The Early Ayn Rand (50 page)

HELEN: Well, I suppose that’s that. . . . BRECKENRIDGE: [
Turning to
BILLY] And, Billy, I wouldn’t forget
you
today. Did you see—from the window of your room—that horse out on the lawn?

BILLY: Yes, Father.

BRECKENRIDGE: Well, it’s yours. That’s
your
present.

HELEN: [
With shocked reproach
]
Really,
Walter!

BRECKENRIDGE: But why are you all looking at me like that? Don’t you understand? If Billy concentrates on how much he would like to be able to ride that horse—it will help him to get well. It will give him a concrete objective for a healthy mental attitude.

BILLY: Yes, Father. Thank you very much, Father.

FLEMING: [
Screams suddenly, to
BRECKENRIDGE] Goddamn you! You dirty bastard! You lousy, rotten sadist! You—

INGALLS: [
Seizing him as he swings out at
BRECKENRIDGE] Easy, Harvey. Take it easy.

BRECKENRIDGE: [
After a pause, very gently
] Harvey . . . [
The kindness of his tone makes
FLEMING
cringe, almost visibly
] I’m sorry, Harvey, that I should be the cause of your feeling as ashamed as you will feel later.

FLEMING: [
After a pause, dully
] I apologize, Walter. . . . [
He turns abruptly, walks to sideboard, pours himself a drink, swallows it, refills the glass. No one is looking at him, except
BILLY]

BRECKENRIDGE: It’s all right. I understand. I’m your friend, Harvey. I’ve always been your friend.

FLASH: Well,
I
think Mr. Fleming is drunk.

BRECKENRIDGE: [
Brightly
] I think Mr. Fleming has the right idea—for the moment. It’s time we all had a drink.

Adrienne, my dear . . .

ADRIENNE: [
With a little jerk of returning to reality
] What? [
Sees
CURTISS] Oh . . . [
Takes a glass absently
]

BRECKENRIDGE: [
Taking the last glass, stands solemnly facing the others
] My friends! Not I, but
you
are to be honored today. Not what I have been, but those whom I have served. You—all of you—are the justification of my existence—for help to one’s fellow men is the only justification of anyone’s existence. That is why I chose you as my guests today. That is why we shall drink a toast—not to me, but—[
Raising his glass
]—to you, my friends! [
Drinks. The others stand silently
]

SERGE: I would so very much like to give the toast also, please?

BRECKENRIDGE: If you wish, Serge.

SERGE: [
Fervently
] To the man who has his life devoted so that the other men’s lives should be better. To the man the genius of whom to the world gave the machine for the Vitamin X separating, which little babies makes so healthier. To the man who the new violet-ray diffuser gave us, so cheaper that the poor people in the slums the sunlight could have. To the man who the electric saw for the surgery invented, which so many lives has saved. To the friend of the mankind—Walter Breckenridge!

INGALLS: Sure. Walter’s invented everything but a bust developer for social workers.

FLASH:
I
think that’s in bad taste.

ADRIENNE: [
Rising
] And now that we’ve done our duty, may I go up to my room, Walter?

BRECKENRIDGE: Wait, Adrienne, do you mind? There’s something I want you all to hear. [
To the others
] My friends, I have an announcement to make. It is important. I want you to be the first to hear it.

INGALLS: More gifts?

BRECKENRIDGE: Yes, Steve. One more gift. My greatest—and my last. [
To the others
] My friends! You have heard of the invention on which I have worked for the last ten years—the one Adrienne referred to so charmingly as a “gadget.” There has been quite a great deal of mystery about it—unavoidably, as you shall see. It is a device to capture the energy of cosmic rays. You may have heard that cosmic rays possess a tremendous potential of energy, which scientists have struggled to harness for years and years. I was fortunate enough to find the secret of it—with Steve’s able assistance, of course. I have been asked so often whether the device is completed. I have refused to answer. But I can say it now: it is completed. It is tried, tested, and proved beyond doubt. Its possibilities are tremendous. [
Pauses. Continues, very simply, almost wearily:
] Tremendous. And its financial promises are unlimited. [
Stops
]

INGALLS: Well?

