Presented by Michael Segers, Brought to you by Peanut.org
The format is different this week, because I‘ve roved away and left
someone else to rave here. It is my pleasure to introduce Catalin Brylla, a
student in an engineering college in Vienna (that‘s Austria, not Georgia).
Born in Romania, Catalin moved to Vienna twelve years ago, and he now is trying
to decide where and how to get started with a career in film. If this fantasy
based on last year‘s film The Truman Show, is any indication of his way
with a story, this is a young man that you will be hearing about in the future.
Remember, you met him here first. Welcome, Catalin, to the virtual peanut fields
of Worth County in cyberspace. - Mike
Copyright
© 1999 by Catalin Brylla, all rights reserved
Truman went through that door that led him out of the studio, the place he hadn’t left his whole life. It was quite dark but he could recognize the contours of a long corridor. At the end there was a source of light. Truman kept going resolutely towards that opening. Nothing seemed to prevent him from escaping from his prison. He felt like a bird flying out of its gilded cage. However, he was concerned about what would await him outside. What if the people tried to get him back in order to keep watching a 24-hour soap opera? Or could they accept him as a normal citizen among them? Could he live together with Sylvia, the girl he had been longing for? Would the director and the film crew of the show pursue him? All these questions made his heart beat more quickly, but he didn’t stop going. He encouraged himself by saying, "I have to find out how the world outside is, whatever the cost."
He had already gone half the distance and the light at the end was becoming bigger and bigger when suddenly the corridor was illuminated. Truman stopped and noticed three people several yards in front of him, probably coming out of a side door. The leader was Christof. He spoke very clearly, but his voice had an anxious undertone, "Truman, don’t go away. You will be terrified by the world you will see at the end of this corridor. You have lived in a paradise, the safest village in the world. No human being can live as carefree as you, nowadays. You haven’t missed anything, believe me. Don’t .…"
"You can’t imagine how it is to be monitored every minute of your life," Truman interrupted him abruptly. "You haven’t the slightest idea how it is when people around you behave as though they were planning a conspiracy against you." He became furious and his voice became louder. "You deprived me of freedom and of human warmth. Everything in my life was faked. Every kind of relationship, every event and every stroke of fate during my life was directed. Nothing was real. My whole existence was merely a script." Truman’s face took on a frenzied expression, and he started to go towards Christof.
"Stop it," shouted Christof, but Truman didn’t obey.
"I am an explorer," he shouted back. All of a sudden, Truman was knocked down by someone he hadn’t noticed behind him. He saw a blur before everything went black, and he fainted.
When Truman woke up, he was lying in a bed in a small room without any window or furniture. He had a severe headache from the blow on his head. He stood up, went to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Truman realized that his attempt to flee had failed. He was again an inmate. He lost all his hope. Why was he condemned to such a life? Didn’t he have the right to live like millions of other people? Even a beggar had more freedom than he had. While Truman was thinking about his fate, he heard the bolt of the door. The door opened slowly, and Sylvia came in.
"Be quiet," she whispered. "I will get you out of here." Truman realized what was going to happen. His prayers and hope hadn’t been in vain. She took his hand and led him, still dazed by the blow, to the back stairs where they could go to the garage without being seen by anybody. After she drove out of the garage into a tunnel, Sylvia began to explain to him how she had found out where he was. She also told Truman that Christof was unsure of what to do with him. "In fact he hasn’t got much choice," she said. "He could either let you escape and thus risk a trial if you sue him, or he catches you and .…" She didn’t go on.
"Do you think he is that unscrupulous?" asked Truman.
"This man is unpredictable, and if he noticed the slightest possibility that someone or something could harm him or his image, he wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate that possibility at all costs. Apart from that, his power and influence outweigh even the authorities of the President."
They drove for more than three hours, and Truman wondered why they were still in the same tunnel. "When do we come out of this tunnel? Where is the surface?" Sylvia was not very keen on telling him the truth. However, she couldn’t conceal the facts from him any longer.
