Our Enduring Planet

by michaelcahill

A spotlight falls upon a speaker standing before a mic stand. The stage is otherwise bare. He speaks:

Speaker
It was warm and strange once. Comfort was the order of the day. Time was a liquid pillow to float upon. The world was muffled and thought eluded me. I had no concerns. War was declared and my eviction was decreed. Where I once was welcome I now was shunned and thought of as repulsive. The enemy eagerly awaited my emergence from safety to have their way with my defenseless figure. Oh, how they scrutinized every cell of my being, pawing and prodding indiscriminately. NO! They did not ask and it was clear I had no rights in this new ... was this my home? I was placed upon a person who seemed weary but pleased with me. A measure of warmth returned. Hope returned to my mindset. And pillows too, ah yes, pillows to float upon. Most welcome were they.

Stage hands bring a flat board and stand it up behind the speaker. The speaker gives no acknowledgement. The speaker continues:

Speaker:
I don't know what it was, but I swear my pants were on fire. And Betty Lou Sue June Loretta Angela ... whoo hooo, I just had to see what she had in them drawers. I didn't rightly know what I was a gonna do with it, I just knew that ... mercy, it had to be the most wonderful, spectacular thing in all of creation. AND a great example of a little boy's natural inclination to take the wonders of creation and just decimate them and cause his own extinction ... metaphorically speaking, of course. But WOWZER, would I ever like to rest my weary head on those soft ....

A team of topless fireman rush on stage with a fire extinguisher, pause for a little dance and proceed to spray the speaker's pants with fire retardant. They follow up by placing a board on either side of the speaker. He is now enclosed on three sides. The speaker continues:

Speaker:
There used to be a thing called the Pony Express. Now those were dangerous times and a man and his horse marveled at the stars and contemplated the invention of the horseless carriage. Well ... walking on the moon gives a man pause and a hankerin' for a brewsky. So, I admit I spent some time a drinkin' and wanderin' the highways and byways' of the old west. Tweren't much of a shot though and computers made me obsolete. So I pushed the button and ate the last of the mutton. That's about the size of it I guess. Pillows tend to lose their shape in the fullness of time. Ain't much use to livin' after that.

A board rises from the stage in front of the microphone and speaker. He's now enclosed on all four sides. Whale song echoes throughout the stage. A film is projected on a screen behind what is now a wooden box on stage. In the film an animated cockroach addresses an audience of cockroaches. It appears to be a church service.

Cockroach addressing congregation:
"And God said, let man go forth and multiply ... "

The audience of cockroaches begin to fall out of the pews in hysterical laughter.

fade to black ....

THE END.

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