an opera in one act
Dr Neuron, Chief Scientist
Scientists
Telepathists
Bureaucrats
Engineers
Clones, newly
manufactured
The Court:
Mighty Rich, the Emperor (Empress) of The White Moon
Ministers
Courtiers
Guards
Ancient Earthlings, resurrected from the Past
Press Corps
In the Black Hole:
Bouncers
Nic Night, a prisoner
Waitresses
Partygoers: witches, demons, fiends, and monsters of many kinds
Celestial Voice off-stage
The action takes place far in the future.
Prologue: The Museum of Ancient Science
Scene One: The Laboratory of Clever Clones
Interlude: A Wasteland
Scene Two: The Black Hole
Scene Three: The Laboratory of Clever Clones
Epilogue: The Museum of Ancient Science
© Edward Lambert 2004
(Time: the future. In a Museum of Ancient Science, a giant, artificial Brain is exhibited.)
It was some millennia ago that these events took place,
But I remember them well.
The idea of creating a Brain like me
Was not altogether new.
They had computers in the Old Days,
But these were primitive by comparison,
For into me was poured all knowledge
At that time known to humankind.
More than that, I could make connections
In ways that no mere mortal could have dreamt of,
Pathways to ideas that were totally new:
Original thought, it was.
I was held in great esteem
And consulted on many important matters.
Being the first Brain was a great privilege
But I was hugeÉ
(Some visitors enter, remark on the Brain, and, after a few moments, leave)
I became obsolete. So IÕm on show now
In the Museum of Ancient Science:
Ah! The future is not what it used to be.
But it gives me time to think,
And IÕve even been known to joke with the visitors - sometimes.
Telling this story never tires me, because I was there.
It began on The White Moon,
The planet with two suns,
Where the suns never set,
Where it was always day and never night,
All that time agoÉ
Good
day! YouÕre through to Clever
Clones, how can I help you, please?
YouÕd like to order a child?
A female? Would there be anything more?
We have your gene map on our
files; we have everyoneÕs genes on
file.
Who could believe that humans
were once borne by women! What a chore!
What a piece of work is a brain!
Thinking is a fantastic
thing,
If you think about it again,
It passes beyond our
understanding,
For how can we probe our own
thoughts?
But thatÕs what weÕre doing
now:
Are we probing more than we
ought?
TELEPATHISTS
Good
day! YouÕre through to Clever
Clones, how can I help you, dear?
We can recommend our latest
design – they get cleverer every year!
HereÕs learning, not pictures
or patterns in the mind,
But as pure living cells, worth more than anything else you could find
In this day and age! Hail, Neuronium!
(The ÔknowledgeÕ is passed
to the Engineers, who incubate the mixture)
TELEPATHISTS
WeÕve been trained to answer
enquiries from people near and far;
We only have to think of them
to be connected wherever they are.
The demand for clones never
ceases!
Without infancy, a child
thatÕs free from hassle and diseases,
Modified to order, always
pleases!
TELEPATHISTS
Good
day! YouÕre through to Clever
Clones, how can I help you, please?
YouÕve
got a complaint? He doesnÕt work? Or do as he is told?
Teenagers - always the same!
A faulty one for sure!
IÕll put you through to
Service and Spares: itÕs engaged at the present, please hold!
(Child-clones emerge)
Designed to delight our
donors, suppliers of their cells to us,
Being clever, attentive,
content and convenient, we bring blessings to our benefactors!
This order is for export.
Keep at it! Work!
We work
all hours there are!
On bright
White Moon,
Where
suns never set,
weÕve
never stopped yet!
Here is
no night or day,
No rest
or play,
Only
anxiety.
We work
for corporation, country
And
society.
No music
sounds,
No books,
no art are found,
Only
industry.
The
exiled king he used to sing
Joyfully.
We miss
him!
Where did
they leave him?
Sadly we
grieve for him,
Our
kindly king!
