The Adding Machine

This scene opens in the Zeros’ dining room, just as Zero has arrived home. Mrs. Zero is visibly upset and can be seen looking at the clock. She immediately chides Zero for being an hour late for their supper, when he knows they have company coming over that night–the Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes are all expected. She continues to admonish him for his lack of ambition and the poor likelihood he will ever get a promotion; Zero stays quiet on this subject. Soon enough, the first guests have arrived. Mrs. Zero notices “red ink” on Zero’s collar, and asks him to go change. The guests are all dressed similarly to Mr. and Mrs. Zero, but in different color schemes.

The guests quickly form groups based on their gender, with the men forming a circle of chairs in one corner of the room while the women huddle in another, all gossiping about one another over topics such as style of dress, Three’s behavior at the movie theater, and the Sevens’ plan to divorce. The men disparage women’s suffrage, whereas the women rag on the men for being lazy. The

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