strong rotten egg smell emanating from somewhere very close by. He glanced down at his body and grimaced when he saw that he was coated with thick, black, oily grime from the sewers. Returning to the bathroom, he jumped in the shower and turned it up all the way. Peter scrubbed his body with soap until he didn’t see any more revolting black grime on his body. Shampooing his hair, he saw a torrent of black grime going down the drain. He shampooed a second time and washed his body again. After almost an hour, he turned off the shower, toweled himself off, and threw the towel in the hamper.
Rayne went to his bedroom and changed into fresh clothes. It was a pleasure to put on soft, clean material after wearing disgusting wet garments that stuck to his skin like oily glue. He walked to the living room in his fresh clothing and collapsed onto the couch in front of his old-fashioned, non-3D television set. He picked up the remote control and clicked on the TV. He hoped a little quality programming would help him to forget his horrible journey through the sewers.
The first station Rayne flipped to had a hovercraft advertisement on it. He watched the lame commercial until it faded to black. He remained on the channel and waited. The screen brightened and his eyes widened as he realized he was about to view another televised execution. He checked the clock on the disc player next to the TV and saw it was 9:00 PM. He leaned forward on the couch to get a better view.
It’s a little late to be running a live execution, isn’t it ?
“Welcome to Monday Night Justice!” the television announcer stated, exuberantly, from the middle of a wide black stage. “The program where you, the citizen, get to see your tax dollars at work in the Criminal Justice System!”
The handsome young announcer flashed the camera a preternaturally white set of teeth, which Peter guessed probably cost him more than his yearly salary. He carried an oversized gray microphone, wore a black tuxedo, and had his hair slicked back like a black helmet. A bright spotlight followed the youthful announcer as he walked the stage toward a group of shadowy objects.
“As you all know, on Monday Night Justice, you get to see your country’s democracy in action! In the old days, criminals spent years and years in prison before finally being tried and judged. Back then, every state was different and many states never utilized the death penalty as a punishment for heinous crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery.”
The announcer paused dramatically before he reached the shadowy objects and became exaggeratedly solemn.
“Today, things are different. Today, the federal government has made the justice system fair, so criminals who commit the same crime are given the same punishment in every state. A criminal will no longer be put to death in one state for committing the same crime that another criminal has been given a life sentence for! No longer will one prisoner be randomly electrocuted while another is given lethal injection! Today, you, the viewer, vote on the criminal’s punishment, according to how you judge the evil of his deed! You decide the method of his death! What could be more democratic than that?”
The camera and the spotlight panned right, focusing on the first in the long line of objects. The spotlight illuminated an ominous, black, antique electric chair like the one in Andy Warhol’s famous painting.
“For those of you with an interest in old technology, we have the ever popular electric chair!” the announcer exclaimed as the camera panned in on the dreadful object. “This little baby has given many a criminal a high-voltage Absolute Judgment!”
The camera panned to the next setup on the black stage. “And for you traditionalists out there, we have the ever popular firing squad!”
The camera focused on a line of five, fully armored Federal
Rayne went to his bedroom and changed into fresh clothes. It was a pleasure to put on soft, clean material after wearing disgusting wet garments that stuck to his skin like oily glue. He walked to the living room in his fresh clothing and collapsed onto the couch in front of his old-fashioned, non-3D television set. He picked up the remote control and clicked on the TV. He hoped a little quality programming would help him to forget his horrible journey through the sewers.
The first station Rayne flipped to had a hovercraft advertisement on it. He watched the lame commercial until it faded to black. He remained on the channel and waited. The screen brightened and his eyes widened as he realized he was about to view another televised execution. He checked the clock on the disc player next to the TV and saw it was 9:00 PM. He leaned forward on the couch to get a better view.
It’s a little late to be running a live execution, isn’t it ?
“Welcome to Monday Night Justice!” the television announcer stated, exuberantly, from the middle of a wide black stage. “The program where you, the citizen, get to see your tax dollars at work in the Criminal Justice System!”
The handsome young announcer flashed the camera a preternaturally white set of teeth, which Peter guessed probably cost him more than his yearly salary. He carried an oversized gray microphone, wore a black tuxedo, and had his hair slicked back like a black helmet. A bright spotlight followed the youthful announcer as he walked the stage toward a group of shadowy objects.
“As you all know, on Monday Night Justice, you get to see your country’s democracy in action! In the old days, criminals spent years and years in prison before finally being tried and judged. Back then, every state was different and many states never utilized the death penalty as a punishment for heinous crimes like murder, rape, and armed robbery.”
The announcer paused dramatically before he reached the shadowy objects and became exaggeratedly solemn.
“Today, things are different. Today, the federal government has made the justice system fair, so criminals who commit the same crime are given the same punishment in every state. A criminal will no longer be put to death in one state for committing the same crime that another criminal has been given a life sentence for! No longer will one prisoner be randomly electrocuted while another is given lethal injection! Today, you, the viewer, vote on the criminal’s punishment, according to how you judge the evil of his deed! You decide the method of his death! What could be more democratic than that?”
The camera and the spotlight panned right, focusing on the first in the long line of objects. The spotlight illuminated an ominous, black, antique electric chair like the one in Andy Warhol’s famous painting.
“For those of you with an interest in old technology, we have the ever popular electric chair!” the announcer exclaimed as the camera panned in on the dreadful object. “This little baby has given many a criminal a high-voltage Absolute Judgment!”
The camera panned to the next setup on the black stage. “And for you traditionalists out there, we have the ever popular firing squad!”
The camera focused on a line of five, fully armored Federal
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