"Listen
Truman, I have to tell you the truth about our world." Truman became pale
and his face got an expression of horror. "Seventeen years ago the
conflicts between the USA and Iraq escalated. Iraq pointed its biological and
atomic weapons towards America and fired them. The US struck back. Russia and
China got involved and later Japan and Great Britain as well. The consequences
were disastrous. All cities were destroyed, and the atmosphere has been
contaminated ever since. Due to precautions made in advance, most of the human
race survived. We managed to flee into vast underground shelters which had been
built before this war. The surface was completely abandoned. There we began to
reorganize and to plan a new colonization of the surface which will take place
in approximately thirty years according to the experts. In the meantime the
population lives in similar circumstances as before. We have restaurants, hotels
and cable television, and everybody is entertained by Christof’s television
company. Since it is the only institution responsible for entertainment, it soon
made a fortune, and Christof became more and more powerful. Some scientists had
the idea of building hermetically sealed domes and rebuilding the cities in
them. There was one dome built in California. Christof became aware of his
chance and bought it. He didn’t care about the colonization. He only wanted to
make a profit as quickly as possible. He converted the dome into an immense
studio and began to produce The Truman Show inside it. His aim was to
entertain the population with a soap opera and to evoke memories of the time we
lived on the surface."
Truman was paralysed. He couldn’t utter a word. His picture of an ideal world had collapsed in a short moment. He would never be able to see a real sunset, he would never have the possibility of going to Fiji. Instead he would live in a subterranean world, he would vegetate until his death. The truth was too much for Truman. He began to cry. Sylvia stopped the car, embraced him and consoled Truman, who couldn’t stop weeping. Suddenly three cars emerged from nowhere and surrounded Sylvia’s car.
"Get out of the car," they heard a voice over a loudspeaker. It was Christof. One vehicle barred the road. Sylvia and Truman opened the door, left the car and began to run. After a few seconds they were pursued by five men with shotguns. The men pointed their guns at them and shot. Sylvia was hit in the back and collapsed. Truman kneeled down and held her hand. His eyes were suffused with tears.
"Don’t leave me, Sylvia."
"Flee, Truman. You have to escape from them. This is the only desire I have. I want you to live in freedom. Now go, run, run!" Truman stood up and ran. He didn’t turn back. He only ran. Suddenly he felt something warm running down his back. A bullet had penetrated his neck. He fell down on the asphalt. Badly wounded he could still hear Sylvia’s weak voice, "Truman, Truman...."
"Truman, Truman, my God, it’s a miracle." Truman opened his eyes and noticed a smiling Sylvia leaning over him. Truman found himself in a hospital room lying on a bed. He was connected to several medical devices. He felt very exhausted. He could neither move nor speak but when he looked out of the window he recognised his home town, the place he had escaped from, or had it only been a figment of his vivid imagination? Two doctors entered the room and examined his pupils with a small flashlight.
"Your husband seems to have awakened," said one of them.
"You don’t remember anything, do you, Darling?" asked Sylvia.
"It is better if we leave him alone now with his wife. He needs to rest."
They went out and Sylvia said, "I am so glad that you woke up, Sweetheart. You were in a coma for the last three years. Three years ago, you wanted to tidy up the basement. While going downstairs, you stumbled and fell down. Your head hit a runner, and since that moment you were in a comatose state, but now it is over. Everything will be all right."
"I was in a coma?" Truman thought. "That means that nothing was real. Meryl, the show, the studio, my escape together with Sylvia, the subterranean world and our death in the tunnel. It was but a dream. Sylvia really is my wife, and I have been living a real life in this village, without cameras and actors." Truman wanted to tell her about his crazy dream but realized that he wasn’t able to speak a word. In addition his whole body was numb.
"Don’t worry, Dear, you will recover very soon." Tears were running down her cheeks and Sylvia told him the truth, "The coma harmed some parts of your brain but the doctors assured me that there is a good chance of recovering. It takes a long time and requires a lot of patience from you. Of course, I am going to support you in every way." Truman couldn’t believe it. He hoped it would only be a dream again but he wasn’t able to pinch himself in order to check. However, he had no other option. He had to accept the situation. The only comfort was the fact that he was married to Sylvia, his great love.
