20XX
CharactersSOPHIA is a beautiful five-year-old with curly, blonde hair and hazel eyes. She wears a puffed-short-sleeve plum velvet dress with a lace collar. She has on white tights and black dress shoes with gold buckles. Her hair is half-up, tied with a red ribbon.
RICHARD is Sophia's father, a middle-aged professional. He is tall and of medium build, dressed in a navy blue business suit with a striped red tie. He does not have spectacles.
ROXANNE is Sophia's mother. She is in her late twenties, with medium-length auburn hair and green eyes. She wears a cosmopolitan knee-length white coat and matching beret. Under that is a sleeveless, short white dress. Her shoes are a pair of flashy Manolo Blahnik stilettos.
DOCTOR is the founder of AmNes. He has thick glasses on and rowdy white hair, but no facial hair. He wears a doctor's white coat and black slacks with brown shoes.
AMY is the secretary at AmNes. She is a brunette, sharply dressed in a loosely buttoned silk blouse and gray pencil skirt with black heels.
RHONDA is one of ROXANNE's friends. She has her brown hair up in a loose bun, with tendrils falling out. She wears a flowing white dress with floral designs and a wide-brimmed woven white hat. She has a pair of white silk gloves, which she takes off during tea.
WHITNEY is another of ROXANNE's friends. She has blonde hair cut in a bob. She wears a white tank top with pressed white slacks. She has on white heels. She also sports a diamond tennis bracelet and diamond necklace.
Scene 1Stage lights are dimmed. A single spotlight shines on RICHARD, center stage.
RICHARD: She... she was born beautiful. One of those babies, y'know, that wasn't affected by the blood of the umbilical cord or the slime of her mother's uterus. When Roxanne – that's my wife – held her for the first time, she turned to me and said, "She's beautiful." And I agreed, because, despite her damp hair and closed eyes, she was. Now, we named her Sophia, meaning "wisdom." We thought it would be great not to only have a beautiful child, but a wise one, as well. After all, what's both beautiful and wise? Perfection.
Spotlight fades. Lights reveal an elegant living room with adjoining kitchen. ROXANNE, RHONDA, and WHITNEY are seated around a table with a teapot, teacups, and various tea cookies on top.
ROXANNE: ... so I said to her, "What gives you the right to take over? I'm the president of the PTA!" And you should've seen her! Shut her up so fast she didn't even know what hit her!
They ALL laugh. SOPHIA enters and walks towards ROXANNE.
RHONDA: (notices SOPHIA) Darling, come over here! Don't be shy. Oh, Roxanne, you have the most adorable child ever!
ROXANNE: (smiles smugly) I know, isn't she? Come here, dear...
SOPHIA climbs into her mother's lap and sits.
WHITNEY: I must agree. She is the prettiest child I have ever seen! You must be very proud.
ROXANNE: Oh, I am. (looks at SOPHIA) What is it, dear?
SOPHIA: (with a confused tone) Today we learned about ad-ad-addition. But I don't get it. (holding up two fingers) They said one plus one was two. I tried counting, but I don't get it.
RHONDA and WHITNEY laugh.
RHONDA: Isn't she just the most precious thing, Whit?
WHITNEY: Indeed!
ROXANNE: (slightly annoyed) Honey, let's discuss this after Mommy's finished with tea, okay? Then I'll help you with addition. Run along, now.
ROXANNE pushes SOPHIA off her lap. SOPHIA exits. ROXANNE is visibly annoyed, but changes her mood into distress when RHONDA and WHITNEY look at her.
ROXANNE: (sighs) I... I don't know what to do with her. (looks at RHONDA and WHITNEY pleadingly) She doesn't understand anything, no matter how many times I explain it! I don't usually say this, but... she's so stupid!
RHONDA: Now, now... (pats ROXANNE on the shoulder) There are other solutions! I've heard of this great doctor, who can do wonders on a person's mind.
WHITNEY: Oh, yes! He fixed my husband up right good. Really something, really something...
ROXANNE: Really? There's hope for my Sophia after all?
RHONDA: Yes! Now, what this doctor does is... (voice fades to just a murmur)
Lights fade to black.
Scene 2
ROXANNE and RICHARD are sitting across from each other in the living room. ROXANNE is studying her nails and RICHARD is reading the Business section of a newspaper. SOPHIA is sitting on the ground in front of the coffee table, drawing and coloring with crayons.
ROXANNE: Richard, dear... I have a proposal to make.
RICHARD: (glances up from the newspaper) What is it?
ROXANNE: You know how we've always wanted the best for Sophia?
RICHARD: Of course.
ROXANNE: Haven't you realized how incredibly dim-witted she is?
RICHARD: That's because she's only five. How precocious can you expect a five-year-old to be?
ROXANNE: Richard, you don't understand. Today, she asked me why one plus one was two. And she even counted on her fingers and couldn't get it! There must be something wrong with that.
