I write fiction and fantasy and sell it to magazines. (I make about twelve dollars annually.) Anyway, I thought I'd liven up this place by presenting some made-up scenarios.
1 – You’ve been diagnosed with a disease that leaves you 3 to 4 months to live. For the purposes of this scenario, the prognosis is confirmed and reaffirmed. ‘Tis for certain you will die within the assigned time. You decide that your last 90 – 120 days will be spent with loved ones, or within natural surroundings of your choice, in prayer, or whatever you might want. Wherever it is you imagine yourself at such a time, you are confronted with a human antagonist that will kill you (not anyone else, just you) if you don’t kill him first. You have one or two seconds to decide. A firearm is within reach, and you have a good chance to take him out before he kills you.
Decision: Go out fighting because that’s what you believe – kill the aggressor because he’s a threat to society and deserves to die – let him do you in so that you might avoid the agony of those last diseased days.
2 – You are functioning as a family man on your way to work. You drive upon an accident scene. A truck has overturned and pinned the driver, but he’s not severely injured. The truck is burning. For the purpose of this scenario, there’s no chance he’ll be rescued before the fire gets him. You have your carry gun on your belt. The stricken man sees it. He begs you to shoot him before the fire takes him. You can’t do it, and you tell him so. Yet, he pleads and pleads. The fire is getting closer, and eventually laps at the man who cannot possibly be extricated in time. You smell the burning flesh. You see the agony in his face and you hear it in his screams as he begs you to shoot him. All of your arguments (you’ll go to prison, you’ll go to hell, help is on the way, etc.) do not begin to touch his fear of burning to death. Do you stand by and watch him burn?
3 – A deranged person has taken an infant as a hostage. He’s holding the baby with one hand and pointing a pistol at you with the other. Police are minutes away, but can’t possibly arrive before the crazy person shoots you to death. Directly behind him are numerous bystanders including kids. If you miss, someone innocent is hit. He fires. The bullet creases your arm. You are against a physical barrier; can’t back up or run. He fires again, the bullet striking you low in the stomach. Another round from his auto pistol creases your head and you can’t see clearly. Whether from blood in your eyes or from the pain, you cannot see the sights of the gun you have raised to defend yourself. You know the lunatic is going to fire again as quickly as he recovers from the recoil of the last shot. Your vision is blurred . . . you see the gun that will kill you . . . you see your killer taking another step toward you . . . you see an infant wearing a diaper. Do you risk a shot and possibly survive, or do you hesitate and die?
