“APARTMENT Z”
By Jesse Lee
Short Play – Drama
1M, 1F, 1M or F
CHARACTERS:
WILLOW
SAM
TECHNICIAN
A picture perfect apartment living room. Typical layout—a couch, a chair, a coffee table, etc. A painting easel sits off to the side of the room. A young man enters hesitantly, knocking gently as he comes in. He seems unsure of what to expect. He is wearing slacks and a dress shirt. The overall effect is soft, slow and dreamlike. Soft lighting, soft words, etc. He looks around.
SAM: Hello?
A striking young woman walks into the room. She wears a simple, summery sundress. She smiles at the young man.
WILLOW : Hello, Sam.
SAM: Willow?
WILLOW : I’m glad you found the place okay.
SAM: ( distant ) Yeah.
WILLOW : How have you been?
SAM: I…wow.
WILLOW : Is something wrong?
SAM: No, I just…it’s just seeing you again…
WILLOW : It has been a while. Please sit.
Sam sits in a big chair at the head of a coffee table. Willow sits on the couch that is on the lengthy side of the coffee table. He looks at her for a moment.
SAM: It’s felt like so long!
WILLOW : Would you like some tea? You still drink tea, yes?
SAM: Yes, please.
Willow picks up a cup of tea that has somehow already been poured and was waiting behind something on the coffee table. She hands it to Sam. Sam is going to drink it but stops before taking a sip. He looks at it slightly confused before setting it down on the coffee table. He motions to an easel off to the side of the apartment.
SAM: You’re still painting?
WILLOW : You remember that I like to paint.
SAM: Yes.
WILLOW : That is sweet. I’m glad you remember that.
Sam gets up and walks around.
SAM: Of course I remember. I remember all kinds of things. Even little things.
Pause.
SAM: It’s all the little things that taunt me.
WILLOW : I’m sorry.
SAM: I wish you hadn’t left me.
She puts her hand on his face.
WILLOW : Oh, Sam. Sometimes…things don’t always work out the way we want them to.
SAM: I’ve missed you so much.
WILLOW : You will always have a place in my heart, Sam. Just as I will always have a place in yours. No matter what should happen in the future, nothing can take that away from us.
SAM: At night, I dream about you. I see you, you’re there with me. I touch and feel you, I smell you.
WILLOW : Is it like this?
SAM: No. This is…this is…I thought I would never see you again.
WILLOW : I’m glad you decided to.
Pause.
SAM: I’m sorry, it’s just…I don’t really know what to say. I can’t even be for sure why I am here. Maybe I am just wanting some closure. I don’t know. You left so suddenly, it left a lot of things unresolved.
WILLOW : This is not going to bring closure for you, Sam.
SAM: Then maybe I don’t want that.
WILLOW : No.
SAM: Can I hold you?
WILLOW : Yes.
They embrace in a hug.
SAM: You’re warm.
Pause.
SAM: Everyday, I wish that you would come back to me.
They separate from their embrace.
WILLOW : You know I can’t, Sam. I can’t go back to the way things were. This…this is my home now.
SAM: I know. It doesn’t change the fact that I would give anything to make things like they were before. I want to wake up with you…I want to see you everyday.
WILLOW : You can see me when you want. And the waking up…maybe.
Willow looks back over her shoulder for a moment, then looks back to Sam.
SAM: You have to go?
WILLOW : For now.
She places her hand on Sam’s face.
WILLOW : It was nice to see you, Sam.
SAM: I’m so glad I got to see you again. To touch you. For real.
Willow looks into Sam’s eyes with a look that reflects the slightest hint of confusion.
SAM: All I can think about is how much I still love you.
WILLOW : You should also think about how much I still love you. I hope you come back again.
SAM: Me too.
WILLOW : You can always find me. I will be here.
Willow walks out the same door that she entered from. Sam watches her leave and continues to stare at the door after she has vanished. A technician wearing a white lab coat and carrying a clipboard enters through the same door that Sam initially entered the apartment. The technician’s presence does not surprise Sam at all.
TECH: Well, what do you think? Do you like it?
SAM: It’s amazing.
TECH: Nothing like the SANCTUARY program has ever been developed before.
Pause.
