The stage is thick with fog. At front stage there is an enormous
cleft stone with bas-relief depicting an angel of human proportions. An
arch can be gleaned in the fog, its left side white, its right side, in
opposition, is black. The fog gradually lifts.
At center stage stands the statue of a young woman dancing - she
is 8 feet tall. The struggle between the masterful skill of the sculptor
and the barbarous taste of the one who commissioned its undertaking is
evident by her features. Possibly, it is this which makes her so lifelike,
is spite of her size.
There is no longer any doubt that this Babylon - here and there
can be caught glimpses of its hanging gardens. In the background stand
imposing buildings resembling pumping stations. This is it, the unfinished
Tower of Babylon, whose construction was begun by the predecessor of the
present tsar, the tsar with the strange name of Nebuchadnezzar. From the
white of the arch comes the First Luminary, from the black - the Second.
1ST LUMINARY. The tale begins in a simple way:
2ND LUMINARY. Before the coming of Christ's star…
1ST LUMINARY. In an ancient land now far away…
2ND LUMINARY. There lived a king called…
BOTH Together. Balthazar!!!
CHORUS Appearing from the arch.
Balding, bumbling, feeble, fumbling!
Tsar, tsar, tsar, tsar!
1ST. But at the threshold who appears?
2ND. The prophet Daniel's drawing near!
1ST. Prophets in their own land are persecuted…
2ND. And tsars, as a rule, have them executed.
1ST. But wait! Go slow!
2ND Hastily. That was long ago!
Balthazar steps forward from the chorus. He clears his throat.
Very scantily clad young girls run on to front stage. They dance,
as if mimickingthe statue.
CHORUSGetting drawn into the dance.
On the golden steps there sat
the balding tsar with his whores!
One, three, five and ten!
Let the feast begin!
General commotion and merriment.
TSAR.
Bring to me all the…
holy goblets…
from the temple of Jerusalem…
Sudden silence.
A VOICE FROM THE CHORUS Ironically. Right away!
TSAR. Well?!!
Silence.
TSAR. Am I your tsar, or not?!!!
VOICES FROM THE CHORUS.
The tsar or not the tsar?..
Tsar… Not tsar… Tsar not tsar…
Not tsar, not tsar… Tsar, tsar…
Balding, bumbling…
1ST Reassuring.The tsar, the tsar...
2ND. Of course the tsar...
TSAR. If I'm your tsar, then bring forth the goblets! Quickly! Slaps
the face of the 1st luminary.
1ST. Shchas! Slaps the 2nd luminary. Quickly!
The goblets!!
2ND. Shchas!! Slaps the nearest chorus member.The
goblets! Quickly!!!
Slaps and orders pass along the chain of command backstage, and
can be heard for some time there. They return again with the passing from
hand to hand of the goblet, which is big enough to bathe a small child
in. The sparkling vessel stands at the tsar's feet. From inside it they
take out another, smaller cup, and from this one, another one smaller still,
etc. At that moment a fiery inscription alights upon the black arch.
TSAR Noticing the inscription. What is this?
Silence.
TSAR Becoming enraged. Who is this?!
Silence.
TSAR.
Who dared deface the castle walls
with the stain of such vile graffiti?
Your heads I'll smash with leaden malls
lest you confess immediately!
1ST Uncertain. Yesterday, who came, pray tell?
2ND Delighted. Maybe, it was, Daniel?!
CHORUS All together.
And Daniel always walks alone!
He has no land to call his own!
He has no friends nor family...
He must be guilty, naturally!
TSAR. Bring him to me right away!
CHORUS. As you wish, without delay!
Daniel is brought in. His attire is made up of pockets, patches,
and a beard. Since his primary specialty is prophecy, an art that is not
called for everyday, he has skilled himself in the most diverse subjects,
which he now begins to enumerate.
DANIEL.
Cleaner-mender!
I fix broken pots!
I find four leaf clovers--
What secrets I've got!
I'm a reader of Latin!
In your palms I'll tell fortunes!
I see in bird intestines,
and in the eggs laid by hens,
in both cards and in bones:
especially the shins!
My drink's peppered vodka!
I'm an odd bit buyer!
I have antiques to sell:
I've got St. Peter's spire!
I sell bootstraps as well!
I can glue windows of stained glass,
rouse to revolt the muted mass,
snatch watches from the upper class,
or the jeans off the coward's ass!
