R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)

by Karel Čapek

  Alquist (at doorway, right) What do you think you’ve done? You’ll all die without people!

  Radius There are no people. Robots, down to work! March!

  Act Three

  (One of the research laboratories at the factory. When the door, upstage, is opened an endless row of similar laboratories can be seen. Left, a window, right, door into dissection room. At the wall, left, is a long workbench with countless test-tubes, flasks, burners, chemicals, small thermostat; at the window is a microscope with a glass ball. Over the bench hangs a row of lamp bulbs. Right, desk with big books, lamp shining onto it. Cupboard with instruments. In corner, left, wash basin with mirror above it, in corner, right, settee.)

  (Alquist sits at desk, head in hands)

  Alquist (leafing through book) Will I find it? Will I understand it? Will I learn it? Damned science! I wish they’d never written it down. Gall, Gall, how did you make robots? Hallemeier, Fabry, Domin, why did you keep so much in your heads? You could at least have left a few traces of Rossum’s secrets about. Oh! (slams book shut) It’s a waste of time! The books can’t say anything now. They’re as dumb now as everything else is. They’re dead. They died along with all the people. Just stop looking. (stands and goes to window and opens it) It’s got dark again. I wish I could sleep! To sleep, to dream, and see some people. How come there are stars still there? What’s the good of stars if there are no people? Oh God, why haven’t they all gone out? Cool my brow, ancient night, cool my brow. As divine and as beautiful as you always used to be, why are you still here? There are no more lovers, no more dreams; you watch over us but sleep without dreams is death; you sanctify us, but there are no prayers; mother, you don’t bless us with your beating heart. There is no love. Helena, Helena, Helena! (turns away from window, takes test-tube from thermostat and examines it) Nothing, as always. It’s a waste of time! What am I supposed to do with this? (smashes test-tube) Nothing works! Can’t they see?; I just can’t... (listens at window) those machines, always those machines! Stop them robots! Do you think you can force them to produce life? I can’t take any more of this! (closes window)-No; no you’ve got to keep looking, you’ve got to stay alive... If I just wasn’t so old. Am I getting old too soon? (looks in mirror) My poor face! The face of the last man on Earth! Let me see, let me see, it’s so long since I saw a human face. A human smile. And is that supposed to be a smile? Those yellow chattering teeth? Those twitching eyes? Ugh, an old man’s tears-stop this. You can’t even keep your tears in, you should be ashamed of yourself! And what about those soft, blue lips, what’s that nonsense you’re talking? Look at you shaking, you dirty chin. And this is the last man on Earth! (turns away) I don’t want to see anyone any more! (sits at bench) No, no, just keep looking. Damn this specimen, come to life, damn you! (flicks through book) Will I never find it? Never understand? Never learn?

  (knock at door)

  Alquist Come in!

  (enter robot servant who remains standing in doorway)

  Alquist What is it?

  servant The Central Committee of Robots wishes to know when you will receive them, sir.

  Alquist I don’t want to receive anyone.

  servant Damon has arrived from Le Havre, sir.

  Alquist So let him wait. (turns round sharply) How many times have I told you you should go out and look for more people? Find me some people! Go and find me some men and some women! Go!

  servant They say that they seek everywhere, sir. They send expeditions and ships everywhere.

  Alquist So what?

  servant There is not a human anywhere, sir.

  Alquist (standing) Not one! Not even a single one?-Send in the committee.

  (exit servant)

  Alquist alone Not even one? Didn’t you even let one person live? (pacing) Come in then, robots. Come and bother me some more, come and tell me I should find out the factory’s secret yet again. You like people now, don’t you, you want them now, now that they can be of some help to you.-To help you! Domin, Fabry, Helena, you can see that I’m doing everything I can. Even if there are no people left, at least there can be some robots, some shadow left behind by the human race, at least his achievements, at least something that looks like him!-Oh, chemistry is madness!

  (enter committee of five robots)

  Alquist (sitting) What do you want, robots?

  Radius The machines are not working, sir. We are not able to make more robots.

