Rover
March 5th, 2021
Starring: Pierre (male, 50’s), Rich (male, 50’s)
Lunchtime. The ground floor bathroom of corporate. Four urinals (with the divider walls), three stalls, two sinks. Rich is at the far left urinal, with a lunchbag/box hanging off his shoulder. A few moments later, Pierre comes in. He sees Rich facing away, but isn’t sure it’s him.
PIERRE
Rich?
Rich turns his head, a bit startled:
RICH
Oh
uh
Hey Pierre!
PIERRE
Sorry to—
RICH
No that’s ok. How you been?
Pierre then goes up to the far right urinal, facing away. As they talk, they will occasionally look over at the other one, but try not to make too much eye contact:
PIERRE
Fine. How’s the family?
RICH
Everyone’s doing fine.
PIERRE
How old’s your daughter now? 8th grade?
RICH
She’s a Junior.
PIERRE
Oh Junior, wow. High school. Goes fast.
RICH
Imagine being me.
...
And your life?
PIERRE
Ah you know. Hardly working, working hard.
RICH
Sounds about right.
A pause. Maybe a light trickle sound. Rich tries to keep the momentum going:
RICH
So...did you see any of this Mars stuff? The rover?
PIERRE
Uh...I saw some clips.
RICH
Pretty incredible.
PIERRE
Very red.
RICH
No kidding.
Seems like they’re getting a lot of new data though.
Trying to get people there by 2030. Start a colony. Can you imagine?
PIERRE
That’s not a rumor?
RICH
No, they’re actually gonna do it.
...
PIERRE
Well, it’s nice to know where my taxes are going.
RICH
Haha, hey, you gotta know what else is out there. Earth won’t be around forever.
PIERRE
We'll be gone by then...
RICH
But all with all the climate shenanigans...the next 30-odd years...who knows.
PIERRE
Even then, we can’t shuttle everyone to Mars.
RICH
Things change fast.
PIERRE
Not that fast.
I mean I love the concept, but we’re putting all these resources into sustaining life elsewhere, when most can’t sustain themselves here.
RICH
That’s why we gotta start now. See what’s possible out there, so we can regulate the population and conserve the planet. For the next generations.
PIERRE
I guess that’s the bargain. The current generations pay so the future ones don’t.
RICH
Well...yeah, I’d kinda like my kids to have a life. Keep humanity going...?
Maybe you don’t—
PIERRE
No I do. I do.
Maybe I just can't sympathize the same. No offspring and all, heheh.
Another full pause. Maybe another light trickle sound.
RICH
I didn’t mean to start with the whole—
PIERRE
No that’s alright—
RICH
I just thought the rover was cool.
PIERRE
It is. It is cool.
With this, Rich buttons his pants and flushes the urinal, walking to the sinks. Pierre does the same. They start to wash their hands.
PIERRE
We should grab lunch sometime. Or a beer.
I know you got family at home but—
RICH
I’m game. I'll look at my schedule, shoot you a text.
PIERRE
Just let me know.
RICH
Great.
Rich finishes washing his hands, gives them a shake, and wipes his hands on his pants.
RICH
Good to see you Pierre. Take it easy.
PIERRE
Yeah. Likewise.
Rich nods and walks out. Pierre finishes washing, then grabs a paper towel and dries. He smiles to himself as he pushes back out, into the world.