Life Sentence

Verdict

Year: 2209

"Mr. Norris, this court has reached a verdict. I would ask that you stand before this tribunal as we announce it to you."

I knew what was coming before the wrinkled crone even finished her words. Just by the tone, it was obvious that my fate had been decided before my appointed attorney even presented our defense against the charges. In reality, they were right. 

I was a murderer, but a justified one.

The laws of this world changed at the end of the 22nd century, and with them came new punishments. Even minor crimes were dealt with swiftly, and usually without any regard for leniency. Murder, however, was a special crime. Death was viewed as too swift a punishment, and a new form of torture was developed.

Exile of the mind was the new...humane method. Decades prior, slavery in the colonies was utilized, but violent uprisings had caused legislation to shift abruptly. My defense attorney reeked of cheap cologne, and his grey suit barely fit around his spherical midriff. I couldn't fault him for his efforts in the case, however. It was a losing battle from the start, as there were dozens of eyewitnesses to my supposed crime.

Crime.

The word irked me. It was justice. I was the drunk driver's judge. I was the one who watched powerlessly as he crashed his hoverbike into my daughter and wife. Even now, a few months after the event, I can't recall what I had done. I only came to with my thumbs in his eye sockets, as he lay lifeless under me. The witnesses described what they saw, but each word hung hollow, since my memories failed me.

I was jealous. I want to remember what they do. I'd give anything to see the extent of his punishment by my wrath. From the fear in his eyes, to his cries for help, I wanted to remember it all. Now, I stood next to the only advocate I had left, awaiting the certain decision.

"Thomas A. Norris, we three find you guilty of the crime of murder. Would you prefer to adjudicate the terms of your sentence now?" another of the justices asked, this one a balding man with pale blue eyes and scarce blonde hair.

"There is no point in waiting," I replied, nearly yawning from boredom.

"Very well," the crone said back. "You are hereby sentenced to the Ninth World within the Mind Exile Program."

My attorney nearly fell backwards when the words were announced. "Your honors," he finally managed to croak out. "Surely you don't believe that is an appropriate sentence. My client was overcome with emotion at his loss, yet you condemn him to a world on the brink of Hell itself?!"

I wanted to stop him, but it was the most passion I'd seen out of him since the trial began. I knew very little of the punishment, but his response told me it would be quite unpleasant. Society was given scant details, but there were nine virtual worlds that prisoners could be forced to experience as a result of their crimes. The creators based it upon Dante's Inferno, and it was celebrated as a revolution in the realm of rehabilitation.

Judging by my attorney's words, something terrible awaited me. Fortunately, I didn't care. There was nothing else that this world could steal from me. All I had been given to remember them by was a small locket with a fraction of their ashes mixed together. A memento bought by taxpayer dollars.

"He has shown blatant disregard for the life he stole in return. As an educated man, he should've known that two wrongs don't make a right," the final justice said.

Unlike the other two, their identity was a complete mystery to me. Even their voice was androgynous, hidden beneath a shadowy hood. Still, I could tell they hated me the most. It was their voice from the beginning of the "trial" that convinced me of my ultimate judgement. I had lost before it had even begun.