The System

Scott couldn’t fathom how this avuncular gentleman with the gorgeous daughter in this sky-high building could have anything to do with the proposals he saw outlined before him. Or what the large packet, with an outline on how to implement genocide, had anything to do with his job interview. He laughed nervously and ran his fingers through his hair, a half-grimace, half-smile on his face.

“This is…” he searched for the right word, “…it’s murder. You’re talking about the systemic a

Huck did not answer.

“Is this a joke?” Scott continued and he tossed the folder back on the desk. “I mean…haha. Right? I feel like such a fool. Is there a hidden camera in here? I’m not a fan of making an idiot out of someone for other people’s amusement.”

He stood up and peered up at the corners, searching for the cameras.

“This is no joke, Mr. King,” Huck said, and he motioned for his guest to sit back down, but Scott didn’t move; he stood lamely, his mind spi

“What?” Scott shook his head to clear it and then blinked twice. Putting his hands on his hips, he looked to the floor. “I’m so confused.”

“The Elektos has a mission. To rebuild the earth. We’ve killed it, destroyed it. Everything is in ruin and we have a chance and plan for real change. But that doesn’t happen with our current population…that only happens if we are given a second chance.”

“A second chance?”

“At living.”

“You’re out of your mind. You’re proposing to kill i

“Yes,” Huck continued. “War always harms the i

“This is a sick joke. I won’t sign any release form for you to air my reaction on television,” Scott said as he moved to the office door. He grabbed the doorknob and pulled but found it locked. “I’m a private man. A simple scientist. Let me out, please,” he asked in a sincere, calm voice.

“Sit back down.”

“I’d like to leave.”

Still puffing on his cigar, Huck leaned over and turned on a giant flat screen television hung against the far wall of the room. Black and white images clicked on and it took Scott a long moment to realize what he was looking at. A playground, a park—the one near his house, a block away, with the broken tire swing and the plastic slide that turned blisteringly hot in the summertime. He saw Maxine, his wife, a baby on her hip, pushing his twins on swings: one push and then another push, repeat. His thirteen-year-old daughter Lucy sat on a bench several yards away from her mother and siblings and she was hunched over her phone, fingers flying.

Scott took a step toward the screen and without looking at Huck, said, “How did you get this footage?”

“You have a lovely family,” Huck replied. “The footage is live. Here, let me show you.” He leaned down to his desk and punched a button on his phone. “Blair, can you patch this line through to Brandon? Thank you.” He paused and then said, “Brandon, hello. Scott King is here. Could you zoom in on the baby? Harper, right? Just zoom in.”

And the camera on the TV zoomed forward until the screen was filled with his two-year-old daughter’s chubby face. She squealed, although the sound was muted, and Scott felt sick.

“She’s a cutie,” Huck said and smiled. “I have a granddaughter myself. Children are so joyful and amazing. I’m quite fond of them.”

“You’re watching my home? My wife and my kids?”

“We have no other choice,” Huck replied apologetically. Scott looked at him. He was confused by the sadness that permeated the old man’s face. There was guilt in the lines in his forehead and around his eyes; he was tormented, apologetic, but unwavering all the same. “What if you choose to leave? Try to shut our program down? We have to take precautions. There would be consequences…we’ve worked so hard to get to this place and we ca

“Don’t you dare hurt them.”

Huck nodded. “Sit Scott,” he motioned again for the chair. “Let’s discuss this like gentlemen.”

Scott’s mouth dropped open. Aghast. “Look. Leave my family out of this. Threatening them won’t make me want to work for you.”

“If you don’t work for us, that’s fine. We’ll find someone else. We won’t find someone better than you, and that’s the truth, but we can replace you. But you saw the date on our proposal. We’re under a time crunch, especially since our last head scientist is no longer with us.”

“Is he dead?” Scott asked wide-eyed. “Good God, did you kill him?”

“Goodness, no.” Huck laughed and he took a long puff. “My colleagues are like family. You’ll see…you will. It’s not what you think. Look, Scott, it’s simple. You work with us and you receive an exceptional advantage. You will get an opportunity to save your family. Think of where your kids will be in four years…that doll right there,” he motioned toward Harper’s smiling face, “will be in kindergarten. Your oldest son, in college. And then one day, the world as they know it will end. They will be heading off to meet friends, walking into a class at school, and…” he lowered his voice to a whisper, sucked on his cigar, blew the smoke outward and said in a cloud of haze: “Extinction.”

Scott felt his blood run cold.

“Of course, you can try to save them on your own,” Huck continued. “But if you are with us, their security is guaranteed. You won’t need to worry, fret, ponder if they will have futures…they will have futures. They can fall in love, have children; all the things you want for your children when you hold them as babies…they will get all of that and more. The world we are building is a world of comfort, safety, and progress. What legacy are you leaving for these kids?”

Scott blinked and waited for Huck’s speech to continue; then he realized Huck wanted a reply. “Oh. A legacy of...” he gulped. “Integrity, I suppose. Love. Honesty. Respect for people and the earth—”

Huck’s hand flew down to the table and hit the wooden surface with force; the bang echoed in the sparsely furnished room. “This world…this world has none of those things. You are fighting a losing battle! But my world will change that. Don’t you truly want those things for your children?”

“I—” Scott couldn’t finish; he felt clammy and in shock. There were no camera crews waiting in the wings; no one was going to watch his reaction with a laugh track dubbed over his dumbfounded expressions.

“So, before you leave today, I want to ask you, Scott King. Are you for the cause?” Huck jammed his cigar into the corner of his mouth and left it there, smoldering.

“No,” Scott answered instantly. “The cause of murder?”

“Change. A future. A baby was killed the other day. Shot…in the face…by a family friend while he and the dad did drugs. Did you hear that story? It was on the news. That is just one story, Scott. One story of darkness and evil and sadness. There is fear everywhere and I’m taking it back. I want to live in kindness, honesty, truth. None of that exists in this world. None of it.”