We have
no choice now,
People
have no voice now,
Just
complacency.
ThereÕs
no disease, no want:
No ups or
downs,
No smiles
or frowns.
WeÕre
ruled by those who have
No piety.
CLONES
Who has ordered us,
Paid for our nurturing
In a factory?
Who will parent us?
But we donÕt think
Or ask too much:
We accept this world
Gratefully.
(They are packed and sent
off)
Good
day! YouÕre through to Clever
Clones, how can I help you, please?
We cannot respond to rumours flying aroundÉno comment!
(Activating the Brain)
Here is saved the wide worldÕs knowledge,
The web spun into teeming tissue.
Nothing is known that is not contained here.
Brain - now speak to us!
BRAIN
(Starting up)
Hi, there, Doctors! How are you today?
It speaks!
(Everyone stops to listen)
Amazing! Wonderful! A Brain thatÕs alive!
BRAIN
IT said how are you?
What does IT feel like to be a brain?
BRAIN
Oh IT donÕt feel anything! IT have no soul, no feeling,
DonÕt feel hot or cold, hungry or thirsty,
Clean or dirty, lonely or sad, happy or crossÉ
How about you?
Oh yes, we feel things! Can we ask you some questions?
Do they have any meaning?
Questions come with being alive,
The answers come with being dead!
What did you say? HeavenÕs above! Catastrophe! Doom! Gone bust?
WhatÕs all the fuss?
The companyÕs shares have plummeted!
DonÕt they know about the Brain?
The shares should be rising, not falling.
WhatÕs going on?
You realise what this means for us?
The company will go bust, weÕll all be out of our jobs!
The research has taken too long.
Making a Brain takes time!
ALL
Something commercial to grab the headlines!
ENGINEERS
The BrainÕs the thing! Ask it!
SCIENTISTS
Brain, tell us what to do!
Ah, tricky one, that!
(Thinks)
What was the question again?
We need to save the Corporation:
A new discovery, a great invention!
Have you come to the end of the road?
Has everything been found that can be found?
A myriad of particles, the mysteries of space,
Grand theories formulated, all learning embraced:
What is there left for humans to do? What great barrier remains?
DR NEURON
YouÕre meant to provide the answer, Brain!
(Commotion in the distance)
The EmperorÕs on his way!
And the Ministers are here too!
(The Emperor enters with his Ministers and Guards; in contrast to the Employees they are dressed extravagantly and behave flamboyantly. With them comes a crowd of Courtiers.)
Because he loves us all and we love the Emperor
We all live together in perfect harmony, yeah.
Sing hip hip for the White Moon, come come sing hip
for the Moon,
Come come uhha sing hip the Emperor yeah yeah sing
hip!
Hail, everyone here at Clever Clones!
My Ministers here, with their
strident tones,
Promise profit and power to
those who shine
For me, Mighty Rich the
Divine!
MINISTERS
Do-be-do, do-be-do! The State
exists just for you!
Hi-de-ho, hi-de-hi! Not for you to question why!
They used to call it Utopia, a heavenly ideal, but we have
Got it right here in black and white, yeah itÕs real!
For no one gets sick here, old age comes on slow
And when itÕs time to go they kill us off before we know.
EMPEROR
Listen! All here at Clever Clones!
I can sense it in my bones:
ThereÕs a future ahead in working together.
We ought to be known as birds of a feather!
No-oneÕs out of work here, no, our leisure time is sorted,
No education, stress, promotion or desires thwarted,
Because the Ministers of Thought control our dreams and thinking,
We havenÕt got an inkling of any other life...
I heard the company was in big trouble:
How can that be with such talent as yours?
IÕve come to offer help.
Caring and sharing,
thatÕs the Ministry of Thought!
How, Mighty Emperor, could you save the company?
Shares are suspended!
É ThatÕs it then. What to do? The company - broken up;
You - out of your jobs; the Brain - on the scrap heap.