Perhaps it is a girl you need?
Perhaps it's someone's wife you greed?
Well, I can send you out to sea,
unveil the New World fair.
Although, to tell the truth, you see,
the truth is not to be found there!
TSAR Pointing. Did you write that? Answer me!
DANIEL Not yet looking, just in case. No, not
I!
TSAR. Who then?!
DANIEL Only now making note of the inscription.
...G O D! ! !
TSAR. Stop diluting me with opium!
DANIEL. It is God, I say! God!
TSAR Ingratiatingly. And would you be so kind
as to read it for me?
Daniel, moving his lips, reads to himself. He is transfigured. His
eyes glaze over as he begins to prophesize.
DANIEL In a measured voice.
Mnay, mnay, tekel, faresse!
Who drinks and stuffs his face!
Mnay, mnay, tekel, faresse!
Your belly's a disgrace!
Mnay...
Who hoards the holy cup!
...
Your time with us is up!
...
Tsar so heavy and round!
...
Your blood will spill the ground!
Dumbfounded silence.
1ST LUMINARY Uncertain. Lies...
2ND. And if not?
1ST Understanding. But really, if not?!!
2ND. Shshh! The tsar's about to speak!
TSAR Authoritatively. Lies!
CHORUS Relieved. Lies!!
DANIEL Insulted. We shall see!
TSAR. Well, some will see and some will not. Casually.
Cut out his eyes and feed them to him, and then...
In runs a messenger, covered in blood and dust.
MESSENGER Hoarsely.
My tsar! And you, fellow Babylonians!
Prepare yourselves for the worst!
War has been declared on us
by the emperor of Persia,
the king of the Middle East,
the Duke of the Parthenon
and Trojan baron,
the count of Bokhara and Sogdiana,
and so on, and so forth--
Darius II!!!
1ST. Ohh...
Confusion, panic.
MESSENGER.
He routed our forward army
destroyed everyone but me —
me he sent to you, oh tsar
to give notice of his declaration of war.
TSAR. Just a minute here! When was war declared?
MESSENGER. Today!
TSAR. And when did it begin?
MESSENGER. The day before yesterday.
TSAR. And who ordered it to be done thus?
MESSENGER. He himself. Says it's very convenient.
TSAR. Have all my spies executed!
MESSENGER. He has had them killed already - except for those, who
work for him!
TSAR. And he has a large army, has he?
MESSENGER With the last of his strength. Elamites,
Cananites, Sodomites and Caledonians, Galileans, Yezdians, Mennonites and
Yaps, Illyrians, Almerians, Ligurians and barbarians, Akkadians, Ottomans,
Bedouins and Lemurians, troglodytes and vampires, kobolds and nymphs, Bedlamites,
Khaiberians, Berbers and imps, Effreets upon camels, gargoyles upon koalas,
Atlantians upon leviathans, guerrillas upon chimeras, Dragons upon horseflies,
Saracens and Saprophytes,Tartars and Apaches from Arizona City, Hundred-handed
giants and block-headed musclemen... Catches his breath.All
will enter the city tomorrow morning.
Falls to the ground. Fortunately, I'll be dead. Dies.
CHORUS.
Mnay, mnay, tekel, faresse!
From that wound he'll surely die!
Mnay, mnay, tekel, faresse!
But, tyrant, your time draws nigh!
TSAR.
My role is coming to an end,
no one is sorry to see.
And what becomes of this city,
is no concern for me...
He takes off his crown and throws it to the ground, then loses himself
in the chorus which wanders around the stage and finally backstage. Then
begins a bacchanalia, with intermittent scenes of an orgy. Because there
is nothing left to lose, everyone now drinks from the holy goblets. A couple
runs out to the front stage. They dance and sing.
SHE.
Babylon lies like a platter
beneath a sky-blue moon.
Below her people are dancing,
Let's kiss each other, soon!
They kiss.
HE.
The tsar has given up his thrown
to the rule of another king...
Such time we have now left alone,
for hugging, squeezing, and kissing!
They kiss.
CHORUS Partly behind the stage.
Only madmen and infidels
have no respect for genitals!!!
A light illuminates the couple, following them where they go. Only
now do we see that He is Ethiopian.
ETHIOPIAN.
Now is the time for contrasts:
I lick the sweat from your face;
I will hold you while the time lasts,
smothered in my embrace!
Leaning towards the bas-relief of the depicted angels, he begins
to smother his lover with determination.
