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I hadn't intended on making a sequel. But the characters had more to say.
"Marvin Vining, please report to the school office."
The sycophant and his friends snickered. A few people, those who have been tutored by Marvin, looked sympathetic. Most didn't seem to care one way or the other.
Marvin stopped by his locker and stashed his backpack. He took his phone out of the locker, sent a text, and slipped it into his pocket.
He was nervous, but determined. He rehearsed in his mind what his dad and their lawyer told him that he should say, and what he shouldn't.
The principal, frowning, led him to a small office in the corner, ushered him inside, and left. The cop inside the office glared at him. "Are you Marvin Vining?"
"Yes sir."
"Sit down."
"I'd rather stand," he said.
The cop raised himself up from his seat and yelled, "SIT DOWN!"
Marvin meekly sat.
"Tell me, kid, why did you force Dirk Stanwick into the Venn Machine and kidnap him?"
"I think I should wait until my father arrives before talking," Marvin replied.
"You're being tried as an adult. Believe me, it'll go better for you if you confess right now. Maybe the judge will reduce your sentence."
Marvin said nothing.
"ANSWER ME!"
Marvin said, "I am only seventeen, so I should not be interviewed without an adult."
"Look, kid. Don't get smart with me or you'll regret it!"
"I stand on my fifth amendment rights."
The cop stood up and towered over Marvin. "Playing jailhouse lawyer? What if I decide that you don't deserve these so-called rights? Kidnappers go to jail."
He pulled his billy club out and smacked it into the palm of his hand. "Now, the question is, why did you kidnap mister Dirk Stanwick? Why did you force him into a Venn machine? Don't you lie to me, boy! We have witnesses and surveillance camera footage."
"The surveillance camera footage shows Dirk pushing me into the Venn Machine," Marvin said nervously. He then took a few breaths, calmed down, and got a look of determination on his face.
"TELL ME!" the cop insisted.
Marvin spoke with some heat, though anyone really paying attention would have noted that he was very controlled in what he said.
"Dirk has made my life hell since junior high! But it was always a case of there being no witnesses. 'It's his word against yours,' they would say. And last month, he venned me into a jock strap for three days. He threatened to beat the hell out of me if I didn't walk into the machine. You could hear it on the surveillance video, but all you could tell me is that I appeared to have walked in voluntarily!"
"Do you know what it's like to soak up the sweat of his balls for three days? He didn't even wash me. He just let the crust dry on and put me on the next day! And, instead of doing your job, you are harassing the victim and acting like a bully!"
"I missed two tests! Luckily, the advanced placement teachers let me make it up."
"But this time, I didn't walk into the machine like a little victim. He had to push me in. When he returns in three years, I expect to see him arrested for assault and attempted kidnapping."
The cop listened, stone faced. He was waiting for Marvin to slip up; to admit guilt.
At that point, the door opened.
"Hey! You can't go in there," the principal said. Marvin's father scowled at him and walked in, closing the door behind himself.
The cop stood up. "Leave or I'll cite you for obstruction of justice!"
Marvin's father didn't back down. "I have the right to be present when my son is being questioned. May I see the arrest warrant?"
The cop's face started turning red. "I don't need a damn warrant!"
The father's reply was mild. "Oh? Did you actually witness a crime?" He turned to his son. "You didn't actually talk to him, did you?"
"I'm sorry, Dad. He threatened me. But I only told the truth, so I obviously didn't admit to anything."
"Is your pen camera working?"
"The footage should be in your dropbox right now."
"HEY!" the cop yelled. "You can't wiretap without a warrant. I have half a mind to arrest you."
"You would have a full mind if you could actually do it," the father replied. "We only need the consent of one party, and my son definitely consents."
The father pulled out his phone and reviewed the video. He looked angry, but then got a satisfied predatory smile on his face. "Are we being detained? Be very careful how you answer that."
When the cop said nothing, they both left and drove to their lawyer's office.
The lawyer picked up the top paper. "Here is the official complaint that one Dirk Stanwick assaulted and kidnapped Marvin Vining, turning him into an item of clothing." He picked up a second paper. "This is the official complaint that Dirk Stanwick forced Marvin Vining into a Venn Machine and attempted to transform him in an unrecoverable fashion." He picked up the next paper. "This is the complaint against Officer Stanwick for gross misconduct, assault, and failure to recuse himself in the investigation of the assault by his nephew."
He put those papers, documentation of evidence, photographs, and a USB drive containing the raw video from the Venn Machine surveillance and from Marvin's pen camera into a large envelope.
"We have one copy going into the vault, one copy going by courier to the courthouse, one copy for you to take home, and an electronic copy being filed to the police station and the court."
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Comments
The truth is out there
All of Dirks misdeeds and crimes don’t matter. Martin has still murdered Dirk.
BAK 0.25tspgirl
Self-Defense
It was self-defense.
With the video of Dirk shoving Marvin into the machine, the case should never come to trial.
-- Daphne Xu
They can't charge him with
They can't charge him with murder since they have no evidence and no body so they can't prove he is dead. he really isn't dead anyway and will be back in 3 years, plus it was self defense as the bully was going to do worse to him.
Dirk is not dead.
He will be back in three years, meaner (and stupider) than ever.
"I want a lawyer."
"He rehearsed in his mind what his dad and their lawyer told him that he should say, and what he shouldn't."
I really hope that their lawyer told him to say, "I want a lawyer." The interrogation must stop at that point. That's the law.
Of course, cops don't necessarily follow the law, and judges might refuse to follow the law as well -- partly because they may believe (or pretend to believe) the cop when he denies that the suspect said that. The judge might also rule that his statements were voluntary, despite being extracted contrary to the Miranda rules.
Good thing they had a video of the conduct.
