Does It Justify Murder?

Chapter Eight -- Does it justify murder?

"What drives you to kill?" Poppy asked and Markovic stared at her.

They were separated by a partition and he hated it deeply, he wanted to touch her, to go to her, to be with her, he wanted to keep her, but he knew he needed to play his game right, which was what he would do, but perhaps it was time to manipulate her, to indulge her, to give her false hope.

Poppy, thinking he wouldn't answer moved on to the next question "You had a seemingly perfect l --

"Curiosity." He cut her off, answering her first question and she looked at him, staring at him with those big green eyes, trying to see into his soul, perhaps he could give her a piece.

"Curiosity?" She frowned and he nodded "You asked what drives me to kill, and Curiosity drives me to kill." "Can you build on that?" She asked, writing, and he wondered what she was writing.

"I want to understand the value of life, so Curiosity drives me to kill." He explained and she nodded "What do you gain from it?"

"Control. Power. Satisfaction." He shrugged and Poppy wondered if she should ask him more question, for some reason, he was forthcoming, but she knew if she pushed, he would close up, and she was not looking forward to that, but the only way to know was to try.

"You led a good life, what made you snap?" She asked and he stared at her, her heart beat faster as he stared at her, she hoped he would answer, and when he did, she was filled with hope.

"Nothing changed, and Everything changed. I realized life was meaningless." He told her and she frowned, wanting to know more, she noticed the way he was scattering pieces all over the place, trying to lure her in, and she would gladly walk into that side of the room, where he sat if it meant she would know more.

"Realizing life is meaningless is usually in two ways, what was it for you? Nihilism or Absurdism?" She was puzzled and when she looked at him, he had a look of surprise on his face.

He was surprise, she knew more than he gave her credit for, but what did he expect from a woman who had three degrees at the age of twenty-eight. He wanted to explore her mind, he wanted to hear her speak of what she knew, so he asked "What does Nihilism or Absurdism mean, Doctor? You seem more knowledgeable than most give you credit for."

Markovic was turning it around, he was changing the narrative, he was interviewing her, she knew this had to be some sort of manipulation, but she could not take the bait. She was desperate, and she would indulge.

"You claim you snapped because of your realization that life is meaningless. Absurdism embraces the meaninglessness of life, it sees human life as inherently contradictory, life is full of ridiculousness and Absurdism finds humor and irony in it. This way of life rejects traditional norms and rules and values, it promote creativity and freedom." She expressed, she studied Psychology because she had always been intrigued by various aspects of life.

"Nihilism?" He asked and she knew this was their second session and the longest conversation they had had, it didn't matter that she was doing most of the speaking.

"Nihilism is a way of life that believes life has no intrinsic meaning and value, it rejects morality, truth and purpose, there is no purpose to life in Nihilism. A Nihilist believes our existence is pointless, empty, worthless, purposeless, and it often leads to pessimism and despair, and mostly advocates for the demolition of existing rules and values." She proclaimed. 

"Essentially, Nihilists believe there is no meaning in life and 'it is futile to seek or to affirm meaning where none is to be found', but Absurdist hesitantly allow the possibility for some meaning or value in life. So, to justify your reason for killing, which is it, Nihilism or Absurdism?" She frowned and he smiled, and oddly, her heart skipped a beat.

"None." He told her and she frowned, confused "Not Nihilism or Absurdism, then what is it?"

"Existentialism." Markovic said and he realized that, in a way, he was saying the truth, which was usually difficult for him, because he had spent his life lying and sometimes, it got too hard to differentiate between lies and truth, but now, he knew he was telling the truth.

"A Nihilist believes life is meaningless, and that the only known truth is the existence of one self, an Existentialist also believes that life is meaningless, but that meaning can be created by the individual, while Absurdism focuses on the tension between a meaningless universe and our constant striving to find meaning." He told her and Poppy noticed the eloquent ways he spoke, and she reminded herself that he graduated with honors from Harvard Law, in a way, he was an extremely intelligent person, and she could no longer keep it in anymore.

"You graduated with honors from Harvard Law, you are an extremely smart person, you are obviously intelligent, you are also more knowledgeable than some would think, and yet you murdered forty six people. Your philosophical believe is supposedly existentialism, which expresses that our individual purpose is not given to us by God, Governments, Teachers or other Authorities. Existentialism understands personal freedom, individual responsibility and deliberate choice which is essential in the pursuit of self discovery and the determination of life's meaning. Does it justify murder?" She asked, angry and he said nothing and stared at her.

"You are angry." He pointed out and she got up.

"Of course, I am angry, you are a murderer, you killed almost fifty people, of course I am angry." She snapped and he told her "But, that is not the reason you are angry. Why don't you take a break, and we continue in an twenty minutes?" He suggested and she scoffed "You are an asshole."

She opened the door, and slammed it angrily.