The Study

Two of the men who had played a major role in bringing down the old regime, pPP and pJE, are bored. Their boredom turns to disdain and then to dissent. One of them confides to the other: “I was thinking, you know, of causing a bit of distress to someone.”

The supporters of the Commune know there is dissent. But, like the Guards before them, they are unwilling to use their power to confront it.

This spurs the dissenters on. Overnight three of them stay up talking in the mess:

pJE: What is it you’re thinking of?
pPB: Going up in the box tomorrow and saying “Listen we want to
          be the Guards”…
pPP: Yeah good idea.
pPB: …and f***ing make them toe the line…
pJE: Yeah.
pPB: … I mean on the f***ing line…
pPP: Yeah mate, yeh yeh.
pPB: “No f***ing talking while you’re eating. Get on with your food
          and get the f***ing hell back to your cell.”
pPP: I agree, I totally agree.

In the early morning of Day 8 pPB draws up a manifesto for the “New Guards” regime. Then he turns to the camera, knowing he is speaking to us:

We’re having a military takeover of the regime that’s been put in place yesterday…. We want full military uniforms.... And we’re going to run this prison the way it should have been run from Day 1.