Chapter 54 13. Bill

June 21, 201X (the second year after my brother became a living dead), this is an important date with epoch-making significance - the "Law of the Living Dead" was promulgated and implemented from that day on. China is the fourth country in the world to enact the Living Dead Act. (The first three countries are the United States, India, and New Zealand.) The whole set of laws has six chapters from the general provisions to the supplementary provisions. Control, the conditions for allowing special groups of people to become the living dead, and so on. I cannot enumerate all the provisions of the law.One of the most concerning is nothing more than the "conditions for allowing special groups of people to become the living dead":

Article 28 of Chapter IV of the "Living Dead Act" expressly stipulates that all healthy citizens are prohibited from actively becoming living dead.Those who are allowed to become living dead on their own initiative must be citizens suffering from incurable terminal illnesses (such as cancer, rabies, AIDS, motor neuron disease, sepsis, etc.).If I apply completely voluntarily, I can become a living dead by legal means (it cannot be done privately, it must be implemented by the local center of the living dead). In addition, Article 49 of Chapter V stipulates that any act of selling, transporting, possessing or obtaining the virus of the living dead without permission is prohibited.

This set of laws is enough for our family to make us feel at ease, because my brother became a living dead because he had cancer.This was legal both before and after the Living Dead Act. Of course, as you might have guessed, this is no coincidence. As embarrassing as it may be, I must refer to a statement my dad made on a major television show a little over two months before the Living Dead Act was introduced. At that time, the beautiful hostess asked: "Professor Luo, what do you think about the emergence of the phenomenon of the living dead and the social phenomenon that people take the initiative to become the living dead?"

My dad answered this way: "I think, first of all, we need to face two issues. First, are the living dead legally dead? I mean, should people's definition of death be readjusted after the appearance of the living dead? For example, Decades ago, people used to regard the permanent cessation of breathing and heart function as a sign of death. But with the advancement of medical technology and the popularization of cardiac resuscitation, some new problems have arisen, which impact people's understanding of death. So , the medical community has changed 'brain death' to a sign of death—this has raised questions about the renewal of the concept of 'death'. So, will the emergence of the living dead now change this concept again?"

"Your point of view is very interesting." The hostess asked with interest, "May I understand that, you think that the undead are still a form of 'alive' for human beings." "The living dead are still a part of 'humanity', there's no question about it. So, I hope that when the show is post-production letters, all the personal pronouns I say about the living dead will be written as 'they' for human beings, Not 'they' which means animals or other non-living things," Dad said with a laugh. The hostess also laughed; "I think the program director has heard it. Then, Professor Luo, what is your second question?"

"The second question is, is it everyone's 'right' to take the initiative to become a living dead? We often emphasize human rights, so how should human rights be reflected in this matter? I think that if the living dead are recognized as human beings A new situation, then everyone does have the right to choose whether to become a living dead." The hostess twisted unnaturally: "You mean that the law should allow all people who wish to become the living dead to fulfill their wishes?" "No, of course it doesn't mean that. I only said half of what I said just now. 'Rights' is one thing, and 'responsibility' is another. I think everyone, as long as they are not too selfish, have to think about their own children and grandchildren. If the number of living dead continues to increase uncontrollably, the balance of life, old age, sickness and death in human society will be broken, and the earth will become overwhelmed in the next few decades or hundreds of years.We cannot leave such a mess for our children and grandchildren - as much as we emphasize protecting the environment now, it is everyone's responsibility. "

The hostess nodded: "Then how do you think we should coordinate between 'rights' and 'responsibility'?" "I hope that those healthy people who want to become the living dead can give this 'place' to those who really need it. I mean those who suffer from some kind of painful disease. If they and their families want to, they can use It may not be a good thing to end suffering in this way, but at the same time, a certain form of existence can continue to exist in this world. Of course, it may not be enough to rely solely on personal responsibility or self-consciousness, which requires legal supervision and constraints."

"I understand. You think this is the main significance of establishing the Living Dead Act." "yes." The hostess turned her head to one side and asked a sharp question: "Professor Luo, as far as I know, you used to be against any form of turning into a living dead. How did you change your view now?" "That's right." Dad spread his hands helplessly, "I must admit that as a scholar, I made some subjective mistakes. I didn't know enough about the living dead before, which led to some unfair and objective evaluations of them. Fortunately, I realized this problem. I went to the center of the living dead to really contact and get to know different living dead, and only then did I really enter their world..."

There is no doubt that my dad was brilliant on television.He represented the attitude and position of the majority, and also persuaded those who blindly tried to become the living dead. Even so, as my mother and I sat in front of the TV watching the show, we didn't talk—dad never mentioned that his own older son was now a living dead.While it wasn't exactly a lie, it still made me and my mother feel ashamed and embarrassed by his deliberate concealment.We have no way of knowing to what extent Dad's speech was personal.Are the great principles in his mouth for the so-called 'all mankind', or my brother alone?

But in any case, the impact of his speech on the "Living Dead Act" established later was very huge.After the program was broadcast, overwhelming comments in the media and on the Internet indicated that Dad had won the support and support of the vast majority of people.Although he was not the maker of the law, his speech made the person who made the law have to consider it from the direction of "public opinion". And so, two months later, The Living Dead Act came out, and it pretty much said what my dad meant.Although not everyone is satisfied with this set of regulations, after all, most people can accept it.On the issue of the living dead, there is finally a law to follow.

The promulgation of "The Living Dead Act" has not changed anything substantially for my family and I, because we have adapted to the way of living with the living dead: Mom has less work now, and she has to go to the living dead every week. The center runs three or four times, and my dad and I go there at least once a week.The elder brother received special care at the center of the living dead. He lived alone in a room full of his favorite things, and even had two pet squirrels for company.Every time my mother went to that room, she stayed for two hours.Regardless of whether her brother could understand or not, she continued to "chat" with him as always. If it wasn't for the law that stipulates that the living dead must live in the center of the living dead, she would have wanted to take him home a long time ago. The story has been told so far, it is still very flat, it seems that everything will continue in this way. But unfortunately, human beings are still unable to predict and control their own destiny - human beings don't even know themselves enough, how can they understand the living dead? This was the cause of those terrible tragedies that followed.