In the next ten years Truman slowly recovered. First he gained back the ability to move his hands. Then he was able to use a wheelchair. Sylvia took him home and looked after him. Three times a week he had to go to the hospital to do special exercises for his legs. While recovering physically, he also regained his speech skills. A language teacher was employed to teach him reading, writing and speaking. Like a pupil, he read children’s books and did writing exercises. Apart from that, he learned how to pronounce every word again. He progressed slowly but efficiently. Although he couldn’t drive a car or take part in any intensive sports, Truman was able to walk slowly with a cane and to take on his old job in the insurance company.
However, the doctors advised him not to overstrain himself but to lead a peaceful life. Truman retired early and lived happily with Sylvia. He never had the wish to leave the village. After retiring, he began to write science-fiction novels. His stories concerned visions of the future. He also wrote books about the manipulation by the media. He even wrote a screenplay for a film in which the whole life of a man is filmed without his knowledge. From the day of his birth he lives in a village in a huge studio, and all citizens except him are actors. His story is broadcast as a 24-hour soap opera. Truman’s script was then filmed by a famous director, and it was nominated for three Academy Awards, one for the story. Twenty years later, he died of heart failure. His wife, his friend Marlon, his mother and the American people were mourning for him. His funeral was unique. Thousands of people gathered to commemorate Truman Burbank.
As soon as the coffin had been put into the ground and the minister had held the funeral oration, Peter, Christof’s successor, said, "Cut, that’s it for today, Gentlemen. Insert the credits, Bill. We can congratulate ourselves. Today we had our peak viewer ratings." Peter left the control center and rushed together with his assistants to the brood section on the first floor.
Two years after Christof’s death, Jack, his son, found a floppy disk in a box left by his father. The disk was labelled "DIARY". Jack, a curious young man, stuck the disk into a floppy drive and opened the respective file. He began to read:
23rd of May, 1970--Today we had the idea to produce a completely new kind of soap opera. Something never seen before. I proposed to have a real character, not an actor. Someone who doesn’t play a role but lives his life. He should not know that he is filmed, so that he would act naturally.
****
12th of February, 1971—Green light has been given to the project, The Truman Show. Main character has already been selected. Arrangements are being made for the set. Script is finished. Start of shooting probably next year.
****
5th of August, 1983--The Truman Show is a goldmine. Due to its success I have been promoted to CEO of the company, but I still keep directing the show.
****
19th of June, 1998--Truman found out everything. He is hiding somewhere in the village. All inhabitants are searching for him – still without success.
****
20th of June, 1998--Truman tried to escape. He got out of the studio after he had crossed the bay by boat. We caught him in corridor D which leads directly outside. I asked him not to go further but he didn’t listen to me. One of my men punched him and Truman lost consciousness. Plan Z comes into force. It is the last measure of our security system. I don’t have a choice. I pray that it will work exactly the way we imagined.
****
21st of June, 1998--Today I ordered plan Z to be carried out. Truman was put into an artificial coma. With the help of a new procedure, we managed to lame some parts of his brain. I chose the speaking part and the motor parts. In addition to that, we "married" him to Sylvia. In my opinion the obsession with her was one reason for his wish to escape. Of course we couldn’t use the real Sylvia, who doesn’t have access to the studio anymore. We paid a new actress to undergo facial surgery in order to look exactly like her.
When Truman wakes up, it will be explained to him that he has been in a coma for several years. All occurrences that made him suspicious, his marriage with Meryl and his escape, will be erased out of his memory. Possible memories will appear to him like dreams due to the coma. The rehabilitation is estimated at ten years, but he will never gain back his physical skills completely.
I hope that all these precautions will prevent a similar incident to the one we had the last days. In addition to that, the story of a recovering man who is backed by his beloved wife will boost the ratings for at least ten years.