The Tropic of X by Caridad Svich Contact: New Dramatists 424 West 44^th Street New York, NY 10036 USA (212)757-6960 E-mail: newdramatists@newdramatists.org Or Voicemail: 212-886-1814 E-mail: csvich21@aol.com www.caridadsvich.com Characters (in speaking order): HILTON, the DJ cowboy of the island airwaves, 30s MAURA, arcade junkie and petite wannabe-assassin in faux Docs, late teens-early 20s MORI, Maura’s accomplice and lover, late teens KIKI, part-time hustler of fluid gender, late 20s-early 30s FABIAN, a tourist in many guises, 30s; also plays FRANKIE, a man who watches the road, 30s Setting: In the polyglot Americas, leaning south: a market of video arcades, old and new drugs, Nescafe internet cafes, swift-changing political regimes, fluctuating currency, cheap sex for the tourist trade, ex-bullrings turned into discos and hotels, white cars and bright blue houses with peeling paint, fresh murals on ruined walls, and a view of the limitless, dirty sea. Note: Occasional Spanish words and phrases are italicized in the script, as are other non-English-language phrases. Melodies to the original song fragments in the text may be obtained by contacting the author or the lyrics may be re-set by another composer. Script history: This script was principally developed with support of the TCG/Pew National Theatre Artist Residency program, with additional support from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. It received a mini-workshop at INTAR in New York City under Michael John Garces’ direction, and a reading at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York City under Debbie Saivetz’s direction as part of their Exposure Festival. Subsequently the play was presented at the Latino Play Reading Series at [Inside] the Ford, CA under Stefan Novinski’s direction, and the Teatro Vista Tapas Reading Series in Chicago under Derrick Sanders’ direction. The play was first runner-up in the 2005 Pen is a Mighty Sword Competition sponsored by Virtual Theater Project. Special thanks to NoPassport, Flaco Navaja, Carlo Alban, Alfredo Narciso, Andres Munar, Elisa Terrazas, Yul Vazquez, Nilaja Sun, Onahuoa Rodriguez, Johnny Sanchez, and Andrew Hamrick. Part One 1: Hilton, the Cowboy of the islands, Broadcasts to the world HILTON Oye oye oye oye oye oye oye This is the voice The voice The voice… This is the voice of radio Dos Equis in the A, B, D and number four, you hear me? This is the electric boogaloo of the cowboy of the islands who seeks remedy, remedy and fast, for his ailing everything because everything is broken down down and way down in the triple crown of the Mayor and Governor and all the Powerful with the capital P. The microphone is defunct, you see? And everything has gone K-side, As in by the wayside waylaid and outside the official news. The Z doesn’t work. For nothing. You hear me? The Z is absent, failing, stretched out limbless and waiting for X as in Dos Equis as in as much as you can take. In which language do you want me to speak? There is no one language or haven't you heard del Babel in which we live? This is the new Babylonia and it is grand. So grand you can't even remember what you said after you've said it. We’re in an inferno like Dante’s. Remember him? Dante knew everything. He was prescient. He was one of those super-intellectuals who ate it and good. Because he told it how it was, is and will be, and we're just following. You hear me? In this language mangled and spit I speak to you Like two and two are six! And no one can stop me cause I still got my tongue. No one can stop me cause I still got my tongue. No one can stop me cause I still got my tongue. 2: The arcade junkies, Maura and Mori, look at the tourist MAURA Look at him. MORI Quit. MAURA Juicy fruit MORI Enough. MAURA Hey, juicy fruit, I’m going to eat you. MORI Leave him alone. MAURA Why? MORI He’s a tourist. MAURA Tourist in the land of plastic elastic mescaline rush. MORI You’ll scare him. MAURA He’s already scared. We should assault him now and get it over with. MORI What for? MAURA To confirm his suspicions about traveling where he doesn’t belong. MORI How do you know he doesn’t belong? MAURA He’s wearing a hat. MORI I wear a hat. MAURA Not like that. He’s wearing – what? – some retro thingy. He thinks he’s in some foreign movie, some tropical exotica fascist propaganda flick. Who are you playing, juicy fruit? MORI Leave him be. MAURA Why should I? MORI It’s early. MAURA And what? You got something better to do, Mori? MORI I’m kicking back. MAURA Like a little yogurt cup. Like a little mango-guava delight. MORI Stop. MAURA Soft belly. Soft arms. You’re weak. MORI I work out. MAURA In what gym? MORI The gymnasium of the mind. MAURA Mental hoops and loop-de-loops? MORI Too advanced for you, Maura? MAURA Hey, I’m not a fashionista turista. I studied, right? MORI You were crap at school. MAURA Hey, turista, give me a juicy fruit. Damn holding onto his gum. Northern pig. MORI He’s not from the North. He’s Euro. MAURA Euro Deustche? MORI Euro something. Check his shoes. MAURA They’re good shoes. Not Doc Martens. MORI No, not Docs, but good. Pure cow. MAURA His feet must be hot in them. MORI No. With good shoes your feet never get hot. MAURA Perfect temperature, eh? MORI Year-round. MAURA How much you think they’re worth? MORI Don’t know. Why? MAURA We should steal them. MORI The shoes? MAURA Yeah. MORI Why? MAURA Screw him up. Destabilize him. MORI Kick him better. MAURA Yeah, kick him too. But take the shoes. MORI How are you going to do that? MAURA How do we do anything? MORI With cojones. MAURA Cojones. Yeah. MORI Smarts. MAURA Mental agility dexterity. That’s right. Tricks and scams. MORI You know them all, Maura. MAURA So do you, Mori. Don’t act like you’re so innocent. MORI I like being innocent. MAURA You don’t have the face for it. MORI No? MAURA Scratch your face off the map of youth, my friend. MORI Hurt me. MAURA I wound you. Soft Mori, my little yogurt cup. Give me some. MORI What are you talking - ? MAURA Tongue, animal. MORI My tongue is mine. I do with it what I will. MAURA Who are you holding out for? MORI …Princess Di. MAURA She’s dead. MORI Well, if she wasn’t… MAURA You’re getting all vampire necrophiliac. MORI I’m not. MAURA Then who? Who is it you’re dreaming of in your star-gazy moon? MORI Christina…whatsit. MAURA Britney effsit? MORI I like blondes, all right? MAURA I’ll dye my hair. I can be platinum. MORI I mean natural blondes. MAURA Screw you. MORI They taste music. MAURA They’re not in your league, pelon. MORI Don’t call me that. MAURA You don’t like me anymore? You don’t like Maura with the firm tits? What happened, eh? You’re swinging the other way now? MORI No. MAURA Then what? MORI …I smell, okay? MAURA Since when did that stop you? Hey, Euro, what’s your name? Why don’t you look at me, huh? You don’t like chicks like me? Matador. MORI What are you saying? MAURA He’s a pato patinski. MORI A fag? Him? No. Don’t think so. Don’t look it. MAURA He likes you. Screwy Euro. We should jump him now. We should annihilate him like an effing Ninja matrix warrior. Screw this hanging around looking at the ocean doing nothing waiting to drown crap. MORI You’re crazy. MAURA Crazy carioca cherry Coke-a. MORI What goes on inside your head, Maura? MAURA Tunnel. MORI What? MAURA Like when you race through all dark and stuff and you can’t see anything but you see everything, right? Like a digital robotic fast forward whoosh in the mini-wave of a microwave. MORI Like the dreams of an emperor of a third world catastrophe? MAURA You get me. MORI I read you. MAURA You’re inside my mind, Mori. Lick me. Peel my grape. MORI I’m kicking… MAURA You’re spoiled, that’s what you are. You’re a street pendejo with mental congri in your brain and no Euros. MORI Who wants Euros? MAURA I do. I want a tasty Euro in my pocket to give me an effing big screen adventure that will last me the next one hundred years of goddamned solitude in the global solitude of my aching capitalist soul. You hear me, juicy? MORI Why do I hang with you, Maura? MAURA Cause you like me, Mori. We’re good for each other. MORI Are we? MAURA …Let’s kick his ass. Come on. I’m sick of staying here. I’m sick of looking at this endless ocean, this water of death waiting for nothing. Let him know what being a tourist is really like. Let’s give him what he came for. And Maura and Mori go after the tourist with restless vengeance screaming in their lungs. They want to feel their strength, and release themselves from the hard drive in which they are packed. Pierce break, split open the man in the strange hat who wears his pride as casually as his fine leather shoes. 