Forgotten Dreams of Eternity: Lost Odyssey: Thousand Years of Dreams

(Short Story -XXX.) *Lottery of Life*

You have to nip them in the bud."

The kids sent to prison were fed the absolute minimum to keep them alive. No doctor saw them if they fell sick or were injured. Subjected to such harsh imprisonment, they succumbed one after another, and more than a few of them ended up as cold corpses pitched out the back door.

Whenever one did manage to serve out his term and return to the outside world, he found it impossible to erase the brand of "loser." Children with criminal records were soundly rejected by respectable society. The social system was structured in such a way that nothing worked for them: employment, marriage, even finding a place to live. Expelled by society, these boys and girls returned to crime as a way to stay alive, eventually ending up in adult prison.

With a bitter smile, the police commissioner said to Kaim, "I'm sure this all sounds terrible to an outsider like you."

Kaim answered with a slight nod.

This only served to increase the bitterness of the commissioner's smile.

"I know what you're thinking," he said.

"And to tell you the truth, I sometimes think the system is a little too harsh on them, too.

But you have to realize that we're not just punishing bad kids: We're also holding them up as an example to the good ones. What would they think if they saw the ex-criminals out on the street again walking along like nothing ever happened? They'd just figure that even if they got their hands dirty and spent a few years in jail, they could just go back to their old lives, that society's punishment is no big deal, that they can get away with murder. We wouldn't want our kids to be like that, would we? So the only thing is for us grownups to teach them. Look at those guys, we can say. All it takes is one bad deed and your life is over. So you'd better listen to your parents and teachers and be good."

He definitely had a point.

Kaim was willing to grant him that.

But still, the commissioner must have noticed a hint of shadow crossing Kaim's face, and he shifted his tone of voice.

With bureaucratic conviction, he declared, "The authorities have received word that there is going to be a coup. Of course the military have everything under control, so there is nothing to worry about. They could suppress it right now if they wanted to. They could easily attack the agitators and capture the ring leaders of the plot. In this case, though, they have decided to let it get started in order to smoke out every last one of the reactionary elements."

According to the government's intelligence, the uprising was scheduled to occur that very night.

"We are prepared to just about any eventuality, but there is always the possibility of the unexpected. If there were a riot inside the juvenile prison timed to coincide with the rebellion, that could be a real problem."

This is why Kaim had been hired as a temporary prison guard -a bodyguard for the state.

"We're counting on your skills as a seasoned warrior, which is why we're entrusting you with such a major responsibility. Be sure you live up to our expectations. If you have to resort to violence, we have no problem with that. Whatever you do, it will be for the sake of law and order. It will be in order to protect the happy lives of the decent citizens of our nation. Carry out your duties with complete dedication of body and soul."

The commissioner handed Kaim a one-page document.

It was, literal, a license to kill.

"And without the slightest restraint. All the prison guards have one of these."