Lionel took a sip of brandy and began to sketch the scene in his mind:
"Imagine, early summer 1789, the eve of the storming of the Bastille. Rumors are rife in the streets of Paris, and people are apprehensive, but on the surface, life continues. Our story begins in an ordinary café. When the curtain opens, it is not with prison carts and La Marseillaise, but with the café at its busiest evening hour, filled with all sorts of customers."
"A minor noble, left with only his title, is discussing the latest opera being staged; students are loudly debating current affairs; idlers are gossiping about the most absurd rumors... In the corner sit two plainclothes secret police officers, speaking in low voices and glancing around at the others now and then..."
"The café owner, Pierre, is a shrewd Norman who has been trying to make a living in Paris for years, only wanting to run his small shop peacefully. While fiddling with coffee cups, he complains to a familiar milk delivery boy about the rising price of flour again, about the terrible municipal sanitation... and also complains about those penniless writers who sit for an entire session nursing a single cup of coffee..."
Lionel's description was very concise, almost devoid of unnecessary embellishment.
Through a few simple exchanges between the owner Pierre, the milk delivery boy, and old patrons, he vividly presented the daily life of Parisian citizens at the end of the old dynasty.
"Then, the regulars make their entrance one by one. One is the ruined nobleman, Viscount de Saint-Cyr, dressed in an outdated silk coat, maintaining elegant manners. Next comes the small merchant Lefebvre, who is worried and discusses in a low voice with his companion whether the recent political upheaval will affect his fabric business..."
Maupassant listened, the excitement gradually replaced by shock.
His intended dramatic opening was full of conflict and contradiction, designed to attract the audience; but Lionel layered the sense of oppression before the storm through everyday dialogue and the collision of character personalities.
This writing style was undoubtedly more subtle, yet also more thought-provoking.
When Lionel delivered a few famous lines, Maupassant fell into even deeper silence—
"If you want to show your might, go fight the English, the English are fierce! The English took Canada, Your Excellency feasts on taxes, but you haven't been seen charging into battle!"
"Our France has endless gold and silver mountains, they can never be spent!"
"Viscount, I say, France is finished!"
"I, I love France, I'm afraid it will be finished!"
"If he says 'France is finished,' he's one of Robespierre's faction!"
"Aristocrats are French traitors, sentence doubled! Lock him up!"
...
Maupassant stared blankly at Lionel, his eyes a mixture of admiration, sudden realization, and unconcealed dejection.
He had thought he had grasped the soul of the play by gathering a large amount of historical material and conceiving highly impactful scenes.
But Lionel's few simple words, presented in a plain manner, revealed a much grander narrative scope.
This method of reflecting history through ordinary daily life made his own previous ideas seem hurried and shallow.
Maupassant's tone became somewhat dejected:
"My God, Lio, you... you always see what lies deeper. I... I am like a child gloating over a pretty shell, unaware that you have already found the great treasure!"
Lionel walked over to him, patted his shoulder, and encouraged him:
"No, Guy, don't say that. Your concept actually has great tension, which is very important. What I provided is just a framework, a perspective.
But the flesh and blood of this play—those vibrant details, the dialogue consistent with the era's characteristics, the fate of every character—all require you to fill them in using solid research. Your keen observation skills and familiarity with common life are exactly what this play needs most."
He picked up Maupassant's stack of notebooks filled with notes and said seriously:
"The material you collected is very valuable, but it still lacks some more specific details. For example, what exactly were people of different classes concerned about before the Great Revolution? Prices? Rumors? Political events?
What topics were popular? What kind of language did they use? These details are the key to making this play 'come alive.' Making the scene I just described verbally more concrete is your irreplaceable value!"
Maupassant looked up, the dejection in his heart gradually replaced by rekindled fighting spirit.
He nodded forcefully, grabbed his notebook and pen:
"I understand, Lio! I was too impatient, always thinking of achieving success in one go. You are right, giving it life is my job! I'll go back now, collect more material, and we will definitely write a solid script!"
He downed the rest of the brandy in his glass, grabbed his hat and cane, said a hurried farewell, and rushed out of the apartment like a gust of wind.
Lionel watched the door close again, letting out a soft breath.
Entrusting the detailing of Café to Maupassant was undoubtedly the best choice.
He now had to concentrate his energy on Thunderstorm and the renovation project at the Comédie-Française.
In another two weeks, the lighting system installed by Nikola Tesla could undergo its first test!
Just as the renovation of the Comédie-Française was proceeding apace, a piece of tragic news from the South shocked all of France.
On March 23, 1881, a fire broke out at the Municipal Theatre in Nice, Southern France, ultimately leading to over sixty deaths.
The fire was caused by a gas leak from the stage footlights, which instantly exploded upon contact with an open flame, and the fire quickly spread to the auditorium and the stage.
The scene was chaotic, exits were blocked, casualties were numerous, and the theatre was almost reduced to ashes.
[Tragedy at the Nice Theatre! Gas lighting once again becomes the deadly culprit!]
[Over Sixty Lives Burnt to Ashes; Theatre Safety Alarm Rings Loudly!]
Headlines like these dominated the front pages of all Parisian newspapers.
Public anger and fear were instantly ignited, and theatre safety, especially the security of the lighting system, became the hottest topic of discussion everywhere.
Amidst this wave of public opinion, the Comédie-Française, which was undergoing an "electrification" renovation, and Thunderstorm, were once again pushed to the forefront.
Le Figaro was the first to praise the project:
[Fortunately, in our city, a revolution to enhance theatre safety is quietly underway—the "electrification" renovation of the Comédie-Française! It is reported that, driven by Mr. Lionel Sorel, the theatre is attempting to replace dangerous gaslights with more stable and safer 'electric lights.' This is not only for the artistic effect of his new work, Thunderstorm, but also a solemn commitment to the safety of the audience!]
Le Gaulois, though habitually conservative, had to admit this time:
[The Nice tragedy warns us that continuing to use gaslights costs lives! The attempt by the Comédie-Française may be bold, but its direction deserves affirmation. Electric light, this emerging lighting method, is precisely the guarantee for the future safety of theatres.]
Le Petit Parisien connected Thunderstorm and safety even more directly:
[Looking forward to Thunderstorm! Not only looking forward to the new play brought by Mr. Sorel, but even more so looking forward to its staging in a safer theatre!]
The public's attention was quickly directed toward the renovation of the Comédie-Française.
This also placed Director Émile Perrin in a kind of moral dilemma...
(End of Chapter)