The Relativity Series: Golden Shield (Part 3)
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Willie Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived, but he's a human being. So attention must be paid. You can stream the entire LA TheatreWorks catalog of plays. Find out more at streaming.latw.org. I may spend some time in America soon for a conference.

What kind of conference? With your American colleagues? Yes. Which university are they from? Caltech, in California. They're not professors. Who are they? It's late. Are they other terrorists? I am not a terrorist. Then what are you? What did you do? I thought you knew.

I knew you were lying to me. But I chose to believe you. I thought that whatever you were doing, it couldn't be that dangerous.

Because I never thought you would be so selfish that you will value your ideals more than the safety of our family. I wasn't being selfish. I was helping people. I was teaching people. Who were you helping? Anonymous people on the Internet? Are they more important than your family? It doesn't matter who they are. I'm a teacher. Sharing my knowledge is my duty. How can I remain silent when I understand what the government is doing? And what about your duty to your family? China is also my family.

I never meant to put you in danger. I was just teaching people how to break through the firewall. Everybody's doing it. I didn't think they'd arrest me. But now, you're putting us in danger again. I heard them asking you questions. They want you to testify in court. Xiaomei, if we win this case, we'll have enough money to leave China.

You won't have to work anymore. We could go anywhere. America, Europe. Xiaoxiao can get a good college degree. So now you want to leave China? You're a hypocrite. Where's your patriotism now? They've beaten it out of me. Did they do this to you in prison? Why won't you tell me? If we leave China, we can start again. I made a mistake. I'm working hard to fix it.

I waited for you for five years. I'm tired of waiting. We've been working on this case for three years. They need me. I need you. Go to America. I can't survive without you. Dallas, 2015. I have one final thing to say to you about my client. And it's a tragic recent development.

As a result of his participation in these proceedings, Professor Lee and his wife May have recently separated, which is an incredible burden given his condition. Ladies and gentlemen, I'll remind you what you heard in Mr. McLaren's testimony. Onus makes around $50 billion a year. Think about what a fraction of that money could do for my client.

I don't understand why I have to stick around for this. You're the defendant. I have shit to do. You know, I can't just be sitting around in a Dallas courtroom waiting for the fucking crippled fellow sob story. You wasted my fucking time. I mean, what the hell are they trying to get out of this anyway, huh? Money. We tried to give them money. They want to make a statement. Yeah, well, some kind of fucking statement when they fucking lose this thing. Jane, there's no chance of them winning, right? Because you said to me to my face that there's no chance in hell of them winning. There's a very small chance. A very small chance?

Very small? Since when did no chance become very small? To be frank, McLaren, you didn't come off terribly well on the stand. The hell is that supposed to mean? I did exactly what we prepped for. I evaded all her fucking questions. I said I had no memory of the fucking thing, which you and I both know. It's a totally plausible claim. And I'd rather you not tell me otherwise, because then I'd know that you just knowingly perjured yourself in a court of law.

So what the hell is that supposed to mean that I didn't come off terribly well? It just means that you're not terribly well. How can I put this? Yeah, no shit. I'm not likable. No shit. Is that going to be a problem? Well, probably not. Jane, you got to tell me, is it a problem? Look, they don't have a leg to stand on legally. It's a flimsy argument and they know

But if Lee comes off well and you don't, there's always the possibility that, and it's slim, but there is a possibility that the jury will sympathize with him and not you and, well, ignore the facts. That's a possibility then. As I've said, their argument is thin. And I think as an American, they're more likely to sympathize with you than with a Chinese plaintiff. But as a human being... You offered them 10? Yes. Offered them 20. I gotta get back to fucking work.

So then we'll move on to your arrest and time in prison. 然后我们会问你关于你被逮捕和监禁的事件。 Jules? Right, so, Professor, Lee, how long were you held in detention? 你被拘留了多久? 从...

From 2006 to 2011, for 53 months. And during that time, you lost your ability to walk? Yes. How did that happen? There were a number of contributing factors. Tell him he has to actually describe the incident. You have to describe the incident.

I was abused. In what way?

You said that if I don't want to talk about it, I don't have to. You don't. No, that's why we're asking you these questions again now, so you can tell us if there's anything you're not comfortable answering. We just needed you to tell us exactly how you sustained your injury, and I don't know if you can answer that.

Then we're done. I promise. Is there nothing that I'm allowed to keep private? Why is he getting so upset? What was that? He wants to know why you brought his wife up in your opening remarks. To give the...

