Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Don't Push that Button!

“Listen you don’t have to do this. Just take a step back and we can talk about this.” The reporter takes a step towards the man at the end of the catwalk. A small console is at his waist level with a series of buttons, however one in particular has been the man’s focus for some time now. “Why don’t we step away from this? Huh? C’mon, we can talk about this.” The reporter creeps forward with his hand extended out towards the troubled man.

               “Stay away from me! Don’t come any closer!” Shouts the man.

               “Okay! Okay! I don’t want any trouble!”

               “You come any closer and I’ll push this button and it’ll all be over! Real fast!”

The reporter moves back with his hands up, “I just don’t want you to push that button!”

               “Don’t push me!”

               “Just don’t push that button!”

               “You’re pushing my buttons!”

The disturbed man’s finger hovers over the large red button. Beads of sweat form at the crown of his head.

               “There’s too many mistakes that we’ve made as individuals, governments, businesses, parents – the world! I can reverse it all if I just push the…”

               “NO NO NO don’t do that! Stay with me!” The reporter holds out his hand while slowly crouching to not startle the deranged man any more than he already is.

               “Don’t you see how many things have gone wrong? After several years of research, and most of my family’s fortune has been spent and exhausted into making this possible, I have finally created the science to reset everything!! Everyone can have a second chance now!”

The reporter continues slowly towards him, “Look, I know you initially tried to think of some kind of solution to erase mistakes, but this is so much more than you or I or anyone could ever control. Think about the aftereffects of this, this machine? Is there a reset button for this reset button? Don’t do it!”

The man starts to cry aloud, “How did you find me anyway!”

               “I was able to get a lead on your whereabouts. Originally I was assigned your story, but as a human being, I felt morally obligated to step in and talk you out of this.” The reporter steps even closer now, “Did you ever stop to think that it’s the mistakes that make us better? So what if we forgot something, or miscommunicated a message, or heck even a bad first impression – who cares? The point is we need those things to stay with us to help us out the next time.”

               “What next time?”

               “The next time we get back up and try again! If you delete everything, we will only be repeating ourselves – never growing or learning from our mistakes! Trust me this will never help us – at all! Take my hand and step away from the reset button.”

The deranged man gets on his knees and cries into his hands, “It’s just that I’ve made far too many mistakes and I want to give back and help others who have the same problems!”

The light from the reset button continues to flash as the reporter walks up to the man. “Look, I feel your pain, but I am…”

“THERE HE IS! GET HIM!” A team of police officials storm in and point their weapons at the man.

“I KNEW IT! IT WAS A TRAP!” The deranged man wipes his eyes and quickly gets up to hit the button.

“NO DON’T…” The reporter yells out only nano-seconds before everything goes dark.



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