Reenactment at Rainbow's End

 

The calendar on her vid wall marks five days until the anniversary of the death of Ava and Claire.  No such reminder is needed for a mother.  The date is forever part of Katherine Benedict's internal DNA and circadian rhythms.  She knows, too, that they will be coming on that day for Reenactment at Rainbow's End.

 

This year, the twelfth anniversary, will hopefully have less notoriety.  She thinks surely if there is justice, PRES, the People's Reenactment Enforcement Society, will focus their energies elsewhere this year.  The self-appointed conscience of the country of California, PRES made sure each year that she, her neighbors, and the country did not forget.  In the past, as the anniversary drew near, pictures of Ava and Claire were plastered with the headlines of their death on vehicle-based billboards, body boards, and even sky holograms.

 

Two days before the anniversary of the death of Ava and Claire, the expected email arrives.  The words, the message, the meaning are as unnecessary as the calendar for Katherine.

 

Ms. Katherine Benedict:

 

Pursuant to the California Penal Code 461638-4, you are hereby formally summoned to appear on March 31 at 8:16 AM California Standard Time for Reenactment in conjunction with Case BX762627.

 

Under penalty of law of the country of California, you must acknowledge your receipt of this summons and your understanding of your obligations herewith by replying to this email. 

 

In a mechanical, now well-practiced motion she complies and replies.

 

When California seceded from a bankrupt USA, there was such hope that the new order would cure the social ills that plagued ordinary citizens for generations.  Optimists looked to set a new standard of harmonious coexistence for the world to emulate.  Realists and skeptics didn't believe that each and every citizen would get a brain, a heart, or courage, but most thought that the basics of food, shelter, and safety would be provided for.  Pessimists turned a deaf ear and blind eye to the change and just went on with their lives as if nothing had happened or mattered.

 

No one, however, voiced the fear that eventually wicked witches, flying monkeys, and intimidating castle guards would manage to find their way into the new order.  As a voice for that contingency, the Laws of Social Justice were passed by the People's Legislature.  These laws proscribed community service and monitored servitude as more humane, constructive, and cost-effective alternatives of meting out justice for most offenses and offenders.  There was also Reenactment.

  

One day before the anniversary of the death of Ava and Claire, the expected video call comes.  She lets it go to record mode, as she always does.  Like the email, she is required to acknowledge and puts it into play mode moments after the winking record light goes black.  A dispassionate officer in a nondescript uniform, androgynous in both looks and voice, drones the next official message.

 

"Ms. Katherine Benedict, one or more representatives from the Bureau of Justice Enforcement will call for you at your residence of record at 7:00 AM CST and provide escort for you for Reenactment.  Please reply to this call using video, voice, or text acknowledgement."

 

Replaying previous responses, she sends the ack in text mode and wonders not for the first time and not for the last time exactly where things went wrong.

 

She was fortunate, of course, to be part of the community of Rainbow's End.   It was heralded by the news agencies as the embodiment of the new order and garnered its share of national and international coverage.  Founded on the commune principles of the 1960's hippie movement, it espoused giving to one's abilities and taking according to one's needs.

 

She and the girls had a Spartan, but adequate, apartment and communal duties were never onerous.  There were parks and planned recreational areas where she would take Ava and Claire to enjoy the swings and things that so easily captivated the attention of the young and innocent.  Rainbow's End was green and serene, but it was not enough to keep all the flying monkeys at bay.

 

Clearly the signs were there, so why didn't they stop her?  After Ava was born, she repeatedly messaged the Community Elders about the recurring headaches and mood swings.  There was no reply.  When Claire was born two years later, she reported the blackouts and fits of anger to county Social Services and any and all she thought should listen.  No one listened.  Even with communal day care shouldering some of her burden, she knew that she wasn't emotionally prepared or capable of managing the upbringing of both a four-year old and a two-year old.

 

The Social Services People's Review Board feigned empathy, but was emphatic that her Med Creds go to medications for Ava's heart condition.  The same Board was unanimous in their declaratory judgment that she could not get additional Creds because her condition of possible depression was considered non-life threatening.  The Board was, as it turned out, dead wrong.

