The Processor

The Processor
Sikora


             The room is located in the North wing of Saint Mary’s Hospital. The walls are painted a soft, pastel green and rise from a cream-colored carpet. It is a comfortable room with a high backed couch, firm and inviting. A desk and two chairs sit at the far wall, and a podium stands at the front of the room centered between the room’s only window and the door. Lamps that are positioned on tables with glass tops provide lighting; they emit a warm glow.
             Eleanor and John Mueller hold hands, her head rests on her husband’s shoulder and she weeps uncontrollably. John sits in a required state-issued wheelchair and maneuvers it one last inch to be closer to his wife of forty-six years.
             “Honey, we knew this day was coming,” he said.          
         “But it’s not right!” she cried. “Something is terribly wrong!”
         He resigned in silence.
         There is a gentle knock on the door, the door opens; and a tall suited man steps into the room, followed by two broad shouldered uniformed Marines.
         “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Mueller. My name is Philip Greb, and I am authorized to guide you through the remainder of the process.”
         “Remainder of the process?” Eleanor grumbled.
         Mr. Greb paid no attention to her indignation. He placed his briefcase on the podium and withdrew two manila folders, then looked directly at the couple.
         “Mr. and Mrs. Mueller, I am required by law to read you selected lines from our Nation’s Declaration of Independence, and also selected lines from Amendment 28, article 4.” Mr. Greb opened the folder.
         “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Mr. Greb paused then opened a second folder.
         “Amendment 28, article 4 declares: The aforementioned statements are absolute truths. This amendment makes reference to and places restrictions on the term ‘life.’
         “Life is to be enjoyed by every American Citizen through age seventy-four years and one month. The citizen will then enter the government program named  “Greatness in sacrifice.” Exclusions to this law are members who hold high government office and their immediate families, scientists and their immediate families, and certain intellects and their immediate families. This amendment was ratified on January 1, 2015, and enacted on January 1, 2016.

         “How can you do this, you wretch?” Eleanor snapped.
         “You’ve known of this law, Mrs. Mueller, for five years now. Surely you and John have made preparations.”
         “It’s incredible to think that one can prepare for the day a loved one is about to lose their life.”
         Mr. Greb continued with complacency and nodded to a Marine. The soldier stepped over to the wheelchair and handcuffed the husband to the chair’s arms.
         “What are you doing!” screamed Eleanor. “He is not a criminal!”
The second Marine rushed to hold the furious woman back, while in a raised voice Mr. Greb explained to her, “It’s procedure, Mrs. Mueller, a safety precaution.”
He nodded once more and the Marine pushed the wheelchair into the hallway toward another room.
         “Notify me when you are about to begin,” the administrator called to the Marine.
         Eleanor’s screams for her husband were muffled into the marine’s shirt as he held her tight.
         “I hate you, Greb. I hate everything about you!” she cried. “You are a murderer!”
         Mr. Greb took her hand and motioned for the soldier to release her. He led her to the couch and sat beside her. His voice retained its calmness.
         “Mrs. Mueller, you know your husband will not feel any pain, don’t you?”
         “Really?” she yelled. “What about the pains he suffered saying final goodbyes to his friends and family? What of the pain he feels this very moment knowing I’ll be alone?”
         “Mrs. Mueller, research has shown that in the past five years, since the program’s inception, many spouses begin to realize the programs worth. Heartache and anger diminish greatly after the first year, and they feel pride in their spouse’s sacrifice. In many cases normalcy is restored.”
         Eleanor shakes her head, her mouth forms a crooked snarl, “Mister, you are the epitome of evil.”
         “I have a job to do. A thankless job, but it needs to be addressed. Few are those who can perform the duties before me.”
         He stood up, stepped to the window and began to explain the upside of the government’s program.
         “Do you realize the benefits our country receives by your husband’s sacrifice? And the sacrifice of all who reach age seventy-four years and one month? Our debt-laden government was about to collapse until this program was put into place.”
         Eleanor argued, “This program was developed in a think tank. Congress couldn’t find answers to save this country after the trillion-dollar price tag that came with The Affordable Health Care Act. So they turned the problem over to the faceless, inhuman people that see only numbers. There was no concern for the human being; for the heart of an individual.”
         Mr. Greb shouted, “The program works! So far we’ve saved sixty-billion just on not having to pay the million dollar medical bills accrued by those over seventy-four. Another twenty-billion is saved by the reduction of Medicaid recipients.”

         Eleanor pointed an accusing finger, “You’re an exclusion to the program aren’t you?”
         Mr. Greb’s shoulders sag and beads of sweat dot his forehead. He tried to stay on subject, “Do you see the savings?  We’ve recorded less pollution, and doctor’s appointments are more readily available to the younger. There are countless more gains.”
         “You are an exclusion aren’t you, Mr. Greb,” Eleanor insisted.
         “Yes!” he shouted. “Yes, and I deserve exclusion more than anyone else.” His steps hurried back and forth across the cream-colored carpet as he senses the stress brought on from the escaping guilt that he has walled up for the past five years. His voice borders on a shrill.
         “I have to face others just like you, sometimes twice a day six days a week.” He swallowed hard and returned to the podium and opened a third folder containing information on the Mueller’s, then spoke rapidly, “I see you’re Christians, as am I, and I have spoken truth to you.” Involuntary tears begin racing down his crumpled face, “Jesus is truth you know. He is the way, the truth, and the life.” I am truthful so I’m safe in his eyes, right? Truth is everything.” Mr. Greb moved back to the couch weeping and places his face in his hands. Eleanor kneels and positions her hands on either side of his face, she whispers, “Yes, Mr. Greb, Truth is so very important. The Bible also says to love your neighbor as yourself. Is that truth?”
         He nods his head and mutters a shrill, “Yes.”
         Eleanor continued, “Remember those virtues that the Apostle Paul spoke of: kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, and the rest.”
         Mr. Greb nodded in affirmation. “Then the final three, Faith, Hope, and Love.”
         He moved his hands from his face. His eyes are the color of crimson and swollen, out of breath he manages to whisper, “Yes.”
         “And of these, Mr. Greb, which is the greatest?”
         He knows the answer, but a hard wrenching cry left him unable to talk.

         The Marine received a message. He gingerly approached his superior and tapped him on his shoulder. He spoke softly, “Sir, they are about to administer the serum.” 

         Mr. Greb wiped tears from his face, straightened his tie, and faced Eleanor.          “Love, Mrs. Mueller, love is the greatest of all.”
         The Marine opened the door for the administrator and Mr. Greb shouted down the hallway, “Sargent, Wait!”