Chapter 42: The Rules of Prison

Prisons are mainly populated by three kinds of people.

The first are gang members. They make up the bulk of the prison population and are also the most “indestructible” group. No matter the era, no matter who is in power, these people will always be the majority behind bars.

The second group consists of practitioners of more fashionable forms of crime, most of them related to scams and fraud. They are not gang members. They are here not because of what they did, but because they were not careful enough, not clever enough, and got caught by the police or federal agents.

The third type was virtually nonexistent in Sabine City Regional Prison. These people had committed no crimes at all. They could walk out of prison whenever they wanted.

Being in prison was merely one of their methods, though sometimes they themselves had been “methodized.” Most of them served time in some of the Federation’s more famous prisons. Yet even while incarcerated, they could still influence the Federation’s politics, economy, culture, and even military affairs.

As for everyone else, they all had their own reasons for being here, though their numbers were not especially large. People like Young Michael, who had no gang background, were often absorbed into gangs while in prison. Many gangs even regarded prisons as one of their primary sources of fresh blood.

No one here would be openly discriminated against too severely. Of course, class distinctions still existed. If prisons could eliminate class divisions, then ... wouldn’t that problem have been solved long ago?

Where there are people, there are classes. Where there are classes, there is society.

Because of his young age, Young Michael had not received much harsh treatment. In a place that valued personal toughness, bullying a half-grown kid earned contempt, not respect.

But if Young Michael’s father was one of the men with a “license,” then things became very different.

Because most of the people here had been put behind bars by men with licenses.

Lunch arrived amid this strange atmosphere.

At Sabine City Regional Prison, lunch was followed by a midday break. After that came free time, then dinner and an hour and a half of recreation, during which they could watch television.

Afterward came shower time, evening rest, and finally lights out.

Every day was packed from start to finish. At the very least, their lives were far fuller than when they had been drifting through life drunk and aimless on the outside.

Carrying his rubber cafeteria tray, Young Michael walked over to the serving line.

Over the previous few days, the inmate serving food had always given him a little extra meat and vegetables. Today, however, the man merely scooped up a ladleful of watery slop from the edge of the food pan and dumped it directly onto Young Michael’s tray.