A middle-aged man of average looks; contemporary street clothes. This character makes one brief appearance.

He speaks on only one occasion, utters four words. MAN is distinguished-looking, but not pompous, with intelligent features (preferably a slightly hooked nose), and usually wears a serious, but not stern, expression. He is just over 40, medium height.

MAN makes several appearances. In all but one, he wears well-worn brown lederhosen and a Tirolian hat. (The Tirolian aspect must not be exaggerated -- this is not a farce.) The sole purpose of Tirolian attire is to emphasize that old mountaineering traditions continue -- or ought to continue-in present-day Colorado. (An option would be to dress MAN in normal hiking clothes; the advantage would be authenticity in terms of the actual events that inspired this play.)

In one appearance, MAN wears fashionable clothes (a silk shirt in pastel, a fine linen jacket with sleeves pushed up on the forearms).

(also known as USCHI): Late twenties, brown hair, slightly taller than both MAN and KARLHEINZ even in flat shoes; she appears briefly as a doorway silhouette. USCHI is dressed in black/Army-surplus/late-punk clothes (no exaggerations or ridicule). A cotton-print shoulder bag (à la Third World), with long strap. About to leave her apartment when seen.

Average height, mid-thirties, blond. Square jaw, prematurely wilted cheeks. Infinitely cold eyes. Dressed in black.

About ten youngish people of both sexes, mostly of middle-class background, but committed in different degrees to (armed) "direct action", radical left-wing politics. The men are from all over West Germany and live in West Berlin mostly to avoid military service. Many have occupied temporarily empty private houses where they live for free.

They regard such "squatting" and resistance to eviction as political actions, and they think of living indefinitely off "Sozialgelder" (literally: "social money" = "on the dole") in similar terms. A few are dressed entirely in black, including facial covering (masks, balaclavas, wrap-around scarves). Some are in grey (pseudo-) "worker-suits" of the type that Bertolt Brecht wore. Most are in contemporary, "baggy-look", street clothes. These are non-speaking characters.

LOCATIONS

(Altitude: 4,399m, 14,431 feet). This mountain, near Leadville, Colorado, is the second-highest peak in the contiguous United States. It is a walk-up rather than a technical climb.

1. Any sidewalk. 2. Kottbusserdamm 88, third floor.

PRE-TAPED VOICES

A voice with vocal and emotional qualities similar to David Byrne's on The Catherine Wheel album (Sire Records SRK 3645; for example, the beginning of "His wife refused", the first track on Side 1).

BASSO PROFUNDO: (BASSO).

A youngish voice with a noticeable, but unobtrusive, German accent when speaking English, and a soft Berlin accent when speaking German.

(Ideally, the binaural recording technique should be used. Voices are recorded with two high-precision mikes on a human or a dummy's head to mimic the exact real-life auditory reception conditions. In the theatre, members of the audience wear light-weight headphones (high-quality, headphones are now available at a very reasonable price). Headphones do not have to be individually plugged in: Instead, pre-taped voices are beamed at the audience through infrared detectors. The auditory consequences of using this technique are striking: One hears voices as if spoken in close spatial proximity, while the undesirable "ventriloquist" effect is avoided.

Should this be technically impossible in a given production, the customary recording and playback technique would do.)

There should be a very large concave screen, on which slides are to be projected-singly or in pairs, and in varying sizes.

The slides:

Found at the very top of Mt. Elbert in June of 1977. The slide is to be made of the pressed flower (the original one is available; see bottom of page).

A note on brown grocery-bag paper, hand-written at the top of Mt. Elbert on the same day in June of 1977 by the man who found the flower. The slide is to be made of this note (the authentic one is available; see bottom of page).

The note is a verbatim copy of a hand-written message that had been left at some time previously inside the heavy lead cylinder attached to the stone pyramid that marks the summit of Mt. Elbert (as is the case with many high mountains). (The piece of paper on which the original message was written is not available: It was returned to the cylinder by the man who found the flower and copied the message.) In its entirety, the message reads:

"Karlheinz Waiter
1000 Berlin 36
Kottbusserdamm 88
West Germany

ES LEBE MAO TSE TUNG UND DIE INTERNATIONALE ARBEITERKLASSE

--Rotfront"

PROP: Heavy lead cylinder, brownish, a foot (30cm) long, 4 inches (10cm) in diameter. It has a lid attached by a chain.