3: From another view Kiki looks on in dreams KIKI I want to die here. Right here. There’s no where else to die. You hear me? You want another place you got to keep your head straight and your back against the wall. This is the fifth of all avenues. I can see everything here. I have the perfect view. You wear a hat that sticks out. You look at me and dream. And I dream with you. This is me altogether in the flesh. Come on. Rub me. Harder. Oh, honey, you don't know what you're doing. You got it all wrong about me. I'm special, ok? I'm one of those… they don't got a name for me cause I'm too special, that's how special I am, you know what I'm saying? Here in flames I speak to you. Here in flesh I come to you. What else do you want? What else do you need? Call me, baby. Call me. I’m your friend. Like the arcade angels say… they are on the other side of the street. They protect me. They have wings. Steel wings. You know what I’m saying? There are no secrets here, baby. And when you mistreat me, cause you will, cause that's what you do, that's what they all do, I won't say anything. No, honey. I'll just, you know… I'll be friendly. Okay? Okay? Okay? I will die here. Right here. Because there’s nothing else to live for. nothing else to dress for. Nothing... 4: Mori and Maura exalt MORI He was MAURA Like he didn’t even… MORI Blink twitch nothing. MAURA Coward. MORI Queasy bastard. MAURA Did you see how he - ? MORI Yeah. He thought you were – MAURA A poor waif-ona. MORI You showed him. MAURA Dig in, Euro man. MORI And you dug. MAURA With teeth. MORI And legs. MAURA And boots. I got rev boots. MORI Fake Docs. MAURA Faux Docs. The best kind. Straight from Rio by way of London. Why get an original anything when everything’s a spin-off? MORI We should hit the arcade. MAURA Jet-ski in virtual land. MORI And land on our feet. MAURA Hitting the hills, cyber-snow skidding, testing our balance like guerrilla punk skazis. MORI And go from one machine to the other, one screen to the other like raging cowboys of the new wave. MAURA The next wave. Cowboys with no land to call their own. Cowboys of the vanguard. MORI Living in a desert of laptops and concrete churches called malls. Oh Virgin, oh Sony, oh Swatch most holy. MAURA I can’t go to the mall. Not now. MORI Why not? MAURA I’m too wired. That uptight upright tourist with the funny hat burned me up. Nothing but looking me over, up and down. He thought “I can do with her what I like.” MORI You showed him. MAURA That’s right. Maura is not noise. Maura is real sound. Kiki cuts in. KIKI What about me, eh? MAURA Get away, Kiki. KIKI I’m just looking for scraps, Maura. MAURA You’re such a sorry-ass girly girl. KIKI I’m hundred percent male, honey. No eggs in my basket. MAURA You got eyes like piss holes in the snow, though. KIKI My eyes have character, honey. Unlike yours, Maura. MAURA I don’t doll them up. That’s why. KIKI A little shadow never hurt nobody. You could use some shadow, honey. You’re so pale. MAURA It suits me. KIKI You won’t get a man that way. MAURA I don’t need a man. I have Mori. MORI Meaning what? MAURA You’re all the man I need. MORI Is that a cut? Are you cutting me? KIKI She’s complimenting you, honey. Can’t you tell a compliment when you hear one? MORI I don’t like compliments. KIKI Why not? MORI I don’t trust them. If somebody compliments you, look out, cause what they want is something in return. KIKI And what’s wrong with that? MORI Debt. I don’t like to be in someone’s debt. MAURA I’m not asking for anything, Mori. MORI Good. Cause you won’t get. MAURA Piss off. MORI I say what I mean. MAURA I’m the love of your life, remember? Or don’t you remember? MORI Of course I do. MAURA …Once upon a time… MORI Yeah. MAURA There lived what? MORI …Maura. MAURA And Mori. Mori and Maura. Joined at the hip lip no matter what sinking ship, right? Right? Mori? MORI …Right. MAURA Screw you. MORI What? MAURA I’m all in a rush, and look what you do. You bring me down, Mori. Completely down like in a well and I’m going to drown. KIKI Stop with that drowning crap. It doesn’t suit you, honey. You’re not cut out for pity. MAURA And you are? KIKI I’ve got the thighs, baby. MORI I like your thighs, Kiki. KIKI They’re not bad, no? MORI They’re strong. KIKI Scissor-legs, honey. That’s me. I wrap you in my scissor legs and the world rests a little better. MAURA Would you stop… KIKI What? I’m not doing anything. MAURA I got Mori, right? Mori and me, we’re a team. You got whomever. Okay? KIKI What’s with the rules, honey? MORI Maura likes rules. MAURA And you lay off. MORI Don’t be jealous, Maura. MAURA I’m not. I just don’t want anything to spoil anything. I’m feeling good, right? You know how long it takes for me to feel good? So, don’t mess, all right? Don’t get in my stuff. KIKI You are getting very sensitive, Maura. MAURA And I’ve saved your ass I don’t how many times, Kiki. Even’s even. Fair’s fair. Pause. I can’t look at the sky anymore. KIKI You don’t have to look at it, baby. MAURA What the hell am I supposed to do? Liquid painted blue. Crystal blue. Perfect blue. Too damn perfect. KIKI Maura, you drown in a glass of water. MAURA I do what I like. KIKI I do what I like, too. MAURA Begging for looks. KIKI What’s that? MAURA You beg, don’t you? For people to look at you. You get all made up, and what? Morning, noon and night Kiki has to be ready for any cold suit who speaks the lingua franca. MORI Or the franca lengua. MAURA Tongue yeah. Sweaty stinky from yesterday’s milk. MORI The honest tongue, the frank tongue who gets in… MAURA And doesn’t stop. MORI Working it, working it, working it. MAURA And then “Oh, Kiki, oh, Kiki, what is that between your legs, baby? MORI “Oh, let me stick my tongue in anyway cause we’re like Tristan and Isolde, baby. When we make love, we lose ourselves and become each other.” KIKI I didn’t know you were an opera diva, Mori. MORI I’m not. KIKI Then why Tristan, honey? Why Isolde? MORI It was a web link on a site I was surfing. KIKI Maura and Mori: the two freaks. MAURA Well, at least I’m not standing around all “hey, want to see me, check me out, Check this, hey.” I’m not part of the capitalist state. I’m not currency. That’s not my aim. KIKI You’re high society, eh? MORI She’s from aristocracy. MAURA Quit. KIKI Is this true?