DANIEL About whom everyone has forgotten, still at front
stage. What are you, crazy?! Are you really strangling her?!
ETHIOPIAN Not ceasing from his task. What do you think?!
DANIEL. But what for?!!
ETHIOPIAN Just as before. So that the enemy won't
touch her!
CHORUS Behind the stage. Better to be deflowered,
than beheaded!
The stage gradually becomes empty and dark. The bacchanalia, however,
continues behind the stage with the participation of the production crew.
The light shifts to Daniel.
DANIEL To the Statue.
My love, this city is doomed
with its rich and its slaves,
with its manors and graves...
My love, this city is doomed!
God asked me if he should destroy it,
along with all its inhabitants,
its streets and its palaces, pools, and walls,
its glass midnight lamps
which light up the malls,
its slums, its towers, its trees and its halls…
Doomed, beloved City.
How then was I supposed to answer God?
I am just a man, while before my gaze
floated a city, ancient and hateful,
with its terrible walls, the width of which
two riders can pass without obstacle;
floated the yellow city's hanging gardens full
with all of its children and all its stones
through honey and gold unendurable.
A butterfly circled, someone cried,
a servant running to carry out the trash
ran in to me and did not apologize.
How could I have been able to answer God?
I said to him: Honestly, I don't know!
And who is it that would ask such a question,
before releasing floods upon an anthill,
in order to save the jam on the buffet?
The second light illuminates the face of the Statue.
STATUE.
I will walk along the asphalt and kick the flower beds.
What good fortune, my friend, your dream portends.
That which appeared to you a cockroach at first,
becomes a full glass to quench your thirst.
that which appeared to you a cardboard box,
becomes a young woman with flaxen locks.
That which appeared to you a homely disguise,
becomes a caress forbidden to eyes.
Will you really, forever, a house be erecting?
Will you really, forever, the seals be protecting?
Will the river, forever, be full and reflecting?
Man or God -- who is king?
A trap door opens in the side of the statue. Out crawls a strange
creature - the child of Daniel and the Statue. He bears no resemblance
to anyone or anything.
CHILD In a high voice. I am poor, I am harmful,
I am imperceptible, irreplaceable, congenial; I am like a mime, starved
of blood, I am the tender, vital throat of the roles; I am unknown, but
interesting; multifarious, and yet, tasty; I am extraneous, I am tomorrow's
world; I am patched together like a quilt: inadequate, indifferent, ambivalent;
I am forever outside, born to things; I am infernal, unique, half of the
gutter - but I have no shame; I am invisible. What a lot! NoticingDaniel. Papa! It's you!!!
Daniel jumps back in horror. The Child chases him around the entire
stage. Unable to overtake him, the Child begins to cry.
STATUE. What? are you unhappy, child?
CHILD Unexpectedly in a bass voice. I'm having problems
with my sex!
STATUE.
Your sex might change! Who can say?
I'll bring you forth another day!
The child conceals himself behind the trap door and it slams shut.
The Statue turns to Daniel.
My friend, you must flee this city,
Though you can prevent its demise,
for your dark head--what a pity!--
has become now the soldiers' prize!
Their horse's inside is decked with armor
while on the outside it's planked with pine.
Its headlights glare at the tri-tiered towers;
its wheels whisper of snapping your spine.
With its eyes on the zenith, and wagging its behind —
C'est la vie! that most cunning of whores! —
it rolls onward, like a tram, mechanical and blind,
crushing poor Hector, who's heard from no more...
Falls silent.
DANIEL.
Babylon sleeps, concealed beneath a dark blue flag.
I am in this city, the agent of God.
Never do I sleep, but ever grow tired.
I am here alone, so small and insignificant
that even the ant crawling out of "Byzantium"
stands tall before me, laughing...
May confessions be crammed in a corner,
but I was marked from the beginning.
Daybreak will wake - the colossal drone -
deformed like a mirror or a French curve.
For the constantly drowsy, he will draw scabs,
and the vigilant he'll enshroud in evil.
While memory drinks from porcelain nights,
of visions not worth a groan,
and the serrated clay bosom of Babylon
lays upon the larynx like a blade...
Sleep coffin-city, porcelain and gray.
Sleep destiny. Sleep civilization.
I in this city, alone hold God's sway...
Oh, to be dealt a different vocation!!!
