The Value of a Single Life: Chapter 1 – One Life Over Many

Chapter 1 – One Life Over Many

Today’s a quiet day in the Sunny City of Tomorrow, Solis, and since it’s such a calm day, I’m having my favorite breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast with orange juice on top of a rooftop, watching the traffic and hero patrols go by. Since I became a hero, I’ve gained a decent reputation for stopping many crimes, including one that involved a group my friend was part of. I’ve been more active in talking with my friends to prevent issues and attentive to the citizens of Solis’ concerns to keep the peace. My tech-loving friend, Luke, has also been more active and attentive by building robots to fight crime. Additionally, he reminds me to tell the citizens about the compliments and requests I send for my work so I can get proper credit, because I often forget to mention it.

My forgetfulness comes from focusing on serving God by helping others. This is my main goal in life and the reason I see myself as a hero. I didn’t do it for fame, fortune, or to change the world. I do it because I believe it’s what God wants me to do, and if I happen to change the world, that’s a bonus. Part of me expects change to happen, but good work doesn’t always lead to good results. My parents taught me this while raising me on our farm when our hard work didn’t always produce much good fruit or animals during particularly tough seasons. They taught me to work for the right reasons—God, family, and country. The rest of my hometown, Poca Bellezza, knows this and is a joyful place to live. Unlike the rest of the world, we’re at peace with our lives because we don’t work just to live easily, peacefully, or even to be happy, wealthy, or famous. We live for each other, and in this, we find happiness. I hope to share this mindset with the people I meet.

Here, in Solis, the Poca Bellezza mindset kind of exists in its own city way, with a sense of pride in our country, the Columbian Union, but some people can’t help but focus on fame and fortune, since this is the city that is ahead of the world in tech and business practices. Speaking about my home, I have to remember to pick up groceries on my way back home today, and what I can get my sister to make her smile this time.

I get a ring on my hero buzzer earpiece, my tech-friend, Luke, who says, “John, have you been answering any of the requests?”

“There haven’t been many today,” I say while finishing off my breakfast and throwing away the trash. “It seems to be another quiet day.”

“It’s been like this for the past couple of weeks.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it? This is one of the safest cities in the world, after all.”

“Sure, but you need to answer more requests to rise in the ranks. You can’t just keep doing charity work. That’ll get you nowhere.”

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s still good work.”

“It is, but doesn’t pay much.” There goes that mindset again. I hear Luke tapping at his computers and machines until he gasps. “I figured out why it’s so quiet! Be on guard, we’re going to be attacked!”

Just as Luke finishes speaking, I hear the sounds of explosions. I run and leap across the top of the buildings to the source of the action to see dozens of the city’s support robots throwing themselves at the incoming villains.

“It looks like your buddies got a handle on this so far. Are you getting credit for this?” I ask.

“Of course, but not all of it since not all the robots are mine, and they can’t hold off every villain. Best get in there before the other heroes come,” Luke says.

I leap into the action just as the other heroes of the city do, and a large melee and firefight ensue. Because Solis is one of the richest and safest cities in the world, it attracts attacks from villains and criminals of all kinds, both from outside and inside, seeking to plunder it or claim fame from having a foothold in the city. For the heroes, we receive extra wealth and honor for maintaining Solis’ reputation, and days like this are the biggest paydays. Everyone is scrambling to get a piece of the action, accepting requests to help and defend as soon as they appear, and fighting in front of cameras and onlookers for added exposure. As for me, all I care about is saving as many people as possible and putting down criminals so they can be arrested and behind bars.

Because bullets do nothing to me, and the hits and effects of my enemies’ attacks hardly phase me, I’m able to knock them out one after the other thanks to my great speed and strength. The criminals and villains themselves are nothing special. They don’t have color-coded or similar outfits, so this could be various groups or individuals attacking the city together, each having their own individual goals. It’s happened before, and has sometimes ended with the villains fighting each other, which is a preferable end to me, as it makes it quicker to bring them to justice. As the fight continues, I hear the sounds of a family asking for help.

Going to them, I ask what the problem is, and the father says, “Those criminals took our child!”

“Where did they go?” I ask.

The parents point me in the direction, a description of who took her, and give me a general and quick description of her.

After getting the parents to safety, I smile and say, “I promise I’ll save her.”

Heading in the direction I was told, I fight and speed through the streets until I see her. Black hair, green eyes, a pink shirt, blue skirt, and has her mother’s face. Yup, that’s her, and she’s being carried off by the red robot and a villain controlling a group of them that the parents described. Seeing me gaining on them, the villain sends his robots at me, and each one I rip apart, use as a weapon against the others, and barrel through as if they were made of paper. I can hear the villain yelling into his comms, and a group of villains and criminals come to support him soon after.

These obstacles thrown at me hardly slow me down either, and when I do, the girl’s need and screams for help empower me to push forward and beat down each villain and throw them away to be taken care of by the police or fellow heroes. I push myself through the pain that is starting to sting and tear up my red shirt, blue jeans, gold cap, and brown boots, all of which are laced with a special ballistic fiber that Luke put in them for added protection. Without any backup, the villain activates the rockets on his robots to make him fly away faster; however, I run and leap through the streets and buildings to try to keep pace with him.

As I continue the chase, Luke calls me and says, “I’ve noticed you’ve stopped taking requests. What’s going on?”

“I’m chasing after a villain who's kidnapped a girl. He’s throwing everything at me to take her,” I say.

“The parents didn’t put in a request. Who were they, and who’s the girl that makes her so important?”

“I don’t know or care. The girl’s in danger and she needs to be saved. We can get the parents’ testimony later if you want me to credit so bad.”

“I’m sure another hero can save her. I’ll put in the request. Right now, you need to help and save others to-”

“Shut up, Luke! She’s in my sight and no one else’s! No one will want to save a no-name little girl when richer and more famous people need help and will pay more for it. I made a promise to her parents and I intend to fulfill it!”

“John-”

I turn off my earpiece and concentrate on the chase. She’s not getting away. I’ll save her! I don’t care what reward I get from it. All I care about is her safety, so please, God, help me do so.