The Correction is Correction Enough (LF2021) ---non.writer---

He’d just finished his morning caffeine when the assignment came in to shoot a Target.

Agent Johnson’s wristband buzzed and he corrected himself.

Neutralize.

Not shoot. That was a term from the old days, before technology had improved. Neutralization was now painless, accurate; no chance for error.

Agent Johnson synched his head gear and set his camera. The blurred image of the Target came into view—always blurred, for his own protection.
It was his first flesh life Neutralization. No more Simulated Targets. Now was the chance to put his training to work; to see if he had what it took.

There was no question of guilt. The Targets had already been tried, convicted, sentenced. Even so, three years ago the Agency had decided to blur out the faces. Another Agent had once shown him the old-timer trick of jiggling the headset in a way that glitched the blur feature, showed a flash of actual flesh face… but Agent Johnson hadn’t understood why anyone would want to do that.

Nothing was hidden from the Viewers, of course. They not only got to see faces, they knew names, family and friends, work history. They knew everything--everything the Agency wanted them to know.

He sometimes wondered, though, what they really knew. Of course the Targets were killers on the run. But of course there was nowhere to hide, no movement untracked. Did the Viewers realize the Agency knew exactly where the Targets were the second they “escaped” custody? That the entire “hunt and capture” was staged entirely for the sake of the Correction?

The first one, before Agent Johnson’s time, had been spontaneous, unscripted. A Target about to be Neutralized had broken down. Blurted out regrets; asked for forgiveness; even added in a few cautionary words for fellow citizens to avoid the same terrible mistakes.

The Viewers had gone wild.

Then the data showed the Corrections helped more than just ratings. They boosted public morale; made people feel better; made them more inclined to follow the laws themselves.

“The only thing more popular than a punished criminal is a repentant punished criminal,” they said.

Within a month, a new policy was born. At first it was called the Confessions, but Corrections was deemed more suitable.

“What if they refuse to Correct?” Johnson had asked during his Initiation Phase.

The Lead Agent had frowned down from his enormous screen. “Less than one percent refuses. Neutralization takes place anyway. Your job is to facilitate the Correction and then Neutralize. That’s it.”

He learned later, in the classified Advanced Phase, that when a Target refused Correction, the Agency simply used the time delay—required by law on all live streaming years ago—to alter the footage.

Did the public ever wonder about that less than one percent, or even know they existed?

Agent Johnson climbed into the Locator and followed the flashing trail of dots to the pulsing Target at the waterfront. Although he believed wholly in the Self-Fulfilling Thinking policies, he was still nervous. He remembered the advice his first training partner had given him: “Doesn’t matter if they’re sincere. The Correction is correction enough.”

The Locator came to a stop at the waterfront. Agent Johnson stepped out and felt the sickening sensation when dots became pavement, flashing light became a human being.

“Hello, Citizen,” Agent Johnson followed his ear feed. “I’m here to record your Correction. Please focus on the words you will soon hear and repeat each one slowly, clearly, while maintaining eye contact with the screen.”

He started the Target's ear feed and waited.

The Target did not move; did not speak.

His training had covered this. Nerves; last ditch defiance; going blank. He increased the penetration level and pressed another button. Streaming images appeared: the Target’s family, favorite places, memories—Resolve Softeners, as the Agency called them.

All the Target had to do was repeat the words from the ear feed. Repeat the words and the record was clean; the crime expunged; the trespass forgiven. Refuse the words and remain condemned. Forever. And Neutralization happens anyway.

So why refuse?

And yet still the Target would not repeat the words.

Agent Johnson waited what seemed like a long time until his ear feed said, “Live stream overridden, simulation begun. Proceed with Neutralization.”

Somewhere, an unseen hand was planting words in a screen modified mouth. Making a modified face, with modified eyes, confess a modified confession…

Correction.

Agent Johnson shook his head. A member of the one percent, on his first ever Neutralization. Would he be blamed, held responsible? He checked his wristband—was he on screen right now, being watched, judged?

One percent had seemed so insignificant a number.

He reached up and did what he knew could get him fired or worse. He jiggled his head gear to shift a circuit, glitch a connection. To see the Target’s face, if only for a moment.

He was a middle-aged man, ordinary looking.

Agent Johnson frowned. This man had a family; a reputation to maintain; a conscience to answer to. He looked sensible enough; intelligent, even.

In the moment before the blur feature kicked back on, the man—the Target--looked straight into his eyes and smiled. And suddenly Agent Johnson saw what he’d been warned about, trained to face: pure selfish evil; stubborn irrational evil in human form. This man must be pure evil to have ended up here, this way, and smiling about it, no less.

And though it was forbidden; wasn’t in the script; would get him fired or worse—Agent Johnson had to know.

“You’ll be ruined,” he said. “Your children’s children will be ruined. Why?”

The Target’s blurred face spoke words only he would hear. “Hier ist kein warum.”

Agent Johnson didn’t understand the words, which didn’t matter.

He advanced and gave the Target the shot we all deserve.

The End

That was excellent! Really loved the concept.

I agree with AccessDenied, an interesting concept and I enjoyed the read.

And this being your first entry, I'm hoping to read more from you.


Thanks for entering and good luck in the Contest!
Johnny

Thanks for the read and the positive feedback. a reply to: AccessDenied

Thanks, I'm hoping to write more.
a reply to: JohnnyAnonymous

I'm curious if anyone recognized the source of the line in German.
Which got it kicked out the door by one dude I had read it for publication. That and the "shot" biz. Not a happy topic these days. Which is why I wrote about it, of course.

originally posted by: RedKaliBlack
I'm curious if anyone recognized the source of the line in German.

"Here... There is no why?"


(If my memory serves correctly)
Johnny

That's the line exactly. a reply to: JohnnyAnonymous

a reply to: RedKaliBlack

Your story was quite unique and deliciously dark. Bravo! I really enjoy dystopian stories, and more than most I've read here, your story drew me in and kept me racing to the very end. Well done!~

Thank you--dark and dystopian indeed. Let's hope the sci fi doesn't keep getting more and more real eh. a reply to: argentus

a reply to: RedKaliBlack

I hope not also, although I feel able to adapt as well as I can to whatever comes our way.

I hope I'm able to stay intact and adapt, especially if things get worse before they get better, as cycles tend to do. a reply to: argentus