Notes. The events described actually happened. The name and address in Berlin in THE MESSAGE slide were slightly modified. Ten years were allowed to pass.

A suggested theme for theatre cynics: "This is a simple-minded mountain metaphor for revenge."

Unbelievable as it may seem, B. B. and I have something in common: The love of gray.

[As members of the audience walk in, they encounter a huge image of THE FLOWER. Some minutes later, the opening section of the song "White car in Germany" by The Associates is heard (from the album Fourth Drawer Down. BEG K 58373). A minute of silence ensues, then, simultaneously, house lights and THE FLOWER slide go off. A few seconds of total darkness, then a soft spotlight finds the INTRODUCER as he walks on from Stage Right.]

GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN (pause; standing a little stiff, then in a calm voice) THIS IS A POLITICAL PLAY. (Relaxes) I'LL MAKE IT BRIEF (makes a politician's explanatory gesture -- a slight rotation of the right hand with fingers outstretched) THERE ARE THREE POINTS I WISH TO MAKE. ONE (pause) A POLITICAL MESSAGE TO WESTERN EUROPE, (pause) TWO (pause) MOUNTAINEERING ETIQUETTE. (pause) THREE (thoughtfully traces the length of his nose with the right index finger in an up-and-down motion for 4 beats, then, in staccato) BERTOLT BRECHT WAS A FRAUD. (All lights go off, INTRODUCER exits Stage Right and never returns; soft, dim lights; simultaneously:)

(A few firm steps from Stage Left; MAN then assumes an upright "leopard" position — indicating climbing — right arm raised, right leg bent and raised. Soft spotlight on him that gradually dims. MAN remains in this position throughout the following BARITONE segment, except to switch to the left-arm-left-leg-raised posture occasionally. He is barely visible, the stage is in gloom. Tape:)

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I WAS VERY MUCH IN LOVE WITH KATIE AND MOUNTAINS GAVE ME REFUGE FROM AN OVERHEATED AFFAIR. ESPECIALLY AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS, ONE RARELY MET A MAN. WHEN ONE DID, THERE WOULD BE A NOD, A HELLO, AND EACH WOULD BE ON HIS WAY. YET ONE SENSED THAT IF THERE WAS A NEED, THESE QUIET PEOPLE WOULD MEET IT WITHOUT HESITATION. HELPING A MOUNTAINEER REFLECTED THE RESPECT WE ALL HAD FOR THE MOUNTAIN.

ANOTHER THING. ONE DID NOT LITTER. ONE DID NOT DEFECATE RIGHT ON THE TRAIL. ONE DID NOT DEFACE A ROCKFACE BY CARVING PIERCED HEARTS OR POLITICAL SLOGANS. (Pause). I WAS BARELY FOUR WHEN MY MOTHER TOOK ME HIKING AND TAUGHT ME THESE THINGS. (Pause) UNLIKE THE WORLD BELOW, ON THE MOUNTAIN ONE DID NOT INTRUDE IN ANOTHER'S PEACE. THE MOUNTAIN'S MAJESTY ALMOST PHYSICALLY REINED IN DESIRE TO IMPOSE ONESELF ON OTHERS.

(Pause 3 beats.) THEN I REMEMBER THE TIME I WAS IN COLORADO IN JUNE OF 1977 AND DECIDED TO CLIMB MT. ELBERT. (Chuckles.) THIS LITTLE THING WITH AN ALTITUDE OF 14,431 FEET INTENSELY FRUSTRATES COLORADO NATIVES. YOU SEE, ITS GROWTH WAS STUNTED AND IT NEVER CAUGHT UP WITH MT. WHITNEY IN CALIFORNIA-IT FELL SHORT BY 64 FEET. (Pause 3 beats.) I CLIMBED IT ALONE IN FAIR WEATHER, BUT HIGH WINDS.

