Although it was August, this morning was very cold and dark. Frank`s neck hurt and he had another headache from last night`s drunkenness. The local juridical complex was over one hour foot march distant from his apartment block, but the citizen thought, that it could be a good idea to go and get some, more or less, fresh air. In addition, he could fight the aftereffects of his hangover.
He hastily gulped down some toast, swallowed the dissolvable coffee and examined the label on the plastic can of the coffee powder.
„Globe Food” was written on it and Frank could see a world ball. Above the globe was a pyramid with an eye on its top. At the bottom of the picture was the slogan: „Food for the people!”
„Amusing symbol!”, murmured Frank into his three-day beard.
He had never noticed this logo before, although he only bought his food in the cheap „Globe Food” supermarkets, which dominated Berlin. Then the thought left his head again, as fast as it had come.
The unusual cold weather let Frank shiver. A draft of fresh air blew through the dark stairway and temporary flushed away even the smell of bad eggs. In front of him, a neighbor walked down to the exit and Frank considered if he had seen the face of this man ever before.
The man said something sounding like “Hello!”, but Kohlhaas wasn`t sure. The accused slowly walked forward and was still dizzy. He briefly looked at the playground in the yard and beheld some children who were screaming with shrill voices in an incomprehensible language. Was it Turkish? Or Arabic?
When the clock indicated 7.43, he could already recognize the outlines of the juridical complex from the distance. It was a large red building with hundreds of windows and over 30 floors. Dozens of court cells were in front of it, one of them was waiting for him. The chambers, in which people could get their “automated trial”, were made of a gray metal and about four meters wide, as Frank guessed from his distant view.
Three other citizens already stood before them, between them were some police officers. Slowly he became nervous. Perhaps this hearing was nevertheless more unpleasantly, than he had imagined at first.
Now it was necessary to pass an electrical gate, which was protected by a doorman in a small, brown house. The official gave Frank a sign to come nearer.
„Come here!”, he called.
The young man ran forward and positioned himself in front of the entrance of the guardroom.
„Scanchip!”, said the doorman, holding a laser scanner in his hand. Wordlessly he pulled the Scanchip out of Frank`s hand, without looking at him, and said after a short „beep” of his code reader: „Court cell 4/211! Hurry up! It is nearly 8.00 o'clock! If you come too late, it will be just more expensive for you!“
Frank`s heart started to pound faster. Fearfully, he started to search the court cells, in order to find his number. The other accused examined him with some brief looks.
„Row 4! Shit! I must hurry up…211…“, lamented Frank, becoming more and more nervous. Meanwhile, only two minutes remained, till his hearing would start. He began to run and with a racing heart and an increasing headache, he correctly reached his court cell in time.
Gasping for breath, he was welcomed by an electronic woman`s voice: „Welcome citizen 1-564398B-278843, to your automated trail! Please enter your culprit number on the display and press OK!”
Frank pulled the Scanchip out of his trouser pocket, opened the message menu, and tried to enter his culprit number. A rarely known panic attacked him now. He looked around, gasping for breath again.
„Actually, I don`t have to go in this damn metal box, because I didn`t do anything!”, he whispered, but the door was already open. Frank`s hands became sweaty, while he breathed louder.
In front of him, a weakly lit up metallic hole had opened itself, which requested him to step forward now.
„Come in, citizen 1-564398B-278843! Your trial is already running!”, it resounded from a loudspeaker at the ceiling of the halfdark chamber. Frank Kohlhaas knew that he had no chance to refuse the order. It was nevertheless an official instruction and there was never and in no case room for a discussion or exception.
He made a step forward and his knees felt more weak with each passing second. Then a screen flashed. The “automated trial” against the theoretical delinquent Frank Kohlhaas took its course.
In large and bright letters, the reproaches could be read on the screen:
Accusations:
Massive disturbation at the workplace
Theoretical aggravated battery
Frank swallowed and let out a big gush of air. The terribly sounding woman`s voice, as friendly as an unnoticed virus, began with some remarks. A detailed description of the progression of events, the listing of witnesses and additional “sub-charges” followed, for example „subversive statements at work” - and some more.
For several minutes, the young man didn`t say anything, and besides, nobody had asked him for his point of view, only the computer voice was talking, implementing and accusing.
Frank`s former colleagues, Schmidt, Adigüzel and Nyang, had confirmed the fact, that the young man had refused the singing of the “One-World-Song“ several times and had even described the text as “nonsens” on 02.04.2027.
Production supervisor Sasse had added that the aggressive mimic and the use of “strong vocabulary” during the argument in the factory, would be an evidence for Frank`s tendency of “unnecessary analyzing of absolutely justified instructions” and “subliminal aggressions”.
The boss of the production complex had confirmed this too. Further details followed: legal regulations and regulations for extended and deeper instructions in the reference to the list and redefinition of defaults - and more.
