The room explodes as Prosecutor Davis grins like an idiot. Or maybe I’m the idiot for saying what I said. He turns his back to me and walks away, practically basking in all the protests—and then Judge Reaver gets to his feet. His eyes have gone wide, and for the first time, he looks really emotional. Not in a good way. Dude’s angry.
Really angry.
He holds his hands up, silencing everyone. Davis starts to say something, but the judge just shoots him this death stare and he snakes away to his seat. I’m the one that’s not off the hook, though. The old judge takes a few steps toward me, his eyes just burning into mine.
“Young woman,” he says, “what do you know of the Creep?”
“Well, uh, basically what everyone else knows, I guess. I mean, it lives at the bottom of the Tower, and once in a while it moves higher, but that’s what we have Security for. You’ll trip hard if you touch it, which is pretty obvious to anyone that’s been on the lower levels.” I stop for a second, trying to think about everything I know about the Creep. Truth is, nobody knows much. “I kinda think that’s really all I know.”
“Do you know it can grow angry? That it can quickly spread upward into the upper floors?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ve heard stories. I mean, two years ago I was having this birthday party when they put us into lockdown. The Creep was apparently coming up the stairwell. Thing is, I never really found out how fast it was moving or why. But, I did notice the next day that some people were missing. So that’s how I know the Creep can get upset.”
“Indeed.” He paused, his black eyes like endless pools. “What makes the Creep angry? How? Do you have any idea?”
“Uh, that I don’t know.”
“Why is it we only allow a very few to go beneath Floor 21?”
“See, that I still don’t know.”
“But you do know the Creep reacts to the presence of people. That it can cause hallucinations.”
“Yeah. You start to see the Demons when you touch it.”
He nodded. “Now tell me. To what degree does the Creep infest the lower levels?”
“Well, not too much. I mean, enough to be disgusting, but not enough to, like, cause trouble.”
“And you’ve never thought that perhaps it’s the number of people in an area that causes a reaction from the Creep?”
I start munching on my lip again. What’s he implying? “I guess not.”
“Indeed, it is the very presence of large numbers of people that might anger the Creep. It is one of the primary reasons that we prohibit any dwellings lower than Floor 21. It is not the only reason, but the others are none of your concern. The larger point is that we cannot afford to introduce too many people into the Creep at once. If we do, well, such action is quite likely to provoke it. And provoking it can lead to incidents such as the one you must remember from last year.”
The court goes silent, everyone from Prosecutor Davis to the people all around me. It’s pretty surreal to be sitting there in a glaringly white room while a bunch of white-suited people stare at you, a light brighter than any sun you’ve seen staring down on you while guards watch you from the doors. The worst part? The silence. Nobody says anything while they wait for me. For one of the few times in my life, I don’t have a snappy response.
Finally I manage to start talking, but my throat’s breaking, and my lips feel like they’re coated in grit and sand. I cough and try to get my words out. “So, uh… so… you’re saying that when that event happened… on my birthday… we might have caused it? That we sent down too many people?”
“It is not the purpose of this court to say.”
“But you’re practically telling me that the reason we can’t leave is because if we send too many people below Floor 21, we’ll get the Creep angry. So why can’t we just send a few at a time? You know, try and, like, get people out in bursts?”
“It is not the purpose of this court to say.”
Damn. “Okay, so, fine. We just stay up here our whole lives. I go back to wondering how we got up here in the first place. And the worst part is nothing ever changes.”
Prosecutor Davis looks over to the judge, who nods. Reaver takes his seat again, breathing in deeply. “Something will change. Change is inevitable, even if it is not the change you might have sought. Change is necessary, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I have reached my verdict.” He lowers his head, his fingers wrapping around the edges of his chair like a king on his throne. “I cannot hold you guilty for a Violation of Movement in the Highest Degree, which would require that we determine with certainty that you have indeed violated the prohibition of coming onto Floor 1. However, we know it is likely that you have circumvented Security by using the vents, so I hold you guilty for a lower degree. I cannot hold you guilty for a Violation of Speech in the Highest Degree because, indeed, I can see you attempted to refrain from telling others about nonsense such as Angels. However, if anyone had heard your recording, then they, too, might have thought the existence of Angels possible. So, I hold you guilty in a lower degree.”
What sort of penalty does being guilty in a lower degree get you? I don’t have time to think about it much as Judge Reaver continues.
“However, for a Violation of Thought in the Highest Degree, I unfortunately have no other choice but to hold you guilty for the crime of considering concerted effort against Tower Authority and its enforcement arm of Security. You would not have been guilty of this for the use of the vents as a means of movement alone, but combined with your outbursts today, it is clear that you have contemplated life outside the Tower. Perhaps you thought you might do this by exploring beneath Floor 21 on your own, or that you might sway others to resist Authority by convincing them of your views. While we cannot be certain of the degree to which you would choose to resist, there is no charge of Violation of Thought in any lower degree. Either you believe and support Tower Authority in its attempts to secure the safety of the people, or you do not. And unfortunately, it is clear that you do not. Perhaps there may have been alternatives for you if you’d simply violated a movement rule or part of the Speech Code, but for such a flagrant violation, among the worst that a person can commit in our community, we have no other choice but to sentence you to Reinforcement. The degree of Reinforcement is to last for five years, which will require annual return to Security so that the Reinforcement penalty may be reapplied. It is the hope of this court that through Reinforcement, you will come to learn and embrace the safety that Tower Authority provides for you.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I start to protest as Security surges into the corner of my eye. “Listen, I don’t want to start trouble, okay? I just wanted to know what’s down below the lower floors! Like any Scavenger does. That’s all I ever wanted to be was a Scavenger! Just, how about that, huh?” I gasp as two grizzly hands grab me by the arms and start to tug at me. A scream comes out of my mouth, and my panicked eyes go to Judge Reaver, but he just sits there. All around the room, everyone is starting to turn their backs to me, ignoring me while these two beasts start dragging me away. “Judge Reaver, please!” I scream one more time as they’re taking me to the door. “Just make me a Scavenger, and I’ll be happy! All I want to do is know more! Why is that wrong?”
Then they force me through the courtroom doors. I’m done.