"Good--thanks, both of you." Cortin turned back to her prisoner, still addressing the observers--primarily, for some reason she didn't understand, Keith. "This one's nothing special, except in the number of his crimes and the fact that he wanted witnesses until he got to the last victim in each series. It was the rapes that were his particular thrill; the murders were enjoyable, but more of a side effect. So I'll be concentrating on the punishment for rape." She continued with the preliminaries, both enjoying herself and trying to evaluate the Sandeman as well as she could when her primary attention had to be elsewhere. He, unlike Odeon and Medart, seemed to have a true appreciation of her intent, which she wouldn't have expected--but which she found highly gratifying. It was several hours before she was satisfied with the prisoner's general condition: his entire body except the genital region so bruised or abraded that even a light touch brough curses. She stepped back to survey him, then smiled at her audience. "That takes care of the preliminaries; now we can get to the real punishment." She went to a cabinet, removed a vial and syringe. "This is eroticine," she said, forcing the liquid in the vial down her prisoner's throat. "In small doses, it's a male aphrodisiac. In larger ones, like this, it forces an erection and increases semen production by several hundred percent. He has no way to stimulate orgasm, so that is forced out by simple hydraulic pressure--quite uncomfortable, I've been assured. This dose is oral, so he'll be that way for about twelve hours." She picked up a syringe, cleared it of air. "And this is algetin, a pain-enhancer that's most effective on swollen tissue such as an erection. It's a combination I think particularly appropriate for a rapist." "An intriguing combination," Keith said. Moments later, when the prisoner's erection firmed and grew moist, she saw curiosity. "Is that wetness normal, or is it a drug effect?" he asked. "Neither, Lieutenant; it's a side effect of the satyr plague." "I see." Keith paused, cocking his head. "You said he can't bring himself to climax, Excellency, and this does seem effective--but what would happen if he did? Would it be a temporary relief, or would the algetin make it as much an agony as it usually is a pleasure?" Cortin stared at him in astonishment. That was the sort of question she'd expect from an Inquisitor-Trainee, not an Imperial Marine! After several seconds, she said thoughtfully, "We're cautioned against it in training, since it's presumed orgasm would bring relief; if anyone had experimented and found otherwise, it should've been reported in the professional literature. Since I've never read about such an experiment, I doubt it's ever been tried--but now that you suggest it, the idea seems plausible. If you'd like to try, Lieutenant, be my guest."