training, including all
aspects of our history from women’s fashions to sports statistics, and
typically can quickly recognize the time period of any scene.
A few points to be aware of: first, even if
all Watchers agree to a move, the playback cannot be stopped instantaneously.
Think of a car moving a full speed. Even when you decide to brake, it takes
some time to stop, this along with the technician’s reaction time is what we
call: the one minute lag. It can, of course, be longer than one minute; this depends
on the contents of the particular memory cells and can be embarrassing.
Assume the convict has selected his mother
to assist with recognizing early memories, and we hit a memory spot where he is
masturbating. Mom wants this to stop. But, the display can’t be stopped
instantaneously. In fact, Watchers are instructed to keep watching because
often these acts are associated with a violent crime. The Watchers have to keep
their eyes on the screen, regardless how it disturbs them, and confirm no crime
has been committed.”
The Deputy stared straight ahead then.
“Christ, if I am a Watcher, I may have to watch this guy play with himself, and
..”
Pat cut him off. “It gets worse. Remember
most of these convicts have been around for a long time. As a watcher, you’ll
be seeing brutal footage; there is no editing. These are the rawest images
you’ll ever see. Let’s watch.”
She pushed a few buttons and the screen
filled: an S3 Interrogation, the first view a group of elementary school kids
playing pickup baseball. A Watcher pushed a control knob ‘ahead’ and after 1 or
2 minutes the screen went blank. Then a voice was heard in the Watchers’ room.
“This repositioning may take a few
minutes, and the screen will be blank while this happens, a warning buzzer will
sound when the next image stream is ready.”
Shortly the screen filled again. This time,
it was in a prison cell, and the Watcher reacted by requesting a leap backward
and the cycle repeated itself a number of times. Some of the scenes were
disconcerting, and the Watchers were given reminders to concentrate. A large
clock in front of the screen maintained a countdown, and at around 30 minutes
the screen filled with an armed robbery. The scene was chaos, screaming, and
gunshots. John could see the Watchers were distressed but did signal the end;
they arrived at the target memory stream, the crime scene. The video stopped.
The technicians removed all the connecting cables and wheeled the convict out
of the room.
Pat started before John could ask. “He’s
being rolled down to the execution chambers. Since he’s already been medicated
as part of S3, there is no need for further sedatives. As well, there is always
someone from Legal Division present to watch the proceedings. When the session
is stopped by the Watchers, the legal representative reviews the result one
last time. He confirms the scene.
John, your staff will be part of the
execution crew, but the actual release of the fatal injection will be carried
out by the Citizen Team; these are regular citizens selected from a pool, in
the same way, we used to select jury members. This Citizen Team functions as
the old fashion army firing squads in that they all push a button, but no one
knows which button delivered the fatal mixture. There are three citizens in
each Team.
A new Citizen Team is assembled for each
execution. You’ll need to provide space and meals for about 15 to 21 citizens
each day. Since we don’t know how many executions will take place, we always
bring extras for the Citizen Team selection, like a jury pool. We’ll bus them
in and out daily; actually they’re bused out immediately after an execution.”
John was momentarily speechless. The demo
had been overwhelming. Most disturbing: the unedited contents of personal
memories, the unflattering honesty of each image stream. Was this what would be
revealed by the men he had been guarding for years? Brutal
aspects of our history from women’s fashions to sports statistics, and
typically can quickly recognize the time period of any scene.
A few points to be aware of: first, even if
all Watchers agree to a move, the playback cannot be stopped instantaneously.
Think of a car moving a full speed. Even when you decide to brake, it takes
some time to stop, this along with the technician’s reaction time is what we
call: the one minute lag. It can, of course, be longer than one minute; this depends
on the contents of the particular memory cells and can be embarrassing.
Assume the convict has selected his mother
to assist with recognizing early memories, and we hit a memory spot where he is
masturbating. Mom wants this to stop. But, the display can’t be stopped
instantaneously. In fact, Watchers are instructed to keep watching because
often these acts are associated with a violent crime. The Watchers have to keep
their eyes on the screen, regardless how it disturbs them, and confirm no crime
has been committed.”
The Deputy stared straight ahead then.
“Christ, if I am a Watcher, I may have to watch this guy play with himself, and
..”
Pat cut him off. “It gets worse. Remember
most of these convicts have been around for a long time. As a watcher, you’ll
be seeing brutal footage; there is no editing. These are the rawest images
you’ll ever see. Let’s watch.”
She pushed a few buttons and the screen
filled: an S3 Interrogation, the first view a group of elementary school kids
playing pickup baseball. A Watcher pushed a control knob ‘ahead’ and after 1 or
2 minutes the screen went blank. Then a voice was heard in the Watchers’ room.
“This repositioning may take a few
minutes, and the screen will be blank while this happens, a warning buzzer will
sound when the next image stream is ready.”
Shortly the screen filled again. This time,
it was in a prison cell, and the Watcher reacted by requesting a leap backward
and the cycle repeated itself a number of times. Some of the scenes were
disconcerting, and the Watchers were given reminders to concentrate. A large
clock in front of the screen maintained a countdown, and at around 30 minutes
the screen filled with an armed robbery. The scene was chaos, screaming, and
gunshots. John could see the Watchers were distressed but did signal the end;
they arrived at the target memory stream, the crime scene. The video stopped.
The technicians removed all the connecting cables and wheeled the convict out
of the room.
Pat started before John could ask. “He’s
being rolled down to the execution chambers. Since he’s already been medicated
as part of S3, there is no need for further sedatives. As well, there is always
someone from Legal Division present to watch the proceedings. When the session
is stopped by the Watchers, the legal representative reviews the result one
last time. He confirms the scene.
John, your staff will be part of the
execution crew, but the actual release of the fatal injection will be carried
out by the Citizen Team; these are regular citizens selected from a pool, in
the same way, we used to select jury members. This Citizen Team functions as
the old fashion army firing squads in that they all push a button, but no one
knows which button delivered the fatal mixture. There are three citizens in
each Team.
A new Citizen Team is assembled for each
execution. You’ll need to provide space and meals for about 15 to 21 citizens
each day. Since we don’t know how many executions will take place, we always
bring extras for the Citizen Team selection, like a jury pool. We’ll bus them
in and out daily; actually they’re bused out immediately after an execution.”
John was momentarily speechless. The demo
had been overwhelming. Most disturbing: the unedited contents of personal
memories, the unflattering honesty of each image stream. Was this what would be
revealed by the men he had been guarding for years? Brutal
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