– MORI Her great-grandfather was the Prince of Old Vayazul? MAURA Shut up, Mori. MORI What? Nobody cares what I say. Vayazul doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s 19^th century. We shot down those memories a long time ago. KIKI Who needs memories when you got TV? MORI Exactly. The stories we need we got. They’re given to us. Replay ad infinitum. KIKI Even those of the Prince of Old Vayazul. MAURA Look, I don’t want to be disappeared, allright? I don’t want to be put in prison. I don’t want to have to smuggle myself inside a merchandise van or boat to get the hell out. When the last coup happened, I burned any reference to my great-grandfather that I had. I’m here. I do what I do. I choose my life. I make it. KIKI How serious. MAURA What’s wrong with being serious, eh? Everything has to be a party? Everything has to be a cool easy flip surface trip? I’m tired of it. I get tired. I’m not a twenty-four-seven wind-up doll watch her go. You want to amuse yourselves, go to the arcade, go to the peep show, go to the strip n’ screw on the boardwalk, leave me alone. KIKI Maura, you worry me. MAURA Why’s that, Kiki? KIKI It’s like you want to run for office or something. MAURA Like running for office means something. KIKI It can. MAURA The country’s been fixed from day one. Prop one puppet up, take him down, prop up another. Everything’s the same. KIKI Rules change. MAURA What of it? One day you’re on the left, the next on the right. And so the story spins… MORI You just have to make sure you know which side you’re on. MAURA Before they change sides, yeah. And when you’re at bottom, you better know everything. Cause bottom-feeders are the first to get screwed, cause we’re disposable. KIKI We’re not. MAURA Trash-stuffers. Not even trash. But trash-stuffers, little plastic linings, that’s what we are. MORI Speak for yourself. MAURA You’re above things, Mori? MORI Hell yeah. I’m not disposable. I got words, right? I can say things, do things. MAURA We’re the X corner of the alphabet. KIKI Says the great-princess of Old Vayazul. MAURA Shut up, Kiki. Okay? Just shut the trap up. There is no Vayazul, there never was a Vayazul. It’s all dead gone, out and over. You got that? There ain’t a drop of royal blood in me. KIKI Everyone who had any link to royalty has been done away with. MAURA Take Maura down for being who she is. Is that what you want? KIKI No, I- MAURA I could wrap you right now. Cord round your neck and you’d be out. No more crap words from you. … You’re not even worth killing. You’re not worth pop bang ouch. Flame girl. Flame nobody, that’s what you are: a cog in the wheel of the economic meltdown of the effing meltdowns of this bronco busting rodeo barrio society. KIKI …I wish I came from something. My family is not even a headline. Not a mention would they get. They’re from a little village on the coast. Barely a village. One of those K-side towns nobody cares about. Cars come through and they keep going, you know, they don’t stop. I’m Kiki. I’m a little flea in this city. Who cares about Kiki? MORI I do. KIKI Mori, you’re always there with a compliment. MAURA Only when he doesn’t mean it. KIKI You have some bug up your yo-no-se-que? What is it, Maura? Tell me. MAURA No bug. KIKI You know what you are? You’re a phobic. MAURA What? KIKI A phobic. You act all free and all that but deep down you’re old school. Someone is a little different and you get all shook up, out of orbit. MAURA I do not. KIKI Then why the ‘tude, baby? Why against me? MAURA I like messing with you. MORI It’s a sign of affection. She does it with me all the time. KIKI Plant me a wet one, then. MAURA Get out. KIKI I need confirmation, baby. I need to know who I’m with. I’m not interested in hanging around with phobics, you know. I got enough of that to last me plenty. MAURA You want a kiss, I’ll give it. What’s a kiss among friends? KIKI A sweet kiss. Maura and Kiki kiss. MORI [a fragment of an old poem recalled] Sweet at waking, sing the young from the cradle. Sweet at waking, ancient solitude. Kiss ends. MAURA What’s that? MORI Words I heard once. MAURA How poetic-o. MORI I’m more than crap. MAURA And who said you weren’t? MORI I don’t know sometimes. KIKI Where are you from, Mori? MORI What? KIKI Where are you from? MORI What do you mean? KIKI You’re from somewhere, right? A town, village? MORI Yeah. So? KIKI Well, then, where from? MORI Why do you ask? Do I have an accent or something? KIKI No. MORI Then why ask? KIKI It’s a question.. MORI I don’t like questions like that. They’re stupid. They make no sense. I don’t have an accent. I don’t even have a twang. Why do you ask me that? KIKI I didn’t know you were so sensitive. Between you and Maura, I don’t know where to stand. Pause. Kiki observes at the stolen shoes. MAURA Get your eyes off my things, Kiki. KIKI Oh, are these yours? MAURA Yeah. MORI They were the tourist’s. KIKI Is that all you got from him? MAURA That was the goal. KIKI Well, what are you going to do with them? MAURA Sell them. KIKI Who is going to buy a pair of old shoes? MORI We could go to the country, sell them to a farm family. They always need shoes. KIKI You two are amateurs. The man had a watch, no? He had money. MORI He had a hat. KIKI If you’re going to assault someone, do it right. MAURA I did. I kicked his face in. I took his corporate ass down, eh? KIKI And what did you do, Mori? What contribution did you make to this phenomenal escapade? MORI I spit. KIKI What? MORI I spit on him. KIKI You spit? Well, that’s very… ancient law. MORI You’re dragging my ass, Kiki. MAURA That’s all she ever does. KIKI Hey, don’t be so hard on me, honeys. You like Kiki to be around. Kiki reveals cocaine bag. MORI …What’s that? KIKI The power of powder. MAURA Where’d you get that? KIKI While you two were spitting at your tourist, I pocketed a little something from my coffee man. MAURA Who’s that? MORI The Venetian guy. KIKI Milan, baby. MORI Oh, right, the Milan guy who’s staying at the Roc. MAURA You took it from him? KIKI He doesn’t need it. He has a million hundred thousand connections if he wants more. MAURA Fresh? KIKI Give me a little credit, honey. MAURA How much do you want? KIKI What’d you mean? MAURA You ain’t showing fresh powder for nothing. KIKI I’m egalitarian. I like sharing with my friends. …If you don’t want it, you don’t want it. MORI Give. KIKI What? MORI I’ll take. KIKI Hungry Mori. Bite, Mori. Bite me. You’re my vampire, baby. You’re my loco loco-motion. MORI I’m your killer. KIKI Such sweet anguish…. MORI Give me everything. 5: In the rush the cowboy of the islands is on air HILTON And here in the Z We rush and rush to forget who we are Because who cares who we are We are ephemera ephemeral Birds passing Birds in flight Birds singing songs por un Diablo For a poor triste devil who will rescue us. Rescue me, please, from this eternal oblivion From this mala noche That has upset my dreams. “Rescue me,” like the old song says, and don’t make me pay for it. Cause we have enough dues. We have dues to last a hundred centuries. How long must we pay? How long? For tobacco, sugar, rice, bamboo, tango, mambo y agua azul? It has been too long and my back is breaking from the weight And the expectation of your caress so free. Sound my ecstasy, love incomplete. The cymbals are loud. The flood comes, and we take one look at ourselves and drown. The cowboy of the islands, twirls an invisible lasso, and practices his rodeo tricks to a song from a long-ago Western isle. 6: Kiki is witness to Mori and Maura getting amped up; in counterpoint she offers the not-so-secret history of powder (a pop-up) KIKI Baby loose fine Basuco cane Gutter glitter Bubble bunk Coca is not cocaine. She has been given a bad name. Zip Witch Coconut Jelly Merk Rock Pimp Stardust belly Coca is placed on the mouth. The leaf is chewed. The pinch of lime soothes In Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela and Peru. Have a dust Hitch up the reindeer Send your Inca message to Jim Jones, Aunt Nora Homer Bernice Roxanne And the Chippy chola The cotton brothers Get lost, and amped In the Florida snow And geeze the junk in the last screw, In this last screw for Johnny Midst the Diablito dust. Coca is a tonic. Coca tempers. We all love our Coca-Cola. Give me sweet Coca-Cola. We hum and hum. But then in 1903 cocaine was taken out of Coca-Cola, And our hum got low, down and the joy was kicked out until1914 when cocaine became illegal in the United States. No more coca, the governor said, the mayor said, the policeman said, the general said. The ban was placed. And so a new currency was born, that helped boost the economies of Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Venezuela. Good for us. Good and plenty. We will keep you coming and going for eternity. And cocaine was smuggled in shoes In condoms In empty bellies and brandy, in baby powder so fine so loose so dandy. Such fine powder we could never hope to find anywhere else. And networks were set up country to country The geography expanded upon demand And we saluted the monopoly, The nouveau artistocracy, The potent democracy of trade on trade. The buy and sell, And the juiced up high octane chain From Columbia through Poland to Italy, from the UK to Holland to Kansas City, from Moscow to Peru to Argentina, from Oklahoma to Miami to new Arcadia. Oh, Spain, oh Portugal, coca breathes. Hosanna of the most heavenly currency. Protect me, oh Morpheus, god of dreams. 