Being Human

[first lines]

The Storyteller:
This is the story of a story. Once upon a time there was this story, and the story said to itself, how should I begin?

Hector:
Try the usual way.

The Storyteller:
What, in the dark with a man and a woman, in a story that is still to tell itself?

Hector:
Well, you've got to start somewhere. Say, long long ago... Or, far far away... Or, another time in a different distant country... Or just, once...

The Storyteller:
That's good. "Far away", so you know the place is close to your own heart. "Once" is nice, so we know that it always happens. Hmm, Once there was this hero...

Hector:
[wryly] Some hero.

The Storyteller:
Some man then. Any man. Say, a man, a woman, and some children. Don't forget the children.

Hector:
[holding a dish] If the world is round, you could still fall off the edge.

Boy:
No, it's not round like that, it's round like this. [holds up a ball]

Lucinnius:
I would be honored if you would die with me.

Cyprion's man:
You ever killed before?

Hector:
Just a couple of chickens.

The Storyteller:
They were as close to friends as two mutual slaves to money may be.

Hector:
[from trailer] There's never enough time. No time to stop and think, "What have I learned?" Try to stay in control. It's not as easy as it sounds. Is this the same for everyone? Are we all doing this to one another? This bickering and mocking? Can it be better than this? We're all in it together, making the same mistakes, getting into the same jams, having lousy Fridays over and over and over and over and over...

Hector:
It's been some day. *Everything* happened.

Hector:
I've got to go to my home.

Boris:
Everything can be fixed. Always!