I'm thinking of the recent revisiting of the Central Park Five case. Unless some of the cops and prosecutors are punished, this will ultimately benefit the lawless cops. Even the massive publicity didn't bring them to justice. "Nyeah-nyeah, look at what we can do, and you can't do a damn thing about it."
To toot my own horn, "Vengeance and Beyond" is centered around a case of a young man accused of rape-murder, with the prosecution abandoned after the jury hung. Private vengeance took over against not only the young man himself, but also the prosecution witness who helped the defense, the hold-out juror, and the defense attorney. (I began it fuming over another story about private vengeance against someone acquitted of a crime.) They picked on the wrong person, with the defense attorney.
I also referenced the Central Park Five case in "A Bikini Beach Summer".
-- Daphne Xu
How?
When Marvin scattered all of Dirks “parts” it made it impossible to gather Dirk back together in one place. You’ve left only Deues ex machina to get you out of that painted corner. Maybe Marvin can’t be charged, but he is now no better than his bully.
BAK 0.25tspgirl
No better?
First of all, Dirk is not dead. He's just on a three year vacation.
I have seen a number of people claim that self defense makes one as bad as the attacker. This is, of course, pure bunk. Those who refuse to protect themselves soon die out, unless they have someone else willing to do it for them. Morally, it's a matter of motivation. An attacker will enrich himself by attacking another. A defender merely wishes to not be attacked.
Marvin had been attacked continually by the bully. The bully tried to do something that would literally reduce the quality of his life. He had repeatedly tried to solve the problem the 'approved' way.
If the bully had not have been stopped, he would have kept trying, getting angrier each time, until he succeeded in ruining Marvin's life.
Of course, the bully will likely try again after three years of being a part of the water cycle, but Marvin will at least manage to get most of the way through his junior year in college.
Yup
Still haven’t put forth a way - except act of god - you get all Dirks parts back together in 3 years so he can reform. I refer you to the werewolf clip from robot chicken. Maybe Dirk is still alive, but so what? He is globally dispersed after 3 years. When his scattered parts reform to human he dies. Thus the victim becomes as evil as the bully.
BAK 0.25tspgirl
According to Venn Machine canon
After the time is up, the person's original form is restored, NO MATTER WHAT. And, he'll be restored in a safe place. In this case, probably a Venn Machine.
Also
Using deadly force to defend against a deadly threat is not evil. It's legitimate self defense.
(Not that either the threat or the response were deadly.)
An other note
Your small tale does illustrate a a flaw in the VENN concept. If you ever find one I recommend the Chernobyl response: bury it in 4 foot thick concrete. MAU devices too. (Tongue in cheek.)
BAK 0.25tspgirl
Are you kidding?
I would have every trans person, furry, theriantrope, and old/unhealthy person baying for my blood!
Ah ha! Answers!
It is an act of god! The VENN machine will recreate Dirk! (The robot chicken reference was for the rule that only a silver weapon can kill a were wolf and the clip used a mini gun, meat grinder, cooking and eating, then pooping out the werewolf-gross.)
Well, in reality medical science is working on a lot of things that will someday make transition much more effective. Growing genetically compatible organs for transplant in the lab on templates (working toward hearts now) could produce wombs, ovaries, testes, penises too. Sometimes reality can be as good as fantasy.
Sorry, no one is working on a cure for bigotry (as far as I’ve heard).
Good conversation, thanks.
BAK 0.25tspgirl
:-)
Thanks for taking an interest in this story. It means a lot to me, since it shows me that the story is thought provoking.
The hard part about writing this one is that I am using an established canon, but I am trying to make it a short-short. That means that I don't have the space to fill the reader in on all of the rules of the setting. In fact, a brief discussion of the setting turned out to be bigger than the story itself. https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book-page/81237/trust-machine...
I have one more story in this series, then I'll get back to another. Then, hopefully, I'll start working on the half a dozen or so that have stalled.
I know, I know... famous last words.
Anyhow, the Venn Machines appeared mysteriously. Call them magic, or call them Clarke Tech. Nobody knows who, how, or why they appeared. But they do make for a fun fictional universe.
If they were to start appearing in real life, the first thing I would do is to go there with a trusted person and get rid of all of my medical issues. Then, my wife and I would have some fun dates. Also, I would turn back the clock for my parents. Then, I would try lots of different forms, perhaps starting with some of my favorite fictional characters (the ones that I wrote.)
You mentioned future medical advances. I have been studying them and also writing some speculative fiction (see my Sweet Sixteen series.) I have been hanging around the various futurism groups and enjoying the discussions there.
Blame others gene
Well, judging by the cop's attitude, and accusations, the gene to blame others is strong in the Stanwick family.
The Venn machine video should have been enough to prove who kidnapped who, but since the cop was a Stanwick then the victim must be at fault.
However, because of the way the cop acted, he's the one that's up a creek without either boat or paddle. Also, because the police ignored the complaints against Dirk they too are up the same creek. And because the schools never protected Marvin from Dirk, they are in the same pickle as the police.
Marvin will eventually be seen as a hero by those Dirk terrorized and beat up. Dirk has always done what he wanted and got away with it. Now he has no control over what happens to him.
He may end up in a toilet tank and/or bowl. He may end up being drank by others. He may also be rained down on various parts of the planet. But he won't be terrorizing anyone and getting away with it.
And maybe, maybe, Dirk will finally get it through his head that his actions have been wrong. Not likely, but hopefully.
Others have feelings too.
Unfortunately...
They're both rather thick, and are going to be even more upset once the court system, the media, and social media start working on them. Of course, Dirk is going to miss most of it. He'll appear after three relaxing years participating in the Earth's water cycle and wonder what happened.
I would tell you what's going to happen next, but that would be a spoiler.
OK, I'll give one hint. Marvin will be in his junior year in college.