[Project-fallujah] Reflections in a Crystal Cave

[ptop]

Recap
-----

Dee, Da and Fletch ahead of the storm have landed upon the MetaSphinx.

The MetaSphinx has just riddled Fletch about the Reference number of a
certain postcard.

The MetaSphinx loaded its riddle with quotes from T.S. Elliot's Poem
*Gerontion*.

Play
----

[ MetaSphinx ]

Tell me now
What is your instinctive answer ?
What are you going to do ?

[ Fletch ]

I want to sleep                  [ Da fuging ]

Can I use you lair ?               All I want is a room somewhere
                                    Well away from the cold night air

[ MetaSphinx ]

Yes
At the usual rates
Draw a pattern there

( Fletch fatigue nods and walks towards the cave entrance of the
MetaSphinx's lair. Fletch turns. )

Oh : Sea-Hedgehogs

What's your story ?

Oh, it can wait

I have been brought here
Many times

( Fletch continues walking to the cave. Fletch turns. )

Though I'd best show you
A pattern before we depart

Come get me in eight hours
I'd like your thoughts

( Fletch enters the cave as the MetaSphinx begins to riddle the
Sea-Hedgehogs. The cave is formed from a purple crystalline material.
Fletch throws Fletch's bag into a low corner of the cave. The corner is
too low to accommodate the Sphinx's shape and is cluttered with
artifacts. The bulk of the cave is clear save for the MetaSphinx's bed.
Its bed is covered with a patch-work quilt.

Fletch, moving across the room, kicks at some of the artifacts near to
the wall of the low corner of the cave.
Fletch unfastens a rope from the wall and lowers a Fletch-sized bed that
is hinged to the wall. There is an over-powering smell. )

[ Fletch puzzled ]

Who has that Sphinx
Had here recently ?

( Fletch over fatigued, hits the hay, and is soon in dream land. )

-----------------------------------------------
Dream 1 : What are we going to do about Maria ?
-----------------------------------------------

( Seven folk are sitting in the morning at a diner on the corner. They
are drinking tea and oranges that have come all the way from China. One
of the seated characters, Sew, wears dungarees. A Stranger walks by and
says out loud, and to no one in particular: "If I had a million dollars
tax free I'd ...".

One of the seated characters, Ray, laughs at the Stranger. The noise is
noted by an adjacent seated character, Doe )

[ Doe ]

What's funny ?

[ Ray ]                 ( Still Laughing )

The wish list

I'd want a closet
Full of robes ...

And some pretty jewelry
To go with the robes ...

                         ( Stops Laughing )

And put that closet
In a really cool house ...

And put that house
Someplace where
I'd be important ...

[ Me ]

Phweeee ...
A shift from money to power

[ Doe ]

Oh ...
Haven't we got a sharp tongue today ?

[ Me ]

We ?
Just pointing out the movement

[ Doe ]

Oh ...
Try not to cut yourself

[ Me ]

Me ?
I gave up that habit for lent

         ( Pause )

[ Ray ]

Hey ...

Money, Power
What's the difference really ?

[ Me ]

Money buys things
Power makes things happen

[ Far ]

Ah ...

But both will get you
What you want

[ Far ]

Booze
A blond
Or baccarat ?

Or am I talking to myself ?

[ Me ]

Maybe

But money and power
Are different tools
                         ( Looking at Far )
And every tool
I know
Has bugs

Why not just choose
What you want to do
And pick
An appropriate tool ?

[ Ray ]

Hey I want everything

So, given the choice
I'd take the power

[ Far ]

Far out !
I would too !

         ( Pause )

[ Me ]

So you think power
Should be an end in itself ?

[ Far ]

What's wrong with a power trip ?

[ Sew ]      ( Giggling )

Oh ...
It does sound like fun to me ?

[ Me ]

But only till you run in to
A greater power

[ Sew ]

So ...
Then you have to think big

[ Me ]

Maybe ...
But maybe
In just a little way

[ Sew ]

So ...

