Release

Mister Livingston was knocking on the thick bulletproof window. He was screaming in the sounds of a wounded animal, as his throat was partially flooded by tears. His legs were shaking, and the whole of his body was galvanized. Yet nobody even bothered to reply to him, in these dirty concrete walls, poorly decorated with a heavy automatic metal door, a disproportional dispense, and the silent window.

Nobody except for the intercom – a tiny patch of yellowish white machinery with a tiny red lamp in the top right and a few slits, serving as a speaker.

— Prisoner 24168, Livingston! Stop the aggressive behaviour immediately! Use of pacifying instruments has been authorized!

These words had some effect on Livingston. He dropped the beating of the window and managed to subdue the cry. However, the agony in his body would not leave; tears, even heavier than before, were rolling out the sockets, one after the other.

The cells of the Autonomous Prison 4 - or simply AP 4 - were completely isolated. Livingston was certain that nobody heard him, as he never heard anybody from the other cells. AP 4 has been designed to improve on all aspects compared to the older version of the project: it was impenetrable fortress, with automatic security, food dispensing, sleep-inducing gas. Of course, not a single living being- the idea was to eliminate human contact. Ever since he had been put into, he never even heard the chaotic footsteps of the guards rushing to ‘pacify’ somebody on the suicide watch list. His only sources of information were the intercom, some newspapers and books that could have been received from the dispenser, and the window.

Livingston slowly moved his head to it again. The density of the window would now allow much to observe, but even through it he could still distinguish a small river that was just outside the prison wall. In the river, resembling bloated ducks, human bodies were slowly circulating in the crimson water, driven by the weak current.

The bodies started to appear about two weeks ago. Livingston still remembered the alarming pinprick of dubiety mixed with a bad gut feeling that penetrated his chest the moment he saw the first ones. They were of the senior age, most of them, there was not a single one in his twenties or less. The red waters were probably the result of the exploded vessels; and since there were many of them afloat, most of them were probably already deceased for a little while.

He shut his eyes as hard as he could, but the numb funeral procession continued to scroll in the back of his head as a of the broken projector. The motion could not be even paused, no matter what happened in the background. One day a group tried to break into Prison 4, but they were shot down even before reaching the checkpoint, adding more to the pile in the water.

Livingston opened his eyes again. His vision, blurry after the crying, landed on the books that he received from the dispenser. One of them was Yes to Life, which he read and re-read a myriad of times. The newspapers were covering nothing of interest, with just a puny note on the several cases of the sudden arrhythmic disease syndrome…

Livingston stopped reading. He knew that already; he looked at the intercom, with its lamp bleeping – usually an omen of a new message. And indeed, the pleasant voice of the intercom has slashed through the dread of silence:

—Prisoner 24168, your inquiry RR84GNS17004 has been processed by the Autonomous Council of Judges. It has been decided…

Livingston pupils have collapsed to the size of a grain of sand. His lips, trembling, could only pronounce one word, repeatedly:

—No, no, no…

The intercom continued:

—… after careful consideration to accede to the request of the case review. The council has concluded that the initial charge of plotting treason against the Supreme State can no longer be upheld due to the fact that…

—No, no!

—… you have, following the journalist duty, voluntarily released the state secrecy. The state secrecy in questions is limited by the confirmed lab breach of nanobots with the samples of the rapid death syndrome that results in random and unprecedented development of organ failure in humans reaching the age gap of 30 to 35 years. According to the Article 178b of the Criminal Code, if a state secrecy is broken in order to prevent the collapse of the societal order and/or massive damage to the citizens of the Supreme State, this may serve as a mitigating circumstance…

—NO!

—The council has revised the case once again and has identified that actions of Mr Livingston were aimed at raising awareness of the threat that could lead to such consequences. Mr Livingston has been actively drawing attention of the government official to the lab breach. Despite this, the necessary actions have not been taken by the legal entities responsible, resulting in an increased risk exposure due to the increased time on the response. The council has ruled you innocent and has pardoned you, resulting in the immediate release.

Livingston cried to the very top of his lungs. The sound was no longer human.

—Please remain where you are. The pacifying tools will be implemented and you will be delivered out of the cell automatically.

The sleep gas was sipping out of the slits in the walls. Livingston, convulsing for a period of time, has shortly after collapsed on the floor. Once his body struck out the last seizure, the soft voice of the intercom added:

—This sentence has been registered in the Automatic Digital Register of Criminal Acts under number RD8493JK on the date of 25th of October, year 2051. The Autonomous Council of Judges is a product of the Ministry of Justice and maintained under the Act JL34c, and is scheduled to be tested for normality in 2054. All claims to the Supreme Court must be submitted in three months since the decision. It is advised to file such claims as soon as possible due to the increased delay for trials and manual legal proceedings. The world welcomes you back, ex-prisoner 24168! See the opportunities it can offer! Breathe the air of freedom!