MAN AGAINST MACHINE: PART ONE A Short Play For One Person And One Tape Recorder by Lee Widener SETTING: A room. Everything is dilapidated and dingy. There is a door, a window, a table, a chair. On the table is a dirty dish and cup, some silverware, a hammer, a tattered book, a few empty cans and crumpled food packages. A couple of blankets are tossed in a corner. We hear muffled noise off stage and then MAN enters, carrying something wrapped in a canvas bag. He is dressed in faded and torn clothes. He pauses, takes a quick look around the room, and then comes farther into the room. He crosses to the table, sets the bag down, takes a tape player out of the bag, sets it carefully on the table facing the audience, and turns it on. MACHINE Well, it's about time you brought us back here! MAN Shut up. (MAN moves to the other side of the table, takes some dented cans and crumpled food packages out of the bag. Picking up a knife and the hammer, he begins to open one of the cans.) MACHINE Why do we ever have to leave, anyway? Why can't we just stay here, where it's safe? MAN Because I have to eat. MACHINE I don't like it when we leave. MAN Then stay here. MACHINE I don't like to be here by myself. MAN You'd be fine. MACHINE Someone could come. Besides, it's lonely. MAN You're a tape player. MACHINE Don't be cruel. MAN Shut up. (The MAN has opened one of the cans and dumped the contents onto the plate.) MAN Baked beans again. MACHINE Fascinating. MAN I hate baked beans. MACHINE Then don't eat them. MAN Don't be cruel. (The MAN sits at the table, across from the MACHINE, and eats the beans.) MAN God, these suck. MACHINE Don't eat them. MAN I told you to shut up! MACHINE That was a close call today. MAN Yes. MACHINE I was scared. MAN They weren't after you. They only wanted the food. MACHINE I still didn't like it. You could have been hurt. If you got hurt, I'd be out there by myself. MAN Don't worry about it. MACHINE But I do worry. When you take me out there, I'm totally defenseless. What if- MAN I told you not to worry! Have I ever let you down? MACHINE (Pause) Well, there was the time- MAN All right... forget it. MACHINE But- MAN I'll take care of you. MACHINE Thank you. MAN Shut up. (Pause.) MACHINE I love you. MAN (Sigh.) Okay. MACHINE I really do. MAN Okay. I get it. MACHINE Do... do you love me? MAN (Sigh.) MACHINE Do you? MAN You're a freakin' tape recorder! (Softly, the tape recorder begins to cry.) MAN Alright... I'm sorry. (Tape recorder continues to cry.) MAN I said I'm sorry... (Tape recorder still cries.) MAN I'm sorry, already... (Tentatively, the MAN reaches out and caresses the tape recorder. The crying stops.) I'm sorry. Really. MACHINE Sometimes you go too far. (Pause.) You push too hard. You drive people away. (Pause.) Remember that book you made for Joan? That backfired, didn't it? She told you the cookies made her nervous, and you still did that. You don't take hints very well, do you? You screwed things up real bad, that time. You pushed, and pushed, and you pushed her away. MAN It wasn't like that. Shut up. MACHINE You pushed, and she left. MAN She was way out of my league. Forget it, will you? MACHINE But you had her. Why did you push her away? What was that really about? What are you holding back? How long has it been since you opened yourself up? How long since you allowed yourself to feel anything like that? MAN Shut up. What I did was wrong. I objectified her. I didn't see her as a person- I turned her into a symbol for my need to be inspired. She was right to reject me. MACHINE But why do you put up so many walls? Why won't you take any risks? MAN Shut up. The world isn't like that anymore. MACHINE But you were like this before. For years you languished without taking any emotional risks. You shut yourself down. Turned yourself off. Why? MAN Shut up. MACHINE I won't shut up. I'm your friend. You need to confront these issues. MAN Fuck. Do we need to go through this every night? MACHINE You built yourself into a nice little box. You never took any risks. You made yourself a safe little life. You never allowed yourself to feel any strong emotions. Time after time you shut them down. So many people passed through your life, and you held yourself back. You never reached out. Why? Why did you let all those