Children of the Sun Read online

  Boris Back to the drawing board, Archimedes.

  Protasov is gone.

  He hasn’t got the common touch.

  Liza They’re very reluctant to. Hear. Reason …

  Boris He should have whacked him.

  Liza Don’t talk like that.

  Boris Well. I mean, he said it. He said, he gets beaten and so he beats. Ipso facto, he needs to be beaten to stop him beating.

  Liza It’s not funny.

  Boris That’s how it works. That’s what … Punishment / works. Like that.

  Liza I can’t bear it. Joking. Easy irony. That’s harsh thinking. It’s bad enough Pavel has him hanging around like some … associate. Into the house with those bruised, hateful eyes. I read about them everywhere. The papers are full of anger and discord. I see them round town, eyes like that – in the pressing crowds, all that / anger and hate.

  Boris No, no, no, no. It’s all right. It’s fine.

  Liza This is the very stuff … All right? How can it / be all right?

  Boris He’s gone. He’s gone.

  Liza Gone? They’re everywhere. Have you heard about the riots? The starvation we allow and the flagrant disregard for life, we … and authority, they. This flagrancy – we are all guilty – is collapsing the structures between us all. And they are massing. Crowds of angry. Mobs. And the hate … the disrespect between us all … makes / life. Disposable.

  Boris No one hates you.

  Liza That’s not what I’m saying. I’m talking about disrespect, disregard, flagrant repulsive indulgence, and there’s only hatred. Hatred is all that grows and swells and swells in their throats. You can hear them calling, jeering, bellowing. Scream in their crowding. It’s getting so packed and crushed and bloodstained. Red. Red in their throats and their teeth.

  Boris Shh. Shh, calm yourself, Liza.

  Liza Can’t you see it? Can’t / you feel it?

  Boris Look. Look, look. The birds. The birds in the garden. Come on. Look? See them playing in the trees and flowers.

  Liza You don’t understand.

  Boris I do. I can help. I understand. So come on. Out into the garden and the light, away from this smell. And the papers. Put the world aside for now. Come on.

  As they head off to the garden, Nanny is in.

  Nanny Liza, your drops. And the milk. If you want to get better, you have to drink your milk and take your drops. And stop reading all your rubbish. And talking. About. Life. You should find / yourself a nice –

  Liza Yes, Nanny. Yes. Sorry, Nanny.

  Nanny You too.

  Boris I was … just …

  Nanny Stick to your pets.

  Boris I can help is / all I …

  Nanny Pah.

  Liza Are you coming?

  As they leave for the garden Protasov heads off Nanny with a beaker.

  Protasov Boil me some water.

  Nanny What for?

  Protasov Please. I need to start this experiment again.

  Nanny You’ll have to wait till the samovar’s ready. Did you speak to Yegor?

  Protasov Yes.

  Nanny And?

  Protasov Yes. Yes. He was full of remorse.

  Nanny He needs to be full of fear.

  Protasov Fear. Yes. And remorse. I said, ‘Straight to the chief justice.’ That I’d go. I said. He said, ‘Keep your nose out of my business.’

  Nanny He didn’t.

  Protasov No, he said, ‘God you’re a nosy parker. Woman.’ No, he didn’t – I said that. He thought / about it though.

  Nanny You didn’t speak to him at all.

  Protasov I did. I did, Nanny. Just bring me boiling water, would you? Please? Otherwise Feema will do it and she / always knocks everything over.

  Nanny Feema? There’s another one, got her sights set on the landlord’s son.

  Protasov So …?

  Nanny So. Out of her league. Out of her depth. Another one. You should tell her, it’s bad. Bad news for a young housemaid to start with all these / fancy ambitions.

  Protasov Oh God, Nanny, don’t go on with all this. Good and bad, this and that. Should and shouldn’t. You’d have me spending my time giving the whole town moral instruction.

  Nanny And shouldn’t you? Aren’t you master here? / Isn’t that …

  Melaniya enters.

  Protasov Melaniya Nikolayevna, what / a relief.

  Melaniya Pavel Fyodorovich.

  Nanny No one / even shuts the door.

  Melaniya You look happy.

  Protasov To see you. Nanny was just about to nag me about. / Everything.

  Nanny Duty. Duty / is everything.

  Melaniya She does not appreciate the reputation that awaits you.

  Nanny Reputation? / He’s got plenty of that. Hear what they say about him in town.

  Melaniya He will be our very own genius.

  Protasov Yes. Well, you know.

  Did you enjoy the book?

  Melaniya I did.

  Thank you.

  Protasov Well?