I had to give the full picture. Your wife leaving is part of the context of this case. What we need to make clear is that compensation is warranted. Is this why you tried to persuade me that my wife would stand by me no matter the cost? You thought if she left me, you could use it as additional evidence? No, I didn't.

Is this just a game to you? You know what I'm risking to be here? You know what I've sacrificed? Will someone please fucking translate? Gee, I'm trying. It wasn't her. It was me. I said that. It wasn't her. She didn't know. I mistranslated. I wanted you to say yes. I was wrong. I'm sorry. What are you saying to him? Evie, what are you saying? I mistranslated. What? When? In English.

I mistranslated. Fuck were you thinking, Evie? You realize you could have jeopardized our entire fucking case? The fuck were you thinking? I just, I knew you really needed his testimony and I just thought it'd be like more efficient. More efficient? You thought that mistranslating what I was saying to my fucking client, you thought emotionally manipulating him would be more efficient? I mean, it was, wasn't it?

I'm the one who got him here. By lying to him. I didn't lie. I just said she probably already knew about his denouncement, so she'd stand by him no matter what. You're the one who brought her up in your opening remarks, and now you're, like, badgering him about his time in prison, which she clearly doesn't want to talk about. For the last fucking time, Eva, you are not a fucking lawyer.

I need him to talk about the abuse. It's how we demonstrate grievous harm. See? That's a legal strategy. You telling my client that his wife would never leave him? That's a naive and frankly fucking idiotic statement. One that could now fuck up my case to say nothing of my client's life. Is he still going to testify? I don't know. Fuck. I don't know. How the fuck am I going to get a Mandarin translator in Dallas? You called? Julie, I can still do it. I...

I'm always available. Are you fucking crazy, Evie? I can't put you on the stand with him now. You have completely destroyed your credibility. No, no, I can still help you with this, Jules. If you just let me talk to him, I can fix it. You can't fix it by talking. Sometimes things get broken, and no amount of talking is going to magically fix it. Now, I have a justifiably pissed-off client to manage and a translator to find, so could you please just get the fuck...

out of here. That's just, that's fine. I mean, I'm just sorry I can't continue helping you wage like your whole war against, against Chinese tyranny. I don't like your tone there, Evie. What tone is that, Jules? What do you mean? What might I be insinuating there with my tone?

Jesus, Evie, really? Oh, no, because it's like just a total coincidence that two months after, two months after we put her in the fucking ground... Jesus, Eva. And you call me up to be your translator. I mean, what was the idea here? You give me this bailout and we take on our Chinese oppressor sisters hand in hand? You are a fucking child. No, no, I was.

I was a fucking child. And you left. You left me with that woman. Get me out of there. And do what? Raise a ten-year-old as a freshman? Does that sound like a reasonable fucking solution to you, Eva? You could have done something. Like what? Like visited once in a while. That was the time for a fucking bailout, Jules. You could have done something. You could have hated you. And you left me.

You left me alone in a foreign country with a fucking monster! And it's worse what you did because she was just ignorant, okay? She was an ignorant tyrant, but you fucking knew! You knew what she was like and you left me anyway! Well, Evie, you know, now that you've alerted me to the sheer magnitude of my crimes against you, systematically fucking all my colleagues does seem like a mature response.

What do you do for money? I can't because you won't. I won't? I won't what? I won't be proud of you? Is that it, Evie? I won't be proud? I won't be fucking proud? That time couldn't be better. I've been authorized to offer you a revised figure. We reject it. It's 20. He was really something on the stand, your guy.

I don't remember. Maybe an intern did it. It's reasonable doubt. Yeah, but you gotta admit, the jury's gonna loathe that guy. I couldn't have dreamt of a better villain. You didn't pin him, not beyond reasonable doubt. Then why the revised figure? I'm trying to help you. Ha! We reject your offer. Julie, come on. You're on a crusade at the expense of your clients and you know it.

All they want is compensation for what they've endured. What kind of humanitarian are you? You once asked me how I sleep at night. Yeah. I sleep at night in the knowledge that small deeds are better than sweeping gestures. I sleep at night because I get these behemoths to play by the rules. And that's hard, Julie. That's harder than whatever it is you people do, fighting the good fight. We're rejecting your offer.

Well, worth a shot. If you ever decide to join our soulless corporate sharks' tent, do let me know. Honestly, I think you'd be better suited to it. It has a kind of moral clarity that humanitarianism precludes. Hi. Fucking... Sorry. Christ. You scared the shit out of me. Oh, you're the... That's me. Did you just get here? That's a funny question. It is funny.