Silence. Trumpets sound in the distance. The rhythmic falling of
many feet is heard and grows louder. Already we can hear the soldiers'
song.
SOLDIERS.
Day-night, day-night
to Mesopotamia,
day-night, dark-light
to Hippopotamia!
Drink, drink, drink, drink
from our marching boots!
To die like dogs! butchered like hogs!
We trade the countries of the world in vast and bloody marts,
but they're all the same, all the same, all the same
body parts:
hup-two, hup-two, hands, noses, heads, hearts!
Entering.
Hup-two, hup-two! Companyyyy -- halt!
Our trek was not to no avail,
from distant lands beyond the pale.
That's it, that's it! March on!
The yellow city, Babylon!
City of wonder and of war,
it's gold that we have come here for!
To feast and drink all we can stand!
Such a country, oh what a land!
We'll wander round, in circles roam--
what's not our home, is now our own...
That's it, that's it! March on!
To Baby Lone, Babylon!
A trap door opens in the side of the Statue - not the same one as
before. Out jumps a small man wearing a crown. It is none other than Darius
II himself.
SOLDIERS.
Darius the Great has brought us here
to the very city of paradise!
Glory! Glory to his majesty!
Long live the emperor!!!
Darius picks up the crown, which Balthazar had discarded and places
it atop his own. He notices Daniel.
DARIUS.
Who is that standing just ahead?
It's clear at once, with his great head!
I cannot stand intellectuals!
I will not rest until his head rolls!
An executioner runs up to Daniel. He loves his work.
DANIEL.
Pardon my butting into your business,
but your present plans promise no profit.
Now a wise slave is a useful thing:
he plows while his mate does the milking.
And his children are good, as is very well known,
in kasha; or on bread fresh from baking...
DARIUS. The hell with it! You can breathe easy.
The executioner, disappointed, withdraws.
DARIUS To the executioner.
Now don't you walk away with a frown!
There's work for you yet in such a town!
To the soldiers. Hey you! scum of the Earth!
Until further orders --
the city's yours! Disperse!
Pointing at the statue. Chop it to pieces!
The stage becomes bright. Now it can be seen that the number of
soldiers is few, but they are well armed. It is well known that one man
with two machine guns, is as good as two soldiers… The soldiers chase the
chorus hither and thither around the stage. Goaded on by kicks, the luminaries
saw off the Statue from its pedestal, and saw it into little pieces…
DARIUS To the executioner. Now, let's chop
off that there head… Points into the auditorium. …and that
one… and do not stop until you're satisfied…
The executioner proceeds to chop, using the stone with the bas-relief
for a chopping block. The soldiers commit outrages, each to the satisfaction
of his whims. Two bathe themselves with the wine from the largest of the
holy goblets: one washes his face, the other - his feet. Darius notices
the glowing inscription.
DARIUS. What is that?
The executioner fastidiously prepares himself for cutting off the
head of the Ethiopian.
ETHIOPIAN Jumping up. I'll tell you! I will!..
DARIUS To the executioner. Hold it! To
the Ethiopian. Speak.
ETHIOPIAN. That is a prophecy… from some god… that says the lid
is closing upon all of us… Points to Daniel. There! He prophesied
it!
DARIUS. Interesting… A prophet, eh? All right then! To the
executioner.You can proceed.
The executioner chops the Ethiopian's head off.
DARIUS To Daniel. Well then, come forth!
Daniel approaches.
DARIUS. Would you be a prophet?
DANIEL. No.
DARIUS. So, we need another turn of the screw, do we? Hey, dregs
of the earth! Fly to us!
Several soldiers pull away the two washing themselves from the huge
goblet, which they then proceed to fill with wine and bring to Darius.
The smallest goblet offered to Daniel, who declines it with a gesture.
DARIUS. Drink! What's the matter, don't you respect me?!
They drink.
DARIUS Immediately drunk.
Wineboy bring me a goblet
huge as a reservoir!
We'll drink in the new moon light,
and reel beneath the stars!
DANIEL Also slightly intoxicated. By the way, your majesty,
the sun rises…
DARIUS.
And you, by the way,
have not been given the floor.
What, did you sprout another head?
I'll teach you free love!..
Are you going to prophesy?
Daniel is silent.
DARIUS. Hey there! One for the road!
They drink.
DARIUS Almost completely drunk. How did you
put it? The sun rises? Sun-ri-ses… and sun-s-sets… That's it, you're a
poet! You'll have to be executed! It will make a wonderful song. But ours
is better.
