Peer Review

Martha looked at the clock. It was almost six in the morning, and she hadn't slept all night. It was time. She turned on the computer and waited for the old thing to boot up. Her cat, Sebastian, walked over to where she sat and cozied up in her lap. She took a deep breath, and entered the web address for the Social Demographic Review.

As the site slowly loaded, Martha was left staring for several minutes at a picture of a young man and woman smiling in a field, surrounded by a white background. Beads of sweat were forming on her brow as the website finished loading. Martha keyed in her password, and was almost immediately taken to her page. Below a brief biography, the thread had already begun. she scanned the responses anxiously:

DannyK Wrote:

Out of work for six months, little to no chance of further employment. One kid unemployed, again with little to no chance of employment. She never went to college, she relied on her husband's income, and she hasn't done anything with her life.

Yeah, there is no question at all.

Vote: Fail.

SimonJr Wrote:

Really Danny? How can you be such a heartless bastard? Have you never been unemployed? Have you never known what real pain was? What the Hell is wrong with you? This woman deserves a lot better than people like you.

Vote: Pass!

DannyK Wrote:

I have to wonder why you're even on this site Simon, and it's clear that you've never been up for review. I have been up for review, and my record speaks for itself; I have a solid work record because I made the right decisions in my life. She has nobody to blame but herself, and I'd like to remind you that this site is designed to be objective.

Telltale Wrote:

Simon, are you ****ing stupid? How can anybody give this deadbeat a pass? What, we should just allow people to go on collecting money from the government when they are of no use whatsoever? Would starving kids thank us for that? Get real idiot.

Vote: FAIL!

SimonJr:

Get real? How much money have those 'starving kids' ever received? The government has set all of this up, so don't be such a tool!

MichealPhD Wrote:

Really now, why are we still having these debates? We all know the situation, and we all know what has to be done. There is no point in dancing around the obvious.

Vote: Fail.

RaymondL Wrote:

Would somebody block Simon? He's being retarded.

Vote: Fail.

SimonJr Wrote:

You can try and silence me all you want, but that doesn't change how sick and wrong this all is.

DannyK Wrote:

Look, if you want to talk philosophy, do it someplace that isn't a vital government service. I'm sure if you showed your 'brilliant' ideas on how to fix the world to some university, they'd love to hear your crackpot theories. Me? I fought in the last war. I KNOW what is at stake, and I doubt very much you understand that. Since you can't keep quiet, I'm requesting the moderator censor your posts.

Come on, one more and we can go. I've got 120 more to get through today.

RachelL Wrote:

Yeah, no question.

Vote: Fail

MODERATOR Wrote:

I see five votes for Fail. I will send out notification. Thanks to everyone who participated in this review.

Martha slumped back in her chair, closed her eyes and let out a long, slow sigh. It was over. It was finally over.

She petted Sebastian, who had fallen asleep in her lap. Now that it had been decided, she felt oddly at peace. It wouldn't be so bad, saying goodbye to this world.

Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door.

Credited to ScutigeraColeoptrata