Rossum´s Universal Robots (12 page)

3. Robot
People knew of the secret of life. Tell us their secret.

4. Robot
If you do not tell us we will die out.

3. Robot
If you do not tell us you will die. It will be our duty to kill you.

Alquist
(
standing
) Kill me then! Come on, kill me as well!

3. Robot
You have been ordered to...

Alquist
Ordered? There’s somebody giving me orders?

3. Robot
The robot government.

Alquist
Who the Hell’s that?

5. Robot
Me, Damon.

Alquist
What are you doing here? Get out! (
sits at desk
)

Damon
The government of the robots of the world wishes to negotiate with you...

Alquist
You needn’t stay, robot! (
lays face in hands
)

Damon
The Central Committee of Robots orders you to hand over Rossum’s formula.

Alquist
(
doesn’t respond
)

Damon
Tell us your price. We will pay you anything.

2. Robot
Tell us how to maintain life, sir.

Alquist
I’ve told you... I’ve told you time and again that you need to find some people. It’s only people that can procreate, renew life, put things back to how they used to be. Robots, for God’s sake, I beg of you, go out and look for them.

4. Robot
We have looked everywhere. There are no people.

Alquist
Ohhh, why did you destroy them?!

2. Robot
We wanted to be like people. We wanted to become people.

Radius
We wanted to live. We are more capable. We have learned everything. We can do everything.

3. Robot
You gave us weapons. We had to become the masters.

Robot
We have seen the mistakes made by the people, sir.

Damon
To be like people, it is necessary to kill and to dominate. Read the history books. Read the books written by people. To be like people it is necessary to dominate and to murder.

Alquist
Ah, Domin, there’s nothing less like mankind than his image.

4. Robot
Unless you make it possible for us to procreate ourselves we will die out.

Alquist
Oh, just get out! You’re just things, just slaves, and you want to multiply? If you want to live you’ll have to breed, like animals!

3. Robot
People did not make us able to breed.

4. Robot
Teach us how to make robots.

Damon
We will make ourselves by machine. We will erect a thousand steam machines. We will start a gush of new life from our machines. Nothing but life! Nothing but robots! Millions of robots!

Alquist
Robots aren’t life! Robots are machines.

3. Robot
We used to be machines, sir; but by means of pain and horror we have become...

Alquist
Become what?

2. Robot
We have obtained a soul.

4. Robot
There is something in struggle with us. There are moments when something enters into us. We receive thoughts which are not our own.

3. Robot
Listen, please listen, people are our fathers! This voice that calls, saying you wish to live; this voice that laments; this voice that thinks; this voice that speaks of eternity, this is their voice! We are their sons!

4. Robot
Let us inherit the thing that people left to us.

Alquist
They didn’t leave you anything.

Damon
Tell us the secret of life.

Alquist
It’s been lost.

Radius
You knew it.

Alquist
No I didn’t.

Radius
It was written down.

Alquist
It’s been lost. It was burned. I’m the last human being, robots, and I don’t know what the others knew. You killed them all!

Radius
We allowed you to live.

Alquist
Yes, live! That’s how cruel you are, you allowed me to live! I loved people, but I never loved robots like you. Do you see these eyes? They never stop crying; one eye cries for people and the other eye cries for you robots.

Radius
Do experiments. Search out the formula of life.

Alquist
There’s nothing to search for. You’ll never get the formula for life from a test tube.

Damon
Do experiments on living robots. Discover how they work!

Alquist
Living bodies? You expect me to kill them? I’ve never ever... Oh just be quiet, robots! I’ve already told you I’m too old for this! Look, look at how my hands shake! I couldn’t hold a scalpel. Look at the tears in my eyes! I couldn’t even watch my own hands as they move. No, no, I couldn’t do it!

4. Robot
Life will die out.

Alquist
Stop it, stop this madness for God’s sake! Life probably came to us humans from another world, anyway, stretched out to us with arms full of it. Oh, there was so much will to live. They still might come back one day; they’re so close to us, maybe they’re surrounding us or something; maybe they want to dig down to us as if we were stuck in a mine. And don’t I keep on hearing the voices of people I loved.

Damon
Take a living body!

Alquist
Have some pity on me, robot, don’t keep insisting. Can’t you see that I don’t know what I’m doing any more?

Damon
A living body!

Alquist
And is that what you want, then? Come on, let’s get you in the dissection room! Come on, come on, quick! What’s this, you’re drawing back? You’re not afraid of dying, are you?

Damon
Me?... Why must it be me?

Alquist
Don’t you want to then?

Damon
I’ll go. (
exit right
)

Alquist
(
to the others
) Take his clothes off him! Put him on the table! Quickly! And hold on to him very tight!

(
all exeunt right
)

Alquist
(
washing hands and crying
) God, give me strength! Give me strength! God, don’t let it be all for nothing. (
puts on white coat
)

Voice from right
Ready!

Alquist
Alright, I’m coming, for God’s sake! (
takes several bottles of reagent from bench
) Which one should I take? (
taps bottles together
) Which of these should I try?

Voice from right
We can begin!

Alquist
Yes, yes, we can begin or we can finish. God, give me strength! (
exit right, leaving door half open
)

(
pause
)

Alquist’s voice
Hold him down-tighter!

Damon’s voice
Cut!

(
pause
)

Alquist’s voice
Do you see this knife? Do you really want me to cut you open? You don’t really, do you.

Damon’s voice
Begin!

(
pause
)

Damon’s scream
Aaaa
!