BRECKENRIDGE: Well . . . My friends, a man controlling such an invention and keeping its secret could be rich.
Rich.
But I am not going to keep it. [
Pauses, looks at them, then says slowly:
] Tomorrow, at twelve o’clock noon, I shall give this invention to mankind.
Give,
not sell it. For all and any to use. Without charge. To all mankind. [TONY
emits a long whistle.
FLASH
stands with his mouth hanging open, and utters only one awed: “Gee!”
] Think what that will do. Free power—drawn out of space. It will light the poorest slum and the shack of the sharecropper. It will throw the greedy utility companies out of business. It will be mankind’s greatest blessing. And no one will hold private control over it.

ADRIENNE: Beautiful showmanship, Walter. You’ve always been a master of the theater.

TONY: But I suppose it
is
sort of grand—

ADRIENNE:—opera.

HELEN: What exactly is to happen tomorrow at noon, Walter?

BRECKENRIDGE: I have invited the press to be at the laboratory tomorrow at noon. I shall give them the blueprints—the formulas—everything—to spread in every tabloid.

ADRIENNE: Don’t forget the Sunday magazine sections. BRECKENRIDGE: Adrienne, my dear, surely you don’t disapprove?

ADRIENNE: What’s it to me?

SERGE: Ah, but it is so beautiful! It is an example for the whole world to follow. To me Mr. Breckenridge has spoken about this gift many weeks ago and I said: “Mr. Breckenridge, if you do this, I will be proud a human being to be!”

BRECKENRIDGE: [
Turning to
INGALLS] Steve?

INGALLS: What?

BRECKENRIDGE: What do you say?

INGALLS: I? Nothing.

BRECKENRIDGE: Of course, Steve doesn’t quite approve. Steve is rather . . . old-fashioned. He would have preferred to keep the whole thing secret in our own hands, and to make a tremendous fortune. Wouldn’t you, Steve?

INGALLS: [
Lazily
] Oh, yes. I like to make money. I think money is a wonderful thing. I don’t see what’s wrong with making a fortune—if you deserve it and people are willing to pay for what you offer them. Besides, I’ve never liked things that are given away. When you get something for nothing—you always find a string attached somewhere. Like the fish when it swallows the worm. But then, I’ve never had any noble feelings.

SERGE: Mr. Ingalls, that is contemptible!

INGALLS: Cut it, Serge. You bore me.

BRECKENRIDGE: But, Steve, I want you to understand why—

INGALLS: Don’t waste your time, Walter. I’ve never understood the noble, the selfless, or any of those things. Besides, it’s not my fortune you’re giving away. It’s yours. I’m only a junior partner. All I lose is two bits to your dollar. So I’m not going to argue about it.

BRECKENRIDGE: I’m glad, Steve. I made this decision after a great deal of time and meditation.

INGALLS: You did? [
Rises
] You know, Walter, I think decisions are made quickly. And the more important the step—the quicker. [
Walks to stairs
]

SERGE: [
With a little touch of triumph
] I begged Mr. Breckenridge to do this.

INGALLS: [
Stops on the stairs on his way up, looks at him. Then:
] I know you did. [
Exits up the stairs
]

HELEN: [
Rising
] It seems so foolish to ask this—when I’m hostess—but what time is dinner ordered for, Walter?

BRECKENRIDGE: Seven o’clock.

HELEN: Would you mind if I took a look at what my house is like?

BRECKENRIDGE: But of course! How thoughtless of me! Holding you here—when you must be dying of curiosity.

HELEN: [
To the others
] Shall we make an inspection tour together? The hostess needs someone to guide her.

TONY: I’ll show you. I’ve been all through the house. The laundry in the basement is wonderful.

HELEN: Shall we start with Billy’s room?

BILLY: Yes, please, Mother. I want to go back to my room.

ADRIENNE: Walter. I’d like to speak to you. [BRECKENRIDGE
stops, frowning
] For just a few minutes. BRECKENRIDGE: Yes, of course, my dear.

ADRIENNE: Serge, when you hear someone say to someone else: “I’d like to speak to you”—it usually means
“alone.”

SERGE: Ah, but of course! I am so sorry, Miss Knowland! [
Bows and exits Right
]

BRECKENRIDGE: [
Sitting down and indicating a chair
] Yes, my dear?

