Arthur Cackett stood at the window overlooking the plaza. “Nice view. Reminds me of the corner office I once had. One of the most surprising things about all of this for me is that I don't miss it. Isn't that peculiar. I worked my ass off for 20 years to get there, and then another 15 years to keep it, and now I don't miss it one bit.” He turned around and sat down, next to Steve Taggart, the former police officer.
Ben wasn't quite sure what to make of the older man's comment and decided to just nod and smile.
Adam cleared his throat, “we have come together as you asked us to get back to you with a suggestion for some rules, laws for the Protectorate.”
“I did, but I didn't expect you to be so fast!”
“Yes, I was also surprised, but after talking with these two gentlemen, they were ready in no time.”
“Great, let's hear it.”
Arthur leaned forward and slipped a paper over to Ben, “very well. What we have here are two components, first, some very basic laws, and then, second, the institutions and the process that will enforce those laws. I'll talk to the laws, and then Steve will talk to the institutions.
“Let me preface this by saying that I was a corporate lawyer, not a specialist in civil law, but, frankly, that is all you've got, and it should do for these very basic things.”
Ben had to snort at the men's bluntness.
“Okay, here we go. We have managed to condense it to a preface and four laws.”
Ben read through the text as Arthur explained it.
Preface: These laws apply equally to all persons, regardless of station, with the sole exception of the Protector. They are in force across all directly claimed lands of the Protectorate, adjacent unclaimed lands, and in all interactions with Protectorate citizens where jurisdiction is agreed.
Killing a Protectorate citizen or guest is forbidden. Punishable by death, with exceptions for self-defense or defense of the Protectorate.
Stealing or willfully damaging another's property is forbidden. Punishable by full restitution, plus fines, service, or exile.
Lying in, or breaking, contracts, trade agreements, or dealings with Protectorate institutions is forbidden. Punishable by fines, service, or exile.
Offering, giving, or accepting bribes to influence Protectorate business is forbidden. Punishable by fines, service, or exile.
Arthur looked at Ben expectantly.
Ben chuckled, “to be honest I did expect a hundred pages with a lot of footnotes. First of all, thank you for the work and for keeping it short. In principle, I like it.”
He looked out of the window for a moment and thought about what he had heard. “Can I understand why you explicitly exclude me in the preface?”
“Well, as a lawyer, I abhor circularity. If for some reason the law would require you to be executed, the Protectorate would die with you, which would eliminate the basis for the law that is being applied. More practically, we have to acknowledge that we are living in an absolute monarchy, you might not see it like that or want it like that, but I think it makes sense to be explicit about these things.”
Ben frowned. “Mhh. That is indeed not an easy pill to swallow, but in this, I will follow your guidance.
“I have two other points that I would want to include. The first one is very simple. We won't have the death penalty. The baseline penalty for murder should be exile and with mitigating circumstances something like prison or service to the community.”
Arthur looked at Steve, who shrugged. “Understood. I don't think we do have a prison, though, do we?”
“No, we don't. But hopefully it will take some time until we have our first murder case and we can always use exile.”
“Very well, what is the second point?”
“We need to add to the preface, that the behavior of all citizens and guests of the Protectorate must be guided by our values, as I defined them.”
Arthur nodded quickly. “That is actually a very good point, though broad and open to interpretations. I am happy to make that adjustment.”
Now it was time for Steve to clear his throat and a second sheet of paper changed hands.
“We have again aimed for simplicity and acknowledgment of our situation. The principles are as follows. It is the police's responsibility …”
“Guard. Protectorate Guard,” Ben interrupted, delivering a clear message that did not seem up for discussion.
“Yes, apologies, decades of habit are hard to shake…
“It is the Guard's responsibility to ensure the safety of the Protectorate's citizens and guests within its borders from civil threats and ensure the law is upheld. For that purpose must investigate potential breaches of the law and may confiscate potentially illegal goods or detain suspects.
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“For minor offenses, the Guard Captain will set penalties directly.
“For major offenses, a tribunal of a Protectorate Council member, the Guard Captain, and a random citizen will be formed. Sentences can be appealed to the Protector.”
Ben shook his head. “I think a few things need to change quite significantly. First, I think we should also have a preface, that says that the institutions involved, in particular the Guard, are here to serve the people, not the other way around.”
Taggart twitched as if hit and got slightly red in the face.
“Steve, this is no attack to you, but I just want to make sure that everybody is clear on priorities.”
“I understand,” he ground out.
“The next change is that the Guard will not determine guilt, not even for small stuff. I am certainly not a lawyer,” he nodded to Arthur, “but the separation of powers makes sense to me. We should appoint a judge. While the Guard will report to Adam, the judge will be appointed by me, but act independently. For major offenses, the judge should lead a tribunal with two other random citizens. Once they have come to a decision they will consult with me, no further appeals. Is that acceptable?” Ben looked at the three men in the room with him.
Adam nodded right away, “that sounds good to me.”