(Lights change to indigo. MAN quietly walks off Stage Left. THE FLOWER comes on, huge.)

(The size of THE FLOWER imperceptibly becomes smaller through the following segment.) A FEW WORDS FROM JOHN MUlR. (Pause.) CLIMB THE MOUNTAINS AND GET THEIR GOOD TIDINGS. NATURE'S PEACE WILL FLOW INTO YOU AS SUNSHINE FLOWS INTO TREES. THE WINDS WILL BLOW THEIR OWN FRESHNESS INTO YOU, AND THE STORMS THEIR ENERGY, WHILE CARES WILL DROP OFF LIKE AUTUMN LEAVES.

THERE IS A LOVE OF WILD NATURE IN EVERYBODY, AN ANCIENT MOTHER-LOVE EVER SHOWING ITSELF WHETHER RECOGNIZED OR NOT.

IT IS ASTONISHING HOW HIGH AND FAR WE CAN CLIMB IN MOUNTAINS THAT WE LOVE.
(THE FLOWER continues to diminish.) A FEW WORDS FROM THE SIERRA CLUB HANDBOOK. (Pause.) SOMETHING WILL GO OUT OF US IF WE PUSH OUR ROADS THROUGH THE LAST OF THE SILENCE. WE ARE A WILD SPECIES. NOBODY EVER TAMED OR DOMESTICATED OR SCIENTIFICALLY BRED US. YET VOLUNTEERS OCCASIONALLY BECOME BACKCOUNTRY GARBAGE-MEN TO DRAMATIZE THE NEED FOR GOOD MOUNTAIN MANNERS. WE NEED WILDERNESS PRESERVED, BECAUSE IT WAS THE CHALLENGE AGAINST WHICH OUR CHARACTER WAS FORMED. IT IS GOOD FOR US WHEN WE ARE YOUNG, BECAUSE OF THE SANITY IT CAN BRING BRIEFLY; IT IS IMPORTANT TO US WHEN WE ARE OLD, SIMPLY AS AN IDEA. ONE MEANS OF SANITY IS TO REMAIN, INSOFAR AS WE CAN, GOOD ANIMALS.

CLIMBING IS NOT ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD BY THOSE WHO STAY BEHIND. CLIMBERS GO FOR SPORT, EXERCISE, KNOWLEDGE, TO SEEK CHALLENGE, TO MEASURE THEMSELVES, AND (pause) FOR INDEFINABLE REASONS.

[THE FLOWER continues to diminish. The indigo remains unchanged, except for the central part of the stage, which at some point becomes illuminated by glaring, white lights, accompanying the appearance of the URBAN MILITANTS. They march about in a tight formation, with the masked women and men in black forming the nucleus: Determined, mute, implacable. They carry (or paint on the stage) various slogans in English and German. The first two, very large, signs read (shown simultaneously): "AND NOW, SOME COOL AGITATION AND PROPAGANDA À LA COMRADE BERTOLT BRECHT ('AGITPROP', OL' BERTIE WOULD HAVE SAID)"; "UND JETZT COOLE AGITATION UND PROPAGANDA À LA KAMERAD BERTOLT BRECHT ('AGITPROP', BERTIE HÄTTE GESAGT)". Then follow smaller signs, such as: "CAPITALISM KILLS GERMAN FORESTS", "KAPITALISMUS VERNICHTET DEUTSCHE WÄLDER", "NATO = REAGAN = PIG", "NATO = REAGAN = SCHWEIN", "UNITY WITH THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC", "EINHEIT MIT DER DDR", "ABOLISH THE WEST GERMAN ARMY", "SCHAFFT DIE DEUTSCHE BUNDESWEHR AB", "AMERICANS GO HOME", "AMERIKANER RAUS", "SOCIALISM YES, CAPITALISM NO", "SOZIALISMUS JA, KAPITALISMUS NEIN", "FREE HOUSING FOR HAMBURG SQUATTERS", "FREIES WOHNEN FÜR HAMBURGER HAUSBESETZER", "NO NATO MISSILES", "KEINE NATO MISSILES", "AMERICANS OUT OF CENTRAL AMERICA", "AMERIKANER RAUS AUS ZENTRALAMERIKA", "NO EXTENSION OF FRANKFURT AIRPORT", "NEIN ZU STARTBAHN WEST", "PEACE WITH THE SOVIET UNION", "FRIEDEN MIT DER SOWJETUNION", "CAPITALISM KILLS PEOPLE", "KAPITALISMUS TÖTET - MENSCHEN", "BERTOLT BRECHT IS THE MOST GIFTED AND IMPORTANT WRITER IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY" (James K. Lyon, Bertolt Brecht in America, Princeton University Press, 1980)". The harsh lighting, staging, and political crudeness should be a sophisticated rendering of aspects of Brecht's own productions: No ridicule, please. After the above slogans, two more very large signs are to be shown at the same time: "AND NOW, SOME INFORMATION ABOUT BERTOLT BRECHT, PROVIDED BY THE WICKED BOURGEOIS CLASS AND THE REFORMED 1930s WESTERN COMMUNISTS"; "UND JETZT INFORMATION ÜBER BERTOLT BRECHT, GEGEBEN VON DER BÖSEN BOURGEOISIE KLASSE UND DEN REFORMIERTEN 1930er WESTLICHEN KOMMUNISTEN". Then follow smaller signs, to be shown in the exact sequence given:

