Chapter 18

The next morning Abby, Sereine, Mac, and I were ready to leave. Unfortunately, Cindy was sick. My ladies told me that she would be fine in a couple of days, so I should go ahead without her.

I hopped us to Wayside and we got our traveling equipment, then Sereine hopped us to our next stop. As usual, the trip was uneventful. Abby was excited at first, but then her excitement turned to boredom.

We did have one dismal event on the way to First Stop. I had hopped us to our next stop, and when we arrived it was raining. We had to sit in the rain for a half hour until Sereine was ready to hop us to our next stop.

Sereine and I decided that we needed to get a travel shelter built. We could have built-in beds, chairs, and air conditioning. We could also mount a couple of energy cannons and cameras on the outside. I decided to mention the idea to Chairman Smart. It was a limited market, but he could do a study to determine if we would make enough of a profit to warrant forming a small manufacturing company to produce shelters for D-Hoppers.

During our trip, I had a conversation with Abby about the Multiverse culture. Actually, there was very little conversation, for I did most of the talking.

I started the conversation by turning to Abby and saying, “Abby, I suspect that as a Foreign Service Officer, you have had to deal with many cultures. Have you found those cultures to be slightly or significantly different from those of the American culture?”

“Doug, I learned early in my career that if I examined two cultures, I would find many similarities and a large number of differences. In some cases, I learned to accept the differences, and when I could not accept the difference, I learned to tolerate it. Why do you ask?”

“Matt, Mary, Bill, and Sue have learned that the legal, judicial, and penal systems used in the Multiverse are very different than those of Earth. Bill and Sue were exposed to the penal system and they had a hard time coming to terms with our way of doing things.

“Our laws are very similar to those here on Earth. Some activities that are crimes on Earth are legal in the Multiverse, and conversely, some of the things legal on Earth are crimes in the Multiverse.

“Our judicial system is totally different. In our criminal courts, the general procedure is for the prosecutor, who is called a Crier, to read the statement of charges, and describe the circumstances of the crime. If there are witnesses to the crime, they are produced and they testify to what they saw and know. We have what you would call a lie detector. It is very different from what you have so I prefer to call it ‘veracity’ equipment. This equipment can determine if the Crier and witness’s statements are true or false. At least it determines if they believe their statements are true or false. We use this equipment in court to ensure that the accused and the victim receive justice.

“If the Crier proves that the accused committed a crime, the accused is expected to make a statement about their actions. However, legally, they are allowed to remain silent if they desire. If the accused refuses to testify, the court will accept the Criers definition of the crime and find the accused guilty as charged. If the accused makes a statement, the veracity equipment informs the Judge if their statements are true or false. The accused will generally make a truthful statement. If the veracity equipment substantiates that the accused is not guilty, they are released. This is a very rare occurrence for the police use the same type of equipment to determine who committed the crime. If the accused is guilty, they hope that telling the truth about their guilt will result in the Judge being merciful when they are sentenced.

“The Multiverse does not tolerate crime, like Earth does. The sentences imposed for committing a major crime are very harsh. A person found guilty of a major crime, is typically given a long sentence on a penal planet. There are penal planets for violent criminals and for non-violent criminals. Violent criminals always receive a sentence of imprisonment for life. They are taken to a penal planet for violent criminals and released somewhere on that world. Criminals found guilty of non-violent crimes are usually given long terms of imprisonment. They are taken to a prison planet for non-violent criminals and released on the world. When a non-violent criminal’s sentence is completed, the Multiverse will locate the prisoner and return them to the Multiverse. That assumes that the prisoner is still alive, and that the prisoner wants to return.

“The Multiverse does not know what life is like on a prison world for violent criminals for the prisoners are not monitored and they are never returned to the Multiverse. Life on a prison world for non-violent criminals is extremely harsh. The prisoner is left with a knife, bow, and arrows; no shelter; and a small supply of food and water. They must locate or build everything that they need to survive. The average life expectancy on a prison planet is ten years. If the Judge chooses to be merciful, a person found guilty of a non-violent crime is sometimes offered an alternative sentence, which is usually slavery for life.

“The basic difference between our criminal and civil courts is, there is no jury in a criminal court. If the parties involved in a civil action want a jury instead of a Judge to decide the matter, they can have one. We still use the veracity equipment in that court, but it’s the jury that decides how the matter should be resolved.”

“Doug, I have seen what many of Earth’s governments practice as justice. Some are better than others. I have seen a few legal systems that are far worse than the system you described to me.

“Your system gives a person a trial. I’ve been places where a committee decides if the accused is guilty or innocent without even seeing or speaking with the accused.

