silent as the person returned to their ship, taking off shortly thereafter.
"This is garbage." Dale said resentfully. "What gives them the right to say what's allowed and what's not allowed?"
Seven's eyes were downcast. "We can't do anything about this. We have to comply. There's no other option."
"How can you even say that? We should just leave right now. And try to escape."
"Were you even listening? It's over. Our ship has been tagged. That means we can't go anywhere without getting blown out of the sky. The world I live in is harsh. There are no mistakes."
Dale clenched his fists. His mouth was scrunched.
Seven took Dale's arm. "We need to go." She led him back inside.
Dale allowed himself to be dragged behind. He was still in shock from the speed in which his world had turned around. Even when Seven set him down on his bed, he didn't register the kindness with which she put the covers over him. His mind was distant, caught up in memories from an earlier time. It didn't take long for his mind to shut down completely as his body sought the organizing influence of sleep.
Seven was on the bridge, locating the closest prison. There was nothing she could do to fight. Her hands trailed across the console, looking and seeing only vague indications of potentially acceptable prisons, not that there was any real difference between them.
Seven didn't want to tell Dale, but the prisons, from what her memories told her, were without equal. They contained simulators; Giant machines that processed and created individual realities.
If one were to spend enough time, the insanity of their realities would drive them to their deaths, often at the hands of their captors. The helmeted individual who'd condemned them was not bluffing when he said they had plenty of time to decide when they wanted to die. In truth, Seven was afraid they'd already been put under.
Seven put a set of coordinates in without a second thought. It was only a matter of time before the enforcers were to come and take their ship to the nearest station. She needed to get in contact with someone she remembered before that happened. Hopefully if all went well they'd be pardoned for their ignorance. Seven doubted it, but she had to make sure. She couldn't let her fear get in the way, otherwise she would hold herself accountable for Dale's fate. She was responsible for him. That's what it meant to be created for someone else. It wasn't slavery. It wasn't cruel. It was love. And, if she truly loved him, she would do everything she knew how to keep him safe. Even if the only reason she existed was because he'd unthinkingly asked for a girlfriend. That was something he had to reconcile with. She'd already come to terms with what he'd done. It scared her to think about what would happen when he realized the extent to which he had taken for granted the life of another person. She didn't know what he'd do, but she had to be there when it happened to help him through the pain. It was only a matter of time before he realized what he had done.
Dale's eyes were slow to open when he'd again regained consciousness. His hands were chained tightly to a set of rings that spread his arms and legs across a large, flat surface. He tried to look around, but all he could see was the shadows that the light that covered him could not penetrate. He pulled, trying to get his hands out of the metal cuffs to no avail. His feet were the same. He could not get the metal to break or slide from his ankles. Eventually he sat back defeated.
He closed his eyes for a short while, keeping his thoughts together.
Someone paced their way to the side of the table. Dale opened his eyes and squinted through the light to see who it was.
"Seven?" Dale said, trying to see her through the haze of his eyelashes.
"Hey Dale." She said, kneeling to meet him on eye level. "We've made it to a friend’s place."
"Seven, what's going on? Did we make it to the prison? Are we safe?"
Seven looked away. "Something happened to change the sentence. They said I could go."
Dale grinned. "That's wonderful! Did they say you have to do anything to get free? Are you okay?"
"I'm okay." Seven said. She sighed, keeping her eyes averted. "But I don't think they're going to let you go.
"What? Why?"
"You are of a natural birth from a planet that no longer carries sentient life. They decided you were a commodity they can't afford."
"Wait, who is 'they'? And how can they possibly say I'm a commodity?"
"You have experiences of war and treason that go beyond even the worst of our criminals. If you were ever to be judged by our laws, you would have been put under a hundred times before they thought you were clean."
"Clean? What are you talking about? I've never done anything in my life that is even remotely close to breaking the law. How can they say I deserve to be imprisoned for this?"
"I don't know." Seven said. She looked ashamed.
A siren went off for a moment.
Seven looked back to where she had come from. "Dale, I'm sorry. I have to go now. There is nothing I can do for you anymore." She closed her eyes. A tear escaped and fell down her cheek. "I said they're letting me go free, but that isn't true."
"Seven, what are they going to do to you?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
Seven's lip began to tremble. "Dale, did you ever think about what it means to be created for someone else? To be formed and wired to care only about a single person for the rest of your life? Do you?"
Dale was silent.
"My punishment is to live without purpose. To live without the person for whom I was created. To me, that is worse than any hell they can put me through and I have no control over that." Seven stood and turned away. "I love you Dale. I'm sorry I've led you to this place."
Seven left without turning back. Dale's eyes were closed again. He didn't know what was coming, but he was certain that no matter what he suffered, Seven's pain would always be three times over.
He took a deep breath, willing himself to relax, and waited for his death.
It was only a few days since he'd been sent to penalize the trespassers on the planet Earth, but already Dirk was wondering if there was any meaning to it. He had been clear with his commanding officers that he meant to speak with them at some point about the state of these laws. They would listen as they always did, and he would allow his conscience to rest easy knowing that he had expressed the extent of his concern on the issue.
Dirk was sitting in the pilot’s chair of his ship, the Peace. The only other person on the ship was his copilot who was taking a rest in the seat just behind.
"Kane, you have any idea who we're supposed to meet when we get to the next prison facility?"
There was a grunt from the seat behind. "Some guy name Tehn. He was charged with several accounts of intentionally attempting to injure another person."
"Same person? Or different people?"
"What?"
"Did he try harming the same person over and over again? Or was he trying to hurt several different people?"
"He targeted several different people. My understanding is he was seeking some kind of outward attention. Didn't you get ahold of the profile like you were supposed to?"
"No. You know I only really know how to deal with people in the flesh right? Taking time out to learn things through other means irritates me."
"You could have scheduled a personality simulation if you'd seriously wanted to."
"I'm not interested. It messes with my mind too much."
Kane sniffed. "Yeah, that's how it is with a lot of people."
"You ever get that feeling?"
"Me? No, I know what I'm looking at when I work in the simulations."
"Huh, that just means you're lucky. I can't imagine what it would be like to be put under for the rest of my life. What a waste of potential."
"No, not a waste." Kane laughed. "It's not like you have potential anyway. You're as dimwitted as a rock."
Dirk laughed with Kane. "That's true."
"The punishments we give help keep the world a better place. Everyone is al
lowed to live their lives according to their own choices. If they break the rules, the consequences are set out in front of them. In fact, we often allow for first time transgressions if it fits the situation."
"Yeah, I know that." Dirk thought for a moment. "Those two who trespassed on Earth, they weren't given clearance for a second strike. I was ordered to provide the maximum sentence on sight."
"That was a special case."
"How so?"
Kane put a fist to his head. "You really need to read up on the reports. One of them had been in a capsule for the past five thousand years and the other was a synthetic. Both were expendable."
Why? What was their point of origin?"
"One of the abandoned mining planets. At least, the synthetic was created there. The other was from Earth before everything went haywire."
"Mph. I get it. The connection between the synthetic and the organic was formed by one of the computers right?"
"Yeah, the synthetic was a girl. In fact, the only reason she exists is because he asked for a 'lady friend.' Can you believe that?"
Dirk pursed his lips. "That doesn't sound like a good combination."
"No, it wasn't. We recorded their trip from beginning to end. Before they landed on Earth, the girl was having an emotional breakdown."
"That was going to get worse as time progressed."
"Yeah. It's sad though. They let her go after some debate between the others."
"Why?"
"To see her pay penance for her existence."
"Poor girl. I guess it couldn't be helped though. Wish she could have been someone else, right? That would have been a life saver for