The murder card

Dear diary, recently the world was introduced to a new law. It’s making was kept out of the public eye so its announcement was a surprise. Good or bad, I’m still undecided, although I’m leaning towards awful. Before Ian I would have liked it, for sure, but now, I just don’t know. Most people find it interesting and anxiously await what it will bring. But as I expected, it infuriated Ian. Lover of history and a vapid supporter of the old world, this was still one of the things he did not want our society to copy. The Roman law. “Our ancestors made great breakthroughs through the history, allowing a better life for the future generations. It is up to us to learn from their mistakes, improve our ways. To take point from history and its valuable lessons and take pieces of it in our hearts.” That was the start of the speech that introduced the Roman law to the world. The basics of the law are following: Those selected for the murder card who file a complaint against it and that complaint gets rejected can now file a second complaint or application. That application will give them a fighting chance for their lives. The law allows a single combat between the buyer and the victim of the card. If that request gets approved, the buyer’s money for the card purchase is returned and he or she must battle their victim in a single combat to the death. Each participant is given two weeks to prepare for the fight, which will be streaming live, allowing everyone in the world to see it. But for those who live in the area of the mighty Rome, will be able to buy tickets and see it in person. Lucky me. The first fights will happen in an actual colosseum left from ancient Rome. If it gets popular, more will be built around the world. There are some rules for the fight. Neither of the contestants can bring a gun or swords. They are only allowed to fight with their bare hands and small knives. When one dies, the fight ends. The day that this got introduced Ian found me. Enraged and upset over this, he was full of emotions. He encouraged me to join his side, more than ever before. As I was still undecided, he took he their place again, where I was able to learn few more things and some wild theories. I can only hope they are false. One of them talks about handicapped people, which are now obsolete but were quite common in the 21st century, even in the 20th. Before technology evolved, some people were struck by an unpleasant fate. In the olden days, people got into accidents with a car which often resulted badly. Some got diseases, some were even born such way, those were the most unfortunate in my opinion. So sometimes people weren’t able to move any longer, or even worse, die. The people without working legs still found a way to get around, by using a device called a wheelchair. They would sit in it and push it with their arms. Today we can find them in museums. Those with even more bad luck, who were completely paralyzed needed machines in order to survive. Today no such persons exist. Technology has come far and is able to save many from such faith. Paralysis is treatable in most cases. Safety regulations are far better, cars are gone, so a lot less accidents happen today. Less and less each passing year. But still, medicine isn’t magic, and not everyone can be saved. Sometimes the injures are so severe, even today nothing can be done. So in the start of the 22nd century, new protocol was implemented, regarding such situations. People, who could not be saved and could not use all his bodily functions, despite all medical efforts, will be relieved of their pain, so they can peacefully cross to the other side. In Ian’s group, I met person who doesn’t believe this theory. Dr. Quin McCune. She was one of the very few people that joined the group on her own. She is very sure of herself, loud and tall, almost as tall as Ian. Her hair is short and curly, lightly stroking the side of her face. Compared to her beautifully bronzed skin, I looked even more pale than usual. She joined the group three years ago, after the death of her father who was also a doctor. During that time, she was offered to work for the government, in one of their secret facilities, hidden from the public records. However, she rejected the job offer, as she would be required to perform experiments of live humans. Which are illegal today. These are just suspicions of hers, not actual facts, but she firmly believes them. When she was considering the job offer, she got a tour of the facilities where she might work. As we all now, any kind of testing today, whatever it’s for cosmetic, new drug, just about anything, is done on artificially made human replicas. And on nothing else. By using these technique, more accurate results are reached, compared to those from the previous century. No more animals, no more real human beings. As she was taking the tour, she was naturally impressed, just like anyone would be. The newest technology was all around her and she was loving it. At first sight, it seemed, perfect, but nothing is. And she found a flaw. She noticed a strange pattern of behavior on some of the test dummies, something she has not yet encountered before. Before she continued, she explained to me, the behavior of those artificially grown human replicas. Those who make them, all build the absolute necessities for their experiments. Like for instance, if a cosmetic company is testing a skin cream, they receive a replica that can provide any kind of skin reaction or allergy. But nothing else. They don’t make anything else, like bones or meat, just the skin. They do the same for every other experience, just what is absolutely necessary. She noticed some of the dummies were breathing were breathing, some heavily. Breathing is never simulated and if it is, it’s only manually triggered or programmed, but only for a short period of time. She also noticed moaning and subtle voices coming from some of them, which was the oddest to her. No dummy has replicated vocal cords, none whatsoever as they are not necessary. So she asked the doctor giving the tour, what that is all about, as she was starting to get suspicious. He simply replied, “those dummies are malfunctioning”. That however didn’t explain the noises, which sounded like quiet moans of pain, so she asked for an explanation for that. “The mechanism is making those noises”, was the answer she got. As that sounded plausible, she let it go and continued the tour. Maybe they really are broken, it is possible, she thought at that time. Her story didn’t end there, he passionately continued, being completely sure she’s right. When the tour and her interview were over, she though a lot about the dummies she saw. During that time, she was employed in the city hospital. One night, while she was at work, a patient came in, who suffered a terrible accident. Middle aged man, who was working in construction, feel of the building from great high, severely injuring himself. He was paralyzed from the neck down. Despite the efforts from team of doctors, he was not saved, so they were forced to terminate his life, as the law states. Even though it was her patient and she was the one leading his case, she was not allowed to terminate him. It bothered her, so she was determined to find out why as it was not explained to her. Instead of her, another doctor terminated him and right away, his body was taken down to the morgue. When the time was right, she visited it, to see the body, but it wasn’t there. His whole case was deleted from hospital’s records, as if the man never came there. There was no trace of him, none whatsoever. Just as soon as she found that out, she made a connection with what she saw in the government facilities. Her theory states, that instead of artificial human flesh, the government is using handicapped people instead. Why, I immediately asked. “Because it’s cheaper that way.” Was her answer. To me, it is a farfetched theory, without any proof, same as any theory they have. But everyone seemed to believe it. And I could see why, as soon she walks into a room, she demands respect and attention. And she always gets it. Even Ian was looking at her as she was god herself. Very soon, after she finished telling me her theory, another question dawned on me. What does that have to do with EasyWay? What do they have in common with the government? After all, they are just a big store. When I asked, Ian and Quin exchanged looks, which proved they weren’t telling me everything. They were thinking if they should tell me what they were hiding. I am not an official member of the group, more like a friend of the group. At least I was during that point. They decided to tell me, and what followed was not just a theory, but is a proven fact, which convinced me that EasyWay isn’t what is appears to be. I decided they had a good point and I will help them the best way I can.