He waved his id through another guard post that required the push of a red button by a curmudgeon of a guard and then found his way down the familiar hallways to his destination, a make-shift prison of sorts, buried in the corner office of a recently departed two-decade man who had left for a judgeship. Crow pushed open the uncharacteristically plain wooden door that stood out from the antique ornateness of the surrounding hall and entered the large office. The secretary's office had been finagled into a meeting area, while the office itself served to house the prisoner.
Three men sat in the secretary's office, or rather one man and two very vocal sentis. Crow wondered about their presence but decided that was more the prosecutor's concern than his. He only cared about his little sessions with the prisoner. The sentis were well done sims, and only their obtrusive deformities kept them from passing as close as was possible for a senti. The louder, more outspoken one had a face twisted down in a grotesque parody of an exaggerated frowning mask, the quieter suffered a monstrous happy face. Their entire faces warped around the center piece, elongated eyes drooping or arcing where appropriate. From the centers of those caricatures of human faces sculpted of real-enough looking flesh stared eyes no different than any real human's. Crow could not tear his gaze away for a moment, seeing his son's eyes staring back.
"Kind of creepy, eh?" The old man slouching down in an exquisite leather couch said. He had one of those unkempt beards that despite short length, seemed like it must house all manner of vermin.
"Yeah a bit." Crow said. A bit of confusion touched Crow; he had never seen the Prosecutor's office so crowded.
"Even if they aren't human, shouldn't it be a crime to make them look like that?" The old man asked Crow in a voice that creaked along like a porch swing caught in the breeze.
"I don't follow." Crow said.
"The only reason they didn't twist some poor sod's faces like that is because it ain't legal. Doing it to the senti's just getting around the law." The old man said.
"Well if they don't have any rights anyway, what's the harm?" Crow said.
The old man shook a finger at Crow. "I saw the way you looked at them. You ain't fooling me. It ain't right cause it's an abomination. It's a twisting of our humanity. Now, that's a crime whether it be against robot or man or vegetable."
"So that should be illegal?" Crow asked and gestured towards the sentis.
The old man snorted. "I don't much care for legal, son. But it ain't right, and that's the heart of the matter. We pretend it doesn't matter cause we don't like to think that they think, but the crime's against ourselves." He wheezed to a stop and struggled up onto ancient limbs. "Well there's probably a bathroom somewhere that needs cleaned."
"Does the DA know that his janitor takes breaks on his couch?" Crow asked. It was not a loaded accusation; he asked in genuine curiosity.
The old man shrugged. "I've been cleaning up his shit for ten years. What do I care what he thinks?" He rambled out of the room, and Crow wondered if the old man really was a janitor or just an escaped mental patient. The sentis on the other side of the room continued their conversation, which Crow had ignored for the most part until their voices rose above a murmur for the first time with the heat of their debate.
Three men sat in the secretary's office, or rather one man and two very vocal sentis. Crow wondered about their presence but decided that was more the prosecutor's concern than his. He only cared about his little sessions with the prisoner. The sentis were well done sims, and only their obtrusive deformities kept them from passing as close as was possible for a senti. The louder, more outspoken one had a face twisted down in a grotesque parody of an exaggerated frowning mask, the quieter suffered a monstrous happy face. Their entire faces warped around the center piece, elongated eyes drooping or arcing where appropriate. From the centers of those caricatures of human faces sculpted of real-enough looking flesh stared eyes no different than any real human's. Crow could not tear his gaze away for a moment, seeing his son's eyes staring back.
"Kind of creepy, eh?" The old man slouching down in an exquisite leather couch said. He had one of those unkempt beards that despite short length, seemed like it must house all manner of vermin.
"Yeah a bit." Crow said. A bit of confusion touched Crow; he had never seen the Prosecutor's office so crowded.
"Even if they aren't human, shouldn't it be a crime to make them look like that?" The old man asked Crow in a voice that creaked along like a porch swing caught in the breeze.
"I don't follow." Crow said.
"The only reason they didn't twist some poor sod's faces like that is because it ain't legal. Doing it to the senti's just getting around the law." The old man said.
"Well if they don't have any rights anyway, what's the harm?" Crow said.
The old man shook a finger at Crow. "I saw the way you looked at them. You ain't fooling me. It ain't right cause it's an abomination. It's a twisting of our humanity. Now, that's a crime whether it be against robot or man or vegetable."
"So that should be illegal?" Crow asked and gestured towards the sentis.
The old man snorted. "I don't much care for legal, son. But it ain't right, and that's the heart of the matter. We pretend it doesn't matter cause we don't like to think that they think, but the crime's against ourselves." He wheezed to a stop and struggled up onto ancient limbs. "Well there's probably a bathroom somewhere that needs cleaned."
"Does the DA know that his janitor takes breaks on his couch?" Crow asked. It was not a loaded accusation; he asked in genuine curiosity.
The old man shrugged. "I've been cleaning up his shit for ten years. What do I care what he thinks?" He rambled out of the room, and Crow wondered if the old man really was a janitor or just an escaped mental patient. The sentis on the other side of the room continued their conversation, which Crow had ignored for the most part until their voices rose above a murmur for the first time with the heat of their debate.
Thanks for posting this. Would be intrested to read more or possibly please contact me by email thank you!
if every editor wrote like you believe me the world would be a better place! this was an excellent read expecting more!