92 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
92 lines
5.7 KiB
Plaintext
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PIRATE PUBLICATION
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From ___
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|__
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__| UPPLYER
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___________________________________________________________________________
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Jon and Cindy lived in a small house, in the suburbs of a big city.
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Because they both worked full time at low paying jobs, their house was
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always dusty and messy. Clothes were not washed very often because the
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washing machine was broken and the water from the tap was only cold. They
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did their best to keep their spirits up and their marriage alive, but money
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was low and problems kept popping up at the wrong times. But they had each
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other and loved each other very much so they tried to put aside their
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problems in order to make the other happy. The struggle continued for one
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year after their marriage without much improvement. Just when the strength
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that they had relied on for a year was almost drained, a tall man, in a
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black suit knocked on their door.
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This man looked as if he was dead for a week and suddenly revived
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for this visit. His voice was low and harsh as he said, " Jon and Cindy
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Carver, I have an offer to make to you". He entered the house and placed a
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small square package on the dining room table. When Jon opened the package
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he pulled out a small cube with a button on the top. The man said in his
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deep voice, " You have two choices. You can return this cube to me when I
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come back in four days. If you do, you will never see me again. Or, you
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can press the button and I will come to get the box, but I will give you
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one hundred thousand dollars". At this, Jon almost jumped out of his chair
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to reach over to press the button on the cube. A cold but extremely strong
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hand stopped his action when his finger was only an inch or two away from
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the button. The man continued, " But, someone will die at the same time.
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That person is someone whom you have never met or known." Jon slowly
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retracked his hand from the cube. The man turned and walked out the door
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saying, " I will return in four days. Remember, don't press the button and
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nothing will happen. Press the button and receive one hundred thousand
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dollars, but someone whom you don't know will die". With this said, he
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took one step back, closed the door, and dissapeared into the night as
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sudden as when he arived.
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Jon and Cindy stared at the little cube for twenty minuites without
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saying a word. They both thought what they could do with that much money
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and dreamed about how much happiness they could enjoy with improvements on
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their house, a new car, new clothes, good food, and such. All these thing
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were then weighed against the value of a human life that wasn't known by
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them. Questions ran through the minds of Jon and Cindy alike. Questions
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like, "What does one life mean in a world where AIDS kills many people each
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day, or where drunken people take thirty thousand innocent lives annually?"
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Jon walked to the refrigerator to get a beer so he could attempt
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to think about something besides the man and the cube. Cindy turned to him
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and said, " We could really use the money. Think what it could do to this
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house. New wallpaper, fix the washer, new carpet, a VCR, or anything we
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could want."
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Jon looked at her with a puzzled look in his eyes and said, " What
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about the person that will die? "
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She replied, " He said that it's someone we've never met or known."
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" But Cindy, it's a human life that we are destroying. Somebody
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is going to have to die for us to have those things."
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Cindy knew that, but she wanted the money very much too. The night
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continued without another word about the cube. In the morning, they ate
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their usual small breakfast of a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice
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and a cup of coffee. They ate in silence as they stared at the button atop
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the cube. No words were passed between between them but no words were
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needed to express their feelings toward the issue before them. The next
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three days passed in the same manner.
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On the morning of the day that the man was to return for the cube,
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Cindy asked Jon, " Have you made a descision?"
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Jon replied, " Not yet, but I guess he will come before I can have
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a definite answer, so I guess it is best that I haven't."
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She came home early from work that night. She came home and sat
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infront of the cube, staring hard at the button. After fifteen minuites,
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she reached over and pushed the button, at the same time Jon opened the
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door and saw her do this. The button stayed depressed when Cindy's finger
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came up. Jon just looked at her with a look as if she was a murderer.
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" I did it for us! We can now live well! We can enjoy life," Cindy
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yelled.
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Jon only said, " Enjoy life at the cost of a life."
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Five minuites later there was a knock at the door. Jon and Cindy
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looked nervously at each other as Jon opened the door and let the tall man
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in. He was wearing the same black suit, except he was carrying a suitcase.
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He walked over to the table and looked at the cube. Seeing that the button
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was pressed, he handed the suitcase to Jon, who passed it to Cindy, saying,
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" This belongs to her because she pressed the button, not me."
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When Cindy opened the suitcase, she saw one hundred thousand dollars as
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promised. When she looked at the man, she saw he was resetting the cube
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and the button was again up. She asked him, " What about that someone?"
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He said, " He was killed today in an explosion in his home."
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He continued to wrap the cube in the box and wrap it again. Cindy asked,
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" Who will get that little cube next?"
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He responded , " I can't give you a name, but I assure you that it
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is someone whom you have never met and don't know."
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