[The setting is Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia; Germany, 1966. Alexandre and Gisela Sinclair await a phone message from an old friend in the United States. A career diplomat, Alexandre has been stationed in Germany since the end of the Second World War. He has encountered miraculous success in his endeavors, culminating in a politically and economically beneficial marriage to the daughter of the current chancellor. As the couple wander into their opulent sitting room, a mish-mash of ivory and silver charms, the dim silence succeeding last night’s soiree resounds through the walls of the lofty estate, barely masked by the slight drone of rain.]
Alexandre: [sourly] Where is Mitzi? I sent for schnitzel and the news ages ago!
Gisela: [scornfully] But you sent her out not even ten minutes ago. Really, Alexandre, [raising her eyebrows] you have been quite tactless lately.
Alexandre: [tensely] Oh, have I? [catching himself] I suppose I have. [sighing] I don’t mean to go on like this, Gisela, but this weather irritates me. [glancing outside]
[Gisela strides over and gently places a delicate hand on her husband’s shoulder]
Gisela: You’re just exhausted from the party last night—it was wonderful, wasn’t it?—I’m sure Oberlin’s call will cheer you up.
Alexandre: [giving Gisela a slight smile] We’ll see.
[Outside, a cab door closes; the maid steps through the door and fastened her umbrella, striding quickly towards the kitchen door.]
Gisela: Oh! That’s Mitzi. She was quick.
Mitzi: Guten Morgen, Frau Sinclair. Good morning Mr. Sinclair. [She hands the paper to Gisela and prances off to the maids’ quarters]
Gisela: Danke, Mitzi! [laughing]
Alexandre: [stepping in] Say, where are the—
[the phone rings and both sets of eyes in the room dart toward the jangling console sitting on the marble counter]
Alexandre: I’ve got it, Dear. Will you go inquire about the schnitzel? [hinting at the girl dashing down the hall] Hello?
Voice on the other end: You’re under arrest!
Alexandre: [shocked] W-what?
Voice on the other end: For not contacting your best friend in 20 years.
Alexandre: [relieved, but slightly irked] Oberlin! You truly had me, you crazy fool; you wouldn’t believe what a relief this is. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.
Oberlin: As have I, although it bothers me that this conversation hasn’t happened until now…Necessity has brought me here. [pauses] Have you heard about the rain?
Alexandre: [confused] The rain? Oberlin McNally, did you call me just to talk about the weather? It hasn’t let up all month over here. Sometimes it comes down as snow, and then rain. You should really see the flooding.
Oberlin: The rain, Alex, the rain! [hauntingly, barely a whisper] Acid rain.
[His face stricken with horror, Alexandre takes a moment to comprehend the situation; he wanders through the French doors and falls onto the newly upholstered overstuffed polar bear loveseat.]
Alexandre: [quietly] How bad?
Oberlin: The animals, their very existence has been altered by changes in the environment! The base of the food chain –phytoplankton and other microorganisms that grow in lakes, rivers, and streams – has been decimated by acidification. The poor critters are emaciated… and angry.
Alexandre: [concerned] Not the animals!
Oberlin: Oh, yes, the animals! And the ecosystems as well.
Alexandre: [pacing back and forth] How did this happen?! Tell me, Oberlin! Tell me!
Oberlin: [flatly] Following the war, our country focused on industrialization and turned a blind eye on the environment. The economic benefits were enormous, but came at a high cost to ecosystems everywhere - increased SO2, SO3, NO2, and CO2 emissions caused overly acidic precipitation all over Europe.
Alexandre: [questioningly] These compounds are acid anhydrides. How does a compound without hydrogen produce acid rain?
Oberlin: NO2 reacts with CaOH or CaCO3 to become HNO3, SO2 and SO3 react with H20 to become H2SO3 , and CO2 reacts with liquid H2O to become H2CO3. When the sky opens up, it unleashes these compounds as acid rain. The acid rain falls upon the earth where bases such as calcium and magnesium lay. Now, these are usually insoluble, but they are susceptible to reacting with acid rain. When they do react—
Alexandre: [completing the puzzle] –They are washed away, never to be utilized again by the plants and ecosystems that so desperately depend on them!
Oberlin: This is only the beginning; these unnaturally occurring gases are toxic. Lives are at stake.
[Alexandre gazes across the courtyard at the ancient stone artifacts that litter the gardens. He is disgusted to see each drop of rain splash across their milky surface, for he knows that in several decades, acid rain will have erased their intricate beauty.]
Oberlin: [determined] The reason I call is to delineate the future. Germany’s rapid industrialization has, unbeknownst to you, slowed its own long-term growth. You must exert your influence towards greater emissions regulation it’s too late, for the future of Germany, for the future of the world as we know it!
[The phone call ends. On the other end of the line, a man sits weeping silently in his chair, having reached an epiphany and feeling good about protecting the ecosystems of Europe. At this moment, Gisele walks in.]
Alexandre: [frozen, standing on the veranda, soaked in the acidic solution] We have to…
Gisela: [perplexed] What, mein Liebling? Why are you standing in the rain, come inside! You’ll catch cold.
[He saunters through the doors and grips the shoulders of his noble wife with his icy fingers.]
Alexandre: [still gripping] Gisela, a day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. This task is imperative.
Gisela: [not grasping the predicament] Is this about the schnitzel? I can run and get them myself. [worried] Don’t punish Mitzi: she’s young, she just forgot.
Alexandre: [his face set like stone] No, it’s not about that. That is as insignificant as a grain of sand in the great Sahara Desert. We are talking about the condition of Mother Nature’s jewel: the good of greater mankind.
[Fixing his eyes on his wife’s defined visage, she had never looked so striking.] Gisela, is your father in his office?
Gisela: [slightly dazed] … Yes.
Alexandre: [unwavering] I think we have a phone call to make.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen Alexandre is questioning- Tell me, Oberlin! Tell me!- seems unnecessary.
ReplyDelete...CO2 emissions caused highly acidic instead of overly acidic...
Instead of just mentioning NO2, I think saying nitrogen oxides would be better since NO gets involved in forming acid rain.
NO2 reacts with H2O in the air to form HNO3
I think Sir Daniel Baer did a nice job editing.