{"id":16271,"date":"2014-01-19T16:42:01","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T00:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backwoodshome.com\/blogs\/ClaireWolfe\/?p=16271"},"modified":"2014-01-19T16:42:01","modified_gmt":"2014-01-20T00:42:01","slug":"empathy-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clairewolfe.com\/blog\/2014\/01\/19\/empathy-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Empathy test"},"content":{"rendered":"

This<\/a> is so short and so delightful I’m reprinting it in full. If you wrote this and object to my reprint, please let me know. It’s been getting around a lot.<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

Empathy Test
\nBy George R. Shirer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The assessor is attractive in a button-down kind of way. Blonde hair, pink jumpsuit, digital makeup set to minimal. Her face is a sculpt, something from one of the mid-level catalogues. Attractive, but not too attractive. The same face you see on a thousand other people. Only her eyes, brown and liquid, are original.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou failed your empathy test, Mr. Clawford.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her tone is carefully modulated. No condemnation there, none at all. Just carefully presented curiosity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t been taking your dose.\u201d<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t a question. I shrug.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The assessor leans forward. Her pink uni-suit tightens slightly, emphasizing the shape of her breasts. It\u2019s a cheap trick, meant to distract one, make your interviewer more susceptible to the subharmonic pulses they use in these interview rooms, to make one more compliant.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompassion fatigue,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

The assessor arches her brows. \u201cHonestly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly. I\u2019m tired of being chemically forced to care for my fellow man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you experiencing nausea? Fatigue? Some people develop a sensitivity to the pills over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, nothing like that. I just decided not to take my dose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her carefully modulated expression becomes one of concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are aware that refusing to take your dose is illegal?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a class two offense. I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you take your dose now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI sort of like feeling like a bastard. Does that make me a bad person?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes you . . . atypical,\u201d says the assessor. She shifts in the chair. \u201cThis is the second time you\u2019ve failed an empathy test, Mr. Clawford.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are three options at this stage,\u201d says the assessor. \u201cYou can take your dose and agree to daily monitoring for the next three months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I won\u2019t take the dose any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nods. \u201cFine. The second option is isolation. You\u2019d be placed under house arrest and not allowed to leave your residence until you resume taking your dose.\u201d<\/p>\n

I shake my head. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think so. I think, miss, I\u2019ll go for option three.\u201d<\/p>\n

She frowns. \u201cExile to the Cold Isles?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are aware that if you choose exile, Mr. Clawford, it\u2019s a one way trip?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that is what you want to do? To go and live among the callous and the unfeeling?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I\u2019d rather be an authentic bastard than a fake nice guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her grin surprises me. She stands and her suit tightens, turns matt black.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood answer. Come with me. We can be in Christchurch within the hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m confused. \u201cWe?\u201d<\/p>\n

She laughs. \u201cWhat? You didn\u2019t think the fuzzies would trust one of their own to do these assessments, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re one of the cold?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Mr. Clawford.\u201d She gives me a look that I\u2019ll get from lots of people over the next few weeks, part condescension, part genuine sympathy. \u201cI\u2019m one of the free.\u201d<\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

Tip o’ hat to EN.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is so short and so delightful I’m reprinting it in full. If you wrote this and object to my reprint, please let me know. It’s been getting around a lot. —– Empathy Test By George R. Shirer The assessor is attractive in a button-down kind of way. Blonde hair, pink jumpsuit, digital makeup set to minimal. Her face is a sculpt, something from one of the mid-level catalogues. Attractive, but not too attractive. The same face you see on a thousand other people. Only her eyes, brown and liquid, are original. \u201cYou failed your empathy test, Mr. Clawford.\u201d Her…<\/p>\n

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