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Children (Radio Script)
MOTHER: (HOLLOW VOICE) Children need discipline. I love my Children, but without discipline they become uncontrollable. Discipline is necessary in order to prevent chaos and anarchy. True, to me they are only Children, but Children always grow up, and if they grow up with the wrong ideas, who knows what could happen? They need to be controlled.
(STATIC IN BACKGROUND, AS ON A BADLY TUNED RADIO OR TV)
I watch my Children all the time. Children need to be watched to make sure they behave. I reward good behaviour, punish bad. The system is faultless. Some of my Children hate me… But they all love me. All Children love their mother, even as they hate. Without me, there would be no order in their life. They are grateful. In the depths of their mind, they are grateful.
(STATIC FADES OUT)
SARAH: Gospel according to Mother:
(READING, MIMICKING THE DEAD TONES OF THE MOTHER) ‘In the beginning, there was chaos. No mother to lead and care for the children running amok. One solitary woman saw, and did what she could, but to no avail. Gradually, her work was recognised, and her voice was heard. The children flocked to her, begged her to look after them. They built her the Institute, so that she could put her eyes everywhere.
(PAUSE)
There is no violence. No riots, no murders, no brawls, no playground bullies, no rapists stalking the streets. The system is flawless. Your Mother takes care of you well.’
(PAUSE. THE SOUND OF A BOOK BEING PUT DOWN)
Books are dangerous. Mother decides which people are strong enough to read the atrocities hidden in the pages of books. Only her book is allowed. I have read a lot; I have a strong mind. I learned. I learned that without Mother constantly watching, constantly listening, humanity would be as good as dead.
MOTHER: (STATIC IN BACKGROUND AGAIN) No parents should have favourites. But I find myself growing fond of some, while others I despair of. For example, the family at 22 Chester Road; they are a particular source of irritation for me. The youngers attempt to thwart me and rebel, refusing education every few months. Each time it is for longer, but they always return. They haven’t been to the Establishment for nearly a week now; they have gone without food for just as long. I won’t give them their food until they return, and when they do they will thank me.
(STATIC FADES IN)
KEITH: (SMELLING THE AIR) That smells good…
MIRANDA: (BITTERLY) Yeah, smells great…
ANN: Sit down, everybody.
JOE: (ANGRILY) What’s the point? You’re just going to taunt us again.
KEITH & ANN: Mother wants us to talk to you.
JOE: Here we go… (SOUND OF A CHAIR BEING SCRAPED BACK)
K & A: You have not been going to the establishment. You need to return. Without food you will die. You know this.
JOE: (BURSTING OUT) So feed us!
KEITH: There is not enough food for you.
ANN: Only for us.
KEITH: You need to be educated.
MIRANDA: I’m ill, for crying out loud!
JOE: And somebody has to look after her! For carers you don’t seem to give a toss!
K & A: You are not ill unless Mother says you are ill.
JOE: (SHOUTING) Ok, Mother, here are the symptoms: vomiting, diarrhoea, high fever coupled with cold sweats. You hear that Mother? She’s ILL and your carers aren’t doing JACK about it!
ANN: Be quiet, Joseph! Mother, we apologise -
JOE: Here we go…
ANN: - most sincerely for his behaviour. The boy is almost beyond control. Only your hand can discipline him.
JOE: Blah de blah de blah… crawling and creeping and fawning over a camera! I don’t think there’s anyone there at all! I think you’re just taking our food away from us to try and convince us there’s some old biddy that controls everything.
KEITH: (HISSES) Do you want to go to Quarantine?
(SILENCE)
MIRANDA: Sorry, mother. We will be at the Establishment tomorrow. Come on, Joe.