Arthur frowned, thinking about the suggestion, “I understand the point about separation of powers, but you do break it in the end when it comes to the judge or tribunal consulting with you…”
“True, but you were the one who said that we are in an absolute monarchy. I have no interest in being a judge, but I want to make sure, in particular, in the beginning, that we set the right tone, in line with our values.”
Steve had clearly calmed down and it seemed genuine when he agreed with the proposal, “maybe we went a bit too ‘medieval' on the pol… Guard deciding on minor offenses. I think this can work well.”
“Excellent. Thank you all so much. We should communicate this with the citizens soon.”
“There is actually a feature in the Settlement Interface, that allows us to publish the law, so that every citizen and guest can access it via their Status page,” Adam said.
“Cool!” Ben looked at Steve and Arthur. “Are the two of you applying for the jobs as Guard Captain and Judge?” he grinned.
To Ben's surprise it was Arthur who seemed genuinely surprised. “I had actually… I… no, that wasn't my intention. But I am happy to help out and we can revisit. But if you have somebody else in mind, I am also fine,” The older man spluttered.
Ben laughed, “no worries. I will discuss with Adam and then come back to you. What about you, Steve?”
“I would indeed be very happy to work with the Guard, in whatever capacity. Should the settlement become very large, I would probably step down from the Captain role as I like to be on the streets, but until then, sure.”
“Very good. Same as with Arthur, I will discuss with Adam and let you know.”
After Arthur and Steve had left, Ben turned to Adam. “Thank you. Cool stuff. Amazing that we already have a set of laws even though we are just 150 people.”
Adam chuckled, “true. But it definitely doesn't hurt to have it. Are you ok with the two of them taking those roles? We could also have somebody who just comes at it with common sense as a judge…”
Ben shrugged, “why not, let's try. Arthur has surprised me a couple of times since he joined us. We can always make a change if we want later. Hopefully we won't need a judge at all for a very long time. Can you maybe check with mom and Barry if they have any thoughts?”
“Sure, will do.”
A few minutes later, Ben sat in his office alone and opened a golden system message that was blinking at him.
Congratulations! For stretching your mind into new fields, your Mind attribute is increased +1. You have also received the perk [Administration] — Increases the effectiveness of managing complex institutions. Common.
As Ben recovered from the short surge of Energy, he couldn't help himself, he laughed out loud at the absurdity of increasing his attributes from discussions about law.
***
Mission alert – Evacuation
Several settlements in high-Energy zones are being overwhelmed and pose a hindrance for efficient operations for Meta.
You are to offer the members of the community the opportunity to escape their circumstances. No further efforts will be made to protect them.
Once you are ready, find and acknowledge this mission under your [Knight Protector] perk and a portal to the settlement will be opened on the central plaza; it will remain active as long as the mission is ongoing.
Target: Alaskan village.
Importance: Medium
Urgency: High (24 h)
Ben reviewed the mission a final time, as the portal opened on the plaza, his team beside him. This was the fifth mission of the same style and so far, they had all gone well with people being happy being rescued.
He stepped forward onto a pier, gazing out at the gray, endless ocean. A bald eagle perched on a nearby tree to the left, scanning the water for its next meal—a salmon or other local catch. As he fully emerged through the portal and glanced back, steep mountains rose behind the village, not unlike those at home.
While it was hard to say whether he was thinking faster, with his increased Mind attribute, the slight changes to his perception were noticeable. The crispness with which he could see individual trees on the mountain slope had clearly increased.
The village itself was the largest community they had been assigned a mission to so far: a couple dozen colorfully painted houses nestled between the pier and the rising mountainside. From his vantage point, only a few people moved along the two main roads.
He took another glance at the ocean and took a deep breath of the crisp, fresh, salty air. Then he moved towards the village. A middle-aged woman was working a stand close to the pier where she was selling fish. Despite it still being early in the morning, the selection was slim. She looked at them in shock as they approached.
“Who are you?” she asked. “You shouldn't be here.”
“Hello there,” Alison said. “We are on a mission issued by the systems to evacuate you from here via this portal over there.” She pointed to where they had come from. “Is there somebody we can talk to, maybe a mayor or somebody?”
The woman looked at them aghast. “A mission from the systems? Look, I really think you should leave if you can.” She quickly looked left and right to see whether there was anybody nearby. “We have had some issues over the last few weeks.”
Ben had to chuckle. “Issues—you mean with the Energy? I think we all have had our share of issues.”
She quickly shook her head. “No, no, not these kinds of issues.” She stopped herself as the door opened at a larger building on the other side of the street. From the signage over its door, Ben guessed that it was a bed and breakfast or small hotel.
A tall man exited the building. He looked like he had been quite fit in the past, but time and prolific consumption of beer seemed to have taken its toll. He was taken aback for a second when he saw them and called into the building behind him. “Hey, looks like we have guests.”
Having found his confidence again, he sauntered towards them as if he didn't have a care in the world.
As he came closer, Ben noticed the black leather vest with multiple patches sewn on it. A biker.
