SHORT FICTION
How to Solve Crime, Prevent Murder, and Stop Terrorism?
We talk to the US president from another universe who cleaned up his country the hard way. We talk about the how, the effect, and the price they pay. (Interdimensional Talks -Episode 8)
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Ladies and gentlemen, alien or domestic, Welcome to Interdimensional Talks with your host Mike!
The only fictional radio show in the world broadcasting across the universe and the multiverse. Listen in as we talk to the most diverse bunch of guests you can possibly imagine. We’re talking aliens, ethereal beings, artificial intelligence, and even humans from parallel universes.
Suspend your disbelief, open your mind, and join us on a journey of fascinating exploration of ideas. Grab a drink and enjoy the show.
EPISODE 8:
The terrible price of a society free of violence and terror
MIKE: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to yet another episode of Interdimensional Talks. I’m your host, Mike. Something interesting happened to us the other day. We were contacted by a man from an alternate universe who claims he has the solution to all our problems with crime and terrorism. Apparently, they don’t have those issues on their world on account of strict security policies.
I was hesitant to invite him on, as I suspect we won’t like what he has to say. In fact, he told us we won’t, but we still need to hear them. I tend to agree, and I can’t really say no to a president, can I?
Allow me to remind you that we in no way, shape, or form endorse or represent the ideas and views presented by our guests. Without further ado, allow me to introduce the President of the United States of Alternate America from Earth 3452, doctor Albert “Justice” Jones. Welcome to the show, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT JONES: “Thank you for having me, Mike.”
MIKE: “Am I going to regret this, sir?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Only weak men have regrets. A proper man deals with the consequences, learns from his mistakes, and becomes better and stronger for it. Regret is wallowing in the past. It’s pointless. It leads nowhere.”
MIKE: “No regrets. Got it. How long have you been the president of the United States of America on your Earth?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “I’m on my fourth term now.”
MIKE: “Wow. Fourth? You don’t have limits?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “We did, but the people were adamant we make an exception in my case.”
MIKE: “You can do that?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, son. The people have spoken, and the rest is history.”
MIKE: “So, I take it you’re a popular president?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “I am. It’s a constant confirmation that I’m doing things right. I am here to serve my people. The moment I believe my service is no longer necessary or beneficial for my country, I will step down.”
MIKE: “Not many would relinquish such power voluntarily.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “With great power comes great responsibility, Mike. I may not have regrets, but I do carry heavy burdens on my shoulders. I see my role as president as a father to a family of nearly a billion people. If you’ve tried raising just a few children, you’ll know it’s no easy task.”
MIKE: “I like that, sir. Family. Service. But it still sounds like you’re running a sort of dictatorship and that the democratic process has been thrown out the window. I can’t see that as a good thing.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Far from it, Mike. Every year, I ask my voters if I still have their confidence. Publicly. Transparently. Every year, I get over a 90% approval rate. That is my guide. Should their support eventually fall, I will gladly step away.”
MIKE: “I hope that’s true, and not just words.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “I assure you it is. I never asked for this job, nor do I cling to its power. I was called into service at a time of need, and I answered. At great cost to my personal life and my health.”
MIKE: “I understand. I’m sorry to hear that. Why do you think the American people are so happy with your leadership?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “We lived in troubling times when I first ran for president. The previous administration promoted exceedingly liberal politics, and the result was an America we didn’t recognize anymore. People were afraid to leave their homes. Hell, people were afraid within their homes. Crime was off the charts, and terrorist attacks were becoming a regular occurrence. People went crazy with substance abuse, and the country descended into lawlessness.
I ran on strict security, zero tolerance, and no-mercy politics — something that was unimaginable just years before. But it was necessary. I took no pleasure in my policies. They were cruel but necessary. I took on a burden for my people and will carry it into my grave. I told my voters my plans straight, explaining the reasoning behind them, and they gave me the mandate to clean up America. So I did — the hard way. The only way.
MIKE: “And everyone agreed with it? Seems rather impossible, if I’m being honest.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Of course not. Hence the 90% approval rate. 10% are the social outliers, criminals, terrorists, and anarchists. Well, not all of them, but you get my point. Some of them just have gentle hearts and misplaced empathy. I get it. I don’t blame them. It’s not for the weak, this job. Hard choices have to be made. Unpopular choices. For the good of the many at the expense of the few. You can never make everyone happy. It’s not possible. In reality, anything over a 50% approval rate is a miracle as a politician, so I must be doing something right.”