(SOUND OF CHAIRS BEING SCRAPED BACK, AND DISTANT SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS GOING UPSTAIRS)
(STATIC FADES IN)
MOTHER: Whereas Sarah, of number 89, Devon road, is a model pupil. She is in the transition age from younger to worker. She will graduate from the Establishment in a few weeks, and I need to decide the work that she will perform best. She would make a fine Mother. If that is my decision, she will need to undergo rigorous training. Should she pass, the microchip will be removed from her neck, and she will monitor everybody. In the meantime… perhaps she would be able to discipline the children. Joseph and Miranda. They need someone with a strong enough mind to care for them. We shall see.
(STATIC FADES OUT)
SARAH: (SOUNDS NORMAL, MORE HUMAN THAN WHEN SHE WAS READING FROM MOTHER’S BOOK. SOUNDS LIKE A RECORDING ON A DICTAPHONE, WITH COUNTRY NOISES IN THE BACKGROUND) I read to pass the time. That’s all there is to do to pass the time. I wonder what I will be when I graduate from the Establishment? Doctor? Labourer? Carer? Enforcer? Not many options… There is no money since Mother came to power, and very little crime. Mother is judge and jury all rolled into one. She is right: there is no murder, no violence. Everyone follows her blindly.
(PAUSE)
Mother opened my eyes with the first book she gave me. A romance, she said it was… I read it, asked for definitions for most of the words, and re-read it when I understood. It opened my eyes, and I had to pretend to keep them closed. Open eyes are dangerous; you might get so absorbed with new sights that you lose your way; better to keep your eyes closed and hope someone directs you.
(COUNTRY NOISES FADE OUT)
JOE: (LOW, URGENT WHISPER) Miranda, wake up!
(MIRANDA GROANS)
Come on, Miranda! We’re going. I’ve had enough of this place.
MIRANDA: (FULLY AWAKE NOW) Are you crazy?! She can still hear you!
JOE: I’ve got to try. We need to get out of here, try and get to another country… I bet they don’t have a Mother who controls everyone…
MIRANDA: Another country? They’re only in stories though… There’s only this country.
JOE: Who told us that? The Mother, of course! She hates the idea of someone being beyond her control, so she’s convinced herself and everyone else that we are the only ones on this planet.
MIRANDA: But -
(A LOUD SLAM AS THE DOOR BURSTS OPEN. MIRANDA SCREAMS BRIEFLY)
ENFORCER: (VOICE MUFFLED, LIKE IN A GAS MASK) This is Enforcement. Remain quiet and stay where you are. Joseph and Miranda, you are charged with conspiracy to overthrow the Mother. As such, you will be taken to Quarantine and remain there until the Mother decides a suitable punishment for you. You should not say anything in your defence; anything you do say will be taken as an admission of guilt. Come with us. Resistance will not be tolerated.
MIRANDA: (MISERABLY) Why didn’t we listen…
(SOUND OF MARCHING, FADING AWAY)
SARAH: I got a notice today… I’m going to start training to be Mother as soon as I come of age. There’s still a couple of years to go until then… what will I do in the meantime? The Mother will tell me soon. I cannot refuse this honour; to do so is to be relocated to a lower sector, with one ration pack a day. I would never be able to work my way back to this position in Mother’s esteem.
Mother decides everything. Who is a carer, an enforcer, a labourer, a doctor. Only the carers are allowed to… to… (REVULSION) reproduce… because children are the future. I will never… do that… But if I pass, they will all be my children. What a strange thought.
(STATIC FADES IN)
MOTHER: The more I think on it, the more the idea has merit. She is the perfect solution; Sarah will teach them to love me properly. They already love me, but Sarah will show them that they do. Quarantine will have left them malleable, easier to teach. She will get through to them. She had better.
(STATIC FADES OUT)
(SOUND OF DRIPPING FADES IN, ECHOING, AS IN A DUNGEON OR CAVE. JOE’S WORD’S ALSO ECHO, TO SHOW THEY ARE HIS THOUGHTS, NOT SPOKEN WORD)
JOE: (ECHOING) No time in here… How long? Don’t know. No food though… I’m hungry. I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her
DON’T! She can hear thoughts… Can she? Another myth? Don’t know. Don’t risk. Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry I should have believed, should have listened… Mother knows best, Mother always knows best.
