Cerberus: A Wolf in the Fold

CHAPTER ELEVEN A Judgement

On the way in, I cautioned both of them to say nothing. Dylan squeezed my hand and Sanda’s. “It’s all right,” she said simply. “I knew what I was doing, and I’m not sorry for it even now. Maybe it’s a fair exchange, although not one I’d have made willingly. I’ve had five years of living. Now maybe it’s somebody else’s turn.”

“Don’t talk like that!” I scolded her. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“It’s the end of my world,” she almost whispered.

Once in the stationhouse, in a corner of the Municipal Building, both women were taken into a small room where their card imprints and scans were taken. I was not able to follow, but simply had to pace back and forth in a small waiting area. Even the bork hunt paled before my feelings now, which were at an all-time low. After about half an hour, they let me see Dylan for a few minutes while they processed their records and did whatever cops did. Sanda was being held in a separate room, and I didn’t see her.

“Well, it’s over,” she sighed.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“They’ve been laying for me, Qwin. Laying for me for, I guess, five years. They didn’t like the fact that I wormed my way out of the motherhood, so they’ve been waiting for a chance to get me. A clerk in the office—one I know, one who’s worked there almost as long as I have—was a plant. They had something on her. An old criminal conviction or something, and she was too low in skill level to be considered vital. She had to catch me or when she reached the mandatory age it was the mines for her.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Five years?”

She nodded. “They needed an example. There’s been a lot of rumblings in the motherhood since I sneaked out. I was their symbol of hope—and I knew it. The authorities had to get me, no matter how long it took. They said their psychological profiles indicated I’d do exactly what I did sooner or later, and they were sure right.”

“What happens now?” I asked her, both concerned and mad as hell at a system that would wait this long to hang somebody.

“Judgment,” she told me. “The witness, the cops, and the scans proved their case automatically.”

My mind was racing. “Who sentences you? What kind of rank?”

“A professional judgment panel. Thirteen of them. I’m scheduled to meet them in a little less than an hour. They don’t usually hold proceedings this late, but they’re making a special case for me.”

I thought of all the men in high places I knew. “Is there someone I can call? Someone who can intercede?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Maybe after, but not now. We don’t even know what the sentence is yet—could be almost anything. All I know is that it was planned and directed years ago.” She looked up at me.

“Don’t blame yourself! I did it, all of my own free will. I’m totally responsible.”

“I let you do it.”

She smiled, a ghost of that old smile. “You couldn’t have stopped me and you know it.”

“Will they let me in? Will they hear any mitigating statements?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

We waited together nervously until they called her name.

The judgment chamber was much like any other courtroom except for the thirteen black-robed men and women up there behind a curved table. Since only one had a mike, it was clear that there was a presiding officer. They let me in and I took a seat, noting Sanda in a chair forward of the rest of the seats, which were empty. Sanda looked as if she’d been crying a little, or maybe a lot, but she seemed composed now.

“The State versus Dylan Zhang Kohl,” intoned the chief judge, as if there were other cases. “Will the prisoner please rise and approach the bench?”

Dylan stood up and confidently did as she was told, looking the chief judge right in the eye. Good for you, gal! I thought.

“Dylan Zhang Kohl, you have been found guilty on the evidence which we have judged to be true and incontrovertible that you did willfully and knowingly violate Section 623 Vi, Cerberan Universal Penal Code. Can you find any reason for sentence to be deferred or mitigated?”

“No, your honor,” she said firmly.

I cursed and fidgeted like mad in my seat. Twice in one day I felt real fear, and twice in one day a total sense of helplessness.

“Will Sanda Tyne approach the bench?”

Sanda, looking tiny and nervous, did so, standing next to Dylan. I saw that Dylan took Sanda’s hand and squeezed it affectionately, as if to reassure her.

“Sanda Tyne, we find that you did knowingly and willfully violate the Articles of Syndication applicable to Akeba House. This we have judged true and incontrovertible on the evidence. Can you find any reason for sentence to be deferred or mitigated?”

“I talked her into it,” she pleaded bravely. “I kept after her and after her. It’s all my fault!”

“We have considered all the factors involved, including having both your psychological profiles analyzed completely. One of the principal articles of the code, particularly considering the past history of this planet and many of its founding parents, is that the criminal act is not something to be judged in and of itself, but in the context of society. One can, for example, go into one of the private banks and plead for a thousand units, without credit, collateral, or any obvious means of payback. If the bank then gives you the loan anyway, and you default, it is not your responsibility but the bank’s. Now, say you desperately needed the money, for a matter of life and death, and you conveyed this to a bank officer. The officer is sympathetic but should deny your loan because it would injure his employer, and therefore his depositors, and therefore the state. Everyone who had deposits in good faith at that bank would pay for his error.