7: Maura tracks the tourists with her telescope eyes while Mori sleeps off the powder MAURA The one with the scarf. The one with the dog. The one with the pink shirt and hairy face Which one? Which one shall I take? Tell me. Mori? MORI Huh? MAURA The one with the tie. The one with the bracelet. The one with the attaché case. Which one? Which one shall I take? MORI What? MAURA Which one, Mori? The one with the skates. The one with the ring. The one with the diamond bar tie-clip and bottle of spring. Which one, Mori? Which one shall I take? MORI You know… MAURA What? MORI Go…. MAURA Wait for me, Mori. Wait. Maura goes in search of another tourist. 8: And Kiki picks up the shoes KIKI Sweet Mori, how sweet you are. Sleeping without incident, without a care dare. Did you hear the shoot-out, honey? Did you hear the screams? There were guns, Mori. Out on the street. They killed somebody. I heard them. Honey, everything is K-side, don’t you know? And we go on, like nothing’s changed, sleeping like restless tigers, acting like everything’s going to be fine.. We have diseases of the blood, things that creep in our veins, and we go on with poison inside of us. When I move my mouth, I think of Antarctica. I see myself in a cold climate with snow and a frozen lake. And in this waking something dream I don't name, I bend in the moonlight. I let you screw me. You are my incidental everything, Mori. You are inside. Obscenity is all we have now. It is what we make with our lives. Kiki takes the stolen shoes. 9: The tourist Fabian and Mori speak the same language FABIAN Gum? MORI (Caridad, my thinking here is that Mori’s muteness is more powerful – MA) What? FABIAN You want a stick? MORI No. FABIAN Juicy fruit. MORI You look familiar. Have we met? FABIAN There are many men like me. MORI …Different shoes. FABIAN What? MORI Your shoes…they’re not the same… FABIAN I wear sandals. It’s hot. MORI I don’t like sandals. I get blisters on my feet. FABIAN How unfortunate. MORI Yeah. FABIAN You sure you don’t -? MORI No. That’s all right. I like gum later. FABIAN After food? MORI After sex. FABIAN …Like a cigarette? MORI Yeah. FABIAN I prefer a cigarette. MORI I’m trying to quit. FABIAN Why? MORI Lungs. Not good for you, right? FABIAN Kills. MORI [part of the façade] Yeah. My dad, he died from it, cancer in the lungs. He smoked a lot. He smoked like five packs a day, but he didn’t know, right? Cause the cigarettes were cheap. Cheaper than eats, than real food from the earth. I mean, cigarettes are from the earth, the tobacco is, but it’s bad for you, right? It ruins you. I never liked him smoking. He stunk all the time. He was full of shadow. He had this red overcoat he would wear. Red overcoat and yellow face with yellow teeth. That was dad. FABIAN You remember things. MORI Dad, yeah, my papi, yeah. He was blood. FABIAN You sure you don’t want- ? MORI No. FABIAN …I like gum. It’s a limited pleasure. You put it in your mouth, you chew, you wear it out, and then you toss it. It requires nothing of you. MORI It kills appetite. FABIAN It fuels it. MORI Since when? FABIAN Long time. MORI …Where’d you get that? FABIAN The tie? MORI No, the other… FABIAN It’s a pin. A Celtic dragon. My wife gave it to me. MORI Oh. FABIAN You didn’t think? MORI What? FABIAN You didn’t think I was married? MORI I don’t think anything. I’m just here, right? I walk around, do stuff, go to the cybercafe. FABIAN You surf? MORI It takes too much time. FABIAN There are some sites I could recommend. Travel and leisure. Education and sports. There are all kinds of options in life. MORI I eat fake food and pretend it's good. I hope the blank messages sent to my brain will stop. But they don't, right? They just keep going like sharks and shopping lists and cellphones and pigeons I try to scare off. There are so many damn pigeons. Where do they come from? They’re mutants. They eat everything. Mceverything. They get fat. I watch them. I make them bleed. I take their skinny little breasts in my hands and suck them dry. You think I’m innocent? You think I have that kind of face? An innocent face? Screw you. FABIAN How much do you want? MORI Juicy fruit… FABIAN How much? MORI What? FABIAN In what language do you want me to speak? [French] Combien voulez-vous? {German] Wievel wunschen Sie? [Italian] Quanto desiderate? [Chinese] … [Spanish] Cuanto deseas? How much do you want, my friend? MORI However much you’ll give me. FABIAN You are innocent. MORI Screw you. FABIAN …What’s your name? MORI What do you care? I rim you and we’re done with. This ain’t no relationship we’re going to set up house and have kids and watch TV. FABIAN I’m Fabian. MORI You’re Spanish? FABIAN It doesn’t matter where I’m from. MORI You say your name like a Spaniard, like an Iberian…whatsit: “Fabian.” FABIAN I say it how I was taught. MORI King Fabian went to the island, King Fabian burnt his tongue King Fabian let the cord move between his legs All night long King Fabian wanted to be a puppet in Hansel and Gretal’s show King Fabian was tied up with strings And given a starring role. King Fabian wept and wept, Until he could weep no more. King Fabian stopped being a king And let his puppet face glow At night the children shunt him By day the children laughed At the sight of poor Fabian Undone by the acrobat. Poor Fabian, poor Fabian Such a tale of woe If only Fabian had relinquished his throne He would still be standing He would still be free Instead of being a silly puppet With a cord between his knees. Poor Fabian, poor Fabian. Such a tale of woe. FABIAN Where’d you learn that? MORI Grade school. FABIAN You made it up. MORI I make everything up. I’m Mori. FABIAN Mori? MORI Yeah. You don’t like it? Call me something else. FABIAN Mori’s fine. 10: Maura bereft of Mori MAURA Like smoke like a vacant moon he’s gone for hours days endless time where where where and why has he gone without telling me, without a sign; It’s not right; it’s screwed-up alien abduction shit and he’s going to pay okay? He is going to pay for this leaving me alone, cause I won’t stand for it, I’m not one of those chicks that takes everything without asking, without question, not me. He’s wrong about that. He wants to leave me? Fine. Leave, but don’t come back. You hear me? I don’t want to see you ever again loosy-goosy crybaby. I hope you rot. I hope you drown. I hope you’re holed up in some well… I got wallets this time, Euro-man wallets and real live cash, my friend, and none of it is for you. You got that? Not a bit. 11: In the dark after sex spent MORI Angel honey baby. FABIAN Sweet words to one who will listen MORI Give me more FABIAN Why should I? MORI Cause I’m your Mori. FABIAN You have a weak tongue. MORI I drink and lick and spit and bite. FABIAN Yeah. MORI All for you. FABIAN And what will that get you? MORI Tokens for the arcade, a ride on the super-ski, a shoot-out in the cyber gun parade. FABIAN Is that what you want? MORI Sure. FABIAN You act like a boy. MORI Does that mess you up, upset your equilibrium? FABIAN It does nothing for me. Fabian moves away. MORI Hey where are you- ? We’ve barely got going. FABIAN You have a weak tongue, Mori. MORI What are you talking about? FABIAN …Who’s Maura? MORI What? FABIAN Maura? MORI She’s no one. FABIAN Is that right? MORI Yeah. FABIAN You screw me but you call out her name. MORI Angel honey, I got a lot of names in my head, baby. FABIAN Don’t. MORI She’s no one, all right? I swear. FABIAN You swear? MORI She’s nothing. She’s no one. No one at all. FABIAN …You drink and sleep, and come. That’s all you do. MORI I’m what you want, baby. FABIAN You’re cheap and you cling like a rotten thing. MORI You love it. I know you. FABIAN Do you? MORI I am right inside, papi. What do you want, baby? What do you need? You want to screw all night? I can do it. Try me. Mori and Fabian begin to make love, then Fabian stops. FABIAN This is over. MORI Hey. Don’t do that. We have an arrangement, no? Fabian gags Mori. FABIAN Sleep, Mori. Let the whole world converge in your body and make ribbons inside you like a blood labyrinth. And Fabian cuts Mori with a hidden knife. 