functusofficio | ic contact. mask or menace.

No... Haven't met.

[ Anderson had tried to set up this conversation with some evidence that she's not a some rando who suddenly got the ability to mind-heal, but someone who knows what she's doing in someone else's head who got an extra dimension to the ability. But maybe she hadn't needed to be so concerned with trotting out her credentials. ]

We started talking about it because I'm dissatisfied with the way crimes are handled for imPorts. But I'm willing to try to help anyone who asks.

Chilton currently runs a hospital designed to help with therapy for Imports suffering from past trauma in their lives or the difficulties that can arise from being brought here. If I put the two of you in contact, I'm sure some benefit could arise.

[ Padme is not naive enough to just assume that this person is exactly who she says she is on the surface, but she's glanced at some of her network activity by now and has liked what she's seen, and she's hardly the right person to judge someone's ability for this kind of work. But she can put the connections together and set things in motion. ]

Ah, yes. That's a conversation many people have had over time. What are your own concerns on that line?

[ Anderson is almost bewilderingly honest. She's not worried about being scrutinized, because she has nothing to hide. It almost feels like a necessary trait to prevent her from being a hypocrite, with all the mind-reading she does. ]

I'll help however I can. I'm not trained in any kind of counseling, [ she cautions. ] But I don't mind taking orders.

[ Actually just the honest truth there, too. ]

My concerns? [ For some reason, she wasn't expecting to be asked. Anderson is used to her opinions not mattering much, if at all. Her judgement, sure, but not her thoughts. ] Mostly just that it seems like a revolving door. Recidivism must be astronomical. I don't care if they're punished for their crimes, I care that they don't get a chance to hurt someone else again.

I don't think anyone will expect you to fulfill a purpose you are not trained for, but it seems likely he could put you in touch with people your power would prove quite useful for.

[ Anderson is -- interesting. A little refreshing, so far, honestly, if she is indeed as open as she seems. ]

I'm not sure of the statistics on recidivism, but it's something I could look into. Having solid numbers is always a good first step to getting something changed.

What do you mean by not getting a chance to hurt someone else again? Do you have an idea along those lines?

[ Padme laughs a little, not dismissively but a little sheepishly. ] I understand you're still new here, so believe me I'm not looking for you to have a ready to execute plan laid out at all. But I am always curious as to new ideas, even if they begin as vague ones.

If they're willing to trust me in their heads, I'm game.

[ Her easy forthrightness remains steady. Anderson wouldn't blame anyone for turning her down. Back home, she doesn't have the luxury of letting people decide if they want her in their heads or not, and she's happy to follow local laws and leave whether that remains optional up to the governing bodies.

She's an enforcer, not a legislator, that's for sure. ]

Well... [ She hesitates a moment, but ultimately Anderson doesn't mind sharing her thoughts, she just isn't used to anyone with authority caring. ] It wouldn't work for everyone. Some people... their crimes aren't something they can come back from. [ A little flatter here, softer. ] But not every perpetrator is like that. Sometimes it's just-- the way their life fell out, and they were backed into a corner. If healing their minds can help them see things differently, maybe they won't do what they did again.

[ The whole idea is heretical to the mission of the Hall of Justice. But she's always been a bit of a heretic. ]

I'm not sure yet the limits of what I could do. [ Or what the ethics of this would be. That's the sort of thing Anderson is only just starting to tentatively take on for herself as her own concern, rather than an immaterial question determined by points of law. ]

It's admirable of you, to be so ready to put a new power to use for good.

[ Padme listens, sincerely and honestly, considering. ]

I think perhaps we may disagree on the idea that there crimes one cannot ever come back from, though --

[ She pauses, and her voice is a little heavy when she finishes the sentence. ]

I also can understand that. But I am definitely interested in exploring the possibilities that healing minds would lead to.

Well, the limits are something that would have to be determined by the recipients for the most part. If they wind up running into yours, we might have some answers in a different arena.

[ She considers, again, but still interested. ]

But we can find a way for these things to be determined and outlined, if that is what you wish, with no harm to others.

