After The End

by bkMarcus

 

 

Characters

 

* Daniel, truck driver, early 20s

* Philip, college student, 15

* The Voice (offstage)

Props

 

* 2 folding chairs, side-by-side as driver's seat and passenger seat

* 2 powerful flashlights

 

Daniel is driving his kid brother Phil back to college in late January. They drive in silence.

 

PHIL

[Hesitant, apologetic]

I appreciate your driving me back, Danny.

 

[Looks over at his brother's profile, then back to the road.

Until otherwise indicated, Phil will stare straight ahead.]

 

DAN

Ain't no thing.

 

PHIL

[Looks at brother, then back to road. Pause.]

Still.

[pause]

Better you than mom and dad.

 

DAN

[smiles]

I hear you.

[stops smiling]

Next year you'll have your license.

 

PHIL

[noncommittal]

Mmm.

 

DAN

But I guess you'll still need a car.

 

PHIL

I'm not thinking about next year.

 

DAN

Yeah, well, mom and dad mentioned that.

[pause]

It wasn't really my idea to drive you back, truth be told.

[pause]

Dad wanted me to talk with you.

 

PHIL

Did he tell you what to say?

 

DAN

I don't have a clue what to say, Philly. He told me you were thinking of leaving school.

 

PHIL

That's not exactly true.

 

DAN

You know, if you didn't have your G.E.D., they could make you stay ...

 

PHIL

I never said anything about leaving school.

 

DAN

Well.

[pause]

Well, Dad seems to think you're dropping out.

[long pause]

Did they tell you that I was the reason they home-schooled you?

 

PHIL

[shrugs]

 

DAN

What's that?

 

PHIL

Yeah, I guess so.

 

DAN

I went to the county public school. "Government School" dad called it.

[pause]

Got in some trouble.

[pause]

But I did make it out, with the piece of paper. And I'm happy driving this rig.

[pause]

But you know, Philly, you were Daddy's redemption -- he and mom were so proud of you when you finished up so early. They need you to be a college boy.

 

PHIL

I am a college boy.

 

DAN

And maybe that philosophy stuff is a little too out-there for a 15-year-old, but hell, Phil, you read all that stuff before you hit your teens!

 

PHIL

It was different when Dad taught it.

 

DAN

[Looks over at Phil. Trying to smile:]

So you gonna have a crisis, move to New York City, dress up in black, and drink fancy coffee?

 

PHIL

I'm not going anywhere.

 

DAN

OK, I'm sorry I made light of it.

 

PHIL

I don't blame you.

 

DAN

So you gonna tell me what it's all about?

 

PHIL

I think it started before college.

[pause]

I think it started with Descartes.

 

DAN

Yeah, I remember him. "I think therefore I'm French!"

 

PHIL

Cogito ergo sum.

DAN

Right.

 

PHIL

Descartes proved two things to me -- that I myself exist, no matter what other delusions I might be suffering ... you might not exist, Daniel, but I know for sure that I do ...

 

DAN

I'm pretty sure I exist too, college boy.

 

PHIL

... and he also proved to me that God Almighty cannot be the false one. Only an evil deceiver, a being lesser than God Himself, could be responsible for illusion and suffering.

 

DAN

But we already knew that.

 

PHIL

But what I didn't know already, is what I learned from my Intro Religion class. The professor was talking about the beliefs of Early Christians and how they were changed over the first century, A.D., to become the doctrine of the church and the afterlife ...

 

DAN

[pause]

And?

 

PHIL

And I suddenly understood. It all made sense. We can't be in Heaven.

 

DAN

Beg pardon?

 

PHIL

We can't be in Heaven because we believe ourselves to be on Earth. If we were in Heaven we'd know we were in Heaven because we'd be in His domain, with perfect perception and perfect knowledge, no delusions.

 

DAN

[Waiting patiently for it to make sense]

Oh-kayyyyy.

 

PHIL

And I figured out in religion class that we can't be on Earth, either, no matter what illusions suggest otherwise.

 

DAN

Wait! Why can't we be on Earth?

 

PHIL

Because the Earth can't possibly have existed for 2000 years past the death of Christ! Because Jesus told us that we were living in the End Times: 'The Kingdom of Heaven is upon us!'

[speaking faster]

And the church turned that into some metaphor about our short mortal lifespans compared to the immense and immeasurable eternity of the afterlife, but that's not what Jesus meant!

He meant that Judgment Day was coming! Coming real soon, that He Himself might not live to see it, not in his human incarnation, but that the people who were hearing His voice would see the End of Time ... that Judgment would come within their lifetimes!

[even faster]

The earliest Christians were trying to prepare themselves and as many other Hebrews as they could convince for the imminent return of Christ The King!

 

DAN

Calm down, Phil!

 

PHIL

And it must have happened! It must have come and gone, and here we are in Hell, those of us who did not accept the Messiah in time, and the Father Of Lies has us convinced that 2000 years have passed, and that Christianity is the only way to save our souls, but it's a false Christianity! The only true Christians were the early Christians, the people who gave themselves to Christ within His lifetime or shortly thereafter. We can't be in Heaven, and we can't be on Earth, so we must be in Hell and The Evil Deceiver has us convinced we still have a chance -- that's how he is tormenting us! We'll spend eternity thinking we still have a chance, when we missed our chance and we can't even remember giving it up!

I don't even remember what I did wrong, Daniel, but here I am being punished for it!

DAN

[Gesturing for Philip to calm down] Shhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

PHIL

[Phil stops. His breathing calms. He continues, still intense but slower:]

But the Devil is imperfect. Descartes showed me that.

And if he's imperfect, then he can be beat. And if I've figured this out, then I've begun to beat him. I just have to make sure I don't fall back into the fantasy.

 

DAN

The fantasy ...

 

PHIL

Yes ... The World.

[Phil suddenly grabs the bottom of the steering wheel and pulls it one strong turn, counter-clockwise.]

 

DAN

[Puts arms up to protect his face. Screams in fear!]

 

[Offstage instructions to the person playing The Voice:

Turn both flashlights on and swing them together so that the beams shine directly into both on-stage actors' faces.]

 

[pause]

 

[Flashlights flicker and vibrate on the two faces.]

 

[pause]

[DAN continues:]

God dammit, Phil!

 

PHIL

[eyes closed, smiling beatifically]

Shhh, Danny. Don't blow it now.

 

[Holding out his left hand, palm up.]

Take my hand.

 

[Daniel takes Philip's hand, squeezes it tight.]

And remember what I explained to you ...

 

[light goes out on Daniel's face]

 

THE VOICE

[Shining light directly into Philip's face]

[Booming baritone]

Well done, my son.

 

[Lights go out.]

 

The End