Super: Origins by Palladian Read Free Book Online

finished.”
    Lex took in a couple of good breaths, not sure whether she was trying not to laugh or blush. She saw Serena gazing at her with that predatory look again, but she couldn’t tell if their exchange had made it lessen or grow. Lex struggled for a pleasant, neutral expression and waited for the next onslaught.
    “Riss, did you have any questions for Lex?” Clara asked, turning her attention to the speakers overhead.
    “Yes,” the electronic voice responded. Computer keys could be heard tapping in the background. “What sort of work did you do as a contractor?”
    “Creating, deploying, and maintaining computer systems,” Lex replied. “More on the business side, though, usually doing initial analysis, requirements, customer interfacing tasks, that sort of thing.”
    Lex heard an indeterminate sound over the speakers then, as if Riss was considering something. “Did you ever do any work like setting up computer security?”
    Lex thought for a moment and then answered, “No, not much. That wasn’t really the main business of the company I worked for. The most I ever did along those lines was to identify security standards our system would be required to interface with or meet.”
    Another sound issued from the speakers, sort of non-committal this time, before Riss continued. “Lex, if you were convicted of a crime and you either didn’t do it or didn’t think it should be a crime, what would you do? Would you serve your time or would you run?”
    Lex paused before she answered. Sometime during Serena’s questioning, Lex had decided to just go with the truth. Since she’d signed a non-disclosure agreement, she couldn’t really talk about the interview anyway. She also figured everyone present had signed something like that as well, so they couldn’t spread her answers around the world. Not that anyone would probably really care, but having some kind of protection from the revelation of her responses felt freeing. So, after considering her answer for a little while, Lex replied, “Well, I guess it depends. If they wanted to jail me for a few weeks, or maybe even a couple of months, I would probably go through with it.”
    Riss responded, “Let’s say it would be for a number of years. Maybe decades.”
    Lex snorted. “I’d do everything in my power to remain free to live my life.” Her eyes widened as she finished speaking because the response had come out automatically; she hadn’t intended to be quite that honest.
    Clara stared at her for a moment, Joan frowned, Serena smiled and glanced at Joan, and Casey just had the ghost of a smile on her face, still leaning back on the couch.
    Lex shrugged. “Let me explain. I understand how our justice system works, innocent before proven guilty and that we try to establish guilt with trials. It’s a fine idea, but I also understand that it doesn’t always work, and that you end up with individuals going to jail for crimes they didn’t commit. Now, our justice system is forced to take the stand that, well, we’re not perfect, but things work most of the time, so if you’re convicted, you’re a criminal. To add icing to the top of that cake, it seems justice in this country has become almost completely weighted in favor of people with money; if you can hire the cleverest (and usually most expensive) lawyer, you’ll probably win regardless of whether you’re guilty or innocent.
    “I can’t fault the wealthy for buying the best defense they can, but that leaves us with a justice system in which, if you’re poor, you’re likely to lose your case. I’ve been poor in my life, and I remember being quite aware at the time that if someone just decided they didn’t like me and somehow set me up and said I committed a crime, there would be very little I could do to defend myself. With all of that in mind, I certainly couldn’t fault anyone who decided to do what they could to escape and live their life if they had been falsely accused of a crime,