12: While the cowboy of the islands hits the air HILTON We interrupt, we interrupt this program To report an “incident in the Occident:” In the broken alphabet of the spanking west The capture and torture of dissidents Is now allowed. Rules change, gravity shifts And we are riding another wave now. If you think things will change Nothing will change. That’s the beauty of the Babel in which we live. That’s the killer of living in Troy, as in the Troy who fell, and haunts us all. In this miraculous Babylonia Where miracles are what we count on now trafficking bodies is part of the traffic we’ll allow. Hear my shout, cowboys of the mini-isles, Because the islands are vanishing in the Equi-tow (in the toe of the liquid equator) And He says “Okay!” Huh? “Okay!” And we listen, And bow. 13: Maura and Mori re-kick in slow time……………….. at the arcade, which used to be a bullring… This begins as a wary, tentative reunion MORI In the speed shoot rush of the simulator surf MAURA And the Alpine Ski? MORI And the fooseball? MAURA and blitzkrieg redux And fighting off aliens and ghouls all night MORI Through the screen MAURA And popping tokens in MORI One after the other MAURA Nonstop MORI No stop here. Just go. MAURA We shoot to kill MORI Against the promise of pinball MAURA Old ancient in the corner waiting to be revived MORI We hack into all kinds of people’s junk MAURA Drinking on the cheap MORI Hitting the slots Raving to the beat coming out of the disco speakers MAURA Lousy tin sounding but loud MORI Loud MAURA And getting louder MORI Until we can’t hear ourselves think MAURA Or speak MORI Just move MAURA And communicate with signs They dance. Hey MORI What? MAURA yeah MORI Okay MAURA Uh huh MORI Like radical geniuses we are MAURA …Tough moody and bad-ass MORI We think of nothing but MAURA Ourselves MORI And the orbit MAURA Our orbit Hold on world MORI Hold on…………………………. And they are in sync. MAURA With sangria in our blood MORI Bleeding binary code MAURA Arcade hardware in our veins MORI Kick the slot MAURA Kick everything MORI Smash the screen with your hard fist MAURA And never come down MORI From this MAURA From this MORI High. MAURA Delicious. MORI Delirious MAURA Mach ten. MORI Mach twenty. MAURA Mach maximum we rage and spin Against the bankers and rodeo riders in our midst Who walk with fear in their bellies And old songs caught in their throats MORI We bury the old. MAURA We squash it Cause it’s all cut-and paste now MORI Hacking MAURA Stealing MORI Mixing things up in the smog-choked city MAURA The silver city of stores where people buy nothing MORI Because no one can afford anything MAURA But themselves: MORI Human traffic. MAURA Trafficking in flesh, meat, and salsa. Hold on world. MORI World. Hold on……………………….. MAURA Until we can’t hold. MORI Until we can’t spin MAURA Until we hate each other with so much passion MORI That we burn each other up. MAURA Crash-monsters. MORI Freaks of the millennial wave. MAURA Kill me, sangron. Do me in. MORI Disturbed I salivate and contemplate your extinction MAURA And I yours. MORI With pleasure. MAURA With what we’re made of: MORI Junk skunk punk fury and misplaced velocity for a slow city MAURA Hit the slot. MORI Bang the token MAURA Eliminate me. MORI With pleasure. MAURA Eliminate me. MORI Yes. MAURA And we’re inside each other like beasts MORI Monsters. MAURA Ready to rip MORI See through me. MAURA Blue wrap inner soul gimme MORI Skin MAURA Gimme MORI Marlboro-Inca pastiche MAURA nicotine cheap, you are. MORI I come as I am. MAURA Romper stomper MORI Arcade headliner. MAURA Yeah. MORI Yeah. MAURA Yeah. MORI And I’m through with you. MAURA And I’m through… MORI Hold on world. MAURA Hold on………………. Don’t leave me again. MORI Never. MAURA You left and I was MORI Through. Yes. MAURA Pledge yourself to me MORI I pledge MAURA To love MORI I will MAURA Kill MORI If you wish me. MAURA Burn MORI Every part of me Every part of you MAURA And lose yourself Into me MORI Yes. MAURA And cut MORI Razor fine. MAURA Blood on blood. Cut me. MORI Now? MAURA We cut each other, our blood is one. Come on. Come on. MORI Hold on. Hold……………………… MAURA And never leave. MORI I won’t MAURA Not now, not ever. MORI I won’t. MAURA Swear. Swear. Mori. MORI … And then in the cowboy funk scratching my brain… There’s Kiki. What are you doing Kiki? KIKI Just kicking. You know me. MAURA Not you. Not ever. MORI Where’s the Milan guy? KIKI Out. MORI Did you give him a full frontal? KIKI He got some bebop feng shui, honey. MAURA Then why are you here? You should be in the chandelier room up at the Plaza-rific. KIKI Habit, honey. MAURA Ritmo de lo habitual? KIKI Yeah. MAURA This fetid bullring ain’t your style. KIKI How do you know? MAURA I know everything. I’m Maura, remember? KIKI You are one dilated snarl. MAURA What of it? KIKI And Mori’s out. MORI I’m not. KIKI You look it. MORI I’m speed racer, right? I’m not drinking Inca cola and farting crap. KIKI But where you’ve been, eh? MORI Here. KIKI Not here. MORI Making coin. What of it? MAURA He’s through with that now. KIKI How do you know? MAURA We’ve pledged to each other. Never to leave each other again. KIKI Is that so? How very Romeo and Juliet. MORI Tristan and Isolde. KIKI You’d die for each other, eh? MAURA We’d do anything. KIKI The troops are out. On the street. You shouldn’t be here. MAURA We’re from here. Not from some other where, but here. Right here. KIKI It’s not safe right now. That’s all. No one’s… …Music’s gone down. MORI Speakers are crap. Music comes and goes. You want to race a bit? KIKI I don’t game. MAURA You’re too good or something? KIKI Yes. MAURA Then scoot, stop cramping me. Mori and I are going for an all-nighter. KIKI And then what? MORI And then another and another. We’re making up, right? We’re pledging our love. KIKI You should keep up with the news. MORI What for? Nothing’s true anymore. KIKI Rules are changing. You can’t trust anyone. Can’t trust what you see. MORI I never have. Never will. MAURA Except me. MORI Yeah. KIKI The troops will shoot through here, and won’t stop. They don’t believe in mercy. MAURA Let them. We’ll take them on. We’ll take everybody on. Bring out the knives. Come on. We’ll show everyone what we’re made of. How many people died here in the last twenty, thirty years? Nobody cares. It’s just us, right? Getting by. They want our flesh? Come get it. KIKI You’re crazy. MAURA I’m through and through. Not like you. A little snitch. Isn’t that what you are? KIKI What’d you mean? MAURA Fine powder, the latest news… you are plugged in, aren’t you? You are wired to the capitol. Are you turning us in, eh? Is that what this is? You’re leading a squad here to tear down this place? MORI Kiki wouldn’t do that. MAURA You don’t know anything. KIKI I should go. MAURA Why? KIKI I told you. I don’t game. MAURA You stay. You got that? You stay here, you snitch. KIKI I’m stronger than you, honey. Don’t mess with me. MAURA What are you going to do? And Kiki tears into Maura with force while Mori tries to intercede. This is a fight of vengeance shot through with the sounds of the Old West distorted by Japanese anime. Kiki and Maura duel, but Kiki is stronger. As Kiki begins to choke Maura, Mori intercedes. Kiki takes Mori on. The music grows louder now from the old speakers. Kiki begins to pummel Mori. The electricity goes out in the swirling arcade. And then slowly flares light up the sky. And we see Mori in Maura’s arms. His eyes are closed. Nothing else. No one else for a long time. Part Two 14: In daylight Mori sleeps outside; the tourist now in another guise interrogates Mori FABIAN Name? MORI What? FABIAN Papers? MORI What? FABIAN Where are you from? MORI I don’t know. FABIAN Get up. MORI What? FABIAN (he kicks Mori) Come on. MORI Don’t