High-Rise Page #6

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I will not lobotomize

Richard Wilder.

He's possibly the sanest man

in the building.

Oh.

Well, it's flying school

for you, I'm afraid, chum.

- Simmons:
Can I have his tie?

- If you must.

- That's Savile Row, innit?

- Yes.

Pangbourne!

What, Royal?

I'm in the middle of something.

You can't put him over the edge.

He owes me a game of squash.

Royal:
Look, I insist you

stop this at once.

All right then, let him go.

I'm having that tie

one way or another.

Laing:
Ever thought of

leaving the nest yourself?

I was the first to arrive,

I shall be the last to leave.

You recall us speaking about

my hopes for the building

to be a crucible for change?

Of course.

Well, all this has made

me realize something

quite fundamental.

It wasn't that I left

an element out,

it was that I put too many in.

And now the building's failure

has offered those people

the beginnings of a means

of escape to a new life.

Mm.

Who knows...

Perhaps it will become

a paradigm

for future developments.

And you, have you settled?

I believe so.

Impressions?

Well, the lights, fire,

like neurons in a great brain.

Laing:
The lifts seem like

the chambers of a heart.

Laing:
And when I move...

Pangbourne:
That's it!

I move along its corridors

like a cell...

...in a network of arteries.

There we are.

There.

That wasn't so bad, now was it?

Pangbourne:
Huh?

Bravo.

What... What is this?

What do you think?

Pudding?

Laing:
Right,

while I've got your ear...

about Richard Wilder.

You don't need to

worry about Richard.

Or the others.

Bloody Mary, John?

- Wet the baby's head.

- Where are all the menfolk?

Cosgrove was taken, I'm afraid.

On his way back from work.

Christ.

Really?

Simmons has gone

to get him back.

Oh.

They may be some time.

Now tell me.

I can't remember.

Have I ever given you

my autograph?

Royal:
Whose area?

There's another.

Wilder:
Helen!

Helen!

Helen!

It's you.

- The architect.

- Yes.

You see you've made

a mistake there.

If you'd have confessed to your

sins on camera when our paths

crossed in the foyer, I'd have

probably edited this bit out.

I'm not accountable to you,

Mr. Wilder.

Too late now, anyway.

Camera broke.

Oh, just one thing

before you go.

Why exactly did

you take my wife?

I can assure you,

I have no interest

in your personal property.

Because I ask myself why

would a great man like you

feel the need to hide

behind women's skirts?

Behind children, even.

Your own, as well as others'.

How dare you judge me!

How dare...

- Helen!

That's right.

You sit there and think about

what you've done.

Laing:
On the whole,

life in the high-rise was good.

There had been no obvious

point at which it had moved

into a clearly more

sinister dimension.

Helen was right.

It was a huge children's party

which had got out of hand.

Of course, Laing was sorry

the architect had died.

He felt he owed the man

a debt of gratitude

for his new family.

The first Laing had ever really

felt part of.

Now that several potential

patients had emerged

here in the building,

Laing might start

a private medical practice.

Steele:
Do you fancy a drink?

Cosgrove's here.

Laing:
And help others

surrender to a logic

more powerful than reason.

Steele:
All boys together.

Laing's got someone waiting.

You know how it is.

Say no more.

Laing:

One thing was certain,

now that everything was getting

back to normal,

Laing would

throw his own party.

A modest project which,

nevertheless,

required careful

and cautious planning.

For now, he would sit back,

eat the rest of the dog

and wait for failure

to reach the second tower

of the high-rise development.

Ready to welcome its residents

into this new world...

with open arms.

I heard you out there.

Who were you talking to?

No-one.

Just the building.

Margaret Thatcher:

The free enterprise system

is a necessary

but not a sufficient condition.

There is only one economic

system in the world

and that is capitalism.

The difference lies in whether

the capital is in the hands of

the state or whether

the greater part of it

is in the hands of people

outside of state control.

Where there is

state capitalism,

there will never be

political freedom.

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