Oh ... I take your point

One has duties that comes first

         ( Pause )

[ Far ]

Ah ... you can keep morality out of it

[ Sew ]

No you can't

[ La ]

Well obviously one can

Regard the World

[ La ]

Regard those with power

Or am I just talking to myself ?

[ Sew ]

No ...

I'll rephrase it:
One should not keep morality out of it

[ Far ]

I disagree

To be any one in this world
It seems one must keep morality
Out of the picture

[ La ]

Nar ..
That is not correct either

         ( Pause )

[ Sew ]

So ...               ( Addressing Doe and Me )

Does that mean we have just agreed on something ?

[ Doe ]

No

Duty and morality
Are different things

[ Ray ]

Hey ...

Different tools
For different tasks

[ Me ]

Funny, but no

A task one must do
Is a duty
And ones duties are ones morality

[ Far ]

Nar ...

Leave it out

No one must do anything

[ Sew ]

OK ...

But sometimes one must to something
As a matter of honor

[ La ]

Ah ...

Now I follow

You are talking about
A personal code

         ( Pause )

[ La ]

But a personal code
Need not have any connection
To conventional morality

[ Ray ]

Then it's not really a morality
You're just talking about duty

[ Me ]

You're right about the duty
But it's still morality

[ Far ]

Nar ... moralities are just
The values of a civilisation

[ Sew ]

OK but then:
There's really no such thing
As civilisation:

The word just means
The art of living in cities

[ La ]

Ah, alright then:
The values of a culture

[ Tea ]             ( Giggling )

Cultural values are relative things !

         ( Sharp Pause )

[ Tea ]             ( Still giggling )

And ours say we're right !

[ Me ]

I thought you were asleep

[ Far ]

Ah ...

Where do you two come from ?

[ Sew ]

I thought this was
An abstract discussion

[ La ]

Then maybe we should drop
The term 'morality'
And just stick with duty

[ Tea ]

Aren't you bothered about power ?

[ Doe ]

Oh ...                ( An octave above )

I think its in there somewhere

         ( Sharp Pause )

[ Doe ]

Oh ...              ( An octave above )

But if ones duty and morality
Are different
Which one would be
The more important ?

[ Tea ]

They are not
They are the same

[ La ]

Ah ...
I don't think so

[ Far ]

Nar ...
I don't think so too

[ Me ]

Well ...
Suit yourself I guess

[ Ray ]      ( Rubbing chin in contemplation )

But duties do tend to be clear cut ...
And it sounds as if
You can choose your own morality ...

So if I had to have one or the other
I'd go with morality

[ Doe ]

Oh ...
I do like things clear cut

--------------------------
Dream 2 : The Spirit Dance
--------------------------

( The trail had been leading upwards
   And the party came to a smooth level place
   Almost paved-seeming
   Through strewn slightly with sand
   The music had grown louder
   And continued to do so as they advanced

   Then through the fog
   They sense dim shapes moving
   Slowly
   Rhythmically

   It takes several seconds
   For Fletch to recognise
   That they are dancing
   To the music

   Fletch approaches closer
   Until they could better view the figures:

   Human-seeming
   Handsome folk
   Garbed in various attire
   Trading to the slow measure
   Of invisible musicians

   Treading an intricate lovely dance )

[ Fletch ]

What's the occasion
For a party out here
In the middle of nowhere

[ Dee ]

They dance
To celebrate your passage

They are not mortals
But the spirits of this time

They began this foolish show
When you entered the valley

[ Fletch giggling ]

Spirits ?

[ Dee ]

Yes
Observe

( Da climbs up a petrified tree, and out on to a branch that overhangs
the dancers and defecates. The substance drops through the translucent
dancers and hits the floor with a sound )

[ Fletch ]

That was hardly necessary
It is a fine performance

[ Dee ]

Decadent !

