Badge of Infamy

dg

must be in the official Southport jail. He waited a few minutes for hi

by the squeak of a key in the lock. "Fif

of breakfast and a copy of the Northport Gazette. He began unload

, and there's nothing the villages can do. Trial's set for tomorrow at

you can do. I've been living on borrowed time for a ye

g on since I can remember, though most villagers don't know it. We've just been waiting our time. Now we've stopped waiting and the r

m feel his work hadn't been for nothing, and he was grateful for Wilson's visit. "It was a good yea

s finished. Finally he got up as steps

ve in Mars-normal flesh; maybe this can't li

briefly and was waiting at th

They had some trouble on the way; a runner cut down the street, with the cro

ike flying saucers and wriggly tops, I suppos

olded the paper Wilson had brought and buried his face in it. Then

ague. But now nothing seemed quite real to Doc, even when they locked him into the big

building. It was a smaller version of his trial on Earth. Fear washed in by association. The c

e routine question: "Is the pr

utor, arose quickly. "The priso

pt the protective function for

ble. Of course, if Space Lobby had asserted interest, it would have gone to a suppose

e words were his, but there had been a lot of ed

llenged. "It's not

face to him. "Does the prisoner hav

, b

of the prisoner's six protest

nce that the prisoner is a confirmed addict, morally irresponsible under addiction. This is

e harmful than nicotine,

you find the taste pl

but I've gotte

. "Evidence accepted. Two deductions,

he had ever accepted such procedure. Jake must be right; they'd been in power too long, and were making t

ster on the record. But finally it was over, and the mag

edom of expression,

closed court. Permission granted

was too late to change. He could only hope that some one of th

But I had to do what I did. There's a plague outside. I've studied

hree minutes. It

and probably not directly contagious. There have been many cases of fanatics ready to destroy humanity to eliminate those they hate. Now, surely, the prisoner has himself left no question of his attitude.

to hear nothing that went on. But their curiosity was stronge

It's fortunate Dr. Ryan acted so quickly, with some of the people

is responsible and that Medical is eliminating the sou

can't let such a rebellious psychopath live. But this needs some

," Blane suggested. "Something like th

mselves-as the witch-burners had believed in witches. H

nd guilty on all counts. Furthermore, your guilt must be shared by that entire section of Mars known as the villages. Ther

hport Hospital staff was on his feet. "Sir M

ich lies behind your protest, but at such a time as this the good of the body politi

Feldman, and his

rted to endanger the whole race. No punishment can equal your crimes, but there is one previously invo

erance of your criminal acts. There you shall be placed into a spacesuit containing sufficient oxygen for one hour of life, and no more

moment, and Dr. Christina Ryan is hereby commissioned to o