Chapter 15

“We’re much closer to the end now, I think. All of the murderers shot. Death by firing squad. Very fitting indeed. Most murders are conducted by firearms, more than anything else, I believe. How many dead from that?” I asked Dad, who looked at the data, though I could have just found out on my own.

Still ... it gave him useful work to do ... and built up the suspense, did it not?

“Surprisingly, twice as many or so as the rapists and pedos. It seems that murder really is a basic crime. Anyone can do it, just as John Travolta said the film ‘Basic.’ We brought the numbers by about thirteen million now. We’re at roughly eight-hundred forty-six millions now.

“That still leaves arsonists, embezzlers, junk bondsmen, extortionists, racketeers, inside traders, cat burglars, armed robbers, blackmailers, home invaders, con artists, etc. What do we do with them? That’s probably a sizable chunk of the remaining population, in fact. Wow, we’re really taking out the trash, aren’t we?” Dad continued down the list of crimes and criminals with remarkable efficiency.

“And tyrants, war criminals, warlords, terrorists,” I noted, wanting rid of all that scum from my future utopian society.

“Fair enough. No one would miss that sort, to put it mildly,” Dad agreed, even as Aunt Tessa and Mom kept swapping laps between him and me.