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Authors: Thomas Glavinic
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show, it said. He should console himself with the thought that, by jumping, he was doing his surviving brother a favor. After all, the family would have far more money available for the hog-tied brother to spend on expensive bicycles and deposit in his savings book. That should surely gratify the occupant of the treetop?
The long-haired brother wept and shook his head.
The cameraman deplored this, saying that envy gets you nowhere in life. He announced that the boy would have to jumpin precisely ten minutes. If he obeyed instructions, nothing would happen to anyone else in his family. But if he jumped even one second too late, the hog-tied brother’s abdominal cavity would be slit open and filled with salt and red ants. After that, devastation would be visited on his parents’ farmhouse. His mother would be boiled alive, his father slowly cut to ribbons, etc. His grandmother too would be run to earth, and old women burned nicely.
Heinrich observed that the man behind the camera must be thoroughly sick.
The long-haired brother made no reply, so the cameraman inquired what it felt like, the prospect of dying in eight minutes forty seconds’ time. The boy shouted something unintelligible in a voice rendered hoarse by his previous bawling, yelling, and vomiting. Then he fell silent and stared into space.
Fancy, said Heinrich, he’s on another planet.
The cameraman turned to the hog-tied boy. Was it a nice feeling, owing his life to his own brother’s death? The boy thus addressed denied this. Or would he rather change places with him? he was asked. The boy beneath the tree stopped crying and stared fixedly at the camera. The cameraman repeated that he could save the other boy’s life by taking his place. The hog-tied brother yelled something unintelligible, and more whimpering could be heard from overhead.
Cut. 3:20. The cameraman reiterated all his threats to the long-haired brother in the event that he failed to jump in fifty seconds’ time. One second later, and everyone would meet a terrible end. Screams from up the tree.
Heinrich, who described them as bloodcurdling, felt compelled to wipe his eyes on the back of his hand.
There was still time, the cameraman told the hog-tied boy. He had thirty-five seconds in which to decide to take his brother’s place and dive off the tree headfirst, the way he did into theswimming pool in summer. The boy stared at the camera, weeping but bereft of speech.
Another twenty seconds, said the voice.
A family appeared: father, mother, and two children. The parents were discussing financial investments. Heinrich sighed and said, Here we go again. As before, we were accorded some ten minutes in which to devote ourselves to conversation, or chips and suchlike, before the forest reappeared.
Another twenty seconds, said the voice. Then the hog-tied brother took a step forward and went out of shot. The camera panned down. The boy could be seen clutching the cameraman’s leg and imploring him not to make anyone jump at all. The voice called a warning and started to count: five, four, three, two, one...
We heard a scream but could see only a black screen. The channel had evidently censored this scene as well. The ticker repeated that screening this video was not sensationalism, but a vain attempt to come to terms with an incomprehensible human tragedy. Counselors’ phone numbers were inserted, together with the note to the effect that callers would be charged only a maximum of €0.50 per minute.
The forest reappeared, and we heard the tearful voice of the hog-tied brother. The sound abruptly ceased and the screen went black.
Outside the house, rain was beating down with undiminished intensity.
Heinrich laid the remote control aside. He’d had enough, he said; he didn’t want to see any more. How sick and degenerate the people who watched so-called snuff movies must be.
I pointed out that the third brother’s escape was also bound to be shown and was still to come, so that
The long-haired brother wept and shook his head.
The cameraman deplored this, saying that envy gets you nowhere in life. He announced that the boy would have to jumpin precisely ten minutes. If he obeyed instructions, nothing would happen to anyone else in his family. But if he jumped even one second too late, the hog-tied brother’s abdominal cavity would be slit open and filled with salt and red ants. After that, devastation would be visited on his parents’ farmhouse. His mother would be boiled alive, his father slowly cut to ribbons, etc. His grandmother too would be run to earth, and old women burned nicely.
Heinrich observed that the man behind the camera must be thoroughly sick.
The long-haired brother made no reply, so the cameraman inquired what it felt like, the prospect of dying in eight minutes forty seconds’ time. The boy shouted something unintelligible in a voice rendered hoarse by his previous bawling, yelling, and vomiting. Then he fell silent and stared into space.
Fancy, said Heinrich, he’s on another planet.
The cameraman turned to the hog-tied boy. Was it a nice feeling, owing his life to his own brother’s death? The boy thus addressed denied this. Or would he rather change places with him? he was asked. The boy beneath the tree stopped crying and stared fixedly at the camera. The cameraman repeated that he could save the other boy’s life by taking his place. The hog-tied brother yelled something unintelligible, and more whimpering could be heard from overhead.
Cut. 3:20. The cameraman reiterated all his threats to the long-haired brother in the event that he failed to jump in fifty seconds’ time. One second later, and everyone would meet a terrible end. Screams from up the tree.
Heinrich, who described them as bloodcurdling, felt compelled to wipe his eyes on the back of his hand.
There was still time, the cameraman told the hog-tied boy. He had thirty-five seconds in which to decide to take his brother’s place and dive off the tree headfirst, the way he did into theswimming pool in summer. The boy stared at the camera, weeping but bereft of speech.
Another twenty seconds, said the voice.
A family appeared: father, mother, and two children. The parents were discussing financial investments. Heinrich sighed and said, Here we go again. As before, we were accorded some ten minutes in which to devote ourselves to conversation, or chips and suchlike, before the forest reappeared.
Another twenty seconds, said the voice. Then the hog-tied brother took a step forward and went out of shot. The camera panned down. The boy could be seen clutching the cameraman’s leg and imploring him not to make anyone jump at all. The voice called a warning and started to count: five, four, three, two, one...
We heard a scream but could see only a black screen. The channel had evidently censored this scene as well. The ticker repeated that screening this video was not sensationalism, but a vain attempt to come to terms with an incomprehensible human tragedy. Counselors’ phone numbers were inserted, together with the note to the effect that callers would be charged only a maximum of €0.50 per minute.
The forest reappeared, and we heard the tearful voice of the hog-tied brother. The sound abruptly ceased and the screen went black.
Outside the house, rain was beating down with undiminished intensity.
Heinrich laid the remote control aside. He’d had enough, he said; he didn’t want to see any more. How sick and degenerate the people who watched so-called snuff movies must be.
I pointed out that the third brother’s escape was also bound to be shown and was still to come, so that
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