A Million Open Doors by John Barnes

Author:John Barnes [Barnes, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9780812516333
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 1993-10-07T23:00:00+00:00

thought of some things Bieris had said to me earlier, and realized how silly some of my posturing must look to her ... and to the students at the Center.

When at last we were permitted to sit down, Thorwald came onto the stage almost at once, as if afraid of any loss of momentum, and seemed edgier than before. The reason became clear in a moment: "Our final piece is by a playwright of such remarkable ability, and represents so major a break-through for him and indeed for all of Caledon culture, that I can only say to you

... I wrote it."

The place roared with laughter and he looked relieved. I realized he had no idea how dependable that old joke was.

Deu, he probably thought he had invented it.

"Let me point out that because this is the first presentation of this play anywhere, there are no accepted interpretations of any of the roles, so our actors have truly had to create from scratch." There was another scattered burst of clapping, probably from the more supportive friends of the actors. "What that means, of course, is that if they get it wrong, it's not my fault—I assure you it was written brilliantly." More laughter followed; I saw Thorwald check for a cue from backstage, and then he added, "All right, I suppose I really can't delay this any longer. If you have any questions I'll be out in the hallway, either biting my nails or throwing up."

A group of awkward people in mostly dark clothing, working in mostly dark that they didn't blend in with, lurched around getting two tables and four chairs onto the stage.

"Oh, uh, yap," Thorwald added, returning to the stage, "the play is called Creighton's

Job."

His exit was even more awkward this time.

The actors stumbled and thudded a lot getting into places in the dark, and there was a little tittering at that. When the lights came up, all the actors were scratching or shuffling to a new position, so of course things took a moment to start. I noticed they all wore prompter earpieces, so at least we would not be treated to the charming effect of watching them try to remember their lines.

As far as I could make out—there was too much laughter and applause too often, and apparently the play was set in the back country up beyond Gomorrah Gap, far to the icy south, so the accents were thick—the play was about Creighton, whose parents wanted him to get a good job and kept proving to him—using a blackboard at the dinner table, for example—that he wanted one. Then he would go interview, always with the same man (I was not sure whether this was part of the joke or a shortage of actors) and after a lot of complicated mathematics, and a lot of (apparently hilarious and possibly ribald) dialogue in Reason, Creighton's father would get the job.

After the second time this happened, the pattern began to vary and escalate—Creighton's mother got hired,

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