Neal Barrett - Judge Dredd

The anteroom was empty. For a long moment, she stood there in the silence. It seemed a lifetime instead of only moments before since she and Dredd had waited there for the Council to consider its verdict. She couldn’t recall what they’d said to each other. Probably nothing at all. At that point, there was little they could say. Both of them knew that miracles only happened in legend, in the Way Back When. Not in Mega-City, not now.

She glanced at the two glasses on the table. A Cadet steward had brought them water while they waited. Dredd had taken one swallow. Hershey had finished hers.

She picked up Dredd’s glass. She was bone-tired, aching all over from the tension of the trial. The tissues in her mouth were parched. She raised Dredd’s glass, held it just below her lips. The faint, pleasant scent of lemon rose from the clear liquid, and she was struck by the sudden memory of dark, brown eyes and a soothing smile, a summer afternoon. Her mother had liked the taste of lemon, and often added it to the water at mealtime. Hershey hadn’t thought of that in years, and now her mother was—

Hershey stopped, stared at the glass and brought it closer to her nose. She set down Dredd’s glass and picked up her own. It was nearly empty, but there was enough there to smell. Nothing. No scent at all.

Judge Hershey’s hand shook as she set the glass down. The rage began to spread throughout her body, burning like a fire she could scarcely control. She clenched her fists in frustration, then grabbed up Dredd’s glass and threw it against the wall.

Hexxadol Nine! It wasn’t the scent of lemon, it was a powerful tranquilizer drug. They had passed around samples of dozens of dangerous chemical compositions at the Academy. She had been proud of herself because she was extremely sensitive to smells. Most of the other Cadets hadn’t detected a thing when Hexxadol Nine had come around.

And Dredd hadn’t either…

The rigid stance, the frozen stare. It didn’t take much of the stuff to numb him to anything that was happening around him. They could have started a war right there and Dredd wouldn’t have noticed. There was enough of the drug in his glass…

Who? Hershey wondered. Why wasn’t the question, why was perfectly clear. Dredd would accept his own sentence, but he would go berserk when he learned of Fargo’s sacrifice.

Hershey’s rage turned to sorrow and she let it all out, didn’t try to hold it back. The scalding tears were for Dredd, but they were for Chief Justice Fargo as well. He had traded his own life for Dredd’s, but it seemed he had done more than that. He had made certain Dredd didn’t have to share his pain. He would, but not in the Council Chamber. Not in front of the others. Dredd and Fargo had both been spared that.

“This is Duncan Harrow with the news…

“I feel a little out of place, a bit uncomfortable, ladies and gentlemen, sitting behind the news desk today. In my mind, this desk will always belong to a man who was revered and respected by the journalistic community, and the Citizens of Mega-City, for a number of years.

“This is Vardis Hammond’s desk. And the tragic story unfolding before us today began with the brutal, senseless slaying of Vardis Hammond, and his wife, Lily.

“Why did the popular—the legendary—Judge Dredd slaughter two innocent people in the sanctity of their home? Some say Judge Dredd suffered from a serious mental disorder, a condition kept under wraps by Dredd’s powerful friend and long-time mentor, the former Chief Justice Fargo. One informed source reports that the Hammonds were killed because of Hammond’s continued criticism of the Judges, and Judge Dredd in particular. As our regular viewers will recall, Hammond long claimed that there was corruption within the judicial system, and that the increase in rioting and crime in our city could be traced to the moral decay within the hierarchy of the Judges.

“It’s a question that may never be answered, but the murder of the Hammonds, and the conviction of Judge Dredd for that crime, has led to another bizarre and startling development—the retirement of Chief Justice Fargo himself, and the commutation of Dredd’s death sentence to life in Aspen Prison.

“As I announced previously, the news media is not allowed to bring you live video coverage of the Ceremony of Retirement. We apologize for this, of course, but we must comply with the decision of the Judges. In lieu of live coverage, I will read you the text of the ceremony, as given to us by a media spokesman of the Judges.

“ ‘At sunrise this morning, retiring Judge Fargo was escorted by an Honor Guard of Street Judges to the City Gate in the Wall of Mega-City. Judge Fargo wore the traditional tan duster, traditional lawmen’s wear from a period dating to the Way Back When. A young Cadet, first in her class this year, read from the Book of Law, and a chorus of Cadets sang the solemn Judges’ Anthem.

“ ‘The cadet read: “Let him who has been written in our hearts and memories be struck from our hearts and memories forever…”

“ ‘At this point, retiring Judge Fargo hands a bundle containing his uniform, Lawgiver, and badge to the presiding Cadet. The Cadet hands Fargo the Book of Law, and the weapon he will carry to the Cursed Earth, a black-burnished Judges’ Remington pump. The Cadet salutes smartly. Judge Fargo returns the salute for the last time. The Cadet does an about face, turns her back on Judge Fargo, marches back to her post before the gathered command, and speaks again: “Let him go from us, from our city, from our protection, from our presence forever…”

“ ‘The city gates open, revealing the parched, empty land beyond. Judge Fargo walks through the gate, and into the Cursed Earth.

“ ‘He has gone from our midst, he has left us forever. May he continue his pursuit of the Right throughout his life. May he bring Law to the lawless, Justice to the unjust… as he leaves our sight forever…”

“At this point, ladies and gentlemen, the great city gate closes behind Judge Fargo. The Cadets and the honor guard of Street Judges come to attention, and the Judges’ Anthem reaches its stirring climax.

“This concludes our report on the Retirement Ceremony of Judge Fargo, former Chief Justice of Mega-City.

“As an ironic sidenote to this story, I can report to you that at virtually the same instant this ceremony was taking place, another, somewhat less formal event occurred at the Northwest Shuttle-gate of our city. Here, sixty-three men in chains and gray prison garb walked up the rampway to the Aspen Prison Shuttle Number Eleven. Some will be incarcerated for only a short time, some for many years. At least one among them will spend the rest of his life behind those forbidding walls for the crime of double murder. A prisoner named Joseph Dredd.

“Duncan Harrow here. Good night…”

The small craft whined above the city, catching the light of the sun on its crystal bow. It circled a tower that touched the morning clouds, hovered an instant, then settled gently into the magnetic lock that held it steady against the high structure.

A circular iris whispered open, and Chief Justice Griffin walked quickly out of the craft. The pilot saluted, but Griffin didn’t bother to respond.

The walls of his apartment were simulated oak, a perfectly polished imitation of a material that had long since vanished from the earth. The furniture was stark black and white, the pictures on the walls abstract slices of silver and blue. Replicated logs burned in the large fireplace at the far end of the room. The light flickered off the rich, golden walls, lending the stark decor a warm and comforting glow.

Griffin walked straight to the bar beside a heavy glass table. He reached for the familiar crystal container, changed his mind, and bent behind the bar. In a corner near the back was a bottle with a faded gold label, the printing nearly indistinct. He brought the bottle out and held it to the light. The liquid inside was the dark and smoky hue of old gold.