You're aware, I assume, that your conception of time has certain linguistic aspects? Uh, does it? Yeah. Well, English relies largely on tenses to situate things in time. Did you just get here, for instance? Mandarin, on the other hand, relies largely on context, a shared understanding of where events fall in time.

So to translate from Mandarin to English, you also have to translate from objective time to well grammatical time. You have to build your own structure. I just think that's funny. You're a pretty weird guy, huh? I guess I am. Listen, I don't have time to get anyone else. My translator quit like two hours ago, so I'm kind of scrambling here. Just...

Be as one-to-one as possible, okay? Don't embellish. Of course. And I don't really have time to give you the context, so you don't have to understand the case, is what I'm saying. Sure. But, uh, you don't happen to have any strong feelings about the Chinese government, do you? I don't have any strong feelings. Oh. Good. What happened to the other translator? Family emergency. That's a real shame. Yeah. It is. ♪

Do you swear to tell the whole truth in the name of God? The decision you make here today is going to set a very important precedent, not just here in Texas, but around the world. So I appeal now to your human decency. I want you to listen to what Professor Li has suffered, and I want you to imagine what you'd hope a jury would decide. Were you in his shoes? The world is watching you. Professor Li...

How long were you held in detention? From 2006 to 2011, for 53 months. And during that time, you lost your ability to walk? Yes. How did that happen?

There were a number of contributing factors. The muscle strength in my legs deteriorated significantly while I was in prison. Was there a particular incident that exacerbated this deterioration? Yes. What was the incident? I was forced to stand in the prison yard for 30 hours.

Until your legs collapsed. Yes. Did the prison guards know your legs had weakened before they made you do this? Yes. I asked to see a doctor. And instead of letting you see a doctor, they made you stand in the yard for 30 hours. Professor Li,

Do you hold Onus Systems responsible for the injuries you sustained in prison? Yes. Thank you. No further... I'm not finished. Professor Li, while you were imprisoned, did you endure other forms of physical abuse? Ask him again.

Yes. Beatings? Yes. Forced feeding? Yes. Electric shocks? Yes. Starvation? Yes. Sleep deprivation? Yes. Solitary confinement? Sexual assault? I was not raped. I was never raped. But you were assaulted. Yes.

There was an incident where there were four guards. They stripped me of my clothes. The guards played with my genitals. They pulled at my pubic hair. And then one of the guards took my toilet brush and he...

He's saying he can't continue. This isn't right. You promised. You promised. No further questions, Your Honor. Can we take a brief recess? This isn't right. Can we please take a brief recess? This isn't right. Your Honor, we're finished. We're finished. Three monks have no water to drink. A monk or...

holy men I don't assume to. A holy man lives atop a mountain, and every day he carries a bucket of water up the mountain to survive. Then a second holy man arrives, so they share the burden. But when a third arrives, the holy men start to assume that someone else will be responsible for the bucket, and so one day they have no water to drink.

or the English equivalent, I suppose it. Too many cooks spoil the… Right. But you can see it's not really the same thing. You see, the proverb doesn't warn against misguided benevolence. Too many people trying to help at once. It warns against indifference. The belief that someone else is responsible. Someone else is to blame.

So you can see it's not really the same thing. It's not the same thing at all. Jules. We'll need to file a notice of appeal. Jules, come on. I know what you're going to say about the cost, but if we can drum up some more press, get the right legal team together, I think we can take this thing all the way to the Supreme Court. Jules, Jules, will you just stop? We're not going to appeals. What? He's on a flight back to China, Jules. It's over. We lost. You understand? We lost.

Then we'll get someone else. Jesus, Jules. What? You think there are more people in China affected by this? People won't want to speak out? Because everyone in China is affected by this, Rich. Every single Chinese citizen. You know the kind of shit they're doing now? AI sensors. Banning Wikipedia. A fucking social credit system.

It's getting worse, not better, okay? We can't just stop fighting this just because one Dallas jury... Jesus, Jules, are you even listening to yourself? You couldn't get anyone. Remember, Dow was your guy, okay? And you fucked it up. My sister fucked it up. Eva didn't hound our client until he broke down on the stand. Eva sure as hell didn't knock back a $20 million settlement. Jane told me. You went to Bowman behind my back? Oh, for God's... It's not behind your back...

I'm your co-counsel, and you went behind my back when you opted not to disclose the fact that Defense had offered us a revised figure at the 11th hour. The figure we were purportedly aiming for, the figure we should have accepted. How many times do I have to tell you it's not about the fucking money? Then what the hell is it about, Jules? Tell me what it's about. It is about letting them know someone's watching.

