Chapter 29: Day of Reckoning

A few days after my meeting with Masterson I had called the referral he had given me. An interview was quickly scheduled with Ben Silverstein for a possible accounting job with Silverstein and Associates, Public Auditors. The interview had gone very well and a few days later they had called me with an offer. I told them that I wanted to take a week to think it over.

The week since the trial had passed quickly and the day of public punishments for these people had arrived! I was to have my vindication for what these people had done to me! I told myself that I was only going to attend these punishments because the judge expected me to do so. But there was a secret part of me that was going to enjoy this!

Bill had an important business commitment and could not go with me. I did not want to be alone for this so I invited my tennis friend Becky. I had just renewed my friendship with her after a lapse of nearly two years. She had been with me at the tennis courts on that day when I was served the legal process that was to begin my enslavement. After I won my freedom I learned that Becky had tried several times to visit me when I was a slave at Masterson Automotive but was informed that I was allowed no visitors. After I regained my freedom Becky and I spent much time catching up.

On the way with Becky to the crucifixion site I ran into Edgar Miller. He was wearing clothing! He was not wearing a slave collar! I introduced him to Becky and asked him to fill me in about his good fortune.

"Edgar", I began, "my lawyer had mentioned to me that you were also seeking your freedom. In fact your lawyer and mine shared some of the legal research expenses. Would you mind filling me in on what happened?"

"Sure Steph", he replied. "I read all about your case on the internet news services. In my case I had to bring an action against Leland Bank & Trust and against Morris Leland personally for getting me convicted of embezzlement on perjured testimony. My attorney succeeded in getting my conviction nullified."

"So the Court then ordered you freed?" I asked.

"Not quite. There was a complication because Masterson Automotive Group then owned me, they had not been in any way complicit in my false conviction and they had purchased me in good faith. The Court could not legally just take Masterson's property without just compensation. So the Court had to first call in a licensed slave appraiser who recommended to the Court what would be a fair price for me to be paid to Masterson as just compensation. Leland Bank & Trust was then ordered to pay Masterson that amount and then to set me free."

"Were there any criminal penalties involved for what was done to you?" Becky asked.

"Yes indeed. That is why I am attending this public punishment today! I actually won criminal convictions against Morris Leland and against Sally Rigers. Leland was the one who plotted to frame me but Ms. Rigers testimony was perjured and was the main evidence used to convict me. After my conviction Rigers came over to Masterson and became my supervisor. I think you may remember how she humiliated me there. Leland and Rigers are to be publicly humiliated today and I am very much looking forward to it!"

Indeed I could remember all too vividly how Sally Rigers would make fun of Edgar's obesity, flick his penis this way and that with her whip handle, and imply that the ridiculous thing probably wouldn't even work.

"Will these two be home free after their public punishment?" I asked.

"No way!" he replied. "Today is just the prelim punishment. I am due back in court in another week for sentences to be handed down as to their permanent punishments. The Court is allowing me to determine how many years slavery each of them must endure."

"Sort of like how the Court is letting Steph determine the permanent punishments for her oppressors!" Becky exclaimed.

"Exactly!" Edgar replied.

We were now coming up on the part of Central Park where the punishments would take happen. The place of humiliation for Jenkins, Duncan, Cheryl Clifford, Morris Leland, Sally Rigers and the two teenage boys named Kim and Erin would be a kind of fairgrounds setup with an elevated exhibition stage at the edge of Central Park. This was considered to have sufficient educational value that public indecency laws with respect to the prisoners were suspended for this event, by the Mayor, in order that any interested persons, including children, might attend. There were tents setup with various vendors selling all manner of food and drink. Excited crowds made their way toward the main exhibition platform where the crosses were placed.

"Wow! This is like a carnival!" Becky exclaimed. "This event must have been heavily advertised!"

"Not only that", I interjected, "but the Court assigned staff to compile lists of all the friends, enemies and business associates of each of the prisoners, and then to send out special invitations to all these people to attend today's "Punishment Fair".

I knew that there was no way of knowing how many in this excited crowd had some such personal relationship to one or more of the prisoners.

We had come to a place near the exhibition stage. I saw that it had a floor, a roof, a back wall, and the means to glass in the front and sides in case of inclement weather. Today was a bright sunny day and the temperature was comfortable so all the glass panels were retracted out of the way in the base of the stage. Guards had, pursuant to the Court's order, reserved for me a space on the lawn commanding a very good view of all that would happen. Becky and I spread out a blanket we had brought and invited Edgar to join us. We took our seats and passed around a thermos of coffee.

"I was here once last winter", Becky offered, "when it was quite cold. The crowd huddled on the lawn in their heavy coats to watch the show. The stage was fully enclosed with non reflective glass panels and apparently heated so the prisoners could still be naked."

"There are a lot of school age kids here!" Edgar noted. "You can get some idea of that just from the number of school busses parked over in that lot!"

"Yes", Becky responded. "The schools consider this educational. That is what I read on the internet. They believe a field trip to a public punishment will teach the kids about crime and punishment and hopefully the kids will never be tempted into a life of crime after witnessing today's exhibition."

I knew that the schools also had the responsibility to teach Capitallian values about the importance of bodily modesty and boundaries between people of all ages. Children needed to understand the real reasons why people did not go about exposing their genitals in public. It wasn't just a religious taboo and it wasn't based on people being ashamed of their bodies. Quite the contrary. I thought it important to say a few words about this to my fellow spectators.

"It isn't just the physical discomforts", I said. "If the children can begin to appreciate", I said, "just how punitive it is for these prisoners to be forced to expose their private parts in a public setting perhaps they will then begin to understand Capitallian social values. Sometimes people have to lose something — in this case the right to modesty — in order to appreciate just how precious it is."

Soon a cheer was heard. Guards were bringing in the seven prisoners. The prisoners were all naked but for loincloths. Each nearly naked prisoner was prepared by firmly banding their wrists, biceps, and feet with firm leather straps containing magnets. Each prisoner was then hoisted up on a high tech metal cross, well above the head level of the crowds, with arms and feet secured by magnetic fasteners.

Each prisoner was positioned with arms spread wide horizontally on the crossbars, secured at both biceps and both wrists, and with legs drawn up on the lower beam so that the feet are magnetically latched to each other and to the vertical beam while the knees fold outward, one to each side, so that the thighs are well spread — making the most complete display of the prisoner. There were no nails driven through any prisoner, or anything that would cause loss of blood. A strong cord was looped around one knee of each person, run behind the vertical beam and secured to the other knee. This was to ensure those knees and thighs would remain wide open.

"My God!" Becky exclaimed. "They are cutting the loincloths off those prisoners!"

Indeed a guard went from one prisoner to the next. Each loincloth was then, after a brief moment of suspense, drawn briskly aside with a flourish and a small bow to the enthusiastically applauding spectators. This guard was quite a showman. Soon we heard hilarious laugher from all the young boys in the crowd.