Читать книгу The Contract - Anto Krajina - Страница 6

Early in the morning, all the members of the managing team assembled in the conference hall of the University Hospital to discuss the details in connection with the forthcoming interview. Each of them was an expert in a special field.

Ms Panther, for example, was a lawyer and her main field of activity was legal protection for children and adolescents. She was very tall, tough and wiry and already in her fifties. As she was always so terribly busy and under a lot of pressure she simply could not afford not to smoke. Although she smoked all day long she used her cigarette lighter only once – when she lit her first cigarette in the morning. Her voice was hoarse, and she seemed to be somewhat proud of that, because she was convinced that everybody took her more seriously because of her rough voice. Despite her remarkable career she was convinced that men were privileged. When she happened to speak about women’s rights she repeatedly used the word ‘alas’. She thought that she and all women were victims of natural injustice, because they were born as women, however she never thought of changing her sex; she couldn’t do that she says. Of course, she never gave a clear explanation as to why not, but she sometimes quite spontaneously said that she hated men. In spite of all that, she did whatever she could to bring her way of life as close as possible to that of men. She was convinced that she did that in her own very original way, and therefore she considered herself to be very creative. For instance, she only rarely wore a skirt, and if she did, then only an extremely short one. She preferred a pair of padded jeans that made her meagre bottom appear suspiciously round and bulging. Her favourite footwear was a pair of very long brightly-coloured high-heeled boots that made her look a sort of prairie maiden that lonesome cowboys dream and sing about. She, of course, had no idea that she looked like a prairie maiden. In fact, she considered cowboys and everything about them as very primitive and lacking even in basic culture. She regarded herself as a free spirit, a superb intellectual, a brilliant mind, much ahead of her time. She joined the managing team around Vivien as soon as it became known that Vivien was alive, because she was convinced that it would be a great mistake to miss the unique opportunity to help Vivien bridge the gap between her previous life she had just left behind and her new life she was just about to start.

Immediately after her sudden emerging, Vivien was put in quarantine in the University Hospital where she was protected from the curious public in general and from all sorts of paparazzi in particular. During those first few hours when Vivien was still in the police station, Ms Panther had the privilege of being the first woman to see her and to speak to her. She had never seen Vivien before, apart from her photos in the newspaper immediately after the tragic event had happened, but that was years before. When she saw Vivien at the police station she had been impressed, even more than that, she had been overwhelmed by her personality, especially by her resolution, she said. In the first moment she wanted to tell her to take a few weeks’ holiday, somewhere far away from all the fuss and to-do and enjoy the sun and the sea and have a good rest after the long time of tribulation. But she could not utter these words of advice, because she had immediately noticed that Vivien couldn’t be talked out of her ideas. After a long conversation with Vivien she realised that Vivien didn’t want to be hidden from the world against her will any longer.

“Vivien’s sense of mission is incredible,” Ms Panther repeated again and again. Her remark that Vivien’s unique energy should not be shielded from the world, for that would be an enormous loss for the reading public but, instead, properly channelled and managed was an important contribution to the discussion of the managing team.

Being serious professionals, all the members of the managing team had more or less the same ideas when it came to proper management of Vivien’s case. However, each of them had those same ideas in his own way.

