"THIS FILM WAS AWARDED THE MAX Upholds PRIZE IN NANTES" "YOUNG TÖRLESS" "BASED ON THE NOVEL BY ROBERT MUSIL" "Cinematography by FRANZ RATH" "WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY" "Beineberg, please keep an eye on my son." "You can count on me, sir." "That's a relief." "I trust you." "Something solid and decisive about you won me over instantly." "Cigar?" "Thank you, sir." "I wish my boy were more like you." "He always seems so insecure, so unbalanced." "I have no idea what he'll amount to." "I'm glad to have met you all." "And knowing our son is with you makes saying good-bye easier." "Especially since he's found such good comrades." "Gentlemen, please contact us immediately should anything happen to my son." "What could happen, Dad?" "You understand, Mr. Beineberg?" "Absolutely, sir." "My child." "What else could I do?" "He sleeps with her, and the next morning she takes him ashore." "But after a while, he couldn't eat fish anymore " " Watch it, idiot!" " Leave me alone." "What are you hoodlums doing here?" "Go ahead, take one." " Man, they're hot!" " Come here, my dear." " Here, my boy." " Thank you, pretty lady." "God be with you, child." "Stop fooling around." "Hi, sweetheart." "Is our little boy homesick?" "Ah, the young gentlemen." "Come and sit with us." " Something to drink?" " Wine." "Four glasses." "No, eight." "This round's on me." "Thank you." "Would you gentlemen like to play, or are you afraid of losing?" "Here." "I'll bet 20." " You lose." " My tough luck." "C'est la vie." "DAYS SERVED" "Yet another day to tell our grandchildren about." "What's that, Tress?" "Well?" "I meant this was another memorable day for us." "Since it wasn't exciting enough for you... you'll copy out Horace's sixth ode for tomorrow." "Reiting, I was supposed to pay you back today, but could you give me a couple more days?" "Sorry." "I need the money now." "Didn't you receive your allowance?" "Sure, but I've got other debts too." "I owe Beineberg and Tschusch from last month." "Go begging to them." "I'm not one to wait in line." "Of course not." "You're my friend." "You shouldn't have gambled away the money." "I wanted to double it." "My last word on this subject:" "Pay me back tomorrow or " "Or?" "Or you'll be subject to my terms." "What sort of terms?" "You give me your allegiance in everything I do." "If that's all, I'll do it gladly." "I'll stick by you." "But not just when you feel like it." "You must do whatever I say." "Blind obedience, as it were." "Well?" "I'll bring you the money tomorrow." "Quiet, please." ""Eight-year sentence for murderess." "Wilhelmina worked in a coffee house in Graz until she was 19." "Then she met Günther K., an army deserter, who introduced her to prostitution and made her work for him." "Asked by the judge why she had done it, she replied, 'Because I was under his spell." "That night, when Günther took me to the Wiener Strasse to work," "I said, "I don't feel like it today. "" "Günther then said, "Then sleep with me. "" "I didn't want that either." "I resisted, so Günther beat me up and was really angry." "Then I had to kneel down before him and worship him like a god so he'd be good." "That night, I shot him in bed. '" "Gross Sankt Florian:" "One of the oldest parishioners, retiree Franz Braunecker, was unexpectedly called from this mortal life at the age of 91."" "Miss, bring us two orders of venison, coffee cake and slivovitz." "How much time do we have?" "Two and a half hours." "What's for dinner tonight?" "Beats me." "Some Sunday swill, I'm sure." "Tell me, Beineberg:" "What do you want to be?" "I don't know." "But I won't be a civil servant or officer, that's for sure." "First I'd like to travel around and earn a little money without committing myself to a profession." "Then maybe I'll go to India or Asia." "I've got a few ideas." "I have no clue myself." "Don't know what I'm good at or what I'd enjoy doing." "I feel I know myself and the world less every day." "Because you're a nutcase." "Often I just want to run away." "But you'll never do it." "You hightailing it!" "That'd be the day." "The monotony here is killing me." "Of all that we do in school, what makes any sense?" "Where does it get us?" "We're here to develop our minds and prepare ourselves." "We'll live later." "Prepare?" "Develop?" "What for?" "Here you are." "Where did you get the money?" "I borrowed it." "Who was stupid enough to lend you money?" "Hoffmeier." "Look, Basini, why lie to me?" "Maybe you can pull that with others, but not me." "Hoffmeier