Seren- Legends of the Galaxy

by P H Campbell

  "Is this a prison planet because of the gravity?" Seren asked as the group disembarked at the spaceport and experienced the transition from standard gravity after stepping off of the ship. Their attire helped offset the effects of the gravity on them, though they still had to contend with the inertia.

  "I believe the reason is less direct than that," Dr. Treah admitted. "The gravity is high, bordering on uncomfortable for most beings, rendering it unsuitable for most colonization efforts. Still, it is a large planet with a moderate climate and other than the gravity is ideal for a highly technological population. They decided that because few systems were interested in sending populations to a higher gravity planet for colonization, that it would instead primarily be a transitional center, reorienting and rehabilitating our criminal element."

  "Now that we're here, maybe you can explain the reorientation part of that?" Seren inquired, having heard bits and pieces here and there that hinted at an entirely different approach than pure incarceration, but nothing specific. What little she'd heard, or at least what it implied, seemed quite disturbing to her. Even more-so than locking people up on an icy world to pay off their debts to those they wronged.

  "I believe the administrators of the main facility would be much more qualified to address your questions, Seren," Dr. Treah replied. "I don't mean to be evasive. I just do not want to be… imprecise."

  "I appreciate your candor, Treah," Seren nodded, knowing that the woman was being evasive anyhow. She certainly knew enough about it to answer basic questions. Why wouldn't she answer them herself? Her statement was mostly true, but there was also a strong undertone of deliberate misrepresentation to it.

  Her brain had some very unusual "flavors" when she spoke. Seren had noted them, but in associating with Methmen and Humonians, hadn't realized how unusual they were for a human until just then. While not jumping to any conclusions, Seren knew she needed to be more alert to situations involving Treah. She said she was Human, and wasn't lying, but she hadn't started off that way, and she wasn't lying about that, either.

  Getting used to dealing with more gravity than usual wasn't that difficult. They provided those who needed aid with powered exo-suits that helped them move more normally. Most everyone else had similar, though less obtrusive, gear built into their attire, making living on the planet more tolerable. Things fell faster, and hit harder, than in normal gravity, but that, too, was mostly a matter of getting used to it.

  The general feel of the place wasn't oppressive – at least not compared to the mole-like existence of the prisoners on UGC 1182-F. It was bright, the air was fresh, the buildings modern, the level of technology, and the standard of living, appeared to be high. The landscaping was neatly arranged, trimmed and obedient to the will of the landscapers.

  But Seren couldn't help feeling a tingling of unease about the place.

  As they walked, the people seemed friendly and open. No one was impolite. No one raised their voices. No one was violent, threatening or even came close to appearing slightly annoyed. Rudeness of any kind seemed to be absent. Almost everyone seemed to have a smile.

  But Seren could taste/smell them and it was a decidedly unpleasant sensation. Far more-so than being confronted by armed prisoners rebelling against the system. She glanced at Treah, who wore her customary, carefully neutral expression, as they transported the group to the main administration building.

  "What do you think of this place, Treah?" Seren asked.

  "My opinion doesn't matter," Dr. Treah replied honestly. "It's your opinions of us which count."

  "So, you feel them, too, don't you?" Seren asked, sensing the prevarication loud and clear in the woman's mind. "There's something not right with them. Something… hard to describe. It's not good, but it's hard to say why it's bad."

  Dr. Treah's lips pressed tightly together in a slight frown. Reluctantly, she nodded once, a move so subtle that none of the others occupied looking out the windows noticed.

  Seren didn't need to ask anything more. That tiny motion confirmed a lot of suspicions in Seren's mind about Dr. Treah's true nature. If Dr. Treah wanted to keep that aspect of herself from the others, Seren would not probe. That true nature wouldn't impact Dr. Treah's willingness to be truthful.

  "Having seen your reactions to UGC one one eight two foxtrot and knowing a bit about your society, I strongly suspect you will greatly disapprove of how we deal with our criminals," Dr. Treah admitted.