Mr Corner, the country’s leading media advisor, for example, had a very clear plan of what should be done. He had hatched his plan in his large and luxurious office in his Media Agency. It was an impressive building in one of the most prestigious quarters of the town. The furniture in his office was of the finest quality, very modern and extremely expensive. All the doors and windows in his agency were made of chromium steel and bullet-proof glass. They were designed to radiate firmness and transparency and they were always impeccably polished and clean. He said on different occasions that his office was furnished to fit the taste and standard of his clients. His clients could feel that, of course, each time they had the privilege of paying the bills. They felt honoured because the amount of the bills strengthened their awareness of belonging to the first rank. Although he made no secret of being proud of his wealth he did not like to be regarded just as a rich man but as someone with a keen interest in art and culture. His adviser in business matters was also confidant. Mr Corner trusted his loyalty and his taste. Years earlier on his advice Mr Corner had started collecting works of modern art years earlier. Now his collection of modern art was second to none in the country, where – by the way – all well-off people buy works of art and try to have their own art collection. Even his office chair was a product of great artistic fantasy and craftsmanship. He bought it at an auction and paid a lot of money for it. It used to belong to an extravagant billionaire who had all the armchairs in his favourite night bar in one of his numerous villas covered with the skin of the penises of young whales. Those who were in a position to prevent him from doing that showed due understanding for his sophisticated appreciation of beauty and could not resist the temptation of accepting the opulent bribe he offered them. That billionaire had died a long time ago, however his unique armchairs, the witnesses of his sophisticated, extravagant artistic appreciation, were now all duly housed in offices and lounges of the people who have the same taste. One of the armchairs had found its way to Mr Corner’s office. It was a luxurious piece of furniture covered with extremely soft golden-yellow leather made of the skin taken from the most sensitive part of the body of an Atlantic whale killed for that purpose. The official justification for killing of whales was, of course, that the whales were inevitable for scientific purposes.

Mr Corner’s six-day long greying beard was always neatly trimmed. In every conversation he unfailingly pointed out the importance of being intellectually active. He did it especially when he spoke about the latest models of sports cars. In fact, sports cars were an inexhaustible topic of conversation for him. If you happened to get involved in a conversation with him and if you merely knew the names of different car makes without being acquainted with the different models of the same make, you certainly ran the risk of being considered by him a tragic ignoramus.

His sphere of activity was enormous and his service to society simply inestimable if one considers the fact that he was the adviser of the country’s leading employers as well as of the country’s leading trade unions. He advised at the same time the perpetrators of a crime as well as their victims. When he advised them he equally encouraged both sides to continue claiming the maximum, because he adored cockfights. The bleeding cocks themselves, although engaged in fierce fighting against each other, appreciated his urging support. His words of encouragement were a kind of soothing balm to their wounds. Being an excellent mediator he did a lot of useful official work for dictators and criminal governments of foreign countries as well as most dangerous individuals all round the world and helped them to be heard and accepted by the world community. He perfected the art of smoothing out even the gravest cases of embezzlement and making even the most obvious cases of corruption appear absolutely insignificant. Thus he seemed completely to call his work benevolent mediation. Therefore it is no wonder that he was thought of very highly in all social circles.

He was aware of his unique position and of his influence and, officially, it was only for that reason that he wanted to help the managing team to find the best solution for Vivien. He was a successful bachelor whose altruism went so far that now he had decided to set up a fund bearing Vivien’s name with the intention to help the poorest people in the world. He had condescended to run the fund personally and be Vivien’s personal advisor. Of course, he did it without expecting any official reward for his effort. All of the team members knew very well that he was the central figure of the team, that without him nothing at all could be done. They agreed with him that the purpose of the interview with Vivien was to make the spectators and readers like her, suffer with her, rejoice with her, admire her, and learn from her experience.

‘We must make her what she is. She is an example to follow,’ he summed up.

All others just nodded.

Professor Frederic also nodded, however he looked serious. Now he was sitting in his comfortable armchair. The ankle of his right leg was resting on his left knee. While he was carefully listening to Mr Corner he was nodding and gazing at the floor. He was holding his hands open and wide apart in front of him as if trying to explain something to somebody. He did not seem to be particularly happy about the plan and strategy put forward, because he feared that Mr Corner threatened to steal the entire show from all other members, and from him personally infinitely more than the show alone. He was used to being the cock of the walk and could not put up with the idea of being second in the team.

“Now there is a collective sky-window for Vivien,” added Mr Corner.

All of a sudden Professor Frederic stopped nodding and moving his hands, because Mr Corner had spontaneously said something in a way somewhat reserved for psychologists.

For Professor Frederic it was an assault on his own scientific and professional realm. For how could a non psychologist dare use words like ‘collective sky-window’ beyond the boundaries of psychology? The magic, enigmatic and deeply emotional words that Mr Corner had just spoken could no longer be prevented from being said. They were in the air, clearly uttered by him and also clearly heard by all members of the team.

