by Liam Card
He couldn’t watch the news or read the paper or surf the Internet ever again.
He couldn’t enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine ever again. Why should he? Why should he get to enjoy anything ever again? Those two young teens coming home from a movie can’t enjoy anything, he thought.
His Thought Marker was clear. He was surely about to kill.
But kill himself.
I called Safia. “What do we do here?” I said.
“What would you like to do?”
“Stop him.”
“How? By killing him?”
“I was called here because of his Thought Marker. Are we to kill people before they kill themselves?”
“No,” she said. “They are hurting themselves, not others.”
“In hurting themselves, they will surely hurt others.”
“This mandate deals with physical hurt or death, not emotional hurt or emotional death. I can’t fix everything, Luke.”
And that was that.
Lucien slid off the guardrail and felt the surge of adrenaline. The kind of rush you might get on the down slope of the world’s tallest roller coaster or skydiving. He flew for a few seconds, and in those seconds he was no longer the drunk driver or the lead story on a newscast. He wasn’t the inspiration for memes or mean comments on Internet news pages or posts on social media. At that moment in time, he was just something falling quickly from one place to another, affected by nothing but gravity.
“What about his act of drunk driving?” I said. “He did kill those kids. Are drunk drivers to be added to the list as well?”
“Are those travelling above the speed limit to be executed, Luke?”
“No, I said. That’s too far.”
“There is nothing I can do about accidents. They happen too quickly and without a Thought Marker. It is all but impossible to track the offenders.”
“I’m sure we could design something,” I said.
“Look at you,” she said, and sent me a smile. “It seems as though you are thinking of new ways to remove dangerous people from the world?”
“I don’t know what I’m thinking. I’m just looking for gaps in logic.”
“If the drunk driver gets into his car and has clear intent to kill someone, we terminate that person. If the highway speeder has the undeniable intention to lose control and wipe people out, we terminate that person. If Thought Markers aren’t present, I’m not interested with interfering. We have to focus on intentional acts of violence. But I applaud your thinking on the matter.”
“I’m not finished discussing this one,” I said.
“Neither am I. Let’s discuss this again once all the rubbish has been bagged.”
Then she left.
11
Within the first forty-eight hours, Safia had executed 177,551 people. As predicted, news of the miraculous events spread like wildfire around the globe. Networks and newspapers became inundated with calls and emails. The Internet exploded via social media and chatrooms. Reporters and journalists raced around interviewing survivors after would-be victims of violent crime — all sharing similar tales of salvation in the face of certain death or serious personal injury. Many seemed stuck between shock and disbelief. Many were overcome with emotion, bordering on unintelligible, doing their best to force out the story between sobs and the stuttered sucking in of air. Eyes were wiped with hands and nostrils with sleeves, thankful that someone or something was listening to their cries for help.
That someone or something had cared enough to intervene.
Of course, that someone or something was typically God.
That was, unless the praise was saviour-specific. In that case, all credit was given to one of the four usual suspects.
It was God in all but a small handful of cases where aliens were thought to be responsible. Staunch atheists, even in the face of such miraculous salvation, were still on the fence as to what exactly had taken place, not yet willing to admit it was by the hand of an omnipotent creator. Largely, they remained in the camp they hung out in the most.
The “I don’t know” camp.
The “not enough evidence” camp.
The “I believe nothing of what I hear and only half of what I see” camp.
The atheists were aware that something important was going on and that someone or something was interfering. But damned if they were lining up to have their heads dunked in holy water any time soon.
“What we’ve all seen doesn’t prove the existence of God by any means,” one atheist said to a reporter. “Someone could appear and turn all of my tap water into draught beer, and I’d still be asking some hard questions.”
Without question, this forty-eight-hour period was a terribly exciting time on Earth. One could argue it was the most exciting time in the history of humankind. Images of deceased assailants bleeding from the eyes, nose, and ears raced around news outlets and social media, all with personal and eyewitness accounts of the miraculous events. And as much as I was still sitting on the moral fence as to what Safia and I were doing, it was impossible for me to deny the level of excitement we had caused. And not just for the living. Safia wondered if we had programmed the greatest entertainment for ghosts in the history of ghosting. Hard to disagree, I supposed.
Families from all over the world huddled around twenty-four-hour news channels listening to anchors and reporters, professors, religious leaders, and military elite all doing their best to make sense of what was going on.
The BBC organized a panel of the world’s top political scientists to weigh in on the governmental repercussions facing several countries around the world that were currently without their leaders. Those leaders had been found in their offices bleeding from the eyes, ears, and nose or had dropped dead in front of their advisors. One even died during a press conference. Those leaders, of course, had given approval for their military commanders to carry out war crimes and thus violated the Forced Hand amendment.
“What is to become of these leaderless countries?” asked the mediator.