  "A society's greatness is measured by how it treats its least favored," Seren replied.

  "Have you studied the wisdom of ancient Earth leaders?" Dr. Treah asked, having heard a similar quote in her past.

  "No, I figured that's just common sense," Seren replied. "Why?"

  "A well respected Earth leader once said much the same thing," Dr. Treah explained.

  "At least it's not a new concept," Seren grinned. "This whole 'who are we going to join' trip is based on that idea."

  "Does that mean your evaluation will end after we have seen these two planets?" Dr. Treah wondered.

  Seren shook her head, saying, "No, we still need more context to grasp what each side is all about. And we're taking it on faith that both sides are being honest with us."

  "Given the resources your system has to offer the rest of the galaxy, is that not a somewhat naïve position?" Dr. Treah remarked more than asked.

  "The way I see it is that we have something both sides want," Seren replied honestly. "We can't use it, at least not right now, so we base our position only on the treaties that exist between your two sides. But we need things your two sides have, too, so there's room to negotiate that."

  "Both sides?" Dr. Treah emphasized.

  "Very much so," Seren nodded. "We have a seriously fucked up planet. Both sides can help us. One may be able to do it better than the other, and we may be able to get along with one side better than the other. We'll know once we see how that all plays out.

  "That means both sides have to play by our rules until we choose a side and have to play by their rules. If both sides aren't honest with us, well, we're fucked either way regarding getting help FASTER than we can do it ourselves. If one side lies and the other side doesn't, the decision is pretty simple. But if both sides are honest and play by our rules, we can arrive at a decision based on the merits of their societies alone, which I think is the best route to go.

  "So, it's not naïve," she concluded. "It's a deliberate strategy. We're not relying on honesty to decide. We're relying on both side's self-interest to make both sides be as honest as they can be with us, since both sides lose if they aren't."

  Treah realized that she might have underestimated Seren's intelligence and skill as a negotiator. Her strategy was exceptionally sound, because it invited "cheating" when doing so would be highly detrimental to the cheater. If a side tried to take advantage of her contrived naivety, she'd know, and would then turn to the other side. Since both sides knew that, Seren was all but guaranteeing both sides played fairly with her.

  "Remind me to never play poker with you," Treah mentioned.

  Once at the administration building, the group met the chief administrator, a Synthi. The Synthi were semi-solid, semi-transparent creatures whose appearance often changed. It wasn't the only one of its race present, either. Synthi could deal with high-gravity planets far better than most other races, being mostly a protoplasmic life form. Some appeared vaguely humanoid, though that varied from individual to individual. A few of them were emulating the shape of a human female. Their unique and defining characteristic, however, was their often disturbing habit of generating special sensory organs at will to inspect something, then reabsorbing the organ once the need for that organ had ended. Another trait of the race included the habit of articulating aloud their uppermost thoughts.

  Seren and the group had also received a briefing about them, but even with holos and a detailed explanation, the reality of meeting one face to "face" was, to put it mildly, somewhat shocking. Out of courtesy, it had
assumed the general shape of a human female. When it spoke, its voice also had a feminine quality around it.

  "Greetings, Worlders," it said in very good Common. "Welcome to our world. We are Fa'glit, the chief administrator of UGC zero zero six three beta. We often call it Gateway."

  "Thank you for catering to our demands," Seren smiled, speaking in English. "We'll try to minimize any inconvenience those demands created as much as possible."

  "There's little concern about inconvenience," Fa'glit replied with a "smile" eerily similar to the one Seren had given. "We expect that you shall find our planet a very pleasant place to visit, the gravity notwithstanding."

  "Pleasant is a good adjective to describe it," Seren diplomatically agreed, though the pleasant aspect was a very disturbing one.

  "We are sure you have questions about what we do here," Fa'glit brought up. "If you'll follow me, we can address them in a more comfortable setting."