TECH: You are standing inside the forefront of modern neuroscience. The interface itself runs on a state-of-the-art quanto-binary operating system.
SAM: So is it a dream?
TECH: Not precisely. It’s a cognative spatial recompilation of anamnesis data extracted from your neo-cortex.
Sam either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care or is just too entranced by the surroundings to reply.
TECH: It’s like a dream, a virtual reality, and a parallel universe all put together.
SAM: It feels so real.
TECH: The goal was to make it so neuro-responsive that it would be indistinguishable from reality.
Sam picks the cup of tea back up and inspects it.
SAM: How do you do it?
TECH: Well, simply put, this room, and all the items contained in it, are all programmed into an interface platform based on a specific set of physical constants drawn from the real world. Take that teacup, for instance. Were you to drop it in here, you would perceive the teacup breaking on the ground because your brain is telling you that gravity is an unbreakable constant in the real world. Obviously, because we all come from the same real world, the physical rules of the SANCTUARY platform are the same for everyone.
Willow enters the room again and sits down at the easel. She seems completely oblivious to both Sam and the technician.
SAM: But what about her? How do you… make her…so that I can touch her. It’s like…she’s really there.
TECH: That’s the anamnesis data exclusive to you. We quantized it into the digital interface so that you can experience it in a simulated, responsive environment. All the memories you have that are specific of her—of how she was before the accident—her voice, her eyes, her touch, her mannerisms, even her smell—everything down to the smallest detail, has been extracted and uploaded into an interactive file operating within the SANCTUARY program. You can feel her because you know what it is like to feel her.
SAM: Can I just stay in here forever?
TECH: I’m sorry. We cannot allow that for obvious reasons. The body cannot sustain itself from inside this environment. Therefore, you are only allowed to stay for up to one eight hour duration per day. That being the max of course, but you could surely stay for any length of time shorter than that as well.
SAM: But people do want to stay here permanently, don’t they?
TECH: Of course. Grief and loss are incredible burdens to deal with. The SANCTUARY allows them access to an environment where those emotions are placated. In here they can get past it.
SAM: In here they can avoid it.
TECH: Look at it however you wish, Mr.Williams. But are you not here for the very same reasons?
SAM: I don’t know. I’m just looking for a way to deal.
TECH: Precisely. As are many others in your situation.
SAM: You are offering them a fantasy world that is much more desirable than their reality could ever be. By showing them a glimpse into this alternative, then sending them back to their reality, is that damaging? I can’t help but think that this SANCTUARY program…it could destroy some people.
TECH: There are many people every day that cannot deal with grief in the real world and end up doing something destructive. By offering them a chance to get back what they lost, even if it is only for short periods at a time, one could argue that the SANCTUARY program saves people instead.
SAM: Have you used it yourself? To see someone?
TECH: No.
SAM: Why not?
TECH: I simply haven’t had to.
SAM: Would you ever?
TECH: I can’t really speculate about that.
Sam looks at the tech closely, waiting for a real response. The tech sighs.
TECH: If I was in the same position as some of the clients that we have, then yes, I believe that I would give it a try.
Sam looks around the apartment again.
SAM: This was our first apartment together.
TECH: We find it helpful to introduce people into the SANCTUARY through a familiar environment. This apartment file was designed specifically for you and would be included in your package. There are also dozens of other location programs that can be uploaded into your file to provide additional locales—hotel rooms, parks, even the Eiffel Tower—all complimentary. But if you are so inclined, custom environments can be programmed in for an additional fee. Maybe you want to relive your honeymoon or go back to the place of your first kiss. Anything is possible in the SANCTUARY.
SAM: How much does it cost?
TECH: $12,000 per month is the cost, but only you can know how much it’s worth.
SAM: $12,000 to keep the memories of your loved one alive.
TECH: No. $12,000 to keep the life you had with your loved one alive.
SAM: I want it.
TECH: Perfect. Follow me right this way, I’ll take you to administration and we can get you started with the paperwork.
The tech walks out of the doorway. Sam follows, but stops right before the doorway and turns back to look at Willow. She now responds to his presence and looks over to him and smiles. Sam smiles back at her, then turns and walks out the door after the technician.
THE END.