[Play] Rossom - Act 1, Scene 2

 Act I - Scene 2

Alquist walks to the side of the stage.  Helena enters looking wide eyed and off the boat.

Alquist: 

Behold the missionary

Here to save the souls of robots

Here to help the artificial humans

Become more human

And unleash chaos well deserved on humanity.

Vast in scope the island was

Towering factories made of glistening steel

Painted slogans showing man and robot 

Working together side by side

Not paying much attention

To how most of the time the human commanded

And the robots did the work.

Know your history

Remember it

Where did that term ‘Robot’ come from

The play’s the thing

Some men heed a warning given

Shelly was the first

But others followed

Asimov, Bradbury, Orwell

But Kopek

He stands out in my eye

For some men read a prophecy of doom and heed it

And others think, “What a great idea!”

Enter Middle Management

Domin enters from the opposite direction of Helena.

Alquist:

We shall call him Domin

And her Helena

Players in the game Rossum set up

Thinking the rules did not apply to him.

I will let them speak for themselves

Helena:

There it is

Such an island of new souls

Not abominations 

Not spiritless horrors

But wide eyed innocents

Uncorrupted by Adam’s fall

Sinless

Let us be wiser than our forebears

And spare them the suffering 

We as humans have inflicted one unto another

Something better

Something pure

A new beginning

This spiritual enterprise lights my being

Let us try anew

Let us draw our new siblings unto God

Helena:

[To Domin] Hello, thank you for seeing me.

Domin:

 I had to see it for myself.

Helena: 

See what?

Domin:

Just who it was your church paid good money to come and preach to toasters.

Helena

Don’t call them that

Domin

Toasters?

Helena

Yes.  These are living beings.

Domin

Do you even know what you’re talking about?  They breathe maybe, they bleed, sure alright, but alive? They can’t reproduce.

Helena

(blushing) I am not here to talk about robot sex.

Domin

They can’t.  They’re not anatomically capable.  There’s a secret formula the boss has; he knows it and no one else.  That’s it.  Robots can’t make other robots.

Helena

But...why?

Domin

Well aside from it being a really stupid thing to do to let machines make machines, and trade secrecy; self replicating machines also violates about eleven international treaties.  We make toasters, not trouble.

(takes out recorder)

Note to self, give that to marketing; copyright it.  Toasters not Trouble.  Scratch that, it sounds stupid now that I say it again out loud.

Helena

Don’t you care about their souls?

Domin

Souls? Are you kidding me? [Pause] You really believe that, don’t you.

Helena

I do.

Domin

Let me show you something.

Helena and Domin exit.