SCIENCE
FICTION BLAST-OFF THEATER
"Dinosaurs"
by Richard Nathan
Before the lights come up, a voice announces the title of the story:
VOICE
"Dinosaurs"
A HUSBAND and WIFE are on stage. They are dressed as ordinary people, with no special makeup, but they are supposed to be dinosaurs, as we will find out in a moment.
HUSBAND
So, do you want to see it?
WIFE
I don't know. Tell me again why we built this
thing. We've never done anything like this before.
Isn't it against everything we believe in?
HUSBAND
Of course it is. That's the whole point.
WIFE
But why?
HUSBAND
Because if something were to wipe out our
kind.....
WIFE
What could wipe out our kind?
HUSBAND
Lots of things. A mutated virus, or a giant meteor
smashing into the world....
WIFE
Would you like some tea?
HUSBAND
Tea would be nice.
The wife prepares the tea.
WIFE
You were saying something about our kind being
wiped out?
HUSBAND
Yes. Well, if something were to kill us all, and
if a new species were to evolve, they
might not think we were very bright.
WIFE
And why is that?
HUSBAND
Because everything we produce is
biodegradable. It's all environmentally friendly.
WIFE
But surely that's a sign of our intelligence!
HUSBAND
It is to us. But it also means every sign of our
civilization will disappear within a hundred
years or so.
WIFE
Is that what this is all about? Leaving
something behind so we won't look
stupid if we all die and if some new sort of
creature came along.
HUSBAND
That's right.
WIFE
I would think the new creatures would
appreciate our not littering up the countryside
with all sorts of rubbish we'd left behind.
HUSBAND
We're not going to leave all sorts of rubbish.
Just this one special piece, the monument.
And whatever happens, nothing will destroy it.
The Wife serves tea.
WIFE
But isn't the monument just a couple standing
there?
HUSBAND
Yes, but they're fully clothed.
WIFE
So?
HUSBAND
So they'll know we didn't walk around naked!
WIFE
You think these future creatures might think we
walked around naked!
HUSBAND
The other lizards do. They never wear a thing!
WIFE
But they're just beasts. With tiny little heads,
and tinier brains! We're tyrannosaurus rexes!
HUSBAND
But whatever comes after us might not be
intelligent enough to understand that. They
might think all lizards were alike.
WIFE
Well if they're that stupid, I'm not sure I care
what they think.
HUSBAND
You want them to think you spent your life
walking around naked everywhere?
WIFE
No, I don't like that idea.
HUSBAND
That's why we built the monument. A fully
clothed tyrannosaurus rex husband and his
fully clothed tyrannosaurus rex wife, built to last
for a billion years.
WIFE
And they put it right on the tip of the Yucatan
Peninsula?
HUSBAND
Yes, it's a lovely area. It's sure to be found there.
WIFE
And there's only one? They didn't want to make
another copy?
HUSBAND
Why should they? Nothing on earth could harm
this one.
WIFE
I suppose. But a moment ago, you were talking
about a meteor wiping us out. What if a meteor
fell right there, right on the tip of the Yucatan
Peninsula. Couldn't a huge meteor destroy the
monument, as well as us?
HUSBAND
Oh, I suppose. But really, what are the odds of
that happening?
Blackout!
THE END
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SCIENCE FICTION BLAST-OFF THEATER
science fiction scripts
© 2002 by Richard Nathan. All rights reserved
The author grants all internet uses permission to print these scripts for their own, personal, non-commercial use. No other use may be made without the author's permission. Without limiting the foregoing, the plays may not be staged without the author's express permission.
Send e-mail to the author at Richard-Nathan@att.net.