01001011
We didn’t have to put on a show. We could’ve
done this under the radar, but we didn’t. We did this for you. We wanted you to
know that you had the power. The ability, to make your own decisions. We wanted
you to do more then just throw things at them. That’s childish and petty. We
wanted to give you the chance to do something amazing. Just remember, this
one’s for you.
01110010
Before us is a large
decadent apartment living room, in the centre of which is a queen-sized bed
with purple satin sheets. The walls are a neutral gray and dotted with various
expensive looking pictures. The fourth wall, through which the audience can
peek into the unfolding scene, is invisible and indicated by the wall-line on
the floor. There are two light sources. A dim yellow one, emanating from the
bedside lamp. The second comes from an active laptop. This white/blue light
bleeds in from the right hand side of the apartment. In the very background
there are two large windows that are draped with red curtains. Upon the bed sit
two people. They are bound and gagged and do not speak, but they have a look of
pleading panic in their eyes. Three more people occupy the apartment. One,
NICHOLAS, paces the room, periodically peering out of the window at something
behind the stage. CHARLIE sits by the second source of light and spends most of
his time interacting with the computer. RILEY, desperately trying to hide a
twitch in his left leg, holds the gun, aimed at the two bound hostages. At
certain intervals a third light source appears, this time pouring in through
the curtained windows, whenever NICHOLAS decides to peak at something off
stage. CHARLIE, NICHOLAS and RILEY are all wearing devil costumes, reminiscent
of the folkloric creature Krampus.
CHARLIE [excited]: Alright, we’re just about to
hit twenty thousand people. Can you believe that? TWENTY! We’re doing some
serious damage here.
NICHOLAS [turning to CHARLIE]: What about the
code? It's not overriding itself is it?
CHARLIE:
Nah, we're good. It’s cracked most of the bank accounts. Over twenty thousand
people are getting an early Christmas present.
RILEY [in a hoarse, dead voice]: Ho Ho Ho.
NICHOLAS [looking worriedly at CHARLIE, turns and put a hand on RILEY’S shoulder]: You okay man?
RILEY [brushing NICHOLAS off]: Yeah, I’m good man. I’m chill.
VOICE FROM
BEHIND THE CURTAINED WINDOWS [person is
using a megaphone]: Alright! You’ve made your point. There’s no need for
the hostages to get hurt. Talk to us, and we can figure something out.
NICHOLAS [to the room]: Woah! It looks like every
cop in town is out there. [to
CHARLIE] How long do you think before the negotiator gets here? I wanna agree
upon a trial date. No jury of our peers is gonna find us guilty. Especially
after what we did for them.
CHARLIE:
Haven't got a clue. Hopefully soon. Sounds rowdy out there. Hope the cops don't
take matters into their own hands. [more
excited] Jeez, this viewer count is going up like crazy. [turning to NICHOLAS] Wanna say
something?
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Even though
she really needed to go to the bathroom, she just couldn’t leave her seat. She
felt that if she moved, even just for a moment, she would miss something really
important. Another devil addressed the audience now. It seemed as though his
speech was just for her. She could hear a poor attempt at whispering behind her
and quickly turned and shushed them. The devil spoke of rebelling, of taking
back the power they had lost. His words made her feel as though she was part of
something big. She had pressed the .exe after watching the show for about five minutes.
There was something about these people that made her trust them. She hadn't had
time to check her account, but she had a feeling she knew what to expect.
Looking around her dingy apartment, she was happy that for once, she could have
a proper Christmas. No more taking money from her Mom. No more 14 hour shifts.
This show was going to change her life. And then the cops burst in and the
video feed went dead.
01101101
Before
us is the inside of a police van. The steel walls exhuberate a sense of dominance
and the enclosed area gives off a feeling of claustrophobia. The doors are
invisible and indicated by the wall-line on the floor. CHARLIE and NICHOLAS sit
in chains with their masks off. Two guards sit opposite them, faceless, due to
their visored helmets. RILEY has exited stage left.
