Protagonists:

Socrates: gravelly voice, slight regional accent. Dressed in ancient Greek manner. (It should be noted that Socrates has spent a great deal of time talking with his friend Wittgenstein.)

Paul: a middle-aged Oxford don of the 1950s, dressed in well-cut sports jacket, waistcoat and tie, Oxford English accent.

Alan: a bright Scottish post-doc, tweed jacket and woollen tie, soft Scots accent.

Frank: a contemporary American neuroscientist in his forties, casually dressed, Californian accent.

John Locke: in seventeenth-century scholar's garb. A pedantic and slightly reedy voice.

The scene is a garden in Elysium. The evening sun is shining. A rich verdant lawn is surrounded by flower beds and rose bushes in bloom, with tall trees behind. Beyond, there is a beautiful view of lake and mountains. Frank, Paul, Alan and John Locke are seated on comfortable garden chairs, placed in the shade beneath some trees. There is a low table on which there are some scattered books, a couple of bottles of wine and spare glasses. Each person has a glass of wine before him from which he occasionally drinks. Socrates has just joined them, and is about to sit down.

Socrates: Thank you, I should be delighted to join you. And I fancy that I might assist you in consuming one of those excellent bottles of Nectarian. Haha! Drinking gets my approval, my friends. Is it not indisputable that wine refreshes the soul, allays our worries and feeds the flame of good cheer? [Paul pours him a large glass of wine] Of course, in moderation. [He quaffs half his drink and smacks his lips] Ah, excellent! So, what is it you were talking about?

Paul: We've been talking about thinking, Socrates, and the longer we talk about it, the more mysterious it becomes, and the more confused we become. So we thought that you might be able to help us.

Socrates: Don't you know what thinking is? After all, you are as familiar with thinking as you are with walking, and you know perfectly well what walking is.

Alan: Ay. I can walk – and think too. I ken wha’ walking is and wha’ thinking is. But while if you ask me wha’ walking is, I can easily tell you, if you ask me wha’ thinking is, I find it very difficult to say.