A Parade of Indignities

Chapter 28: Of Falling in Line and Final Verdicts

It could only have been a handful of seconds that Zim and Dib held their embrace. As they did, though, a floodgate seemed to open between them. It shattered any residual guardedness and animosity. It united them in their brokenness. In vulnerability, they clung to what was left.

Then, as quickly as it had formed, it was being forced apart. Tugged at so easily by yet another outside force. Dib opened his sunken eyes. Zim was being pulled away from him somehow.

He let go, staring dumbstruck at two heavy cables that had surreptitiously wound their way around them and latched into the lowermost ports of Zim's PAK.

The cables lifted him into the air and whisked him directly in front of the Supreme Control Brain. On either side of Zim, the same had been done to both Tallest. All were at the mercy of the Brain, lifted by identical cables that had attached themselves to their PAKs.

Dib stood up, unsure of what to do or where to go. Before any sort of idea could take form in his head, a blast of light appeared inches from his face and permeated his vision in its ferocity. He startled, blinking back the smarting in his eyes. The light dimmed to a translucent glow, and he realized what it was. A forcefield had erected itself around him and locked him into place.

He began to panic, desperately glancing around for a means to escape.

It was useless.

The shield was an all-encompassing dome, transparent except for the vaguest tinge of blue.

The Brain spoke again, and something in the menacing, robotic boom demanded his attention, for he stopped what he was doing and looked up again.

"Whatever has occurred here has clearly been done with the intentional omission of authorization by the Irken Empire."

Instead of shrinking away or fighting the hold, all three captives were unnaturally submissive. They hung from the cables they were plugged into. Even so, they tensed up at the Brain's next words.

"Consequences will be in order."

Without any warning, Tallest Purple underwent some sort of spasm. His muscles twitched violently, then slackened. The ports on his PAK lit up all at once.

Upon the screen, a series of Irken characters appeared.

"Irken Almighty Tallest Purple. Smeetery clutch 6033231B. Royal Elite, squadron 713. Private First Class prior to inauguration. Inaugurated 4075th Tallest in Empire history."

Dib squinted at the screen. It must have been a chart of the Tallest's vital statistics.

The screen flickered, and Purple's memories flooded through much like Larb's had. In this case, however, it seemed that they were cycling through in reverse order, beginning with the most recent ones. They went by so quickly, only blurs and bursts of color could be seen.

Dib had to force his eyes away a few times. The flashing of light was an assault on the senses.

Every now and then, it would slow, and an occasional face or room could be made out. Several times, it stopped altogether, and a memory would replay at its normal speed for all to bear witness to.

It was clear enough what the Brain was doing; it was searching for evidence. Anything to elucidate what had transpired. Questioning was worth very little when this method was at the ready. Words could lie. Actions seldom did.

After what felt like an eternity, the screen finally went blank. The ports on Purple's PAK went dim.

Wordlessly, the exact same procedure was done on Red. He, too, tensed up as electricity shot through him and his statistics and memories were splashed up on display.