Redress

It was 8 PM. He was walked by two policemen through the corridors of Greenville Village Penitentiary. "36,37,...39,40,41" he counted the blue overhead lights that were lit in symmetry across the entire corridor. He wore a dark green t-shirt with a denim jacket, Levi jeans, and off-white sneakers. His hands were cuffed and he walked. On either side were two stout policemen with neutral expressions on their faces - carrying out their duty with the utmost integrity. The two policemen were physically fit - any deviation from the regular movement and they could spring into action. These policemen were trained by very sophisticated and elite trainers. Their mere presence spoke of loyalty, professionalism, and uncompromising standards.

Finally, the trio reached the farthest end of the corridor where the last light was flickering. "112.. jeez .. finally," the perpetrator said. At the farthest end, there was a small room with no window. When one of the policemen opened the door, they were greeted by a man in a brown suit with a white shirt and off-white vest holding a book. The two policemen brought him inside the room and closed the door behind them. "Why don't one of you lock the room from inside and stay here and the other one lock it from outside and stay there?" said the man in the suit. The two policemen nodded and one to the left got out of the room, locked the room, and stood guard. The flickering light from the corridor would hit on his right hand glaringly showing the vein popping out from an intense workout.

In the room, was a brown rectangle table with three chairs. The other policeman who was inside, put a latch and locked the door and stood upright and putting his left hand on top of his right wrist and positioning them near his torso. The man in the brown suit, Henry, said "Thank you both. I'll take it from here."

"Mr. Carter, as you might be aware how the judiciary system works in Greenville Village," Henry said. "We have a full proof and a thorough system that is evaluated by 3 smart robots and 2 judges. The success ratio of the judiciary system has been 100%. You might not be aware of this, but this system was able to solve the age-old Protagoras' paradox. I'll spare you the details of this paradox." Henry continued. "I'm well aware of the Protagoras' paradox," Carter interjected. "Good, Good Mr. Carter. I'm fascinated to deal with an intellectual perpetrator. But please do me a favor. Having called you an intellect and presumably a civilized person, please do not interject in my speech. I'd appreciate it if you can speak when you're told. It disrupts the flow of my organized thoughts and my words." Henry said slowly but intensely.

"As I was saying, our judiciary, dare I say, flawless?" "...appears to have pronounced you guilty for the crimes you committed against the Benson family," Henry said. He continued "You kidnapped the youngest 15-year-old son and kept him in your dungeon for 70 days. Interestingly, you didn't maltreat or abuse him in any way and took care of him like a nanny. You were merely interested in his mathematical, verbal, and musical aptitude and you put him through different kinds of tests, hooked him through ECGs, other brain scans, and many other sophisticated instruments to measure his overall intelligence. Tell me, why were you so curious in learning about his intelligence? I give you he's one of the smartest human beings alive and has been declared as such by many universities and private organizations. Why undertake such risky ventures knowing full well that they can have the most dire consequences? You could have merely scheduled a call with Mr. Benson and since your reputation precedes you, he would've welcomed you like an honored guest. Why Mr. Carter, or shall I say, Dr. Wilson?"

Silence prevailed. The flickering light outside the room could be distinctly heard. Inhales and exhales of the policeman inside the room, were more pronounced. "Answer me, Dr. Wilson," Henry said. "Sure, I can't reduce the punishment, but per the law, I need to understand your motive for such actions," Henry added. "Unbeknownst to many, the boy doesn't breathe." Dr. Wilson said. "The boy doesn't breathe. He acts like he's breathing when he's measured, but he doesn't need air to survive. Doesn't it strike you how an individual still exists without breathing?" Dr. Wilson said.

"Dr. Wilson, I admire your work in physiology and the Security Force has tremendously benefitted from your work. Unfortunately, now isn't the best time for your eccentricity. Please succinctly answer my question. As you might know, this room isn't merely made out of bricks and cement. " As Henry was saying, Dr. Wilson spoke the exact words as Henry when he was describing the room "It's made out of carbon turnstile and every atom on the wall can decipher thoughts, ideas, and memories." they both said it together. "Remarkable Dr. Wilson! You knew so well about this facility. Unfortunately, what you didn't know that you spoke out of turn therefore your disobedience will be met with pain. " Henry said.