Mr Corner was a thorough professional intimately acquainted with crowd psychology. He knew that the human brain had in principle two main functions. One function was to remember and to use all sorts of information when necessary. The other one was to forget them when necessary. A brain that could not forget old things could not create room for new ones either; it could not learn. He had studied the behaviour of crowds in detail and had come to the conclusion that the interest in shocking events followed a pattern. He had found out that the moon’s rhythm of growth and decrease, the menstrual rhythm of women and the increase and decrease of people’s interest in scandals seemed to follow the identical rhythm of increase and decrease. The moon grew during the first two weeks after it appeared in the sky for the first time and reached its maximum after two weeks. Then it shone as a full moon, a sort of lit window in the dark night sky. In a similar way the menstrual cycle of women reached a peak two weeks after the menstruation; the same was the case with the interest of the readers and viewers in an event after the event had taken place. That was the moment when the sky-window was wide open, when the crowds should be addressed. After that critical point the brightness of the moon, the fertility of women and the interest of masses in a particular event fell away.

“In our case,” Mr Corner proceeded, “the interest of the public in Vivien’s story is still growing, however, only till tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow evening we have to open the sky-window to the masses and show Vivien to millions of TV viewers in order to prepare them for the main part of the plan that will follow later. After this meeting we must know exactly what Vivien must look like on the screen, what she should wear, what colour her clothes must be, what she will have to say and how she will have to say it. We must formulate all the questions she will be asked and discuss with her the suitable answers she is supposed to give. We must record the first rehearsal this afternoon and watch it together with Vivien tomorrow morning. After that she should be left alone till evening. Tomorrow evening we shall know if we have been successful in preparing Vivien for the greatest and most important exam of her life,” he said.

Somebody tried to say something, but Mr Corner ignored him and continued.

“It is true that there have been some flaws so far. In fact they happened at the very beginning and they were caused by unsuitable questions put to Vivien by people without the necessary tact and skill, without even a trace of social intelligence,” he said.

The words ‘social intelligence’ caused with Professor Frederic to feel more irritated, because Mr Corner had again used a term created by psychologists for psychologists, something that in his opinion unauthorized people shouldn’t have been allowed to use at all.

“You have mentioned flaws made at the very beginning. Could you please explain what you have in mind?” asked Ms Panther, because she felt she was being personally attacked by Mr Corner’s remark. She knew that she was the first person to have a real conversation with Vivien. She was aware that she must have put numerous questions to Vivien, however she could not remember having asked her a single unseemly one. Being a lawyer whose task was to protect the rights of young people she knew that she could afford to ask even personal questions if she considered them to be of benefit to the client. She did that every day and she did that also while she was speaking to Vivien. She had asked her, for example, who from her family she would like to see first and what her immediate plans were for the future.

It was difficult for her to conceive that such neutral, general questions might have caused problems.

“I shouldn’t like to go into details and try to find out who put those unsuitable questions to Vivien. The fact is that they must have been put to her otherwise she wouldn’t have given those unhappy answers,” Mr Corner said.

“Which answers do you mean?” asked Ms Panther.

“Well, I have been thinking of Vivien’s answers that she did not love her mother, that she did not want to see her or speak to her, that she could never live with her again and so on, and so on. We could all read her answers in the newspapers, couldn’t we? Of course, she is not to be blamed for that, however, such flaws can spoil virtually everything,” Mr Corner answered.

“Couldn’t we . . . ?” Ms Panther tried again, but Mr Corner ignored her and continued.

“In the interview tomorrow evening we will have to rectify those flaws.”

“How are we going to do that?” asked Ms Panther.

“We shall have to ask her the same questions again, that is clear, but we will have to explain to her that this interview is of paramount importance for her future. She will have to understand that this interview can open but also shut all the doors in front of her. We must take advantage of the psychology of the masses, particularly of the psychology of parents. We must make them feel touched by Vivien’s words,” Mr Corner added.

At the word psychology Professor Frederic stopped nodding and moving his hands.