It's about letting them know they can't just get away with it. It's about showing them that the internet isn't just some autonomous entity. I don't claim to interpret. It's not just this nebulous, amoral thing hovering around in the ether. Is that helpful? The internet is people. It's people building things. And those people are causing other people immense fucking suffering. Am I helping you?

Who are we showing, Jules? The jury? The Chinese who? Onus? You think this will make them think twice about what? Their corporate governance? You know what might have accomplished that, Jules? Making them pay $20 million for their sins. That might have accomplished something. You know the worst part of all this, Jules? I don't think you have the faintest idea what you're doing it for. Me?

At least I'm honest about why I'm in this game. I'm in it for the money. But you? I don't think you give a damn about China or the CCP or Onus. I don't think you could give two shits about the Golden Shield. And I think Evie, I think she was way off the mark on this one. I don't think this is some kind of warped revenge plot against your mother. No, deep down, Julie, this is just about wanting to win. And you'll step on anyone to get there. She told you about her.

She barely knows you. Actually, she knows me quite well. Eva's known me quite well for about four years. Hey! So, you wouldn't happen to be in DC and down for a fuck, would you? Uh, no. I'm in Melbourne, where it is a wildly inappropriate time for a booty call. Right. Sorry. But thank you for the charming offer. Anytime. Are you okay? Not really. No.

I'm sorry? Is it the trial? I'm not at the trial. And I'm drunk. Did something happen? I know this is somewhat impossible for you to believe, but I just wanted to help her out. Oh, and while you're being morally affronted about a business arrangement between two consenting adults... That's my fucking sister, Rich! Would you ask yourself if it's any more exploitative than what you just did to Leigh?

So I just had this, like, epiphany. That the reason why I'm good at translating, the reason I'm supposed to be good at translating anyway, is the same reason I'm good at fucking people for money.

Because in both cases, right, like people are like paying me essentially to not have my own thoughts. I'm just this like this empty fucking conduit for other people's bullshit and actually the world would be much better off if I was just like... like if I was just a mouth and a cunt? No, it wouldn't. Really?

Because I'd be pretty, like, portable. Long distance wouldn't be a problem. You could put me in your hand luggage. Look, as you know, I am a big fan of both your mouth and your cunt. But I'm also a big fan of you as a thinking human being. I don't want you to be a conduit, Evie. In an ideal world, you'd just be you and I'd be me and we'd be us. And conduits can get fucked.

That's a really fucking nice thing to say. So, how about it? Yeah, but come on, it's the digital age.

I just hadn't even considered that with you because of, like, what you do. Oh. Yeah. Is it a problem for you? I mean, in, like, a hypothetical realm, no. But in a, um, in a personal realm, I think, yeah, it might be a problem. Forget it. No, hey. I'm gonna hang up now. Don't. It's not that I... Can we just... Fuck. Let's just back up, okay? Let's talk about it.

Like, as in? As in, you say why you do it, I'll say why I have a problem with it. And then, like, we'll see. How about I go first? I'm afraid... I'm afraid... Your job means you can only think of a relationship as a series of transactions. Oh. I'm doing it because it's how I make money, which is necessary. Money is necessary. I'm doing it... I'm doing it...

Because it's easier than failing at something else. Okay, see? That wasn't so hard. That was the hardest thing I've ever done. 400%. Harsh. We made the internet 400% faster for 1.4 billion people. Where's the conversation about that, huh?

Where's our fucking accolades for that? You don't have to convince me. If you went up to any guy on the street, any guy, out in Guangzhou or fucking Shanghai, you said to them, hey, mister, we can either make your Wi-Fi four times faster or reduce online censorship. You know which one they'd pick. Maybe some knuckles get bruised. Maybe poor bastard loses his legs, but...

Four times faster for you and your eight fucking kids and their eight fucking kids. You know which one they'd pick? Marsh, we won. I'm just saying. Efficiency is good. Efficiency is a public fucking good. I don't appreciate being treated like a fucking villain for improving the lives of a billion fucking people just because people are too fucking stupid to understand what it is we do. Censorship will always exist in China.

All we did is we made it four times faster. You think I'm a villain, Larry? Nah, man. You can tell me if you do. I don't give a shit. I mean, maybe I am a fucking villain. I don't know. Marsh, look, would we do it the same way, doing it over, maybe? Maybe not. But a decade on...

We're a net good in China, you know? I mean, Google, Yahoo, they couldn't cut it in China, but we could, and we're a net good, and that is something to be proud of, you know? That's a reason to celebrate.

