Three interconnected stories exploring human relationships and existential themes
Story Structure — 3 Plot Phases
The Married Couple
A salesman visits a family with an ill son, while a maid cleans and a second salesman creates disorienting changes.
Key Events
Sales Visit Begins — Salesman arrives at customer's home Characters: Sales Agent/Victim/Pallas, Father/Officer/Schmar, Mother, SonLocation: Family Home
Ill Son's Condition — Family attends to ill adult son Characters: Father/Officer/Schmar, Mother, SonLocation: Bedroom
Housekeeper Cleans — Maid scrubs the floor Characters: HousekeeperLocation: Downstairs
Second Salesman Arrives — Competing salesman arrives Characters: Robert/Explorer/Mr. Wese, Sales Agent/Victim/PallasLocation: Family Home
Disorienting Changes — Reality shifts unexpectedly Characters: Robert/Explorer/Mr. Wese, Sales Agent/Victim/Pallas, Father/Officer/Schmar, Mother, SonLocation: Family Home
In the Penal Colony
A new commandant arrives at a penal colony where an officer demonstrates a bizarre punishment apparatus.
Key Events
Penal Colony Arrival — New commandant arrives at penal colony Characters: New Commandant, Father/Officer/Schmar, SoldierLocation: Penal Colony
Apparatus Demonstration — Officer demonstrates bizarre punishment device Characters: Father/Officer/Schmar, New Commandant, Soldier, Face in the MonitorLocation: Penal Area
Prisoner Preparation — Prisoner is prepared for punishment Characters: Father/Officer/Schmar, Soldier, Face in the MonitorLocation: Punishment Chamber
Fratricide
A man is murdered at night by someone he knows well, followed by a woman's grief.
Key Events
Night Murder — Man is murdered by someone he knows Characters: Father/Officer/Schmar, MotherLocation: Dark Location
Woman Grieves — Woman mourns the murdered man Characters: MotherLocation: Grieving Space
Story Breakdown
The Married Couple — A salesman's visit to a family with an ill son
Sales Visit — Initial interaction between salesman and customer
Family Dynamics — Parents caring for their ill son
In the Penal Colony — A demonstration of a bizarre punishment apparatus
Commandant's Arrival — New authority figure at the penal colony
Apparatus Demonstration — Officer shows the punishment device
Prisoner's Fate — The prisoner prepared for punishment
Fratricide — A murder and its aftermath
Night Murder — Man killed by someone he knows
Grief — Woman mourns the murdered man
Three stories. We see, but little is explained. In "The Married Couple," a salesman pays a call on an old customer who is with his wife in the upstairs bedroom of their ill adult son. Another salesman may beat him to the punch, but not before disorienting changes. A maid scrubs the floor. "In the Penal Colony": a man arrives at a penal colony where an officer demonstrates a bizarre apparatus, one that punches a message into the skin of a prisoner strapped beneath it. Who will be punished? In "Fratricide," a man is murdered at night by someone he knows well. A woman grieves.