You awake inside your prison cell after a restful sleep on bed far more comfortable than you think it has any right to be. Even calling it a cell was stretch, the Utopians clearly haven't read up on their history. The room has no windows, but is furnished well with a big bed, reading chair, and even a separate room for the toilet. But you know this privacy is a rouse, you can see the tiny cameras in every corner of each room and you imagine the guards watching you when you shit.
A knock at the door precedes breakfast. A moment later two men enter, one with a tray and the other with a taser. Seeing them you barely resist the urge to [[kill them | Shocked unconscious]]. The man with the taser would stop you anyway, just like someone does every time you cave to the desire. They look at you with worry and concern, you the first serial killer in fifty years and they have no idea how to act with you. You relax your muscles from the building pounce and they cautiously take a few steps in, place the tray on the table, and back quickly out.
[[Say, "Thank you" | You're welcome]]
[[Stare as they leave | Nervous withdrawal]]
The guards relax further and you inform that after breakfast they will be bringing to see the Founder, apparently he asked to have a word with you. They leave and close the door behind them so you sit and eat your food wondering what the Founder might possibly want.
A short while later they return. The enter far more at ease than the last time and their ease piques the urge to [[kill them | Shocked unconscious]]. You find it harder to resist such vulnerability from those who should know better around you... and it's too late. Something in your eye must've alerted them for the one on the left rests his hand on his holster.
They approach you and one places cuffs on your hands. The other shows you a collar and informs you that it will shock you if you try anything.
[[Say, "I'm ready to go." | Cooperative boat ride]]
[[Hang your head and keep still | Quiet boat ride]]
They back out of the room muttering they will return after you eat. Strange, they usually only come back for lunch, what's bringing them back so early? Could they have finally decided your fate? You did kill people, for no other reason than the urge to do so. Sentencing should be easy, even for these peaceful people. It'll be death, for sure. Why waste food on you?
They return a short while later and you realize you haven't touched your food. They knock and enter, more wary than before. Your silence must be disconcerting, and they must know what your fate will be. You won't stand for it, you won't go quietly to your death. [[Kill them | Shocked unconscious]] and make your escape.
You shake your head, pushing back the urge. It never works, it's why they come in pairs each with a taser. They look at each and swallow noticeably. The one who places the cuffs ventures to speak and tell you that we are all going for a boat ride to see the Founder. You perk up at this. The Founder? The other puts a collar around your neck, pulling it uncomfortably tight.
[[Hold out your hands and say, "That sounds lovely" | Cooperative boat ride]]
[[Hang your head, this can't be good | Quiet boat ride]]
You cave to the urge and pounce at them. But the distance is too far and the guard just twitchy enough to fire it off. You feel the needles a second before the electricity courses through you. With a jerky spasm you fall to the floor.
The spasms continue until you black out.
[[You awaken to rocking | Chained boat ride]]
The boat motors its way through the canal-ways of Old New York City where there are a few others going about their day. You remember the early days of the founding of Utopia where Old New England used to be. Rebuilding was tricky with so few people, but much of the infrastructure was still there so when word got out the young survivors flocked to the idea of creating a utopian society for all.
In the boat the guards talk to each about the cool breeze and how the sun so wonderful this day. Their peaceful and happy smiles tug at your urge to [[kill them | Dragged before the Founder]], but you find the nice day and their mood keeps you easily from such an act. You'd probably just end up tasered in the water and drown. And that would be a terrible way to end such a fine day.
Their talk moves to where they are heading and the Founder. This piques your curiosity but you find it hard to hear all that they are saying over the wind and motor.
[[Talk about the Founder | Talkative boat ride]]
[[Keep quiet, let them talk | Silent boat ride]]
The boat motors it's way through the canal-ways of Old New York City where there are a few others going about their day. You remember the early days of the founding of Utopian where Old New England used to be. Rebuilding was tricky with so few people, but much of the infrastructure was still there so when word got out the young survivors flocked to the idea of creating a utopian society for all.
The guards are silent, wary of how quiet you are. But you are heading to see a legend and wonder if they can tell you anything about him that you don't know from childhood history lessons. You open your mouth to [[Ask about the Founder | Talkative boat ride]], but after a few minutes where no words come out you close them feeling stupid.
