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Wednesday 10 June 2020

A Favourite Scene In Free For All

    In a cave on the outskirts of the village a man is busy working at his still apparently brewing illicit alcohol.
    “Large or small sir?”
   No.6 enters the cave.
    No.2 “That’s it.”
    “I’ll have a double!”
    “With or without water sir?”
    The sound of No.6’s voice brings No.2 out from under his shawl, he appears to be drunk!
    “Without.”
    “Please take a seat; I’ll be right with you.”
    “A little drop now and then keeps the nerves steady” No.2 explains.
    “Scared aren’t you?”
    “Frankly yes.”
    “Of what?”
    “It may seem improbable to you, but I’m wondering what’s going to happen to you.”
   The brewer brings over two drinks and hands them to his customers.
    “Don’t worry, no surveillance here, this is the Therapy Zone.”
    “Clever aren’t they, clever aren’t you!”
    “They are, damned clever. Think of it, if you want to be an alcoholic you can be one here in perfect privacy, as long as you rejoin the flock in good time.”
    “You don’t approve?”
    “Of the village?”
    “Yeah.”
    “To hell with the village…cheers.”
    No.6 is looking thoughtful “Cheers.”
    “See him?”
    “Yes.”
    “Cheers.”
    “Cheers.”
    “He’s a brilliant scientist, he just does that for a hobby, come with me, I’ll show you something.”
    No.2 takes No.6 into another part of the cave, and they stand in front of a black board on which is a scientific formula.
    “He brews his brew, plays with his chalk, we come down once a week photograph the stuff, clean it up for him so that he can start on another lot ha, ha, ha.”
    “Clever isn’t it, cheers.”
    “Vote for me.”
    “Vote for me.”
    “And I’ll be.”
    “And I’ll be every so comfortee ha, ha, ha.”
    They drain their beakers and No.6 collapses unconscious on the floor. No.2, who isn’t drunk at all removes his shawl.
    “The scientist checks No.6 “Quicker than usual.”
    “I warned you not to make it too strong, we mustn’t damage the tissue.”
    “You needn’t worry, there will be no remembrances. Proportions are exact to take him right through the election.”

    They are clever, damned clever. No.2 isn’t an alcoholic, and that scientist doesn’t live in that cave. They set No.6 up a treat, and he fell for it, clever isn’t the word, stupid might be because No.6 isn’t as clever as he thinks he is.
   If you want to be an alcoholic you can be one in the Therapy Zone just as long as you rejoin the flock in good time. Well that’s all well and good, but if you’re an alcoholic in the cave, you’re still an alcoholic when you rejoin the village!
   I’m always amused when No.2 taps No.6 on the shoulder, and rubbing his nose pointing to the brewer working at his still says “See him?”
   No.6 “Yes.”
   “Cheers.”
   It’s nothing much really, but it does amuse, and makes No.6 wonder judging by the expression on his face. But why the need for this scene, when they could easily have doctored N.6’s drink in the Cat and Mouse nightclub? Simple, because no-one gets drunk in a place that sells no-alcoholic drinks. And yet perhaps they’re not quite as clever as they think, because I think they missed a trick here. Why not get No.6 really drunk, so inebriated that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from talking his head off. In such a state, with a loosened tongue he might well have even told them the reason behind his resignation!


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