An Exchange of Hostages by Susan R. Matthews Read Free Book Online Page B

father, or the oldest brother of one’s father, if there was one. In other words, precisely what Koscuisko had been trying so strenuously to accomplish before he had finally submitted to the overwhelming weight of Aznir tradition and reported to Fleet Orientation Station Medical as his father directed.
    “Wrongful imprisonment cannot be cried against the Writ, because the Inquisitor does not bind into confinement but only enters into the Judicial process when a suspect has been apprehended.” Koscuisko was obviously of a mind to be thorough about it, since he had been asked. “Loss of function cannot be cried against the Writ, because the Inquisitor would not be free to perform his Judicial function without fear of repercussions, and one cannot be penalized for performing one’s Judicial function. For the same reasons loss of life cannot be cried against the Writ. Loss of personal or real property cannot be cried against the Writ, because the Bench does not apprehend without reason . . . ”
    Turning around now in his seat, Tutor Chonis regarded Koscuisko with a benevolent eye. It was always gratifying to have one’s mental image confirmed. Student Koscuisko was sitting with his legs crossed and one elbow on the study table, marking off points one by one on the fingers of his left hand; precisely as Tutor Chonis had imagined him.
    “ . . . and the integrity of the Jurisdiction is considered to be resident in the Writ. Judicial discrimination may not be questioned in Judicial process. Loss of privacy cannot be cried against the Writ — ”
    Tutor Chonis held up his hand and Koscuisko fell silent, folding his itemized fingers into a pensive fist. “Thank you, Student Koscuisko. Well. You have made it quite clear that you are both thoroughly familiar with the philosophy and the crucial legalities that justify, or I should say mandate, your Writ.”
    Not to mention keenly aware of how useful a Writ could be to an ambitious administrator like First Secretary Verlaine. What had put the idea in Verlaine’s mind at the beginning was anyone’s guess; all Tutor Chonis really knew for certain about it was that Verlaine had been pulling strings, trading favors, cashing in tokens with reckless abandon over the past two years in his campaign to get Student Noycannir admitted.
    Verlaine didn’t want an Inquisitor on loan from Fleet who would necessarily have divided loyalties. Verlaine felt Fleet could have more Inquisitors at much less expense if it waived its requirement for Bench medical certifications. Student Noycannir was here to prove that point.
    If the First Secretary had his way, there’d be Inquisitors at each Bench center, for each circuit, and for each Judicial processing center — all in support of the Judicial order, of course.
    And only incidentally to the detriment of the political power of the Fleet, which had up until now maintained an unchallenged monopoly over the Writ and the lawful exercise of coercive and punitive physical force.
    “I have reviewed your progress with the Administrator, who has expressed very great satisfaction with your mastery of the material to date. It has therefore been decided that the scheduled week of assurance iterations will be waived. We are permitted to move directly to the next block of instruction.”
    Insult 101, as Tutor Jestra had been wont to call it. The Preliminary Levels of the Question started with hearing a confession out and ran through assisted inquiry — which was the maximum degree of violence that could be invoked without a Warrant. Inquisitors were seldom disciplined for violating restrictions, though, since superior officers were generally willing to overlook such lapses as long as they didn’t have to look too closely at what was happening in the first place.
    To Orientation Station staff, assisted inquiry seemed so benign compared to the Intermediate or Advanced Levels that as far as Tutor Chonis was concerned it did in fact amount to little more than