The Observation Lesson
A play
Cast
(A wide, nearly empty square before the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Access points are cordoned off. A few police stand at a distance.)
(At the center of the square, the students sit on folding chairs, loosely arranged in two rows, facing the Instructor and the Venetian Secretary. Napoleon sits among them.)
The Venetian Secretary
Nothing here is hidden.
(He gestures toward the police.)
The Venetian Secretary
There are the police. There are you. And here am I.
(He pauses.)
The Venetian Secretary
Of course, mostly it is not so simple. Which is why you must attend to what is not easily seen.
Napoleon
Fouché’s eye caught what mine did not.
The Venetian Secretary
He learned from us.
Napoleon
And who are you?
The Venetian Secretary
I served the Council of Ten.
Napoleon
I ended Venice.
The Venetian Secretary
I must have missed that.
Napoleon
May 1797.
The Other Students
(murmuring)
He’s so awake.
Napoleon
Eleven hundred years ended at my command.
The Venetian Secretary
I am sad to hear we were defeated.
(He looks at the Instructor.)
The Venetian Secretary
Shall I nevertheless continue?
The Instructor
By all means.
The Venetian Secretary
We did not rely on what was visible.
Visibility favors what people choose to show.
We attended to what does not present itself overtly.
A word. Another word. A hesitation. A silence.
Overheard.
Napoleon
Yes. It’s over for you.
(He sits down and closes his eyes.)
(The students glance at him. A few giggle.)
(The First Student turns to the Instructor.)
The First Student
Why didn’t you invite the technician again?
The Instructor
He was ill-disposed.
The First Student
Why?
The Instructor
Torquemada took his tongue.
The Other Students
His tongue!
The First Student
(softly)
What kind of place is this?
The Instructor
A learning place.