Beth: Then what good was the yes?

Then what good was the yes? Jerry: What. I-is loving me the house or the homeless people?

What. I-is loving me the house or the homeless people? Beth: Loving you is work, Jerry. Hard work. Like building a homeless shelter. Nobody wants to say no to doing it, but some people put the work in. So what do you say? Do you see me working here? Does this conversation seem tedious to me?

Loving you is work, Jerry. Hard work. Like building a homeless shelter. Nobody wants to say no to doing it, but some people put the work in. So what do you say? Do you see me working here? Does this conversation seem tedious to me? Jerry: Sort of.

Sort of. Beth: Then, I obviously sort of love you, don't I? So stop asking and maybe I'll love you more.

Jerry: She's not responding to my texts.

She's not responding to my texts. Summer: Careful, dad. Jealousy turns women off.

Careful, dad. Jealousy turns women off. Jerry: Well, isn't that convenient?

Well, isn't that convenient? Rick: Not for the men they cheat on, no.

Not for the men they cheat on, no. Summer: God, grandpa, you're such a dick.

God, grandpa, you're such a dick. Rick: Sorry, Summer, your opinion means very little to me.

Davin: Take me to Morty.

Take me to Morty. (Jerry busts in)

Davin: You're not Morty.

You're not Morty. Jerry: No, I'm Mr. Crowbar and this is my friend, who is also a crowbar.

No, I'm Mr. Crowbar and this is my friend, who is also a crowbar. Davin: That's ... stupid.

That's ... stupid. (Jerry beats Davin to death)

Jerry: Yeah? Well, look where being smart got ya.

Yeah? Well, look where being smart got ya. Beth: Jerry! Thank god!

Jerry! Thank god! Jerry: God? God's turning people into insect monsters, Beth. I'm the one beating them to death. Thank me.

God? God's turning people into insect monsters, Beth. I'm the one beating them to death. Thank me. Beth: Thank you, Jerry. Thank you.

( Rick and Morty are in an isolated desert location with Rick working on a new serum in his mobile lab whilst Morty watches the news )

) Morty: Oh my God, Rick! The whole world is infected!

Oh my God, Rick! The whole world is infected! Rick: Yeah, it's pretty wild how fast that spread. I've really outdone myself.

Yeah, it's pretty wild how fast that spread. I've really outdone myself. Morty: Outdone yourself?! W-w-w-wha Are you kidding me Rick?! This is not okay! Not only do they all want to have sex with me, but, you know, now they want to eat me afterwards!

Outdone yourself?! W-w-w-wha Are you kidding me Rick?! This is not okay! Not only do they all want to have sex with me, but, you know, now they want to eat me afterwards! Rick: I don't know what I was thinking. Mantises are the opposite of voles? Obviously DNA is a bit more complicated than that. You know what, Morty? This right here is gunna do the trick, baby. It's koala, mixed with rattlesnake, chimpanzee, cactus, shark, golden retriever, and just a smidge of dinosaur. Should add up to normal humanity.

I don't know what I was thinking. Mantises are the opposite of voles? Obviously DNA is a bit more complicated than that. You know what, Morty? This right here is gunna do the trick, baby. It's koala, mixed with rattlesnake, chimpanzee, cactus, shark, golden retriever, and just a smidge of dinosaur. Should add up to normal humanity. Morty: I don't-That doesn't make any sense, Rick. How does that add up to a normal humanity?

I don't-That doesn't make any sense, Rick. How does that add up to a normal humanity? Rick: What-What do you want me to show you my math? I'm sorry are you the scientist or are you the kid who wanted to get laid?

Rick: Well, what do we have here, Morty? Looks like I was right and you were wrong. Huh? I-I-I-I-bet you feel pretty stupid right about now. I bet you feel like the world's smallest man that you were doubting me ... about this whole thing, Morty.

Well, what do we have here, Morty? Looks like I was right and you were wrong. Huh? I-I-I-I-bet you feel pretty stupid right about now. I bet you feel like the world's smallest man that you were doubting me ... about this whole thing, Morty. Morty: Oh, Rick. Something's not right.

Oh, Rick. Something's not right. Rick: Yeah, you. You're not right ... ever.

Yeah, you. You're not right ... ever. Morty: No! No! Look you idiot!

No! No! Look you idiot! (Everyone in the world transforms into Cronenbergs)

Rick: Bet you're loving this Morty. This must be the best day of your life. You get the be Mayor of I Told You Town.

(Jerry slashes Cronenbergs with a machete whilst Beth shoots several Cronenbergs with a gun)

Jerry: I wish that shotgun was my penis.

