The Masses

Act XI

Captain: (squints at the butts of F11.1 and M17.1) Well, that's new. Those two are sticking their second entrances into the air.

Man 3: Perhaps... (pauses, thinking..) Perhaps that's how they respond to learning what you taught them?

Captain: I doubt it. It should have happened while I was in there, if so.

Man 6: That... Right there. That's the sort of thing I was looking for, I think.

Captain: What? When?

Man 6: For their second entrances to work, I mean.

Captain: You think they need to... push back?

Man 6: Well, not exactly. I think it runs deeper than that, but pushing back would be symbolic of everything being in order on that level.

Captain: Alright. Any idea yet what that 'deeper level' consists of?

Man 6: Obviously not. But she's next, anyway. I could see if the disappointment is still there.

F11.1 is pulled from the garden and bent over a table. Man 6 lubricates his cock and slowly but steadily pushes it into her ass. After a few moments of squirming she resumes pushing back.

Man 6: The disappointment is gone!

Captain: That's good. Very good. Anything worth noting or is it just lust again?

Man 6: No. Definitely not just lust. There is that, but also an expectation.

Captain: You mentioned that before. Still no idea what?

Man 6: Please be quiet. I'm trying to focus.

Captain: Apologies...

Man 6: (After some awkward silence...) A paradox. I expect a paradox.

The captain remains silent as it is obvious man 6 is still thinking.

Man 3: Well, what kind-

Captain: Shh.

Man 6: A.. mix... No.. a blur in the distinction.. between pleasure and shame. That's the best I can come up with.

Captain: (Beckons man 1 over) That isn't exactly a paradox.

Man 6: It's the best way I can think of describing it.

Man 1 approaches holding a transparent mortar and pestle, with half a puppet and necrotic dust in the bowl. He does not interrupt. The mortar is not merely 'clear.' It is entirely invisible.

Captain: Well, pleasure and shame are opposites, mind. I suppose one could consider it a paradox if the difference between them were made fuzzy, but in the strictest sense of the word, no. It's more a contradiction.

Man 1: I thought the opposite of pleasure was pain?

Captain: No, there are many documented cases of pain being pleasurable. Shame, however, is never pleasurable or it isn't truly shame.

Man 1: So, if they were to be one in the same...

Captain: They cannot. That would be like dirt and air being one in the same. They are mutually exclusive.

Man 6: That, I suppose, is what I mean by a paradox. I expect her to feel them both as one. Even though it should not be possible.

Man 1: I don't think they are capable of feeling anything. Not yet, anyway.