The Final Problem
Lights up on Dani, dressed in scholarly robes, glasses pressed tightly up against the bridge of her nose, leaving a small red mark. Her face is furrowed in concentration as she frantically scribbles notes on the paper in front of her. She reaches for her calculator, and her hand pauses just shy of the case. She steals herself, then grabs it. Slowly, she types (it can be random numbers) into it, then hits enter. Her face drops into shock.
Dani: (blatantly) I did it. (checks calculator) I-I did it! (she laughs, hand against her forehead, is disbelief. She jumps to her feet) I DID IT!! (throws paper) I DID IT! HA HA!
She returns to her seat, wiping happy tears from her eyes. A beat, then the light changes from gold to something colder. A bell rings, and she looks up, face like stone.
Dani: (to the audience) I’d done it. What I spent my whole life trying to do. I solved Becker’s theorem. (beat) Two hours later, I’m dead on the linoleum floor. (she stares at a spot center stage, emotionless)
Dani: All my life, I’ve always been able to solve problems, any problems, any at all. I could look at a proof, or a bar graph, or a theorem, and know it instantly. That was until third grade, when I first laid eyes on Becker’s theorem. For the first time in my life, I was dumbfounded. Until I wasn’t. (beat) Until senior year of college. I finally solved it. But this… (gestures to the spot, then touches a wound just above her heart, where a blade pierced through) This makes that look like child’s play. (beat, looks up) But know this: I will solve the final problem, if it’s the last thing I do.
Lights shift, three figures walk onstage.
Dani: Where to start? Variables, variables. I’ve measured my whole life with variables. (beat) So what’s the equation for a murder? There is none, so naturally, I made one. Simple really. V times K = M, V for victim, M for Murder, (beat) and K for Killer. (lights up on the three figures: Carmen, Camilla, and Luna)
Dani walks the line, surveying them closely.
Dani: Clever Carmen… (Dani raises Camilla’s face to the light) Loyal Camille… (touches Camilla’s shoulder) … and Luna. (her voice trails away as she looks into her eyes) Shall we begin?
She taps Camille on the shoulder, and a bell chimes. The others spin away, leaving Camille and Dani. They are at a bar, drinking beers and toasting the end of semester. Camille laughs, then her smile fades slightly.
Dani: (laughing) Another round! Another round! (she shakes her glass) Oh come on, Camille! You can do better than that!
Camille smiles, then takes a small sip from her glass. Dani looks over, her eyes critical.
Dani: (playfully) Cam? (elbows her) …everything okay? (tries to make eye contact)
Camille: (tense) Fine.
Dani: (almost to herself) You don’t look fine. (hands her the glass) Lighten up, why don’t you.
Camille: (pushes the glass away) I’m good.
Dani: (exasperated) You’re still mad? For god’s sake, Camille, you’ve got to get over it.
Camille: (mumbles) Easy for you to say.
Dani: I’m sorry, Camille. Really. I don’t know how much more I can say.
Camille: You don’t have to say anything. Just give it back.
Dani: (dismissive) You’re being difficult.
Camille: (scoffs) Difficult? Really?
Dani: Yes, in fact you are. Please, can we just forget about it? I don’t know why you can’t let it go.
Camille: Because it’s not fair! (she slams her glass down, voice breaking) You can’t. You can’t just take the money.
Dani: I need it, Camille. You don’t. I need to pay for my tuition.
Camille: And I don’t need to pay? In case you’ve forgotten, I go here too! I’m a student same as you.
Dani: But you’re not, Camille. Not really.
Camille: And what is that supposed to mean?
Dani: Oh here we go..
Camille: No, really, I’d like to know. Finish that sentence.
Dani: Camille, please, you’re making a scene..
Camille: Tell me!
Dani: Enough!
Camille: Then just tell me–
Dani: FINE! Fine! You want the truth? Here’s the cold, hard truth Camille. You peaked in high school. You’re a washed up athlete and a rampant coke head, and you’ll never make it past graduation, if you even graduate! You don’t have a future. (beat) I do!
Silence. Dani instantly regrets what she said.
Dani: Camille.. I-
Camille slams her glass on the table. She stands there for a moment, glaring at Dani, then storms out. A beat, then Dani looks up, the moment over.
Dani: (forced tone) So, possibility A. (clears her throat, fingers brushing the empty glass) Let’s move on, shall we?
Lights shift, now at the study hall. Carmen is sitting at the table, hair pinned up in a neat bun. She is dressed in a beautiful wool sweater and reads a large textbook. She smiles up at Dani serenely.
Carmen: Dani, good evening.
Dani: Carmen. Burning the midnight oil?
Carmen: Aren’t we all? (flips page)
Dani: Do you mind if I..? (gestures at empty seat)
Carmen: (a beat) Oh no, not at all. Please, sit.
Dani sits, setting her satchel on the floor beside her. She pulls out her materials and sets them on the table. Carmen shifts over slightly, then pauses when she sees Dani’s work.
Carmen: Curious..
Dani: Sorry?
Carmen: Becker’s theorem?
Dani: You know it?
Carmen: Know it? (tilts up her book to show Dani the cover. it reads “Advanced Calculus.” She lowers her voice) I’ve almost solved it.
Several emotions play across Dani’s face, before she plasters a fake smile on it once more.
Dani: Almost?
Carmen: Almost.
Momentary silence, both women turn back to their own work.
Dani: Beautiful sweater.
Carmen: Isn’t it? I got it in Wales. (scribbles something on a notepad)
Dani: Fantastic. (her eyes drift to Carmen’s notepad. She scoots closer) So, Becker’s Theorem?
