Crime -- Fiction; Psychological fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
"And it doesn't end _there_, Joe. It goes on and on. You'll be the
object of every do-gooder and parlor psychologist. Strangers will stop
you on the street and say, 'I'd like to help you, friend.' Then they'll
ask you queer questions like, 'Did your father reject you when you were
a child?' 'Do you like girls?' 'How does it feel to be a DCT First
Class?' And then there'll be the strangers who hate DCTs. They'll stop
you on the street and insult you, call you names, spit on you and--"
"Okay, goddam it! _Stop it!_"
Hendricks stopped, wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief
and lit a cigarette.
"I'm doing you a favor, Joe. I'm trying to explain something you're too
dumb to realize by yourself. We've taught everyone to hate crime and
criminals ... to _hate_ them as nothing has ever been hated before.
Today a criminal is a freak, an alien. Your life will be a living hell
if you don't leave New York. You should go to some small town where
there aren't many people, or be a hermit, or go to Iceland or--"
Joe eyed the huge man suspiciously. "_Favor_, did you say? The day you
do _me_ a favor--"
Hendricks shrugged his shoulders negligently. "Not entirely a favor. I
want to get rid of you. Usually I come up here and sit around and read
books. But guys like you are a nuisance and take up my time."
"I couldn't leave if I wanted to," Joe said. "I'm flat broke. Thanks to
your CPA system, a DCT can't get a decent job."
* * * * *
Hendricks reached into a pocket, withdrew several bills and extended
them. "I'll loan you some money. You can sign an IOU and pay me back a
little at a time."
Joe waved the money away. "Listen, why don't you do me a favor? Why
don't you frame me? If I'm such a nuisance, pin a crime on me--any
crime."
"Can't do it. Convicting a man of a crime he didn't commit is a
violation of Civil Rights and a crime in itself."
"Umm."
"Why don't you take the free psycho treatment? A man doesn't _have_ to
be a DCT. With the free treatment, psychologists can remove all your
criminal tendencies and--"
"Go to those _head-shrinkers_?"
Hendricks shrugged again. "Have it your way."
Joe laughed. "If your damned CPA is so all-powerful, why can't you
_make_ me go?"
"Violation of Civil Rights."
"Damn it, there must be some way you can help me! We both want the same
thing. We both want to see me convicted of a crime."
"How can I help you without committing a crime myself?" Hendricks
walked to his desk, opened a drawer and removed a small black book.
"See this? It contains names and addresses of all the people in New
York who aren't properly protected. Every week we find people who
aren't protected properly--blind spots in our protection devices. As
soon as we find them, we take steps to install anti-robbery devices,
but this is a big city and sometimes it takes days to get the work done.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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