MIKE: “I suppose so. How did you manage to clean up the streets and do the impossible? What policies did you speak of? Did you just stuff everyone in jail?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “I wish. That was never really an option. We were a nation of roughly nine hundred million, and our jails were not just full. They were a mess — effectively penal colonies — breeding grounds for criminals and gangs. Prison is never the solution. The cost of maintaining such a large prison system was beginning to cripple other social policies. That was just plain wrong. Have you any idea how much the yearly cost per prisoner is in the USA?”
MIKE: “I do not. A lot?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “A lot, yes. With the corrupt and ineffective system we had, every prisoner costs us around fifty thousand dollars annually. We had over five million people in prison or jail at the time. You do the math.”
MIKE: “Scarry numbers. But what’s the alternative? What then, if not prison?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “When you put someone in prison for a long time, you deprive his family of his ability to provide for them, taking on that expense and burden on the government. We all know very few serious offenders get rehabilitated. It’s a joke. So when they come out with a record of imprisonment, they are effectively unemployable. That forces them back into a life of crime or on the government’s shoulders. How is that the right solution to the problem of crime?”
MIKE: “When you put it like this, I guess it’s not. Isn’t the right solution then to ensure that the conditions in which people live are such that they don’t fall into poverty, alcohol, and drugs and don’t end up on the path of crime in the first place?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “In a perfect, utopian, ideological world, maybe. But we don’t live in a perfect world. Besides, it’s just theory. I have another. Do you want to hear it?”
MIKE: “Of course.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “There always was, and will always be, a certain percentage of people who will not conform to societal rules. Sociopaths, psychopaths, pedophiles, people with no moral code, murderers who have it in their DNA to feel nothing for other human beings, and selfish individuals who only care about themselves. History has proven this to be the case. The percentage may vary, but it’s never zero. Would you agree with this?”
MIKE: “I suppose so. I’ve read studies that there are about 1% of sociopaths and psychopaths among us, and most are never discovered.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “There you go. Scientific proof that your people are no different than mine. If we continue this train of thought, no amount of jail time will ever prevent every potential murderer, rapist, pedophile, or terrorist from committing their crime. Never has. Never will. It’s only a deterrent for those with something to lose and who don’t have it in them to commit such horrible crimes in the first place, like how gun laws prevent only good citizens from owning guns and never criminals. They will always find a way. Are you following thus far?”
MIKE: “I am. Please continue.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “When we looked at our crime statistics and calculated how much it would cost to police everyone effectively, prosecute them, and then imprison the perpetrators, we realized that it was impossible. It was a dead end. No country in the world has that kind of money.”
MIKE: “Probably true.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Can you think of a solution that surpasses this problem?”
MIKE: “No. I Can’t.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Neither could we. So, we employed Artificial Intelligence and some think tanks to offer us alternative ideas. They were instructed to think outside the box. No idea is a bad idea, and all will be considered. We expected evidence to back their ideas up and calculations for what it meant in terms of our population and financial realities.
Among all the proposed plans that were put forward, one stood out. It was the one that was unanimously accepted after months of debate and adaptation. It was the one we ran in our campaign, and it was the one we executed to the letter when we won. Two decades later, it’s still operating and working as designed.”
MIKE: “Collor me hoocked, Mr President. What was the plan? I’m all ears.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “The plan was fivefold. All prisons would be transformed into factories and farms. The only crimes applicable for imprisonment were non-violent and non-sexual crimes. Minimum security: All prisoners sign an employment contract and are put to work. What they earn goes toward paying off their expenses and their pensions.
Criminal laws had to be rewritten. All heavier crimes, such as murder, rape, pedophilia, terrorism, repeated violent crimes, and attempted murders, were promoted for expedient trials. A six-month maximum term was set for courts, and all the appropriate arrangements were made for them to be able to complete the trial in that time. After that time, a sentence had to be proclaimed and executed.
All serious crimes of a violent nature and those directed against the most vulnerable population like women and children were now under the penalty of death.”
MIKE: “Wow, wow, wow! I have to stop you there. All violent crimes had the penalty of death? What the hell?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Prisons were now only meant for mild transgressions and financial crimes. We eliminated them for everyone else. Besides, we were done paying for criminals. The American people were. Like I said, this was the only way that made sense.”
MIKE: “And people accepted that? Just like that? What about all the pro-life advocates and all the potential mistakes in trials on such short notice?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Collateral damage. We explained to them that, in the end, it was exactly because of these new policies that a lot fewer innocent people were going to die. But we can’t possibly save them all. We do the best we can. We may make a mistake in trials and condemn an innocent person to death on a rare occasion, although we will try our best to minimize that to zero, but in doing so, we will save millions from becoming a victim of violent crime. They accepted these terms. Turns out we were right. Violent crime went almost to zero.”