himself asked me for money this morning." "But Beineberg complained his money had been stolen." "In a nutshell, you took the money from Beineberg's drawer last night." "How dare you say that!" "What a nasty thing to say!" "That's vile slander!" "You're just picking on me because I'm weaker." "You're angry because I won't grovel." "You want to blackmail me, but you picked the wrong guy!" "I'll tell the whole class of your accusation." "I'll go the principal." "Let's go." "It's on me." "Thanks." "Especially since my money was stolen last night." "Really?" "Any suspects?" "No, not yet." "But he'll be sorry if I catch him." "I only did it because I was in need." "I would've put it right back." "Please don't tell anyone I stole it." "I just borrowed it in secret." "I'll " "I'll do anything you say." "Just don't let the class know." "Don't tell them." "So you'll accept my conditions?" "Yes." "I'll do what you say." "Good." "I'll think it over." "Where to now?" "Bozena's?" "Yeah, that's what we agreed." "You don't want to pay, eh?" "Get the hell out of here, you swine, or I'll deck you!" "I'll tear you to shreds!" "The dirty scoundrels want a good time but don't want to pay!" "What's going on here?" "Good evening." "What sweet boys have come to see me?" "Come on, be quiet." "Have a seat." "Nice of you to visit me." "Or did the man in you bring you here?" "Ah, be quiet." "What fine lads you are." "Don't be shy, boy." "Take a good look." "Your friend acts like he's never seen a woman in his life." "His mother is quite a stunning woman." "I saw her recently at the train station." "I'm sure she turned many a head in her younger days." "Do you still have some slivovitz?" "You know where things are here." "Thank you." "Why that bored look?" "She'll think you're afraid." " Let her." "I'm not in the mood anyway." "You don't like me talking about your mother?" "You people always think you're better than us." "You don't think your mother and I are alike, huh?" "You think you're better than that?" "You're wrong." "Terribly wrong." "I know your families better than that." "I spent enough time in Vienna." "I know what goes on there." ""My dear Bozena" here, "my dear Bozena" there." "They were always very nice to me." "Until they noticed I was pregnant." "You should have heard them talk." "Not to my face, of course, but among themselves they spoke of nothing else." "And Madam " "She wore an expression as if she drank nothing but cologne." "But soon after that, her cousin's belly swelled out past her nose." "And did anybody know that baby's father?" "No." "Just as well." "I left for his sake." "I don't want to go back." "I'd rather die than work there again." "Is this yours?" "Thank you." "Nice of you." "Sometimes I wonder why I let you guys in." "Certainly not for a couple kronen." "You and him and the other one." "What's his name?" "Reiting?" "No, not him." "Basini?" "Yeah, Basini." "That's who I meant." "He's a strange boy." "You're all the same." "You belong together." "When your parents are around, you don't know me." "As soon as they're gone, you sneak right back to me." "You're just like your parents." "Hypocrites... cowards and liars." "Where'd you get the broken nose?" "You know who you remind me of?" "My brother." "I broke his nose." "It's funny how much better a man looks with a broken nose." "What's wrong with that boy?" "Homesick." "Poor boy." "And the naughty little boy comes running to someone like me?" "Well, what is it?" "Give me a kiss." "See?" "You're still alive." "And it's better than what you do in your dorms." " I've got him." " Who?" " The thief who stole from Beineberg." " Tell me!" "Nobody knows yet." " A servant?" " No." "Give me a hint." "Basini?" "What's wrong?" "Be careful!" "Here's your money." "And here's the knife Basini broke into the closet with." "What do you think we should do with him?" "Basini is a thief." "Yes, a thief!" "And thieves are punished all over the world." "He must be reported and expelled from school." "Let him fend for himself out in the world." "He doesn't belong here anymore." "No." "Why rush to extremes?" "It's not all that bad." "How can you say that?" "You want to go on living with someone who's stolen?" "Someone who's offered to be your slave?" "Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" "You act like we're sworn to brotherhood for life." "Nothing ties us to Basini, except that a lot of pleasure could be had from him." "Pleasure?" "Look, Reiting." "Why do you keep standing up for Basini?" "Standing up