“How many is too many, Felix? It’s not an accusation, rather an appraisal of risk.” Kimberly asked.
“I’m not sure I understand the question. Could you elaborate?” Felix replied.
Kimberly studied the lights above his hospital bed. The steady rhythm of the pathologies indicated that Felix did understand the question and was mid-formulation. She made a note, then turned her focus back to his face, placid save for the almost imperceptible pulsing squint. He avoided eye contact.
“What part of the question was unclear?”
“Could you give me a hypothetical for context?” Felix asked.
Kimberly tilted her head slightly, glancing at his EKG. Steady as a corpse. His brainwaves had slowed, lights undulating in a region along the far-right perimeter of the display. Her expression turned quizzical, but amused.
“Okay… let’s play a game. There are one hundred people that collectively represent every demographic. They are standing in an empty field. If you do nothing, they all die a long, slow, painful death. If you intervene, then you die a long, slow, painful death. Would you make the trade?”
“Yes.” Felix stated plainly.
“Fifty?”
“Yes.”
“Twenty-five?”
A hesitation.
“Yes.”
Kimberly took a note.
“Twelve?”
She focused on his expression at the number. His face tensed, eyes darting.
“Tell me about them.”
“No. Choose.”
“No.”
The lights depicting his pathology illuminated pathways to the left of the display above his head. Kimberly took another note.
“Okay. How about this exchange? There are the original one hundred, and you can save them, but you must kill a number of individuals to do so. The method is up to you.”
Kimberly smirked as she posed the scenario.
“This is kinda dark, Doc. But joke’s on you… I’m into that shit.”
Felix laughed quietly at his own joke.
Kimberly actually smiled, failing to conceal it behind her legal pad.
“Let’s keep it professional, Airman,” she mockingly scolded, though the smile lingered.
“Let’s begin. You have one hundred people under your protection. Across the field is another group of one hundred. The only way to save the second group is to execute members of your own. How many would you be willing to sacrifice to maximize the gain? One?”
“Yes.”
“Ten?”
“Yes.”
His face tensed. The pathology display branched and snaked through various thought pathways.
“Fifty?”
“Yes.”
Felix returned to baseline.
“Ninety-nine?”
Kimberly watched him carefully.
Felix was quiet.
“Do I choose the one who survives?”
“No.”
“Can I choose the ninety-nine who die?”
“No.”
Felix nodded once.
“Then zero.”
Kimberly frowned.
“Why?”
“Because you removed my agency. Up to fifty, the gain is obvious. Beyond that, who survives matters more than how many survive. If I don’t control that variable, I’m not making a decision. I’m accepting yours…” He finally looked her in the eyes. “…and you can go fuck yourself. I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
Kimberly smirked and made another note.
“Tell me your thoughts about Lieutenant Blackwell.”
Artavus Quill 