“But let us suppose that his heart was touched by your plea, and he then arranged for you to get to a console so that you could steal the money. You are desperate, and you do so, thereby committing a criminal act. But who is truly committing the more serious crime? The one who steals, or the one who allows and arranges for the person to steal? This court recognizes this principle, so enshrined in our laws and principles, and in that context applies it to judgment in this case. Examining your psychological profile, we find you, Sanda Tyne, to be a secondary party to this violation, as you did not stow away on the boat or enter it without the permission of its captain.

“This court has studied both your records and has arrived at what we believe is a fair and just verdict. It is the sentence of this court that the two of you exchange bodies by means of judgment, and so be locked into those bodies. We further hold that you, Dylan Kohl, will assume the responsibilities of the Tyne body and are therefore not to assume your former position or take any other employ. In view of your psychological profile we further direct that you be taken after judgment to the Borough of Medlams Public Psychology Section and undergo a series of specific treatments to be set by this court for yours and the public’s good.”

I jumped up. “You’re not going to turn my wife into a vegetable!” I screamed.

The judge paused, and all thirteen gave me the dirtiest looks I ever got from anybody. Well, you’ve blown it now, I told myself, but I didn’t care any more.

“You are the spouse of the prisoner Dylan Kohl?”

“Yes, I am, and—”

“Silence! Or I will have you removed and charged!” He paused for a moment to see if I would take the challenge, but I got back a little of my self-control and managed to hold on for a moment.

“Now, then,” the judge continued, sounding deliberative but satisfied, “let me state to you, sir, that the days of such things, except in extreme cases, are past. For your benefit, I will outline and explain what we mean.”

“Please,” I almost begged, shaking a little.

“We believe that the profile of Dylan Kohl indicates a possibility of suicide. We will prevent that, as well as other acts possibly harmful to herself or to others. Everything we do will be in the nature of protections such as that or compulsion to ensure that the sentence is carried out. Her memory, personality, and general freedom of movement will not be impaired, since to do anything else would not be a punishment at all. Does this satisfy you?”

It didn’t, but what could I say? Well, there was always one thing, while, I had the judge’s ear. “Your honor, we are married and we truly love each other. Could she not continue to live with me? Even with her other occupation, she knows my business better than I do and could make a contribution to its management without costing the company or the state anything. It would be a shame to waste this expertise.”

I saw the judges whispering among themselves until finally the whisper, like a ripple, reached the chief judge. He looked slightly surprised and a bit uncomfortable, but he considered whatever it was, then turned back to me.

“My colleagues seem to go along with you—to a point In such a relationship, which is quite rare on this planet, it has been maintained by some of my learned colleagues that an absolute sentence would punish you, who have been charged with nothing. Furthermore, it appears that no matter how removed our society seems, there are still some romantics among us. Let me ask you—have you ever had a full physical examination?”

I thought a bit. “Yes, your honor. When I was first on the planet, and again the first week of my employment.”

“I see. I note that your form is close to the standard for the civilized worlds, and such are generally sterile. Do you know if you have the capacity to father children?”

“I am told I do, your honor,” I answered. “Although the product of some genetic engineering, this body is of the frontier.”

Again came conversation, again the whispers and the ripples, the nods and gestures. Finally the chief judge announced, “Well, we find an equitable solution here, we believe, one that is in accord with our past history and is in the interest of fairness. It is quite out of the ordinary, but we feel that if it sets a precedent it will be a rare one, considering the circumstances of the case and the example. We therefore place the prisoner in the Child-bearers and Rearers Syndicate, subject to all its codes, rules, articles and provisions, but assign her to you rather than to a specific Guild House, for so long as you choose, with the following provisions.

“One, that you yourself in no way cause the prisoner to violate any of those codes, rules, articles, and provisions. Two, that you perform the duties normally done by insemination at the Guild Houses, or arrange for insemination in case she cannot fulfill her quota. Three, that you assume absolutely all financial burdens, and that the prisoner shall have no credit, no money, and no possessions under law except those which you provide. All joint assets currently in both names or in her name shall be transferred to you alone, and her card shall be invalid for any purchases or other transactions, making her a total dependent. Four, she shall be totally subject to your authority, carrying out any such duties large or small that you permit so long as she follows the guild code, rules, articles, and provisions. Five, should you ever no longer wish her company or services, she must immediately report to and enroll in the nearest Guild House, transferring all authority to the Guild House. Do you understand the terms?”