Sings.
I appeared in this world of ours
as in my very own bed.
And from the highest of its towers,
I can now puke on your head!
Are you going to prophesy, I ask you once again? Daniel is
silent. Let's go!
DANIEL. Where, you majesty?
DARIUS. To the tower! To retch!
They ascend the Tower. Daniel pushes Darius.
DARIUS Reeling. I'm fall-ing!!! Falls.
DANIEL. Fall, fall, lighten my heart!
Darius, however, catches on to some kind of ledge, and hangs there.
DARIUS. Save me!!!
DANIEL. Save yourself!!! He hesitates, not knowing what to
decide, then reaches down to the ledge and drags up Darius. They climb
down from the Tower together.
DARIUS Absolutely sober. You make an attempt
on my life, and then you save me. The former deserves a painful death;
the latter merits a reward of your choice. Thus I reward you with the choice
of the manner of your death.
DANIEL Without faltering. Allow me, your majesty,
to leave for the desert, where I will die of hunger and thirst!
DARIUS. Good riddance!
Daniel goes. He walks past the lying Statue and closes the trap
door. He walks through the frenzied drinking bout around him. The executioner
chops. The stage turns.
Daniel is beyond the city gates. At an intersection there is a sign
which points in two directions. One reads: 'To the desert'; the other:
'To the mountains'. Daniel catches up with a rather depleted chorus.
1ST LUMINARY. Daniel! Go with us! We are on our way!
DANIEL. To where?
1ST. To the desert! As you are, so are we!
DANIEL. But who are you?
1ST HALF OF THE CHORUS.
We have walked beneath these stars
oh so many years,
since the coming of the tsars
all we've seen are tears!
We will be poor,
unassuming,
simple
and genuine,
ascetics…
DANIEL. Yes, by all means, go!!
2ND LUMINARY. Daniel! Your place is with us!
DANIEL. I don't like it, when others know better than I where my
place
is.
2ND. You almost killed that infamous emperor.
DANIEL. Almost doesn't count.
1ST. You understood that only God may mete out justice to the wicked!
2ND. No, you understood something else: a single act of violence
solves nothing!
DANIEL. I don't like it, when others know better than I do what
I understood.
2ND. You must join a party of partisan struggle! We need prophets!
DANIEL. I would be happy to find someone who does not need them!...
2ND. Don't think anyone intends to persuade you! All the same, you
will come with us. He takes his place at the head 2nd Half of the
Chorus, and follows the sign, which reads 'To the mountains'.
1ST. Daniel, is it true, that you come from the ancient tribe of
Wise Men?
DANIEL. No, it is not true.
1ST. Daniel, is it true, that that tribe ruled throughout the Earth?
DANIEL. No, it is not true.
1ST. Daniel, is it true, that to you mysteries are revealed, that
you can perform miracles, heal the sick with the touch of your hand?
DANIEL. No, it is not true.
1ST. But you can predict the future, can't you?
DANIEL. No, I only prophesize.
1ST. But aren't they one and the same?
DANIEL. No.
1ST. You won't come with us?
DANIEL. No.
1ST. As you wish. All the same, we will meet again. You are going
to the very same desert, even as we are.
DANIEL. The desert, praise God, is very large.
1ST. Still, we will continue this conversation. He takes
his place at the head of the 1st Half of the Chorus, and follows
the sign which reads 'To the desert', while singing:
We go to the desert to live a life both rigorous and free
to meditate and contemplate
to smoke opium like Pergolesi.
And money will have no place there.
We go to work and to fast,
to maintain a purity strict and severe
and no matter who comes to hassle us
we won't fight with them in the least!
DANIEL. Standing at the crossroads.
Blue veins run through scattered arms.
Some intend inflicting harm,
others seek the poppy's charm.
Some would like honeydew,
others prefer salted pork.
Each thing has its point of view,
even a stainless steel fork.
End of Act I.
Act II
The stage is darkened. A faint light falls upon the face Daniel.
DANIEL Mumbling.
People go, as do gods;
bogeymen and bad luck go.
Shadows leap from under your feet
like black dogs.
The lights gradually brighten revealing the desert. Daniel sits
naked at the entrance to a cave. His face is covered with printed words,
strange writings, passages from the bible, "infantilism", "idiocy"
and "exhibitionism".
DANIEL.
