Do you
understand
this?
Orwell - 1984
After an hour, the lecture finally came to an end. Now a new
menu appeared on the screen. The woman's voice with the
electronic taste kindly read out the sentences, sounding like
sudden frost in Frank's ears:
„lf you deny the charges, please click on NO! "
"If you admit the charges, please klick on YES! "
Citizen 1-564398B-278843 hesitated, perked his eyebrows
up and tried to arrange his thoughts.
„What is this shit? Tve done nothing wrong, nothing at all!
This whole crap is a bad joke! ", yelled Frank through the
court cell. For a second, he thought about crushing this
damn screen with a kick.
„l will choose NO! I'm innocent! No! I click NO! No
question! ", he screamed angrily.
The accused hammered on the keys in front of him and
selected NO. Now he had to wait. The computer hummed.
. . Loading" could be seen on the screen in bright letters.
Frank felt relieved for a short moment.
„Now that fucking thing knows that I am innocent. I
expressed myself clearly: NO! ", he said grimly. Then he
smiled, a bit exhausted, while the inner tension started to
28
die down. Shortly afterwards, he got the answer of the
automated court computer, with metallic sound and cruelly
combined letters on the bright screen:
. . Accused, you selected NO! This means, you deny the
reproaches and assume our juridical system, led by
humanistic principles, not to consider these!
Unfortunately, we must tell you that the selection of the
menu option NO leads, in principle, to an increased
measure of punishment, because it shows the
intransigence of the culprit. . . "
The court decision is loaded. . .
The young man paused, gaped at the screen and cursed
quietly, while his mouth became an astonished, shocked
hole. Frank Kohlhaas' understanding seemed to be
blocked, briefly put on „standby". The data were too large
and too terrible, in order to be able to be processed by his
brain. The biological computer under his skullcap just
seemed to fall into chaos and started to collapse.
Then the gleeful shining screen of court cell 4/21 1 struck in
his face with still more malice. The judgement was
announced:
„Citizen 1-564398B-278843! You are condemned to 5
years of detention in a center for reeducation and
resocialization!
To the reason: In your case, the statistic probability for
theoretical aggravated battery is at 78, 11%!
The statistic probability for prospective subversive
behavior is at 53. 59% in your case! Moreover, the
selection of the menu option NO increases the penalty.
But you can be unconcerned. Meanwhile, there are
29
numerous governmental institutions, in which human
beings like you can get modern theraphies on the
highest level of science, in order to begin a happy and
adapted new life in our humanistic society! We thank
you for your understanding! "
Frank's eyes bored into the screen and his ears roared. The
electronic woman's voice resounded in his head like the
echo of an atomic explosion. It became a slimy worm, which
ate its way through his pinna towards his brain.
„5 years of detention? ", stammered the man.
Frank tried to explain himself, that his hearing had deceived
him, but the cruel news were also in front of his eyes.
Unfortunately, both senses could not err. He was
condemned. It was correct.
Still in a condition of shock, the accused hardly noticed,
when the electronic lock engaged behind him, blocking the
court cell automatically. The damnation had been
proclaimed and the trap had sprung. In the first minutes,
Frank was much too perplex to be able to realize this. The
despair in this early moment was far too big that it could
give room to feelings like hate or rage.
For this procedure, 411. 66 Globes were deducted from
Frank's Scanchip account, what was also mentioned by the
computer voice.
He might behave and wait, until the police officers would
come to arrest him. Then he would be brought to a transport
vehicle, as the computer explained. Citizen 1-564398B-
278843 listened to these further instructions without
showing any emotions. The condition of torpidity was too
serious. Half an hour later, he suddenly jumped up in his
despair, in order to cry. But a strange weakness had
30
captured his mind and after a short emotional outburst,
Kohlhaas crept into a dark corner and waited.
. . Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding? It could surely be
cleared up! ", it temporarily flared up in his mind. "I must talk
to the officials. They can. . . can help me, to find a solution.
The computer must have erred. "
When two policemen arrived at the court cell, about one
hour later, they already heard Frank complaing from a
distance.
