Expiration Date (a Short Story – Part 5, the Finale)

Here’s Part 5 of a soft science fiction short story about a society where everyone knows exactly when they’re going to die, and the man who threw chaos into the system. In the previous installment, the government agent Kadar shows his true colors and attacks the narrator. This very short fifth and final part is only about 230 words. Let me know what you think!

I survived the assassination attempt.

The agents outside heard the commotion, came rushing in and saved me. They also arrested Kadar on the spot.

Now, I sit in a maximum-security facility in the desert. Apparently, Kadar was not assigned to kill me; it was something he took upon himself. He was so upset by the balance being disturbed and someone living past their date that he planned to kill me. It had driven him insane.

I am mostly kept in solitary confinement now, but they treat me well enough. The only people I interact with are the government, and as far as I know, no one else knows that I am still alive other than the agents. I have become a myth, an urban legend of sorts, the only human to live past their expiration date.

Perhaps there will be another person like me someday, but for now, the government studies me to determine where they went wrong. They cannot afford to make another mistake, so I am their lab rat.

We all have only so much time on this planet. And even if we manage to cheat death, much is still out of our control.

I live in constant fear that I could die at any moment.

But maybe I’ll live forever.

Only the AIs know for sure, and even they have been wrong.

The End