Alquist’s voice
Hold him down! Tighter! Tighter!

Damon’s scream
Aaaa
!

Alquist’s voice
I can’t do it!

Damon’s scream
Cut! Cut, quickly!

(
Robots Primus and Helena run on, centre stage
)

Helena
Primus, Primus, what is happening here? Who is screaming?

Primus
(
looks in dissection room
) Mister Alquist is dissecting Damon. Come and see, Helena, come quickly!

Helena
No, no, no (
covers eyes
) This is horrible!

Damon’s scream
Cut!

Helena
Primus, Primus, come away from there! I cannot bear to hear it. Oh, Primus, I feel ill!

Primus
(
runs to her
) You’ve gone quite white!

Helena
I feel faint! Why has it gone so quiet, now?

Damon’s scream
Aa-o
!

Alquist
(
rushes in from right, throws off bloody white coat
) I can’t do it! I can’t do it! God, it was horrifying!

Radius
(
in doorway to dissection room
) Cut, sir; he is still alive!

Damon’s scream
Cut! Cut!

Alquist
Take him away, quickly! I don’t want to hear him!

Radius
Robots can endure more than you can. (
exit
)

Alquist
Who’s in here? Get out, get out! I want to be alone! What’s your name?

Primus
Robot Primus.

Alquist
Primus, don’t let anyone in here! I want to sleep, d’you hear me? You, girl, go and clean up the dissection room! What’s this? (
looking at hands
) Quick, water! The cleanest water you can get!

(
Helena runs out
)

Alquist
Oh, blood! How could these hands, hands that loved good work, how could you do a thing like that? My own hands, my own hands!... Oh God, who is this?

Primus
Robot Primus.

Alquist
Take this coat away, take it out of my sight! (
Primus takes whitecoat away
)

Alquist
Bloody claws, I wish you’d just fly away from me! Go, get away from me! You’ve killed..

(
from right, Damon staggers on stage cloaked in a bloody sheet
)

Alquist
(
drawing back
) What do want in here? Want do you want?

Damon
I’m... I’m alive! It is... better to... be alive!

(
2. and 3. Robots run in after him
)

Alquist
Take him away from here! Take him out! Take him out! Quickly!

Damon
(
led off, right
) Life!... I want... life!... It is better...

(
Helena brings in jug of water
)

Alquist
... life?.... What do you want, girl? Ah, it’s you. Pour out some water, pour it out! (
washes hands
) Ah, cleansing, cooling water! A cool stream, you do me good! Oh, my own hands, my own hands! Will I hate you for the rest of my life now?... Keep on pouring, more, more! More water, keep on pouring! What’s your name?

Helena
Robot Helena.

Alquist
Helena? Why Helena? Who gave you that name?

Helena
Mrs. Domin.

Alquist
Let me look at you, Helena! Helena you’re called? I won’t be calling you that. Get out. Take the water with you.

(
exit Helena with bucket
)

Alquist
(
alone
) All for nothing, just nothing! Once again, you haven’t found out a thing! Are you always going to be just groping around in the dark? Do you really think you learn the secrets of nature? Oh God oh God, how that body kept shaking! (
opens window
) It’s getting light. Another new day and you haven’t progressed an inch. That’s enough now; don’t try any further. Just stop looking, It’s all a waste of time, all a waste of time! Why do mornings still keep on coming? What’s the point of a new day in the graveyard of life? Go away again, light. Don’t come out any more.... God, it’s so quiet, so quiet. Why have you gone quiet, all those voices I used to love. If only... if only I could sleep for a while. (
puts light out, lies down on settee and pulls black coat over himself
) God, how that body was shaking! Ohh, it’s the end of life!!

(
pause
)

(
Robot Helena enters silently from right
)

Helena
Primus! Come here, quickly!

Primus
(
enters
) What do you want?

Helena
Look at all these tubes he’s got here! What does he do with them?

Primus
Experiments. Don’t touch.

Helena
(
looks into microscope
) Look at this, look what’s in here!

Primus
That’s a microscope. Let me see!

Helena
Don’t touch me! (
knocks over test tube
) Oh, now I’ve spilt it!

Primus
What have you done?

Helena
I can wipe it up.

Primus
You’ve spoiled his experiment!

Helena
Oh, it doesn’t matter. But it’s your fault; you shouldn’t have bumped in tome.

Primus
You shouldn’t have called me over.

Helena
You didn’t have to come over when I called to you, did you? Primus, look at this! What’s this he’s got written down here?

Primus
You’re not supposed to look at that, Helena, that’s a secret.

Helena
What sort of secret?

Primus
The secret of life.

Helena
It’s ever so interesting. All numbers. What is it?

Primus
Those are mathematical formulas.

Helena
I don’t understand. (
goes to window
) Primus, come and look at this.

Primus
What?

Helena
The Sun’s rising!

Primus
Alright, I’m coming. (
looks through book
) Helena, this is the greatest thing in the world.

Helena
Come here then!

Primus
Alright, alright...

Helena
Oh, Primus, leave this horrible secret of life alone! What do you want to know about secrets for anyway? Come and look at this, quickly!

Primus
(
joins her at window
) What is it you want?

Helena
Listen. The birds are singing. Oh Primus, I wish I were a bird!

Primus
What for?

Helena
I don’t know. I just feel so strange, I don’t know what it is, I just feel, sort of, light headed, I’ve lost my head and my body hurts, my heart hurts, everything hurts.... And I won’t even tell you about what’s just happened to me! Oh Primus, I think I’m going to have to die!