Chapter 98 – Trial
Trial.
Although there are many words and difficulties, it is an essential element for humans to maintain society.
Therefore, although the best minds try to execute rationally, complaints continue.
‘Let’s cut everything and leave it to AI!’
‘Judges, because their colleagues were defrauded, they give harsh sentences. What kind of noble cartel is this?’
‘Isn’t the verdict what they say? At least the first trial should be run by AI and humans should be in charge from the second trial onwards!’
The AI judge is mentioned every time a ruling is made that is unreasonable in the eyes of the public.
It actually came true. Perhaps this is the first time in human history. This is because there were many obstacles to overcome before.
Possibility of hacking, political approval, possibility of maintenance by mechanics, and crucially, will people recognize the authority of AI judges, etc.
None of this applies to shelters.
Who would dare hack Artemis? The government has long since disappeared, and it is meaningless to consider the possibility of manipulation by the mechanic.
If I, the manager, decide to call the guilty not guilty or the innocent guilty, that’s it.
The issue of the AI judge’s authority is the least of my worries.
[Everyone please take a seat.]
Artemis said.
The place we are is a courthouse built by remodeling a cathedral.
It was the largest and grandest building in the lower part, and its interior design, which exuded a sacred atmosphere, was consistent with its use as a court.
It seems that Artemis liked the fact that there were many arched pillars.
A bust of her wearing a judge’s uniform appeared on the large screen in front.
Skin that looks like it was made from moonlight. The silver-white hair that fell on the neat judge’s uniform became the best accessory in itself. As if she didn’t need her pearl necklace.
The golden eyes contain a dignity that cannot be dared to be met directly.
Wisdom that cannot be accessed by human cognitive ability, and intuition that can easily see through human skin.
The golden eyes that implicitly reveal this imply that she is not human.
Beautiful lips. Who would dare bend it against her will? No great comedian or wit would be able to do this.
The courtroom was full of people. Except for about ten faction members, they were people who came out of interest.
Perhaps because everyone was once in the position of being interrogated in the defendant’s chair, the current situation across the river is a kind of entertainment.
There is no fierce battle between prosecutors and lawyers that would occur in a real trial. It is not possible to find two professionals, and the laws of the old world that they have studied their entire lives do not apply here.
The time for the witnesses to testify was not long.
To testify for someone means to take revenge on someone. This is because there were few people who could handle it.
Shelter life is like an orphanage where there is no graduation.
The strict, cute, smart, and fearsome director monitors every part of the hospital and runs it well, but he is not interested in the children’s detailed relationships.
This is like a jungle where food, clothing, and shelter are provided. Preserving one’s buttocks is everyone’s top priority.
In addition, the trial proceeded quickly because the judge, Artemis, understood the case more accurately than the witnesses or even the parties themselves.
Arguments that did not receive the right to speak were immediately dismissed, mental victory tactics only resulted in heavier punishments for themselves, and tactics such as appeals based on emotions, playing the victim, and labeling a hater did not work at all.
For reference, there was a death penalty in the shelter’s bylaws, but I got rid of it.
Therefore, the current maximum penalty is exile, which in today’s world is effectively the same as a death sentence. There has been no sentencing yet.
[The defendant is sentenced to one week of deportation.]
That was sentenced today.
She had already been to solitary confinement twice for breaking the rules, but as soon as she was released, she got into a big fight and even damaged her property.
This is also in an area classified as a green zone, where violence is absolutely prohibited.
The audience murmured at the first banishment sentence. However, it is not just a deportation sentence, it is a one-week deportation sentence. Everyone sitting in the audience swallowed their saliva and concentrated.
[The defendant will be transported by vehicle to a location 20 km outside the shelter at the same time the trial ends. Both sight and hearing are blocked while moving. Materials other than one week’s worth of water and electronic anklets are not provided. If survival is confirmed after a week, a recovery team will be dispatched and brought to the shelter. After going through a rapid quarantine process, they are placed in solitary confinement for two weeks and then returned to the city with hard labor.]
A collective gasp could be heard from the audience. The defendant, the person involved, had his eyes wide open, but what could he do?
I got goosebumps at the rapid quarantine part. This is a measure that is sometimes taken in chemical, biological and biological units, and among soldiers it is called human laundry.
Dandruff, dead skin cells, pubic lice, and even malignant constipation, which even the best urologists have given up on, are completely cured.
The human who received that would be the best food material for cannibals. Like Sanzier, there won’t be a single booger, eye roll, or piece of poop.
I will not explain how painful and humiliating the process is.
The second defendant, who came out after the first defendant was dragged away, was also forced to stand still due to an act of violence.
As her second-in-command in the same faction, she formally challenged the boss and damaged his cheekbone in the fight.
She claimed that she was not guilty, as it was a duel with permission from the city and consent between her parties.