J think, that is the loudest guy today! ", sneered a
policeman.
"He has a real big mouth! ", said the other.
The steel door of the dark court chamber opened and
offered a sorry sight to the policemen. But it was not a
picture, which was strange to them. Outbreaks of accused
people after automated trials, were nothing new for them.
They brought Frank to one of the vehicles. . .
31
Big eye
The transport to „Big Eye", one of the largest and most
modern high safety prisons in the entire administrative
sector . . Central Europe", did not last for a long time, but it
seemed to go on forever for Frank. Mentally absent, like hit
by an arrow full of narcotic poison, he stared vacantly into
space.
The police officers ignored him and talked most of the time
about a new TV show, called „The Little Whisperer", where
children could win prices if they uncovered "subversive
behavior" among their relatives or neighbors.
Actually, the young man had planned to address the police
officers, to tell them that everything was just a judicial error,
but he did not do it. And they did not seem to have any
interest to make some small talk with him.
After a while, the outlines of an enormous prison complex
appeared on the horizon. This was „Big Eye". Frank had
once seen a report on television about this institute, where
only happy and healed . . patients" (this was the official
designation) were shown to the people. Now he was on the
way there.
The building was surrounded by high concrete walls, which
were provided with barbed wire and watchtowers. It had
several floors and on an outside wall, the prisoner
recognized the strange symbol, he had already seen before
on the label of his coffee powder glass.
A pyramid with an eye on its top. The sign looked somehow
differently than the escutcheon of the "Globe Food" chain of
stores, but nevertheless, the similarity was clear. „Big Eye" -
the great eye. Nobody could escape from its view! ", thought
Frank, driven by fear. He should be right.
32
The patient finally left the transporter and the officers did not
have to become rough this time. He followed them, was
silent and accepted all their instructions like being on drugs.
Dress order, behavioral code, sleeping time. He hardly
heard on all the talk, musing about the rising nightmare
around him.
If he listened or not, was quite immaterial. He should remain
here for five long years, according to an official court
decision, and had therefore time enough to internalize the
routine of the day to the smallest detail. After Frank had
undressed, he received a white shirt and white trousers, just
as white trainers.
„You will get a new set every week! ", explained one of the
attendants. „Follow me now, citizen 1-564398B-278843!
From now on, you are called "Patient 111-F-47" in this
institute! Do you understand this? " Frank answered with a
nod and followed the man.
„Now go with the execution officials, they will bring you to
your cell in block F. Don't make problems! "
The new prisoner was lead many stairways up to one of the
highest floors of the prison complex. Internally broken, he
stared at the ground, but even in his lethargic state of
shock, he noticed that nothing could be heard from the other
prisoners. No discussions, no crying or any other sound. It
was oppressing. The long corridors of „Big Eye" were
uncanny quiet and all the numbered cell doors were made
of extremely thick steel. The cell with the number 47, in
block F, was provided for Frank. He tried to explain himself,
that everything was nothing but a nightmare. It could not be
real and soon he would wake up, in order to enjoy the
stench from his stairway at first. He would run out of his
apartment and loudly yell over the corridor: „Nice, that you
are here, stench! "
33
Yes, he would do it, because this prison could only be a
cruel vision in the depths of his mind, and in the next
moment this scenario would just split like an unpleasant
thought. But it was not like that.
„1 1 1-F-47! Here we are! This is your cell! ", one of the
execution officials suddenly said. The sturdy man with the
brown mustachio and the sharp-edged cheek bone entered
an access code and the cell door opened.
„ln there, 111-F-47! ", he grunted.
In this second, clarity returned to Frank's mind again. The
young man abruptly realized, that he would spend the next
five years in this room. This let his sanity splinter like glass.
He broke down and lost consciousness.
After an indefinite time, Frank came round again. Waked up
by a blazing neon light, which penetrated his lids. He was
still dazed, felt sick and the glow stabbed in his skull like a
sharp spear.
„Wake up, patient 111-F-47! ", said a voice somewhere in
the room.
„Wake up, patient 111-F-47! ", it resonated again. Frank
layed with his back on a light gray plank bed of pleather and
his headache returned with a vengeance.