ADRIENNE: [
She remains standing, looking at him. After a moment, she says in a flat, hard, expressionless voice:
] Walter, I want you to release me from my contract.

BRECKENRIDGE: [
Leans back. Then:
] You’re not serious, my dear.

ADRIENNE: Walter, please. Please don’t make me say too much. I can’t tell you how serious I am.

BRECKENRIDGE: But I thought it was understood, a year ago, that we would not discuss that subject again.

ADRIENNE: And I’ve stuck it out, haven’t I? For another whole year. I’ve tried. Walter. I can’t go on.

BRECKENRIDGE: You are not happy?

ADRIENNE: Don’t make me say anything else.

BRECKENRIDGE: But I don’t understand. I—

ADRIENNE: Walter. I’m trying so hard not to have another scene like last year. Don’t ask me any questions. Just say that you will release me.

BRECKENRIDGE: [
After a pause
] If I released you, what would you do?

ADRIENNE: That play I showed you last year.

BRECKENRIDGE: For a commercial producer?

ADRIENNE: Yes.

BRECKENRIDGE: For a cheap, vulgar, commercial Broadway producer?

ADRIENNE: For the cheapest and most vulgar one I could find.

BRECKENRIDGE: Let’s see. If I remember correctly, your part would be that of a very objectionable young woman who wants to get rich, who drinks and swears and—

ADRIENNE: [
Coming to life
] And how she swears! And she sleeps with men! And she’s ambitious! And she’s selfish! And she laughs! And she’s not sweet—Oh, Walter! She’s not sweet at all!

BRECKENRIDGE: You’re overestimating yourself, my dear. You can’t play a part like that.

ADRIENNE: Maybe not. I’ll try.

BRECKENRIDGE: You want a disastrous flop?

ADRIENNE: Perhaps. I’ll take the chance.

BRECKENRIDGE: You want to be panned?

ADRIENNE: Perhaps. If I have to be.

BRECKENRIDGE: And your audience? What about your audience? [
She doesn’t answer
] What about the people who love you and respect you for what you represent to them?

ADRIENNE: [
Her voice flat and dead again
] Walter, skip that.
Skip that.

BRECKENRIDGE: But you seem to have forgotten. The Breckenridge Theater is not a mere place of amusement. It was not created just to satisfy your exhibitionism or my vanity. It has a social mission. It brings cheer to those who need it most. It gives them what they like. They need you. They get a great deal from you. You have a duty and a standing above those of a mere actress. Isn’t that precious to you?

ADRIENNE: Oh, Goddamn you! [
He stares at her
] All right! You asked for it! I hate it! Do you hear me? I hate it! All of it! Your noble theater and your noble plays and all the cheap, trite, trashy, simpering bromides that are so sweet! So sweet! God, so sweet I can hear them grating on my teeth every evening! I’m going to scream in the middle of one of those noble speeches, some night, and bring the curtain down! I can’t go on with it, Goddamn you and your audience! I can’t! Do you understand me? I can’t!

BRECKENRIDGE: Adrienne, my child, I cannot let you ruin yourself.

ADRIENNE: Listen, Walter, please listen. . . . I’ll try to explain it. I’m not ungrateful. I want the audience to like me. But that’s not enough. Just to do what they want me to do, just because they like it—it’s not enough. I’ve got to like it, too. I’ve got to believe in what I’m doing. I’ve got to be proud of it. You can’t do any kind of work without that. That comes first. Then you take a chance—and hope that others will like it.

BRECKENRIDGE: Isn’t that rather selfish?

ADRIENNE: [
Simply
] I guess it is. I guess I’m selfish. It’s selfish to breathe, also—isn’t it? You don’t breathe for anyone but yourself. . . . All I want is a chance—for myself—to do something strong, living, intelligent, difficult—just once.

BRECKENRIDGE: [
Sadly
] I believed in you, Adrienne. I did my best for you.

ADRIENNE: I know. And I hate to hurt you. That’s why I’ve stood it for such a long time. But, Walter, the contract—it’s for five more years. I couldn’t take five years. I couldn’t even take it for five days this coming season. I’ve reached my last minute—it’s very terrible, when a person is driven to his last minute, and very ugly. You must let me go.