  If the reception at UGC 1182-F had been "informal", they could say it was the opposite of the reception given to the delegates at UGC 0063-B. Fa'glit led the group to a relatively large hall, where a reception of sorts was waiting for them. It wasn't exactly a party, but wasn't exactly a lecture, either. It combined elements of both. They provided refreshments in a setting that seemed to say, "We're trying a bit too hard to impress you." Fortunately, there was no actual lecture. The orientation provided for the delegates had sufficed for that. This was a way to allow the delegation from The World to mix and talk with delegates from all over the UGW.

  The delegates themselves represented many of the species of intelligent life found in the UGW, but were predominantly Human or Methonian. Intelligent life was actually fairly rare, and it was Humans who brought space travel to the stars. Humans and Methonians populated most of the hundreds of worlds in the UGW and whatever few intelligent species – like the Synthi – they found.

  The delegates attending the reception eventually swooped in on their chosen (or assigned) individuals from Seren's world, split them off and sat down to talk with them. Most of them had learned Common, since the group from The World didn't have the usual translators embedded at birth. Seren's counterpart was Fa'glit itself.

  "We are sure our appearance is disconcerting to you," it apologized as it led Seren away from the pack toward a set of chairs and tables apparently reserved for relatively private, if open, conversation.

  "Appearances are relative," Seren shrugged, gesturing to the others in her party. "We're all people inside." With a dismissive wave, she turned and leaned forward earnestly and asked, "So, I've heard a few things about what goes on here on Gateway. But I've not gotten any specific information. Would it be too much of a bother for you to explain exactly what happens to criminals here?"

  "Not at all," Fa'glit replied. "In the most basic of terms, we erase the bad and replace it with good in each offender."

  "I don't think I want to know how that works," Seren admitted, "but a little more detail about that would be good to know. What's the 'bad' and what's the 'good'?"

  "Ah, yes, that is difficult to describe in general terms," Fa'glit confessed. "Each offender has personal differences. Their rehabilitation addresses those differences, not necessarily as punishment for their crimes, but to ensure it stops criminal behaviors."

  Seren blinked, still not getting it.

  "Could you be a bit more specific?" she requested. "One would think differences are good."

  "In a general sense, they are," Fa'glit agreed. "But some differences are inherently sociopathic – people who want to commit acts contrary to the public good. Some differences are sociopathic in action – people who don't want to commit crimes, but do so due to circumstances over which they feel they have no control. In a very general sense, we adjust those who are inherently sociopathic to be good citizens, instead, and adjust those who are sociopathic in action to cease their sociopathic behaviors. For those latter, the adjustments are circumstantial, rather than physical. It's very much an individual approach to criminal reform and justice."

  "So, where do you keep them when you're done adjusting them?" Seren wanted to know.

  "Those who receive the most radical adjustments remain on Gateway," Fa'glit explained. "Those are the ones who required physical adjustments. Fortunately, sociopathy of that nature is relatively uncommon. The rest serve a time of transition to their new outlooks, then return to their homes, if that's what they want to do. Most usually return, though a large number remain here. As you have mentioned, it is a very pleasant place to live, and everyone has a role to play in keeping it that way."

  "The gravity notwithstanding," Seren amended with a grin.

  "Precisely," Fa'glit agreed.

  "So, what about minor offenders?" Seren wondered. "Are they treated the same way?"

  "We treat everyone the same way," Fa'glit nodded its head. "Most criminal cases are tried at the local level with restitution or some form of community service – that form of deterrence is usually effective enough to prevent re-offense – but the more serious cases and any re-offenders come to Gateway for more definitive, and individualized, readjustment."

  "I see," Seren nodded her understanding, if not full comprehension. She couldn't tell if the being was lying or not, but suspected that it didn't do that, and had no reason to do it, either. "I take it there are no secrets here regarding what offenders experience once sent here?"

