#241, Pseudocide
On a chilly January morning in 2009, a small single-engine plane left an airfield in Anderson, Indiana. It was headed south to Florida, but while flying over Alabama the pilot sent a distress call—the windshield had shattered and he was bleeding profusely. Military jets were scrambled and sent to intercept the plane. When they arrived, they found the plane still flying, but the plane door wide open and the pilot missing. The plane kept flying and eventually crashed that evening.
Investigators were immediately dispatched to the crash site but found no trace of the pilot. Furthermore, the windshield was completely intact and there was no blood inside the plane. What had happened?
Two days later, the pilot, Marcus Schrenker, was captured in a camping tent in Quincy, Florida. Schrenker had faked his death. Why? Years of illegitimate business dealings had left him deep in debt and in trouble with the law. He saw no other escape than pseudocide.
Pseudo meaning “false” and cide meaning “an act of killing”—a false act of killing.
His story might sound like a plot from a movie, but people have doing this for centuries from ancient Roman soldiers avoiding battle to teens escaping broken homes to modern-day criminals escaping justice. The desire to leave your old life behind and start fresh is timeless.
To complete this Journal response, address the following:
Write a piece of fiction about faking your own death. Consider (a) your reasons, (b) how you might fake it, and (c) the consequences of your actions.
This is fiction, so your age, home, job, etc. may be changed.
Comment on a peer’s plan and its consequences.
-Brenden Lee Teacher