  Melaniya I find without a story … I had a bit of trouble with these, um. These …

  Protasov The formulae?

  Melaniya I didn’t. Yes. Formulaes? … Tricky. You know.

  Protasov It’s maths. Not stories.

  Melaniya Yes. Of course.

  Protasov How about A Physiology of Plants and Mosses?

  Melaniya That’s big.

  Protasov It’s mostly mosses. But you know? Forget biology, forget mathematics. In the end it’ll be chemistry. Chemistry is the science of the twentieth century. It’s not as talked about as physics or biology, but it is the modern science. It reveals all, right into the fiery heart of the sun, deep into the impenetrable bowels of the earth. It defines the invisible rhythms of your heart and the secret structures of the stones and trees that surround us. It sees everything, it hears the harmony of the cosmos. Chemistry will find the secret of life itself. Mark my words. Chemistry will unlock the secret chamber and in a hundred years we will be able to create life in a test tube and defeat death with a pipette.

  Melaniya Keep going. Keep going. Just let yourself go.

  Quiet.

  I’m your student. Let me kneel at / your feet.

  Protasov Careful / down there.

  Melaniya I want to kiss those hands.

  Protasov The hands are a bit dirty. You know, all / the chemicals.

  Melaniya Pavel? I am resolved, I would do anything to be your apostle. Do you know that?

  Protasov Anything?

  Melaniya Anything. Try me.

  Protasov Do you keep chickens?

  Melaniya Chickens …? Yes.

  Protasov If you could organise fresh eggs for me every day. Ten fresh, warm eggs say, every day. I need the whites and Nanny will only give me the stale ones. I need fresh, the freshest whites.

  Melaniya Eggs?

  Protasov Warm and fresh. Ten.

  Melaniya Eggs.

  Protasov Yes, if you could. Yes.

  Melaniya My eggs are yours.

  Protasov Thank you. Thank you.

  What’s the matter?

  Melaniya It’s fine.

  Where’s your wife today?

  Protasov She’s with Vageen.

  Melaniya Again …?

  Protasov I know. He wasn’t boring when I knew him. He studied science initially, you know. We went through school and uni together. Then in the second year? He

  turned to art … Art?

  Melaniya Artists often have some kind of immoral spine.

  Protasov Yes. She seems to like art. It’s all he talks about. It’s all he thinks about. It’s so dull.

  Boris is at the garden door.

  Melaniya You’re here.

  Boris Astonishing powers of observation. I need some

  water for Liza.

  Protasov Is she all right?

  Boris Just to wash down her drops.

  Protasov Melaniya? I have to go and warm my yeast.

  Melaniya Is there any
thing I can do?

  He is off. Quiet.

  Boris You could leave.

  Melaniya What’s your problem?

  Boris How long have you got?

  He goes.

  Melaniya Boris, that’s … What’s that meant to mean?

  She stands waiting in the silent house. Nanny clumps

  through with boiling water.

  What have you got there? Nanny?

  Nanny Hot water.

  And she is gone. Feema passes by another door.

  Melaniya Feema!

  Feema Me?

  Melaniya Looking for your mistress?

  Feema She’s at Mr Vageen’s today, ma’am.

  Melaniya She’s there a lot.

  Feema Unless it’s raining. He comes here.

  Melaniya Do they see that much of each other?

  Feema They do, ma’am.

  Melaniya Artists are so immoral. You know, if you saw anything … anything that upset you, you could talk to me.

  Feema Yes, ma’am.

  Melaniya I do understand the personal cost of loyalty.

  She gives Feema some money.

  Feema Thank you, ma’am.

  He kisses her hands.

  Melaniya Really? That’s terrible.

  Feema Yes, ma’am.

  Melaniya Keep an eye out.

  Feema Yes, ma’am.

  Melaniya goes out to the garden. Feema starts clearing the dining table. Nanny pounces on her.

  Nanny What was all that about? What did she want?

  Feema She was asking about Elizavetta’s health.

  Nanny Why didn’t she ask Elizavetta herself? Instead of some servant.

  Feema She’s gone to speak to her now. You know I’m not just ‘some servant’ actually. Servants are people too. I can’t help it if you see yourself as just a bit of furniture. / I don’t. I’m not.

  Nanny I see myself as where I belong. That’s the thing here. There is a world and that world is why we are not all drunken animals, lounging around in a bar. Who is it?!

  Nazar has entered.

  Nazar Just me, Your Great Nanny-ness.

  Nanny What?

  Nazar Is Pavel about?

  Nanny The master’s busy making. Work.

  Nazar He wanted to see me. There’s a good girl. Go on.