„Wake up, patient 111-F-47! " Again and again and again.
The head of the young man hurt, as if somebody had put it
into a vice, he was hungry and felt tired and frail.
„l_eave me alone! ", he begged and tried to turn away from
the sharp light, but it was impossible.
„Patient 111-F-47! Listen! ", it resounded from the ceiling of
the cell.
Frank sat down on the edge of the plank bed and held the
hands over his eyes. „What do you want from me? ", he
gasped.
34
. . Welcome to your holo cell, patient 111-F-47! Don't be
scared! You are in a mental hospital and we want to help
you! ", told the metallic woman's voice from the loudspeaker.
. . This new holo cell is a part of your therapy, patient 111-F-
47! We use these mechanisms here in „Big Eye", helping
you to regain the path of the adapted citizen. In this holo
cell, all outlines just blur; it is unlimited, like our "One World",
whose happy citizen you will be after your healing, patient
111-F-47!
Trust us and our newest therapy. Developed by
philanthropists, in order to help people. This cell contains
the freedom, because it does not know borders. It is your
freedom to heal yourself, the freedom of your mind which
will learn with our help! "
Frank Kohlhaas still held his hurting head. This light was
intolerable and it should still last weeks, until he had got
halfway accustomed to its sharp brightness. Finally, he
examined his new home. The room had a size of perhaps
hundred square meters, maybe it was a bit smaller. Frank
could hardly see the outlines of the walls or the cell door,
because of the bright, white light.
The glow was terrible and it penetrated his brain completely.
Even if Frank screwed up his eyes, this unnatural brightness
besieged his barricaded head persistently like an army.
Frank's headache became stronger. Then he just vomited
on his plank bed and crept into a corner.
. . Patient 111-F-47! Do you hear us? You are in a holo cell!
Do you understand this? If so, then lift your hand! ",
demanded the loudspeaker energetically.
The sick man signaled the fact that he had understood and
still huddled in the corner. In the cell were no things, only
the plank bed and a toilet at the opposite wall. Otherwise,
here was only the biting light.
35
„You will get one hour of reeducation, twice a day! ",
explained the unnatural voice from the upper corner of the
room. „The first reeducation hour begins in 30 minutes,
patient 1 1 1 -F-47! Get ready! "
Frank was overtaxed with this situation and dug his face,
still hiding in the corner, behind his knees. He tried to think
about nothing and would have done everything to switch
that light off. But this was not within his power. As nothing in
„Big Eye" was within his power.
He was nothing but a white mouse here, a small laboratory
rat in a cage, that had to endure everything the sadistic
inventors of this so called „mental hospital" had invented.
Shortly afterwards, the reeducation hour began, whereby
the loudspeaker intensively explained 111-F-47 the reasons
for his „therapy" again. It said, that they wanted to make a
„good human being" of Frank. „A human being, which is
human, by overcoming its humanity! "
The brainwash lasted a whole hour, while the light burned
and hurt more and more. Occasionally, the prisoner lost
orientation, because the sharp light was like a white nebula.
Frank tried to fight the pain in his head, but he was at this
cell's mercy. Furthermore, he was in the hands of the cruel
blaze and the metallically sounding talk of this steel
computer woman, that tormented him.
„l can't stand this insanity for two weeks! ", said Frank to
himself and winced. „l want it to stop! Please, God! ", he
whined.
But God didn't hear him. The acoustic insulation of the holo
cell was much too perfect, deep down in the prison complex
„Big Eye". If Frank had a God here, then it was him or her or
it, the thing behind the loudspeaker. At night, at 22. 00
o'clock, the sharp light was switched off. The whole room
suddenly became dark then. So pitch-dark that even the
smallest source of light did not remain. Frank couldn't see
36
the hand before his eyes anymore and in his head, the
aftereffects of the blinding blaze jumped around as manifold
colors. There was only extreme brightness or extreme
darkness in this cell. Whoever had developed the concept of
this instrument of torture, knew exactly, that this cruel form
of conditioning could transform even the unruliest man to a
willing slave, within only a short time. And so the first days
in „Big Eye" slowly passed, leaving countless deep scars in
the mind of the young man. But there was no escape. No
possibility to flee, no rescue by God. Only the devil seemed
to be interested in „Big Eye" - probably he had even
designed this hell on earth.
