Enlightened charlatan, Melgut proposes to save the world in exchange for a few coins. Crawling, fearful, hunched, he feels pursued by the crowd in a universe where difference is forbidden. A bat caught in the headlights, he will do anything to escape. He would prefer a different world. "We are embarrassing!" he says; as he sinks into the crowd, cap in hand, armed with only the cloth of his garment, his eyes scrutinise for possible mockery. He dances,... often... to the echo of a distant refrain.