  Nanny goes in to Pavel’s room.

  Feema Hey.

  Nazar Little thing. Give us a cuddle.

  Feema Hands off.

  Nazar Supper tonight?

  Feema Shh.

  Protasov and Nanny enter.

  Protasov Nazar.

  Nazar Pavel.

  Protasov Have my supplies arrived?

  Nazar They have. I’m worried, though, I’m worried. How are you placed for the rent?

  Protasov Rent? I don’t know. I mean … rent. Is it due?

  Nazar Yesterday. First of the month. / Pinch and a punch.

  Protasov A day? A day overdue? As I recall we waited two years for you to get the money for this house together. More. Did we complain? Surely you can …? Oh, I don’t know. I don’t deal with the money. That’s more … How much? Who cares? Really, Nazar. Nanny looks after the money. Or Yelena. I thought this was a serious conversation. I’m working. I need my supplies. Money isn’t the point.

  Nazar I like the way you think.

  Protasov I am in the middle of a very important series of experiments. These will potentially change the way we think about life. Life itself. I ordered those supplies, and you said … We had an arrangement.

  Nazar We did. And more importantly we have history. What we have between us is a long mutual relationship of trust. And on the basis of that – I have a new proposition.

  Protasov I mean you know eventually someone will pay you …

  Nazar No, no, no, that goes without saying. The proposition. Your little woodland block near the cesspit?

  Protasov What? Yes.

  Nazar I want it.

  Protasov Why? Sand, fir trees and midges.

  Nazar My point exactly. It’s rubbish, but I’m interested.

  Protasov Do you fish?

  Nazar No sir, no time. However my son has just finished a business certificate. Very sharp young lad. And he has this notion of erecting a factory. A factory here, in our town, that blows beer bottles.

  Protasov Beer bottles? What for?

  Nazar Bottling beer.

  Protasov Bottled beer? No one will drink beer out of a bottle. Don’t close the pawnshop.

  Nazar Certainly not. Too close to my heart. So? Do we have a deal?

  Protasov Do you have my supplies?

  Nazar Of course, Misha is round the back. But for now I need you to sign this. We can deduct the price from the rent. Each month. I drew a contract up. Somewhere …

  He goes to get the contract. Protasov heads out.

  Here we are. Shall we settle up an arrangement?

  Where’s he gone?

  You have to sign this. Pavel! Pavel! Misha! Don’t give him the stuff till he signs this.

  He races off after Protasov. Roman clatters on with tools. Feema jumps.

  Roman There’s a stove smoking somewhere round here.

  Feema Is there?

  Roman Yes. Slut.

  Feema In your dreams.

  Roman What’s that meant to mean?

  Misha enters with Protasov’s supplies.

  Misha Where do you want these?

  Roman In there.

  Misha There’s a stove smoking in the kitchen. Go.

  Roman exits. Misha puts the supplies down on the table.

  Misha An apartment and fifteen roubles a month. That’s my offer. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.

  Feema Leave it. I’m not for sale. I’m not a piece of / furniture you know.

  Misha No, I know that. But, you know, in business.

  Feema I’m not in business.

  Misha I am. I’m a businessman. Got my certificate. And that’s better than some peasant or factory hand. Fifteen roubles and the apartment. Keep you clean, and happy. Nice little flat. I’ve got a key. Pop over. Nice. Fifteen roubles you can buy the odd dress, do some education.

  Feema The butcher – Khrapov – has offered me a hundred roubles a month.

  Misha He’s old. And. He’s old.

  Feema I haven’t said yes.

  Misha You’re mad. Khrapov is horrible. And I would …

  Feema Seventy-five.

  Misha What?

  Feema Roubles. Forget the flat, but I want a promissory note for the whole year. Nine hundred roubles. So you can’t dodge out on it halfway through.

  Misha I won’t dodge out. So …? Are you saying? But hang on, it’s no good without the flat … the flat’s where we –

  Into this bursts Protasov.

  Feema Go home. Your / dad’s already gone.

  Protasov Where did you put the supplies?

  Misha By the table, sir. So, is / that …?

  Feema Scram. They’re just by the table there, sir.

  Misha hurries away. Liza, Boris and Melaniya wander on.

  Liza That man Nazar / fills me with …

  Boris He runs a pawnshop. It’s hard to make small talk when you’re pure evil, don’t you find, Melaniya?

  Protasov What a day! I can’t believe it. I’ve got a massively complicated experiment in train. There’s cyanic acid in that mixture. Pour me some tea, somebody. I’ve / got to sort through this stuff.