Why are you so afraid to talk them? You must be stupid, not having anything to say. You start to get angry at yourself, then at them. You aren't stupid, and you shouldn't have to feel stupid around them. You'll show them when you [[kill them | Dragged before the Founder]]. But that's the stupidest thought yet. They'd knock you out before you reached them in the back of the boat. No, it's better to [[keep quiet, let them talk | Silent boat ride]].
You awake to a loud humming and the place you are laying on is moving up and down. Your chest hurts where the taser hit, your mouth is dry, and your head spins with pain. As you come to consciousness you realize you are on a boat. You move to a sitting position and are able to see above the edge of the boat. All around you is the partially submerged Old New York City, the streets acting as waterways between the tall buildings.
Your guards look over at you and you glare at them not even trying to disguise your desire to [[kill them | Dragged before the Founder]], but their anxiety seems to have disappeared, that may have something to do with the number of restraints attached to you. Your hands are cuffed together, as are your feet, and they are all connected to a belt around your waist. The belt is also attached to the side of the boat.
[[Attempt to make conversation | Shunned silence]]
[[Stay quiet | Guards talk quietly]]
As usual you are shocked to unconsciousness. You should have learned your lesson over the last few months of captivity and all the times you surrendered to the urge. You only ever got as far touching one guard before being brought down. They've been wary since.
You awaken to the guards dragging you before the Founder, who looks at you and them with furrowed gray brows. He doesn't look happy at your treatment but that fades when they explain your earlier attempts to kill them. The Founder questions you on this, asking why you kill. What possible reason is there in a world that provides everything you need?
This simply angers you and the urge to [[kill him | Sentenced to death]] rises like a flood. Seeing this the guards each grab an arm to prevent you from moving at all. They explain that this is what you are like more often than not while you [[hold your silence | No good reason to kill]].
You ask loud enough to cut through whether or not they've ever met the Founder. They look surprised at your talkativeness, but say that they have a few times each. They say the man is rather normal, though he has been absent from governing in his sunset years. How old was he? one asks each other. The other says he must be nearing a century as he was in his forties or early fifties when he created the cure to the Great Plague.
One ponders out loud what it must have been like, locked in a room with a few others and only eating food that has been tested and sterilized. His wife and child even died from the cursed disease while he was three years in. Must have been a terrible time. But motivating, the other offers, it got personal after that.
The first agrees and steers them around the block and towards the Founder's Tower.
[[Say, "Interesting fellow, can't wait to meet him | Friendly meeting]]
[[Worried silence | Cold meeting]]
The guards grow used to your silence and venture to talk quietly about the Founder and his years spent making the cure. You vaguely remember your history lessons on the subject but not enough to recall dates or time. They are so quiet you can barely hear the details, you figure they could at least talk loud enough to hear. The more you miss the angrier you get and the urge [[kill them | Dragged before the Founder]] spikes.
No more good would come that than before, you take a breath and calm down. But your interest is piqued as you are about to see the legend himself so [[you try to join conversation | Shunned silence]]. As you open your mouth you think twice about it and decide to let them talk hoping you hear something, so [[you stay quiet | Brought to the Founder in silence]].
They respond with silence. After trying to kill them they don't seem very interested in talking to you. You feel a pang of shame which turns quickly to anger. How dare they treat you so when you just wanted to talk. The urge to [[kill them | Dragged before the Founder]] rises, but you remember the chains binding you and stop yourself from leaping ineffectually. You force yourself into a state of calm and [[stay silent | Brought in chains before the Founder]].
The guards talk quietly about the Founder and his years spent making the cure. You vaguely remember your history lessons on the subject but not enough to recall dates or time. They are so quiet you can barely hear the details, you figure they could at least talk loud enough to hear. The more you miss the angrier you get and the urge [[kill them | Dragged before the Founder]] spikes.
No more good would come that than before, you take a breath and calm down. But your interest is piqued as you are about to see the legend himself so [[you try to join conversation | Shunned silence]]. As you open your mouth you think twice about it and decide to let them talk hoping you hear something, so [[you stay quiet | Brought in chains before the Founder]].
The guards push you before the Founder, who looks at you and them with furrowed gray brows. He doesn't look happy at your treatment but that fades when they explain your earlier attempts to kill them. The Founder questions you on this, asking why you kill. What possible reason is there in a world that provides everything you need?
This simply angers you and the urge to [[kill him | Sentenced to death]] rises like a flood. Seeing this the guards each grab an arm to prevent you from moving at all. They explain that this is what you are like more often than not while you [[hold your silence | No good reason to kill]].