“A large part of me is quite certain that the countries we are discussing here today, which are now thankfully without their leaders, are far better off going forward,” said a poli-sci professor from Harvard, using aggressive air quotations on the leaders part.
“If this trend of miraculous intervention continues,” said a poli-sci professor from Oxford, “the days of dictatorships and despotism are over. As far as politics is concerned, the use of threats and fear to shape countries has gone the way of the dodo. People shouldn’t be hiding under their beds — they should be out in the streets celebrating! By and large, the people of the world are finally free.”
Top medical professionals around the globe began to weigh in on the physical nature of the deaths. Many suggested that it could be some form of global disease or virus but couldn’t explain why death occurred at the precise moment when acts of violence were about to occur. CNN brought in a panel of experts to discuss that possibility.
“Perhaps the disease or virus turns deadly upon the highest levels of endorphin or serotonin release, as would be the case when committing crimes of this nature,” said a professor of medicine at NYU.
“Beats me,” said a professor of medicine at McGill University. “If that were the case, we’d all be dropping dead of coitus.”
Al Jazeera brought top religious leaders from around the world together in a round table to discuss why people of all faiths and people of no faith were being saved from the acts of violence. Did this suggest there was only one God? What did that mean for the major world religions? Had their dogma been debunked?
One religious leader suggested that it was all of the Gods working together, just like all of the people on Earth needed to work together to create peace and sustainability.
This hypothesis was largely shot down due to unpopularity.
Anoth
er religious leader, wearing a massive cross around his neck, suggested that there was only one God, and that this was most likely the second coming of Christ.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “The worst is yet to come. Praise Jesus. That’s what we should all be doing,” he said. Others on the panel listening to this scratched their heads and beards. Others shook their heads in disbelief.
A young religious leader wearing a yarmulke said, “I think that whether we want to admit it or not, a God who protects all people of all faiths turns current religious thinking on its ear. Perhaps it’s time to throw out all of the old books and old thinking and go back to the golden rule.”
“The future will certainly be interesting,” said another leader in golden robes. “But one thing is for sure: whoever it is or whatever it is clearly upset with how we treat one another. And I can’t blame them.”
That last comment went viral.
Safia even made a habit of sending me that particular sound bite whenever she carried out an execution. She would follow the sound bite with a video clip of a hammer hitting a nail on the head.
After a three full days, acts of violence had slowed down significantly as the world put two and two together. The warnings had successfully spread.
The message was clear.
Thus, my full attention wasn’t required to track Thought Marker charts. The frequency had slowed so significantly that prioritizing executions wasn’t difficult in the slightest. A Marker would present itself, and then I would promptly send the coordinates to Safia and return to what I was doing or go back to whoever I was watching/hovering over. Typically, it was these panels of experts or in newsrooms around the world.
When the president of the United States was moments from speaking, I was hovering over Diana. She was in a hospital room, breastfeeding her baby, as she watched the debates and breaking news. Her husband, James, lay sleeping, covered in fresh white sheets, recovering from his surgery. Thankfully, he had survived the shooting, which thrilled me to no end. This was for three reasons: firstly, I would not be responsible for his death due to my late signing of the Operation Stopgap mandate; secondly, Diana wouldn’t be without the man she loved, and thirdly, their child would have the respectable father he deserved.
A nurse came in and asked Diana if she would like to watch the president’s address to the nation on a bigger television.
“I’ve wheeled one of the big screens out from the rehab area for everyone in this wing to watch it,” she said. Diana thanked her but admitted she would rather watch it on the small TV in the room and remain by her husband’s side.
“Suit yourself,” said the nurse.
As for me, I could have witnessed this presidential address from anywhere in the world. I could have been in the Oval Office, hovering above his shoulder, if I so chose. But what I chose was being with Diana.
Safia showed up, fresh from recent executions, and hovered beside me. “Seems to be a lull for the moment,” she said.
“People are pretty confused right now.”
“Did you think I would watch this historic address without you, My Colonel? My right-hand ghost? There’s nowhere I’d rather be than watching this with you.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Safia. Thanks for joining,” I said, but she read my thoughts and saw how much I had enjoyed being here alone with Diana.
“Is that true? I can leave if you are having a moment.”
“It was just a passing thought. I’m glad you’re here,” I said and sent her the definition of “honesty.”
She sent me a smile, and we hovered close together.
Diana, cradling the baby, got up from her chair and went over to James. She thought he had ripe armpits and needed a bath. She wondered when the nurses would come by to get that done and how qualified those nurses truly were. Why did James have to get the skinny little tarts fresh out of university? Why did they have attitude? They weren’t digging ditches in the heat. They weren’t working in a coal mine or raising condo towers in Dubai. They trained and signed up for this. To be nurses.
