he movie opens at a party hosted by Bartok Industries, where investigative journalist Veronica Quaife interviews Seth Brundle, a brilliant inventor. Seth boasts that his upcoming invention will revolutionize human history, but Veronica remains unimpressed and demands specifics. Seth, more interested in flirting, invites her to his lab to discuss his work further.

At Seth's apartment in a dubious neighborhood, he unveils his invention, the "Telepods," which are two phone booth-like structures connected by a computer. Seth explains that these Telepods can teleport any substance from one to the other. To demonstrate, he asks Veronica for a piece of jewelry or clothing. She playfully removes her stocking and gives it to him. Seth places it in the first Telepod and returns to analyze the process on his computer.