Alex was taken inside a cold interrogation room. Her access pod and all other personal effects had been confiscated and were most likely being examined. While she waited, she searched the database of information in her brain for any legal precedents that were relevant to her situation. Since lawyers were practically obsolete, most people typically had a large reservoir of legal data in their brain that they could access when circumstances demanded. Alex was unique since she had the entire law library in her brain – a massive feat for even the most advanced computers, let alone a human. With her unmatched understanding of the law, she was confident she could outwit a panel of the best lawyers and judges on the planet.
The only crimes they could charge her with were breaching a secured government database and having unauthorized access of government files, but convicting her was unlikely. She had not actually stolen any files, nor did the files pose any security threat. Nevertheless, the crime was still considered to be a very serious offense.
Alex had just started her adult life and so far was off to a bad start. If someone had told her a week earlier that she would be hunted by the guardians and thrown in prison, she would have thought they were crazy. Despite being in custody for less than an hour, Alex already missed her freedom.
Sitting in the interrogation room gave her a lot of time to think. Her only regret was getting caught. If given the opportunity to find information about her mother, she would have done it again.
"Hello, Ms. Gray," a stoic man said. "My name is Agent Archimedes. I work for the United Intelligence Agency and am the head of security for the Leader, Maxim Morrison."
"What does the head of security for the Leader want with me?" Alex asked.
"That's classified."
"I was told you are very bright, Ms. Gray, but do you understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Wisdom is something you get with age and experience. You may have a lot of knowledge in your brain, but you still have a lot to learn. Once our system alerted us to your unauthorized access of government files, logically, we wanted to see what you were looking at. Much to our surprise, the file you were looking at led us directly to you."
Alex didn't say a word.
"As such. I'll be placing you in a prison cell for five years so you can think long and hard about your unlawful conduct. Your memory will be wiped and you'll lose all recollection of this event and maybe even some other things as well. How does that sound?"
"It sounds like a misappropriation of power coupled with an unlawful punishment without due process. As you know, Agent, I have inalienable civil liberties that protect me from such abuses by authority that violate the rule of law."
The man chuckled with amusement. "I see you're living up to your reputation. I might be willing to make you a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Alex replied.
"Tell me how you acquired the knowledge to penetrate our security system and I'll put in a good word to reduce your sentence down to three years."
"That sounds like a pretty crummy deal to me."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Ms. Gray, but I will give you a chance to reconsider. In the meantime, you can get used to what the next five years of your life will be like inside a prison cell."