A Breath Too Clean

V

"The world is filled with so much evil", Professor Drayton began to explain. "There are many people who do not even deserve to be alive. Have you ever met anyone that you just knew was terrible? A lot of the criminals do not even deserve to be in prison. All the serial killers and serial rapists do not deserve a simple death. They should be tortured for a long time before dying", his gaze moved to Officer Miles. "Don't you agree, officer?"

Officer Miles shook her head with a frown on her face. "True, killers and rapists are cruel. But you do not decide what they do or do not deserve."

Professor Drayton laughed. "And why do you think so? If that's the case, lawyers and judges shouldn't exist—the law enforcement and the constitution shouldn't be actual things. Instead, we should all be in a state of anarchy", his gaze turned fierce. "There's no way we should allow that. The scum of the society must die!

"It was for this reason that I chose to create the Air Purifier. I wanted to purify the world of its filthy air and of its dreadful people. Of course, I have an antidote to give to people like my trusty assistant, Asterix, only if they choose to stay on my side. But for the rest of them, they must die."

Asterix cut in. "But professor, committing murder makes you just like the rest of them. It makes you no different from a mass murderer. It makes you like the 'scum' that you're trying to get rid of."

The professor laughed as though his assistant had said the funniest thing. "That's where you're wrong, Miss May. I'm not the one killing them. They're dying of lack of food, lack of water, and exposure to the elements.

"Also, since there's a force inside of them that causes them to oppose gravity, the internal friction will wear out their body organs. At the end of the day, they will die of perfectly purified air, not because of me. When they are dead, we will bury their dead bodies—we don't want dead people floating around, do we? In that way, the world would be clean and perfect."

Until that moment, Asterix did not notice that Ida Drayton had started sobbing uncontrollably. Beside her, Alexa was trying to comfort her. Next to them, Caleb Young and his sons, Kevin and Devin were holding in their anger. Devin and Kevin looked like they were about to punch Professor Drayton but their father, Caleb, seemed to be telling him that it was not worth it.

"Dan, why are you doing any of this?" Ida wailed. Asterix could not help but feel bad for her. She must have been feeling horrible.

The professor's eyes became rheumy. "Ida, you must understand. If we don't get rid of these people, they might hurt Ruby. I don't...I don't want her to go through anything I went through as a child."

"But that's why we're here for her", Ida reasoned. "The fact that your parents weren't there for you doesn't mean that you shouldn't be there for her. When we're here, she won't ever be abused."

Professor Drayton's eyes turned dark. "You're wrong, Ida", he said. "Although my foster parents were awful, they couldn't have done anything to stop the incident."

"But..." Before Ida could finish responding, a number of police officers ran into the building. Behind them, Officer Miles strolled into the building, her gun pointed at the professor.

"You're surrounded, professor", she said but the professor did not respond. He did not seem to care.

The police officers surrounded the group of people. Some of them pointed their guns at Professor Drayton but others helped the other civilians to leave the smoky building. Asterix did not realise how much she had been coughing until one of the officers told her to leave. However, she refused blatantly.

"Professor", she managed to say with a scratchy voice. "You're right about the world having people that may not deserve to live. They do appalling things to themselves and to other humans. But when you think about it, you'll realise that no one deserves to live. Life is a gift. It's a privilege. Most of all, it's an opportunity. While we have that chance, we don't have the right to take it away from anyone."

"Would you say the same about the people that are given death penalty for committing certain crimes? What about those that are killed during wars?"

Asterix opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. She did not know how to answer that question. She was not sure the 'right' way to answer the question. But then again, what was right and wrong? What was good and bad? Did it work the same way as left and right?

Consumed by her own thoughts, she did not observe when Professor Drayton removed a syringe from his pocket. He injected his left arm, allowing the reddish serum to gradually flow into his body system. Some of the officers tried to stop him but it was too late. By the time anyone could reach him, he had already fallen to the ground.

He smiled, saying his last words. "I had it all planned out. The smoke will accelerate my death."

Asterix knelt beside the professor. "Professor Drayton, why...?"

"Don't worry, Asterix. This isn't the end. The scum of the planet will still die."

THE END

Prompt: In a near-future city plagued by pollution, a brilliant scientist invents a device that can purify air. However, the device has unintended consequences, causing unexpected changes to the environment and the people living in it.