  "Oh, none," Fa'glit agreed. "Secrets would be counterproductive to the adjustments, and would also work against deterrence. People should know what the consequences of sociopathic behavior are, so that those who may have better self-control are more apt to restrain sociopathic behavior. So we are very up front about that. We just ensure that those who don't restrain themselves on their own are forced to restrain themselves, in a very general sense, once they've established they can't be trusted to do so themselves."

  "Would I be mistaken in assuming that someone only ever re-offends once, and only in a minor crime case?" Seren asked.

  "That is exactly what happens," Fa'glit agreed, its voice sounding seemingly surprised by Seren's quick conclusion. It was hard to tell because, for the most part, the Synthi didn't have much of a face upon which she could read an expression.

  Seren now understood why the Shade hated the UGW as much as they did. Freedom to be the person they wanted to be was a vital part of their society. The variables were only in how much mischief amounted to a 'crime' in each society and at what point that 'crime' became grave enough to require corrective measures, instead of just being punished locally and released, and to do nothing 'bad' again.

  The Shade had little nuance. Break a contract, or steal from someone, and you go to prison for a time. Kill someone, and you're in prison for life. The UGW's penal system appeared to rely entirely on nuance. Although the adjustments were specific to the individual regardless of what crime they committed, the outcome of those adjustments seemed to be the same. They would either restrain themselves, or they would have an artificial restraint placed on them, forcing them to comply.

  For good.

  "Speaking hypothetically," Seren wondered, "what would the outcome be of a person who has never committed a crime who must commit a crime to save a life?"

  The Synthi 'smiled' and replied, "Our position is that of an administrator of a planet dedicated to rehabilitating convicted criminals. Rehabilitation involves making adjustments to the individual as directed by the judicial system prior to their arrival. We only implement the proper adjustments. They discover what those adjustments might be during their trial. In that, we are told by the judicial system what outcome they want imposed on the individual. Our task is simply to implement the adjustments as mandated by their findings.

  "So to answer your question, we don't decide the outcome at all. If you wish to know, you will need to be more specific, and speak to a judiciary member for a likely ruling."

  "I'll make a note to do that," Seren nodded. "I think we'd like to more or less wander around a
nd meet people and see how the place works ourselves. Will there be any special considerations of which we should be aware?"

  "We can arrange a tour of the facilities where the adjustments are done," Fa'glit offered. "As for wandering around, you are free to do so provided you obey the posted rules. They will give you an audible and visual warning if you are about to breech some aspect of them, so it will not be difficult to obey them. Mostly, if you act civilly, we wouldn't expect much rule breaching to happen."

  "Being from a back-woods planet where we burn wood and oils for heat, I'm not sure we'd know what makes up "civil behavior" here," Seren raised a point which greatly concerned her. "None of us have translators, either. We may need escorts to be sure we don't do something wrong, even with audible and visual warnings."

  Fa'glit had to think about that. Under normal circumstances, everyone in the UGW could understand everyone else. But a lack of a common language would undermine their orderly social structure – not to mention likely ruin any chance of The Worlders siding with the UGW.

  "We shall personally see to it that we provide you with escorts when and as needed," it promised.

  For the more practical and direct Seren, her short talk with Fa'glit relayed all the information she felt she needed before venturing out in the streets. The authorities implemented what they hoped would be sufficient precautions to prevent a potential criminal faux pas by a member of the group. They also coached the somewhat less sophisticated members of the delegation in what, and what not, to do. In contrast to their reception at UGC 1182-F, it was still a stark reminder that the Worlders were on a prison planet where they couldn't assume the local authorities would honor their basic freedoms.

  What the UGW folks putting their best foot forward to the Worlders didn't know was that Seren was more inclined to look favorably upon informal proceedings than the more formal ones. Formality had the benefit of following rituals, which could very well conceal important things she might want to know. With the delegates being from a much less technologically advanced society, they required even more layers of insulation to prevent them from fracturing some local ordinance, rule or law.