Trainspotting

Mark goes to see Tommy, who is dying of AIDS. Mark does not think that Tommy will survive the winter in West Granton, where he lives now. This is an uncomfortable visit in part because Mark is the one who got Tommy hooked on heroin by giving him his first shot. Tommy got AIDS by sharing needles.

Tommy asks Mark if he’s HIV-free. When Marks says yes, Tommy reacts: “You used mair thin me. And ye shared works. Sick Boy’s, Keezbo’s, Raymie’s, Spud’s, Swanney’s…ye used Matty’s fir fuck sake” (316). Mark retorts that he didn’t share needles, but the fact of injustice remains; it’s largely a question of luck that Mark didn’t get infected while Tommy did.

Tommy is still hooked on the drug and asks Mark if he has any heroin. Mark tells him he’s clean and doesn’t have anything for him, but gives him money.

Johnny Swan is begging for money on the streets, claiming to be a Scottish soldier who lost his leg in battle. He carries a cardboard sign that says: “FALKLANDS VETERAN—I LOST MY LEG FOR MY COUNTRY. PLEASE HELP” (319). Given that he lost his leg to heroin, the scam is both amusing and awful, especially as it’s predominantly older people who give him money.

One woman stops and reveals that she lost her soldier son when he was only 21. She gives Johnny a 20 pound note: “[‘]It’s aw ah’ve goat bit ah want you tae huv it.[’] She breaks into a sob and almost staggers away from him” (320). Johnny has no remorse, however, and happily takes the money from her without a second thought.