“Yes, your honor.” I sure did. It was the most degrading and demeaning sentence I’d ever heard in my whole life, one that could only have been pronounced on this dirty planet. It was in fact the worst punishment they could mete out to her, considering her independent spirit. Suddenly she was reduced not merely to the chattel of Akeba House but to outright slavery. Still, I had to agree, it being as good a deal as I thought could be made at this time. But someday, Cerberus, I was going to correct it all. Correct it, and pay them back for this. They might temporarily break her. But that only spurred me on to break their whole goddamned rotten system.

“Sentence on Dylan Zhang Kohl is therefore pronounced and ratified,” the judge was saying. “Prisoner will remain in custody and undergo full sentencing as soon as practicable, preferably within the next few hours. Release is set at ten hundred tomorrow morning, at which time she will be released to your custody, Qvvin Zhang.”

I nodded and sat back down.

“Sanda Tyne,” the judge continued, “you shall be judged and locked into the body now possessed by Dylan Kohl. It is further directed that you undergo a process of psychological conditioning at the Borough of Medlams Public Psychology Section as prescribed by this court, and that you be reduced to the status of mendicant. Any employment you might find is restricted to the most menial of Class II occupations, and permanently fixed in the lowest position at the minimum wage prescribed by law. This sentence is to be carried out expeditiously, and not later than ten hundred tomorrow morning. This court is now adjourned. Prisoners will report to chambers for initial judgment.

The thirteen filed out, and a cop came up and escorted the two women through a door to one side of the judge’s dais. Neither of them looked back in my direction.

I was frankly more concerned with Dylan than with Sanda. As head of Hroyasail I could hire her even if I was limited in what I could pay her or do for her, so she wouldn’t face the fate of others in the mendicant class—a free one-way trip to Momrath. I worried, though, if having her around in that body would bother Dylan.

I waited anxiously in the anteroom of the Municipal Holding at ten hundred. I didn’t have long to wait. I soon saw both of my women, looking very much the same, walk out and head toward me. Both were stopped, asked to sign something, and then given their cards.

Dylan, now in Sanda’s slim sandy haired form, was through first and came up to me. “Hi,” she managed weakly.

“Hi, yourself,” I responded, and kissed her. “Was it bad?”

“Not really. I don’t even remember most of it. No, the bad stuffs to come. I can’t believe the sons of bitches actually gave me to you!”

“It’s not a precedent,” I told her, “and not restricted to women, either. It’s also done for Syndicate bosses, it seems, and Laroo. Some of ’em have private harems, male or female. It’s based on their first principle—you own your mind but the state owns all our bodies.”

“Maybe mostly, but they own a little of my mind, too. I don’t think they missed a trick to humiliate me. I can’t cause myself or anyone else physical harm. The way the psychs adjusted my mind, I’ll almost go into heat, like some animal, to get pregnant right on their schedule. I can’t even leave your side without permission, and if I’m left in the apartment I must stay there. I can’t set foot on a boat, even if it’s docked, permission or no. All that sort of shit.”

“I’m so very sorry. I’ll make it as easy on you as I can,” I soothed.

She managed a wan smile. “I know you will. Look, I told you I took the risk freely. We crapped out this time, that’s all. Look on the bright side: you won’t have to worry any more about my getting killed, and those bastards turned me into an adolescent sex fantasy all for you.”

“I didn’t ask for that.”

“I know.” She turned. “Here’s Sanda.”

Our other woman looked really stricken, filled with guilt, a guilt I knew would surface not only every time she looked at Dylan but also every time she looked in a mirror. She had done her idol in, and that was her true punishment.

Dylan grabbed her and hugged her. “Don’t feel so bad! Don’t feel so guilty! No more babies for you, no more prisoner! And we’re still together!” She turned back to me. “You can find a job for her, can’t you?”

I nodded, feeling relieved that that was out of the way. “Sure.” I looked around. “Let’s get out of this place.”

We walked out into the sunshine and sea breeze, and I hailed a cab to take us back to the dock. When we got out, Dylan looked up at Akeba House, out on the promontory. “There is one requirement they made that I have to observe, permission or no,” she told me. “I have to go up to the House in the next few days and, before an assembly of the women there, tell what happened to me and recant my crimes in front of them. That’ll be the hardest thing.”

We entered the old, familiar apartment. “You can set that up now and get it over with,” I noted, gestcring toward the phone.

She went over, took out her card, put it in the slot, and waited. Nothing happened. She sighed and turned to me. “You’ll have to dial for me,” she said wearily. “With no credit of any kind I can’t even make a simple phone call.”

I tried to console her. “I’m going after Laroo and this whole rotten system. You’re gonna be free and on the seas once more someday. I swear it.”

I was going to try as hard as hell to make her believe that, too.