The Platform (El hoyo)

There are three types of person:

Those at the top,

those at the bottom,

and those who fall.

Level 48.

- The hole. - Yes.

The hole.

And it's the start of the month.

So the question is:

What are we going to eat?

What are we going to eat?

Obvious. The people above's left-overs.

- Who are the people up above? - The people on Level 47. Obviously.

My name's Goreng.

Please stay on your side of the hole.

Goreng.

What name have they given you?

Yes.

We should know each other's names.

We'll be together for a long time.

Or maybe not.

Who knows?

My name is Trimagasi.

Mr. Trimagasi, do you know what the hole entails?

It's obvious: eating.

At times, it's easy,

others, difficult...

It depends where you're assigned.

Fortunately, No. 48 is a good level.

Are there many more people below? Don't tell me...

It's obvious.

Soon, there will be fewer of them.

- You, down there! Can you hear me? - Don't speak to the people below.

- Why? - Because they're down below.

The people above won't answer you.

- Why? - Because they're above, obviously.

You think it's all very obvious. You must have been here a long time.

Months. Many, many months.

And I repeat, 48 is a good level,

and you've been very lucky.

And how long are we going to spend on this wonderful level?

We'll be here for exactly a month.

Then, we will see.

That's the last question I'll answer.

Speaking tires me out.

Especially when I have to give more information than I get.

That's not fair, obviously.

From now on,

I will give you as much information as you give me.

The red light went off and the green one came on.

I've just given you information.

Now, it's only fair for you to give me some, right?

Why did the red light go off and the green one come on?

This food has already been eaten.

That's so obvious, I won't even say "obviously."

It's disgusting.

Let's see.

If there are 47 levels above us and two people per level,

are we eating 94 people's left-overs?

Don't worry.

As the month goes by, there'll be fewer people up above.

- Aren't you going to eat? - I'm not hungry.

You will be.

Why did you say there'd be fewer people next month?

I won't say it's obvious, because it's not.

I didn't understand myself till I was on Level 8.

Wine!

There must be quite a few Muslims and teetotalers up there.

Normally, the drink's all gone by now.

Are you really not going to eat?

For later.

Why did you do that?

For the people down there to eat.

What if the people above did the same?

They probably do.

Bastards.

- Isn't it very hot in here? - And it'll get even hotter.

Hotter?

We'll be burned to a cinder.

Really? Why?

It's your fault.

The temperature will keep rising unchecked unless...

- Unless what? - Unless you get rid of that apple.

The food only belongs to us while the platform is on our level.

If you keep anything, the temperature rises till we're cooked.

Or falls till we freeze.

It depends.

Shit.

Do you understand?

I said, do you understand?

What?

Once you're inside, you can't get out till the agreed period is over.

So, I've been accepted?

Not yet.

Can my item be a book?

It can be whatever you want.

THE INGENIOUS GENTLEMAN DON QUIXOTE

I'd like to tell you why I'm here.

What for?

So that then you'll tell me why you're here.

It's obvious.

I wanted to quit smoking and read Don Quixote.

They said I could bring an item. So, I thought I've never...

You came here voluntarily?

Six months in exchange for an accredited diploma.

An accredited diploma?

An accredited diploma?

I should get two.

I came for a year.

Why are you here?

They give this guy one, and not me.

I'd stand back if I were you.

- Aren't you going to eat today either? - Obviously not.

What a waste!

You don't deserve to be on this level.

You haven't told me why you're here.

Come on. Tell me.

Only if you promise not to borrow the word "obviously" again.

I was at home, and an ad came on TV. A bearded chap with a knife-sharpener.

"The Samurai-Max sharpens any blade, straight or serrated," he said.

"Look at this knife.

It's so blunt, it wouldn't cut a sponge.

But just apply the Samurai-Max,

and you can cut even the hardest surfaces, like this brick.

And it was true. He cut it.

Then, a few housewives came on,

saying how the Samurai-Max had changed their lives.

"We could never cut tomatoes,

bread fell to pieces when we cut it.

The Samurai-Max changed our lives," they all said.

Honestly, I've never peeled a tomato,

and I always buy sliced bread.

And I've never known why you'd want to cut a brick with a kitchen knife.

But I started to think...

Why don't I sharpen my knives?

Maybe my life is such crap because I don't sharpen my knives,

don't look after the little things.

- The little things, Goreng. - Did you buy it?

- Obviously. - And what did you do?

Sharpen your knives and slice open someone's throat, or what?

After I bought it, I watched the next advertisement.

The same guy with the beard came on with the same housewives.

Know what they were advertising?

A knife that didn't go blunt even if you cut a brick with it.

The knife sharpened itself, as it cut.

Know what the knife was called?

- The Samurai-Plus. - You bought it too?

- No, no... - Obviously, they were taking the piss.

The little things...

Because of the little things, I couldn't take it anymore.

I took my television set...

and threw it out the window.

It fell on some bloody illegal immigrant on his bicycle.

Tell me, was that guy's death my fault?

He shouldn't even have been there.

You killed a man, and they took you here?

They gave me a choice between a psychiatric hospital and the hole.

And I came here.

They never offered me an accredited diploma, though.

How many levels are there?

I don't know. But I know there are more than 132, because I was there.

One hundred and thirty two?

And there were more below.

- How much food gets to that level? - None.

You can't go without food for 30 days.

I didn't say I didn't eat anything,

just that no food got down there.

And you can go without food for more than 30 days.

The problem is when you get assigned to two lower levels consecutively.

We need to tell the people up there.

- What for? - What do you mean?

We can tell them to ration the food and pass the message up to Level 46,

and from there to Level 45...

Are you a communist?

It's fairer to ration out the food.

Up there, they won't heed a communist.

Then I'll start with down below.

Hey! You in 49, can you hear me?

Leave more wine next time, bastards!

There's your wine, fuckers!

The people below us are below us.

- Next month they might be above us. - Yes, and they'll piss on us.

The bastards.

I chose a book.

What did you choose?

It's obvious.

The Samurai-Plus.

Do you never get tired of doing that?

It's incredible.

The more I use it, the sharper it gets.

- Was that a person? - Of course it was a person.

I hope he wasn't a teetotaler,

because we're low on wine.

On the upper levels, you can eat anything you like.

But you've nothing to look forward to.

And a lot to think about.

Is no one going to do anything?

If I were you, I'd pray they keep us on the middle levels.

You look like the sort who'd jump when they're up above

and lack the guts when they're below.