Selfless: A Short Story

John Thomas Walker III, “Jtree” as he is known to his friends was at a crossroads of sorts, he was about to turn fifty and had to make a big choice.  For each year on Christmas Day one person from each town, city and rural development turning fifty has to donate their body to become what the government called “Selfless”.

As defined by the Health based governing body of the nation called Chrysalis or as the non-government people call it, “Chrys”.

“To be free from all fear to sacrifice oneself at age fifty for the health of the nation and its future generations.”

Jtree was at a point where he had a choice to make, to go underground to save himself, find a new place that has others turning fifty as those who have recently moved within a three month period are excluded from the choice to be made.  This rule was of course designed by those with the money and power to save themselves from ever having to make the choice.  Once you get to fifty-one you no longer need to worry it is that one year of age that was determined to be young enough to still retain enough health to be donator but old enough to keep from making a strain on the governmental system.

Jtree didn’t have a family but knew of several in his city that were in desperate need to keep their children alive.  The body over centuries had become so evolved it wasn’t capable of dealing with the bacteria’s and illnesses that decades earlier were fightable with medications they can no longer fight them off period.  One of the families desperately needed kidneys, one needed a new heart, one a liver and Jtree has known them all for decades and often treated their children as his own, having lost his wife and child when the only Selfless in town ran away on Christmas Eve when he could have saved their lives.

Now he was the only selfless in town and he loved those kids as if they were his own.

 

“Yo, Jtree you gonna give me your ears when you go?  I’m going deaf.” His best friend Trauma called out to him.

“No, you deaf bastard I’m going to leave you the way you are.  That way you don’t have to hear your wife’s annoying, nagging voice.” He replied with a smile and a handshake.

“A-hole you know I love her, don’t be so nasty just ‘cause she turned you down in school.” Trauma snickered in return.

Trauma’s youngest daughter, April was in need of a heart or she would likely die.  It wasn’t the cost of the surgery anymore that stopped it from happening because all surgeries were performed by Chrys at no expense to the patient but they needed a qualified donor either from an accidental death or a selfless on Christmas.  Trauma didn’t want to lose his best friend but he didn’t want his daughter to die either.

“You only have two days left are you going to run or what?”

“The Chrys has already sent down a matchmaker to keep me in town at all costs.  Apparently the mayor’s daughter needs my liver and has used his influence to keep me in line.”

A matchmaker is what they now call the law enforcement division of the government to make it sound more peaceful and less intrusive.  They used to be called Permutations designed, installed and assigned to keep the people in line and ensure that the powerful kept their needs met at all costs.  Rumors abound that they were in fact responsible for many of the accidental deaths in many areas where the more powerful members of government lived to ensure their offspring were able to keep the government running accordingly.

“Those bastards will likely kill you if they see you even thinking about leaving town if the mayor has his way.  I would rather let my own child die than to have you give anything to that idiot, you know that right?”

“I told you not to speak that way in front of me, your child will not die on account of me making a choice, and I promised April.”

“You aren’t going to leave then?”

“No, but I don’t plan on letting that idiot get any body parts if I can help it.  But I need to speak to the Nightingale do you know where she is hiding these days?”

The Nightingale was a former government doctor who disappeared from the nearby government run hospital to run a “black market hospital” that was run by more liberal government and wealthy to keep those more ruthless powerful people from keeping the selfless donations from actually reaching those less fortunate that needed help as well.

“Let me ask around, I think she’s hiding at Madame Jackson’s house of spades these days.  The government doesn’t want to go in there for fear of getting some disease that is allegedly spreading from there like wildfire.”

Of course nothing could be further from the truth Madame Jackson was a former nurse who allegedly ran a whore house to keep the matchmakers and other governmental types away but in fact was operating a shoe-string budget medical clinic out of the house.

Within two hours the Nightingale was standing inside Jtree’s house drinking coffee with him discussing his issues.

“So you want me to basically give you something to end your life without ruining anything I might need to help those locally who need it?”  The short in stature but by reputation powerful woman asked.

“Yes ma’am.”  Jtree replied handing her a note and putting a hand over his mouth to tell her to not say anything else.

“You have to do it now, we don’t have time the matchmakers are on their way to harvest me for the mayor’s daughter and whomever else has paid enough to get my organs, my friends children are in need of immediately.”

She didn’t reply only to say, “Alright I will see you Christmas Eve then.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out a syringe that she methodically stabbed into his jugular vein and he fell to the floor, his eyes closing gently as he drifted off to a peaceful and permanent sleep.

Within four minutes his body was gone and a note was left for the matchmakers that read, “Gone, tell the mayor to try next year.”

Within twenty-four hours, Trauma was charged with murdering the mayor and was designated by the matchmakers to be put to death for murder, his body was donated as a selfless despite his being only thirty-two.  April went on to become one of the leaders who revamped the Chrysalis into an altruistic society that aided all and putting an end to the corruption as least as much as possible.