Future Fiction

Responsibility (SciFriday Challenge 23)

"The situation is already under control, Mr. Grey."

As I spoke, the silent room was filled with my shaking voice. The others that had been selected by our visitor from another world, Mr. Grey, to justify our existence began to stare at me with puzzled looks.

"And to tell you the truth," I paused to calm my breath. "I think you're overstepping your boundaries."

The room instantly burst into an uproar. The others that had made their case before me - doctors, politicians, artists, musicians, religious leaders - all scorned my words and apologized to Mr. Grey at the same time in one explosive cacophony.

"Silence!" boomed Mr. Grey, his countenance giving no indication of being moved by my words. "I chose you all for a reason. Do any of you question my judgement?" The room fell silent once again. Mr. Grey turned his unblinking gaze towards me. "Continue," he said calmly.

I took a deep breath and re-gathered my thoughts. Having had time to listen to the other cases put forward, I was able to come up with a few ideas of my own. "Mr. Grey, are you familiar with our ecosystem?"

"The way that your kind treats it I could ask the same thing," Mr. Grey jabbed. "But, yes I believe I am."

"Then you are aware of the checks and balances that "Mother Nature", as we call it, seems to have in place, are you not? For instance, if an area becomes grossly overpopulated, disease is bound to remove some of that population."

"Yes, yes," Mr. Grey replied. "I'm also aware of what happens when your ozone is severely damaged. Not only will it try to balance things by removing human population, but plant and animal population as well. That's what I'm trying to prevent here," he continued. "It seems to be in your nature to not care about such things until there is nothing you can do to stop it and life on your planet is dead."

"Will everything die, though? Won't some things survive or thrive in such an environment? Won't new life begin"

Mr. Grey seemed to smirk, if such a thing was possible for him. "I see what you're getting at, sir, but what about the life that dies in the process of beginning anew? Is it fair that all of the creatures and organisms alive now have to suffer for your actions?"

"No. I suppose not," I said as I hung my head. "But that brings me to my next point," I continued, however, still determined. "I still think you are overstepping your boundaries."
The room began murmur once again, but it swiftly died down.

"And how is that?" he inquired.

My heart began to race as my mouth opened to speak. "Mr. Grey, do you have children?"

For the first time, I saw Mr. Grey blink. "Our kind reproduces through cloning. So to answer your question, no I do not." Mr. Grey folded his thin, bony arms as he finished.

"I do, Mr. Grey." I was pleased with his response. Maybe I had a chance after all. "Mr. Grey, my child has something within her. This something is potentially dangerous." The room became more quiet than it had in a long time. "This something could be used to mold her into something like an artist. She could create things to inspire people to to even greater things. This something could cause her to become a leader of a great nation. She could become a proponent of peace for all nations."

I paused to look straight into Mr. Grey's black, lifeless eyes "But this very same thing could cause her to kill - to murder. Innocent blood could be spilled by her hands. She could become mentally unstable or turn to harmful drugs. This something - this potential- could send her down a path that ultimately will kill her." I took a moment to catch my breath. My heart felt as if we're about to burst through my chest.

"Mr. Grey, should someone kill my daughter?"

Mr. Grey seemed to stare right through me. "Excuse me?" he replied.

"My daughter has the potential to harm or destroy innocent life!" I exclaimed. "She's only one now, but I can't control her when she gets older! Should I just end it all now for her? Isn't it more safe for everyone that way?"

The tension in the room was almost crushing. Mr. Grey did not reply right away. Instead he seemed to ponder for a moment. "If I understand your family and social system correctly," he started," and excluding your government and its laws, I think that you would have to determine that outcome."

"I have one last question, Mr. Grey. Are you a product of your environment?"

"Of course," he responded.

I put all of my heart and effort into my last statement. It was truly my best shot at swaying him. "Mr. Grey," I began, "your environment, your "Mother Nature" raised you. No one else told your environment what it was doing wrong or tried to help it do its job  better. Were there some bumps in the road? I'm sure of it. I still believe our environment already has things under control. Just like my daughter, mankind may make some mistakes. Some mistakes may even lead us to our doom. But it's no one's job to take care of it except our Mother Nature, not you. I still feel that you would be overstepping your bounds to destroy humanity."  With my peace being said, I sat down with a thud, exhausted from the pressure.

Mr. Grey sat down for a moment then punched in a few things on his holo-pad. The stress made the next few minutes swirl by, and by the time I came to, he was already questioning someone else. A man sitting next to me bumped me in the shoulder.

"What exactly do you do again?" he asked

"I work at a distribution center," I replied awkwardly.