„Stand tall, patient 111-F-47! Here in „Big Eye" is no quarrel
among the inmates, there are no rebellions and no
annoyance - everyone remains for himself, during the entire
term of imprisonment. You, 111-F-47, are one of the first ill
human beings, who have the luck, to receive a therapy in a
holo cell. We are happy for you, that the computer-assisted
selective procedure has chosen you for this room.
Behave willingly, be flexible and learn to respect the rules of
the system! Not every patient here has the luck, to be
healed a holo cell. You are one of the prototypes. Support
the developers of this new form of healing, by helping your
therapy to success! ", it resounded through the room one
morning.
On other days, patient 111-F-47 was explained, how
important it was to believe everything the media told him.
How necessary it was, to free human beings from their
instincts, to format and reprogram their minds so that they
could overcome all their natural instincts. Furthermore, how
inevitable the sedation of human beings was, so that they
could reach a state of happiness. How important
37
consumption and maximization of profit were, for a
functioning society.
In these long weeks of isolation, the strange artificial days
and the black unnatural nights, it was Frank's largest
concern, not to go insane. The isolation, the boredom and,
above all, the haunting light had soon transformed him into
a pathetic creature. He often thought about his father and
his sister, the only members of his family, who were still
there. Frank's mother had died three years ago, he had
loved her very much and with her death he had lost not only
his biological mother, but also his best friend, his closest
reference person in this world. The time after her death had
been hard. Now, nobody was left to talk to.
To his father, Rainer Kohlhaas, who lived in the eastern part
of Berlin, Frank had had only irregular contact. Rarely, too
rarely, he had visited him so far, if he was honest. But
Rainer Kohlhaas was an unemotional, taciturn man, and
each discussion with him was laborious.
Frank and Rainer had frequently argued in former times.
Often the father had openly shown his displeasure about
Frank's path through life and had always upholded Frank's
sister Martina, as the positive example. His son had hated
these permanent comparisons, but now, all this was no
longer important.
From time to time he had telephoned with his older sister,
the more successful one of the two children. Martina had
become a teacher, had married and Frank had often envied
her, because of her good payment. But one day, she had
confessed to him, how fraught and exhaustive her job was.
She just hated to work on her school.
She teached the subjects „Biology "and . . English" at a
school complex in Wuppertal, in the sub-district Westfalen-
Rheinland. Martina described the situation in German
38
schools as more than intolerable, and Frank had the
suspicion that she already drank and took tranquilizers. But
she held on, for her husband and her son, the little Nico.
However, citizen 1-564398B-278843 had seen his nephew
only twice and had always been proud to be his uncle.
In these terrible days, he often thought about the rest of his
family which probably didn't know at all, that he was locked
up here. Perhaps, they would only be surprised about the
fact, that Frank didn't answer the telephone since weeks.
Perhaps the police had even informed his family members -
that he had become an offender and was a criminal now,
and had to face his fair punishment in that prison. He just
didn't know, but he could imagine his father's face, if he got
that message.
J have always said, that the boy wastes his life. Now my old
sorrow has finally been confirmed! ", he had probably
murmured. The prisoner didn't try to think too much about
these unpleasant things.
„What has happened to my apartment? ", he pondered. „l'm
sure that they have already rented it to another person. This
can be done fast if the rent can't be deducted from the
Scanchip anymore. "
In these days, Frank could only speak with himself and tried
to handle the pain. But it did not change anything. He had
served only one month in this room, but Frank already got
the feeling that he had walked from one end of hell to the
other.
It was not easy to persevere here. And the daily two
reeducation hours finally became even the most interesting
things, which happened on a day in the holo cell. After a
while, Frank occasionally even looked forward to them.
Nevertheless, sometimes he tried to destroy the
loudspeaker, which hung much too high, to tear it down.