And Diana wanted only the best of nurses for James. She wanted the Michael Jordan of nurses, and then she imaged Michael Jordan in scrubs with white Birkenstocks. Specifically, the style that covers the toes. She imagined Nurse Jordan giving James a sponge bath while telling him behind-the-scenes details of the National Basketball Association. And then Diana laughed at herself while she softly stroked James’s cheek with her index finger. She organized his mess of hair back to into something that resembled a natural part and thought how handsome he was.
“James, sweetie, the president of the United States is about to speak,” she said.
James moved slightly but remained fast asleep. Diana thought it best not to wake him. She pressed down the edge of medical tape over his IV connection that had started to turn up, and then gently began to rock the baby.
This is what the president of the United States of America said to his fellow Americans, and to the world.
12
Good evening. For half a century now, the United States of America has undertaken the global responsibility to protect those who could not protect themselves. With strength of leadership, the might of our military, and the bravery of the men and women who populate our armed forces, America has risen time and time again to combat evil. For that, America has paid the ultimate price, with the lives of our heroic soldiers. Yet despite our best efforts, the lives of many innocent men, women, and children could not be saved. In my presidency and for those presidents before me, this has certainly been a source of frustration with respect to our military and peacekeeping efforts. Whether that means entering a conflict which has already claimed the lives of thousands or hundreds of thousands, or whether that means being present in battle and still unable to save every single innocent life — this weighs heavily on presidents, as it does America. However, we accept that this is the nature of war. That, despite our best efforts, the blood of innocents will be spilled by the hand of the enemy, and that it is our goal to save as many lives as we can. To free those who wish to be free.
To remove the enemy. To force their submission, and see that they do not rise again.
Nonetheless, American forces cannot be anywhere, any time, to save those in need. The global events of the last seventy-two hours may speak to the presence of another force.
A force we are unfamiliar with and a force we have yet to identify. Yet a force that seems to share with us the strong desire to protect the innocent.
A force that, from what we understand, seems to be anywhere and everywhere to intercept acts of violence and to ensure that no innocent is left behind.
A force that follows a rigorous moral code and a swift process for punishment. A process for punishment, I should say, that we are working around the clock to understand in greater detail.
What we know so far is that this process does not include our formalities of arrest, information-gathering, trial, and conviction. This process may not include what we consider as due process here in America, but I can assure you, this process does involve judgment, conviction, and serves the highest of penalties — death. From the intelligence we have gathered, we understand this much at present: any individual, regardless of country or creed, caught in the act of committing an act of violence toward their fellow man is likely to suffer death. At this time, we remain diligent in our efforts to collect more data.
I ask all of you today, as America asks of you each and every day, to be kind to your fellow man and to refrain from participating in any act that would cause bodily harm to another individual. In the past, failure to abide by this warning meant facing our own criminal code. It meant facing a judge or a jury. It meant sentencing based on the degree of crimes committed. It meant prison. It could mean psychiatric rehabilitation. And hopefully an eventual release back into society as a contributing citizen of America.
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In most cases, it meant second chances.
Today, there are no second chances.
Today, failure to abide by this warning is most certainly at your peril.
Confusion and fear has befallen America, as it has the rest of the world. As intelligent beings, we seek answers. We seek to solve the most challenging equations and mysteries alike. We seek responsibility for actions. Therefore, we seek to understand who or what is responsible for the events of the last seventy-two hours. We seek to understand the full intentions of this force and whether we are dealing with a friend or an enemy.
Are these the actions of God?
Are these the actions of an alien race?
At present, we have nothing to report to the American public as to who may be responsible. If these acts are, indeed, by the hand of God, then our fate rests in his hands. If that is the case, our faith, the purity of our hearts, and our actions, both past and present, may dictate our future. If the thousands of reported killings are by the hand of an alien being or race, we will continue to do our best to communicate with those responsible and to further understand their policies and actions. If these acts are by the hand of an individual, terrorist group, or government, through the use of an advanced technology, you can be assured that we will get to the bottom of it.
Whether by the hand of God, alien race, or terrorist group, today we are being held to the highest accountability for our actions. Today it has been demanded of us to use the power of our minds when solving problems and not the force of our fists or the ease of our weapons. Today we have been asked to treat others as we would have them treat our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, friends, and ultimately, ourselves.
Today, peace has been demanded of us.
Knowing that many of you are in fear as to what will come next, let me suggest that perhaps we have less reason to be fearful than ever. If whoever is responsible for these actions can hear me now, let them hear me say this: for the thousands of families around the world who, because of your actions, get to hold their loved ones close tonight, I thank you. For your ability to protect the innocent where America and the peacekeeping countries around the world could not, I thank you again. As the president of the United States, and as a citizen of mankind, I would ask that you attempt to communicate with us to further our understanding of your motives and laws.