for him?" "Is that how it looks?" "I don't know." "Again, a gross exaggeration." "What's with this idealism?" "This enthusiasm for the purity of the institute." "It's so virtuous and so boring." "Or do you have some special reason?" "Some old grudge for which you want Basini expelled?" "Then come clean with it." "We're on your side." "Nonsense." "What do you think?" "I say do what you want with him." "In India they'd cut his hand off or drive a sharp stake up his bowels." "At least that would be amusing." "Hold out your hands." "Which hand did you steal with?" "We've decided not to report you... this time." "You'll be under our supervision, and you'll have the chance to reform." "From now on, we will strictly scrutinize your income and expenses." "Dealings with the rest of the class will be subject to our consent." "Do you agree?" "Do you agree now?" "Yes." "Quiet, please!" "Mail call, boys." "Canitz." "Basini!" "From my Dulcinea." "Now you'll see." "Did I promise too much?" "You should have seen her corset." "I couldn't take that, of course." "The price tag's still on it." "You just bought it, you show-off." " Did you get all that?" " What?" "Those imaginary numbers." "It's very simple." "Just remember they're based on the square root of minus one." "Yeah, but that's the problem." "That doesn't exist." "The square of a number is always positive." "It's just a way of calculating these numbers." "But how can you, when you know for certain mathematically that it's impossible?" "The peculiar thing is that you can actually calculate with these imaginary values." "For example, you can build a bridge using this kind of formula, one that stands firm, even though it was calculated using something that doesn't even exist." "Is there a gap in our reality?" "You sound like that Holy Joe of ours." "The chasm between the body, which is made of matter, and that which it embodies, namely, the immortal soul." "Go ask our math teacher." "You want to know about irrational and imaginary numbers?" "Please have a seat." "I'm glad, Torless, very glad." "Your doubts reveal a strain of serious independent thought." "But it's not so easy to give the clarification you seek." "Please don't get me wrong." " Would you like one too?" " No, thanks." "How about a candy?" "Look." "You spoke of the intervention of transcendental factors." "I don't know how you feel about this." "The supernatural, that which is beyond the strict bounds of reason, is a very peculiar thing." "I'm really not qualified to hold forth on these matters." "That material's not covered in my course." "You can view it different ways." "I certainly want to avoid undercutting someone else's position." "But you should be able to explain mathematics for me." "Yes, as far as mathematics is concerned, a natural and purely mathematical context does indeed exist." "But as a good scientist, I'd have to use hypotheses that you would probably not yet understand." "And then, too, we don't have the time." "And imaginary numbers?" "You must get used to the idea that such mathematical concepts, entirely nonexistent values, are purely notional concepts necessary to mathematics." "Think about it:" "At the elementary stage of your present instruction, it's difficult to provide a comprehensive explanation." "Fortunately, very few feel the need for it." "However, when someone like yourself - and, as I said, I'm very glad - comes to me, I can only say," ""My dear friend, you must simply believe." "When you know ten times more math than you know now, then you'll understand it." "But in the meantime, just have faith." "Everything is about feeling, even mathematics. "" "Always off in the clouds, eh?" "What are you doing here?" "Come along." "You'll see." " What's going on?" " Wait." "How's our great mathematician?" " How do you think?" " I get it." "What do you get?" "He didn't tell you anything." "He put you off till later." "Then you'll understand." "The scales will fall from your eyes." "When they've "prepared" you down to their level." "I don't think you can say that." "You needn't tell me anything." "I know these people, stuffed full of formulas they learned by rote just like the priest learns his catechism." "Or do you think the world spirit would give these bloodless creatures a peek under her skirts?" "He calls that watching over Basini." "What's going on?" "Come to the room tonight." " Reiting tricked us." " I thought as much." "Oh, you thought, did you?" "But you didn't notice it, of course." "No, not at all." "But I was watching