An intelligent but self-centered student is arrested by a shady soldier for no apparent reason. However, as the night wears on, the petty crime it seems he did commit is revealed as having the most devastating consequences.

SYNOPSIS:

In the year 2030, a highly intelligent but self-centered student named Peter Greville (20) is marched at gunpoint into a dingy room, seemingly a prison cell, in a dilapidated building. His captor is Crowther (40s), a shady figure who seems to be some type of soldier. Peter describes how Crowther found him after midnight walking by the city’s harbor, and marched him several kilometers to this remote building.

Peter claims he has done nothing at all, and that he has no idea why Crowther should have arrested him. He is confused that Crowther is implying the situation is so serious, but refuses to say what he was doing by the harbor. All the while, Crowther points his gun at Peter to ensure he stays on the far side of the room.

Crowther uses Peter’s cell phone to call Peter’s girlfriend Jess (20) to the building. Once she has arrived, Crowther lets the pair talk in private. He makes clear to them both that he hopes Peter will tell Jess what he was doing, and that Jess will subsequently tell him. Peter thinks Crowther’s approach is odd, and that he is counting on Peter opening up to Jess more than if he had been speaking to Crowther directly. Jess explains it is the latest ‘interrogation’ technique, which she has been studying in psychology, whereby if you are entirely honest with people about what you are doing, they are more inclined to be honest back.

Peter and Jess’s conversation, however, is uneasy as it transpires their relationship is not going well. As Jess explains, Peter is an immensely intelligent student who is set to come top at his university in politics, and could easily become a government advisor or political analyst. However, he can also be sullen, petulant, insular one minute and confrontational the next.

Jess says that, although she appreciates misunderstandings may have arisen, she cannot believe Peter could have ended up in his present situation without having done something. Peter admits that he climbed onto a naval ship currently in the harbor to hang a banner protesting against the amount of government spending on the navy. He sneaked aboard in the afternoon, when he had observed the ship was least well guarded, and hid in an equipment store until after midnight when he emerged, hung the banner and left the ship. In fact, he was a fair distance from it when Crowther caught him. Jess says naval spending is hardly the most pressing issue facing the country, and reprimands Peter for an act that will never have much impact, as a crew member would be bound to see the banner quickly and take it down, but could land him in a lot of trouble for trespassing on a naval ship. Peter says he was tired with being labelled the boring political analyst, and wanted to be the political activist who saw some action. Jess tells Peter she will not lie for him, but that she will not say more to Crowther than she has to. Much to Peter’s consternation, she also confesses that she doesn’t know if she still feels the same way about him.

A regular police officer, Harris (about 30), who it seems Crowther called to the room to help him as a personal favor, guards Peter while Crowther speaks with Jess. Harris seems a kinder figure than Crowther, and states that he is just as much in the dark as Peter over why Peter is there. He does say that he trusts Crowther entirely, but also admits that he does not believe they have the legal right to detain Peter any longer. He therefore offers Peter the opportunity to leave, though he says he hopes Peter will choose to stay. While Harris does not know what is going on, he imagines it could be something big where Peter’s cooperation may prove essential.

After some hesitation, Peter decides to remain, before discovering that Crowther was just outside the door and so would have stopped him if he had tried to walk. Crowther is nonetheless impressed that Peter chose to stay of his own accord, and appears to soften a little before him. He explains that all Jess said to him was “I do not imagine my conversation revealed anything that would contradict what you already believe to be the case”. Peter is relieved, believing that Jess has done her best by him, but Crowther says the trouble is that he doesn’t know what Jess imagines he believes. Crowther tells Peter that he wants to ascertain what happened, but that he also needs to look at the wider picture. It is therefore not enough for him to know what Peter did. He also wishes to know why he did it, and hence who Peter really is as a person.

Crowther consequently asks what Peter wanted from life, which prompts Peter to describe his dreams at length. He would love to do something extraordinary that would enable him to become known, and, most importantly, enjoy the spoils of being known. Although as he describes his ambitions he sounds quite self-centered, he is adamant that he does not simply seek wealth or fame for the sake of it, but has this idea that his achievement, though undoubtedly serving his own interests, will also help the world in some way. Crowther replies that he is not sure Peter knows himself that well. He suggests that if Peter did what Crowther thinks he did tonight, then he wouldn’t even be able to tell anyone it was him who had done it. Crowther proposes that deep down all Peter really seeks is the knowledge himself that he has done something good. However, Peter vehemently disagrees saying he definitely seeks recognition, and all that goes with it, as well.

Crowther continues by asking Peter a series of questions regarding hypothetical scenarios. Would Peter sacrifice himself, for example, if doing so would save five people, or fifty or ten thousand? In the case of five people, Peter says much would depend on circumstances, but when it comes to ten thousand he says he would have no choice but to do so. However, as Crowther pushes him further, it seems less certain that Peter, when really staring death in the face, would go through with things, even when the numbers saved were overwhelming. Crowther is left uncertain as to how Peter would actually act in a real life situation, but decides he will ascertain no more about Peter as a person by talking around subjects, and decides to confront the issue head on.

Crowther accuses Peter of stealing fish from a fishing boat that is in the harbor. He says it is an old student tradition to sneak aboard this particular chain of boats and take some fish to give to the needy, as a way of protesting against the company’s unethical practices. Thinking this is a less serious crime than the one he actually carried out, Peter confesses to doing this. Then Crowther tells him that a new coronavirus has been found on the boat, which is far more contagious and deadly than COVID-19 was ten years ago. In fact, if Peter were to leave this room and pass it onto others who passed it on in turn, around ten thousand people could die in total.

Crowther confesses to being part of an elite military unit who was under strict orders to shoot anyone he saw near the fishing boat on sight, as with such large numbers involved no risks could be taken. However, Crowther decided not to shoot, but instead to keep his distance and work out where Peter had been. All of Crowther’s efforts since then have been attempts to ensure he does not have to kill Peter. However, Crowther does not believe Peter when he subsequently says he was never on the fishing boat, and when Crowther calls the naval ship’s Captain to ascertain if the banner Peter describes is there, no one has seen it.

Crowther thinks Peter is just trying to wriggle out of doing the honorable thing, which would be to take his own life. Even long-term quarantine would not solve the problem because someone with this new coronavirus will remain contagious for years so it only takes one person on one day to come close to them when, for example, delivering food, and many people could end up being infected and dying.

Peter’s only hope is for the banner to be found, but when news reaches Crowther that it has been, he is also informed that the coronavirus ended up on the naval ship as well because a sailor sneaked on board the fishing boat to steal some fish. Now, Peter must decide whether to take his own life. Such a selfless act that saved so many is the type of achievement Peter would love to call his own, but it will never allow him to enjoy any of the spoils of being known that he also craves. Things are further complicated when Crowther is informed that, by having been in the same room as Peter though he always kept a distance, he is deemed to have the coronavirus too and must act accordingly. Does this means that Harris and Jess, who also entered it, will have to die as well, and what will happen when Peter sees Jess once more?

ROOM FOR DOUBT