This is a short story I wrote earlier this year and cut from my collection of short stories, The Human Condition (available HERE). I decided to cut it because it’s about an epidemic that takes place in the future, and problems that arise when our health care system is overburdened. I felt it was a little cringe to include something that was so obviously COVID-influenced in a collection of literature that is mostly about life before the plague broke out. Although I liked the story, it kind of didn’t make sense to include it thematically speaking.
I also entered it in a short story contest and it lost to stories I felt were of less quality than mine, so I thought, “Damn, this must REALLY be a piece of shit then,” deciding to trash it from the book and general public entirely. But what is this website for if I don’t use it? Lately I’ve been thinking that the problem with the world is that intelligent people usually feel like they should be quiet, and the boorish and overconfident among us never shut up.
But fuck it: I really have nothing to lose. I might as well share this now, I guess. Enjoy.
The Waiting Room
A baby enters the world with hands clenched, as if to say “All this world is mine.” A man leaves with palms open, as if to say, “I can take nothing with me.” —Ancient Proverb
“Write your name here, and sign on the dotted line there, please,” a stern looking woman told him.
“Right there?” said the timid man, who couldn’t have been more than 25.
“Right there, and there,” she pointed.
Robert Harris, he wrote, December 20, 2076.
“How long’s it gonna take?”
She did some light typing on a hologram computer, and then confidently said it would be, “27 minutes exactly.”
“Ah okay, thanks.”
“It depends on the doctor, really. You can’t really be too sure with these things, they can be a little slow sometimes. We don’t have the budget for new computers, but we really should....”
“Thanks either way.”
Life in 2076 wasn’t that bad. Robert couldn’t complain: his basic needs were met, and he didn’t ask for much. The government gave out monthly stimulus payments, and it took care of most things. They called it a “Human Right Payment,” or “HRP” for short. It was first introduced shortly after the last plague in the 2020s. The economy was almost completely eradicated by the virus, but governments all across the world made the unprecedented decision to step in and offer all citizens the sum.
Although it had only been a few decades since that time, humanity had made a few decent medical advancements since then. There were cures for several ailments that had been a disaster for humans for decades. Diseases like cancer, for example, were no longer incurable in 2076. The only issue was how early a person detected they had it, but that was another matter.
It was also now commonplace for doctors to prescribe the automation of certain surgeries. For minor surgeries like eye operations, patients could efficiently be treated by a preprogrammed robot equipped to handle it. And even for heavy duty surgeries like heart operations, in some cases those could be taken care of by automation as well.
Unfortunately, even with modern marvels and miracles of science, the health of humanity continued to be its achilles heel. 2076 arrived with some truly terrible news: another plague was spreading, the first and worst epidemic since the 2020s.
The news first broke in the American south: as temperatures got increasingly hotter, people in states like Alabama and Mississippi started getting sick. Pretty soon this odd sickness started spreading rapidly to all other surrounding states. By the time experts figured it out, the virus had spread all over the globe.
The exact origin and genetic sequence was incredibly difficult to identify, but scientists eventually pinned it down to global warming, and the world’s rising temperatures. They weren’t 100% up front with the public, but from what they did say citizens were able to ascertain that the heat had somehow unearthed something trapped deep within the ground. Perhaps it was a particular strain of virus that had existed several thousand years ago.....Whatever it was would end up being a vicious killer, claiming millions of human lives that year alone.
Robert Harris looked around the room, taking stock of the people he was forced to patiently wait with. There was an old woman, a couple with their young son, a woman in her 40s, a scared looking young man, and two other young men who were both bleeding. They all seemed to be basically good people, and Robert wished them all well.
The health experts opted to call this particular plague “2076,” after the year it was discovered. They felt it unnecessary to dress up the virus with any other phrase: 2076 said it all. It made sense: the sickness had permeated the culture so intensely it was the only thing people talked about, the only thing that came to mind when the year was uttered.
The strange silver lining about the illness was the fact that infected people reported feeling no symptoms at all. That’s partly why it was capable of remaining undetected for so long: nobody that had it knew until it was too late. It was the strangest virus humanity had ever seen. Everyone that was infected reported feeling no pain at all, even right before the end. Officials tried to warn the public, and stressed the importance of getting tested as soon as they possibly could as there were quite a few cases of unlucky souls who were walking around carefree with the virus, and then........spontaneously died.