Four copies fit the typewriter,
four directions for mapping space,
but throughout this entire desert--
there is no holy place.
There is no clan I am destined for:
there are seven wise men in the world, no more;
there are seven gods of Babylon,
and seven days that we count on,
three bath days for men,
and four for women,
of candles there are seven
arrayed with seven rings of heaven.
And in the cave stand seven doors,
from which come pouncing seven roars:
Yellow Lion, Black Lion,
White Lion, Red Lion,
Blue Lion, Purple Lion,
Gray lion…
LIONS Poking out from the cave. Roarrrrrr!
DANIEL.
Though flowers of the morning might
still have time to bloom,
Everything is always like night,
thus I yearn for the tomb.
Everything is now lit up, and a foot and head of the Statue can
be seen sticking out of the sand not far from the cave.
HEAD OF THE STATUE.
Your hungry ravings
have carried us here
to live amongst the tsars,
to no good, I fear…
FOOT OF THE STATUE.
Now rocks and sand
upon me stand.
No legs or hands,
no home, no land…
LIONS Drawing back into the cave. M-mystic!
A UFO flies in at an angle. Upon closer inspection, it appears to
be the Ethiopian carrying his head in his left hand. The head has no eyes.
ETHIOPIAN Slowing down in flight.
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel!
Are my eyes not seeing well?
Is that you in the nightingale's paradise who
eats a nightingale stew?
And are those peacocks with wheeled tails
upon lynxes blazing the sun's trails?
And centaurs serving as patrolmen…
Have you ever seen such divine surrealism?!
Remember Babylon, the golden:
You had your dinner not every day
But you had it all the same…
HEAD OF THE STATUE. Now, away with you then!
ETHIOPIAN. Warm greetings! Flies off with a nod from the
reattached head, which is growing.
FOOT OF THE STATUE Pensive. The day insists,
and the flesh splits in two…
DANIEL Showing interest. I do not understand,
who splits whom?
FOOT. But I was not speaking to you, my friend!
DANIEL. With whom were you speaking then?
FOOT. To him there… the newcomer…
The Child springs up alongside the foot. He has changed greatly:
shaved white hair, three horns, two of which twist intricately above his
temples, and the third, sparkling, in the center of his forehead. This
horn ends in an eye.
CHILD Softly humming to himself in the rhythm of a lullaby.
Sleep, little eyes, sweet, little eyes!
If only someone could soothe my cries!
I've no mother, alone, poor me -
a warlock and statue's prodigy!
But my father is either a god,
or a practitioner of sorcery…
I willoutlive you and everyone.
Like Mao Tse-Tung!!
He is gradually obscured by darkness, starting with his feet, then
his stomach and chest; finally it stops just before his horns, like a folding
screen. They bend, wiggle and grow.
LEFT HORN. Mama, why have you forsaken me? Why have you forsaken
me mama, like a broken chair?
MIDDLE HORN Growing.
I'm growing, I'm becoming a column, a sign of greatness…
I am crucified upon myself -- a majestic gem!
LEFT HORN Growing.
Oh, mother, mother,
my beautiful mother,
beautiful, like Mata Hari!
RIGHT HORN. Mnay, mnay, tekel, faresse!
Daniel passes pebbles back and forth between his hands.
MIDDLE HORN Growing.
I'm growing, I'm growing,
no one can ignore me!
No armor is safe
that stands before me!
DANIEL Profoundly. I wonder why it is that with people
it behaves like normal loved ones, but towards prophets it stands cold
as a statue? Must the city be set afire, before it show a little warmth?
Unfastening his beard.
The darkness disperses.
CHILD. Aha, there you are! Death to you!
DANIEL. My son, why do you have three horns?
CHILD. The better to gore you with!
DANIEL. My son, why is your third horn so big?
CHILD. So I can gore you to death!
DANIEL. My son, why does your third horn have an eye, an eye so
like a human eye?
CHILD. The better to see where to strike! He rushes at Daniel.
Daniel, using his beard as a matador's cape, fakes left, then right.
They dance. Finally, Daniel gets his hands upon the middle horn and breaks
it off. The Child falls at his feet.
DANIEL Reattaching his beard. On your feet!
Striking the Child's shoulders with the fragment of horn.I
now dub you: Alexander Two-Horns!
Two-Horns stands up.
DANIEL.
Step forward, raise your banner against Babylon!
The emperor sleeps and he does not know,
That you are to deal him a fatal blow!