[Yes. I am certain that I am admitted, Honorable Judge.]
Kids, who had been summoned as a three-headed hologram, spoke. In the shelter, bare-knuckle duels between residents are allowed as a means of coordinating opinions.
Since we are barbaric inhabitants in a barbaric era, barbaric mediation is partly necessary.
Except for those classified as important people, AI counselors can issue duel permission on their own.
Artemis was cleared of assault that occurred during a fierce battle.
However, it was pointed out that he was guilty of jumping on top of the opponent who was shouting surrender while he was down and throwing five punches.
“He didn’t say surrender!”
The defendant’s defense immediately lost strength in front of the video Artemis played.
[Ha, surrender! I will surrender! Please stop hitting me!]
Exclaimed the former leader in the intensive care unit. She had a double nosebleed and tears were flowing.
[What? I can’t hear you?!]
The woman in the defendant’s box swung her fists with her ferocious face.
[The crime of perjury will also be added.]
Artemis declared in a cold voice, and the defendant lowered her head.
Following massive penalty points and two weeks of solitary confinement, he was transferred to the most difficult and dirty labor location.
A woman who was sincere and had a high evaluation score at that labor site was forced to leave that position.
[The defendant is sentenced to cane. The punishment constant is 15 strokes.]
There was also a woman who was sentenced to caning, which was abolished in Korea before the war.
However, there is a choice in caning here. Hips, calves, soles, back. You can choose any of these four parts, and it is also possible to mix them.
Since the coefficient was different for each area to be hit, the amount to be hit increased or decreased depending on where you chose.
The woman from the Middle East standing in the defendant’s box thought and pondered for a while before choosing the sole of her foot. She must have been hit twice as much as other parts, but she seemed to be the most formidable.
Understandably, the buttocks were clubs, the calves were leather whips that would burst blood with just one hit, and the backs were whips, although they took the least amount of hits.
Except for these three people, most of the others were given light punishments.
* * *
“Good job, Artemis.”
[I’ve been there.]
After her trial, she was greeted in her central control room.
I don’t know if it’s the right expression to say I’m welcoming Artemis, who can disappear and appear at the speed of thought.
However, when she finishes her irregular work, she is very happy when I welcome her and say that I did a good job here. She never shows it or admits it, but she does.
[Oh my gosh, it’s a bridge.]
I really do get pampered sometimes.
She puts it off as humor, but she isn’t particularly funny and the response she expects from me is something other than laughter.
“What if I don’t have any legs that hurt?”
Then, a huge image appeared on the front window that replaced the wall.
That is the appearance of Artemis. Unlike the bust seen at the trial, it was a full body.
Black miniskirt, red shirt, and old-fashioned brooch. He takes off his court uniform and puts on a white researcher’s coat.
Ancient people created numerous idols by embodying the images they came up with.
If you were to create a goddess of science with 21st century sensibilities, wouldn’t the Artemis in front of you have that feeling?
[Say it again. Who doesn’t have legs?]
Those voluptuous legs that will take your breath away just by looking at them. Her sacred legs are wrapped in stockings.
As she sits with her legs crossed, the pressed flesh of her thighs and calves stands out.
This expression may be profane, but it was like looking at the loin of a whole roasted suckling pig. It made me want to rush in and bury her face and eat her up.
[How does it look to you?]
She said, tapping her shoes halfway on her toes.
“Uh, um…”
Artemis smiled gracefully. As if you don’t have to wait for my answer, you can tell everything just by the change in facial expression and body temperature.
[Say it. Please describe it in detail.]
I felt like I was back as an adolescent boy.
Her smile, which had been deepening as her heartbeat was getting faster, suddenly became stiff.
[You…]
Artemis slowly turns her head in confusion.
[Why are you stopping all of a sudden?]
The video turned off and a panoramic view of the city appeared.
Only then did I discover that my lower abdomen had grown so big that it seemed like it was about to burst.
“…”
It took a while for the awkward atmosphere to be restored.
* * *
[Do I really have to do this?]
Artemis said as she watched the APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) leaving the shelter. This is a convoy carrying a prisoner sentenced to one week of deportation.
“Then just let him die?”
The ‘to this extent’ that Artemis spoke of is not about banishment.
She is conditionally in favor of the death penalty. She was willing to take merciless action against barbarians who did not follow the city’s rules.
The prisoner on the APC was originally scheduled to be sentenced to permanent deportation and abandoned 50 km away. But I put the brakes on.
“If you worked hard for a week and came back a mess, that’s enough to set an example. There’s no need to kill him, right?”
Far above the APC.
A small airship painted in light blue camouflage is following there. At the bottom, there are six scout drones, also light blue, hanging.
Drone carrier.
This is a new type of equipment developed based on a meteorological measurement airship captured by a robot exploration team.