1. "IN 1930, BERTOLT BRECHT JOINED THE COMMUNIST PARTY. LATER, HE ESCAPED FROM HITLER - NOT TO MOSCOW (OR THE GULAG), BUT TO FINLAND, HOLLYWOOD, AND BROADWAY"

2. "BY 1950, BRECHT LIVED COMFORTABLY IN EAST BERLIN AND HAD FULL EAST GERMAN GOVERNMENT BACKING, IN EXCHANGE FOR BEING ITS MOST OBEDIENT ARTISTIC MOUTHPIECE"

3. "BRECHT ACQUIRED A CONVENIENT AUSTRIAN PASSPORT AND A WEST GERMAN PUBLISHER WHO PAID HIM ROYALTIES EXCLUSIVELY IN WESTERN CURRENCIES"

4. "IN 1955, BRECHT PROUDLY RECEIVED THE STALIN 'PEACE PRIZE'. 160,000 RUBLES WENT INTO HIS SWISS BANK ACCOUNT'

5. " 'ART'S A SWINDLE. LIFE'S A SWINDLE' - BERTOLT BRECHT."

(The above statements are based on Paul Johnson's Intellectuals, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1988.)

(#6. and #7 to be shown simultaneously.)

6. "SIDNEY HOOK TO BERTOLT BRECHT (CIRCA 1935): 'IT WAS THE KREMLIN AND ABOVE ALL STALIN HIMSELF WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE IMPRISONMENT OF ZINOVIEV, KAMENEV, AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS'"

7. "BERTOLT BRECHT TO SYDNEY HOOK: THE MORE INNOCENT THEY ARE, THE MORE THEY DESERVE TO BE SHOT ('JE MEHR UNSCHULDIG, DESTO MEHR VERDIENEN SIE ERSCHOSSEN ZU WERDEN'); HOOK: 'WHY? WHY?' BRECHT (SMILES IN A NERVOUS SORT OF WAY): --- "
(#8. and #9. to be shown simultaneously.)

8. "SIDNEY HOOK (1987): 'I FETCHED HIS HAT AND COAT. HE PUT HIS GLASS DOWN, ROSE, AND WITH A SICKLY SMILE TOOK HIS HAT AND COAT AND LEFT. NEITHER OF US SAID A WORD. I NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN; "

9. "MORAL: IF HE WERE AS SMART AS HE WAS DECENT, SIDNEY HOOK WOULD HAVE PUNCHED BERTIE IN THE MOUTH AND THROWN HIM DOWN THE STAIRS - COAT, HAT, AND BODY (A MOLOTOV COCKTAIL, BOURGEOIS STYLE)"

10. "HANS VIERTEL (BRECHTS FELLOW EXILE FROM NAZISM, BUT CRITICAL OF THE MOSCOW TRIALS IN 1936) ONCE ASKED BRECHT: 'WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO PEOPLE LIKE ME IF I REFUSE TO ACCEPT YOUR VIEWS?' BERTOLT BRECHT: 'YOU'D HAVE TO BE SHOT"

(#11. and #12 to be shown simultaneously.)

