Page 31 - Nutshell 4
P. 31
MINIMAX: Well, then, each of those pieces is smaller than the
whole thing.
BARGELLO: Oh. So the whole thing couldn’t have been the
smallest, after all. You’d have to cut the pieces until—wait a minute!
That’s what we’ve been doing: cutting and cutting and cutting. And
if we finally couldn’t cut anything open to see inside it, that would
mean we’d found the smallest, right?
MINIMAX: But then you couldn’t take the picture for Dr. Pesky,
could you? How would he know it was the smallest thing just
because you couldn’t cut it open?
BARGELLO: The Great Bargello can cut anything open! But even
if I couldn’t do it, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. It seems to
me if a thing has an inside, then it couldn’t be the smallest thing.
And if it doesn’t have an inside, then how can it be a thing? Blast it
all! (hits object) Ouch!
MINIMAX: that sums it up, Great Bargello. What do we do now?
BARGELLO: I am forced to say that we cannot go on shrinking
forever for no purpose. Let’s go back and try for the other
Extreme. (gets in )
MINIMAX: All right. Here we go! (effects)
(curtain)
ACT II
SCENE 1: The garage on Main Street
BARGELLO: Minimax! Where are you? I’m ready to start.
MINIMAX: (pops out) Here. I’m just checking out a few connections
before we go.
BARGELLO: What is that thing? It looks like a Chinese telephone
booth.
MINIMAX: This is Dr. Pesky’s Lightjumper.