[ Having felt the inside of some people's heads, Anderson stands by her statement that not everyone can come back from their crimes-- she'd go crazy if she believed otherwise-- but she also isn't about to argue someone out of the softer approach. It's the side she'd rather err on herself, however much she isn't allowed to, normally. (She's not allowed to err at all, normally. Talk about pressure.)

She's also not interested in the praise, and is a little discomfitted by it, in the way of soldiers everywhere (just doing my job, ma'am). So she brushes past it with a quiet response. ]

I'd wish it, yeah. I... don't want to make it seem like I'm incapable of functioning without direction, but-- [ With some faint, mediated frustration: ] I uphold the law. Which is not very well-defined here. [ There's some pithy dryness behind that before she smooths it over. ] I'd feel better about suggesting I use mind techniques to rehabilitate criminals if there were specific regulations to follow, decided on by the community.

[ Honestly, Padme does not remotely envy her the ability to feel the inside of people's minds. She feels that, in Anderson's position, it would be hard sometimes for her to hold out the hope that has been so important to her all of her life.

To know people's minds -- ]

You are correct in your evaluation of the situation of the law here, unfortunately. [ A little dry. ]

And with such a delicate and personal ability, I can certainly understand wanting things very clear before going into such an endeavor. I'll have to speak to those in charge of the sentencing for Imports here and see what their thoughts are on the subject, and consult Chilton and my fellow Ambassadors, but I'm sure we can find a way to make suitably fixed guidelines.

I understand the difficulties of being used to a system and finding yourself without one. It is a strange situation to be in.

[ Well, it's nice to find a kindred spirit in the realm of sarcastically disparaging the state of the law in the imPort community. Anderson is relieved that someone understands her so immediately. She's felt more than a little adrift, pulled from an extremely structured, stratified society to... this. ]

Thanks. I appreciate it. If you need my input or details on my abilities, let me know. I wouldn't mind working in my normal capacity as a Judge, either. Usually I use what I see in people's minds to make sure I'm sentencing them appropriately. [ Not too lenient or too harsh, no matter if that gets her in trouble sometimes for not being strict enough.

There's a long hesitation before she permits herself to speak more personally. ] It's disorienting. I'm still getting used to it. [ That's about as much of an admission as she can bring herself to make. For a telepath, she's a private person-- she's learned to be. ]

[ As much as Padme has been an outlier in the Senate in terms of her willingness to go into dangerous situations, to speak her mind without hesitation, she is still used to the stratification and restrictions of the Senate. Even when she has left them behind, she knows they are there behind her, never more than a step behind.

Here, there is no such thing. It is unsettling, at times. ]

May I ask, Judge, what precisely that title entails where you come from? I suspect it is different than what it means in my own world, though possibly similar in ways.

[ There's a slight pause before an answer to that last part, and it comes softly and gently. ] While we all come from different backgrounds, I hope you will never consider yourself alone. Disorientation is something many of us have in common, and would be willing to speak of our own responses to.

[ She answers the second part first. ] That's very kind of you, [ she admits, with a softness that belies how rare kindness is in her world. ] I've... already found myself with a lot more people than I was expecting. In a strange way, none of us are really outsiders here.

[ Anderson has been an outsider one way or another her entire life, so she feels the difference keenly. That immediate sense of community and kinship is remarkable to her.

Padme is the first person to ask her for a comprehensive explanation, rather than wanting an abbreviated version or getting things piecemeal and making up their minds on how they feel about it. Anderson is surprised at how much it means to her to have a chance to explain, and be heard. ]

Judges-- we're like any other system's judges in some respects. We sentence criminals according to the law. But we've also taken over the enforcement branch in the Mega-Cities. There's no more trials and no juries. [ Grimly, ] The crime rate is astronomical compared to here. There's no time for it. We execute our judgement on-the-spot, as the crime is occurring or soon after.

We have to be able to function independently, in hostile, violent situations and in cases where the law isn't clear, without error. We give up having families, we don't drink-- we don't do anything but serve the law. To most people, we are the law.

ic contact. mask or menace.

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