“In your system, the defendant is allowed to speak in their own behalf. In some places, the accused may be allowed to appear before their Judges, but they are not allowed to speak. They are there to be sentenced and the sentence is sometimes far harsher than the sentences your system gives to their criminals.

“Your veracity equipment is something I’ve never heard of before, but if it does what you describe, it would be a good thing to have in our courts. Some places on Earth still use physical torture to extract the truth from suspects. Everyone knows that a prisoner will say anything the torturer wants them to say in order to stop the pain. The confession is meaningless, but they continue to use torture to arrive at ’the truth’.”

“Some of the punishments we inflict on our criminals are barbaric and inhuman. I haven’t seen it personally, and I hope I never do, but I am aware of instances where the accused was sentenced to impalement. Do you know what impalement is?”

“I recall hearing the term, but I’m not sure what it is.”

“There are two types of impalement: horizontal and vertical impalement. In horizontal impalement, thee criminal lies in a horizontal position and a stake is driven through the victim’s torso, usually from front to back or from back to front. In the cased I know about, the authorities used vertical impalement. The authorities buried all but four or five feet of a long, narrow wooden pole in the ground. The upper three feet of the pole was tapered to a blunt point and greased. The accused was lifted up until he was over the tip of the pole. He was then lowered onto the pole with the point being guided into his anus. As he settled onto the pole, he tried to grasp the pole with his feet so he could push himself up and off the pole, but due to the grease, his feet just slid down the pole. The pole penetrated into his abdominal and chest cavities, and he settled down on the pole until his feet reached the ground. I have been told that the prisoner bled to death internally before his feet reached the ground. It’s an extremely painful death, and it can take days to die.”

I decided that Abby would not have a problem with our idea of justice, so I discussed slavery with her. I explained our form of slavery to Abby and the precautions taken to ensure a slave was not abused. From what she told me, she was familiar with slavery as it’s currently practiced in certain parts of Earth. I had not known that slavery still existed on Earth. Like Sue, Abby didn’t approve of slavery, but she did say that our form of slavery seemed different than that she was familiar with and that she could see how a person might choose slavery over imprisonment.

After arriving at First Stop and storing our equipment, Sereine hopped us to the location on my estate that my Majordomo, Edgar Benton, had told us to use as an arrival point when we hopped to the estate. He informed us that he would make sure that everyone on the estate knew that they should remain clear of that area. I would take Abby to a medical clinic to be checked and receive her splinter and inoculation later that day.

“Kendrick Jones’ office, Corrine speaking. To whom would you like to speak?”

“Corrine, this is Doug Smith. Is Kendrick available?”

“Yes, Sir. I’ll put you through to him right away.”

“Good afternoon, Kendrick speaking.”

“Kendrick, Doug here. I just commed to let you know that I am back.”

“Doug, it’s good to talk with you again. A lot has happened here that I need to discuss with you.”

“I thought that might be the case, Kendrick, so I allocated three days of my time to you. However, I only brought Mac with me, and he has some personal business to take care of. Do we have four of my security people that can travel with me for the next couple of days?”

“Yes we do and that’s one of the things we need to discuss. A delegation of your people came here to speak with me about interim employment. Basically they are bored, and want something to do.”

“All right, have four of them join me at the estate. What I need to know is, do you need to speak with me about anything that can’t wait for another day or two?”

“I think we can wait that long for most of the items, but we need to act on a few things as soon as possible.”

“I should be able to get with you tomorrow. I need to hop to Vora to check on my folks, and to submit a status report to Guild Master Moore.”

“Your folks are one of the things I wanted to talk about. It seems that Chairman Smart purchased your equipment and forwarded it to your parents. The units he bought are rather large and your parents are hoping that you can move them as soon as possible.”

“I’ll take care of that when I get to Vora. As soon as we finish and my bodyguards here, I will be leaving for Vora.”

That was an interesting development. I decided to comm Chairman Smart and find out what he bought.

“Archer Conglomerate, how may I direct your comm?

“This is Doug Smith. I need to speak with Chairman Smart. Is he available?”

“Yes, Sir, I’ll put you through to his assistant.”

“Chairman Smart’s office, Janice speaking. How can I help you?”

“Hello, Janice. Doug Smith, here. Is Chairman Smart available?”

“Yes, he is, but he is on the comm at the moment. Can you hold?

“Sure.”

About two minutes later, “Hello, Doug, what’s up?”

“Hello, Harry. I just got back and checked in with Kendrick. He is telling me that my parents are telling him that they received several humongous pieces of equipment.”

