subject, he refuses to study. If he's interested, he can get A's. "
"That's not a crime. You're off the subject," another male cut in.
"He was counseled on all his misdeeds and it made no difference. He's hopeless. He doesn't deserve further consideration," somebody else said.
"We need to clean the streets," a seemingly young male said. "We need to focus on what these kids are taught. There're too many complaints about teens wising off to adults. I want that to end. This isn't the System. We need respect, and discipline."
"Right, let's give him the death sentence," a raven-haired female said. "That should motivate everybody."
"That's enough!" the lead judge snapped. "There will be no levity in my court!" I was pleased that he had decided against the death sentence – some good news at least. "We're determining this young man's future and we're going to make the right decision," he continued. "What sort of person is he? I mean, aside from his arrogant attitude? Does he have any friends?"
"His parents are quite respectable, and devastated by his actions," one of the males said. "He has a great many school friends, both male and female. We couldn't get any of his peers to comment negatively about him. The girls – all of them underage – particularly like him. Even his teachers – most of them – think he has great potential. But he's lazy and not motivated."
"All right, that's enough. Let's hear from the accused."
The policeman gestured, and I stood up.
"Tell us what you planned for your life," the lead judge said. "What did you want to do?"
I was totally unprepared for his question. What did that have to do with anything? I finally responded. "Um, uh, I thought I'd be a historian."
"A historian? Why?"
"Well, I like history. And I thought it might be nice to…write it. Or teach it."
"That takes many years of preparation, advanced studies, writing skills, and experience. A lot of hard work. You haven't demonstrated much aptitude for anything like that. You recently graduated Middle School. What were your immediate plans?"
"Plans? Well, I didn't really have any. I mean, I hadn't thought about it." This conversation was not going well at all, I realized.
"Hadn't thought about it. I see. Let's see, you're seventeen, out of school, unemployed and living with Mom and Dad. When were you planning on getting a job and leaving home? Age thirty? Age forty? When?"
"I…I was just taking a break."
"You're a parasite. You have no plans and no future. You've studied about ConFree. You know we are a society based on self-respect, respect for others, and honest labor. It seems you don't fit in."
"I'm sorry about my actions. I was wrong."
"It’s too late for that. Court, have we reached agreement on the first verdict?" They consulted briefly as I stood there, lightheaded.
The lead judge banged his gavel down so sharply that I twitched. "The accused is GUILTY of one charge of parasitism and one charge of gross insult leading to violence. The accused is BANISHED from Northmark District. He will be detained until Eugarat National Court responds to our notification about the case. We will reconvene at that time. Bailiff, accompany the prisoner to the detention facility. Court is hereby dismissed."
Δ
My cell was small but clean. A bed on a ledge jutting out of the wall, a little squat toilet, a metal sink with no mirror. No furniture. Cold metal walls. A dim light panel overhead that I could not control. Great. I sat on my bed and pondered my fate. Stupid, I thought. You were stupid. Now you are banished, from all you have ever loved. And more bad news might be coming, depending on what Eugarat National has to say about my case. Maybe they need dummies to clean the streets or something. Or maybe they don't. Then it would be banishment from my own home planet. Would any other ConFree planet want me? Why waste resources on a parasite? Maybe they'd dump me on some alien world. Maybe those ex-System worlds would take me. They
"That's not a crime. You're off the subject," another male cut in.
"He was counseled on all his misdeeds and it made no difference. He's hopeless. He doesn't deserve further consideration," somebody else said.
"We need to clean the streets," a seemingly young male said. "We need to focus on what these kids are taught. There're too many complaints about teens wising off to adults. I want that to end. This isn't the System. We need respect, and discipline."
"Right, let's give him the death sentence," a raven-haired female said. "That should motivate everybody."
"That's enough!" the lead judge snapped. "There will be no levity in my court!" I was pleased that he had decided against the death sentence – some good news at least. "We're determining this young man's future and we're going to make the right decision," he continued. "What sort of person is he? I mean, aside from his arrogant attitude? Does he have any friends?"
"His parents are quite respectable, and devastated by his actions," one of the males said. "He has a great many school friends, both male and female. We couldn't get any of his peers to comment negatively about him. The girls – all of them underage – particularly like him. Even his teachers – most of them – think he has great potential. But he's lazy and not motivated."
"All right, that's enough. Let's hear from the accused."
The policeman gestured, and I stood up.
"Tell us what you planned for your life," the lead judge said. "What did you want to do?"
I was totally unprepared for his question. What did that have to do with anything? I finally responded. "Um, uh, I thought I'd be a historian."
"A historian? Why?"
"Well, I like history. And I thought it might be nice to…write it. Or teach it."
"That takes many years of preparation, advanced studies, writing skills, and experience. A lot of hard work. You haven't demonstrated much aptitude for anything like that. You recently graduated Middle School. What were your immediate plans?"
"Plans? Well, I didn't really have any. I mean, I hadn't thought about it." This conversation was not going well at all, I realized.
"Hadn't thought about it. I see. Let's see, you're seventeen, out of school, unemployed and living with Mom and Dad. When were you planning on getting a job and leaving home? Age thirty? Age forty? When?"
"I…I was just taking a break."
"You're a parasite. You have no plans and no future. You've studied about ConFree. You know we are a society based on self-respect, respect for others, and honest labor. It seems you don't fit in."
"I'm sorry about my actions. I was wrong."
"It’s too late for that. Court, have we reached agreement on the first verdict?" They consulted briefly as I stood there, lightheaded.
The lead judge banged his gavel down so sharply that I twitched. "The accused is GUILTY of one charge of parasitism and one charge of gross insult leading to violence. The accused is BANISHED from Northmark District. He will be detained until Eugarat National Court responds to our notification about the case. We will reconvene at that time. Bailiff, accompany the prisoner to the detention facility. Court is hereby dismissed."
Δ
My cell was small but clean. A bed on a ledge jutting out of the wall, a little squat toilet, a metal sink with no mirror. No furniture. Cold metal walls. A dim light panel overhead that I could not control. Great. I sat on my bed and pondered my fate. Stupid, I thought. You were stupid. Now you are banished, from all you have ever loved. And more bad news might be coming, depending on what Eugarat National has to say about my case. Maybe they need dummies to clean the streets or something. Or maybe they don't. Then it would be banishment from my own home planet. Would any other ConFree planet want me? Why waste resources on a parasite? Maybe they'd dump me on some alien world. Maybe those ex-System worlds would take me. They
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