CHARLIE [in between sobs]: Why didn’t he let go?
Why? Why? Why? [at the guards] He
wasn’t going to do anything!
NICHOLAS [trying to comfort CHARLIE]: Come on man.
We all knew the risks. Come on lover, don’t cry.
CHARLIE [inconsolable]: That...doesn't change the
f...fact. He..he would never…
NICHOLAS:
Please, just...We knew what was going to happen. We were both afraid that Riley
would…
CHARLIE [yelling at NICHOLAS]: Now!? You bring that up now?! You know what…
GUARD: Quiet!
01110000
There was
something about the ending, that made the whole thing sour. It felt like it
wasn’t the ending that it was building up to. It all felt wrong. She did end up
getting what she needed. Everyone did. All the people who executed the Krampus
virus got what they were promised. But even though the virus had hit most of
the major banks, once the wealth was spread around and most business’ adjusted
the prices of their products, not much had changed. The show promised her a
utopia, a fairytale land. Instead, once it was over, she returned to
reality.
01110101
Before
us is the interior of a prison cell. The walls are drab and inspire dark
thoughts, more than those of rehabilitation. The cell door is indicated by the
wall-line, which is transparent. Any action that occurs on the foreground, in
front of the cell-line is the characters inner monologue. CHARLIE sits in the
cell alone. NICHOLAS has exited stage left.
[CHARLIE silently sits in his cell for a few moments
before standing up and crossing the cell-line into the foreground]
CHARLIE: We
wanted to help. Nicholas said that if we turned it into a show, then more
people would be interested. Both Riley and I agreed. We wanted people to stand
up for themselves. I just wanted to help., but then they both started to talk
about taking hostages...and guns. The guns weren’t even real. I hate guns. But
Nicholas...he had a way with words. Riley was gun-ho, from the start. He
couldn’t wait to make a scene, show off to everybody that he had what it took.
He was a wreck when we all got there. I still thank god that the guns were
fakes. Those first few minutes were terrifying. I thought that we would have to
subdue him. We would’ve never managed to send the virus to so many people, but
he got under control. Nicholas helped him ease up, and I believed the lie. I
thought everything was going to be okay, and now they say that the codes have
been expunged from most of the systems. That it was all for nothing. When
Nicholas got the news. I thought someone had punched him. However, in the end,
he didn’t care anymore. We had dedicated years to this idea. And it was all
gone. We were streaming it out live. We tricked ourselves into thinking it was
a movie. People don’t die in movies. They come back at the last second for
dramatic effects. All those people we streamed it out to. Most of them are here
with me, waiting on a verdict. But mine is in. Oh, Nicholas...I’m so sorry. I
loved you, so much. But I couldn’t help you when you needed me most. That’s
what still bothers me. That’s why I can’t sleep. I can hear them coming. The
curtains are closing.
[Two GUARDS come inside and bring CHARLIE up to his feet. He complies and follows
them and exits stage left]
CURTAIN
1110011
In what
seems to be a modern day spin on the Robin Hood legend, a gang of three
hackers; consisting of Nicholas Haines (32), Charlie Skinner (28) and Riley
Beckett (37), now commonly known as the Krampus trio, attempted to unleash a
virus to the masses which would hack into the the central bank accounts and
transfer funds from the rich to the poor. In an attempt to bring their cause to
the publics attention, the gang took billionaire Robert Wayne (55) and his wife
Stacy Wayne-Kyle (54) hostage. They had even set-up webcams and were at one
point streaming to more than twenty-five thousand viewers. Over thirty-five
thousand activated the virus. Due to the hard work of the FBI, the virus led
the authorities to over half the locations where the program was used. Most are
now in police custody awaiting trial, in their respective countries. The
original trio of hackers are now all dead, the last surviving one received the
death penalty two days ago. With the market returning to normal and banks now,
more than ever, focusing on electronic protection, economists predict that the
year to follow will be business as usual and not to expect any further
shake-ups like the one we have seen this past month.
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Andrew J. Buring