Then he became so angry that he kicked against the walls
39
or bit in his underarm till it bled. Frank's lonely fight against
windmills continued for a while in such a way. Always
unsuccessful and ever more closer to the loss of his good
judgement. Sometimes he cried below the loudspeaker,
begged for grace and forgiveness and promised to follow
each rule and each regulation for all eternity. He swore, to
believe everything, what they told him. But nobody ever
answered.
When two months had passed, Frank broke out in tears
ever more frequently or crawled under his light gray plank
bed. He thought, that insanity had already found him and
skid down into a state of permanent panic. Patient 111-F-47
didn't trust his own judgement any longer and felt seperated
from the rest of the world like by a great ocean.
In the second month of his term of imprisonment, he made
"insanity" to his companion. He invisaged him as another
inmate, as a cellmate.
A very tall guy, gaunt, with completely pale skin and deep
furrows in the face. Also dressed in the correct white cell
clothes of „Big Eye". However, if the "insanity" sat beside
him on the plank bed, he unfortunately never answered. He
just sneered at him, showing Kohlhaas his yellowish-brown
teeth. But nevertheless, Frank told his spooky friend a lot of
things.
Sometimes the patient also imagined, that „Mr. Madness",
as Frank called him after a while, snored in the complete
darkness of the night, lying somewhere in the room. Then
he crept over the ground and tried to find his strange
cellmate, in order to tell to him that he might be silent. Frank
thought about much confusing things and nobody could say,
if the young men still knew, that it were confusing things. It
was a nocturnal trip beyond the borders of human
understanding, a mental journey through the darkest tunnels
40
of his mind. And every morning, Kohlhaas was awaked by
that bright, hellish light again.
. . That's the army of the light particles, which destroys my
lids with their ramming supports, piece by piece, pouring
into my head-fortress with loud screams - slaughtering
everything without further warning. And this cruel horde
massacres my helpless grey cells! ", said the young man, if
he could hardly bear it.
Then he had phases, in which he searched his body on
diseases for hours. He found malicious knots and parasites
everywhere. His body seemed to be full of degenerated
pimples and strange maladies under the skin, which filled
his mind with sorrows.
At the end of the third month, he discovered some red
points on the white wall behind the toilet, when he huddled
on the ground, in order to protect himself against the
aggressive light. Frank was sure that it were traces of blood,
which had only provisionally been overcoated with white
color by the prison's staff.
Mr. Madness had no opinion about this, he just sat in the
corner and beheld Frank sadly. Often Kohlhaas
remembered, whether it was actually possible, to smash his
own head against the wall or the ceramic toilet bowl so
hardly, that this torture was over. What would happen?
Would the attendants save him, just to let him rot here until
doomsday? Another possibility was, to bite open his pulse
veins. Unfortunately, there were no bedlinen or other things
in this cell, which would have made a suicide possible.
But each time, when Frank had these thoughts, he finally
lost the courage to do it. Moreover, Mr. Madness always
looked worriedly at him in these situations, still sitting in his
corner. The light disappeared, it was 22,00 o'clock.
Starting from the fourth month of his captivity in the holo
cell, Frank Kohlhaas spent the most days with being just
41
motionless for hours, lying on his belly - under the plank
bed.
„May this damn light hit Mr. Madness! May he sit on the
plank bed! I will stay here. Here, that blaze will never find
me! ", he said to himself with a lunatic smile.
Meanwhile, Frank thought about his family more rarely. And
what was the use anyhow? He was separated from the rest
of the world. And his father, his sister or the little Nico, could
not safe him from this horror.
And as the computer-controlled woman voice had already
explained in one of the reeducation hours: „The connections
to family and kinship are errors of nature, and all citizens of
the New World Order must get along without them! They
must be corrected by modern rules.
Interhuman relations harm the new order and obstruct the
economic development. Humans must learn to overcome
them. Having a family is not progressive, it restrains every
advancement. Forget your family, because your new
community is the community of the "One-World". You are
part of the whole, patient 111-F-47, and the whole is a part
of you! "
His only entertainment in this confusing time was to
examine the dust grains on the cell ground and Frank
wondered how many interesting forms and colors he could
find.