kick me. FABIAN Sleeping is not allowed. MORI What? FABIAN Sleeping is prohibited. MORI What are you talking about? FABIAN Rules. MORI What rules? FABIAN Read the sign. MORI …When’d that get there? FABIAN When you weren’t looking. MORI Hell. FABIAN No language. MORI Who the hell - ? Fabian strikes Mori. FABIAN Name. MORI What? FABIAN Papers. No papers? MORI I’m getting them. FABIAN Where are you from? MORI Here. FABIAN Refugee? MORI No. FABIAN Asylum? MORI What? FABIAN Is that why you’re here? For asylum? MORI No. FABIAN Stand straight. MORI Do I know you? FABIAN Keep your spine straight. MORI I know you. Your voice is familiar. FABIAN Straight. MORI Hey, come on, baby- Fabian strikes Mori. FABIAN Don’t initiate. Only what I ask. Understand? MORI …Yes. FABIAN Where are you from? What’s your language? Papers? Name? … Repeat after me. A. MORI A. FABIAN Ass. MORI Ass. Fabian strikes Mori FABIAN No language. Rules. B. Repeat. MORI B. FABIAN Bullcrap. MORI What? FABIAN Repeat. MORI Bullcrap. Fabian strikes Mori. FABIAN C. Repeat. Repeat. MORI …No… Fabian strikes Mori FABIAN Repeat. MORI …I won’t… FABIAN Foreigner? MORI No. FABIAN Where are you from? Where are you from? Repeat. MORI Where are you from? Fabian strikes Mori FABIAN Word only. Word C. Repeat. … No memory? MORI …Yes. FABIAN Here is a list of what you want. Read. Can you read? MORI Yes. FABIAN …Out loud. MORI I want… FABIAN Louder. MORI I want to die. FABIAN …Continue. MORI I want to regret. FABIAN Louder. MORI I want to change FABIAN Louder. MORI I want to leave. I want to hate. I want to cry. I want to forget. FABIAN Repeat. Louder. MORI I want to forget. FABIAN …Sign. Fabian strikes Mori. Sign. Now. Mori pisses on the piece of paper. MORI There. FABIAN Lick it. Lick your signature. MORI No. FABIAN You refuse? MORI …I refuse everything. FABIAN …You are number 015125. You will answer to this number and this number only. You are now a female, understand? A girl. No trace. MORI What? FABIAN You have no memory. Fabian blindfolds Mori, and drags him away. 15: Hilton croons a country bolero like a true cowboy against the radio static “Goodbye song” HILTON [sings] “Today I know you left me Today I wave goodbye How sad, how cruel, how lonely Is life on this isle. Oh please say you will remember That once I passed you by In favor of a stranger Who had danger in his eyes In favor of a lover, In whose eyes I admired mine.” [spoken] And this is radio Dos Equis saying good night On this long night turned day There is silence on the street After yesterday’s riots. No one was left standing at the factory, at the arcade, at the old radio museum… There is only silence now. Limited freedom. And tequila ice cubes on our tongues To make us slowly dis-remember. 16. Kiki and Maura see each other KIKI No Mori? MAURA Don’t talk to me. KIKI I’m sorry. MAURA No words. KIKI I’m sorry. MAURA What? KIKI Bruises. The fight… before. I didn’t mean - MAURA Screw it. It’s over. It’s all over. We were sleeping. He was sleeping. We were quiet. Perfect citizens, right? No sound, no mess. Just sleep, being close. Close tight with each other. I got up. I was awake. I was coming down from all… mess in my head, heart pumping, pulse going, weird coming down. I needed to walk about. Streets empty. Yeah. People hiding. Sound of gun-shots every once in a while. Dead dogs, whacked-out canaries… zoo, right? Like a death zoo. And I’m walking. Not far. Just to move. I need to move my legs. I need to get about. I think “I’ll be back in a sec, Mori.” But I get lost. That’s the truth. I couldn’t remember what street I was on. Everything was too quiet. I was spooked. didn’t know myself. I couldn’t even move. Like everything was caving in. Piece of trash in my stomach. Ache, right? Like mad. fake bits of food sticking in me. I feel like gagging. Like vomiting up everything. But I can’t. I don’t know where I am. Red shutters on a door of a building. There’s a sign up. It says “Sunday House.” I’m thinking “church, right?” But it’s not. It’s an ice-cream place. They’ve spelt the word wrong. They don’t know the language right. One scoop for a dollar. I get close. And then the street turns. I swear it just turned. And I could see the sea, and a pelican nibbling on a discarded CD. The pelican was looking for some nourishment. All the real food here goes elsewhere. Goes up and out. Export. Even gunk, the good gunk, the fine effing blow goes elsewhere. And I’m staring at the picture of an ice cream sundae. And I suddenly know where I am. I’m next street over. Near the bodega, and the tourist trap hotel, and the seashell place. And I think “Mori, I’ll be right there.” And I’m quick heart-stopping running to where I left him, to where we lay, and he’s gone. No trace. KIKI He’ll appear. MAURA I’ve been here. I’ve been waiting. I’ve looked everywhere. I’ve checked everything. I sit. I wait. He’s run off or something, and I’m what? KIKI …I thought I saw him. MAURA When? KIKI With a guy. MAURA What guy? KIKI I don’t know. It might not have been him. MAURA Don’t do that. Don’t go silent on me, Kiki. Come on, snitch. Spill. KIKI Look, honey, I’m not good at details. He was with a guy. That’s all I know. They exchanged something. MAURA What? KIKI Papers. MAURA What kind of papers? KIKI I don’t know. MAURA Newspapers? KIKI No. Smaller. Like at the doctor’s, you know. MAURA Prescription? KIKI Yeah. Yeah, honey. Prescription. Must have been. And then they walked away. MAURA Don’t lie to me. You lie to me, I’ll kill you. KIKI You really love him, eh? MAURA He’s my life. KIKI No one should be your life. MAURA Well, he is. He’s always has been. KIKI Was this before or after you came from Vayazul? MAURA Vayazul, agua azul, what the crap is it to you? Mori and I are mates. We’re like blood. We speak the same language. He’s my life, yeah. Now, which way did they go? KIKI This way I think. MAURA You’re sure? KIKI Towards the old hospital, towards the sea. MAURA Here. KIKI What’s this? MAURA Euro-wallet. KIKI What about you? Hey, Maura. Crazy girl... Kiki is left with the wallet. Maura runs away. 17: As Mori writes a letter to Maura in silence MORI They stole my tongue, Maura. They took it just like that, and I didn't even have a chance to... I hear things. I smell things. Salt and piss. I hear waves. I must be near the sea. They took me, Maura. They stole my name. They took it from me. Just like that. They took my sex, too. They say I’m a girl. They want me to believe this. I have to act like one. For them. For people that seem so familiar, And yet I don’t know where they’re from. Lights out. All dark. Sometimes the light never comes… not for days. I hear waves and think of the sea. Some people say in dreams things get taken from you. But I don't sleep. I never sleep. My eyes are pressed open now. And there are no dreams. I miss my tongue, Maura. I miss the virtual jet-ski. I miss standing in front of the deep peep and screwing for eternity. I hear you, Maura. I hear you cursing at the sea. I want to die. I want to regret. I want to change. I want to leave. I want to hate. I want to cry. I want to dream. The night falls in waves. The earth shifts. The arcade is far away and Maura picks up a voice in the air. It is Mori’s voice. The cowboy of the islands, of the airwaves, sleeps, As Maura makes her way through the brush, while Kiki sings an old song to anyone who will listen. “A city by the sea” KIKI There’s a city on the ocean. Give me another drink and you’ll see. Silent waves are breaking Everything will be released. Go on, fish, sleep. Go on, fish, dream. There’s a city on the ocean. Give me another drink and you’ll see. Quiet waves are breaking. Everything will be released. Go on, fish, sleep. Go on, fish, dream Go on, fish, sleep. Go on - A single loud military sound cuts off the song, followed by a long silence. 