The Adding Machine

Shrdlu is seated in the foreground, beside a river and a meadow with gentle farmland in the background. Zero appears, looking around himself in appreciation. While at first he appears to be fearful of Shrdlu, once he recognizes him they are overjoyed to see one another. Zero likes their new surroundings, and Shrdlu assures him they are allowed to stay and get comfortable. Zero kicks off his shoes, confiding that the act feels “nuts” to him. Shrdlu explains they are in the Elysian Fields, where only the “most favored” stay, and he is devastated that he has yet to be punished for his wrongdoings. This lack of justice is “maddening” for Shrdlu to endure; he cannot find his mother, and he cannot hear the beautiful music everyone else says they hear all the time in the Fields.

Zero hears Miss Devore calling to him; he is at first afraid it might be his wife, but grows happier to find it’s his old work colleague. She says she’s been in pursuit of him for days, but he couldn’t hear her; she killed herself a few days after Zero was put to death.