Sometimes it was really fascinaiting for him and so he
hardly listened, if the gentle voice of reeducation from the
loudspeaker explained to him, why the old order of the world
was just wrong, and the new order was good without
exception.
When the fifth month began, Frank suddenly became
talkative. He talked with Mr. Madness about a lot of things
and often his speeches lasted several hours. He invented
lectures, which were similar to the instructions of the
42
reeducation hours. Meanwhile, Frank planned to reeducate
Mr. Madness, a very important personality who had already
visited millions of people around the world.
Sometimes he preached the most important facts of each
current reeducation hour, he recited them, yelled them and
sometimes he tried to kick or beat Mr. Madness, if his pupil
didn't show enough interest. Although, he actually viewed
this gentleman in the corner, who sometimes also sat on his
plank bed, as his cell comrade and friend, he had
occasionally to give some pain to him, so that he learned.
But all his attemps to hit the imaginary man were
unsuccessful. After a while, Frank had kicked a little hole in
the white wall of the holo cell - but he had never hit Mr.
Madness.
When another month had passed, Frank had given it up to
convince Mr. Madness, to become also a good citizen of the
new world state. Now he tried to memorize every single
word of the reeducation hours and often he could
completely repeat the first two or three minutes by heart.
He cried, sang and howled the slogans from the
loudspeaker like a parrot. The necessity of the registration
of earth's population, the obligation of obeying, the
autoregulation of economics, the inevitability of a society
without sexes, nations and races, the necessary dissolution
of all cultures and religions, the requirement of inhumanity
as the basis of a new humanity.
His memory proved, although it was already owergrown by
a mushroom of insanity, as amazingly good. Frank saw
himself as a learner and with bloodshot eyes he cried, while
the loudspeaker talked: „Jawohl! This is the only truth! "
43
Meanwhile half a year had passed and patient 1 1 1-F-47 had
developed many possibilities of overcoming the hours and
days. He had even set up an own daily plan in his mind:
- Meal
- Learn as much words from the reeducation hour as I can
- Explain them to Mr. Madness (however, only if he listened)
- Investigate the fibers of the white wallpaper more exactly
- Finding new dust particles on the ground
- Lunch
- Arguing with Mr. Madness
Frank's meal rations came through a hatch in the wall three
times a day. The inventors of the holo cell had kindly made
certain that he had never to leave this terrible room, not
even for the intake of food.
Two months later, the monitoring cameras of „Big Eye",
which always kept every corner in this big prison complex in
sight, including room 47 in block F, saw a broken man, lying
like dead with face down on his plank bed.
Frank Kohlhaas, patient 111-F-47, seemed to have slipped
into an endless lethargy. Meanwhile, he wished nothing
more than the end of his shattered existence.
The cruel treatment had internally destroyed him, and even
the irrational behavior and the emotional outbreaks, which
had kept him alive for so long, were over.
Over eight months of holo cell had corroded his mind so
strongly, that his body seemed to refuse its service any
longer under such inhuman conditions.
The sharp, malicious light, which tormented him 14 hours a
day, hand in hand with the impenetrable darkness of the
artificial nights, had finally crushed Frank's will to live. The
holo cell 47 in block F, this hell chamber without windows,
44
with only a plank bed, a toilet and a little hatch in the white
wall, was ultimately the winner in this war against insanity.
Not even Frank's only friend, the mutely smiling Mr.
Madness, had had the guts to stay here any longer - he had
vanished.
On 21. 03. 2028, the light was switched off again at 22. 00
o'clock in the evening by the computer-controlled system of
„BigEye".
The unconscious Frank Kohlhaas, who layed somewhere in
this cell, down on the ground, with his face in a puddle of
saliva, was swallowed by the darkness again. He did no
longer notice it.
The next day, the army of light particles started another
great attack on Frank's head. With loud crashing it surged
against his lids like a battering ram and awoke the halfdead
patient again. But Frank's will was already destroyed and
why should he be interested in another day of hundreds
more in this holo cell.