closely." "You remember the story about what happened here four years ago?" " What story?" " You know." "That story." " Oh, right." "Only in passing." "I only know there was a huge scandal over some obscenity and a whole lot of them were expelled." "That's what I'm talking about." "Reiting's doing the exact same thing with Basini." "You think Reiting is in love with him?" "Of course not." "Reiting's no fool." "But it probably amuses him." "I never would have suspected Reiting of that." "Well, I'll show them both." "What do you have in mind?" "I'll remind them of the others who were thrown out for it." "That'll give them a little food for thought." "But you can't report them." "And I don't want to." "I mean, I don't care about Basini." "But it's different with Reiting." "And what he's done puts him completely in my hands." "I think he'd be happy if he could get me somehow." "See what I can do now that I know this secret?" "Sure, but " "One word from me and he's finished." "We've gotta do something." "You still think we should report Basini?" "I'd prefer that we punish him ourselves." "The school would merely expel him and write a long letter to his uncle." "You know how businesslike that would be." ""Dear Mr. So-and-so, your nephew has lost his head and been led astray." "We hereby return him to you." "All hopes for his success. "" "And so on." "You think it means anything to them?" "And what should it mean to us?" "Well, maybe nothing to you." "You're gonna be a lawyer or a poet." "But I see my life differently." "I want to learn from this situation." "How do you mean to punish him?" "It's not so much about punishment." "I've got something else in mind for him." "I'll just... let's say, torture him." "No need to be so startled." "What I've got in mind is pure asceticism." "To rise above this world, you must kill off everything that enslaves you to it." "Feelings, for example." "When I take Basini to task, I'll surely feel pity." "But that's inappropriate, because Basini doesn't matter." "Somebody who does the things he does isn't worth it." "So pity in this case is a completely senseless emotion." "A waste of life force, if you will." "I intend to kill off all these superfluous emotions in me." "Listen, what do you think of Basini?" "What am I supposed to say?" "He's a foul creature." "Isn't he indeed?" "Very foul." "You always get mixed up in crazy things." "Not at all." "And what if I do?" "You gotta try everything once." "And if he's really that despicable " "Tell him to come to the attic tonight." "You mean the room?" "No, not yet." "The attic." "All right." "Shall we walk a little more?" "Yeah." "But I'm sure Torless has things to do." "Ah, there you are." "Stay right there." "We've decided to sit in judgment over you." "The charges are as follows:" "You've committed a break-in." "You've stolen money." "You've acted on your own, against our express wishes." "You've attempted to set us against each other." "You went over my head and placed yourself in Reiting's service." "What do you have to say for yourself?" " Please, I " "Put your hand down." "Relax." "Aren't you ashamed?" "Answer him!" "You refuse?" "What's wrong?" "Are you crying?" "Are you unhappy?" "Come on, smile." "You won't, huh?" "Then we'll give you a reason to cry!" "Let me go!" "Put the light out." "They'll see it outside." "What's wrong with you?" "Isn't that like an eye?" "You getting poetic on us?" "No, but isn't it like an eye into some strange world?" "Pure nonsense." "Kneel!" "You thought you'd get away with everything." "You thought I'd help you." "You were wrong." "Please, I couldn't help it." "For God's sake!" "Silence!" "We've had it with your excuses." "We now know just what sort of person you are, and we intend to act accordingly." "Now say..." ""I am a thief. "" "Are you deaf?" "Say you're a thief!" "I'm a thief." "That was smart of you, kid." "And now say, "I'm an animal." "A thieving animal." "Your thieving animal. "" "I'm an animal, a thieving animal, your thieving animal." " That's disgusting." " Let the animal go." "Give it to me." "Damn it!" ""I must be sick, insane." "Why else would things that others find normal disgust me?"" " Watch it!" " Open your eyes next time, you ass!" "What are you still doing here?" "Aren't you leaving?" "No." "It's not worth it for just a few days." "We're only going to Sternberg's." "He invited us to his uncle's estate." "Wants to get in good with us." "What are you writing, a book?" "Secrets?" "Go ahead, but you won't understand it." "Hey, he's