A Minute with the First

    “Good evening boss,” Alfred, the new intern, called out to me.  “What is with all the people in here today?”

    I smiled at the hippy, cheerful apprentice.  He was an oddball with one of the most brilliant minds I’ve met for a while.  But despite all those brain cells, he was happiest helping mother earth and was interested in recycling and upcycling more than anything else.  Sometimes I wonder why he was even working in our field.

    “Big secret small guy.  Just carry on.”

    It was always a delight to talk to the young man but once I passed him, my lips turned into a thin line.  Today was one of the most important days of my life and in a few minutes I will meet the most fascinating creature on earth.

    My name is Harvey or Dr. H to those working with me.  I am a mechanical and electronics inventor and for the past fifteen years, I’ve helped in hunting  the bloodthirsty creatures called “The Firsts” who were supposedly older than mankind itself.  In the past they had eluded us, with only a series of mangled bodies to keep us on their trail.  I know there were a lot more bodies but they were also cunning, careful creatures. 

    “Are you sure you want to go inside the enclosure?” Joanna, my assistant, asked as she hurried to keep up with me.

    “As long as he is on the chair, I have nothing to fear.  Besides, I've been in the same space as others like him and I have come to no harm,” I said.  "I just want a minute with him, that is all."

    The first of The Firsts.  The guy who supposedly knew where each of his kind was, was currently here.  Hundreds of men tried to catch him over the years but it was only now that we had been successful.

    Most men would probably describe The Firsts as vampire-like, with their inhuman-like strength, almost eternal youth and healthy human appetite.  But unlike vampires, The Firsts had no fangs, no covens and could walk normally under the sun.  They look so much like humans physically that they could work and walk amongst them unknowingly although most could not keep up with the pretense.  And while they were made to live almost indefinitely, they were mortal and could be killed just like anybody; by physical harm or incurable diseases, just never by old age. 

    As I enter the one-way glass enclosure, I knew a handful of eyes were trained at me.  Top scientists and selected military men were present to view the catch of the century.  I was told several people had already talked to the creature to find out whether they could pry information out of him but  he had remained tight-lipped, showing loyalty to his kind.

    I approached the electric chair where the creature sat and stopped a couple of meters away from him.  We knew that he could bend metals with no problem so the chair was designed so that any slight movement or struggle will make 150 milliamps of current course through it.  This was almost sure death even to their kind.

    “I heard you were being cooperative Max,” I greeted the creature.  Others had always referred to him as Max but I was pretty sure that wasn't his real name.

    “Dr. H,” he said silkily, testing my moniker on his lips.     

    “What did you call me?” I asked, taken aback.  The creature does not have the beauty that most people would probably expect but to me he looked almost beautiful.

    He smiled mockingly.  "Others have told me about you, surely you know that?  Did you bring me here to ask where they are?"

    “No need,” I said truthfully.  "But in a few minutes, the chair you are sitting on will turn on automatically whether you like it or not.  So I am here to say goodbye to the oldest of the old."

    "Of course." 

    I looked at him curiously, wanting to have a glimpse of what he felt, what he thought.  He has always haunted me and now he was here.  "So what do you think of death Max?"

    He rolled his eyes.  "Death is death.  There is no reason to ponder about it."

    "For someone who has lived as long as you have, surely you want to move on to something else?  Maybe a better place? "

    Max looked puzzled, "Is this what this is all about?  That you think you are bringing good to our kind by killing us off?"

    I inclined my head slightly.  He knew it was never about revenge for those mangled humans.

    "Of course, I understand about wanting to die," he continued.  "I have seen and felt so much-- the lost of loved ones, the fall of civilizations, the agony of being alive.  And yet there is still so much to see, so much to do... " he smiled softly.  "Life is a gift even to someone like me."

    I looked at my watch and regrettably found that my minute was almost up.  I never did want to talk to him contrary to what others think, I thought it would hurt too much.  But I was wrong; I never felt this peaceful for the longest time.

    I walked over to Max and leaned near his ear.  I always say something in private to the those we execute.  "Max, it is earth hour in just five minutes," I whispered.

    Acknowledgement dawned in his eyes.

    "I have always given my children a choice, remember this.  Most clamor for death but were unable to take their lives into their own hands.  But you, my first born, choose life," I straightened.  "And now I must go."

    I could feel Max's eyes boring through my back as I walk away.  Outside, I could hear Alfred getting ready for Earth Hour.  The boy was predictable but I will make sure he keeps his job.

    Even the first of The Firsts has conscience.