18: In simultaneous frames HILTON (on the radio) All is quiet FABIAN’S VOICE We are happy Number 015125 We are stabilized Report to room twenty The alphabet gleams For lesson one hundred and three It is bankrupt. MORI’S VOICE It is complete. Number 015125 reporting. Mori appears in the empty room. He wears dress and heels. No makeup. Our language is one of perfect FABIAN’S VOICE Equilibrium. Move now. Move like a girl. Mori moves across the room as a girl would. No more malas noches More feminine, please. No more waking at four a.m. And dance. To strange sounds. An instrumental riff of “Go on, fish, sleep” from song “A city by the sea.” . Everything is normal now. We move in unison. An instrumental riff of “Go on, fish, dream” from song “A city by the sea.”. All difference Is erased. More movement In the hips. Yes. The city lifts its smog And keep dancing. To welcome piracy of all kinds Wilder. Yes. Branded goods are produced Like a hungry girl. In mass quantities Like a starving girl. More than before. More than ever. We allow our language to be owned Full of lust and desire. To be protected Feel your breasts. To be copyrighted. Feel your thighs. This is how we live after Babel, Between your thighs. After Dante Gyrate. Thrust your pelvis. After the sleek angels of history Have let down their guard. Improvise. Like a girl. Hold on, world. Always. Hold on. 18a) after the simultaneous frames, it’s just the room FABIAN’S VOICE …And strip. Mori pauses. Like a girl. You must strip. … Number 015125, are you listening to me? MORI Yes. FABIAN’S VOICE No words, please. Just the body. Just a sign. And strip. Mori begins to strip. Slowly. Slowly. Like a girl. Very shy. Very modest. A virtuous girl filled with shame. That’s right. As Mori strips very slowly, Maura is seen in another place. She is transforming herself into a boy. Mori speaks to Maura as if he can see her. MORI Maura? What are you doing? MAURA Shh… Don’t tell. MORI Are you changing yourself for me? MAURA I’m heading to the country, to the open fields. Do you see me? MORI Maura? FABIAN’S VOICE No words. No voice. Just a body, please. MORI I am a girl now. That’s what they tell me. I am a number. I am shut out inside this place. I am disappeared. Find me. FABIAN’S VOICE Quiet. MORI I am a criminal. I am a number. Find me. FABIAN’S VOICE Quiet. MORI Maura? MAURA I will. FABIAN’S VOICE Silence! Mori is naked. Maura is now disguised, transformed. Fabian appears in his other guise. FABIAN Number 015125, you have failed lesson one hundred and three. Open your mouth, please. Leave it open. Do not cover yourself. Do not try to leave. In the distance, Maura runs away. MORI Maura? FABIAN Number 015125. Are you number 015125? MORI Yes. FABIAN Repeat. MORI 015125. FABIAN Your crimes? MORI None. FABIAN Crimes against state and nature. Repeat. MORI No. FABIAN Crimes against state and nature. MORI No. No. No. … FABIAN Lie down please. Lie down. And mouth open. Wide. Keep open. Fabian kicks Mori in the mouth.. 19: Kiki calls to a passer-by KIKI Everybody is leaving. They hide or escape or throw themselves to the sea. Except me. I don’t leave. I like the city. Honey, come closer. Be rough. Come on. I can take. My body can take anything. You’re sweet. You’re candy. Eh? You buy me some toothpaste, honey? You buy me some gum? Toilet paper, condoms, some ecstasy? I can take. I take everything. I stock up now. Cause there’s nothing. You hear me? Don’t leave. I’ll be your baby. I will. I’ll be soft and tender and sweet. Rub me. Yeah. I won’t bite. You see? I’m Kiki. I’m Gloria. I’m everything. And when the guards come in the name of freedom, and they’ll come, cause they always do In this carajo country I won’t say anything. I’ll be a good quiet one. I keep the best secrets. You see that old hospital over there out by the fields? It hasn’t been a hospital in years. You don’t believe me? Believe what you want. What does it matter, eh? We’ll all be dead soon. 20: Maura in disguise asks a man from the fields about Mori FRANKIE Aqui no hay nadie. MAURA Speak English. FRANKIE No one here. Who you look for? MAURA My brother. FRANKIE Is he lost? MAURA He told me he’d be here. FRANKIE Que chulo. MAURA Quit. FRANKIE You don’t like my hands, boy? MAURA Did you see him or not? FRANKIE That’s not how you find someone. By asking just like that. He walks away from her. MAURA How then? FRANKIE …See? You need me. MAURA I don’t need anyone. FRANKIE Don’t be a tirano. MAURA Speak English. FRANKIE Why? MAURA I don’t want to hear anything else. FRANKIE What kind of English do you want me to speak? There are so many kinds. MAURA Speak what I can understand, cabron. FRANKIE You speak Spanish, eh? MAURA I speak words. Where is he? FRANKIE You are too direct. You will never find him with such directness. MAURA I came all the way out here, didn’t I? I found my way here. FRANKIE You have strong belief. MAURA Yes. FRANKIE He is your brother? MAURA Yes. He walks away from her. He’s my lover. FRANKIE One boy to another? MAURA Yes. FRANKIE I sensed this. MAURA You get no brownie points from me. FRANKIE What is that? Brownie points? What is that, eh? MAURA An expression. FRANKIE What does it mean, boy? MAURA It’s an American expression. FRANKIE Is it a good thing? MAURA I think so. FRANKIE Okay. …And you, you’re not American? MAURA I’m nothing. FRANKIE No one’s nothing. MAURA I am nothing. I am a mutt. No breeding. No stock. No line. Nothing. There’s no geography to me. FRANKIE Que pena. MAURA Speak English. FRANKIE A shame for you to be nothing, to feel nothing. Except for him? You feel for him? MAURA Have you seen him? FRANKIE I could have seen something. This photo you show me is not very good. MAURA It’s from a booth. FRANKIE What’s that? MAURA You go in, you get your photo taken, it comes out of the machine. FRANKIE A city thing? MAURA An American thing. FRANKIE Well, it’s not a good photo. But you know him a long time, yes? MAURA Long enough. FRANKIE I have a romantic nature. I do. I understand these things. Wanting to see the lover, wanting to possess the beloved. But if he leaves of his own accord, there is nothing you can do. No one to find where there‘s no one. You see? The hospital is abandoned. There hasn’t been anyone there for years. MAURA How do you know? FRANKIE I live here. I was born here and I’ll die here. I know things. I’m witness. MAURA To what? FRANKIE To time passing. Nothing else. You have papeles? MAURA Speak English. FRANKIE Papers?! MAURA I have ID. Yeah. FRANKIE Let’s see. MAURA Is this what you do? FRANKIE I guard this road. Yes. That is my job. That is one of my jobs. MAURA What’s the other? FRANKIE I move things from one place to the next. I move markers, burial places. I establish order. I do not question. I just act, do. I keep things where they need to be, where they should be. I could help you. I am tender-hearted. Don’t I look tender-hearted? MAURA You look how you look. FRANKIE And you look how you want. MAURA What do you mean? FRANKIE Are you a boy? MAURA Yes. FRANKIE For how long? MAURA Since the day I was born. FRANKIE Punch me. MAURA What for? FRANKIE I want you to. She punches him. Harder. She punches him again. You have strength. MAURA I box. FRANKIE In a ring? MAURA Outside in the park, on the street… FRANKIE You’re a sweet boy. Is this your ID? MAURA It’s legal. FRANKIE Mauro? That’s your name? MAURA Yes. FRANKIE Unusual. MAURA It’s not common. FRANKIE I’m Frankie. I’m very common. MAURA You through with my ID? FRANKIE It’s nothing to me. Call yourself what you like. Mauro’s as good a name as any. MAURA You don’t believe me? I have a tattoo. FRANKIE No need to show. I believe. MAURA Why? FRANKIE Because you want me to. MAURA You’re a stupid man. FRANKIE And you’re a sweet boy, but you know nothing. Y’hear me? There are screams, and children on fire. Sweet children walking in flames. Even here far from the city. Don’t look away from me, Mauro. Keep your eyes on me, or I shoot you right now!