“You can be glad that you are my superior, otherwise I would break you every bone!”
The intention of striking the superior, was more than clearly proven, in the eyes of the automated court. The difference between a (in such a way) formulated intention and an actually implemented act, was relatively small, according to the modern understanding of law which was oriented towards psychology and statistics. Further, the probability to commit this act one day in reality, had also enormously increased, because the intention had clearly been formulated. (Compare: „Bill of calibration of actual, theoretical and probable behavior” from 02.10.2020, document code: V-LUN-36777192934457656-Z, (89) “)
Frank googled at the screen like a stunned cow, which had walked against an electrical fence. He was not able to think that fast, how this computer programme made him to a potential interference factor, a danger for the order of the worldwide system, basing on freedom and humanitarianism.
After an hour, the lecture finally came to an end. Now a new menu appeared on the screen. The woman`s voice with the electronic taste kindly read out the sentences, sounding like sudden frost in Frank`s ears:
„If you deny the charges, please click on NO!”
“If you admit the charges, please klick on YES!”
Citizen 1-564398B-278843 hesitated, perked his eyebrows up and tried to arrange his thoughts.
„What is this shit? I`ve done nothing wrong, nothing at all! This whole crap is a bad joke!”, yelled Frank through the court cell. For a second, he thought about crushing this damn screen with a kick.
„I will choose NO! I`m innocent! No! I click NO! No question!“, he screamed angrily.
The accused hammered on the keys in front of him and selected NO. Now he had to wait. The computer hummed. „Loading” could be seen on the screen in bright letters. Frank felt relieved for a short moment.
„Now that fucking thing knows that I am innocent. I expressed myself clearly: NO!”, he said grimly. Then he smiled, a bit exhausted, while the inner tension started to die down. Shortly afterwards, he got the answer of the automated court computer, with metallic sound and cruelly combined letters on the bright screen:
„Accused, you selected NO! This means, you deny the reproaches and assume our juridical system, led by humanistic principles, not to co
nsider these! Unfortunately, we must tell you that the selection of the menu option NO leads, in principle, to an increased measure of punishment, because it shows the intransigence of the culprit...”
The court decision is loaded...
The young man paused, gaped at the screen and cursed quietly, while his mouth became an astonished, shocked hole. Frank Kohlhaas` understanding seemed to be blocked, briefly put on „standby”. The data were too large and too terrible, in order to be able to be processed by his brain. The biological computer under his skullcap just seemed to fall into chaos and started to collapse.
Then the gleeful shining screen of court cell 4/211 struck in his face with still more malice. The judgement was announced:
„Citizen 1-564398B-278843! You are condemned to 5 years of detention in a center for reeducation and resocialization!
To the reason: In your case, the statistic probability for theoretical aggravated battery is at 78, 11%!
The statistic probability for prospective subversive behavior is at 53.59% in your case! Moreover, the selection of the menu option NO increases the penalty. But you can be unconcerned. Meanwhile, there are numerous governmental institutions, in which human beings like you can get modern theraphies on the highest level of science, in order to begin a happy and adapted new life in our humanistic society! We thank you for your understanding!“
Frank`s eyes bored into the screen and his ears roared. The electronic woman`s voice resounded in his head like the echo of an atomic explosion. It became a slimy worm, which ate its way through his pinna towards his brain.
„5 years of detention?”, stammered the man.
Frank tried to explain himself, that his hearing had deceived him, but the cruel news were also in front of his eyes. Unfortunately, both senses could not err. He was condemned. It was correct.
Still in a condition of shock, the accused hardly noticed, when the electronic lock engaged behind him, blocking the court cell automatically. The damnation had been proclaimed and the trap had sprung. In the first minutes, Frank was much too perplex to be able to realize this. The despair in this early moment was far too big that it could give room to feelings like hate or rage.
For this procedure, 411.66 Globes were deducted from Frank`s Scanchip account, what was also mentioned by the computer voice.
He might behave and wait, until the police officers would come to arrest him. Then he would be brought to a transport vehicle, as the computer explained. Citizen 1-564398B-278843 listened to these further instructions without showing any emotions. The condition of torpidity was too serious. Half an hour later, he suddenly jumped up in his despair, in order to cry. But a strange weakness had captured his mind and after a short emotional outburst, Kohlhaas crept into a dark corner and waited.
„Perhaps it is just a misunderstanding? It could surely be cleared up!”, it temporarily flared up in his mind. “I must talk to the officials. They can...can help me, to find a solution. The computer must have erred.”
When two policemen arrived at the court cell, about one hour later, they already heard Frank complaing from a distance.
„I think, that is the loudest guy today!”, sneered a policeman.
“He has a real big mouth!”, said the other.
The steel door of the dark court chamber opened and offered a sorry sight to the policemen. But it was not a picture, which was strange to them. Outbreaks of accused people after automated trials, were nothing new for them. They brought Frank to one of the vehicles...
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