“All grown-up people in general and all parents in particular do not like children who hate their parents,” Mr Corner continued. “They can only like children who love their parents. After the interview hundreds of millions of TV viewers will be acquainted with this unique case that we have the privilege to manage. Thousands of articles and comments will appear in the press all around the world and that is exactly what we need. For after that we shall have to look for suitable means to raise Vivien’s case, our case, to a higher level of fame. But there is one thing that must not happen!”

While speaking, Mr Corner was shaking his index finger in a threatening manner at everybody, visible and invisible, who might dare to interfere in any way whatsoever in their business.

All the members of the team stopped breathing and stared at him without stirring.

“This is our case and we will not allow anybody to steal the precious golden egg just laid!”

All, except Professor Frederic, breathed a sigh of relief.

“Everyone will love her; mummies and grannies will cry for happiness, and the whole nation, later – I am convinced – the entire world will be united in love for all the victims and in the fight against all sorts of criminals and terrorists. We, this small team, will be proud of ourselves that we have handled this case as it deserves to be handled. This case gives us an excellent opportunity to show the entire world what fantastic creative and healing potential is present in our country.”

They all stirred a little and with an air of satisfaction leant slightly back in their chairs.

“We are lucky that Vivien’s face hasn’t been shown to the public yet. However, we must be careful and on alert, for there are already some rather unclear and suspicious photos of her in circulation. Fortunately the newspapers seem to be cautious and do not want to publish them. That is good, of course, for if they did, our interview would hardly have any effect. That is an important reason why the interview must not be postponed, and why it must take place tomorrow evening,” Mr Corner explained.

“We must not forget the fact that Vivien has spent years without the usual normal contact with other people. What if she decides not to appear on TV tomorrow evening because she does not feel fit or disposed to do that?” asked Professor Frederic.

“Well, that is possible, of course. However, the probability that she will change her mind is very, very small. I am saying that because I have explained to her that it is not just important but absolutely decisive for her future career and her entire life that the interview takes place tomorrow evening. She has understood that it is not just our wish, but absolute necessity. I have suggested the State Television as the most efficient means of presenting her case to the public, and she has accepted my suggestion.

I have discussed with her the catalogue of questions that will be put to her in the interview. We have agreed on the set of questions and on all the answers to those questions. She has written them all down and learnt them by heart. We have discussed and arranged even details like her make-up, the colour of the trousers, the shirt and the scarf she is going to wear in the interview, simply everything,” Mr Corner went on explaining.

All, except Professor Frederic, expressed their agreement by nodding gently.

“Vivien knows already exactly when in the interview she will have to shut her eyes, when to cover her face with her hands to demonstrate her effort to think of a suitable word for her answer, and when to put her hands palm-to-palm between her knees. She asked me to allow her to try to perform it several times to be sure that she could do it properly. I was impressed by her resoluteness and her flexibility. She tried everything again and again to be sure that everything would go spontaneously as well as impeccably. Now she knows exactly how she should sit and how to smile to be charming, however, not imposing.

As far as the answers to the questions are concerned we arranged that she should not criticize anybody. True victims never criticize. They bear their pain with dignity. She has understood everything perfectly. Instead of criticizing others she should speak of her pain, of her sadness, of her suffering, of her decision to endure, of her readiness to forgive. I have told her that she has a special mission, because with her example she can influence the entire world. She was radiant with happiness to hear that. I have asked her all the questions we had chosen, one by one, and she has answered them all just as we had previously arranged it. Our whole conversation and all her actions, in short, the entire rehearsal, have been recorded. After that we watched the recording together and discussed each of the movements she is supposed to perform during the interview. She has done everything just beautifully. In my opinion she might become a great actress.

She has understood that in the interview all questions in connection with the relationship between her and her mother as well as between her and her kidnapper must be treated with special care.

We discussed several possible answers to the question concerning the relationship between her and her mother and came to the conclusion that the most useful answer would be that nobody was closer to her than her mother.