Robert looked at the area that used to have a pile of magazines, and other light reading materials. In the past, before the plague broke out one could find anything from gardening to politics. He even remembered a point in time as a child —years ago — when reading tablets filled with reading material were also made available for patients to peruse. But of course, that was in a different world mostly unconcerned with the spread of germs.
That was the strangest aspect of the plague; the modification of simple things usually taken for granted. The obvious things in society like mass gatherings were obviously the first to go, but things like missing waiting room magazines were only noticed when you were there.
The scared looking young man stood up to speak to the receptionist. He tried to ask her how much longer the wait would be, but he couldn’t seem to figure it out. He’s probably suffering from some kind of stutter....or a speech problem, Robert thought.
The older woman looked at the guy cautiously. Robert couldn’t see her face fully due to the medical masks they were required to wear, but he could make out a hint of contempt coming from her direction.
Robert did the mental calculation: let’s say she’s 80 right now. That means she would’ve been born in 1996. Intolerance was still around back then, so she must be uncomfortable by this man’s speech issue. The poor guy....
“Sir, please remember to keep your distance. Try to maintain a space of six feet.”
“Sorry....do you....”
“I already announced it a short time ago. There’s not much else I can do to help. You just have to wait like everyone else.”
The guy sat back down as the older woman glared at him. Robert looked at the two bleeding friends as they were trying to console each other.
“Man, I’m real sorry.”
“Same here.”
“I mean, life is too short to be fighting with your best friend.”
“I know, I know. It’s terrible. I’m sorry.”
From what Robert could hear, they didn’t even have the virus. They were just there because they had fought earlier that day. He thought about how unlucky they were: they could very well be infected just sitting there even though they had stopped by for a completely unrelated cause.
Suddenly, the doctor appeared in the waiting room for the first time.
“I have some bad news. It seems as though....well....there’s no other way to say this....there’s been a family emergency. I have to leave here as soon as I can. I have time to see one of you right now, but I have to go home right after to meet my family. I’ll be in the room, send in the next person quickly.”
The doctor disappeared again, and the patients reacted to that bombshell. Due to how time-sensitive the progression of the virus was, that meant not everyone in the waiting room would live to see another day.
“Oh my god,” one of the young men said. “I can’t die now. I had so many plans. So many unrealized hopes and dreams!”
“How do you think we feel?” said the woman sitting next to her husband and son.
“Yeah,” the husband said. “We’re in love. And we need to take care of our child!”
“Look....you guys don’t have much time,” the receptionist tried to talk some sense into them. “The doctor will leave soon. It’s sad that these things have to happen, but they do. This is an epidemic. We are unprepared. We have no staff. It’s sad, but that’s the reality. The sooner you all come to a decision the faster this will end.”
They all sat there in silence.
“It’s okay,” Robert said. “It doesn’t have to be me.”
“Are you sure, young man?” asked the middle aged woman.
“Yes. I’ll give up my spot for someone else, I don’t care.”
“I don’t know if that’s for you to say.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you a religious person at all?”
“No, I can’t say that I am.”
“Well, you can believe whatever you want. But I don’t think you should volunteer yourself like that. It’s a sin, that’s suicide.”
“Well, what other option do I have? You just heard the doctor yourself. Nothing I can do about it.”
The two friends looked at each other.
“Maybe we should leave. We don’t have the virus.”
“Yeah....but I was thinking of coming by here and getting tested anyway. Suppose I walk outta here and die tomorrow when I coulda gotten tested here today.”
“Well, suit yourself. But I’m gonna leave. This guy has the right idea: give someone else a chance.”
“I hear you, but I don’t wanna die man!”
“That’s gonna happen either way. Might as well be for a noble cause.”
“How can you speak so plainly? This is life and death we’re talking about! Aren’t you afraid to die?”
“No, are you?”
“Yes!!! I’d like to live as long as I possibly can. That’s why I’m in a waiting room!”
“You have no say in the matter anyway. Man, death is nothing to be feared.....”
“Easier said than done.”