I wish that shotgun was my penis. Beth: If it was, you could call me Ernest Hemmingway.

If it was, you could call me Ernest Hemmingway. Jerry: I don't get it and I don't need to.

I don't get it and I don't need to. (Beth and Jerry begin to kiss)

Morty: Wow, Rick, I gotta say, you really pulled a rabbit out of your hat this time. I mean, I really thought that the whole place was gunna be messed up for good, but here you did it. You figured out that crazy solution, like you always do. Whoo! That's some great luck.

Wow, Rick, I gotta say, you really pulled a rabbit out of your hat this time. I mean, I really thought that the whole place was gunna be messed up for good, but here you did it. You figured out that crazy solution, like you always do. Whoo! That's some great luck. Rick: Come on, Morty, luck had nothing to do with it. I'm great. That's the real reason. Now, Morty, what do you say, buddy? Will you have me a screwdriver so I can finish my ionic defibulizer?

Come on, Morty, luck had nothing to do with it. I'm great. That's the real reason. Now, Morty, what do you say, buddy? Will you have me a screwdriver so I can finish my ionic defibulizer? Morty: Sure thing, Rick. Here's the screwdriver.

Sure thing, Rick. Here's the screwdriver. Rick: Alright, Morty, thank you very much. We got one screw turn, and two screw turns and-

Alright, Morty, thank you very much. We got one screw turn, and two screw turns and- (The machine explodes and the explosion kills Rick and Morty)

(An alternate dimension version of Rick and Morty come in through a portal)

Rick: Alright, Morty, here we are.

Alright, Morty, here we are. Morty: Oh my god, Rick! Is that us? We're dead! What is going on Rick? I'm freaking out!

Oh my god, Rick! Is that us? We're dead! What is going on Rick? I'm freaking out! Rick: Calm down, Morty! Look at me! Calm down, Morty!

Calm down, Morty! Look at me! Calm down, Morty! Morty: I can't take it! No!

I can't take it! No! Rick: Y-Y-Y-You gotta calm yourself, Morty!

Y-Y-Y-You gotta calm yourself, Morty! Morty: I can't deal with this!

I can't deal with this! Rick: Morty! Calm down, Morty!

Morty! Calm down, Morty! Morty: This can't be real!

This can't be real! Rick: Are you listening to me, Morty?

Are you listening to me, Morty? Morty: W-W-W-W-We're-

W-W-W-W-We're- (Rick slaps Morty)

Rick: Shut up and listen to me! It's fine, Morty. Everything's fine. There an infinite number of realities, Morty and in a few dozen of those, I got lucky and turned everything back to normal. I just happen to come across one of those realities in which both of us happened to die at this time. Now, we can just slip into the places of our dead selves in this reality and everything will be fine. We're not skipping a beat, Morty. Now help me with these bodies.

Shut up and listen to me! It's fine, Morty. Everything's fine. There an infinite number of realities, Morty and in a few dozen of those, I got lucky and turned everything back to normal. I just happen to come across one of those realities in which both of us happened to die at this time. Now, we can just slip into the places of our dead selves in this reality and everything will be fine. We're not skipping a beat, Morty. Now help me with these bodies. Morty: This is insane.

This is insane. Rick: Look, Morty, I'll grab myself and you grab yourself, okay? Th-th-th-that seems fair to me, I mean. That seems like a fair way to divvy it up.

Look, Morty, I'll grab myself and you grab yourself, okay? Th-th-th-that seems fair to me, I mean. That seems like a fair way to divvy it up. Morty: Rick! What about the reality we left behind?

Rick! What about the reality we left behind? Rick: What about the reality where Hitler cured cancer, Morty? The answer is don't think about it. It's not like we can do this every week, anyways. We get three or four more of these, tops. Now pick up your dead self and come on. Haste makes waste. I-I-I-I don't suppose you consider this detail, but, obviously, if I didn't screw up as much as I did, we'd be these guys right now, so again, you're welcome.

Trivia

This episode marks the first appearance of Brad.

Near the end of the episode, Rick makes a comment about the ability to switch dimensions and how it can't be done every week, maybe 3 to 4 times. This is meta-commentary on lazy writing, of which co-creator Dan Harmon has expressed strong opinions on in the past.

Although Morty is normally traumatized by what occurs throughout the adventures he goes on with Rick, a much more serious tone had been given this time, considering that not only had their antics virtually destroyed the human race (save for Beth, Jerry and Summer), but the fact that they have entered a different dimension where they are now dead and had seen their own corpses had a great impact on Morty.

