3WW: Corpse, Damage, Knife

Classified: United States of North America: August 14, 2014

It was my job to 'flip the switch'. It must have been a phrase from some earlier time because it wasn't exactly flipping a switch, per se. It was more like hitting a key. 'Enter'. Others might call it a hard return. I called it flipping the switch.

First, we did the damage. That, we called 'zeroing'. We always zeroed before we flipped the switch. We'd watch them struggle, break down. Calling their banks, their credit card companies. 'But, it was there yesterday,' they'd exclaim. 'I'm sorry Mr. So and So. I have no record of that account.'

Second, after they had uncovered their stash or had sought the help of friends and family, we'd twist the knife. We sent those people we called jackals. It was innocent enough. A crackhead here. A transient there. Finding them in alleys and in parks. Sometimes in front of their families. Making them bleed. Making them hurt. Making them paranoid every time they stepped outside the house.

Third, we'd flip the switch. We gathered all of their records from birth - all of their electronic records, that is - and we'd delete them. The final key to delete was that 'Enter' key. No need to worry about corpses. Electronic death. Not at all messy. Just a fingertip to the key and it was done. They were dead.

Then I voted for the losing candidate.

I never thought it would happen to me.