RUINS 5'?m2f Will we be caught by surprise in the end times?

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RUINS    5'?m2f Will we be caught by surprise in the end times?

(scene: one end-table with lamp, magazine and bible.)

(light cue: fade to black)

ASST -- (enters crawling, shining flash light in all directions) 
Wow! (shouts to exit) Professor! I found something! In here! 
(stands, continues cautiously exploring stage) 

(light cue: fade up to 25%)

PROF -- (from off stage) Where are you?

ASST -- (shouts and shines light at exit) Through the hole. 
Follow the light.

PROF -- (enters crawling, shining flash light in all directions) 
Wow! (stands, continues cautiously exploring stage) 

(light cue: fade up to 50%)

PROF -- Amazing! The site is in pristine condition! The ash from 
the volcano covered everything and preserved it without damaging 
a thing.

ASST -- It looks like a dwelling, somebody's house. Do we have 
any idea of the age of the site, Professor?

PROF -- Yes, of course. (shines light at back wall of the 
audience) There's a picture of their president at the time. If 
he was in office at the time of the volcano, I'd say this house 
gives us a glimpse of life as it was in the late twentieth 
century or the early twenty-first century.

ASST -- That would date them at just before the annihilation.

PROF -- Exactly. And it would also confirm our hypothesis that 
the volcanic eruption occurred BEFORE the annihilation, not 
after. Perhaps these ruins can tell us something about the cause 
of the annihilation. What does the house tell you about the 
inhabitants?

ASST -- It looks like they had all the comforts we have today, 
Professor. (points light) They even have primitive versions of 
our electronic devices. (points light) Telephone. (points light) 
Radio. (points light) Television. (points light) Video games.

PROF -- Amazing preservation. Do you see any clue about what 
caused the annihilation of their civilization?

ASST -- You're better at that than I am, Professor. If you ask 
me, I'd say they didn't have a clue that they were about to be 
wiped off the face of the earth.

PROF -- You're right. There's no sign of siege. The windows were 
not boarded up. No stock pile of food or weapons. They must have 
been taken completely by surprise.

ASST -- That's what I would say. With all these electronic 
devices connecting them with the outside world, why didn't they 
see it coming?

PROF -- Perhaps the answer lies in their religious life. What 
does the house tell us about their religion?

ASST -- (points light at back of audience) There's a picture of 
Jesus on that wall. (points light) And there's a Bible here on 
the end-table. They were undoubtedly Christians.

PROF -- Don't be so quick to draw conclusions. 

ASST -- What do you mean?

PROF -- Take a close look (points light) at the bible.

ASST -- (pulls out paint brush, whisks dust from Bible) What do 
you mean? It's just a Bible.

PROF -- Look closely. Are there finger marks on the cover? Do 
the pages look ruffled?

ASST -- (inspects with magnifying glass, lifts cover with handle 
of paint brush) No. The Bible is in pristine condition. No 
finger marks. No ruffled pages. Perhaps this house was a model 
home for marketing and was never lived in.

PROF -- Look at the TV magazine next to the Bible.

ASST -- (inspects magazine, laughs) I guess that's why they pay 
you the big bucks, Professor.

PROF -- What do you see?

ASST -- The TV magazine is finger smudged and the pages are 
ruffled. This house is not a model home. Perhaps the Bible is 
new.

PROF -- Perhaps. But look again at the picture of Jesus. (points 
light) and the arrangement of the furniture in the room.

ASST -- (points light several places) I... I don't see what 
you're driving at Professor.

PROF -- The picture of their president is closer to the center 
of the room than the picture of Jesus.

ASST -- Well, they probably didn't worship their president.

PROF -- But what DID they worship?

ASST -- (points light) Well, that picture of a ski resort is 
larger and more centered in the room.

PROF -- Good. Keep going.

ASST -- And the furniture is mostly centered around their 
Television and the video games.

PROF -- So, we can conclude that...

ASST -- What they centered their life on is what they worshiped.

PROF -- And...

ASST -- And what they worshiped was leisure time activities and 
television.

PROF -- And that's why they didn't see the end coming.

ASST -- It's a pity. The end was predicted in the Bible.

PROF -- And they didn't even open it.

ASST -- No wonder they were so completely unprepared.

PROF -- Well, the end of OUR millennium is upon us. Let's go get 
our cameras and record this ruin so that our people will see 
what happens when people are not prepared for the future. 

(both exit crawling)

(light cue: fade to black)

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