Carmen: Yes. (straightens her collar)
Dani: Working alone?
Carmen: Of course.
Dani: No partners?
Carmen: (straightening her papers) I’ve been keeping my work quite secret. (lowering her voice) I’m sure you understand. There are many, shall I say, wandering eyes at an institution of this level. And Becker’s Theorem? It’s a gold mine. Solve Becker’s and you’re set for life. (beat) You’re a junior?
Dani: (defensively) Senior.
Carmen: Oh? (beginning to become uninterested)
Dani: (intrusively) I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what have you got so far?
Carmen: (eying her) Almost all. I’m close, I know it. (phone rings) Excuse me for a moment. (she walks away)
Dani waits for her to leave, then climbs into her seat. She flips through the papers, until she stops.
Dani: (in awe, slapping her forehead) Of course! (she pulls out a notepad and copies Carmen’s work)
Lights shift. Dani looks up at the audience.
Dani: Possibility B. There you have it. (steels herself) And finally..
Lights shift again, now in the gardens, surrounded by flowers. A beautiful young women sits on the edge of the bench. It is cold, and she huddles into herself for warmth. She holds flowers in her hand. She is staring straight ahead.
Dani: (softly) Luna.. (she sits next to her, and the bell rings)
Dani: (tentatively reaches for Luna’s hand, but Luna turns away) Luna. (no response) Please, Luna. Speak to me?
Luna’s face does not move. She stares straight ahead, save a small twitch of her eye as Dani speaks again)
Dani: Luna, you have to understand.. I’m so close. I have it now, everything I need. I can do it. (beat) I can solve it. I can solve Becker’s!
Luna’s face begins to get sad
Luna: Why did you do it?
Dani: (exasperated, tripping over her words) F-for.. I don’t know, us! Us, Luna! I needed to be in your father’s good favor. You know that! I needed support, I needed someone powerful to back me. Please, Luna, you have to understand…
Luna: (beat) You hurt me.
Dani: I-I couldn’t.. I didn’t.. (struggles to the words) There wasn’t any other way! You have to see that!
Luna: There’s always another way.
Dani: Listen, I’m sorry. Please, what can I do to fix it?
Luna: You can’t fix it Dani. I’m not a problem for you to solve.
Dani: Luna..,
Luna: Leave it, Dani. (beat) Please. Just.. leave it.
She walks off. Dani stays on the bench, head down, silent. She sniffs loudly, catching one tear from the corner of her eye as it falls.
Dani: So. Yeah. (she sniffs again) Sorry. Where were we? (under her breath) Shit. (wipes another tear) Alright. (she claps her hands) It’s time. We have the facts. We have our variables. All that’s left is to solve for the unknown. (she paces the stage) Carmen, Camille, Luna. Who, who indeed. Which one? Which one? All had the motive, all had the opportunity to strike. But who delivered the deathly blow? (She returns to her original position, at the desk. She begins to talk rapidly) I had just solved Becker’s Theorem. I had done what I set out to do. But someone wanted it for themselves. To steal it. But who? I was alone, it was night, where did they wait then? In the shadows.. Just think, Dani! Think! (she slams her head with both fists, rocketing to her feet) Camille, I took her money, Carmen, I took her future, and Luna.. I took her love. All had a motive. And all were here that night, so who!? (She spins in a circle, then runs around the room wildly) I was standing here, so they had to be standing there, and I fell forward, they came from behind! Stabbed, three times, just here! (she touches her shoulder again) So that means.. Yes. Yes!! I know who did it! (She runs to the front of the stage, ready for the grand reveal.. )
Dani: (suddenly her voice catches, and tears spring to her eyes. She can’t speak. Choked up) I-. (a deep ragged breath) I don’t know. (a breath, then voice breaking, as she realizes she has been beaten) I don’t know.. (Lights shift overhead, and she steps backwards slowly, into a cold, blue spotlight. The bell rings, and she freezes) I’m sorry.
A figure stands behind her, armed. Dani stands facing the audience, staring into the dark. The lights shift once more, and two more people step out from behind the first. Together, the three women advance forward, closing in… and the lights fade to black.
Character List:
Dani: (lead role) Dani is a talented, intelligent young scholar. However, aside from her intelligence, she is cold, calculating, and strategic. She hungers for success.
Carmen: (supporting role) Carmen is calm and collected, very poised and elegant in her mannerisms. Just like Dani, Carmen has high expectations for herself, though she is more reserved. She is just as clever as Dani, yet constantly overshadowed.
Camilla: (supporting role) Camilla is a dependable, loyal friend. She is the essential “cool girl,” student athlete. Quick with a joke and a bit temperamental, Camilla prefers to ride the wave then brave the undertow. Though she is a
Luna: (supporting role) Luna is shy and slightly sullen. She prefers to surround herself in silence, rather than social interaction. She finds comfort in the odd, darker places of the world. The only person who’s gotten past her walls is Dani, who dated her for two years before they broke up, when Luna discovered Dani was using her to get in with the Headmaster, her father.
Storyline: Dani has finally done it: she’s solved Becker’s theorem. Her entire life has led to this moment, and she’s finally done it. Little did she know that it would be the very last thing she’d ever do. Two hours later, she’s dead on the linoleum floor. Her body was never found.
There were only three people who could’ve done it: Carmen, Camilla, and Luna.. The catch? She was stabbed from behind, and she never saw who did it. But even in death, Dani is the same: her spirit won’t rest until she solves the final problem.