writing about us." "Listen to this." ""When I observe things dispassionately, Basini's theft is a trivial transgression." "The way Reiting and Beineberg punish him is customary cruelty among schoolboys." "But that doesn't explain it all." "This sober stance isn't enough." "A dizzying abyss suddenly opens before me. "" "What do you think of that?" " Complete rubbish!" "You can write what you want, but kindly leave our names out of it." "Come on!" "The car's waiting." "In the meantime, don't get too bored." "Go see Bozena and send our regards." "Torless, aren't you going home?" "No, Professor." "What's going on?" "Come to the room." "I have to talk to you." "What are you doing?" "I'm not gonna do anything." "Put that back on." "Sit down." "Why did you start undressing?" " I thought - - You thought what?" " The others." " What others?" "Beineberg and Reiting." "What about them?" "What did they do?" "You have to tell me everything." "Even though the others already told me." "Well?" "Are you gonna do it?" "Please don't make me do that." "Or is this your own special way of torturing me?" "I don't intend to torture you." "I just want you to tell me the whole truth for your own sake." "But I've done nothing particularly worth telling about!" "You're a pathetic coward!" "Please don't say that." "You see what a coward you are?" "You take it all." "They say if I'm obedient, they'll eventually forgive me." "Those two?" "Everyone." "How can they promise that?" "I'm involved in this too." "They said they'd take care of it." "Did they say anything more specific about how they'd do that?" "No, just that they'd take care of it." " What do they do with you?" " Who?" "He's very friendly with me." "He usually has me read him something about Rome and its emperors, or Timor Leng, or Ivan the Terrible." "All those bloody stories." "Then he usually beats me afterwards." " After what?" "Oh, I see." "And Beineberg?" "He's repulsive." "Don't you think his breath reeks?" "Be quiet." "Tell me, what does he do?" "Same as Reiting, only in another way." "He preaches to me at length about my soul." "He has me sit down and stare at a glass until I'm sluggish and tired." "Then I have to get on the ground and howl like a dog." "What for?" "I have no idea." "And you let them do all that to you?" "You do what they tell you?" "What else can I do?" "I want to be a decent person again and be left in peace." "And what happened before doesn't matter to you?" "I can't do anything about that." "Listen to me carefully." "How could you steal like that?" "I really needed the money." "I owed Reiting money, and he wouldn't give me more time." "Nobody would loan me " "No, that's not what I meant." "I meant, how could you do that?" "How did you feel?" "What went on inside you?" "Nothing at all." "I didn't feel anything." "I didn't think about anything." "It just simply happened." "And the first time with Reiting?" "The humiliating service you were too cowardly to refuse." "Didn't you feel torn apart inside?" "Some indefinable shock, as if some unspeakable change had taken place inside you?" "I don't understand you." "When they spit on you, make you whimper and eat dirt!" "What happens inside you then?" "Doesn't the image you have of yourself shatter?" "Doesn't it shatter?" "You're tormenting me." "I don't know what you want." "There's nothing to explain." "It all happens in a second." "Nothing else happens after that." "You'd do exactly the same in my place." "Hey, Hungarian." "Sternberg's got a great cousin." "Hi, Torless." "How's Bozena?" "I didn't even go." "Wouldn't she let you in?" "I'll swallow this worm for half a krone." "You're on." "The nerve of that guy." "Does he really think he's in the clear?" "We've got to do something about Basini." "He's used to having to obey us." "He doesn't mind it anymore." "He's getting chummy and fresh, like a servant." "It's time to take things a step further." "You agree?" "I don't know what you have in mind yet." "We've got to humiliate him further." "I'd like to see how far we can go." "How to do it is another matter." "But I just might have a couple ideas." "For example, we could tie him to a bed and whip him." "And then make him sing psalms of thanks." "It would be interesting to hear the expression in his singing, every note shrouded in fear." "But there's something else I have in mind for him first." "Reiting, you may leave if you're too dumb to grasp something profound." "You recall our conversation about imaginary numbers?" "We needed to find a way to