From the side walls and the top and bottom, two guns emerged. Dr. Wilson's face was put in the center, and suddenly, there was a flash of lighting. "You'll be fine. I've just numbed some of the nerves in your brain so that your ability to obey commands enhances. It must've been painful getting that light through your nerves. Since truth serum has been banned for some time now, we've come up with a much more sophisticated way of dealing with perps." Henry said.

"Now, Dr. Wilson, please continue and once again, no eccentricities," Henry said. "I'm not lying. The walls will tell you that. The boy doesn't breathe." Dr. Wilson said. A small green light came from the wall indicating Dr. Wilson's statement's veracity. "Interesting doctor." Henry acknowledged after understanding what the green light indicated. "Tell me more, now, I want you to be as detailed as possible" Said Henry.

"You've rummaged through my lab. The tests I did on the boy will tell you everything." Dr. Wilson said. "Yes, we found your tests, and, most of them were geared towards measuring the boy's intelligence. We couldn't find any test results about the boy's anatomy. That was going to be my next question. But since we've already jumped the gun, might as well talk about it." Henry said.

"I've performed 1000 tests in 70 days. It's not an exaggerated number, I've indexed every test result and the total is 1011. None of them are remotely pointing to his breathing. Forget tests, I talked to the boy to bond with him, to gain his trust and know if he was hiding something. He wasn't hiding otherwise my lie-meter would've buzzed like crazy. I calibrated my instruments a few times and each time, I reached the same conclusion. No Breathing!!" Dr. Wilson said with the last sentence a bit more louder causing the policeman inside to almost spring into action only to be stopped by Henry's raised palm and sideway headshake.

"If you felt the boy wasn't breathing. Why not reach out to the scientific community and take a legit approach and research with academicians and scientists? Surely the Benson family would've happily agreed. Why kidnap the boy?" Henry inquired. "I've developed a unique system and procedure to understand human anatomy better. There's a piece of equipment far more sophisticated than any instrument that's out there in the world. I did not want the world to know about this instrument nor did I want to wait till I'd have a chance to run tests on the boy. The equipment is locked and stationed and cannot be moved because it's heavy. Someday, I'll develop a miniaturized version of it, but for now, it's immovable. " Dr. Wilson responded. "Tell me more about this equipment," Henry asked. "I can't. It's not that I don't want to but it's up to the equipment if it wants to be understood by you." Dr. Wilson said. "Doctor .. careful there. Remember.. no eccentricities. " Henry said. "I'm not joking or fooling around." Dr. Wilson said and pointed to the green light.

"So, let me get this. You think the boy doesn't breathe and is still surviving and apparently, you ran some tests. Excuse me.. 1011 tests along with your special equipment? And what exactly were you going to do with that conclusion?" Henry asked. "The boy's non-breathing ability could be transferred to another human being. We humans could survive in Space for all we know and it'd lead to a new chapter in mankind. I was going to be that first human being who was going to get those abilities transplanted until you all meddled in my work." Dr. Wilson said. "Well, too bad," Henry said.

"If it were any other boy, you probably could've had less dire consequences. Unfortunately, since it's the Benson family you messed with, your punishment isn't going to be easy. Under the charges of kidnapping, and performing non-regulatory physiological & psychological tests, you have been found guilty by our judiciary system." Henry continued.

"Anyway, I think our team has already scanned all your neurons and backed up your thoughts, ideas, memories, and parts of your consciousness. We will understand the special equipment ourselves. We don't need you. Society doesn't want you. But the world isn't cruel. We will not throw you in jail or execute you. That's far too easy and convenient. For your punishment, you will be wrapped in a special bandage. Like a mummy. You won't be needing food, water, or even air as this is a specially designed bandage aimed to take care of your physiological system. You will walk out here as a freeman but you won't be able to feel another human skin for the rest of your life. You want to hug your son or daughter, you won't feel their skin. Oh and, your olfactory receptors will be blocked. So, you'll only be able to breathe in and out but won't have a sense of smell. You will walk freely and can see scenic views, but you won't be able to feel the fresh air against your cheek. Oh and, this bandage also has a self-defense mechanism. You can't kill yourself by a gun or knife, nor throw yourself under the bus or off a steep ledge. You can't drown, or hang yourself, and since you can't consume anything, we wouldn't have to worry about you consuming any pills." Henry concluded.