And you should hardly take it
As a compliment
They anticipate your failure
But wish to get in
A final celebration
Before the show is closed

( Fletch watches for a time. The figure described by the dancers slowly
shifted until one of the dancers was quite near to Fletch. None of the
other dancer's eyes at any time met Fletch's own. It was as though they
were not present. Yet that dancer, in a perfectly timed gesture, cast
something which landed at Fletch's feet. Fletch stoops and finds it
substantial. It is a white rose )

Radio, video
Boogie with a suitcase
Your livin' in a disco
Forget about the rat race
Let's do the milkshake
Sellin' like a hotcake
Try some
Buy some
Fee-fi-fo-fum

--------------------------
Dream 3 : Blooming Odyssey
--------------------------

[ Chef ]

Also ...
You seek work ?

[ Celt ]

Ya
Hast du a position ?

[ Chef ]

Ya
We haben alle  ...

Wo hast zoo werked before ?

[ Celt ]

I had a position in Pasing
Picking concrete off
Rusty steel

[ Chef ]

Nein
Dis is different
Dis is neuewerk ya
We built high, ya ?

Hast zie vertigo ?
Dust zoo fear the fall ?

( The Chef follows the trajectory of a very tight parabola with the
centre of gravity of the Chef's left hand. The parabola has a maximum
value in the y-axis and a minimum value is realised when the left hand's
finger-tips ping on a table top )

[ Celt ]

Nein
Ich mag Vertigo und de Fall
Aber ...
It is nicht de fall that tod brings

Tis the landing

( Celt mirrors the parabola with the right hand, pinging Celt
finger-tips off the table top )

How much do you pay ?
How many marks per day ?

[ Chef ]

Eine hundred und zwozig
As Labourer

But not so fast
Can you measure ?
Can you a stilh saw use ?

[ Celt ]

Yes
I can cut material

[ Chef ]

Ya !
But I know you Irish
You will the same tool use
For alles

[ Celt ]

Nar ...
Hast du eine test ?

[ Chef ]

Ya ya

Was material is Joist, und
Was material is Girder ?

[ Celt ]

Ah ...

Ulysses is dee material of Joyce ...
Und dis is da material vom Goethe:

   Spirits !

   Though he who has boldly risen from the abyss
   Through an iron will and cunning
   May conquer half the world,
   Yet to the abyss he must return.

   Already a terrible fear has seized him;
   In vain he will resist !
   And all who still stand with him
   Must perish in his fall

   Hope !

   Now I find my good men
   Are gathered in the night,
   To wait in silence,
   Not to sleep.

   And the glorious word of liberty
   They whisper and murmur,
   Till in unaccustomed strangeness,
   On the steps of our temple
   Once again in delight they cry:

      Freedom
      Freedom

-------------------------

[ Dee ]

Wake up fletch
Fletch wake up           [ Da ]
You been dreaming
                           Dream dreams the dreamer

[ Dee ]

What you been dreaming Fletch ?

[ Fletch rubs hair and says ]

A Lawrence dialectic:
T.E. and D.H.
But more Point, Counter Point

                          [ Da ]

                            Eyeless in Gaza
                            Scoop and Chrome Yellow
[ Fletch ]

Yeah ...
Some kinda weird hysteresis ...

I want to show you something
It may be of use
In the shadows

( Fletch sits up and reaches under the bed and pulls out a square
flattish object that is wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string.
Fletch undoes the knot and reveals a square oil painting without a
frame. Fletch puts the painting on the floor. The Sea-Hedgehogs walk
around the painting. )

[ Dee ]

What is it Fletch ?

Is that a fish ?
Or an ironing-board ?
                           [ Da ]

                            Very domestic ...

[ Dee quivering ]

What's that red splash ?
Is it a fire ?
Is it war ?

It is war !

[ Fletch ]

No !

It's about the end of a war
It's about a divorce

[ Dee ]

Did you paint it Fletch ?

[ Fletch ]

No !

( Fletch closes eyes tight and puts head in hands )

Cramer did it

[ Dee ]

What is it Fletch ?

[ Fletch ]

Nothing !