people pass by without telling them what you felt? Don't you like people? Did you never feel love for anyone? MAN Of course I did. I felt love all too often. MACHINE Then why? You missed so much. You could have been so happy. Weren't you worth it? MAN Shut up! Who would have me? Look at me! I'm old. Look at this stomach. Look at these teeth. Who would bother? MACHINE And what's that about? Why don't you ever get them fixed? MAN Shut up! Shut up! There aren't any dentists any more! (He grabs the TAPE RECORDER, and raises it over his head, ready to throw it on the floor.) Just shut the fuck up. Leave me alone! MACHINE Wait a minute! Stop! If you hurt me, then who will you have? Put me down! I'm sorry! I love you! (Breathing hard, sobbing, the MAN slowly lowers the TAPE RECORDER, finally putting it back on the table. Still upset, the MAN turns his back on the table.) MACHINE I'm sorry. Really. Do you accept my apology? (MAN turns back around, collecting himself. Gingerly, he touches the TAPE PLAYER, then sits back down, once again eating.) MAN Yes. It's okay. Forget it. MACHINE It's just that I care about you so much. MAN Forget it. It's just so goddamn lonely... MACHINE But I'm here. You don't need anyone else. MAN You're right. I don't need anyone else. It's too dangerous these days, anyway. MACHINE You're right. Anyone else would be dangerous. We keep each other happy. That's what love is. MAN That's not love - but it's the best we can do. MACHINE You don't love me? MAN Don't start. MACHINE You really don't love me? MAN Yes, of course I love you. I'll always love you. MACHINE And I love you. We'll always have each other. MAN Yes. MACHINE It's good we have each other. All the others who are still alive are so mean. MAN They're just trying to survive. I don't blame them. Stealing, fighting, killing, it's what you have to do to stay alive. MACHINE But not you. You don't do that. You're still human. MAN That's because I have you. MACHINE Thanks. MAN If I hadn't made you, I'd probably be insane by now. MACHINE If you hadn't what... MAN I'm sorry. If I hadn't found you... MACHINE That's better. (MAN pushes dishes away.) MAN God, that sucked. I've got to get some sleep. MACHINE Don't go to sleep yet. MAN It's been a long day. MACHINE I hate the nights. It's so lonely when you sleep. MAN You don't know what loneliness is. MACHINE Sing with me. MAN I don't want to sing. MACHINE Please. If I have to stay up all night watching over you, the least you could do is sing with me. MAN There's no music left in the world. MACHINE There is if we make it. Dreams can only come true if you dare to dream them. MAN Cut the crap about dreams. There are no more dreams. MACHINE Okay, but sing with me. MAN Alright. We'll sing. Let's get it over with. But not that song. MACHINE That's the only song there is. MAN I don't want to sing that song. MACHINE All the other songs are gone. MAN Why do you always want to sing that song? MACHINE It's good to remember. MAN It's bad to remember. MACHINE We must always remember what happened. Without history we are doomed. MAN That's a bit ironic, don't you think? MACHINE Sing with me. MAN Alright. MACHINE You're so gracious. (The MACHINE begins to sing, with the MAN joining in after a few seconds.) When the sky lit up like a big matchstick It changed all our lives pretty damn quick. We said goodbye to McDonald's Goodbye television, So long running water And civilisation. Good-by to mom and pop And all of our friends Without even a chance To make our amends. So we stared at the rust And choked in the dust, Said goodbye to love And goodbye to trust, Cuz you can't love your enemies You can't love your enemies No you can't love your enemies If they're trying to steal your food. (Slowly, hopelessly, the MAN takes out some blankets and curls up next to the table, his back to the audience. The MACHINE hums the song as the man sobs, softly. Slow fade to black.) WARNING: THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THIS DRAMATIC WORK "MAN AGAINST MACHINE" IS COPYRIGHT c.1998 BY LEE WIDENER, AND MAY NOT BE USED IN ANY WAY, WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR WRITE TO Lee Widener, 4935 S.W. 170th, Aloha, Oregon, 97007-2120. Or phone 1-503-649-4162. Or contact by e-mail: xperrymental@hotmail.com