RICHARD: (puts down the paper) So maybe Sophia isn't mathematically inclined. What's wrong with that?
ROXANNE: It's not as simple as that. I think Sophia is... (lowers voice) stupid.
RICHARD: Nonsense! She just has some trouble with arithmetic!
ROXANNE: Well, I think we should send her to that doctor's program.
RICHARD: What program?
ROXANNE: AmNes. Rhonda and Whitney recommended it to me highly.
RICHARD: (annoyed tone) I've heard about that. And I don't want Sophia taking any part in it.
ROXANNE: But it could do wonders for her! Just think! You've always wanted a daughter who would be able to take over your micro technology company, right? She'd need to get good at math and such! Plus, we can program knowledge about the stock market. You two would have swell conversations. Just swell!
RICHARD: No, Roxanne. They wipe the patient's mind. I don't want them destroying Sophia. I like her the way she is!
ROXANNE: (getting angry) Well, I don't! She's stupid! She's just like those cheerleaders in high school – pretty but stupid! I won't have her being like that!
RICHARD: Her personality will be completely gone! I don't want Sophia if she's not going to be Sophia!
ROXANNE: (visibly angry now) I named her Sophia so she would be bright! I didn't get pregnant for nine months to give birth to a stupid child.
RICHARD: Stop calling her stupid! She is not! Why do you want to destroy her?
ROXANNE: It's not destroying her; it's improving her.
RICHARD: Yeah... improving her for your benefit. I never knew you were so selfish, Roxanne!
ROXANNE: It's for her own benefit, too. So she can be a smart child.
RICHARD: How does overwriting her hard drive and installing a new one constitute as improvement, anyway? It's obliteration!
ROXANNE: Stop using those computer terms! Fine, I'm upgrading her.
RICHARD: Sophia isn't a computer. She's not a machine. We can't just "upgrade" her whenever we feel like it.
ROXANNE: But she doesn't know anything yet. And she probably never will. (pauses) I think you fail to grasp the gravity of this situation. At this rate, Sophia is not going to get into Yale. She is not going to attend your beloved alma mater.
RICHARD: I don't care about any of that. I just want Sophia to... (voice fades off)
ROXANNE and RICHARD's voices drift off as the lights dim on them. Spotlight shines on SOPHIA, still drawing on the coffee table.
SOPHIA: (absentmindedly to herself) Mommy and Daddy are talking again... I never know what they're saying. (pauses) I like ponies. Ponies are pretty. Maybe Daddy will get me a pony after he's done talking to Mommy. (looks up from her drawing) I like drawing, too. It makes me happy. I don't get adding, but I get drawing. (picks up her drawing and looks at it, tilting it to the audience)
The drawing is of a horse, with excellent shading and strong use of lines. SOPHIA is obviously talented and continues to look at it as the lights dim on her side, as well.
Scene 3
AMY sits behind a reception desk with the word "AmNes" on the wall behind her. She is smiling at the door blankly, waiting for someone to arrive. ROXANNE strides in, dragging SOPHIA by the hand. SOPHIA looks around, confused.
AMY: Hello! Welcome to AmNes. I'm Amy. How may I help you?
ROXANNE: Hello. I made an appointment with the Doctor last night.
AMY: (still smiling blankly) One moment, please. (picks up the telephone and pushes a button) Hello, Doctor? Your eight o'clock appointment is here. Should I send them in? (hangs up) The door is on your right. Please go in.
Before ROXANNE and SOPHIA get too far, the door opens and there stands the DOCTOR.
DOCTOR: Hello. Roxanne and... Sophia, right?
ROXANNE: Oh, Doctor! Yeah. I know I called you kind of late last night, but...
DOCTOR: (waves her sentence off) It's perfectly fine. I am accustomed to it.
ROXANNE: (laughs) Of course you must be. My husband doesn't know I've taken her yet, so I hope you do a good job.
DOCTOR: I've been told that I'm quite good at what I do. Do you know the specifications of the operation?
ROXANNE: I'm afraid not... but you came highly recommended by two friends of mine, so I'm sure it will be okay.
DOCTOR: Either way, it's still protocol for me to inform you. First, we will chemically induce amnesia in the patient. (nods towards SOPHIA) Afterwards, it will be possible to place "trigger" commands in her brain. Cause A, Effect B. Someone says something, she'll respond with whatever's appropriate.
ROXANNE: It sounds... lovely.
DOCTOR: (chuckles) Did you enjoy Amy?
ROXANNE: Amy?
DOCTOR: My receptionist. She was a product of the AmNes operation, as well. Could you tell?
ROXANNE: Oh! Not at all! Very impressive.
DOCTOR: (smiles) Then, shall we begin?
ROXANNE: Absolutely! (turns to SOPHIA) Sophia.