No more is there value in Clever Clones.
What you need now are gigantic loans!
Sounds like a sell out!
When workers here are full of moans
TheyÕll go bust at Clever Clones!
We need independence!
We have no life outside!
What future with no company?
WeÕll make you an offer you cannot refuse
And here are the terms
for you to peruse!
When will you see sense? You need new ideas:
Think ahead, think creatively!
WhatÕs he up to? WhatÕs in store for us?
Patience! Hear what I say!
Several millennia ago, people inhabited a planet called Earth.
But their lives were short; their bodies didnÕt last.
Some wanted longer lives, life after death, eternal life, who knows?
So, while they lived, they saved on computers
Their thoughts, ideas, their memories and dreams,
Everything that made them the people that they were.
After they had died they wanted these files, the contents of their minds,
To be transferred to new brains in fresh bodies, if and when science could do it:
These people hoped to live again!
Here are those machines!
(A cart full of computers is wheeled in.)
Here are the lives of Ancient Earthlings, who lived all that time ago!
So - let them enjoy a new life!
Mix these digital files here with your intelligent clones,
And those vintage Earthling folk will rise up on their thrones!
What do you say?
BUREAUCRATS & ENGINEERS
It would be huge!
TELEPATHISTS
Headlines all over the galaxy!
SCIENTISTS
WeÕll have created eternal life!
ALL
Immortality for us, and for the Ancient Earthlings!
Eternal life – is that possible? Can it be true?
ENGINEERS
WeÕre not sure what to think!
GUARDS
Give it a try, why not?
BUREAUCRATS
With these you can save Clever Clones?
A
load of old boxes?
EMPEROR
Genuine antiques! Do it, I say, itÕs your only chance!
Take this priceless material. Make the Ancient Clones!
People will go mad for them. I guarantee satisfaction:
Trust and believe in me! Yes or no?
(The Employees look to the Brain)
BRAIN
It has to be said: it seems a magnificent plan, a stroke of genius!
MINISTERS
We love it!
Go on then!
EMPLOYEES
LetÕs do it!
SCIENTISTS
ÒWhat is there left for humans to do?
What great barrier remains?Ó
There is frenetic activity as they prepare the files for ÔincubationÕ.
When all is ready, there is a moment of suspense.
ALL
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...
The ÔincubatorÕ pings and a group of Ancient Earthlings emerge.
Astonishing - the past reappears before our eyes!
Ancient earthlings from death arise!
WeÕve given these folk afterlives! Hush! Listen!
Have we died? This must be the afterlife!
DonÕt be silly! How can it be? WeÕre still alive!
Hey, donÕt I know you? DidnÕt we live in the same street?
Where was it we used to meet? Who are these people around us?
What happens to us now?
This is The White Moon.
You died long ago -
But everything that you were,
everything that made you
Has now been revived in these
new bodies:
Your minds are restored to
life!
You have travelled to the
future
And we are proud to welcome you here.
So we defeated death!
WeÕve come alive as we intended:
Science worked as we predicted!
YouÕre right, Mighty Emperor, we believe you now.
EMPEROR
A
deal then?
A deal!
(Producing a contract)
Sign here!
We donÕt trust the Emperor.
But an uncertain future is better than certain doom!
(They sign)
Champagne! A toast to the Ancient Earthlings!
A toast to the future of Clever ClonesÉEternal life!
Eternal life!
The share price has rocketed!
We suppose now weÕre here we might as well enjoy it!
Cheers everybody!
(There is a loud cheer as everybody applauds the Ancient Earthlings; by now the Press has arrived.)
What fun all this attention! Fulfilment of our dreams!
The afterlife that we desired is heavenly bliss, it seems!
WeÕve come alive again! ItÕs hard to see the truth -
That weÕve been born a second time to find a second youth.
PRESS & MINISTERS
WeÕre fascinated, curious! The Earthlings are entrancing!
