The Right Choice

“Please don’t do it!”

John was a millisecond away from pressing “enter” on his computer keyboard when he heard these words from James. James co-created a complex computer program with John. It was devised to stop criminals from carrying out their crimes before they attempted them.

The next words that James said to John was in the form of a question.

“If you press ‘enter’, may you not be committing a crime yourself?”

What would happen if John were to press “enter” could be a stark calamity. An arena, filled with 20,000 hockey fans, may cause some, even if it is only a few fans, to suffocate from fumes created by a smoke bomb that is lit off in the arena.

The computer program they created is used to hack into computers of only criminals who went to, and get released from, jail. Engaging in act like this presents an unethical situation: learning where criminals will execute their next crimes and stopping them from carrying them out.

“You do realize that you are stopping one crime but creating one yourself, don’t you?”, James says to John.

John replies by saying, “What I am doing is saving lives. Jack Roker plans to enter the arena with an assault weapon to commit a mass shooting. By activating the smoke bomb, an hour before he attempts to undertake this crime, I will have saved about 20,000 lives.”

James retorts by saying, “How do you figure that?

John replies by saying: “These lives will be saved because the arena will be cleared out and Jack Roker has no chance of killing anyone.”

James says: “But John, don’t you realize that some fans, who inhale the fumes from the smoke bomb, could die?”

John replies: “I know it is morally unethical to hack into a computer, even though it is a criminal’s computer. But I feel as a responsible citizen, and moral human being, it is my obligation to save human lives. The means justifies the end, in my humble opinion.”

---

James is flabbergasted by John’s explanation.

James says: “John, I beg you not to press ‘enter’ on your keyboard. You are not looking at the big picture. The repercussions of your actions could have dire consequences. Don’t you realize that you could go to jail for committing a crime yourself? How do you justify this fact?”

John replies: “Because I will get the arena cleared out of all the fans in attendance. Therefore, that slime bag, Jack Roker, will not have the opportunity to kill people with his assault rifle.”

James tries to convince him further. He says: “John, haven’t you heard of the adage ‘two wrongs don’t make a right’? There will most certainly be people dying of smoke inhalation. And that means that the end result, with your action, will be dead people too. Why is that ‘more right’ than if they die another way?”

John replied by saying: “James, you’ve got to understand that this criminal must be stopped by using an assault weapon to kill dozens of people. We have invented a method of stopping criminals that intend to carry out crimes where they kill people.”

James replies: “But, you will kill people to by doing what you are doing.”

John retorts by saying: “Yes, but I will be killing fewer people!”

“Do you think that what you are saying is rational?”, replies James.

“Yes, I do!”, replies John. “Remember, you created this computer program with me. So, you should be supporting me on this.”

James is left speechless. He now regrets creating this computer program. He knows down deep in his heart that it is morally wrong to kill people, and that there never is a rational explanation to do so.

He says to John: “Listen, I am leaving your house now. If you press ‘enter’, I will never forgive you. And you may regret it for the rest of your life.”

James marches out of John’s house hastily and angrily. He gets into his car and drives home.

Meanwhile, John does what he thinks is right. He presses ‘enter’ on his computer keyboard. Her then visits the website of the hockey arena. It is a live broadcast of it, He sees fumes from the smoke bomb filling the arena. The arena security guards are seen escorting the fans out of the arena. While this is going on, this event is reported on all the TV networks live.

---

An hour has passed by. Jack Rocker has not shown up at the arena with his assault rifle. John reasons that he must have seen the news report and that prevented him from showing up at the arena to commit the crime he intended to carry out.

John hears on the news report that 10 people fainted and 2 people died of smoke inhalation. He is gratified because, although he didn’t want anybody to die, fewer people were killed than if Jack Roker had shot the fans in the arena with an assault rifle.

James sees the news report on T.V. He is devastated that 2 people have died from this callous act that John carried out. James refuses to let John get away with murder.

He accesses his cell phone and dials the local police station. James reports John to the police authorities as the perpetrator of the smoke bomb ignition crime.

The police officer asks James: “Are you willing to testify against him in court?”

James replies: “Yes, I am.”

James continues the conversation by stating the address where John lives.

Within 30 minutes, police officers appear at John’s house. He is placed under arrest for 2 counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.

The police officer reads him his rights. He states: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law.”

The police officer continues reading him his rights until he is placed into the police cruiser and is driven off to jail.

--

James is on his couch at home. He is watching the news channel.

The news anchor says: “There has been an arrest made in the arena smoke bomb sabotage that occurred earlier today. The unidentified suspect, who is known only as “John”, has been arrested and sent to jail pending an investigation as to why he carried out this crime that killed 2 people.”

James now has a clearer conscience. He can rest easy tonight that his so-called friend, John, is in jail for committing murder.

In the long run, James knows that he, himself, may be an accomplice to the crime. But that is for another day.