SOPHIA does not respond.
ROXANNE: (sharper tone) Sophia!
SOPHIA: (snaps her head towards ROXANNE) What?
ROXANNE: (impatiently) You're impossible. Let's go, honey.
ROXANNE grabs SOPHIA by the wrist and pulls her into the next room. DOCTOR follows them into the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Lights begin to dim, the brightest light shining on AMY, who is still smiling blankly. The light immediately goes out.
Scene 4
We are in the house again. RICHARD is sitting on the couch in the living room, a bottle of Jack Daniels and a shot glass in front of him, on the coffee table. He looks visibly haggard. He is not wearing his jacket, his tie is loosened, and his shirt is not completely buttoned.
RICHARD: (puts his head in his hands) Oh, God... what has Roxanne done? What has she done to Sophia? Where has she gone? (pours himself another shot and drinks it) Sophia... Sophia... (starts sobbing, but notices SOPHIA's drawing from last night on the table)
RICHARD picks it up and looks at it.
RICHARD: Sophia... please come back the way you left. Please. Please. I love you the way you are...
The front door opens. ROXANNE and SOPHIA enter.
SOPHIA: (brightly) Daddy! (runs towards RICHARD and hugs him)
ROXANNE: (sniffs the air) Have you been drinking?
RICHARD: I was worried something drastic was going to happen to her. Thank God! (sits on the couch with SOPHIA on his lap) She seems okay.
ROXANNE: (shrugs) See? I told you I wouldn't destroy her. I'm going to make myself a smoothie. (goes into the kitchen)
RICHARD:Sophia!
SOPHIA: Yes, Daddy?
RICHARD: (holds up SOPHIA's drawing for her to see) I was taking a look at this drawing you drew, and I'm quite impressed with it. Maybe we should look into art classes for you.
SOPHIA: I don't know what you're talking about, Daddy.
RICHARD: (looks at SOPHIA hard) What exactly... did they do to you at AmNes?
SOPHIA: Oh, they thought me lots of things! Like about the stock market! (goes into a slight trance) When investing in the stock market, the ideal is to buy low and sell high. A common mistake of amateur investors is to panic at the first sign of fluctuation and impulsively –
RICHARD: Wait, wait, wait. (covering her mouth with a finger) How did you learn this?
SOPHIA: (blinks) I don't know. I just know that whenever someone says "investing" or "stock market," that's something I can say.
RICHARD: Do you know what any of it means?
SOPHIA: (shakes head) No. But I'm supposed to go in and get more stuff installed. Then I'll know!
RICHARD: Darling, you wait here a second. I'm going to speak with Mommy, okay?
RICHARD walks into the kitchen, where ROXANNE is drinking a smoothie with a straw.
RICHARD: (in a stern tone) What did they do to her?
ROXANNE: I told you. They installed trigger words into her brain. Besides, you said so yourself. She seems fine.
RICHARD: That's before she started talking about the stock market. The stock market, for crying out loud!
ROXANNE: That was part of the upgrade.
RICHARD: Does... does she have any idea what anything she says means?
ROXANNE: I guess not.
RICHARD: And... you don't care?
ROXANNE: About what?
RICHARD: That she doesn't understand us! That what we say is no more than a trigger in her mind. That she doesn't even know what she's saying herself! She'll never even feel any emotions, because, because... she doesn't understand anything besides these triggers!
ROXANNE: (shrugs) She can convey emotions. She's programmed to cry when someone dies, to laugh when something funny happens, to smile when something good occurs. Isn't that emotion?
RICHARD: No. That's a robot. You've turned her into a machine. This is just what I was afraid of! She's turned into your pawn, saying your words for you!
ROXANNE: At least she sounds smart doing it.
RICHARD: You don't get it, do you? You've turned her into an appliance, an object – something you can trade in when it no longer fits with your decor. But she's not like that! She's human!
ROXANNE: (exasperated, slamming her glass on the counter) You know what I don't get? You. I've made her so she'll be able to talk about all the things you've ever wanted to talk to her about. And now you're complaining about it not actually being her? That's because the real "her" is too stupid to talk about stuff like that! She may not know what she's saying or be able to feel any emotions, but she's able to pretend like it!
RICHARD: But... she's not... herself.
ROXANNE: (picks up her glass and rinses it in the sink) Whatever.
RICHARD stares at ROXANNE for a moment, then turns away and walks into the living room, where SOPHIA is sitting on the couch.
RICHARD: (softly) Hey, Sophia...
SOPHIA: Yes, Daddy?
RICHARD: Hello.
SOPHIA: (walks over and hugs him) Hello, Daddy.
Lights fade until there is one spotlight on RICHARD. SOPHIA is frozen with her arms around him. RICHARD looks at the audience.
RICHARD: (embittered) "Hello," she said. "Hello." As if she knows what it means.
Spotlight fades.