The President of the United Federation of Aligned Planets stands up, smoothes down his dress uniform with both hands, and steps forward to the mike. "Good afternoon, citizens," he says, and there is an instant and ear-splitting feedback whine from the P.A. system. From among the crowds, incredibly, there is laughter. It's hard not to laugh, it's the tension, and the look of irritation on Jaresh-Inyo's face as he adjusts the sound. This is supposed to be dignified.
"Good afternoon, citizens," he says again, his voice now tinny and flattened. It's citizens instead of officers because of the civilians. "I'm sure we are all aware of the unfortunate circumstances that bring us all here together on this beautiful morning, when I am certain we would all rather be doing something else, at least I speak for myself, but duty is a hard taskmater and it is in the name of duty that we are here today."
He goes on like this for some minutes, but I don't listen. I've heard this speech, or one like it, often enough befor: the same platitudes, the same slogans, the same phrases: the torch of the future, the cradle of the race, the take before us. It's hard to believe there will not be polite clapping after this speech, and tea and cookies served on the lawn.
That was the prologue, I think. Now he'll get down to it.
"Well then," says Jaresh-Inyo. He nods. Two security officers come forward now from behind the stage, behind me. Between them they half-carry, half-drag a third man. He is dressed in the remnants of his Ambassadorial uniform, but he is wearing no rank insignia nor decoration and the uniform is dirty and torn. His face is cut and bruised, deep reddish-brown bruises; the flesh is swollen and knobby, stubbled with unshaven beard. This doesn't look like a face but like an unknown vegetable, a mangled bulb or tuber, something that's gone wrong. Even from where I am standing I can smell him: he smells of shit and vomit. His hair is a deep purple and falls over his face, spiky with what? Dried sweat?
"This man," says the President, "has been convicted of failing the Federation in the line of his duty." His voice trembles with rage, and a kind of triumph. "He was once an Ambassador, our delegate to the World Assembly. He has disgraced his uniform. He has abused his position of trust. Those who were his accomplices have already been shot. The penalty for the failure of the Federation, as you know, is death. Article 14, Section 31 of the Federation Charter. I might add that these crimes have caused our United Federation to be the laughing stock of the entire World Assembly; our legislature stands upon a precipice. I will not offend your ears with any details, except to say that our Ambassador has long not been working for you but has been subversed by an extremist fringe."
From somewhere in the crowds there is the sound of retching. I've seen it before, of course. The white bag placed over the head, the Ambassador helped up onto the high stool as if he's being helped up the steps of a bus, steadied there, the noose adjusted delicately around the neck, like a vestment, the stool kicked away. I've heard the long sigh go up, from around me and in front of me, the sigh like air coming out of an air mattress. I've seen Jaresh-Inyo place his hand over the mike, to stifle the other sounds coming from behind him. I've watched as the hooded man struggles for air, heard his coughs and attempts to scream, and then, as one with the crowd, punched the air with my fist and chanted the Federation slogan as the latest traitor to our great nation dies for his crimes.
Peace, prosperity, duty.
Jaresh-Inyo steps forward to the microphone once more. "Citizens," he says, "It is with the greatest honour that I now present to you the Federation's newest delegate that we send to the World Assembly in the hopes that he can bring peace and prosperity to our great nation through his duties. I give you... Ambassador Dienes!". The cheers echoed through the throngs as the citizens, instructed as they had been in how to celebrate the passage from one to the next, obediently acknowledged their new Ambassador.
I stepped towards the dias...
OOC: Linked to the outcome of this thread. Same post, but I thought it merited a wider audience.
