Apathy is a Deadly Sin
Three teenagers disembarked from the ship, shouldering their packs.
One, a tall boy with black hair, looked wistfully up at it.
:It's a shame, what happened,: a voice said.
The other boy, a redhead, looked at the telepathic blonde girl who had spoken.
"Yeah. It was a big waste."
"We should have tried to do something," the first boy said.
:Should we have?:
"Of course we should have!" the red-haired boy said forcefully. "Didn't you feel- wrong, just standing there, watching it?"
"You know that you're not supposed to interfere in other people's liberty, though," the other one said, clearly not comfortable with it.
"Yeah? And who tells you that?" The second boy sneered. "Your parents?"
:My parents don't tell me anything like that,: the girl said. :But we do have to respect other people's rights.:
"Even if it turns out like it did there?"
The girl hesitated.
:Maybe not.:
The tall boy looked at the other two thoughtfully. "People have other rights, too, besides liberty. Free speech. Religion. Petition."
"Life," the second said bitterly.
:Especially life.:
"What sort of a place do we live in, where people will stand around and watch someone get attacked because the people who are attacking have a right to do what they want?"
:Ours, apparently.:
"They say that if people get attacked, then you have a right to defend yourself," the first boy said, still looking thoughtful.
"Yeah, and how hypocritical is that? Then you're just interfering with their right to attack you!"
:But they're interfering with your right to live peacefully. In pursuit of happiness.:
"Exactly."
The tall boy seemed to come to a conclusion. "There are rights some people have which other people shouldn't interfere in, and some rights people shouldn't have."
The other boy threw up his hands as if to say 'finally!'.
"Yeah, but who would do something about it? Not those apathetic, hidebound, stupid excuses for professionals that were on that shuttle! Never any adults."
:What about children- kids? Teenagers?:
"Where would we find any?"
:What about us?:
"Us?" the first boy asked.
They stood there in silence for a moment until a police officer came by and ordered them to move.
They were pushed off to the side to make room for a floating gurney, carrying a body bag.
"Damn shame about the old man, though," the red-haired boy said. "We should've done something."
:Quite a shame, indeed. He was a good man.:
Turning, Rokk Krinn, Imra Ardeen, and Garth Ranzz walked away from the ship. Each was lost in their own thoughts, but all carefully avoiding the media circus that was quickly forming around the cooling corpse of murdered industrialist RJ Brande.