“Oh, yes, those units. I had planned to get you the equipment you specified, but I decided to save you some trouble and money.

The Ambassador on Telluric placed an order with us for the equipment on behalf of the planet’s people. A month before the equipment’s ship date, the order was canceled. Two rival political groups started a war in the capital city. During the hostilities, the Ambassador and his staff were killed in an explosion and the Multiverse police moved in and put down the uprising.

“The new Ambassador started an investigation into why a Class 11 planet was politically unstable. He learned that the former Ambassador had overstated the planet’s level of advancement. As a result the investigation, Telluric was reclassified from a Class 11 to a Class 13 planet. The technology we were using in this equipment is not authorized for sale to Class 12 and below planets. As a result, the conglomerate had a major investment in equipment that could not be sold within a reasonable period.

“I know that the equipment has more capacity than you think you need at the present time, but I learned that you may have overlooked several things.

The defensive system you had Magnusson Security design for your Embassy will require a large amount of electrical power if you ever have to operate it at full capacity. A power plant that is sized for a complex of the size that you are planning would be overwhelmed by maintaining your facility power, a Level 1 force field, and firing four energy cannon at the same time. There is a good chance you would burn it out.”

“Harry, how do you know what Magnusson Security designed for me? There is a client confidentiality agreement that should have prevented you from learning that information.”

“That’s true, Doug, but the Archer Conglomerate owns forty percent of Magnusson Security. Therefore, you are our client, so it was ethical of Sergei to let me know about your system. I have to admit, he developed a very elegant defensive system for your Embassy even though his original recommendation was for non-Archer equipment.

“The capacity of the power generation, water purification, and the waste/sewage treatment equipment is more than you’ll need at this time. I doubt if your facility will ever exceed the maximum capacity of the equipment, but if your compound expands over the next thirty years, you may need some of that extra capacity.”

“You’re right, Harry. When I look at it from that point of view, I suppose that I was a bit short sighted in buying what I needed at the time without looking at my long-term needs.”

“True, and the best part of the whole deal was that I was able to get the equipment for you at cost, plus half a percent. But the best part was by removing that inventory from their books, I placed our subsidiary in our debt.”

Thirty minutes later, Edgar informed me that my security personnel had arrived.

I recalled Art and Keith from my last trip. Stenn and Victor were new to me, but I was glad to see all four of them. I introduced them to Abby. Sereine knew them from the meeting we’d had in Cinnity.

I let Edgar know that we would be back either later that night or tomorrow morning, if everything went well. When everyone I wanted to go with me was ready, I hopped us to my parent’s home.

My Dad was at home, so I introduced him to Abby.

He was a little agitated, “Doug, I’m glad you finally got here. Your Mother is upset about those ‘boat anchors’, as she calls them, sitting in our parking lot. They were too big to fit into the warehouse, so we had to set them off to the side of the parking lot. She is ranting about how they destroy her view.”

Smiling at Dad, I said, “Okay, let’s go see what a ‘boat anchor’ looks like.”

All of us could not fit in Dad’s hover car, and I had not recovered enough to hop us there. Sereine, Keith, and Stenn came with Dad and me to the warehouse. Mac, Art, and Victor had to wait for a hover cab. On the way to the office, I commed Kevin to let him know that I needed to talk with him.

Someone must have told Mom that I was here for she came running out of the office as Dad parked the car. We walked over to the warehouse, and it was clear why Mom called them boat anchors. The units were massive, and sitting side-by-side, they were overwhelming.

“What do you think Sereine? Can you hop all three to First Stop at once, or are we going to have to make multiple hops?

Sereine gave me a funny look, and then realized that I was teasing my mom, “I don’t know, Doug. They look very heavy to me. Maybe we will have to leave them here for a couple of days. Once we have rested, we should be able to move them, but ... ”

“Listen, you two. If you know what’s good for you, you will get those three boat anchors out of my parking lot, now!”

“Sereine, how long do they give you for threatening a police officer with mayhem?”

“Well, mayhem is violence, so I guess she will get life.”

Mom came over to me and gave me a hug and a hello kiss. “Please get them out of here, Doug. I’m tired of looking at them.”

“All right, Mom. Consider them gone,” I said. Then I turned to Sereine and asked,

“Do you want me to go with you, so I can hop you back here?”

“No, I’ll take Mac with me. Once I’ve rested I’ll hop him to his home, and return to Cinnity.”

Walking over to the units, Sereine placed a hand on two of them, and had Mac grab onto Coral and one of the units. A moment later the three of them, and the units, were gone.