overcome the inadequacy of reason." "This force that keeps logic together despite its gaps and shortcomings..." "I call the soul." "I'd like to lure this soul out of Basini... by hypnotizing him." "Because of your unworthy conduct, you've lost touch with your soul." "You're about to find it again." "If you follow my instructions exactly, no harm will come to you." "But annoy me with the slightest objection... and I'll shoot you down." "Take this pendulum." "Hold your hand steady." "Observe the key carefully, and imagine it's swinging in a circle." "Look only at the key." "Concentrate on the key." "Imagine it making a circle." "You try to stop it." "But you don't succeed." "The key swings faster and faster with no help from you." "By my will alone." "See how strong my influence is over you?" "Now sit down." "Do exactly as I say." "Empty your mind of all thought." "Stare at this little light... and don't blink." "Keep your eyes as wide open as you can." "Don't think about anything." "Focus all your attention inwards." "Your arms are getting heavy." "Your legs are getting heavy." "Your entire body is getting heavy." "Your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier." "As heavy as lead." "Your vision's growing dim." "Your eyes are watering." "Your thoughts are slowing down." "Slower and slower." "Stare inside yourself until you find the point where you feel only your inner self... free of all thought and sensation." "You are now completely numb." "Your body no longer feels pain." "You see?" "He's in a trance." "Your soul has departed for its next existence." "It's no longer shackled by nature's laws, no longer condemned to inhabit a fleshly body." "Follow the candle." "Very slowly." "Further." "When your mind stands still, your muscles will let go too." "Your empty body may float through space." "Lean forward." "Further." "Further still." "Damn it!" "Swine!" "You were only pretending!" "Just wait!" "I'll show you!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "I'll tell on you!" "Cover his mouth." "Torless, I want to confess everything!" "Torless, help me!" "Don't go!" "Help!" "Torless, you've gotta help me." "I can't take any more." "They'll torture me to death!" "I can't help you." "You were nice to me a while ago." "Don't speak of that." "That wasn't me." "I can't take it anymore!" "You feel you're suffering and want to escape, right?" "Do whatever you like." "But look what they did to me!" "What's going on here?" "Are you meeting with Basini in secret?" "He asked me to protect him." " He picked the right person!" " And I might have, too." "But this whole thing bores me." "We'll teach you to make secret alliances." "Your guardian angel Torless will have his fun with you too." "No, Reiting, I won't." " Just like that?" " Yeah, just like that." "I was looking for something before." "Second sight, eh?" "Yes." "And now all I see is brutality." "You should see Basini eat dirt." "You'd get a real kick out of it." " I'm not interested." " But you used to be." "Because Basini's condition was a mystery to me." " And now?" " There's no mystery there." "Things just happen." "Anything's possible." "There's not an evil world and a good world." "They exist together in the same world." "That's the whole truth." " Brilliant discovery!" " Sure, make fun of it!" "But you're senseless, nauseating brutes!" "Hold your tongue!" "Dirty, thoughtless and disgusting!" "I forbid you to call us names in front of Basini!" "Forbid?" "You think I'm gonna fight you over Basini?" "I hear you've been bad-mouthing us, and in front of Basini too." "We'll forgive you this misstep just this once." "Come to the room tomorrow night." "We'll punish Basini and then hand him over to the class." " Do whatever you like." " But you'll be there." "No." "Why not?" "You think we don't know why?" "Think we don't know how involved you've gotten with Basini?" "No more than you." "That's enough now." "If you don't show up tomorrow, we'll tell everyone you're Basini's accomplice." "Understand?" "Basini, they're gonna turn you over to the class." "Report it to the headmaster tomorrow before they beat you to a pulp." "We've got a letter for you." "A nice surprise." "To Mr. Anselm von Basini," "Prince Eugen Boarding School." "From Mrs. Agatha von Basini." "Mommy dearest." "Read it." ""My dear son. "" "The poor little thing." ""You know that with the little money I receive as a widow -"" "I can't afford a lover!" ""I have only a little left for you. "" "Give me that letter!" "Stop it!" "Let me through!" "This is crazy!" " You wanna protect him?" " Let me through!" "Did you join in his obscenities?" "Are you one of his lovers?" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "I can't take it!" "Stop!" " Hang him!" " Up on the rings!" "Let's go!" "What's going on?" "Open up!" "Swing him lower!" "Yeah, lower." "Open up!" "Open up!" "My God, it's Basini!" "That's downright diabolical." "It's unbelievable." "This is the door." "It's simple." "We tell the teachers we didn't report Basini out of pity." "He mocked all our efforts to help him." "Yeah, we can all attest to that." "He was incorrigible and stubborn." "We'll say he kept getting into debt." "Which he could never pay back." "He shamelessly exploited our generosity and refused to heed our well-meaning advice." "We admit we made a mistake." "But Basini kept provoking us with his shameful conduct." "All our well-intentioned attempts to reform him were met with scorn." "We didn't report him only because we felt sorry for him." "Very well." "Do you have no explanation for why Torless suddenly ran away?" "I noticed he'd been extremely nervous the last few days." "His extraordinary moral sensitivity must have made him feel guilty that, even though he knew about it all from the start, he didn't report it immediately." "What are your plans?" "I'll go back to school for a couple of days." "Won't the teachers punish you for running away?" "I don't care." "I'm through with school." "I'll ask my parents to take me back home." " How much?" " Three groschen." "Come with me." "Unbelievable." "Can you tell us, Torless, the reasons that led you to run away so suddenly?" "We already know these things." "But tell us what led you to conceal Basini's crime." "I don't know, sir." "When I first heard of it, it seemed outrageous." "On the one hand, I told myself I should report him to you." "And so you should have." "On the other hand, I wasn't interested in punishment." "I saw it from an entirely different point of view." "I was overcome by dizziness each time I " "You must express yourself more clearly, Torless." "For example, imaginary numbers " "Allow me to shed some light on this obscure reference." "Young Torless came to ask me about certain fundamentals of mathematics, including imaginary numbers, which are truly difficult for the untrained mind." "Yes, I said it seemed to me that we couldn't get to the bottom of that through logic alone." "That we needed another certainty, an inner certainty." "And I felt the same way about the Basini matter." "So you feel drawn away from science and towards moral, even divine, aspects?" "Torless, is what the reverend says true?" "Do you have a tendency to seek - as you seem to be saying - a religious background to things?" "No, that's not it either." "Then for God's sake tell us in plain words what it was!" "We can't get into philosophical debates here!" "I can't help it if it's not what you think." "Perhaps I haven't learned enough to express myself clearly, but I'll attempt to describe it." "Basini was a student like any other." "A perfectly normal person." "Suddenly he stumbled." "I'd thought of these things before - humiliation and degradation - but I'd never experienced them." "But it happened to Basini." "I had to admit it was possible that man wasn't created good or bad once and for all." "We all keep changing ceaselessly." "We exist only by virtue of our actions." "But if we allow ourselves to change to where we become torturers or sacrificial animals, then anything is possible." "Then even the most horrific things become simply possible." "Then there's no line between good and evil, and both merge imperceptibly." "Then perfectly normal people can do terrible things." "The only question then was, "How is this possible?"" "To observe this, I let these things go unreported." "I wanted to know how it was possible." "What happens when a person humiliates himself or suddenly turns cruel?" "I used to think it would mean the end of the world." "Now I know differently." "What seems so horrific, so incomprehensible from afar, simply happens." "Quietly and naturally." "Therefore one must be continually on guard." "That's what I've learned." "This young man is under such emotional strain that this school is no longer the place for him." "His intellectual nourishment must be monitored more carefully than we can do here." "I'll send his father a letter to that effect." "A peculiar person." "You think?" "What's wrong, Thomas?" "Nothing, Mom." "I was just thinking about something."