11. "BERTOLT BRECHT: 'THE OLD SOW (RUTH FISCHER, WHO PUBLISHED THE ARTICLE 'BERT BRECHT, MINSTREL OF THE G.P.U.') HAS TO BE SHOT...ONE DOES NOT PARADE IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COMRADES BEFORE THE POLICE'"

12. "SIDNEY HOOK, 1987: 'BRECHT HAD NO UNDERSTANDING OF THE FACT THAT FISCHER DID NOT REGARD HIM AS A COMRADE BUT AS AN APOLOGIST FOR A HANGMAN'"

13. "BERTOLT BRECHT IN THE 1930s: 'FIFTY YEARS HENCE THE COMMUNISTS WILL HAVE FORGOTTEN STALIN, BUT I WANT TO BE SURE THAT THEY WILL STILL READ BRECHT. THEREFORE I CANNOT SEPARATE MYSELF FROM THE PARTY." (Henry Pachter in the New Leader, 1969.)

14. "A MEASURED ASSESSMENT BY SIDNEY HOOK OF THE OPINION OF BERTOLT BRECHT HELD BY THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL IN NEW YORK: 'A PETIT-BOURGEOIS POSEUR AND APOLOGIST FOR STALINISM'"

(#6, 7, 8 from Sydney Hook's Out of Step, Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1987. # 10,11,12,14 based on Hook and on James K. Lyon, Bertolt Brecht in America, 1980.)

SOMETHING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FROM THE POLITICAL MANIFESTO OF DIE GRÜNEN. THE GREEN PARTY OF WEST GERMANY. (Pause.) KERNPUNKT ALLER NATURSCHUTZPOLITIK MUß ES SEIN, ÖKOLOGISCH INTAKTE GEBIETE ZU ERHALTEN. DIE EINENGUNG DER NATÜRLICHEN LEBENSRÄUME VON TIER-UND PFLANZENARTEN ZERSTÖRT DAS GLEICHGEWICHT IN DER NATUR. DIE KENNTNIS DER ABHÄNGIGKEITEN DES EINGESPIELTEN GLEICHGEWICHTS UND DER KREISLÄUFE DER NATUR SOWIE ALLER FOLGEN DER MENSCHLICHEN EINGRIFFE IST DIE VORAUSSETZUNG EINER ÖKOLOGISCH ORIENTIERTEN POLITIK.

(Pause. Wichtigtuerische Stimme.)

VON DER PRÄAMBEL DES BUNDESTAGSWAHLPROGRAMM DER GRÜNEN: (Mit politischem Eifer:)

IN 1987 HABEN DIE BÜRGERINNEN UND BÜRGER DER BUNDESREPUBLIK DIE WAHL:

ENTWEDER: (Mit Verachtung:)

          AUSHÖHLUNG DEMOKRATISCHER RECHTE;
          INDUSTRIEWACHSTUM UND UMWELTZERSTÖRUNG;
          ARBEITSLOSIGKEIT UND SOZIALABBAU;
          RÜSTUNGS- UND KRIEGSGEFAHR;
          AUSBEUTUNG UND INTERVENTION IN DER DRITTEN WELT.

ODER: (Leidenschaftlich, und immer schneller:)

          SIE ERMUTIGEN DIE KRÄFTE, DIE DEM KURS DER ZERSTÖRUNG ENTSCHLOSSEN
          ENTGEGENTRETEN. DIESE KRÄFTE HABEN SICH ALS ÖKOLOGIE- UND
          FRIEDENSBEWEGUNG VERANKERT UND SICH MIT ANDEREN
          EMANZIPATIONSBEWEGUNGEN WIE DER DER FRAUEN, DER DRITTE-WELT-GRUPPEN, DER
          FREIHEITLICHEN SOZIALISTEN, DER PROGRESSIVEN CHRISTEN UND DER ALTERNATIVEN
          GEWERKSCHAFTER VEREINIGT.