[ Dee ]

What are you remembering ?        [ Da ]

                                    Our memories
                                    Well, they can be inviting ...

[ Fletch ]

Yes ...

I remember finding Cramer
On a street corner crying
With bloody feet and penniless
After selling their boots
And using the cash to buy books

But crying about the books
And crying about the books ...

[ Dee ]

Fletch ...

Fletch ...

We need to go now

[ Fletch ]

Yes

We can go through this painting
But I need to add to it
I have an idea

Hold your paw upwards
Above the red patch

( Fletch reaches in to a pocket and scoops out some sand. Fletch places
the sand on Dee's upturned paw. The sand appears purple in the reflected
light of the cave. )

[ Fletch ]

Clench you paw

( Dee clenches paw tightly and the sand trickles out from between the
hedgehogs digits, dropping on to the painting to obscure the red patch )

[ Fletch ]

The sand is my love

( Dee looks at paw, at the last remaining grains of sand and then stares
at Fletch )

[ Dee ]

No !

[ Fletch ]

I meant it as a metaphor
Of course I've got loads more

Regard the painting now
Can you see now a beach ?

And also regard the ironing-board
Feel the heat of domesticity
Feel it as it becomes iron
Spit Da, on to the iron
Spit Da

Ah ...

We have it ...

Leidenfrost

( Da's spit forms a steaming bubble of fluid that slowly moves around
the shape on the painting that resembles a ironing-board )

Nearly there

But I need a fish,
A halibut maybe
A festive fish of some shadow land

( Fletch reaches in to the bag with both arms and seems to be struggling
to pull something out )

[ Dee ]

No ! Don't !

Not that shadow please

( A screeching sound comes out of the bag that resembles the noise made
by ice skates. Suddenly Fletch's arms become free and Fletch removes a
large garlic sausage from the bag holding )

[ Fletch ]

Oh ...

I take your point ...

I can reach another shadow

( Fletch reaches in to bag with both arms again and this time extracts
two fish to the gentle sounds of harp music. The fish are skate, fresh
with pink gills. Fletch ties the skate to the soles of each foot )

[ Fletch ]

Nearly there ...

Regard
Can you see the
Handsome folk
Bare footed
Walking around the iron
Hot coal walking
Round and round they go

( Slowly but surely the reality of the cave is replaced by the reality
of the painting. Dee and Da sit upon the sand now, and watch a dozen or
so folk, in a trance, slowly walking around the inside perimeter of a
bed of hot coals )

[ Fletch ]

I need a rock
I need a rock lobster

( Fletch sifts through the sand and finds, what appears to be, many
fractured pieces of very think metal plating. Fletch sticks the plating
on to both arms with duck tape. Soon Fletch's arms resemble the claws of
a lobster. Fletch stands and holds both claws out level. Fletch then
walks out on to the hot coals and joins the group of hot coal walkers,
keeping in step as they walk the pattern. The walkers are undisturbed.

Fletch starts to move the fabricated claws up and down in alternate
motion while humming loudly a popular tune. The walkers are undisturbed.

Fletch glances over to the Sea-Hedgehogs, and replaces one bar of the
humming with a chant "Show me the way to Armadillo". The walkers remain
undisturbed. Suddenly Dee's snout sniffs. Da follows suit )

[ Da exclaiming ]

Ah ...

What a lovely smell !

Cooked fish !

( "Ahhh" the walkers scream as they jump from the coals. The smell of
the skates cooking upon the soles of Fletch's feet fills their nostrils.
Finally their trance is broken )

[ Fletch ]

Come on now
We can leave this painting
With my sand

It's time to return to shadow land

( Freeze frame and superimpose Ariel dancing at the front of the stage )

So now the play is at an end
And end with a beginning

You will no doubt know
What happened next
And will have your own opinion

Best take one last note
Before the close:

  Remember no matter who you are
  And no matter what's been done to you

  Sooner or later you will have a choice
  And when the time comes
  Make sure the choice is your own
  Adieu

---
Hearsay of a Pattern Ghost