You've changed your fucking tune. Have I? I mean, time was. You were reigning me in, voicing your moral fucking scruples. Yeah, well, that was 2006. I mean, you were right, Marsh. I couldn't see it at the time, but this is the way it's heading. What way is that? Decentralization. I mean, that's the future, right? Blockchain, crypto, universal Wi-Fi, it's all headed that way.

And it's not gonna mean decentralization of power. Power is always gonna be centralized, but it won't be the Chinese government. It won't be any government. It's gonna be us. We'll have the power, Marsh. So we just gotta use it for good. And for the most part, Marsh, I think we really do. For the most part, I think. I think all things considered, within reason, I think we're doing a good job. You're smarter than you let on. You know that, Larry? I'm just drunk, man. Huh.

I've been a dick to you. Oh, man. This isn't an apology. It's just an acknowledgement, okay? It's what makes me good at what I do, but doesn't change the fact that I'm a dick. Hey, water under the bridge. And seeing as it's like water under the bridge and all, would this be the appropriate moment to tell you that...

When I photocopied the document for the board meeting, I may or may not have, so long ago, who really knows, but I may have left the original in the photocopier. Would this be a good moment to tell you all that? How's the new practice? Uh, it's shit. Soulless corporate shit. Honestly, it's a relief. How's tricks? Sorry, I shouldn't... It's what I do, so tricks are fine.

You know, you could always... Jules, why'd you call? What is this? So, if you were still thinking about law school... I'm not. Okay. Anyway, one of the first legal concepts you get taught is intractability. Like, that sometimes a dispute's just so convoluted or the implications are so far-reaching it's just totally beyond arbitration. And the best thing you can do is just quit.

But I've always been like, fuck intractability, you know? Because nothing should be too big, too messy, too ugly for the law. That's what the law is for. And I guess what I'm trying to say here is, I think... I think family is the same. Family can't be intractable. You don't even like me. Of course I do. Okay, well, honestly, Jules, I don't like you. We don't have to like each other. Families don't like each other. They, you know...

Love is an interesting construct linguistically. Lots of languages have multiple words for love. Romantic, familial, carnal. Interestingly enough, in both Mandarin and English, there's only really one word, and it's pretty much all-encompassing. It's both past and future. Love is a circle and a line.

Enter Mei with a bag. Enter Li. Mei looks at Li. Li looks up at Mei. That's, um, something like, well? Mei scratches her ear. That's, I couldn't stand living with my brother's wife. Li gives the slightest nod and looks away. That's, I've been destroyed. Mei puts her back down. That's, I'll stay. Mei places a hand on his shoulder. I think that's...

A blanket expression of care. Li places his hand over Mei's hand. This one, I don't think I can. It's somewhere between I need you and there's no recovering from this. Mei kneels in front of Li. Li kisses Mei on the forehead. That one? Mei kisses Li on the forehead. Not sure. Maybe I'm afraid? Mei kisses Li on his eyelids. No, that's not...

V kisses Mace eyelids. Not really sure. So couldn't we, I don't know, could we find a way to be family? Because we went through it together, you know? Because it's you and me, Evie. It's our history. Yeah, I'm just, I'm just not sure that having like shared trauma with someone is a particularly good reason to keep having a relationship. So what, we just quit at being family? I don't know.

Maybe. But I feel like we're tangled up. Yeah. So that might be harder. Yeah. And maybe if we just developed a system or boundaries for communicating, then that would help. I don't think so. Oh. I guess. Talk to her. Yeah. Talk to her. Yeah.

This is L.A. TheatreWorks production of Golden Shield by Anchuli Felicia King, directed by Annalise Erickson.

Starring Seamus Dever as Larry Murdoch, Fong Du as the translator, Greg Gurman as Richard Warren, Belinda Gosby as Amanda Carlson, Angela Lin as Julie Chen, Marty Ma as Deputy Minister Gao Shunwei, Ian Song as Huang Mei, Josh Stamberg as Marshall McLaren, Jan Wong as Li Dao, Joanne Wally as Jane Bowman, and Jennifer Jung as Eva Chen.

Senior producer, Annalise Erickson. Production supervisor, Mark Holden. Recorded by Neil Woganson and Charles Carroll at the Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. Edited by Neil Woganson. Designer, Charles Carroll. Foley artist, Mark Holden. Studio intern and Foley engineer, Chloe Foster. Mixed by Charles Carroll. Senior radio producer, Ron Lipkin.

Golden Shield is part of L.A. TheatreWorks' Relativity Series of science-themed plays. Lead funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, bridging science and the arts in the modern world. You'll find Golden Shield and hundreds of other titles on our website, latw.org. I'm Susan Loewenberg, producing director of L.A. TheatreWorks.