Saturday, January 11, 2014

This isn’t a video game

His eyes fixed on the monitor, Hasker’s fingers tapped at the keyboard.  7,000 miles away the drone locked onto a small encampment, quiet in the early hours. 

‘Target acquired.’

‘Finish the job, son.’

They watched as four missiles landed in quick succession.  Figures stumbled through the wreckage and flames. 

Hasker pushed back his chair.  ‘I can’t do this any longer.’

‘Stay where you are, Hasker.’

‘This isn’t a video game.  Real people just died.’

‘They were terrorists.’

‘They were women and children and I just blew them all to hell.’

‘Which is where they belong.’

‘Which is where we’re going.’





A drabble is a story of exactly 100 words.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rob - Effective way to capture how that must feel...

verymessi said...

Bravo! Glad to see someone taking on the subject of drone strikes and the killing of the innocent.

TracyK said...

Nice story, Rob. Very moving.

Rob Kitchin said...

Thanks. I heard a talk not too long back on drones which mentioned their controllers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Although they are thousands of miles from where the bombs are dropped they vividly see the outcomes and know the consequences of their actions. As a result, the distance and mediation via video makes little difference to their psychological well-being. The bombs of course kill and maim anyone in their path, regardless of their complicity in any actions.

Mel Healy said...

Spot on tale.

I seem to recall something about the post-traumatic stress disorder on Newstalk earlier this month, on the Sean Moncrieff show I think.

He was interviewing Medea Benjamin, author of "Drone Warfare. Killing by Remote Control."