  Alquist Call in some people.

  Radius There are no people.

  Alquist It’s only people that can procreate life. Don’t keep wasting my time.

  2. Robot Have pity on us, sir. We are afraid. We repair everything as well as we can.

  3. Robot We have increased working hours. We no longer have room to store all the things we have made.

  Alquist Who did you make these things for?

  3. Robot For the next generation.

  Radius Only robots are we not able to make. The machines produce nothing but pieces of bloody meat. The skin does not adhere to the flesh and the flesh does not adhere to the bones. Formless lumps flood out from the machines.

  3. Robot People knew of the secret of life. Tell us their secret.

  4. Robot If you do not tell us we will die out.

  3. Robot If you do not tell us you will die. It will be our duty to kill you.

  Alquist (standing) Kill me then! Come on, kill me as well!

  3. Robot You have been ordered to...

  Alquist Ordered? There’s somebody giving me orders?

  3. Robot The robot government.

  Alquist Who the Hell’s that?

  5. Robot Me, Damon.

  Alquist What are you doing here? Get out! (sits at desk)

  Damon The government of the robots of the world wishes to negotiate with you...

  Alquist You needn’t stay, robot! (lays face in hands)

  Damon The Central Committee of Robots orders you to hand over Rossum’s formula.

  Alquist (doesn’t respond)

  Damon Tell us your price. We will pay you anything.

  2. Robot Tell us how to maintain life, sir.

  Alquist I’ve told you... I’ve told you time and again that you need to find some people. It’s only people that can procreate, renew life, put things back to how they used to be. Robots, for God’s sake, I beg of you, go out and look for them.

  4. Robot We have looked everywhere. There are no people.

  Alquist Ohhh, why did you destroy them?!

  2. Robot We wanted to be like people. We wanted to become people.

  Radius We wanted to live. We are more capable. We have learned everything. We can do everything.

  3. Robot You gave us weapons. We had to become the masters.

  Robot We have seen the mistakes made by the people, sir.

  Damon To be like people, it is necessary to kill and to dominate. Read the history books. Read the books written by people. To be like people it is necessary to dominate and to murder.

  Alquist Ah, Domin, there’s nothing less like mankind than his image.

  4. Robot Unless you make it possible for us to procreate ourselves we will die out.

  Alquist Oh, just get out! You’re just things, just slaves, and you want to multiply? If you want to live you’ll have to breed, like animals!

  3. Robot People did not make us able to breed.

  4. Robot Teach us how to make robots.

  Damon We will make ourselves by machine. We will erect a thousand steam machines. We will start a gush of new life from our machines. Nothing but life! Nothing but robots! Millions of robots!

  Alquist Robots aren’t life! Robots are machines.

  3. Robot We used to be machines, sir; but by means of pain and horror we have become...

  Alquist Become what?

  2. Robot We have obtained a soul.

  4. Robot There is something in struggle with us. There are moments when something enters into us. We receive thoughts which are not our own.

 
3. Robot Listen, please listen, people are our fathers! This voice that calls, saying you wish to live; this voice that laments; this voice that thinks; this voice that speaks of eternity, this is their voice! We are their sons!

  4. Robot Let us inherit the thing that people left to us.

  Alquist They didn’t leave you anything.

  Damon Tell us the secret of life.

  Alquist It’s been lost.

  Radius You knew it.

  Alquist No I didn’t.

  Radius It was written down.

  Alquist It’s been lost. It was burned. I’m the last human being, robots, and I don’t know what the others knew. You killed them all!

  Radius We allowed you to live.

  Alquist Yes, live! That’s how cruel you are, you allowed me to live! I loved people, but I never loved robots like you. Do you see these eyes? They never stop crying; one eye cries for people and the other eye cries for you robots.

  Radius Do experiments. Search out the formula of life.

  Alquist There’s nothing to search for. You’ll never get the formula for life from a test tube.

  Damon Do experiments on living robots. Discover how they work!

