Artificial Selection: A Near Future Thought Experiment

Chapter II

 "Hey, I don't want any trouble here," Michael immediately raised his hands with palms open. He was also moving slowly back, but his eyes were staring right into the big man's eyes. He knew that this was a way to increase trust, by keeping constant eye contact.

"What did you take from me?" The big man's gun was out now.

"Nothing. You can check for yourself."

"So you can run away while I'm distracted checking my pockets. Ha ha what a smart thing to do. Hmmm... Let's see. You must be a mathematician, dressing in this poor and ugly outfit."

Michael was still moving backwards. He was using his peripheral vision to gauge the distance from the previous street lamp. Ten meters. Thirteen meters. If he remembered correctly, and of course he always did, there should be something there that could help him.

"Stop right there!" The man moved one step closer. "I'm going to ask nicely once more. Before I shoot. What! Did! You! Take!"

"Nothing," Michael replied with one word. Okay. Now he was standing right under a camera — specifically a camera that was used for tracking illegal car parking in this area. Yes, that was a close shot. A blind spot here. Good. He couldn't help but smile a bit.

"What are you smiling about, you mathematician?" The man emphasized the word "mathematician" with a tone of disgust like it was some un-profane language.

Michael smiled even broader, "Right above me now is a camera. It has seen everything that happened. It has recorded how you pointed at me with a gun and how you forced me to this corner. So. if you pull the trigger. This is not self defense; this is murder. And I wonder what will happen to your job and your salary..." He trailed off right there, intentionally leading the big man to ask the question.

"How... how did you know?" The man's hands are shaking right now. His eyes darted up towards the camera and made a brief eye contact with the mechanical lenses.

"If I were you, I would go home to my wife instead of blaming my misfortune on some stranger that bumped into me. You know... The bail nowadays are quite expensive."

The man's hands tightened up around the gun then loosened again. The protruding veins on his neck finally fell back. He took one last look at the camera and put the plasma pistol back into his pocket.

"Damn you mathematician. Today's your lucky day!" he stormed towards Michael's direction and shoved him out of the way.

Whew, that was close. Michael sighed heavily. It really was a gamble. Who could predict what the big man might do next. He might have been aggravated when Michael mentioned his salary and directly shot him. Or he might have not cared about the camera and shot him anyways. There were all kinds of factors and variables affecting the outcome of this confrontation, yet Michael had predicted every single one of them and played all the cards in his hands to the right extent.

Michael just started walking for a few minutes when a black car pulled up right in front of him. A white eagle — the badge of the government — was printed clearly on the side of the car. Oh, now what. Michael cursed. Criminals disguised as government? There had been far too many incidents when human traffickers vehicles were disguised as the government to force people onto the car. Well, how many enemies was he going to make in one day.

Michael immediately turned left and opened the door of the building. He walked in casually, pretending he was strolling by coincidentally. But as soon as he closed the doors, he scanned the surroundings for half a second and turned off the light switch. It's an abandoned supermarket. There aren't any things on the shelves anymore. He flipped over the checkout counter and hid behind it.