act15d5

—Stop!

That's as far as you go. You can stop running. The police will be here soon. It's all over.

What, they sent you after me too? You said you were here on some mission from Rhodes Island, that they have doctors willing to take care of the Infected. So that was all lies, eh?

Old Tom warned us not to trust any outsiders. Hah, serves me right for not listening to him. I thought you had some integrity in you, not like those idiots that only look at people as dollars and cents. ...

And this is what I get. Guess I'm the idiot here!

If that's what you want to believe, suit yourself, but I'm going to tell you this whether you believe me or not: I have nothing to do with the police out there.

Then leave me here and go away!

Sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that.

You threw a fit on your way to the police station, injured two guards and skipped town all in one night. With that rap sheet, I can't just let you go.

You have three squads looking for you. I just happened to find you before they did. The moment you step outside, they'll cuff you.

Out of all the cops on the hunt for you, I'm the only one who knows you're innocent.

—Of course I am!

Those assholes want my head because I talked to that foreigner dude that died on the street. Just a conversation, and they're saying I killed him! It's bullshit!

'Evidence of Arts use found at the crime scene. Believed to be perpetuated by Infected...' My ass! If I could do that, they would all be dead! I can't do nothing! I can't even make fire!

I can tell...

You don't have what it takes to kill an armed mercenary in broad daylight. That's why I'm standing here, talking to you.

You said you didn't kill anyone, and I believe you, but you attacked the police, injured others, and resisted arrest and ran away. You can't run away from these crimes.

Stop resisting. It won't do you any good. Columbia is much better than a lot of the places I've seen. I've been to court here. You have juries, and the public is allowed to watch.

You have a chance to defend yourself, and you can tell everyone what you've been through.

It may not be much, but the Infected at least have justice here...

Amiya, I heard Columbia is a place with a sound, well-rounded legal system. There are judges, and prisons for the Infected. I want to visit, see it with my own eyes.

Of course, Madame Ch'en, you're free to go wherever you want. Actually, I would really like to see you visit all kinds of places.

Oh... I guess I shouldn't call you Madame anymore?

Ms. Ch'en? Huh, no need to be so respectful? But... O-Okay, then... Ch'en?

No, I don't think I can. It feels awkward calling you that...

Ahem, I digress. I don't know much about Columbia, and I'm sure you know more about its legal and criminal system than I do, so I won't go too much into that.

But there is one thing that I'm sure of.

You'll find people antagonizing and looking down on others wherever you are and no matter the circumstances.

It can happen between the Infected and the healthy. It can also happen between the rich and the poor. Sometimes it even happens just because someone drew an arbitrary boundary...

There will always be people trying to drive a wedge between themselves and others, to set themselves apart, to raise themselves up.

Please don't try to deny it just yet, Ms. Ch'en. I heard that there are a lot of Infected in Columbia. They're allowed to make a living as explorers, and some of them even got citizenship... I think there's hope in a life like that.

It's just, Ms. Chen, whether a place is good or bad is something we have to see and determine for ourselves. Ursus is a downright cruel place, but there are a lot of places that have only whitewashed their cruelty.

I haven't forgotten what you said that day at the control tower, Ms. Ch'en.

To treat everyone as equals and to judge everyone fairly... That's a beautiful thing, but I'm afraid it won't be easy.

No one has ever walked that path, so not only is there no one to point us in the right direction, we only have ourselves to count on as we slowly forge that path for ourselves.

I'm a little worried, Ms. Ch'en.

I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

What dogshit justice is that?! In your dreams, maybe!

Who would even listen to me defend myself? Has anyone ever been taken to court who didn't end up crying a river about how they're innocent?!

The moment they catch you, they throw you in a wooden box, like a fowl in a cage. Then, they choke you and cut open your stomach to let everyone see if you're really rotten in the inside!

You know how much money those old shitbags on the jury spend to hire people to yell on the street, 'The Infected panhandlers are mooching off the city, emptying our pockets?!'

What would you know? You just got here!

I...

No. No.

Perhaps I don't know this place that well yet, but I understand the mechanisms of state violence.

I left my country because I was disappointed in all that. I knew what exactly had gone numb or even gone rotten there.

But I understand that if this power can't keep society stable, if everyone can challenge the order protected by state violence, then what will happen thereon will be far more horrifying.

That's why... I can't let you run away like this.

At least not while the whole city knows a criminal is on the run, having attacked the police.

