pipsqueak
a one-act play
CHARACTERS:
SOCRATES
DAIMON
PYRRHON
THE TREES (chorus)
YOU (the reader)
The stoa colonnade in the agora, late afternoon. Bare-footed and clad in a humble himation, SOCRATES descends upon some rocks to sit at the edge of a stone bench. Behind him, the DAIMON skips like a little mountain goat; giggles gurgle from his stomach onto the space. Everything within a meter of his existence seems brighter, the colors ultra-saturated.
SOCRATES sits and looks out yonder towards the agora. It’s very busy, a lot of people milling about. One of his students is loudly stating his thesis, his leg propped up on a box. From far away, one can see his open mouth, some spittle. So passionate, so full of vigor and conviction.
PYRRHON
NO! I SHALL speak. Your logic is weak, it folds to the simplest questioning. What the human spirit needs to do is ask themselves first “what is it that I ACTUALLY want?” not be like — (in sarcastic, high-pitched voice) meh meh meh, I should sacrifice my last three goats to Zeus... because I am scared!
Some people gasp. The TREES tremble with resonance. SOCRATES shakes his head.
SOCRATES
(mutters) He’s not wrong... But when will Pyrrhon learn that volume does not equal power?
He laughs, then sighs. He pats the stone bench.
SOCRATES
(to DAIMON) Come on, little one. Come on. I have questions for you.
The DAIMON hops over the bench and sits contentedly beside him. DAIMON looks up and around at the five trees that provide them with shade. He then looks to the side and winks at the oldest.
SOCRATES looks down at his toes, wiggles them. His hand is on his stomach. He is in obvious pain. Instead of whimpers or yelps, he expresses his deep discomfort with held breath. He is gritting his teeth.
DAIMON notices, and puts his little hand on SOCRATES. The DAIMON’s eyes are very serious, almost scary in their focus.
DAIMON
Breathe out. Or I’ll tickle you.
SOCRATES smiles and lets out the air in measured lengths.
SOCRATES
The powers that be are murmuring.
[BEAT]
That I corrupt the youth, turn them into heathens. That I myself am one. Maybe they’re right. But I believe in what I know, what I see, what I experience. I may not know much, but...
[ANOTHER BEAT]
You are real. I call, you answer. You pull me back when I am off my path, and then let me make the decision. Free will till the very end. Isn’t that much more worthy to consider than capricious gods, puppets of the leadership? Gods who most likely are gallivanting in the fields and the oceans, leaving their statues behind. Having sex, eating, all the things an embodied creature could choose to do in their vessels of flesh.
DAIMON sits very still. His eyes glint like coins peeking through soil.
SOCRATES
(cont.) The wicked are saying, “exile or death.” I don’t want to leave Athens. I don’t want to leave my students. Their growth gives me life, they inspire me to keep questioning, seeking. Seeing Pyrrhon and the others build their mental frameworks and then live their lives accordingly... is a marvel to behold. The cosmos reborn.
SOCRATES grimaces hard, hand pressing deeper into his stomach, as if trying to hold his insides together.
(to DAIMON) What do I do?
The TREES sway around them, and they sing like oracles.
THE TREES
You know, you know, you know.
Responsibility for your life rests on you.
Who but yourself will you answer to at the end of your days?
DAIMON’s eyes soften from intensity to a spaced-out gaze. He still has his little hand on SOCRATES’.
SOCRATES
Should I leave? Go on the run, become everything I am not just to survive. I’d be alive yet dead.
DAIMON
(gently, but with such firmness you’d need a saw to cut it in half) No.
The TREES shiver joyously.
THE TREES
You know, you know, you know.
SOCRATES
(to himself) I would rather die having spoken in my manner, than speak in their manner and live.
SOCRATES stands and hobbles towards the audience, specifically YOU, the reader.
SOCRATES
The unexamined life is not worth living. I may try something and fail... and yet, what a blessing that is. Will you condemn me when the hour is nigh?
YOU
(you answer)
[END]