He sleeps and his idols fill his sights:
Winged fish, full-breasted hermaphrodites…
The city will break like plates tonight!
Babylon, golden goblet,
You who were so tall and proud
You overflow now with the foamy spit
of madness, sadness, and sin…
Come, Two-Horns,
would-be angel,
evil pit against evil.
Your army will swell with lunatics and giants,
wheeled people and toads…
Come, Two-Horns!
Tear off their foul heads, skin their hides,
You have a noble's right!
How easy it is — at last, to decide!!
2ND HALF OF THE CHORUS Appearing from the right.
You cannot run from us!
You cannot hide from us!
The ends justify the means!
Two-Horns bows and exits. The Half of the Chorus follows him.
HEAD OF THE STATUE.
My friend, have no fear from now on
You have passed the desert's temptation.
Henceforth you shall be the lord of the land,
master of waters, bridegrooms and horsemen.
And hardly will you wake in the morning,
when you will feel you've become more wise
than yesterday and last week.
Your head which already holds so much
will contain twice its size.
Henceforth you shall be the guest of the world,
You can even return to the city.
Darius's messengers appear searching for Daniel.
MESSENGERS.
There he is! Now hold him tight!
We've got you now, no use to fight!
With him and the lions, off we go!
The tsar will pay us well, you know!
They exit, driving before them the Lions and Daniel.
1ST CHORUS Appearing from the left.
How long ago all that befell!
And everyone forgot Daniel…
Only a dog let out a yell…
The Ultimate Judge can go to hell!!!
Darkness. The stage turns. Babylon shows some signs of destruction,
but is decorated festively. Darius sits upon the throne surrounded by the
satraps and esculaps. They are drinking and singing:
By order of the emperor, let the drums roll like thunder!
Let the harp strings sound in praise of him!
The messengers bring in Daniel.
DARIUS. Well, well, Magus! It seems I have need of you after all!
I am happy to see you are still alive!
DANIEL. Alas, I am not.
DARIUS.
How insolent of you to have survived.
You do not wish to tame yourself --
but tame yourself you must.
I never forgive.
DANIEL. Nor do I.
DARIUS.
Well then, its your help I beg.
My vision's somewhat bleary,
My hearing rather vague.
But aid me with your art,
to be revered a sage.
Refuse, and you'll die slowly,
through seven days and seven nights,
your pleas for quickened death falling
upon ears too deaf with rage.
DANIEL.
Harsh words which one speaks in life
never vanish, but ever return!
Until you hear, you will not see!
Until you hear, you will not see!
Until you see, you will not hear!
Until you see, you will not hear!
Darius is struck blind and deaf, which is made apparent first by
his awkward movements, and then by the following dialogue with Daniel.
DARIUS. You will die.
DANIEL. And you won't?
DARIUS. You will die.
DANIEL. Everyone dies.
DARIUS. You will die.
DANIEL. I am neither the first nor the last.
DARIUS. You will die in pain.
DANIEL. All of life is pain.
DARIUS. You will die in pain… Where are you?
DANIEL. I am still here. Are you?
DARIUS. You will die in pain.
DANIEL. But only once.
DARIUS. You will die in a foreign land.
DANIEL. People die in every country.
DARIUS. They will not bury you.
DANIEL. I will not notice.
DARIUS.
Throw this martyr into the temple moat
where swim fish and serpents and human heads.
If they do not eat him, and he will not drown,
then let the water all drain down,
and let the lions have their play!
Daniel and the Lions are dragged off across the stage. A rumbling
can be heard - the first sign, an approaching earthquake. The messengers
run in, one after another.
1ST MESSENGER. Tsar, Daniel does not drown in the water! There is
trouble!!
2ND. Neither fish nor serpent will touch him - they refuse to eat!!
3RD.
And then the moat was drained of water, leaving as it had come,
and the lions were let loose on him, to devour and have their fun!
4TH.
But even they would not eat him. They did not even sniff,
let alone take him in their jaws. The lions remained stiff!
They've become vegetarians!
5TH. They must be -- Voltarians!
Daniel enters, wet, but full of life. The Ethiopian flies in once
again.
ETHIOPIAN.
Daniel, say:
how is it that you got away?
DANIEL Shaking himself off.
Lions won't eat prophets.
They gave their word…
ETHIOPIAN.
A pack of lies you offer me!
Can you not speak truthfully?
