The Black Box
One quiet Monday afternoon Mrs. Jones was preparing dinner for her husband and child when a knock came to her door.
Rushing to the door, in expectation of her husband arriving from work or child from school, she was met instead with a tall man wearing a long black coat and weathered fedora.
The man, inviting himself in, handed Mrs. Jones a Black Box with a lid. As she flipped open the lid, revealed was a glowing Red button.
With a low but purposeful voice the man announced, "Mrs. Jones if you press the red button I will give you $1 Million Dollars and a person you do not know will die." As she raised her head in bewilderment the man instantaneously exited her tiny apartment.
In a state of disarray Mrs. Jones' mind worked rapidly - "1 Million Dollars! boy, that'll finally get us out of this dead end middle class life... but someone will die, my god that's horrible... but I don't know them anyway, I could finally get the house our little family so desperately needs and besides people die everyday. But still it's not my right to decide the fate of others..."
Driven to insomnia Mrs. Jones every fiber was fixated on the Black Box. For what seemed like years, 20 whole days and nights passed, with every minute passing a new line of stress being drawn onto her face.
Her inner voices shouting in gasps, "1 Million Dollars! you're gonna be set for life! The easiest money you could ever make!... but having someone die is evil and I can prevent it!... Listen, the world is full of evil, has everyone you encountered in life been that nice to you?... No they haven't, as matter of fact our life has been hard and people have been cruel!... but still do I need to stoop down to that level?... Hey, one less person on this earth isn't gonna make the world stop spinning, it will probably be someone who really has it coming to them anyway... You are finally going to live the sweet life, the hard times are over baby, no more worries, no more pain, you and your family are gonna have everything you ever wanted and needed... This is a dream come true... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!"....
Unable to stand it any longer, Mrs. Jones opened the lid to the Black Box and pressed the Red Button!
Moments later, a knock came to her apartment door. The tall man in black invited himself in again, bearing a very large briefcase. The man opened the case on her kitchen table to reveal stack upon stack of fresh $100. dollar bills, saying, "Mrs. Jones here is your $1 Million Dollars!"
The man then picked up his Black Box and headed for the door when Mrs. Jones shouted, "Wait! What will you be doing with the Black Box?"
Turning to face her and with the same droned voice as he used in their first meeting, he replied, "Mrs. Jones, I will be giving the Black Box to someone else. But Trust Me, it will be someone you do not know!"
One quiet Monday afternoon Mrs. Jones was preparing dinner for her husband and child when a knock came to her door.
Rushing to the door, in expectation of her husband arriving from work or child from school, she was met instead with a tall man wearing a long black coat and weathered fedora.
The man, inviting himself in, handed Mrs. Jones a Black Box with a lid. As she flipped open the lid, revealed was a glowing Red button.
With a low but purposeful voice the man announced, "Mrs. Jones if you press the red button I will give you $1 Million Dollars and a person you do not know will die." As she raised her head in bewilderment the man instantaneously exited her tiny apartment.
In a state of disarray Mrs. Jones' mind worked rapidly - "1 Million Dollars! boy, that'll finally get us out of this dead end middle class life... but someone will die, my god that's horrible... but I don't know them anyway, I could finally get the house our little family so desperately needs and besides people die everyday. But still it's not my right to decide the fate of others..."
Driven to insomnia Mrs. Jones every fiber was fixated on the Black Box. For what seemed like years, 20 whole days and nights passed, with every minute passing a new line of stress being drawn onto her face.
Her inner voices shouting in gasps, "1 Million Dollars! you're gonna be set for life! The easiest money you could ever make!... but having someone die is evil and I can prevent it!... Listen, the world is full of evil, has everyone you encountered in life been that nice to you?... No they haven't, as matter of fact our life has been hard and people have been cruel!... but still do I need to stoop down to that level?... Hey, one less person on this earth isn't gonna make the world stop spinning, it will probably be someone who really has it coming to them anyway... You are finally going to live the sweet life, the hard times are over baby, no more worries, no more pain, you and your family are gonna have everything you ever wanted and needed... This is a dream come true... ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!"....
Unable to stand it any longer, Mrs. Jones opened the lid to the Black Box and pressed the Red Button!
Moments later, a knock came to her apartment door. The tall man in black invited himself in again, bearing a very large briefcase. The man opened the case on her kitchen table to reveal stack upon stack of fresh $100. dollar bills, saying, "Mrs. Jones here is your $1 Million Dollars!"
The man then picked up his Black Box and headed for the door when Mrs. Jones shouted, "Wait! What will you be doing with the Black Box?"
Turning to face her and with the same droned voice as he used in their first meeting, he replied, "Mrs. Jones, I will be giving the Black Box to someone else. But Trust Me, it will be someone you do not know!"