Where’s Miranda? She’s too ill for a place like this. I wish she could hear me… don’t say anything, the walls start screaming at you.
(SOUND OF A DOOR OPENING)
What’s that? (SPEAKING NORMALLY) Who’s there? Miranda?
SARAH: My name is Sarah. I am your new carer for the next few years. I have already collected your sister, and the doctors are looking after her. Come with me.
JOE: Why should I? You’re just going to try and brainwash me as well!
SARAH: You could always stay here.
(PAUSE)
JOE: (DEFEATED) I’m coming.
(DUNGEON SOUNDS FADE OUT, COUNTRY SOUNDS FADE IN)
SARAH: You will have a good life with me. There are only a couple of years until I come of age, and then you need to be transferred to another carer.
JOE: I didn’t think you could change carers…
SARAH: If you hadn’t been so rebellious you would have been able to appeal to the mother for a transfer.
JOE: How did you get Miranda to a doctor?
SARAH: When I described her symptoms and her condition to Mother, she told me to take her to a doctor. Again, if you hadn’t been so rebellious then Mother would have taken notice and supplied you with antibiotics instead of taking your food away.
JOE: Speaking of food…
SARAH: I am to feed you both today, but if you do not return to the establishment tomorrow then I will not be permitted to feed you.
JOE: Miranda as well?
SARAH: She is not well enough to attend for the next few days. As such, your attendance will be providing food for both of you.
JOE: Do you have any books?
(PAUSE)
SARAH: Yes. Mother has given me the task of deciding if you are strong enough to read them. I will be monitoring you over the next few weeks. Impress me, and you can read them.
JOE: What do you think of them?
SARAH: (SNAPPING) Hush! (VOICE SOFTENING) There are microphones everywhere. This is a good chance you have. Don’t jeopardise it.
(THEY FALL SILENT. COUNTRY SOUNDS FADE OUT. SOUND OF A TAPE BEING FAST FORWARDED FADES IN)
MOTHER: The improvement of the youngers over the past few months is astonishing. Their obedience was almost immediate following their release from quarantine.
(STATIC IN BACKGROUND, AS ON A BADLY TUNED RADIO OR TV)
I watch my Children all the time. Children need to be watched to make sure they behave. I reward good behaviour, punish bad. The system is faultless. Some of my Children hate me… But they all love me. All Children love their mother, even as they hate. Without me, there would be no order in their life. They are grateful. In the depths of their mind, they are grateful.
(STATIC FADES OUT)
SARAH: Gospel according to Mother:
(READING, MIMICKING THE DEAD TONES OF THE MOTHER) ‘In the beginning, there was chaos. No mother to lead and care for the children running amok. One solitary woman saw, and did what she could, but to no avail. Gradually, her work was recognised, and her voice was heard. The children flocked to her, begged her to look after them. They built her the Institute, so that she could put her eyes everywhere.
(PAUSE)
There is no violence. No riots, no murders, no brawls, no playground bullies, no rapists stalking the streets. The system is flawless. Your Mother takes care of you well.’
(PAUSE. THE SOUND OF A BOOK BEING PUT DOWN)
Books are dangerous. Mother decides which people are strong enough to read the atrocities hidden in the pages of books. Only her book is allowed. I have read a lot; I have a strong mind. I learned. I learned that without Mother constantly watching, constantly listening, humanity would be as good as dead.
MOTHER: (STATIC IN BACKGROUND AGAIN) No parents should have favourites. But I find myself growing fond of some, while others I despair of. For example, the family at 22 Chester Road; they are a particular source of irritation for me. The youngers attempt to thwart me and rebel, refusing education every few months. Each time it is for longer, but they always return. They haven’t been to the Establishment for nearly a week now; they have gone without food for just as long. I won’t give them their food until they return, and when they do they will thank me.
(STATIC FADES IN)
KEITH: (SMELLING THE AIR) That smells good…
MIRANDA: (BITTERLY) Yeah, smells great…
ANN: Sit down, everybody.