We also came to the conclusion that the best answer to the question concerning the relationship between her and her kidnapper would be that there had not been any emotional or intimate relationship between them whatsoever. This is absolutely necessary because Vivien’s intimate sphere must be protected by all means. The reasons for that are manifold, of course, but one of them is the most important. First of all, we should understand that rudeness and aggressiveness are two particularly strong elements in the character of the masses. The masses prefer heroes to pitiable creatures. Even those less aggressive, however, equally ignorant – I mean those with the religious touch – are not particularly sympathetic to raped girls, because in the back of their minds there is always a mixed feeling that the victim has in one way or another cooperated with the perpetrator. They require from the victim either unconditional virginity or death. For them, being raped and yet innocent is an impossible state. Vivien must enter the hearts of the masses as the idea of the victorious innocence that wins the battle against the evil always present in the lowest sphere of all human creatures. She must, as it were, crush the head of the serpent of evil with her naked heel. That is what the masses expect from her, and that is what the masses must get from us.

Her innocence, paired with her resoluteness, must chase away the evil intruders after many bitter years of war. Orléans is possible any time and anywhere. Why should our time and our town not be worthy of creating a victorious innocence and thus enrich the history of our country and indeed of the entire humanity? And why should we here not be good enough to handle that creation?” said Mr Corner.

At the beginning of Mr Corner’s presentation, the members of the managing team did not know what he was up to, but now they suddenly grasped the essence of his plan. They were simply delighted, their eyes wide open, their hearts full of joy.

Only Professor Frederic seemed not to be aware of what Mr Corner had said. He was sitting in his armchair, his legs stretched out, his hands between his knees, and his head leaning forward so that he could not see anybody in front of him. He seemed completely absorbed in his own thoughts.

“Let us not forget,” proceeded Mr Corner, “that hundreds of millions of people worship a woman, just because she happened to be chosen to remain a virgin before the conception and after the delivery of the one who is considered, again by hundreds of millions of people, to be the only son of God.

Now I hope that it is absolutely clear why we must protect Vivien’s innocence. Her innocence is the pillar on which our success can and must rest.

I should like to point this out, because at the moment a similar case is running in our neighbourhood. I am sorry, but I must correct myself; that case is similar only on the surface, in fact, it is, however, completely and fundamentally different. It is true that both Vivien and the girl in our neighbourhood were kidnapped, it is true that both of them were very young when they were abducted, it is true that both had a difficult time and suffered a lot.

Vivien was only ten when the unpleasant event happened to her; the other girl was already thirteen. Vivien’s parents were divorced; the other girl’s parents lived together in harmony. Vivien had to endure years of tribulation; the other girl only five weeks.

All of these are considerable differences – there is no question about that. However, the greatest difference, the only one that is important to us and the only one that we are, in fact, interested in is that the other girl was raped by her kidnapper. She was chained to the wall and raped, more than once daily! That girl admitted that she had been deflowered and then raped again and again, daily more than once, and in the most brutal way. She had beseeched her kidnapper to spare her, to have mercy with her, but nothing had helped her. She gave a detailed account of all that had happened to her. She did it, no doubt, because she hoped that people would show compassion. Her kidnapper confessed everything which proves that she had not invented the story. However, nothing has helped her. She was deflowered but people have no compassion for her. In their eyes she is – at least partly – to be blamed for her misfortune. Her kidnapper has already excused himself, as he usually did after each new kidnapping and rape. People appreciate it very much when men excuse themselves for their misconduct towards women. The raped women themselves seem to be inclined to forgive them. In addition to all that, lots of men in the position to decide about the punishment for rape are also prone to thinking that raping a female lies somewhat in the nature of a male and should not necessarily be regarded as something evil.

Now that girl’s kidnapper will have to undergo therapy in a psychiatric hospital and will soon be set free. His victim is ruined, finished. However, the masses don’t seem to care very much about her destiny.

Our case is, as I have already pointed out, fundamentally different. So far Vivien has not said and will not say a single word in the interview about the relationship between her and her kidnapper. Thus she will remain until the end a perfectly innocent virgin who has no reason whatsoever to lament and look for compassion. She is untouched, and that is our advantage that we must take advantage of. We must make her what she is. She is a shining example to follow,” Mr Corner summed up repeating the same words he had used at the very beginning.