  Alquist Living bodies? You expect me to kill them? I’ve never ever... Oh just be quiet, robots! I’ve already told you I’m too old for this! Look, look at how my hands shake! I couldn’t hold a scalpel. Look at the tears in my eyes! I couldn’t even watch my own hands as they move. No, no, I couldn’t do it!

  4. Robot Life will die out.

  Alquist Stop it, stop this madness for God’s sake! Life probably came to us humans from another world, anyway, stretched out to us with arms full of it. Oh, there was so much will to live. They still might come back one day; they’re so close to us, maybe they’re surrounding us or something; maybe they want to dig down to us as if we were stuck in a mine. And don’t I keep on hearing the voices of people I loved.

  Damon Take a living body!

  Alquist Have some pity on me, robot, don’t keep insisting. Can’t you see that I don’t know what I’m doing any more?

  Damon A living body!

  Alquist And is that what you want, then? Come on, let’s get you in the dissection room! Come on, come on, quick! What’s this, you’re drawing back? You’re not afraid of dying, are you?

  Damon Me?... Why must it be me?

  Alquist Don’t you want to then?

  Damon I’ll go. (exit right)

  Alquist (to the others) Take his clothes off him! Put him on the table! Quickly! And hold on to him very tight!

  (all exeunt right)

  Alquist (washing hands and crying) God, give me strength! Give me strength! God, don’t let it be all for nothing. (puts on white coat)

  Voice from right Ready!

  Alquist Alright, I’m coming, for God’s sake! (takes several bottles of reagent from bench) Which one should I take? (taps bottles together) Which of these should I try?

  Voice from right We can begin!

  Alquist Yes, yes, we can begin or we can finish. God, give me strength! (exit right, leaving door half open)

  (pause)

  Alquist’s voice Hold him down-tighter!

  Damon’s voice Cut!

  (pause)

  Alquist’s voice Do you see this knife? Do you really want me to cut you open? You don’t really, do you.

  Damon’s voice Begin!

  (pause)

  Damon’s scream Aaaa!

  Alquist’s voice Hold him down! Tighter! Tighter!

  Damon’s scream Aaaa!

  Alquist’s voice I can’t do it!

  Damon’s scream Cut! Cut, quickly!

  (Robots Primus and Helena run on, centre stage)

  Helena Primus, Primus, what is happening here? Who is screaming?

  Primus (looks in dissection room) Mister Alquist is dissecting Damon. Come and see, Helena, come quickly!

  Helena No, no, no (covers eyes) This is horrible!

  Damon’s scream Cut!

  Helena Primus, Primus, come away from there! I cannot bear to hear it. Oh, Primus, I feel ill!

  Primus (runs to her) You’ve gone quite white!

  Helena I feel faint! Why has it gone so quiet, now?

  Damon’s scream Aa-o!

  Alquist (rushes in from right, throws off bloody white coat) I can’t do it! I can’t do it! God, it was horrifying!

  Radius (in doorway to dissection room) Cut, sir; he is still alive!

  Damon’s scream Cut! Cut!

  Alquist Take him away, quickly! I don’t want to hear him!

  Radius Robots can endure more than you can. (exit)

  Alquist Who’s in here? Get out, get out! I want to be alone! What’s your name?

  Primus Robot Primus.

  Alquist Primus, don’t let anyone in here! I want to sleep, d’you hear me? You, girl, go and clean up the dissection room! What’s this? (looking at hands) Quick, water! The cleanest water you can get!

  (Helena runs out)

  Alquist Oh, blood! How could these hands, hands that loved good work, how could you do a thing like that? My own hands, my own hands!... Oh God, who is this?

  Primus Robot Primus.

  Alquist Take this coat away, take it out of my sight! (Primus takes whitecoat away)

  Alquist Bloody claws, I wish you’d just fly away from me! Go, get away from me! You’ve killed..

  (from right, Damon staggers on stage cloaked in a bloody sheet)

  Alquist (drawing back) What do want in here? Want do you want?

  Damon I’m... I’m alive! It is... better to... be alive!

  (2. and 3. Robots run in after him)

  Alquist Take him away from here! Take him out! Take him out! Quickly!