MIT DEN GRÜNEN HABEN SIE EINE POLITISCHE PARTEI NEUEN TYPS GESCHAFFEN.

TRANSLATION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.

(Signs-slogans should probably not be shown beyond this point; however, the indigo and URBAN MILITANTS continue as before. During the following segment, THE FLOWER disappears entirely.)

THE MAIN POINT OF ALL POLITICS CONCERNED WITH NATURE CONSERVATION HAS TO BE THE MAINTENANCE OF ECOLOGICALLY INTACT AREAS. THE SHRINKING OF THE NATURAL HABITATS OF ANIMAL AND PLANT SPECIES DESTROYS THE NATURAL BALANCE. THE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS BALANCE, THE KNOWLEDGE OF NATURAL CYCLES AND OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN INTERVENTIONS ARE THE BASES OF ECOLOGICALLY-ORIENTED POLITICS.

(Pause. In a self-important voice:) FROM THE PREAMBLE OF THE GREEN PARTY'S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION PROGRAM: (With political fervor:) IN 1987, THE CITIZENS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY HAVE THE CHOICE: EITHER (With contempt:) THE EROSION OF DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS; INDUSTRIAL GROWTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION; UNEMPLOYMENT AND CUTBACKS IN SOCIAL PROGRAMS; ARM-RACE AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT; EXPLOITATION AND INTERVENTION IN THE THIRD WORLD;

OR: (With passion, and building-up speed:)

THE STRENGTHENING OF FORCES THAT WORK RESOLUTELY AGAINST DESTRUCTION. THESE FORCES ARE THE ECOLOGY AND PEACE MOVEMENTS THAT HAVE UNITED THEMSELVES WITH OTHER EMANCIPATION MOVEMENTS-OF WOMEN, THIRD WORLD GROUPS, FREE SOCIALISTS, PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANS, AND ALTERNATIVE LABOR UNIONS. WITH THE GREENS THEY HAVE CREATED A POLITICAL PARTY OF A NEW TYPE. (On the last few words, the URBAN MILITANTS exeunt and MAN appears from Stage Left carrying a lead cylinder (see PROP) under his left arm and supporting its front with his right hand to show weight. There is a soft spotlight on him, but the indigo continues.)

(With great drive, but acknowledging periods) NEAR THE SUMMIT OF MT. ELBERT, THAT JUNE DAY OF 1977, l FOUND A FLOWER.

YOU HAVE SEEN IT. IT MUST HAVE BEEN A HARDY THING TO SURVIVE THERE AGAINST ODDS. BUT BY THE TIME I SAW IT, IT HAD ALREADY BEEN TRAMPLED UNDERFOOT. WHAT POSSESSED ME TO PICK UP A SQUASHED FLOWER, PUT IT BETWEEN TISSUE PAPERS, AND KEEP IT ALL THESE YEARS -- l KNOW NOT. AN INCURABLE SENTIMENTALIST, I GUESS. (Pause 2 beats.) EVEN KATIE SAID SO AND SHE WAS ONE HERSELF. (Pause 3 beats.) BUT THE FLOWER STILL FAINTLY EXISTS. (Pause.) I KNOW BECAUSE I STILL HAVE IT.

(Light has been gradually changing from indigo to sepia.)

