The Speed of Dark
  • Context
    Introduction Preface Acknowledgements Foreword Character Sketches Cast of Characters A Summary of the Action
  • Act I
    Overview Act I Scene I Act I Scene II Act I Scene III Act I Scene IV Act I Scene V Act I Scene VI Act I Scene VII Act I Scene VIII
  • Act 2
    Act II Scene I Act II Scene II
  • Act 3
    Act III Scene I Act III Scene II
  • Backstory
    Tales from Beyond Galt's Gulch Evangelicals and Libertarians House UnAmerican Activities Savage Capitalism Madras Famine Self Esteem Selfishness Profile Contact

Atilla Shrugged

The Apocolypse According to John Galt

A Three Act Play Drawn from the Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky

  • Act I - Scene I
Act I Scene I — First Eddie
Time: Late at night…
Place: In the Taggart Rail Terminal underground cafeteria.
Cast: Eddie Willers
Summary: Eddie Willers carries on an intense, one-sided conversation with a figure in the shadows.

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  • Act I - Scene II
Act I Scene II — Interview with the Destroyer
Time: Late at night…
Place: Eddie Willers’ living room.
Cast: Eddie Willers and the Devil.
Summary: Eddie Willers is disturbed after the events of the day, tense with uncertainty over what is to come; falls asleep on the sofa. When he wakes, the Devil is seated opposite him, waiting patiently. Eddie suspects the Devil might be himself; conversation ensues.

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  • Act I - Scene III
Act I Scene III — Atlantis
Time: Eternity…
Place: Paradise.
Cast: Ayn Rand, The Angel Gabriel, A Host of Angels.
Summary: Ayn Rand crash-lands her plane in a mountain valley somewhere in heaven. Faced with the unexpected prospect of an afterlife, she is indignant.

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  • Act I - Scene IV
Act I Scene IV — Interview with the Destroyer
Time: Late at night…
Place: Eddie Willers’ living room.
Cast: Eddie Willers and the Devil.
Summary: Eddie Willers and the Destroyer discuss the nature of crime and punishment.

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  • Act I - Scene V
Act I Scene V — Atlantis
Time: Eternity…
Place: A beautiful valley in heaven.
Cast: Ayn Rand, Prince Myshkin, Lebedev, A Host of Angels.
Summary: Not ready to accept an afterlife in the Atlantis, Ayn gains provisional admittance under the protection of Prince Myshkin, to allow her time to decide for herself if Paradise might be consistent with her principles.

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  • Act I - Scene VI
Act I Scene VI — Interview with the Destroyer
Time: Late one night…
Place: Eddie Willers’ living room.
Cast: Eddie Willers and the Devil.
Summary: The Devil sets the stage.

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  • Act I - Scene VII
Act I Scene VII — Atlantis
Time: 30 billion years later…
Place: Service entrance of heaven.
Cast: Ayn Rand, Guardian Angel, Prince Myshkin, Lebedev, Eddie Willers.
Summary: Ayn finally arrives at the service entrance to heaven, where she is met by Prince Myshkin and Eddie Willers. They begin a quest to find the inventor of the motor.

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  • Act I - Scene VIII
Act I Scene VIII — Interview with the Destroyer
Time: Late one night…
Place: Eddie Willers’ living room.
Cast: Eddie Willers and the Devil.
Summary: The Destroyer describes the day when all men will unite.

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  • Act II - Scene I
Act II Scene I — Second Eddie
Time: Late at night…
Place: In the Taggart Terminal underground cafeteria.
Cast: Eddie Willers.
Summary: Eddie Willers carries on a one-sided conversation with an unseen figure.

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  • Act II - Scene II
Act II Scene II — The New Jerusalem
Time: Afternoon…
Place: Office of police inspector Pytor Petrovich.
Cast: Police Inspector Pytor Petrovich, Nat Taggart as Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, Eddie Willers as Razumihin, Prince Myshkin, Ayn Rand.
Summary: Police Inspector Pytor Petrovich leads a discussion with Nathaniel Taggart on his theory of criminal psychology.

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  • Act III - Scene I
Act III Scene I — Third Eddie
Time: Late at night…
Place: In the Taggart Rail underground cafeteria.
Cast: Eddie Willers.
Summary: Eddie Willers carries on a one-sided conversation with an unseen figure.

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  • Act III - Scene II
Act III Scene II — The Cannibal Monk
Time: Shortly before dawn of a very short night…
Place: At Prince Myshkin’s Villa just outside the gates of heaven.
Cast: Lebedev,Prince Myshkin, Eddie Willers as Nikolai Ardalyonovitch Ivolgin (Kolya), Bertram Scudder as Gavril Ardalyonovich Ivolgin (Gayna), Mr. Thompson as General Ivolgin, Johnnie Dawes as Hippolyte, Wesley Mouch as Keller, Ayn Rand, Francisco d’Anconia, Ragnar Danneskjöld, John Galt, a host of revelers.
Summary: A party to celebrate the reunion of Ayn with her Ideal Men, at Prince Myshkin’s Villa just outside the gates of heaven. Francisco, Ragnar and John Galt arrive, preceded by a warning from Lebedev. Drinks and revelry follow. In the ensuing conversation, Lebedev is called upon to defend is interpretation of the Wormwood Star of the Apocalypse.

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Backstory  

  • MIT