“It’s not a big deal. Everyone dies.”
“You don’t know that! What if it’s really painful?”
“Then I’ll deal with that then. Doesn’t matter now.”
The religious woman interrupted their debate.
“I’m not giving up my spot. I believe it’s a sin. I refuse to -”
“Everybody QUIET!!”
The receptionist stopped everyone abruptly.
“This is what we’ll do.”
Everyone looked at her, rapt with attention. It was the most silent the room had been up until that point, as it dawned on them: this was quite literally a case of life and death. They entered the room confident they’d live to see another day, and now they were all unsure.
“We’re going to have to do the old faithful.”
“What’s that?”
“The lottery system.”
All the patients let out heavy sighs.
“Is that really what it comes down to? What is this, 2020? We’re supposed to be an advanced society, what kind of world is this?” someone asked.
“I can’t believe this,” said another.
“This is insane! Just ludicrous!!”
“That’s just what happens in an epidemic. We’re doing our best. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is.”
The receptionist started typing on her hologram keyboard. If it could make typing noises, everyone would hear how quickly she was tapping the keys.
“What are you doing?”
“I am entering all of your names in this system. It’s going to pick a name at random.”
Everyone sat there stunned. Nobody said anything for awhile, and the air of death wafted through the room like a bad stench nobody could comment on. It was incredibly palpable: the room was now filled with people that were mostly going to be dead in the next 24-72 hours.
Finally, the old woman could no longer stand the silence.
“This is ridiculous. What on earth is wrong with this country? And this system? We’re supposed to be advanced, here! What happened to this country? What happened!?”
“Calm down, ma’am.”
“No! This is RIDICULOUS!! I can’t believe you guys are sitting there like nothing is wrong!”
Everyone looked really embarrassed as the old woman took a deep breath.
“Can’t you people see the kid sitting there?”
The boy sitting with his parents looked up.
“Me?”
“Yes, him!”
Everyone in the room glanced at him and then quickly looked down at their feet.
“He’s the youngest one here. So I, the oldest one here, say he should get to see the doctor.”
The old woman got up.
“I agree. I’m leaving,” added Robert.
Everyone else silently nodded, convinced by the woman’s rant to give the boy a second chance at life.
The receptionist cleared her throat.
“That’s a kind gesture, but....are you sure you want to do that? Ma’am, you’re the name that came up in the system’s lottery pick! With advances in science you could possibly have an additional 10-15 years left to live depending on how-”
“No! Advances in science, yeah right! If you’re so advanced, why don’t you have a cure for this plague!? I’m an old lady...I’ve done it all....I’ve seen it all.....why would I want to keep-”
“So you’re 100% sure. You’re giving up your spot for this young gentleman here?”
The old lady left, giving the receptionist her answer.
“Well, I suppose that’s it then. You can go in, kid.”
His mother gave him a little nudge, and his father smiled.
“Go on, son. You can go.”
The boy walked in the doctor’s office reluctantly, still feeling the confusion and pressure of being the chosen one.
“You know, you’re one lucky boy,” the receptionist told him, attempting to lighten the hellish situation up, and turn it into something more uplifting.
“I’m not sure I’d use the word luck,” said the boy’s father, without looking up at her. “I wouldn’t even have used the word lottery either. This isn’t luckiness at all; luck would suggest there is some kind of prize, some kind of winnings....”
“Take it easy,” the man’s wife told him, recognizing the anger in his tone of voice.
“The fact that we have to even be in this situation at all is absurd!”
“I know, sir. I know, and I’m sorry. We’re all doing our best here....”
“Just take it easy,” his wife repeated.
The man was sitting six feet apart from her, a rule he finally broke to console her. The receptionist saw him, and appeared as though she was gearing up to tell him to get back to his allotted area. She decided not to, considering the type of afternoon all the patients had experienced in the room. It was the least she could do: why not let him be close to his loved one? There was no telling how much longer anyone had left in life anymore...
The rest of the patients stood there watching the boy enter the doctor’s office, slowly trying to accept the grave situation. They pondered their mortality silently for a moment. The patients were all heavy with grief, but tried to maintain a level of happiness for the kid. He stepped in the doctor’s office, and the patients all walked out of the waiting room.