AT THE SUMMIT, THERE WAS A SMALL PYRAMID OF PILED ROCKS. WEDGED AMONG THEM, AS IS OFTEN THE CASE ON MOUNTAINTOPS, WAS THIS CYLINDER. (MAN thrusts it reluctantly forward. Pinpoint spotlight on the cylinder. Light gradually from sepia to orange. MAN sets cylinder down upright by his right foot. He is motionless, staring at the floor three feet away, hands stuck semi-belligerentiy in the pockets of the lederhosen. A pinpoint spotlight remains on the cylinder.) ONE LEAVES ONE'S NAME OR A FRIENDLY MESSAGE IN IT. I OPENED IT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH MOUNTAINEERING PRACTICE. (Pause.) IN STRONG WIND. (Pause.) NOT TO PRY AND NOT TO OFFEND. (Pause. Light has been changing from orange to pink.) WHAT I FOUND:

(All lights off.)

(Piercing 3-beat angry scream. Total silence for several beats. THE MESSAGE slide fades in, off-focus to focus. Time should be allowed for information processing, while the stage is gradually flooded with a sickly, overdone red.)

(With soft Berliner accent) KARLHEINZ WALTER, EINTAUSEND BERLIN SECHSUNDDREIZIG, KOTTBUSSERDAMM ACHTUNDACHTZIG, WEST GERMANY. (Pause.) LONG LIFE MAO TSE TUNG AND THE INTERNATIONAL WORKING CLASS. (Louder, with finality:) THE RED FRONT.

[THE MESSAGE slide and the pinpoint spotlight on the cylinder go off. The red subsides. Immediately after the word "FRONT" is heard, MAN picks up the cylinder, looks at it briefly, and sets it down gently with a look of disgust (the potential thud of the cylinder's fall should be implied in his actions). MAN walks off Stage Left briskly. All lights go off. In total darkness, the beginning of Nina Hagen's song TV-Glotzer (White Punks on Dope: Columbia #36817):

Einen recht schönen guten
Abend, meine Damen und
Herren. Ich begrüsse Sie
recht herzlich zu unserem
heutigen Fernsehprogramm
und Wünsche Ihnen einen
recht guten Konzert...etc.,

followed by her psychotic shrieks. The song, one purpose of which is to coalesce, in the mind of the audience, Nina Hagen's voice and FEMALE VOICE, is played long enough to allow a costume change for MAN. The Nina Hagen number is gradually mixed with the pre-recorded cacophony of city noise and Berlin voices that take over completely as Nina subsides. (Alternatively, the track from The Associates that was played at the beginning could be used instead of city noise.) The cacophony then grows fainter and ceases altogether as MAN walks in from Stage Right on a brilliantly lit stage. He is dressed in smart clothes (see CHARACTERS). He looks thoughtful, stares at the ground. Total silence for several beats. Lights dim.)

WEST BERLIN, WEDNESDAY, THE 9TH OF JULY, 1980. (Total silence for several beats. Soft spotlight on MAN who remains motionless, staring at the floor.)

THREE YEARS AGO, AT THE SUMMIT OF MT. ELBERT, l COPIED THAT MESSAGE. (Pause.) l THEN (calmly) STUFFED IT BACK IN THE CYLINDER. (Pause.)

(With tension.) YESTERDAY, FINDING MYSELF IN BERLIN, I DROVE WEST FROM THE WALL ON (cultured foreign accent in speaking German words) SONNENALLEE TO KOTTBUSSERDAMM, THEN NORTH ACROSS LANDWEHRKANAL. l FOUND THE BUILDING EASILY. BLOOD RUSHED TO MY BRAIN WHEN I SAW THE MAN'S NAME ON A MAILBOX. I RAN UP TO THE THIRD FLOOR, THREE STAIRS AT A TIME, THEN PAUSED FOR A MOMENT, COLLECTING MYSELF. THEN, (with suppressed emotion) SILENTLY, STEALTHILY, TIPTOEING LIKE A HUNTER OR A THIEF, (all lights off; in the darkness, MAN moves Upstage Left behind a scrim.) A FATHER RESPECTING THE INNOCENCE OF HIS CHILD'S SLEEP, (with emotion, staccato) A MAN POISED TO POUR POISON INTO A SLEEPING RIVAL'S DEEP-HIS EAR: (behind the scrim, a door, at a 30° angle to the audience, slowly opens inward, thus shedding bright warm-yellow light from within; the door should open at a natural speed, as when a person, not in a hurry, is about to leave the house—no exaggerated suspense; the light from within dimly illuminates MAN in the position of one poised to slide a note under the door; MAN'S back is turned to the audience and parallel to the door) I WAS ABOUT TO SLIDE A NOTE UNDER HIS DOOR. (As the door opens, MAN is only slightly startled and straightens, note in right hand; ULRIKE (USCHI) appears in the doorway, ready to leave; there should be some light on her face and torso, but the major impact of the image should come from the tall silhouette; ULRIKE is very startled, but composes herself quickly as an average urban guerilla would; MAN and ULRIKE stare at each other for several beats.)

