Effective and Necessary

Mars. All the whispers in the courtroom fell silent. Only the subtle glow of contrast lenses broke the sea of bodies in the galery. Dubrait sighed. “I’m very sorry your honor, my mind was elsewhere.” 

The Judge softened his tone but not his face. In confusion, rather than anger, he replied “Excuse me?” 

“Can you repeat the original question?” asked Dubrait. “I apologize for my lack of focus.” he added as an afterthought. 

The Judge promptly repeated himself. “Having entered a guilty plea, would you like to explain your motivation to the court?”

Dubrait sighed. “Well, I suppose it was because nothing else worked.” The whispering from the gallery began again as reporters dictated into their tabs. 

“Quiet.” said the judge softly, glancing at the gallery. The whispering continued, and he struck his gavel once. “Please maintain order and silence.” he said more clearly, turning in his podium to face the gallery. “This has been an exceedingly well behaved trial thus far and I do not want the press to make a worse show than the accused.” 

“So, I am to understand,” said the Judge, turning back to Dubrait, “that you committed this assault because you thought it would elicit good behavior from your son.”

---

It was late April. Ostensibly, all official functions used both the Martian calendar and the Earth calendar, but in practice all scheduling was made around a seven day week and a 12 month year that had no bearing on the seasons of the colony. 

Dubrait tried to think of what April felt like. He knew that April meant spring, and understood academically that spring was the season when plants started to grow and pollinate again after winter, that spring meant warm weather without the intolerable heat of Parisian summers, but he could not really remember what April felt like. The man in front of him started to sing, with difficulty. 

“Stop.” said Dubrait. Two soldiers emerged from the shadows. One pulled the man to his feet and the other removed the electrodes from the man’s mouth. The man was naked and his hands were cuffed behind his back. 

The man, who weighed heavily in the soldier’s grip, unable to support himself, began to sing again, still badly, but more intelligibly. The soldier struck him and said “Shut up.” with very little energy. The man began to sing again, more feebly. The soldier struck him again, but before he could strike a third time, Dubrait waved a hand and he stopped. 

“Why are you singing?” asked Dubrait . He had forgotten April completely. 

The man sobbed. “I love Earth. I do not even want to stay here.” 

Dubrait blinked. “What on Earth are you talking about?” asked Dubrait , annoyed and losing interest. The man sobbed again. 

“Sir.” said one of the soldiers, with a confused look. Dubrait sighed. “Of course.” he said. “I didn’t recognise the melody.” he said. The soldier nodded. “Hard to understand them when they won’t talk.” he said bluntly. 

Dubrait waved his hand and the other soldier forced the electrodes back into the man’s mouth. The man struggled but the soldiers held him down, then activated the device. 

The man continued to sing. 

---

Dubrait entered the cell, with one hand in his pocket. He locked the door behind himself. The soldiers waited outside, their backs to the grating. They were not the usual soldiers.

“Hello again.” said Dubrait. The man said something from the floor, almost imperceptibly soft. Dubrait waited for him. 

The man pulled himself up to sit against the wall. “What do you want now? I will tell you anything you want.” The sound of screaming broke in from the hallway before Dubrait could reply. The man, indifferent after so long to his own suffering, winced and began to shake. 

“We searched your house.” said Dubrait, fidgeting in his pocket. The man screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. “We didn’t find any bombs.” 

“No, of course you didn’t.” said the man heavily. “There are no bombs in my home because I am innocent.” Dubrait clenched a fist in his pocket, and took a step forward. The man winced, but Dubrait stopped. Still shaking as a fresh scream came down the hall, the man forced a smile and asked “They have called some help for you. To lighten your load.” Dubrait started. “Normally I don’t have to listen while you are here. There’s another one of you now.” said the man.

“Oh.” said Dubrait, sighing. “Yes, I called for help. There are too many of you after our last raid.” 

The man shook his head. “Are they innocent too?” he asked.

“So they say.” said Dubrait. 

The man shook his head. “Where did you find them? At work? Like you found me?” he asked sadly. 

At Dubrait’s answer, he howled.

---

“I’m sending you home, Dubrait.” said the commander. 

The office was very warm, a welcome respite after the surface. Dubrait was enjoying the feeling when it occurred to him to respond. “Yes sir.” he said after just slightly too long a pause. Only after he’d recited the words did the commander’s meaning strike him. 

“Don’t look too excited.” said the commander, acidic. 

“May I have permission to speak, sir?” asked Dubrait, this time with absolute acuity. 

“Yes.” said the commander, annoyed. 

“Is this because of the, weekend incident?” asked Dubrait. 

“What do you think?” asked the commander. The old woman sat down. “Look, Dubrait, you’re mostly a good man, and you’ve got a good record. But you’ve been on Mars just long enough to put you in rotation for some time in real gravity, and frankly, I’m doing you a favor.” 

“I appreciate the favor, sir, I really mean that.” said Dubrait. “But I like it here. I like Mars. This post means a lot to me.” 

The commander rolled her eyes. “For God’s sake take a hint.” She got up, and rushed to face Dubrait face to face. He started. “No one you bring in has any useful intelligence. The people they finger are useless, and just put more gas on the fire.” She shuddered. “If any of this got out there would be hell to pay, and even if I can’t get away with it, Paris will absolutely throw you under the bus when that happens.” She went back to her desk and picked up a folder. 

“Sir, with all due respect, I disagree that the intelligence is useless.” said Dubrait, reproachfully. The commander sighed, and held out the folder towards him. 

“Go home while you still can.” 

---

“So, I am to understand,” said the Judge, turning back to Dubrait, “that you committed this assault because you thought it would elicit good behavior from your son.”

“Yes sir.” said Dubrait, adding “or your honor.” He paused then continued. “He refused to behave, and I have always found torture to be effective.” Dubrait’s lawyer grabbed his arm.

The noise from the gallery was startling. Dubrait did not flinch. 

The lawyer for the prosecution illuminated their desk lamp, followed closely by the defence. The judge nodded to the prosecution gravely. “Do you mean to imply that you have experience with torture?” asked the lawyer. 

Dubrait leaned into the microphone, but his lawyer snatched it away from him. “I object to this, it isn’t relevant.”they said.

The judge shook his head. “It is relevant, but I won’t force you to enter an answer.” Dubrait’s lawyer sighed with relief and sat down. 

“Yes I have.” said Dubrait. “It was our most effective tool during the Red Mars insurrections.” 

Elsewhere, Dubrait’s old commander was preparing to hang herself.