Out of the Wings

La paz perpetua (c.2007), Juan Mayorga Ruano

Perpetual Peace : ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 1 , ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 2 , ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 3

Perpetual Peace, translated by David Johnston

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 1

Context:

The dogs John-John, Odin and Immanuel are given their first test. They are competing for the famous K7 white collar. Cassius is a veteran of K7. He arrives to announce the test, accompanied by the Human.

Sample text

CASSIUS:: Gentlemen. How was your journey? Are you comfortable? Anything you need, you only have to ask. (He points to the Human.) He is at your service.
JOHN-JOHN:: (To Odin and Immanuel.) It’s … You know who that is, don’t you?
CASSIUS:: You are here because you are the top dogs. The best candidates. Our finalists.
JOHN-JOHN:: That old Labrador, that’s him … Cassius. I didn’t know he was still alive. Cassius … him, he’s going to examine us.
CASSIUS:: Three finalists. But only one collar available. A collar like this. Have any of you ever seen a K7 collar before?; Odin, Immanuel and John-John gaze admiringly at Cassius’s white collar.
CASSIUS:: John-John, Odin, Immanuel, you all want to be a K7, but there can only be one. The very best, and we are here to find out who the very best is. The final exam consists of three tests. The first one, starting now, is a practical exercise.
JOHN-JOHN:: D’you hear that? One collar. I was born for that collar. My parents got it, and their parents before them. You might as well give up now.; He signals to the Human, who hands a piece of coloured chalk to each candidate.
CASSIUS:: Three days ago, two men held a conversation here. One of them was sick. Reconstruct the itinerary of the sick man, from when he came in until he left. You may sing.; At Cassius’s signal the Human starts a stopwatch: tick-tock, tick-tock. The three contestants sniff round the pound. John-John, hurriedly, chaotically; Immanuel methodically, dividing the area up; Odin, standing still, moving only his nose. After a few moments John-John triumphantly draws out an itinerary, Cassius goes over, consults the stopwatch and notes down the time. Shortly afterwards, Odin marks out another itinerary; Cassius consults the stopwatch and notes down the time. Shortly after that, Cassius signals to the Human to halt the stopwatch, makes a note and goes out through door A, which closes behind him. Silence.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation Perpetual Peace by David Johnston is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 2

Context:

Immanuel has returned to the room. In his absence Odin has convinced John-John to kill him.

Sample text

IMMANUEL:: What’s wrong?
JOHN-JOHN:: What’s wrong, Mister Smarty Pants, is that I’m going to make mincemeat out of you.; He goes for Immanuel. But to John-John’s surprise, Immanuel counterattacks ably. They fight but John-John is winning.
IMMANUEL:: Did you hear that?
JOHN-JOHN:: What?; He points to door B.
IMMANUEL:: Behind that door. Do you not hear something like a prayer? As though someone was praying?
JOHN-JOHN:: I don’t’ hear anything.
IMMANUEL:: Do you believe in God?
JOHN-JOHN:: ?
IMMANUEL:: If Cassius asks you about God, have you thought what you’re going to answer? In the interview, it’s quite likely; you can’t do this job nowadays without knowing something about theology. Most of the people running around planting bombs say God’s on their side. They kill in the name of God. But, what do they mean when they say God? What’s in their heads when they talk about God? If Cassius brings up the theme of “Terrorism and God”, what are you going to say?
JOHN-JOHN:: We didn’t do religion.; He immobilises Immanuel; he has him at his mercy.
IMMANUEL: (Hardly intelligible.): I’d begin by talking about Pascal and his wager; Pause.
JOHN-JOHN:: Whose wager?
IMMANUEL:: Pascal says: it’s as impossible to prove that God exists as it is to prove that he doesn’t; and so, you have to look at it like a wager. It’s like a roulette wheel with only two numbers. One “God exists”, the other “God doesn’t exist’. According to Pascal, it’s best to bet that “God exists”.
JOHN-JOHN:: ?
IMMANUEL:: If you bet “God doesn’t exist” and God really doesn’t exist, what do you win? Only those fleeting pleasures that the believer turns his back on and the pagan enjoys. Those same ephemeral pleasures that you would lose if you bet “God exists” and it turns out that God doesn’t exist. On the other hand if you bet “God doesn’t exist” and God does exist you would repent eternally in hell. Finally, if you bet “God exists” and God does exist, you win eternity.; Silence.
JOHN-JOHN:: Say that again.; John-John’s pressure on Immanuel has been relaxing; without John-John realising it, Immanuel manages to get free while he is talking.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation Perpetual Peace by David Johnston is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ONE-ACT PLAY, excerpt 3

Context:

The dogs have almost reached the end of the selection process, but there is one final test. They must decide whether torture is justified in the situation proposed to them by the Human.

Sample text

HUMAN:: Behind that door, as you’ve already guessed, there is life. A human being. He insists he knows nothing, but we suspect that he has information about an imminent attack on the civilian population.; John-John wants to rush through door B, Cassius holds him back.
HUMAN:: Before you make your decision, gentlemen, we would like to share our concerns with you. Perhaps the man really does know nothing. And even if he did know, if we touch that man, that defenceless man, would we not be justifying his dark vision of the world? How can we be any different from him if we don’t uphold the law? If that man has no rights, are my rights not also in peril, and those of all humanity? And democracy? We fight for values. Even so, innocent people might be about to lose their lives.; He puts the stopwatch on: tick-tock, tick–tock ...
JOHN-JOHN:: I want to be a good dog but I need clear instructions. Let me loose on that bastard and I’ll have him on his knees in front of you. Is that what you want?
HUMAN:: At school, John-John, didn’t they teach you to evaluate situations like this, and come up with a clear answer?
JOHN-JOHN:: Do you want me to savage him or not? Is this another reasoning exercise? My head’s exploding. I’m getting out of here.
ODIN:: You can’t go, kid. Only the winner goes. With the white collar.
JOHN-JOHN:: What are you talking about? Why doesn’t anybody here just talk normally?
ODIN:: Listen to me with your 30% Rottweiler brain, son: two of us are going to be made into sausages. Did you think they were going to let us leave just like that, to talk about what we’ve seen and heard? Tell him, Cassius; tell him that only the winner of the white collar gets out of here alive. If you lose, you die, Spartacus. Well, Master Cassius?
JOHN-JOHN:: If we work as a team, they couldn’t stop us. You two get him and I’ll take Cassius. If we manage to get to the garden, from there …
ODIN:: The garden’s got a ditch at the end of it. There are no windows in the library; the TV room does but they’re fake. There’s no way out.; Pause.
JOHN-JOHN:: Is this a wager? I don’t know if that man’s good or bad. If I treat him like he’s bad and he’s bad, then I save a lot of good people. If I treat him like he’s bad and he’s good, I destroy a good person. If I treat him like a good person and he is good, I save a good person. If I treat him like a good person and he’s bad, then I destroy a lot of good people.; Pause. John-John goes towards door B, followed by Odin.

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