Short story: "The Choice"

THE CHOICE

by Elén Jochens

Copyright ? Elén Jochens 2023 All rights reserved.

“I understand.“ the man said, though he actually did not. The aliens were very patient.

“Besides discovering and understanding more and more about physics and developing more technology, a race also necessarily starts to understand certain rules which have to be abode. These universal rules of moral and justice need to justify one’s actions. Only then the outcome will be favourable. A society cannot last if it disrespects those rules.“ one of the alien explained.

“And because of those moral rules I have to decide whether we can live on?“ the man asked.

“Yes.“

“So, you are here to kill us all. This genocide is complaint with you moral code, but only if I grant you permission?“

“Yes.“

?But why me? Why did you choose me and not one of our politicians, or a scientist?“ he asked. He was a teacher at the local highschool teaching math and arts. He was 52 years old, divorced. Of his dreams as a student decades ago he had not accomplished many. He was debt free, surprisingly enough after his messy divorce. This was in a way the only thing about himself he could be proud of.

“We chose you, because you are the only authority we respect. Only your decision will be relevant to us.“ the alien answered.?

“Still, I do not see why me!”

“We examined every person on this planet. You are the one with a proper moral code.”

“How could you do that? Can you read peoples minds and hearts? We are almost eight billions!”

“Again, we are very far advanced. Mankind stands only at the beginning. Your understanding of the universe is, I will put it politely and call it just a little narrow-minded. We find your Big-Bang-Theory very amusing. The universe is much more complex than this theory suggests and much much older, and so are we.”

“Please, leave me alone! This is bullshit! I will not vote against my own kind and ultimately against myself. I am not ready to die! What silly choice you are giving me!” the man screamed. He felt his heart pounding and the sweat on his forehead.

The aliens were puzzled and made weird beeping noises towards each other. They are talking in their own tongue, the man thought. His German shepherd started to yowl. Fortunately, it took only a few seconds.

The one who seem to be the leader of the group said:

“We see your dilemma, so we will give you four options to choose from:

No. 1: The whole human race gets terminated including you.

No. 2: Nothing will happen. Nothing at all. We will leave and mankind will live on.

No. 3: The whole human race gets terminated, except you. You can come with us.

And No. 4: We will leave mankind alone. Again, you can come with us and get to see our world. But there will be no returning back to the earth for you.

This discussion was too heavy. The man was exhausted and frightened. He wanted them to leave, now. He needed some rest. The aliens agreed. When he was alone, he swallowed some aspirin with a couple of beers. He had never seen himself as morally superior or superior in any other respect. He was very aware of his growing indifference and insensibility towards his students. He was aware of his physical shortcomings, his health issues, his aging. Life was so exhausting. Books made promises which never came to pass. And women? Women meant trouble, more exhaustion. He had not even started a family, only a failed marriage. There was no achievement, no special event which had elevated him.

The next day the aliens were back demanding his answer. He had slept a little but not much. After his morning coffee and the walk with his dog, they suddenly appeared in his kitchen, just as the day before. And just as the day before, the dog which was normally very protective did not bark. He sniffed at the intruders, wagged his tail and sat down beside the man.

Again, they talked for hours.

“Our reasons are beyond your understanding. Besides, we do not want you to judge our reasons. We want you to judge your world.” the alien leader said.

“Yes, we do have environmental pollution, we eradicated so many species, we have atom bombs and human trafficking. But so many people are good! They help each other, they work on solutions for our problems. How can I judge everything in its entirety! There is no simple answer!”

“Oh yes, there is.”

“Ok! I want you to leave the earth! Let us be! Never come back! If you are as far advanced as you claim, you should have predicted that, and not have bothered me in the first place!”

“We could not. You have a free will. Not many of you have. This was also a factor in choosing you. Although many of your different cultural societies have based their moral systems on the assumption of free will, few of your individuals actually have grasped the concept and even fewer are able to exercise it.”

Then, as the day before, the aliens talked in their foreign language to each other, and the beeping made the dog yowl.

“As a final concession, if you choose to come with us, you can bring your dog.” the alien offered.

?#Insasse

#Rechtsphilosophie

#philosophy

#ShortStory