MIKE: “I’m almost afraid to ask. What did you do with the old population of criminals? The ones already incarcerated?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “We made examples of them as a warning for everyone else — public executions with mandatory attendance at least once a year for all citizens above twelve. I’m not going to lie. Those were dark times. We did not know how everything would turn out. We had doubts. Of course, we had doubts. How could you not? But it had to be done. Those who fell under the new laws and were eligible for prison were transferred and put to work. Those who did not were dealt new sentences and executed.”
MIKE: “What you’re telling me… I’m sorry to say this, but it sounds barbaric! Inhumane! I feel pain in my heart just hearing about it.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Imagine my pain, then. I gave the orders. I made it happen. It was for the ultimate good, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”
MIKE: “I’m starting to understand why you don’t want to be the president forever.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Unfortunately, this wasn’t the worst of it.”
MIKE: “What do you mean? What can possibly be worse than executing all those criminals?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Executing their families.”
MIKE: “I’m sorry, what now? I must not have heard that right. Can you repeat, please?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “While the new sentencing system worked for most crimes, there was one exception. Terrorism.”
MIKE: “How so?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “I guess it stems from the fundamental difference in the reasons behind the crime. Crimes of passion, lust, greed, or perversion are different from those of causing terror in the world for the sake of causing terror. When violence is the means and the end, the more hideous, the better, normal approaches don’t work. Terrorists aren’t rational people. They don’t make rational decisions. They crave to become martyrs and do not fear death. Therefore, all attempts to appeal to their rational mind have failed.”
MIKE: “So, how did you deal with terrorism? Did you eventually solve it?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “We did. But at a high cost. The highest of costs. Still, there was no choice. We were plagued with terrorist attacks, one every few days. Some we managed to stop, others slipped through our fingers, and a lot of innocent people suffered the consequences. After we took over, the terrorists went into a killing frenzy. There was so much death. So many innocent people died — so many children. We just couldn’t stand by anymore. Something had to be done.”
MIKE: “What did you do?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “What do you do when dealing with men who see paradise at the end of the barrel of a gun?”
MIKE: “What?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Something a wise man once said. The threat of death only works on those afraid to die. Terrorists, especially religious and suicide variety, crave a glorious death in the name of the cause. You cannot stop them by threatening to kill them. They’ll just do the job for you and take the innocent with them to the afterlife. No.
There was only one thing they sometimes loved more than their twisted ideologies- their families. We counted on them becoming the great deterrent against terrorism. Not only in sharing the punishment of death but as a preventive measure. When you know you’ll be guilty of the same crime as your family member, you ensure they never get to commit it.”
MIKE: “You prosecuted their families as well?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Men, women, and children. We made no exceptions. The first order of relatives was now guilty of the same crime. In the case of multiple murder or terrorism, the penalty was death by public execution.”
MIKE: “You executed whole families? Fuck, I’m gonna need a stiff drink after this.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. All of them. (awkward silence) And by the way, I’m five drinks in already. Do keep up.”
MIKE: “I don’t know what to say to that.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “There’s nothing to say. It’s a damn shame we had to go this far, but we didn’t have a choice. In only one year, we lost over seventy-three thousand innocent lives to terror. On our soil alone. Mostly women and children. Enough was enough. Sometimes, the only way to stop monsters is to become bigger monsters ourselves. (a hard sip and a clunk were heard in the background).
MIKE: “Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “I like that. It resonates.”
MIKE: “Nietzsche. How many did you execute? All in all?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “As much as it took to stop the madness from spreading further and regaining control over security. Too many. Millions.”
MIKE: “Oh my God. Millions?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “We had almost two million prisoners eligible for execution alone, remember. After that, we got the people’s attention. A few thousand the first year, but less and less after that. Nowadays, we may execute one or two hundred people per year. Which, given the size of our population, is nothing.”
MIKE: “So it worked?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “It worked. It still works. As I’ve mentioned, violent crime is almost non-existent. We carry the burdens for others to live safe, peaceful lives. It is a burden worth carrying.”
MIKE: “How many people would die as a result of a violent crime before? In other words, how many do you estimate you saved with this policy?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Over a hundred thousand per year. We take a hundred lives to save a hundred thousand lives. We take the guilty to save the innocent. We kill the monsters to protect their victims. It’s a rational trade.”
MIKE: “If only things were that simple.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Indeed.”
MIKE: “You mentioned five pillars. Any non-executing ones?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Yes, actually. We believe these were imperative to our success. Death sentences only work in a limited fashion. They’re not the best deterrent, and you can never prevent all crime by increasing sentences. It just doesn’t work. You need to stop the criminals in their tracks, and for that, you need people. Lots of people. Again, we realized there was no way we could do it with a standard policing model, so we diversified.”