 

On the day of the anniversary of the death of Ava and Claire, she prepares herself as much as anyone can prepare.  There was never any thought to doing otherwise.  In a country that had essentially closed its borders to the outside world to minimize the effects of the K-3 virus pandemics, there was no place to go.  The identity collar that she wore broadcast her position to a monitoring service every ten seconds; they could locate her at their leisure.  The same transponder signal prevented activation of the capsule implanted in her neck.  Filled with an ultra-short-acting barbiturate cocktail in combination with a chemical paralytic, it would immobilize and then kill her within minutes.  For some, activating the capsule might be the easy way out, but she did not have the strength of character for that route.

 

On the morning of the day of the anniversary of the death of Ava and Claire, the officer arrives at the appointed time.  He is young, just a few years older than Ava would be today.  He looks uncomfortable with the array of plas cuff restraints and the stunner pistol hanging from his belt, which do nothing to make him look as official as he pretends to be.  His speech, while rehearsed, is distressing to him, almost disagreeable.

 

"Ma’am, Ms. Benedict.  I am Agent Dillon.  I'm here to escort you to Reenactment in conjunction with Case BX762627.  Are you prepared to execute your obligations?”

 

"It's all right, young man.  I know that you are only doing your duty.  Let us both do what we must both do."

 

Her smile reassures him that there will be no dramatics for him to confront this morning and no need of the restraints that he probably has not had sufficient training on to use effectively.  She has enough experience for both of them and taking his arm, gently guides him to the awaiting wagon.

 

Their journey back to Rainbow's End will not be long.  But the ride is long enough to play the holo of her sentencing, another needless requirement of the Reenactment process.  Her compartment is designed and sealed so that she has no choice but to listen, almost feel the verdict.

 

"Official transcript for verdict of Case BX762627, California versus Katherine Benedict.  It is the finding of this court that the defendant, Katherine Benedict, is guilty of the intentional murder of Ava and Claire Benedict, a Murder I-1 level offense.  The defendant did willfully with foresight plan the method and means used in this crime.  There are no extenuating or mitigating circumstances that are relevant in the eyes of the court that diminish the culpability of the defendant.

 

"California law is very clear as to the sentencing for an I-1 crime and does not permit the judge any deviation or leniency.  Katherine Benedict, you are hereby sentenced to two concurrent life sentences of Monitored Servitude to the country of California.  In addition, you will be required to submit yearly to Reenactment.

 

"It is the direction of this court that your Servitude will be with the Orange County Hospice center.  You have shown that you are not worthy to be part of the joy and fulfillment that children can provide.  Instead, you will spend the remainder of your life among the old and the dying.

 

"Your Reenactment, as proscribed by law, will be designed to mirror the circumstances that you engineered to affect the heinous death of your daughters, Ava and Claire.  As close as can be replicated, each year you will experience the same horror and terror that your victims experienced at your hand.

 

"This judgment is final and not subject to appeal.  May God have mercy on your soul."

 

The words roll over her like water over a stone in a rushing river.  Each time the verdict plays, another small part of her gets eroded away, making her more vulnerable to what is to come.  At some point there will be nothing left, leaving only numbness or madness.  She is not sure which is preferable.

 

They pass unchallenged through the gate guarding the entrance to Rainbow's End.  The wagon is easily recognized and both electronic and human eyes avert at its passing.  All know that this is official bureau business.

 

At the small lake of Rainbow's End, there is only one member from PRES physically present this year.  Two others join her in holo mode, fading and then reappearing as the clouds play hiding games with the sun.  The only other person on site is the Med Tech.

 

The Ford Uturo is waiting for her, the same one that she used for Ava and Claire.  Its hydro drive, tele-electronics, and components with recycling value have long been stripped away, just like her self-worth, pride, and general will to live.  The vehicle's plastique body will insure that it will be available for as long as it is needed for Reenactment. A solar-powered winch provides the means to allow the Uturo to slide into the lake and then retrieve it.

 

Wordlessly, Agent Dillon straps her in the back seat, positioning her exactly where she placed Ava.  The now familiar wrist, ankle, and head restraints each contain bio sensors enabling the Med Tech to know precisely the status of her vital signs at any given moment.  The signal to retract the Uturo will only come after she has stopped breathing long enough to be pronounced clinically dead.

 

At the moment of the anniversary of the death of Ava and Claire, at precisely 8:16 AM, the winch is activated.  Reenactment at Rainbow's End begins again.

Bio: B. T. Petro has been writing short stories less than one year, but has been thinking about it for decades.  Tom Swift, Jr. novels and comic books provided the seeds for a lifelong literary love for science fiction and fantasy.  He lives with his wife, Mary, in Columbus, Ohio.