This news throughout the Galaxy will be life-enhancing!
Sing Hip hip for the White Moon!
What a curious thing is science, brings us fame and glory:
The making of eternal life. Or is it just a story?
The White MoonÕs Empire stretches forth as far as Man can go
And Clever Clones always maintains its peoplesÕ status quo:
ThatÕs why they love us so!
(Communicating)
Good day, youÕre through to Clever Clones! Yes, their resurrectionÕs real:
The Ancient Earthlings weÕve just cloned have great antique appeal!
A new dawn for the company: the shares are now sky high!
Exceeding targets – thatÕs our goal! Is it all a lie?
While we work our lives fly by.
We are amazed and full of awe for RichÕs daring plan!
Such leaps of faith and thought will fuel the ascent of man!
Enjoy life while we can!
Because he loves us all and we worship his dear face
Perfect harmony reigns supreme in this white place.
EMPEROR
The shares are up one thousand-fold; together with the Brain,
The takeover of Clever Clones will add zest to my reign!
Let life begin again!
ALL
Sing Long Live the Empire; come sing the EmperorÕs praise,
Come, sing Hooray eternally the
Brightness of our Days.
Long may live the Empire! Long may the Emperor reign!
Now Death is dead and Life will live again!
(All leave, pursued by members of the Press; the Emperor remains for a moment)
A TELEPATHIST (entering)
Mighty Emperor, sir, youÕre wanted!
IÕm called away – through space!
The Earthlings will come with me
And learn the things they cannot dream about!
TheyÕll come to my Party Spectacular!
(The Emperor leaves; the
continuing celebrations are heard in the distance; Dr Neuron enters with the
Scientists.)
And what of science, Brain?
The search was once so exciting: to understand the world,
Make it a better place. Yet one question haunts me still:
What is true and what is
false?
ThatÕs not a question; itÕs a fact of life!
Good and
evil: think Brain! What do you know of them?
IT will try to think, IT really will!
IT know
all there is to know, but retrieving it is hard!
SCIENTISTS
Are
these real lives that we have reproduced?
Onto
files, into digits, can a person be reduced?
What
makes Somebody: cells in the brain
Registering
impulses, no two the same?
Neurons,
billions of them; is that what it takes
To
make us alive? Or are the Earthlings just fakes?
BRAIN (to the Scientists)
You
must venture to find the truth,
The
answer must be sought.
You
will experience on your journey through life
Things
that cannot else be taught.
As
you go you will surely encounter
War,
injustice, disease and disaster,
But
also wonderful things of beauty,
Like
kindness, art, invention and music.
Just
as there always has been, and just as there always will be.
Now
go undercover in search of night
And
in the darkness find what is right.
DR NEURON (departing)
Goodbye for now, weÕll not be gone long!
Oh dear, IT hope they find what is wrong!
(The Scene fades)
(A wasteland, which is deserted except for a team of bouncers outside a gate; celestial sounds are heard in the background. It is night.)
BOUNCER 1
ItÕs quiet tonight!
Quiet every night!
BOUNCER 3
Blooming cold, too!
BOUNCER 4
When was the last time we had any customers?
BOUNCER 1
CanÕt remember, really.
BOUNCER 3
Have we ever had any customers?
BOUNCER 2
CanÕt remember.
BOUNCER 1
Me neither.
BOUNCER 4
Depressing, isnÕt it?
BOUNCER 2
Yeah, depressing.
BOUNCER 3 (After a pause)
What shall we do tonight?
BOUNCER 1
What we do every night, I suppose.
BOUNCER 4
WhatÕs that?
BOUNCER 2
CanÕt remember.
BOUNCER 1
Me neither.
BOUNCER 4
Depressing, isnÕt it?
BOUNCER 2
Yeah, depressing.
BOUNCER 1 (After another pause)
You know what?
BOUNCER 2
What?
BOUNCER 1