DANIEL Taking off his beard.Yes, I lived with them
in their cave for a time. And not a day went by when I was not extracting
a thorn from someone's paw, or combing another's mane…
ETHIOPIAN.
Oh, well that's a different story.
My, how your body is sturdy! Flies off.
1ST SATRAP: Daniel, tell me now, and this time for real,
why the lions would not make you their meal?
DANIEL. Because they feel the earth quaking! Takes off his
wig. Not even the smallest animal is thinking of his belly now…
Indeed, once again a loud crashing can be heard, this time closer.
Darius's throne shakes, as does the crown on his head. The Tower of Babylon
comes tumbling down.
2ND SATRAP.
But Daniel, all the same, in actuality doing--
why did the lions not eat you?
DANIEL. I've heard this somewhere before…
DARIUS. Well, is Daniel dead?
SATRAPS. Alive!!!
DARIUS. Dead. That is good.
The din becomes deafening. Two-Horns appears at the head of the
Second Half of the Chorus.
DANIEL.
Destiny escape no man.
It bides its time, unfolds its plan.
And fortune lifts us to the stars
only to hurl us down again.
The sovereign of barbarian hordes,
of the Baktrian empire, and more,
over countries great and cities too,
and over all the Persian lands,
today in this very ground,
will lie as food for the worms.
And though the messengers now rush
from everywhere in the city,
with urgent reports for the tsar
of Babylon's captivity,
of houses and forts left to burn,
of messengers without pay to earn.
Their tsar no longer hears anything,
and neither does he now see.
Deaf, blind, and content with himself,
he is like a block of wood.
My son was of the desert,
my son has taken the desert;
no one nowhere knows,
what the future holds!
Panic. Darius remains imperturbable upon the throne. His entourage
collides with the army of Two-Horns.
1ST SATRAP.
Daniel, so it's true,
that God invested you
with his very own words?
DANIEL. To he who told you so,
spit now in his eyes!
1ST SATRAP. But how is it you prophesize?
DANIEL.
That is very simple!
Always predict the worst --
you will never go wrong!
They will ask you at first,
how will the winter be.
Answer without fail -
colder than years past!
And it will be the truth,
because the cold of winters present
is colder than the last.
They will ask you: Will I be happy?
Answer them: No!
And so it will be.
Because happiness was never for man,
and it never will be.
And even to the queries of fools,
such as: will I ever eat my fill?
Answer: No! Because, though the stomach is full,
the eyes, not tired by the body, hunger still!..
But to avoid being stoned too soon,
confuse them now and again -
prophecy the good which happens in life
once in a blue moon…
But, on the whole, we are all in the same straits.
You will be killed in 5 minutes.
I will be dead in 8.
Two-Horns's army approaches the throne of Darius. The First and
Second satraps kill Darius and then each other. Two-Horns ascends the throne
through a host of corpses.
TWO-HORNS.
Made king by your help,
I have taken the throne.
Now all will worship me alone!
I am king of gods, I am god of kings.
The world will be mine --
Let everyone sing!
DANIEL.
This is the land of idols,
they've lost their heads over idol fears,
and no more than the gurgling of a pebble
thrown into water,
will be remembered
this 'dust in your eyes' of a city.
Young peoples' corpses will be
strewn along the streets in knots -
no one will cry.
Art indistinguishable from nature,
and nature too,
will die.
And nothing will conceive,
and nothing will survive,
until the last memory is erased of this city,
and has faded its chrome-plated pride…
A nude Girl runs in, chased by seven lions. This is the Statue herself,
only now she is alive and of normal stature. The lions take off their masks
while still running, and turn out to be old men -- hunchbacked, lame, and
blind in one eye…
OLD MEN. There she is… the Soul of the City!
DANIEL. Shut up!!!
The old men run across the stage and crumble into dust. Daniel embraces
the Girl.
TWO-HORNS. Kill them!
Daniel and the Girl are killed.
TWO-HORNS.
And why should we not enjoy ourselves?
Eat, drink, and be merry, for I command it!
Bring me the goblets
from the temple of Jerusalem!!
The luminary from the first half of the chorus pours wine into the
goblet, adding poison. Two-Horns drinks. He falls to the ground. They lay
his body upon a funeral pyre and light it. It explodes. Darkness. Total
light. Girls rush in -- as in the beginning. A dance takes place, led by
Daniel and the Girl, which gradually draw in the participation of everyone.