JOE: (ANGRILY) What’s the point? You’re just going to taunt us again.
KEITH & ANN: Mother wants us to talk to you.
JOE: Here we go… (SOUND OF A CHAIR BEING SCRAPED BACK)
K & A: You have not been going to the establishment. You need to return. Without food you will die. You know this.
JOE: (BURSTING OUT) So feed us!
KEITH: There is not enough food for you.
ANN: Only for us.
KEITH: You need to be educated.
MIRANDA: I’m ill, for crying out loud!
JOE: And somebody has to look after her! For carers you don’t seem to give a toss!
K & A: You are not ill unless Mother says you are ill.
JOE: (SHOUTING) Ok, Mother, here are the symptoms: vomiting, diarrhoea, high fever coupled with cold sweats. You hear that Mother? She’s ILL and your carers aren’t doing JACK about it!
ANN: Be quiet, Joseph! Mother, we apologise -
JOE: Here we go…
ANN: - most sincerely for his behaviour. The boy is almost beyond control. Only your hand can discipline him.
JOE: Blah de blah de blah… crawling and creeping and fawning over a camera! I don’t think there’s anyone there at all! I think you’re just taking our food away from us to try and convince us there’s some old biddy that controls everything.
KEITH: (HISSES) Do you want to go to Quarantine?
(SILENCE)
MIRANDA: Sorry, mother. We will be at the Establishment tomorrow. Come on, Joe.
(SOUND OF CHAIRS BEING SCRAPED BACK, AND DISTANT SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS GOING UPSTAIRS)
(STATIC FADES IN)
MOTHER: Whereas Sarah, of number 89, Devon road, is a model pupil. She is in the transition age from younger to worker. She will graduate from the Establishment in a few weeks, and I need to decide the work that she will perform best. She would make a fine Mother. If that is my decision, she will need to undergo rigorous training. Should she pass, the microchip will be removed from her neck, and she will monitor everybody. In the meantime… perhaps she would be able to discipline the children. Joseph and Miranda. They need someone with a strong enough mind to care for them. We shall see.
(STATIC FADES OUT)
SARAH: (SOUNDS NORMAL, MORE HUMAN THAN WHEN SHE WAS READING FROM MOTHER’S BOOK. SOUNDS LIKE A RECORDING ON A DICTAPHONE, WITH COUNTRY NOISES IN THE BACKGROUND) I read to pass the time. That’s all there is to do to pass the time. I wonder what I will be when I graduate from the Establishment? Doctor? Labourer? Carer? Enforcer? Not many options… There is no money since Mother came to power, and very little crime. Mother is judge and jury all rolled into one. She is right: there is no murder, no violence. Everyone follows her blindly.
(PAUSE)
Mother opened my eyes with the first book she gave me. A romance, she said it was… I read it, asked for definitions for most of the words, and re-read it when I understood. It opened my eyes, and I had to pretend to keep them closed. Open eyes are dangerous; you might get so absorbed with new sights that you lose your way; better to keep your eyes closed and hope someone directs you.
(COUNTRY NOISES FADE OUT)
JOE: (LOW, URGENT WHISPER) Miranda, wake up!
(MIRANDA GROANS)
Come on, Miranda! We’re going. I’ve had enough of this place.
MIRANDA: (FULLY AWAKE NOW) Are you crazy?! She can still hear you!
JOE: I’ve got to try. We need to get out of here, try and get to another country… I bet they don’t have a Mother who controls everyone…
MIRANDA: Another country? They’re only in stories though… There’s only this country.
JOE: Who told us that? The Mother, of course! She hates the idea of someone being beyond her control, so she’s convinced herself and everyone else that we are the only ones on this planet.