The guards greet the Founder with hugs and smiles and chat briefly about the health of family and friends. During the chat they give him the the mechanism that controls the shock collar around your neck stating that it prevents you from moving closer than five feet to the Founder and no further than seventy-five feet away from him.
The Founder is quite old, but you think he looks well for a man approaching a century. He greets you kindly and places a glass of water on the table in front of you. The guards stand a respectful distance behind you in case the urge to [[kill the Founder | Sentenced to death]] overcomes you. But it's a silly thought, considering the collar.
He says he wanted to meet a man who would kill for no reason. After all, in a Utopia everyone has everything they need: food, water, occupation, leisure, friends, family, and society in general. So he asks why you killed all those people.
[[Tell him why you killed them | Founder responds]]
[[Stay silent | No good reason to kill]]
Your silence worries the guards and they greet the Founder quickly so as to not keep their attention off you for long.
The Founder is quite old, but you think he looks well for a man approaching a century. He greets you kindly enough, but not as kindly as he greeted the guards, whom he treated like long lost family. You feel a pang of pain at this, like you are being left out of a nice experience. The urge comes to the surface again and you want to [[kill the Founder | Sentenced to death]] for not treating you better.
You calm yourself, the guards are right behind you should you try anything, and that collar is supposed to keep you five feet away from him. After a moment of awkward silence the Founder tells you he wanted to meet a man who would kill for no reason. After all, in a Utopia everyone has everything they need: food, water, occupation, leisure, friends, family, and society in general. So he asks why you killed all those people.
[[Tell him why you killed them | Founder responds]]
[[Stay silent | Sentenced to life]]
The Founder says that he was hoping for a conversation, alas. He says to lock you up for life. He says that monsters deserve isolation.
The End.
The shock collar and chains stop you, but you remain conscious. The Founder says that he was hoping for some civilized conversation. Alas, animals aren't capable of such things. He sentences you to death. It's the only merciful thing that can be done.
The End.
You tell him about the urge and how it varies with your mood. You tell him that the victims you choose, while not random, aren't so much as chosen as they are simply in the wrong place when the urge comes.
He prompts you to continue, asking how you live with yourself after taking the lives of innocents. That's easy, you say, no one is innocent. People have a varying level of guilt for something they've done. No one is wholly worthy of living, the same way no one is wholly deserving of death.
He ponders this for some time, sometimes looking at you, sometimes staring off into the distance. Finally he declares your response far too philosophical to be answered in a few minutes and that he must sleep on it. The guards thank the Founder for his time and move to take you away. The Founder says no, no, no, that he'd like for you stay in case he has any other questions.
The guards don't look happy about spending the night away from home, but agree to spend the night. The Founder looks to see if you have any objections.
[[Say, "Sounds good to me" | Your room]]
Of course you are silent, the Founder says, there's never a reason to kill, is there? He thinks on it a long while then sentences you to death. What else is there to do?
On the boat ride back you stare at the penthouse suite that the Founder calls home. Before long a figure appears at the edge of the roof. You point this out to the guards who turn just in time for the figure to leap. The fall is long and ends in a great splash. The guards turn the boat around and find the Founder floating in the water, his frail body broken from the impact.
Not knowing what else to do, they bring the Founder with them. His death doesn't stop yours, though, and you meet your end a few hours later.
The End.
The room the Founder shows you to is far nicer than your cell with a bigger bed, big windows, lush curtains, and a comfortable chair. You spend the rest of your evening reading some books from a shelf. If you get life in prison, you hope that they will at least allow you to read.
As night falls you hear the Founders door shut and the guards switching shifts out side your room. You hear the wall creak as the guard leans against it. A short while later your hear a sliding along the wall where the guard is and then a soft thud as something hits the floor.
Curious. You hear no steps so you crack the door open and peek out. The guard lays on the floor snoring softly.
[[Stay, the collar will stop you anyway | Sentenced to death in the morning]]
[[Leave room, might as well look around | Founder's room]]
After thinking on it for the night the Founder declares that murder is murder and should be punished accordingly He sentences you to death.
On the boat ride back you stare at the penthouse suite that the Founder calls home. Before long a figure appears at the edge of the roof. You point this out to the guards who turn just in time for the figure to leap. The fall is long and ends in a great splash. The guards turn the boat around and find the Founder floating in the water, his frail body broken from the impact.