MIKE: “Please elaborate. How does one diversify the police force?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “We deputized citizens and armed them. We paid them for partial employment, and they took some of our duties from our workload. In short, we educated, trained, monitored, and armed the population. Every head of the family had to carry a gun and get a permit. Every school had to have armed staff. Every store, cinema, company, and bar also had to have armed staff. You get the point. We opted for both lethal and non-lethal options. There was no declining this option, but you could opt for the non-lethal variety. This was important, in my opinion.”
MIKE: “What did that do? Arming and deputizing the citizens?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “It cut reaction times on the scene of a crime by nine-tenths. It prevented almost all school shootings, and the ones who slipped through the cracks were stopped before they could harm anyone. Most of the time, anyway. Through education, we trained people to recognize signs of mental issues, violent tendencies, and terrorist ideologies. We have tied family members’ fates together, but we also gave them the tools, knowledge, and support to prevent the worst. For the most part, it works great.”
MIKE: “And when it doesn’t?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “No system is perfect. You can’t stop all crime. You can’t save everyone, especially from themselves. A few hundred lives are still lost to senseless crime every year. Statistically speaking, it’s a non-issue, but when you’ve dedicated your life to saving people by any means necessary,…”
MIKE: “So you see yourself as a savior, a hero?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “No, Mike. I’m no hero. I’m just the guy who had the guts to do what most didn’t when it was the right thing to do. Even though no one was willing to do it.”
MIKE: “That would kind of define a hero, wouldn’t it?”
PRESIDENT JONES: (silence)
MIKE: “So, you managed to solve your crime problem. But what are the biggest problems you still face as a nation?”
PRESIDENT JONES: “A declining population. We peaked some decades ago and have been dropping in numbers ever since. It’s bad for the economy, and it’s bad for the soul of the nation. We are becoming a nation of old people. We also have a problem with suicides and mental illness. I’m good at solving hard, violent problems but less efficient at solving my people’s softer issues. Like why aren’t they making babies, and why do the young keep killing themselves? I mean, we created a beautiful, safe, prosperous future for them, yet they can’t find happiness. ”
MIKE: “Perhaps the threat of collective punishment is not so appealing? Why create new lives when they might one day become innocent victims of the system designed to protect them? Mandatory appearances on executions can’t be all that fun, either.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “The odds of that happening are near zero, Mike. Don’t get cute with me. We’ve saved a thousand times more lives than we’ve taken. These are facts!”
MIKE: “Perhaps. But your people seem to be miserable.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “What do you know about my people?”
MIKE: “Only what you tell me, sir. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
PRESIDENT JONES: “Well, at least they’re not getting murdered, the ingrateful …”
MIKE: “It seems President Jones’s people cut the transmission before he could say more than he should. Don’t drink alcohol, kids, and don’t, for the love of God, kill people because of collective punishment. I’ll be ignoring my own advice now and getting properly hammered, toasting to whatever powerless puppet is at the head of the government right now, for not wanting to solve crime for us. Capital punishment is not something to take lightly. Again, my team is in no way endorsing the barbaric policies of President Jones.
Sometimes, good intentions, and I sincerely believe that Jones had good intentions, end up with the worst results. On this dark note, we end today’s show, and yes, I’m sorry I invited the man on. I didn’t need to know all that, effective though it may be. Good night, everyone.”
THE END
I would love to hear from you. What do you think about the death penalty? Is it acceptable or not? Only in some cases or never? Was President Jones in the right, or is he the monster?
PREVIOUS EPISODES:
A Dire Warning About the Dangers of Playing God (CERN — Large Hadron Collider)
CERN’s particle accelerator went crazy, opening the gates to another dimension, resulting in a fight for our planet and our very survival. (Interdimensional Talks -Episode 7)
Ascending Into Digital Form: What Is It Like To Have No Body?
In a parallel universe, humanity transcended their bodies to live in a digital world. Would you upload your consciousness to the cloud in exchange for immortality? (Interdimensional Talks -Episode 6)
The Mystery of the Lost City of Atlantis Finally Solved
What happened to the ancient city of Atlantis? We talk to a descendant of the ancient Atlantians, and they reveal the fascinating truth! (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 5)
Do You Want To Live Forever?
How does it feel to be immortal? What is life without death? What would you ask a man with an eternal life? (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 4)
What Would You Ask an Alien Predator While Being Hunted?
A terrifying interview with a starving alien desperately trying to eat us on his journey of radical transparency. (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 3)
What If You Forgot Everything In a Collective Amnesia Every 364 Days?
Can you imagine a life without memories? A new year — a new you! How would it feel to be free from your past? (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 2)
Interview With a Self-Aware Artificial General Intelligence
What would you ask a conscious artificial intelligence? Is AI dangerous? Can AI teach us anything? (Interdimensional Talks — Episode 1)
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