“Thank you, Doug. It’s nice to have our parking lot back to normal,” Mom said.

“How have you been and how long can you stay?”

That seems to be the standard question I get from my mom and dad, every time I see them.

“I’m doing good, Mom. How are you, Dad, and how is everyone doing?”

“We’re good, Doug. Your brother has a new girlfriend, and they seem very happy together. Otherwise there is nothing new.”

“I can’t stay long today, but I’ll be back in a few days and we can talk more. I also want to know how our joint business venture is coming along.”

After talking with my folks for an hour or so, I hopped us to the D-Hopping Guild. My bodyguards formed up on me and escorted Abby, Sto, and me in to see Kevin.

“Good morning, Kevin. I would like you to meet Miss Abby White. Abby this is Guild Master Kevin Moore.”

As I said earlier, being a participant in a conversation, and having to translate the conversation, can be very trying on a person.

“Kevin, Abby is a Foreign Service Specialist with the American State Department. She has been assigned to me as my liaison with the State Department. They gave her the title of Foreign Service Specialist in Charge of Extraterrestrial Affairs.

“From what I’ve seen, it’s a fancy way of saying that if I have a problem, she gets to fix it.”

I am starting to make progress on Earth. I’m putting in temporary housing and office space on the property I bought. I made contact with the local law enforcement officer in charge of the area where I live.

“One of the US Government’s politicians is trying to control me. He has been creating some problems for me; but he overstepped his position, and will shortly be in trouble with his government. My interim agreement was in trouble because of things this man told the American President’s representative. That situation is resolved. An indirect result of that situation was the President assigning Abby to me to aid me with whatever I need.

Abby resolved a problem we had with my bodyguards carrying weapons. They have some very illogical laws regarding the possession of weapons. She also arranged for me to contact the people I needed to speak with at the United Nations.

The three Homeland Security agents that I brought here on my earlier trips have all resigned their positions because of this politician, and have gone to work for me. They will be my primary advisers at the Embassy.

“Those are my main accomplishments so far. There are a few minor accomplishments, but they’re not worth mentioning.”

“Thank you, Doug. It sounds as if you made a lot of progress since we last talked. I will prepare a report and twixt it to Timson.”

“I didn’t know that you had to file reports, Kevin.

“Oh, yes, and it’s a pain.

“As I told you when I appointed you to be Earth’s Ambassador, the Multiverse Government bestowed certain powers on the Guild Masters of the D-Hopping Guild.

“The committee that gave us those powers is the Committee on Interplanetary Affairs. I have to file a report on your progress after each of your visits. The reports aren’t so bad, it’s the questions and directions that I get back in reply and have to answer that cause me problems.

“Someone on that committee is out of touch with reality. I tell them that you left for Earth to present your credentials. They requested a full report on the population demographics of the people on Earth. They also want a Mineral Density and Distribution Study performed.

“Someone back there doesn’t understand the reality of opening a new world.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Kevin. You will probably get a list of silly questions after they get this report, also. I’ll be on Slave World for the next few days, so I can go over a number of issues that Kendrick has for me. Once that’s done, I will be returning to Earth. If you need anything before then, let me know.”

“All right, Doug, but before you go, what did you mean by illogical laws regarding possession of weapons?”

“That’s a bit difficult to explain, Kevin. In most areas of the United States, people are allowed to own and keep weapons in their homes. But, in a few places, that’s illegal. In those places where people can own weapons, it’s generally legal to carry them on your person as long as you can see the weapon. However, you need a special license to carry the weapon in a way that it cannot be seen. If you don’t have the license, then concealing the weapon on your person is illegal.”

“I’m not sure I understand, Doug. A person is carrying a weapon in public and can use it on others if they choose to do so. It is in sight when it is used, so what difference does it make if the weapon is carried in full sight or concealed?”

“That’s one of the things that make their weapons’ laws illogical, Kevin.”

Abby, Sto, and I rejoined my bodyguards, and I hopped us back to the estate.

I commed Kendrick saying, “I finished what I had to do and was able to get back tonight, Kendrick. I’m tired, though, and I’m going to bed. Come by the estate tomorrow morning at 8:00, and you can have me for the whole day.”

“All right, Doug, see you at 8:00.”

It felt strange being in a bed alone. I normally had at least one of my ladies beside me, and frequently all three. It might be strange, but I was tired and went to sleep quickly anyway.

Charyl had breakfast waiting for me the next morning. She also had a special treat for Sto, a nice raw steak. Abby must have been extremely tired, for she was still in bed.