From this episode forth, Rick and Morty are technically the only two original characters who commonly appear in the series anymore, with them living the rest of the series in a clone reality. So, technically speaking, Beth, Jerry, Summer and other characters are "absent" in most subsequent episodes to date, as they are still in Rick's and Morty's home dimension.

This episode is referenced in the later episode "Rixty Minutes", where Morty shows Replacement Dimension Summer the graves where he and Rick buried themselves and reveals to her that he is technically a different version of her real brother.

This is one of the only times Morty addresses to Rick as "Grandpa Rick" rather than simply Rick.

During the scene in which a shocked and terrified Summer flips through different news channels on television, one channel displays a scene in Saudi Arabia where Cronenburgs in thawbs are rioting. The screen crawl at the bottom reads, لنا و العيش MORTY نحن نحب قليلا بيضاء كافر ❤️❤️ ارسل. Although the Arabic contains some grammatical errors, it most likely is meant to read, "We love a little white infidel...Send Morty to us and live."

It is never actually explained why Rick chose to take only Morty out of the destroyed Dimension C-137, as opposed to the entire family; given Rick's personality, he most likely did this as a way of ensuring that Morty remains perpetually dependent on him for survival.

The Blu-Ray release features special guest commentary from Simpsons Crew Matt Groening, Al Jean, J. Stewart Burns, Max Pross, Matt Selman, Jon Kern, and Tom Gammill

In the later episode Season 2 Episode 2, Rick writes in Dimension C-137 on the form for dropping off his adoptive son-in-law Jerry. In that same episode Cronenberg Rick and Cronenberg Morty are also seen making a background cameo, as one of the many pairs of Rick and Morty there are in the universe.



Cultural References

The title of this episode is a parody of the movie Love Potion No. 9 .

. When Jerry tells to his son Morty the story about how he fell in true love, he "Fell in love with a young woman named 'Your Mom', and that's not an urban diss." This was a reference to what's known as Maternal Insults, a popular way of jokingly insulting people that kids do nowadays, wherein they will respond to questions people ask them by saying "Your Mom!" or randomly add that into their sentences as a way to offend them.

When Rick asks Morty for a DNA sample, Morty unzips his pants and then Rick stops him, telling them that he meant a lock of his hair and then says "This isn't Game of Thrones". This is a joke on a common criticism on the show, saying that there is a lot of unnecessary instances of nudity and sexual content added into the plotline of the show when it really doesn't need to be there.

The namesake of the Cronenberg world refers to the Canadian film maker/screenwriter/actor David Cronenberg who is famous for body of horror films. One of David Cronenberg's most famous movies being the modern remake of the 1958 horror film "The Fly" featuring Jeff Goldblum as a scientist working on matter teleportation and instead making a machine that can genetically combine organisms of different types of species.

After Beth shoots up a bunch of Cronenberg monsters, Jerry tells to his wife that he wishes her shotgun was his penis. Beth tells to her husband that in that case, he can call her Ernest Hemingway. Jerry didn't get the reference. Ernest Hemingway was an author who committed suicide by placing the barrel of a shotgun into his mouth.

The song that ends the episode is "Look On Down from the Bridge" by Mazzy Star.

In the after credits scene, Summer is performing, somewhat inaccurately, Quint's U.S.S. Indianapolis speech from the movie Jaws .

. The metal backpacks that Rick and Morty wear when they switch dimensions are similar to the ones worn by the survivors of the spaceship crash in the film Planet of the Apes. Additionally Cronenberg Rick and Morty wear them as well.

Errors

At the beginning of the scene where Jerry and Rick told Morty contradicting views on how love works, a shot of the house was seen. The sky was dark out. However, in a shot of Rick talking to Morty in the same scene, the window was seen in the background, where it showed broad daylight out.

When Rick goes into fridge during the scene where he berates Jerry about talking to Morty about love, he puts an ice cube in his glass. However, when he is pouring the juice in his glass, there is no ice.

Possible theory: Since Rick and Morty switch places with their counterparts from Replacement dimension, it could be those error scenes are actually from the same dimension. When Rick and Morty from Replacement Dimension returned home after found the solution for the genetic epidemic, it was in broad daylight and Morty was in his normal outfit. Also, the ionic tube was in different position in both C-137 and Replacement Dimension. The tube was close to the blue wires while in Replacement Dimension, the tube was a bit far from those blue wires. This could be the reason it exploded after Rick finished his third screw turns.

Rick explains to his grandson Morty that since there are an infinite number of dimensions, there were a "couple dozen" where he managed to return humanity back to normal. If there are an infinite number of dimensions, then there are actually an infinite number where he turned humanity back to normal, as well as an infinite number where he did not.

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References