You aren't going to let me go, and I sure as hell can't beat you in a fight. Fine, guess luck's not on my side.

I'm not going to feel sorry about this.

I would do the same thing even if someone else were standing where you stand right now.

*Spit*.

I'm not joking.

But if you are really telling the truth and you're wrongly accused, I'll do something about that.

I just hope things don't really go there...

This is how it is.

You're an Infected, and you don't have any money. That's all you can do.

All the Infected who come here are either rotting away in a tin box or risking their lives in the wilderness. Everyone who can still walk is out there.

Li'l Pierre, Tom, and Dumb Mars. One by one, they were all carted away, and none of them ever came back.

You remember Old Tom? The guy who was always talking behind your back.

How could I forget? On the first day I came to your block, he tried to dupe me into giving him the bracelet I was wearing. I taught him a lesson, but he just didn't seem to care.

He's not above holding a grudge. We all thought you weren't gonna be able to hang around for much longer, having gotten on his bad side.

Clearly I'm not the pushover you all thought me to be.

That's right. It didn't take long for everyone to learn not to cross you.

You wiped the floor with Tom, but you didn't kill him. We've all wanted him to quiet down for a while

Everyone knew he was up to no good. Stealing, conning, you name it. He's done it all. As long as it gets his granddaughter a dress or some jewelry, he's gonna do it.

That beautiful granddaughter of hers got his money and dresses, and took the plunge with some rich guy in the city right away. And what did he get for his troubles? She told him to never step inside her house, lest he get mud all over the place.

I should've taken him in to the cops the moment I got here.

Right, I wanted to ask. How long has it been since the last time you saw him?

Two weeks. Maybe a little longer.

Wait a minute, why are you bringing this up?

—What happened to him?!

Amiya, if I spend my entire life looking for a place like that, a place where everyone is judged equally, to no avail...

Then how should I approach those who have undeniably committed crimes but were raised in those places of injustice?

Rhodes Island can lock these men up as a temporary measure, but what will happen to them in the end?

I can hand down punishments to the evil, I can sing the praises of the good, and I can stop any unjust lynchings before they happen. I have the power to do that. There is much that I am willing to give up to achieve the justice I seek. And, to that end, I am willing to do anything.

But I will still have to ask myself: Do I have the right to do that?

Who has the right to determine if another person is guilty?

Amiya isn't here. I'll answer for her.

Amiya will tell you, 'No one can judge another person.' I know she'll say that. Dr. Kal'tsit always says that, too.

They're really good people. They don't lie to me. l trust them.

But I... I also know a group of good, big guys. We fought together and beat the bad guys. They trust me, and I trust them too.

I think the things they told me are right. If you are up against a baddie who has done something wrong, and you can tell that they did, that means they are guilty. Those who are guilty should be punished.

What's bothering you, Ch'en? It's okay, you're my family now. Family should always help each other out, so I'll help you if you can't bring yourself to do it.

I will stop injustice. I will stop anyone who wants to take family from anyone else.

If their crimes aren't serious enough to warrant death but someone else wants them dead, I will stop them. I will stop anyone that wants to kill, and I will punish all the bad guys. Whatever bad things they did, I will punish them the same way.

If they robbed someone else, I will beat them up. If they hurt someone, I will cut off the hand they used to hurt them.

What do you think? That will take care of everything, won't it?

I will do my best to grow up to become someone who can properly determine whether a person is good or bad. I will be the judge.

What did you say—?

Tell me what you just said one more time!

Like I said—He's dead!

He died a long time ago! The old man pissed off the wrong people, and they dragged his ass back to their place. He wasn't gonna hand them no money, so they beat his ass up before he even said anything. You know how old he was. He wasn't gonna survive more than a few days.

He was lynched, and none of you cared?!

Shit, you think any of us gives a shit about someone like Tom?

He wanted to see his granddaughter just once, and he never got the chance before he was killed either. His granddaughter stopped talking to him long ago. All the money he scammed off people, he sent it all to her, but he never heard anything back.

I tell you, the only reason they don't bother you is cause they still have a use for you, because you can still make money! The rest of us have to watch every single word we say if we don't want to end up six feet under.

Murder is a crime, yeah, but I'll tell you this: no one's going to cross those guys all because some broke ass old man died.

If someone really wants your head, it's not going to take them a whole lot more work than flicking away a speck of dust. They have all kinds of justifications on their side.