…What does he mean to you, Mauro? What does this boy in the photo mean to you? MAURA I told you. FRANKIE You said he was your lover. That’s not enough. MAURA What do you want from me? FRANKIE Some feeling, Mauro. Not enough these days. Everyone is closed up, shut down, hiding, afraid, and in the end, they are taken away anyway. Understand? MAURA …Mori and I… FRANKIE Yes? MAURA We kick and shout… FRANKIE Go on. MAURA And dance and hang, and think of nothing and think of everything… FRANKIE Why you get quiet, eh? I asked for some feeling. Give. MAURA We go inside each other. FRANKIE Asi. MAURA And we drown the world and forget and dream and not dream and kick again and we don’t even think about it. FRANKIE Asi. Con ganas. MAURA We just wiggle and waste cause there’s nothing else, right? Just waking and falling back to sleep on the inside of the inside, on the flip side of ecstasy, static blinking and not thinking about another day cause it doesn’t matter, nothing matters in this state. Just us. Only us. Mori and Mauro. Mauro and Mori joined at the hip no matter what… We know this. We think the same. We feel the same. He is my tongue. And I am his body. You see? We are joined. We are one being. Is that what you want? Is that what you need? Is this enough for you, mister Frankie? Frankie punches her. FRANKIE The sky was powder gray. Full of bursts. I was ten years old. I was at an air show. Everything was loud. I wanted to be a pilot. My papi held me. He said "Look up, son. Don't cover your ears. Take it all in." And I did. I pointed up at each plane. I shouted. I made a scene. "Who's that little boy? Why doesn't he behave?" I didn't know what that was. I was my father's son. The fireworks happened at the end of the show. We were on the grounds. Cars were parked for miles. We sat on the hood of a car that wasn't ours and watched the greens and reds shoot up into the sky one after the other. I tried to hold my papi’s hand, but he couldn't see me. So, we sat letting the smoke from the fireworks sting our eyes, burst upon burst. I thought "This is how it will always be between us: Papi looking up, caught in something, dreaming, and me, wanting a touch, a bit of acknowledgment, and never getting anything." …I put my hand inside you. We take our time. You walk away. MAURA And what do I get? FRANKIE There’s a path. I know it well. I show it to you. Out here by the sea, walls crumble slowly from the salt. The door to the old hospital is broken. MAURA A trade? FRANKIE Yes. MAURA Okay. Maura begins to undress. FRANKIE What’s the hurry? MAURA I don’t have time. 21: Mori and Maura share a dream Feel my hand? Yes. Through the wall? Yes. Can you hear me? A little. Where are you now? On the path. In the dark? Yes. How much farther? Your voice is funny. So is yours. Why don’t you curse at me? I don’t want to. I am a boy now. Better yet. Better reason to. Your voice is still funny. My mouth is broken. This has been done to protect me, to stop me from speaking. I write words in the air. I send messages as if on a screen like in the cyber. Do you hear me? I always hear you. …Where’s Kiki? What do you care? Is she with you? Is he? Who? The tourist. How do you know about him? I know everything. We are joined, remember? But you can’t find me. …I am closer now. I am a boy. We are the same. You are not a boy. You never will be. Why not? You’re not strong enough. I am stronger than you. You miss me. I hold you. Yes. I reach out my hand through the wall where they hold me, where they keep me. Can you see me? I am blind. No eyes? No mouth? Everything is dark. My tongue spits Z’s. Z. The end of the alphabet. Crave me. Want me. In some countries there is no want. In some countries there is no need…of anything. I get hit every day. I hit everyone back. My fists break walls. …Closer? Yes. I feel your breath. In what room do they keep you? I don’t know. I can’t see. Is it because of me? Is that why they have taken you? Because of me? Because of my family? Because of Vayazul and aristocracy? They take because they take, because they can. I am a refugee. You were born here. Only you know this. But to them…. …You’re very faint. My voice goes. It will come back soon. You will be able to hear me. How many miles…? Mori? Maura. You are far away, far from me. The walls tremble. (unison) I punch, I kick. I will not lose faith. In the ocean… Yes. There’s graffiti. What does it say? I can’t make it out. Try. Salt words in a salt sea. Read them. [French] Une nouvelle langue, [Portuguese] uma lingua nova, [German] eine neue Sprache A new language Your voice is clear. My accent’s crap. I learned the wrong alphabet. I want to see you close. With blind eyes? With every part of me. …No need. I’m here now. Our fingers touch. Die. Regret. Change. Leave. Hate. Cry. Forget. Love. 22: Awake in real time, Maura encounters Mori who has been tossed out onto a bone heap. MAURA Mori? MORI 015125. MAURA It’s me. Remember? MORI You’re a boy. MAURA I am pretending. But I’m not. See? MORI It’s wrong to pretend. Lesson two: do not pretend you are anything. MAURA Okay. MORI Bones here. Dead. The dead are here. Arms and legs. Smashed skulls. I am dead too. MAURA Mori? MORI What a stupid name. Whose name is that? Yours? MAURA No. It’s yours. Remember? MORI I am 015125. I was born in another country. I am a girl, age twenty. I am dead. Stop looking at me. MAURA You are bruised. MORI I have broken things inside. Outside, I have marks. I am disposable. Trash. I wait now for crows, gulls. For my flesh to be picked, for another number maybe. MAURA Come here. MORI You have cold hands. MAURA You need to get out of here. MORI Lesson number one thousand and two: do not leave, do not try to leave, never leave, or much drowning, head in bucket, pulling of limbs. MAURA I’ll carry you. MORI Don’t touch me. Please. MAURA Okay. MORI You speak funny. MAURA I speak how I speak. MORI You have an accent. Lesson five: no accents. MAURA Is that what you’ve been taught? MORI No questions. Repeat. MAURA What? MORI Repeat. MAURA This man put his hands on me. I let him. I’d do anything. And there was another man after that, and another. All along the road. Men waiting. Men with dogs. Sad men doing their job of guarding. I walked the whole way. I became rougher and rougher outside, and more and more gentle inside. I would cry at weird times. In the middle of sex.In the middle of trade. At no hour, no anything. A tear would come. And another. And music was so distant. I thought there was a disco on one side of the road but it was just an abandoned radio playing inside an empty house stained with fresh blood. I kept walking. The last man along the road was right. There was a path. Not too far. A possible path. A visible path. I wanted to be back at the arcade. I wanted noise and lots of noise. Beeps, pops, shots, bells, mechanical cheers from a screen crowd. Reactivate. Reload. Start again. MORI Beeps and pops? MAURA From a machine. Alpine Ski. Speed Racer. Remember? MORI Rush… MAURA Yes. Yes. Speed shoot rush. You remember. MORI …I listen to the sea. This leg I think was from number 017127. A young man. Very tall. No eyes. I listen to the sea. MAURA Mori? MORI Forget me. MAURA Mori? MORI Erase memory. MAURA …I’ll stay here with you. Yes? MORI You’re a strange boy. MAURA Yes. MORI We listen to the sea. MAURA Yes. Mori and Maura look at the ocean. 23: The cowboy’s voice hits the quiet air HILTON In the A, B, D and number four We come to you live from the capital city Where the new voice of freedom can be heard for miles. Order is in place and the electric boogaloo gives way To a synthetic merengue conveniently lifted off an old laptop. Two pure ones have been found hard as mules on the sand against the rough sea they are seen we are told through a night of lucid silver. Kiki in view… KIKI What will you do with your hands? What do you dream with your eyes? What do you look for in the dark when only the clickety-clip of bicycles can be heard at night? HILTON Two walls silent as a rose cast their double shadow at break of dawn. Two pure bodies lean as mules were found bound to each other on the sand. KIKI Who was it? . Who could they have been? HILTON But nobody dares untie this Mori, this Maura who in one motion gave themselves up to the moon. Against the sea wall, Mori and Maura are found. They are nude. They are entwined. End of play