The A-Bomb

“Please, Mr. Jensen, have a seat.”

Adam nervously glanced around. The bright light reflecting off the fully white room blinded him slightly. He blinked hard, squinted his eyes, allowing them to adjust. Amongst the white cupboards and shelves were various machines with blinking lights, and Adam’s stomach begin to ache. In the middle of the room stood a man in a long white robe, holding a clipboard. In his front pockets were pens of all colours, and a small metal plate rested on his upper chest, with the words ‘Dr. Stark’ engraved into it.

“Have a seat, Mr. Jensen. This won’t take long.” He motioned towards the long cushioned seat in the center, and Adam awkwardly made his way over and sat down. The white paper stretched across the chair crinkled as he did so, and the doctor smiled.

“Good. My name is Dr. Stark, and I’ll be examining you today. There are just a few tests I’ll need to run to ensure you are in perfect health. Do you understand?”

“I, I guess so.” Adam shifted nervously in his seat.

“You know this has to be done. It’s procedure.”

“I know, it’s just…” He trailed off, and the doctor looked at him skeptically. “I guess you could say I’m confused.”

“Why is that?” The doctor had put his clipboard down, and was now fiddling with the dials on one of the many computers lining the room.

“It doesn’t seem right.”

The doctor let out a soft chuckle. “Right and wrong are hard concepts to understand. Could you remove your shirt please?”

“C’mon, Doc. You’re not the least bit curious? I was sentenced to life, and now they’re releasing me?” He pulled the blue shirt over his head and the doctor began swabbing his shoulders down with a cotton ball.

“I’m not a lawyer, Adam. I couldn’t tell you why.” He placed two small white discs on both sides of his chest, and as Adam glanced down at them he saw several wires running from the discs to the same computer the doctor was fiddling with earlier.

“There’s just something about this whole thing that makes me uneasy, you know?” Looking at the wires emitting from his chest, he had a moment of panic. “Hey, Doc, this is just a health check right? This isn’t going to hurt?”

Dr. Stark smiled. “Of course it isn’t, Adam. This is simply a part of the acquittal process. We need to be sure you’re completely healthy before releasing you.”

“Are the wires really necessary?”

“It’s the only way I can monitor your heart rate properly. Just relax.”

Adam took a deep breath, and he relaxed somewhat. His mind started to wander to the life he’ll lead once he’s released. He’d be free again. At last. As he sat there, shirtless, with wires sticking out of him, he managed to allow a slight smile.

“Alright, Adam, there’s one last thing I need to check. Please lay down.” Adam obeyed. “This won’t hurt a bit.” With that he pushed down on one of the computer’s buttons. Adam’s look of shock and surprise faded after a few seconds, and his lifeless body slumped over. Dr. Stark walked over to the newly made cadaver and removed the two wires. He approached the two-way mirror and spoke to observers:

“Inmate number 481516 executed successfully. This concludes the public viewing.” He picked up the clipboard, checked his watch, and noted, “Time of Death, 11:42 pm.”