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The following is a copy of the scene performed in class today from my second webpaper written with tangerines. In terms of the presentation schedule, I introduced the plot and tangerines elaborated on the character development prior to the performance.

A NATURAL DISASTER

By: Sadie Mahmoud & Apocalipsis Rosario

CHARACTERS

MARK, early forties              Social scientist; sociologist & psychologist   [Played by m.aghazarian]        

PEDRO, late thirties             Life scientist; geologist                                [Played by Anne]

MARY, mid twenties             Informational scientist; librarian                  [Played by tangerines] 

DAVID, early fifties              Humanist                                                      [Played by myself]

 SETTING

Online video chat, taking place 5 days after the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. Each character interfaces with a screen, on which he/she is able to see and interact with the other characters.

SCENE READ IN CLASS

 MARY:           The Daiwa House Industry Company and others are working to rebuild the areas which suffered the most damage, along with Save the Children, the Red Cross, and UNICEF. Those organizations are already on the ground providing medical care and other services. I think our main priority should be to begin preserving and cataloging news and information. This would consist of protecting any physical texts and digitizing them.

PEDRO:          You want to prioritize cataloging information when the infrastructure has yet to be rebuilt? That's ridiculous! We need to focus on infrastructure, rebuilding communities at higher elevations so that we’re more prepared in the future. This is the second earthquake since the disaster in 1995 – we need to learn from the past!

MARY:            Exactly. But, we can't understand what happened or how to cope with situations such as these if we don’t secure our informational databases. If we had preserved more information from the earthquake in ’95, we could have had the foresight to build new structures on higher ground.

MARK:           What use is infrastructure if the people and their communities are vulnerable? The Japanese people have been able to remain calm in the face of a terrible disaster because of their social structure, but if that falls apart it will delay reconstruction. People require services to help them deal with the crisis so they can work together to rebuild

DAVID:          Okay, we have several good ideas on the table for the allocation of our resources: reconstructing the infrastructure in Sendai, preserving physical information by converting it into digital media. Providing counseling alongside with community-based aid to the people is also important. But I still think we're missing the bigger picture here.

MARK:           You’re right. What we need to consider are basic human needs, such as food, shelter, and medical assistance. These issues need to be addressed, so it goes without saying that-

PEDRO:          No one's debating the need for food, shelter, and medical care. However, we need to recognize the fact that we can't get food and aid to people quickly enough if there are no roads. Currently we're forced to use elevated areas as landing strips! Again, it took the Red Cross four days to deliver a shipment of supplies to a single shelter. That is unacceptable when you consider that there are nearly 3,000 people who are injured, and those are only the ones who are accounted for! There are more than 17,000 people who are still missing.

MARY:           Where did you get those figures?

PEDRO:          The informational packet, I'm sure you got one.

MARY:           I did, Pedro. My point is that you were able to receive those figures because of informational outlets that have been on site polling, collecting data, and running numbers. If that information were not available to us, we would be completely in the dark as to where we should begin sending our support.

MARK:           But surely if we are receiving this information, then there isn't a need for us to expend more money to get someone to catalog it in Japan? We can do it remotely from here.

MARY:           That's not anywhere near enough. Stop forgetting all of the physical texts in the various centers for art, culture, science, education, and religion that are at risk for all kinds of damage, including water.

[PEDRO, MARK, and MARY begin to speak at the same time.]

DAVID:          Settle down everyone! This isn't getting us anywhere. Time is crucial and we have to allocate our limited resources as fairly and objectively as possible. That goal will be impossible if you squabble like children.

MARK:           Look, we're not getting anywhere by talking over each other … Do we all agree that we should focus on food, shelter, and medical supplies?

 [Everyone nods and murmurs assent.]

MARK:           Well, in that case, that's our first recommendation. Now we just need to hammer out two more propositions.

PEDRO:          Infrastructure. Without roads, we cannot deliver supplies, and without a repaired sewage system, the already-limited sources of drinking water will be contaminated and people will become vulnerable to disease, requiring further medical supplies.

MARK:           Very well. I can agree with that.

MARY:           I can too, especially since we need them to get to various data preservation sites.

DAVID:          Great, then –

MARK:           But I would suggest that we should also provide counseling services to those in shelters-

[In the distance, we hear the breaking news from a television in the background of one of the character's video calls. A female voice begins, “In breaking news, it has just been reported that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is experiencing serious damage in the wake of the deadly earthquake and tsunami as three of the station's reactors meltdown. U.S. nuclear experts are on site providing technical support and assistance. They are reportedly working closely with Japanese officials to control any nuclear radiation emissions from the plant. As the world waits to learn whether the nuclear power plant is safe, the death toll continues to rise.  The most recent report estimates that 18,400 people have died.]