Imagine a world where people are required to get vaccinated, required to wear masks and take precautions if there's an outbreak, and are given universal healthcare and a basic universal income. Now imagine that these rules are enforced by law. If people refuse, they are required to be placed in quarantine areas away from the general population due to the risk they pose to the population. Now imagine "pure lifers" coming in. Knowing full well the polity they were trying to move to, wanting to go there due to the fact the population was so healthy and their planets kept clean, had these laws.
Can you imagine the fit they throw when they find they are not being allowed to be exempted from those laws no matter how hard they try to avoid it? -- Own Good
Once upon a time, basic health and safety measures were politicised. Interestingly, those on the side of profit above all were counter to the health measures that would maximise labor exploitation. They favoured speaking out against even the simplest of measures that could protect the workers, because the allied "health care" system could wring more money out of the populace via over-inflated billing regimens.
This lead to widespread poverty, disease, and business losses, but by then it was an identity, and all they could do was double down on it. When the chance arose to make a world in their own image, the faithful Pure Life movement threw themselves at the stars, aiming to live an all-natural, all-pure life. It was the One True Way, to which the universe's population would naturally move towards.
You can imagine their outrage when they found that the rest of the world had carried on in the opposite direction. It had such pros as being able to afford medicine, shelter, and food. It had such plus sides as an almost nonexistent infant mortality rate. There were even bonuses like a longer and more enjoyable lifespan, which was heresy to the Pure Life Cult. Obviously the solution was to spread their wisdom to every corner in the Alliance.
This lead to them fighting to get everywhere that heretical views were upheld. Especially ones who had taken one look at fatal plagues and decided to eradicate them. The Pure Life adherents insisted that it was for the greater good. The residents of Lazarus Colony had been without any major plague in centuries and they preferred it that way. For the safety of all, all visitors must be screened.
Meet Preacher Krenn. She and her five surviving children have come all the way to Lazarus to bring them the Truth and the Better Way. Yet these ignorant heathen heretics were blocking her path! "I do not need a livesuit," she insisted. "I have the True Belief and Healthy Living to protect me! So do my babies."
The gatekeeping guardian, safe in their own protective booth, remained unimpressed. "These are not measures to protect you or your family. These are the measures to protect the population of the colony."
"Well you don't need to worry about that when you start living properly," insisted Preacher Krenn, "Which is why we are here."
"Do you expect these measures to work retroactively?" said the guardian.
"What? No! It's survival of the fittest. Only those who are fit deserve to survive."
"Those who are affected by your carried diseases will not see it that way." A list started scrolling on a nearby screen. Slowly, with a pictogram button indicating where the viewer could hear an audio transcription of the list. "This is a list of diseases you are carrying that could kill significant portions of Lazarus, listed from maximum lethality to minimal. Note that twenty of them will eradicate the total colony population."
"Well that's what they deserve for allowing themselves to get so weak," said Krenn.
This did not fly with the officials. "You must wear livesuits for your entire visit to Lazarus colony. Given your disposition, we must insist that you and your children be locked inside their individual livesuits until after your departure."
"THAT'S THE WORST INHUMANE TREATMENT SINCE THE INVENTION OF FASCISM! I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO THE COLONY LEADER!"
"The colony leader will not speak to you or anyone with you unless you are inside a sterilised livesuit."
"You want us to slowly suffocate to death? Those things force oxygen starvation, I won't stand for it!"
"Preacher Krenn... just two minutes ago, you advocated killing the entire planetary population with your carried diseases."
"Well that's different."
Going through the intricacies of Pure Life and its belief for or against conflicting concepts could take a lifetime. The guardians worked in shifts, but Preacher Krenn and her progeny would have to remain there for as long as the argument lasted.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Senalfred]
If you like my stories, please Check out my blog and Follow me. Or share them with your friends!
Send me a prompt [77 remaining prompts!]
