Episode 6: The Cave

Int.party/DeN.Night

ii stands between two men in a corner of the living room in a house hosting an evening, loud, party. The lights are low and the mood is contained. ii is holding a cocktail and waving it about.

ii

...and I said, "What the fuck gives you the authority to search someone's car using arbitrary judgment? And that's when I shot him. You're not the only one with a license to kill.

The two man laugh heartily.

Ryan

Have you ever imagined humans living in a cave-like dwelling, with an entrance a long way up above them. They've been there since childhood, fixed in the same place with their necks and legs bonded, preventing them from turning around. Light is from a fire burning far above and behind them. Also behind them, but on higher ground, there is a path stretching between them and the fire. Imagine that along this path a low wall has been built to like a screen to hide a puppeteer.

II

Okay, sure.

Ryan

Then also imagine that there are people along the wall, carrying all kinds of artifacts that project above it--statues of people and animals, some of the carriers are talking, and some are silent.

II

That's a pretty strange image, and strange prisoners.

Ryan

The shadows on the wall would purvey a truth, then, the sounds would echo, distorting their direction. They could confuse what's in front of them to be the source. The prisoners would in every way believe that the truth is nothing other than the shadows of these artifacts.

II

Absolutely.

Ryan

Now if he were to be freed from his bonds, imagine his ignorance. When one finally felt compelled to turn and face the fire burning high above, he'd be pained and unable to see the things whose shadows he'd seen before, because his eyes are adjusted to the dim shadows. Now tell him everything seen before was inconsequential, why would he not flee back to the things he can see clearly on the wall, perhaps even believing they were clearer than the light.

II

How do you avoid it?

Ryan

If by force he was dragged up the steep path to the entrance and dragged into the daylight, wouldn't he be irritated by the treatment? When the sun finally fills his eyes, after a lifetime of living in a cave, it will hurt to see the objects around him, let alone to gaze upon the sun itself.

II

You think you know of truth?

II pops on his monitor, and the camera zooms in. On the screen, the camera shows the three characters standing around, then it turns on it's axis, revealing the filmmakers silhouetted against the light. The camera zooms out to reveal this was played on II's monitor. The characters look at him in shock and confusion, their eyes looking around the room paranoid. On II's monitor is the infinite loop of pointing a video camera at a monitor.