Not knowing what else to do, they bring the Founder with them. His death doesn't stop yours, though, and you meet your end a few hours later.
The End.
The hall is empty save for the snoring guard. Across the hall from your room is the Founder's room. Unsure of what you planned, you open the door and enter.
The room is moonlit from the open windows and cool breeze flutters the curtains. You walk towards the Founder's bed mentally judging the distance to avoid getting shocked.
The Founder sleeps softly on his bed with a light sheet covering him. He seems older, more frail, and the thought of this frail and dying man passing judgement on you disgusts you. You take a step forward without thought and are surprised to discover yourself conscious and still standing. The collar is off?
This heightens you and lean over the man. It's too good to be true. It's been so long since your last kill and the urge bubbles and roils and mixes with your disgust. You reach your hands out to [[kill the Founder | Escape]]. But you hesitate. You aren't just killing a man, you are killing a symbol. This man saved humanity and founded an entire country on the idea that people are good and will be kind to each other.
You pull back, the urge softening but not disappearing. You look to your side and see a folded sheet of paper with your name on it. You pause. Pick up the letter and [[read it | Read letter]].
The urge roils to life again. Your killings are nothing compared to this man's crimes. You wrap your hand around his neck again and squeeze. His frail neck caves to your grip and his eyes pop open. He struggles for a second before his eyes focus on yours. He stills as a tear falls from an eye. He mouths thank you, then the life fades.
You are exhilarated and confused. Did he really just thank you for killing him? No one has ever thanked you before so you step away from the corpse.
Then you remember that the collar is broken, it didn't stop you from killing the Founder, and the guards are asleep. You can leave. Run away, take the boat, and find a new hunting ground.
You do just that.
The End.
"Dear Fellow Killer,
I thought the world was righted and that the decisions I made in my life were all for the good of humankind. But then you started killing people and I questioned myself. You inserted doubt where," the pen trails off. He continues, "well certainly I've had my doubts, but never enough to falter. You have tipped the scales and I see what I've done and doubt myself.
I have a confession to make and leave my judgement to you, as you have done with me.
I found the cure within two years of of the start of the Great Plague that was slowly but surely removing humanity from the Earth. Yes, your math is correct. I could not lie to the history books, for they were being written as I worked. But, yes, I found it three years before history tells.
I grew up in a world at war, there were too many of us and we were killing each other and the planet we lived on. So, I made the decision that I could build a better world. All I had to do was wait until enough of the people were dead. For old tribal rivalries to die along with the people holding the grudges. The young have a better chance of living, and they won't remember any grudge but that against annonymous plague. They will unite behind the shared tragedy.
And it worked. Well, here at least. But that's enough, isn't it? One place of peace and refuge built from the ashes of pain and suffering. A fresh start that will last generations, and all it cost was the few generations before it.
Sincerely yours,
Founder of Utopia"
[[Kill the Founder | Accept your fate]]
[[Return to your room | Mutual sentencing]]
The urge roils to life again. Your killings are nothing compared to this man's crimes. You wrap your hand around his neck again and squeeze. His frail neck caves to your grip and his eyes pop open. He struggles for a second before his eyes focus on yours. He stills as a tear falls from an eye. He mouths thank you then, the life fades.
Exhilarated, you take your hands away. As the feeling fades, far too quickly, you take in what you have done. You see before you not righteous judgement enacted, but a fellow man and killer. You passed judgement on him, the same judgement that should be passed on you.
You sit at the foot of the Founder's bed and wait for the guards to wake and find you.
The End.
The urge subsides, this man has lived with his choices all his long life. So close to the end of his life there was no reason to shorten it. You leave the letter on his his chest then turn away and go back to your room.
You sleep better than you have in ages and awake to a soft knock on the door. At your door is the Founder, in his hand is the letter. You nod to him and him back to you.
The guard on the floor groans awake and looks up at the two of you. He apologizes profusely for falling asleep on duty, but the Founder assures him nothing is wrong and that coffee awaits in the kitchen. When both guards are present the Founder informs them of his decision that you should spend the rest of your life locked away so that you may never harm another human being.
The End.
This simply angers you and the urge to [[kill him | Sentenced to death]] rises like a flood. Seeing this the guards each grab an arm to prevent you from moving at all. They explain that this is what you are like more often than not while you [[hold your silence | No good reason to kill]].