(These are his only spoken words; vocal quality should resemble unamplified BARITONE.) IS KARLHEINZ HOME, BITTE?

(Pause 2 beats. Within the apartment, KARLHEINZ quickly dons a black balaclava, grabs an AK-47 gun, and stands at the ready.) NEIN. (Pause.) SPÄTER. (Pause 2 beats, then, quickly:) HE MAY BE HERE LATER.

(MAN silently hands ULRIKE the folded note. She takes it and closes the door without further comment-she has decided not to go out after all. A moment of total darkness, during which MAN exits and:)

(Coldly, but a touch of fear:) ULRIKE...USCHI..WHO WAS THAT?

(A glaring white light in the apartment: ULRIKE hands KARLHEINZ the note. During the following segment, he reads it while absent-mindedly removing the balaclava. ULRIKE reads it also, over his shoulder.)

(With soft Berliner accent) KARLHEINZ WALTER, EINTAUSEND BERLIN SECHSUNDDRE1Z1G, KOTTBUSSERDAMM ACHTUNDACHTZ1G, WEST GERMANY. (Pause; then, with fervor:) ES LEBE MAO TSE TUNG UND DIE INTERNATIONALE ARBEITERKLASSE (coldly) ROTFRONT.

(All lights off.) BUT 1 ADDED SOMETHING. (Pause one beat, then a wild shriek:) DON'T DESECRATE MY MOUNTAIN TOP!

(Darkness continues for 3-4 beats, then a soft red floods the stage, including the apartment. KARLHEINZ stands, note in hand, looking at it. The following two words by BASSO summarize KARLHElNZ's state, so this connection must be made explicit through staging and timing.)

(Calmly, dry mouth:) COLD SWEAT.

(ULRIKE acts as if she has heard and understood BASSO. She is worried and agitated, but tries to cover it up with an irrelevant comment addressed to no one in particular; it is probably unnecessary to have this translated, unless it can be done cleverly.) ABER DAS IST KEIN DEUTSCHER AUSDRUCK! /"But that is not a German expression''!/

(With finality:) COLD SWEAT.

(Lights slowly fade to total darkness on the entire stage (including the apartment), as KARLHEINZ and ULRIKE stare across the room at each other. They exit during the moment of darkness and the empty stage is next bathed in a crystal blue. THE FLOWER and THE MESSAGE slides come on, equal size, side by side, THE MESSAGE Stage Right. As lights grow dimmer, over a period of about 30 sec., THE MESSAGE image becomes progressively smaller, while THE FLOWER grows in size until there is only a huge image of THE FLOWER on the screen, as in the beginning. In the meantime, MAN has walked in quietly from Stage Left, dressed again in mountaineering clothes; a soft spotlight finds him sitting on the floor, hugging his knees, just as THE FLOWER has established absolute dominance of the screen. MAN stares pensively, unaffectedly, into the distance.)

(Calmly.) FEEDBACK IS UBIQUITOUS. A MOUNTAIN IS A FORGIVING GIANT, BUT EVEN IT PUNISHES CERTAIN TRANSGRESSIONS. SPIT CRUELLY ON THE MOUNTAIN'S OPEN FACE AND A TORTUROUS UNCERTAINTY WILL EVENTUALLY CREEP FROM THE APPARENT VOID INTO YOUR SOUL.

(The crystal blue and the soft spotlight on MAN go off. THE FLOWER becomes off-focus and dimmer, but remains huge. Then all is black.)