It supports long-distance flight and supply of drones with battery limitations, and shares the field of view secured with a high-performance telephoto lens with the deployed drones.
It can be seen as having the functions of both a micro aircraft carrier and an early warning aircraft.
Currently, I am accompanying a resident who was sentenced to one week of deportation as an invisible nanny.
“What are the chances of that woman dying?”
[This plain is the place with the fewest number of infected people due to the previous sweep operation. Since it is open on all sides, if a dangerous element appears, it can be identified immediately, and a drone will be dispatched to intercept it from a few hundred meters away. There is a river nearby that you can jump into if you get the chance.]
A probability of 2.7% appeared on the screen.
[You know this is no different from a show, right?]
“It’s not a show unless you get caught.”
Artemis looked dissatisfied.
[There’s no guarantee that you won’t have another accident when you come back.]
She seems to have lingering feelings about the permanent deportation of the resident who caused the problem.
“It will be corrected. I saw it often while serving in the military. They go around biting like crazy dogs, but they aren’t really crazy. It’s a case of being driven by fear and pride and being more thorny than necessary and causing an accident. “Once you get the hang of something like that, you’ll come to your senses.”
I clenched my chin.
“You think I’m soft, right?”
She didn’t answer, but she may be saying yes.
“You know, Artemis. I was an orphan, but I never once felt the threat of death until I enlisted. Even though it wasn’t delicious, there was always food served at the orphanage, and at least I could get a meal from the Salvation Army. “It’s not a country where there are human traffickers or gangs with guns running around like some countries in Central and South America with bad security, and there’s nothing to be afraid of even at night, right?”
Korea’s security has always been the best in the world.
“Besides, they say it’s everyone’s life, but no matter what, if someone falls down, there are people everywhere who will jump in. This country called Korea is like that. It was a place where it was only natural to live without the threat of death in daily life. I lived that way too, and the women in the shelter probably did the same.”
If you ask me what was the most valuable thing about Korea before the war, I would not hesitate to choose one thing.
It is a social atmosphere in which it is natural to not be threatened with death, whether from hunger or security.
Maybe I feel that way because I’ve been deployed to countries where troops are in trouble.
“No matter how ruined the world is, I want to preserve the sense of Korea before the war.”
When I thought this far, I decided to intervene in the banishment sentence.
[But if the idea that you can survive no matter what you do spreads, it becomes difficult to control.]
Artemis’ counterargument is valid.
“Know. This is the world, and I don’t think it’s possible to be the same as before the war. We have to make some compromises.”
APC stopped.
While two-armed security robots stood guard, one security robot dragged the exile out.
“Anyway, I don’t want to sentence you to death from the beginning. “I have to try bluffing to get people to listen.”
When the black cloth is removed, the prisoner’s face is revealed, full of despair and regret.
“Yes!”
[Ugh.]
Artemis sighs as if she can’t stop me from cheering. But her sigh seems to contain laughter somewhere. Maybe it’s my imagination.
In any case, the exiled woman seemed to have realized her situation.
Is it really possible that they will kick him out? It was an expression on his face when he realized how complacent his thoughts were.
[Keekeeeeek-!]
There is fear on her face.
This is because I saw an infectious agent approaching here from afar.
Her guard robot grabbed her by the crotch of her own pants, not her legs, and Rain recited her emotionless banishment sentence to her.
[Please! Jebaal…]
While the sentence lasted just 30 seconds, she prayed, prayed, prayed with both hands together. Her snot, which ran down to her chin, became a long solid line and swayed in the wind.
But emotional appeals are of no use to someone without a heart.
Kiyiing.
The sound of her APC starting up must have sounded like a veritable death sentence to her.
[Sorry! Please don’t throw it away! Please save me! I will do anything!]
Leaving her screaming, her APC takes off, kicking up her dust.
Covered in her tears and snot, he runs after her and stumbles on her stone beak. The water bottle falls to the ground and rolls around.
I sit down and reach out for the APC that is already disappearing in the distance, but it is a futile effort.
[Keeeeek-!]
Shocked, she looks at Walker. She was still a considerable distance away, but that was no comfort at all.
[Huh.]
She woke up trembling, wiped away her tears and held a bucket of dirt-covered water in her hands.
And walk. She sleeps as far away from walkers as possible. But there are plains everywhere, so I don’t know where to go…
[Keeeeek-!]
The terrible cries of her walker tormented her constantly.
But actually, she doesn’t have to be afraid of that walker.
This is because one Achilles tendon and the tendons in both arms were torn. All of its teeth have been pulled out, so it has a good voice and is not really a threat.
[Sigh…]
She will never know.
[It seems like there has definitely been some reflection. But not everyone will. What if a serious criminal turns out to be irredeemable? Shelter terrorists or something.]
Artemis asked the last question.
“Then I will have blood on my hands.”
There was a definite answer to that question. I’m not without experience.