  Damon (led off, right) Life!... I want... life!... It is better...

  (Helena brings in jug of water)

  Alquist... life?.... What do you want, girl? Ah, it’s you. Pour out some water, pour it out! (washes hands) Ah, cleansing, cooling water! A cool stream, you do me good! Oh, my own hands, my own hands! Will I hate you for the rest of my life now?... Keep on pouring, more, more! More water, keep on pouring! What’s your name?

  Helena Robot Helena.

  Alquist Helena? Why Helena? Who gave you that name?

  Helena Mrs. Domin.

  Alquist Let me look at you, Helena! Helena you’re called? I won’t be calling you that. Get out. Take the water with you.

  (exit Helena with bucket)

  Alquist (alone) All for nothing, just nothing! Once again, you haven’t found out a thing! Are you always going to be just groping around in the dark? Do you really think you learn the secrets of nature? Oh God oh God, how that body kept shaking! (opens window) It’s getting light. Another new day and you haven’t progressed an inch. That’s enough now; don’t try any further. Just stop looking, It’s all a waste of time, all a waste of time! Why do mornings still keep on coming? What’s the point of a new day in the graveyard of life? Go away again, light. Don’t come out any more.... God, it’s so quiet, so quiet. Why have you gone quiet, all those voices I used to love. If only... if only I could sleep for a while. (puts light out, lies down on settee and pulls black coat over himself) God, how that body was shaking! Ohh, it’s the end of life!!

  (pause)

  (Robot Helena enters silently from right)

  Helena Primus! Come here, quickly!

  Primus (enters) What do you want?

  Helena Look at all these tubes he’s got here! What does he do with them?

  Primus Experiments. Don’t touch.

  Helena (looks into microscope) Look at this, look what’s in here!

  Primus That’s a microscope. Let me see!

  Helena Don’t touch me! (knocks over test tube) Oh, now I’ve spilt it!

  Primus What have you done?

  Helena I can wipe it up.

  Primus You’ve spoiled his experiment!

  Helena Oh, it doesn’t matter. But it’s your fault; you shouldn’t have bumped in tome.

&nb
sp; Primus You shouldn’t have called me over.

  Helena You didn’t have to come over when I called to you, did you? Primus, look at this! What’s this he’s got written down here?

  Primus You’re not supposed to look at that, Helena, that’s a secret.

  Helena What sort of secret?

  Primus The secret of life.

  Helena It’s ever so interesting. All numbers. What is it?

  Primus Those are mathematical formulas.

  Helena I don’t understand. (goes to window) Primus, come and look at this.

  Primus What?

  Helena The Sun’s rising!

  Primus Alright, I’m coming. (looks through book) Helena, this is the greatest thing in the world.

  Helena Come here then!

  Primus Alright, alright...

  Helena Oh, Primus, leave this horrible secret of life alone! What do you want to know about secrets for anyway? Come and look at this, quickly!

  Primus (joins her at window) What is it you want?

  Helena Listen. The birds are singing. Oh Primus, I wish I were a bird!

  Primus What for?

  Helena I don’t know. I just feel so strange, I don’t know what it is, I just feel, sort of, light headed, I’ve lost my head and my body hurts, my heart hurts, everything hurts.... And I won’t even tell you about what’s just happened to me! Oh Primus, I think I’m going to have to die!

  Primus Don’t you ever think it might be better dead. Maybe it’s no more than like being asleep. While I was asleep last night I talked with you again.

  Helena In your sleep?

  Primus In my sleep. We were talking in some strange foreign language, or some new language, so that now I can’t remember a word of it.

  Helena What was it about?

  Primus I don’t know, nobody knows. I didn’t understand any of it myself but I still knew that I had never said anything more beautiful in my life. What it was, or where it was, I just don’t know. If I’d touched you I could have died. Even the place was entirely different to anything anyone had ever seen in the world.

  Helena I found that place for you, Primus, why are you surprised at it? People used to live there, but now it’s all overgrown, and somehow, no-one ever goes there any more. Somehow. Only me.