Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Legally Dead

Looking inside the man's head, kelly could see how the debate had gone.

The supreme court had done their best to apply precedent from previous laws and cases into this one in a record ruling. First they had argued the nature of your rights once you are legally dead. Some had argued that being dead precludes you from all your original rights on the basis that giving dead people rights was against the court process of setting precedent that was, "reasonable and adhered to common sense." While another judge argued that the nature of death did not necessarily preclude you of rights considering that someone who dies has the rights to their will, and if the will must be carried out on the wishes of the dead then it could certainly be argued that Kelly retained her rights as dead. Another judge brought back up "Reasonable and common sense." and openly pointed out that Kelly was not in fact, just a corpse, but was living and walking around to to deny her of her rights would be against reason.

Of course wills were only valid because they were signed into being BEFORE death, at which point one of the justices pointed out that Kelly had been appointed president approximately two to three minutes before her death. But then it had gotten into an argument about how death severs certain binding contracts. The CEO of a company does not maintain control of the company after death. But then that had turned into an argument about resuscitation, and how there were plenty of world leaders that had required CPR after their hearts clinically stop and then were placed back into office as if the death was some sort of medical condition. In this case, someone was appointed to their place until which time as they recovered from their illness and were able to reclaim their seat again.

From there it all sort of went over her head.

She had never had the mind for all of that legal stuff. Kelly was no slouch of course, but like Adam, she was a soldier at heart, a woman of action, and talking only tended to bore her to tears.

"The decision?" She wondered, and the man next to her gave a sort of half shrug

"Well they were at least able to establish the fact that dead people have rights, and if they do you maintain everything that you had before you died. Now with your absence being so long they had to argue that, even were this treated like an illness, control of the country would have been remanded over to president Hunt anyway, which is kind of where we are stuck right now."

Kelly nodded. She had expected as much.

If that was the case, there was still the possibility she could run for a second turn, but since Hunt had been in office for three years now she was significantly behind on a campaign and only had less than a year to convince the nation to re-elect someone who was already dead.

She was lead back into the waiting conference room where she took her seat and looked around at the waiting holograms, sitting in their seats around the table. The illusion was so good it was almost like they were really here, a fact she wished to be true as she would have given anything to glower to the REAL hunt.

She would have given anything to introduce his face to the metal part of a folding chair, but that certainly wouldn't solve anything.

"Tala Kelly."

"Yes your honor."

The justice shifted tiredly in her seat rubbing her temples, "You have created a significant legal headache which we are still in the process of solving. However we have made a few decisions. One of them involves the reinstatement of your rights, despite being dead, we have determined that you legal rights remain as we cannot look at a.... Talking thinking subject as anything other than alive and deserving of rights." Kelly nodded, 'Additionally, along with the UNSC we have determined to treat your.... Absence in two ways, firstly as an illness, and secondly as a prisoner of war."

Kelly shivered trying not to think of the dark place.

She felt her body glitch slightly as even her very bones remembered what had happened.

"Go on."

"With these in mind we have determined to treat this the same way we might have treated you had you been struck into a coma for the past three years at the beginning of your term of presidency. A presidency can only last two terms and a total of eight years, but you didn't even serve a full day, and your absence was long enough for power to be moved to president Hunt. In this case we have chosen to treat the situation as if you were Not sworn in."

There was a slight murer around the room, and Kelly raised an eyebrow. That was a decision she had not expected. Some people here didn't like the sound of that but president hunt seemed pleased at the very least. But to be honest she found that she didn't mind that at all.

She had beat President hunt once, she felt she could do it again.

She folded her hands politely in her lap, "If that is the case, and my rights are still in tact as they were before my death, than I would like to continue my campaign from the previous election, running on the same grounds."

There was another murmuring throughout the room Hunt scoffed, "We can't let a dead woman be president."

She smirked, "I think we can. How do you think the public will feel when they learn that I understand our enemy more now, I have greater insight into what comes after, and I am virtually assassin proof now. I will be able to do more for this world than any leader has ever been able to do." She failed to mention that now she couldn't be manipulated or lied to.

Some secrets she had to keep to herself.

Was it morally questionable? Maybe, but she wasn't about to give up one of her greatest advantages.

Of course this was something she would have to keep quiet, unless this turned into a conversation about privacy laws involving one's own inner dialogue. If her ability to read minds got out, she was sure it would lead to public outcry.

Best not to mention that little fact.

"I.... since we have reinstated your rights.... And you fulfill all the other requirements it seems that we certainly can't stop you."

She nodded.

Hopefully her sponsors from a few years around were still out there. She definitely had to give them all a call and try to win her way back into their candidacy position. At least now she could promise she wouldn't die on them.

Together they stood, making their way out and towards the doors. The general still stood with her, and as they walked he seemed interested to ask her a question but couldn't find a way to satisfactorily phrase whatever was on his mind. She let him struggle, content to plan for the future.

It was only when the doors opened and the gasps rose into the air did she realize they weren't alone.

The collective gasps turned into the collective flashing of cameras and shouted questions.

"Tala kelly is that really you!'

"Where have you been!"

"Will you be taking over the presidency/"

And then inevitably the glitch happened, the the crowd broke into chaos.