MIRANDA: But -
(A LOUD SLAM AS THE DOOR BURSTS OPEN. MIRANDA SCREAMS BRIEFLY)
ENFORCER: (VOICE MUFFLED, LIKE IN A GAS MASK) This is Enforcement. Remain quiet and stay where you are. Joseph and Miranda, you are charged with conspiracy to overthrow the Mother. As such, you will be taken to Quarantine and remain there until the Mother decides a suitable punishment for you. You should not say anything in your defence; anything you do say will be taken as an admission of guilt. Come with us. Resistance will not be tolerated.
MIRANDA: (MISERABLY) Why didn’t we listen…
(SOUND OF MARCHING, FADING AWAY)
SARAH: I got a notice today… I’m going to start training to be Mother as soon as I come of age. There’s still a couple of years to go until then… what will I do in the meantime? The Mother will tell me soon. I cannot refuse this honour; to do so is to be relocated to a lower sector, with one ration pack a day. I would never be able to work my way back to this position in Mother’s esteem.
Mother decides everything. Who is a carer, an enforcer, a labourer, a doctor. Only the carers are allowed to… to… (REVULSION) reproduce… because children are the future. I will never… do that… But if I pass, they will all be my children. What a strange thought.
(STATIC FADES IN)
MOTHER: The more I think on it, the more the idea has merit. She is the perfect solution; Sarah will teach them to love me properly. They already love me, but Sarah will show them that they do. Quarantine will have left them malleable, easier to teach. She will get through to them. She had better.
(STATIC FADES OUT)
(SOUND OF DRIPPING FADES IN, ECHOING, AS IN A DUNGEON OR CAVE. JOE’S WORD’S ALSO ECHO, TO SHOW THEY ARE HIS THOUGHTS, NOT SPOKEN WORD)
JOE: (ECHOING) No time in here… How long? Don’t know. No food though… I’m hungry. I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate her
DON’T! She can hear thoughts… Can she? Another myth? Don’t know. Don’t risk. Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry I should have believed, should have listened… Mother knows best, Mother always knows best.
Where’s Miranda? She’s too ill for a place like this. I wish she could hear me… don’t say anything, the walls start screaming at you.
(SOUND OF A DOOR OPENING)
What’s that? (SPEAKING NORMALLY) Who’s there? Miranda?
SARAH: My name is Sarah. I am your new carer for the next few years. I have already collected your sister, and the doctors are looking after her. Come with me.
JOE: Why should I? You’re just going to try and brainwash me as well!
SARAH: You could always stay here.
(PAUSE)
JOE: (DEFEATED) I’m coming.
(DUNGEON SOUNDS FADE OUT, COUNTRY SOUNDS FADE IN)
SARAH: You will have a good life with me. There are only a couple of years until I come of age, and then you need to be transferred to another carer.
JOE: I didn’t think you could change carers…
SARAH: If you hadn’t been so rebellious you would have been able to appeal to the mother for a transfer.
JOE: How did you get Miranda to a doctor?
SARAH: When I described her symptoms and her condition to Mother, she told me to take her to a doctor. Again, if you hadn’t been so rebellious then Mother would have taken notice and supplied you with antibiotics instead of taking your food away.
JOE: Speaking of food…
SARAH: I am to feed you both today, but if you do not return to the establishment tomorrow then I will not be permitted to feed you.
JOE: Miranda as well?
SARAH: She is not well enough to attend for the next few days. As such, your attendance will be providing food for both of you.
JOE: Do you have any books?
(PAUSE)
SARAH: Yes. Mother has given me the task of deciding if you are strong enough to read them. I will be monitoring you over the next few weeks. Impress me, and you can read them.
JOE: What do you think of them?
SARAH: (SNAPPING) Hush! (VOICE SOFTENING) There are microphones everywhere. This is a good chance you have. Don’t jeopardise it.
(THEY FALL SILENT. COUNTRY SOUNDS FADE OUT. SOUND OF A TAPE BEING FAST FORWARDED FADES IN)
MOTHER: The improvement of the youngers over the past few months is astonishing. Their obedience was almost immediate following their release from quarantine.
Published 15th Dec 2009
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