A Story About Temptation
When It’s Hard To Say No
‘So what do you think, are you in?
The man, blue hair and torn jeans, was looking at me with a cocky smile while waiting for me to answer.
You could tell he was convinced he had sold me.
And frankly, the guy was good, he probably closed almost everyone on the spot.
I was still confused though and answered:
‘ I don’t know, can you go over that sabotage part again?’
The guy looked at his girlfriend and nodded. She opened up her laptop and started tapping away.
They were about to give me the live demo.
Here’s Your Demo
The three of us were sitting outside.
We had met at an empty public park close to my place. It was getting colder but the weather was still amazing.
For a few moments, I was thinking about my plans for the weekend but then a shrill voice brought me back.
‘I’m done. It’s going to be crowded in a couple of minutes.’
The girl was laughing when she said this.
I still couldn’t believe these guys were for real.
And at first, it seemed like I was right because nothing happened.
But then, three kids came running in, smartphone in hand, yelling to each other about some kind of gym.
And then, whole flocks of people started gathering, hyped like crazy about something on their screens.
And people kept coming in, until hundreds of them were cramped in that tiny public park.
The guy and his girlfriend couldn’t stop laughing when they saw my incredulous face.
The guy said:
‘Here’s your demo’.
Is This Even Legal?
The noise was giving me a headache.
I started walking away from the crowd and the two hacktivists followed me.
They were legit all right, no doubt about that. They just magically summoned a crowd to an empty park.
But I was still confused about the whole thing so I asked them:
‘Is this even legal? Whatever you just did?’
The girl answered without blinking:
‘Technically it’s not illegal because …’
She started puking technical terms for two minutes straight until the guy cut her off and said:
‘This was just a demo, but yeah, it’s totally legal. We wouldn’t ask you to join anything illegal now, would we?’
That was the moment I realized why they needed me and I asked:
‘So it’s all about the money then?’
A Perfect Fit
They both smiled.
The guy said:
‘So I guess you figured out why we need you. Yes, we’re good at summoning mobs but that’s all we can do for now.’
The girl added:
‘But a mob at the right place and the right time could impact whole industries. That’s where you would come in. You would help us with timing.’
The guy winked at me and said:
‘We know you’re good at spotting strength and weakness. I think you would be a perfect fit to our scheme. We need someone to convert our skill into money.’
I thought about the offer for a while.
It seemed extremely lucrative and fraught with danger. Twenty-five year old me would have loved this.
But thirty-five year old me answered:
‘I really don’t know about this.’
We are all getting tempted every second.
The better you become, the more people will want you for their schemes.
It’s hard to stay on the right path.
In the past, I ventured outside the lines a couple of times and the universe always punished me instantly.
The right side is always the right side.
You won’t be called a hero for the times you say no when tempted.
But the moment you give in, you will lose it all.
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