Lazarus and The Doctor in “The Lazarus Experiment”

I came here before, a lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside...

The Blitz.

You've read about it.

I was there.

You're too young.

So are you.

[chuckles, then groans in agony as his bones crack and contort] In the morning, the fires had died, but I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So... defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it--

That's what you were trying to do today.

That's what I did today.

What about the other people who died?!

They were nothing. I changed the course of history.

Any of them might have done too. You think history's only made with equations?! Facing death is part of being human; you can't change that.

No, Doctor. Avoiding death, that's being human! It's our strongest impulse: to cling to life with every fibre of being! I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more... successful. [groans as his bones crack again]

Look at yourself! You're mutating! You've got no control over it, and you call it a success?!

I call it progress! I'm more now than I was... more than just an ordinary human...

There's no such thing as an ordinary human.