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I’ve been reading these meters for a long time. They’re pretty dependable. The readings are nearly always accurate. Once in a great while we experience a glitch, but really they’re quite good.

It’s not that I’m unsympathetic or anything, but fair is fair. It’s a shame that her air meter malfunctioned, but even with our excellent track record, these things happen. Louisa Jean may have been 80 years old and remembered a time before the meters, but she knew the rules. Still, I suppose it’s unfortunate.

Payment is always due on the first. I mean, how difficult is that to remember? Even with the little mistake, nothing would have happened if she didn’t buy that wall-sized picture of her late husband. She didn’t need it. And it left her 3 credits short.

Some people say air should still be free. Mostly old people. They just haven’t adjusted to modern times. Nothing is free. Why should it be? It costs money to purify air. Hard to believe that there was a time when breathable air was so plentiful that people didn’t live in pressurized dome homes. They even had windows that opened!

Here’s what we know. Louisa Jean’s meter was running fast. Programming error. As best as we can tell, she noticed this and was frantically trying to deposit more credits. She was hyperventilating when the alarm sounded and the dome deflated. You know, when you don’t pay, the air is reclaimed.

We found her body under the giant picture of her beloved deceased Lawrence.