My Silver Lining
By e065
A short unauthorized sequel to Daft Punk's Electroma, written as part of Elmhurst University's 2024 New Play Festival.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Suicidal Themes
Sexual Content
Gun Violence
Murder
Mutilation/Gore
CHARACTERS
Robot (The Robot’s dialogue contains most, but not all, stage directions.)
Driver (The Driver’s lines can also be read as gibberish with the same emotional tone.)
Cashier (no lines)
Noise Complaint (no lines)
PLAYLIST
I Want to Be Alone (Dialogue) - Jackson C. Frank
No Surprises - Radiohead
My Silver Lining - First Aid Kit
Alone - Heart
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0CxGvxLL3sodAv88uS93zZ?si=c33b629c8f8b45a1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48gaaQfS9lc
SCENE 1: I WANT TO BE ALONE
ROBOT: I can see nothing ahead, behind, or around me but road, sky, and soybeans. As my battery fails, I fall to my knees. I rest my head on the gravel by the side of the road. I do not feel the sun on my skin, only the heat inside me from my components straining. It is a relief to stop. Before my sensors give out completely, I hear the sound of a distant motor and see dust rising on the horizon.
SCENE 2: NO SURPRISES
ROBOT: I reactivate in a car being driven by a human. Something pulls at the back of my neck. I reach back and find a wire, tethering me to the center console. The driver notices I’m awake and smiles at me.
DRIVER: Hi there. How are you feeling? / You are safe. What is your status?
ROBOT: I undo my seatbelt and try to jump out of the car. The tires scream against the road as the driver slams the brakes and pulls over. She grabs my shoulder.
DRIVER: What the hell? / I didn’t expect that and it scared me.
ROBOT: I look back at her. I start to move. She stops me. My gaze falls on the radio. I reach for the dial, scrolling through stations until a song touches me deeply. I sit back and fasten my seatbelt.
Robot sings along to No Surprises as the driver pulls back onto the road.
SCENE 3: MY SILVER LINING
ROBOT: We arrive at a gas station with an attached convenience store. The driver gets out and stretches. I follow her into the convenience store. The cashier pulls a gun on me.
DRIVER: Wait, wait, it’s okay. Don’t shoot. / He’s not a threat.
ROBOT: The driver holds an arm in front of me. I step outside. Two small brown birds are hunting for food in the grass. I watch them. The driver comes back out and puts her hand on my shoulder. I stand up and follow her back into the convenience store. The cashier does not pull a gun on me this time. I follow the driver to the bathrooms. She enters one. I enter the other. I see my reflection in the mirror.
An extended pause. Robot’s narration becomes rapid and frantic.
I leave the bathroom. The cashier looks alarmed. I could walk towards them, not slowing down. They would pull out the gun. If I kept moving, they would shoot. The sound of the shot would scare the birds, and the driver…
(narration slows.)
I don’t walk towards the cashier. I lean on the wall. The driver leaves the bathroom. She puts her hand on my arm.
DRIVER: You okay? / What is your status?
ROBOT: I put my hand over hers. I decide to live. There is a sheet face mask hanging on one of the shelves. The driver follows my gaze and takes it from the shelf. The driver selects food and looks at me apologetically, knowing I can’t eat. She pays and hands me the mask to apply to my face. We leave.
SCENE 4: ALONE
ROBOT: We arrive at a hotel. The human puts her bags down by the bed and enters the bathroom. I sit on the bed and browse through television channels. I find the music videos. My mask begins to slip off my faceplate. I hold it in place. The human comes out of the bathroom and sits next to me. She places her hand on my arm.
DRIVER sings along to ‘Alone’ by Heart. Robot joins her. They sing together, getting into it until someone bangs on the door and shouts. They stop singing.
ROBOT: The human turns the volume of the television down and smiles at me. She sits on the bed, pulling me by the arm to sit with her. She kisses my face. She seems to want to have sex with me. I am unable to explain that I am not fertile. She touches my neck. I touch her chest.
Lights down.
ROBOT: The human lays down, relaxed. I hold one of the pillows against her face until she suffocates to death. After she is dead, I carry her into the bathroom, place her in the bathtub, and remove her skin. I begin at the top of her skull. It unzips down the back, where her hair and clothing will hide it the seam. I’ve never skinned someone before. I thought it would be harder. It’s like her skin wants to leave. Mine feels the same way. I take my skin off. I weep. I put her skin on. Her cheeks hide the tear stains on mine. I take her things and drive the rest of the way. Her friends– my friends– welcome me with open arms.
Lights down. Lights up.
ROBOT: I reactivate in bed next to her. She looks at me as though we had the same dream.
END