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The Floating Press - Jim Harmon

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17 pages

English

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In the distant future, human civilization has drastically altered its views on the punishment of criminals. Instead of the teeming, overcrowded prisons of the 21st century, prisoners are placed into a type of suspended animation for the duration of their sentence. But when the man responsible for ushering the convicts into Dreamland comes to question its legitimacy, the system begins to crumble.

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Science fiction

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 avril 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781776597154
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0064€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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NO SUBSTITUTIONS
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JIM HARMON

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No Substitutions First published in 1958 Epub ISBN 978-1-77659-715-4 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77659-716-1 © 2016 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
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If it was happening to him, all right, he could take that ... but what if he was happening to it?
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Putting people painlessly to sleep is really a depressing job. Itkeeps me awake at night thinking of all those bodies I have sent tothe vaults, and it interferes to a marked extent with my digestion. Ithought before Councilman Coleman came to see me that there wasn't muchthat could bother me worse.
Coleman came in the morning before I was really ready to face theday. My nerves were fairly well shot from the kind of work I did assuperintendent of Dreamland. I chewed up my pill to calm me down,the one to pep me up, the capsule to strengthen my qualities as arelentless perfectionist. I washed them down with gin and orangejuice and sat back, building up my fortitude to do business over thepolished deck of my desk.
But instead of the usual morning run of hysterical relatives andmasochistic mystics, I had to face one of my superiors from theCommittee itself.
Councilman Coleman was an impressive figure in a tailored black tunic.His olive features were set off by bristling black eyes and a mobilemustache. He probably scared most people, but not me. Authority doesn'tfrighten me any more. I've put to sleep too many megalomaniacs,dictators, and civil servants.
"Warden Walker, I've been following your career with considerableinterest," Coleman said.
"My career hasn't been very long, sir," I said modestly. I didn'tmention that nobody could last that long in my job. At least, nonehad yet.
"I've followed it from the first. I know every step you've made."
I didn't know whether to be flattered or apprehensive. "That's fine," Isaid. It didn't sound right.
"Tell me," Coleman said, crossing his legs, "what do you think ofDreamland in principle?"
"Why, it's the logical step forward in penal servitude. Man has beenheading toward this since he first started civilizing himself. Afterall, some criminals can't be helped psychiatrically. We can't executethem or turn them free; we have to imprison them."
I waited for Coleman's reaction. He merely nodded.
"Of course, it's barbaric to think of a prison as a place ofpunishment," I continued. "A prison is a place to keep a criminal awayfrom society for a specific time so he can't harm that society for thattime. Punishment, rehabilitation, all of it is secondary to that. Thepurpose of confinement is confinement."