Judge Dredd

“I remember what you taught me, sir.”

Fargo studied the ceiling. “And I remember a Cadet who embraced Justice. The ideals as well as the lessons. My finest student—out of all the thousands I have been privileged to congratulate as a newly-appointed Judge… you are the best, Judge Dredd.”

“Thank you, sir. The compliment is undeserved, but I am grateful for your words.”

“Fine, fine.” Fargo pulled himself erect and glanced at his watch. He seemed to have regained his powers, called upon a new reserve of strength.

“I’m going to give you a chance to pay some of your debts to the Academy that made you what you are. I have found the experience most satisfying, and I’m sure you will as well.” He rested a hand on Dredd’s shoulder. “I have drawn a new assignment for you. Starting tomorrow morning, you’ll be spending two days a week at the Academy.”

“I would be honored, sir. Unarmed combat or marksmanship?”

Fargo grinned. “Ethics, Joseph. The moral code of the Judges, Article Twenty-two. I’ll drop by and see how you’re doing.”

Fargo placed his helmet on his head and lowered the visor. “Tradition has its purpose, Joseph. There are some of those old buzzards in the Council I cannot stand to look at anymore. And I’m certain many of them feel the same about me.”

Dredd didn’t move for several minutes after Chief Justice Fargo left the room. He had known and revered the man all his life. He thought he knew him as well as any man could know another who was much older in years, and held such an exalted position in the profession they had both chosen for themselves.

Yet, he had no idea why Fargo had given him Academy duties—especially at this time, when every experienced Judge was needed on the streets.

Even if he could make a wild guess at the Chief Justice’s reasons, Dredd knew he’d probably be wrong. Fargo’s mind was like one of those antique boxes. The secret in the first box was another box. And within that box…

Dredd thrust the thought aside. It was a waste of time to try to get one step ahead of Fargo. His friends and enemies—within and without the Judges—had tried it for years. Most of them were dead or defeated. And the Chief Justice himself was still there.

Dredd was aware that Vardis Hammond was still on the video behind him, still doing his best to look grave, intense, intelligent, and informed in the ruined street before Heavenly Haven:

“… Some say that working these mean streets day after day is bound to have a dehumanizing effect on the Judges. But is it the streets or the Judges themselves that have created this atmosphere of savagery.

“As my special undercover report continues tomorrow night, I’ll take you behind the walls of the Hall of Justice for a disturbing probe into these recent riots and block wars. Coincidence or deliberate provocation? That’s tomorrow with Vardis Hammond…”

Dredd glared at the screen. “What the hell do you know?” he said aloud. “You want to see a disturbing probe? Give me a call, I’ll show you a disturbing probe, pal!”

NINE

THE SETTING:

With a scarcely-perceptible sigh, a massive stone eagle and shield rise up from the floor of the Council Chamber. This symbol of Mega-City Justice was carved from a single slab of black marble thirty-seven meters high and twenty-eight meters wide. Its weight and dimensions were calculated to a fine tolerance by the architects to achieve the perfect spatial ratio of the Chamber itself.

Seconds after the great stone is in place, a table of carved ebony, a wood now worth its weight in gold, rises up before the high symbol. There are five chairs behind the table. On the high, ornate backrest of each chair is a carved replica of the eagle and shield, and below each emblem is the name of the High Judge who is privileged to sit on the Council.

On the wall opposite the Judges, a large holo flickers into life. The holo is a map of New North America.

There are three pulsing blue stars on the map: Mega-City One, which rests on the twentieth century foundations of New York City; Mega-City Two, a massive extension of the old city of Los Angeles, and Mega-City Three, Tex-City, which was once called Houston. All else on this map is a dull and coppery hue, the color of the sun-baked ground, the color of the land of Cursed Earth, the no-color of Death.

Finally, the members of the High Council file into the Chamber and take their places. Their uniforms are black, with scarcely any hint of their rank. They do not wear the traditional helmet of the Judges when the High Council is in session. Here, their heads are bare, their faces open to one another.

[Judge Griffin rises slowly from his chair. He is a man of sixty years, with silver hair and eyes the color of Arctic ice. Still, he is a solid, broad-shouldered man with the strength and passions of a man half his age. When he stands, he presses strong fingers against the black surface of the table and addresses his fellow Judges…]

JUDGE GRIFFIN

My fellow Judges, can it be true that we have forgotten the lessons of History? Can we not see that establishing a system of Justice is not enough—that we must constantly maintain that system with whatever action, whatever force becomes necessary?

It is quite clear that these block wars that erupt across the city are becoming an epidemic—an epidemic that must be dealt with immediately. The measures we are taking now can only contain this sickness that threatens our Society. Containment is not the answer. The only solution to our problem is a tougher Criminal Code—a code designed to show this filth they cannot run amok in Mega-City!

JUDGE SILVER

[Stands, and enthusiastically pounds the table.]

The situation gets worse every day—seventy-three Citizen riots in two months in, what? Sixteen different sectors.

JUDGE McGRUDER

Violent crime is rising fifteen percent every quarter. If we don’t increase our resources they will be inadequate in under three years.

JUDGE ESPOSITO

Three years? They are totally inadequate now!

[The Council is in an uproar. A gavel strikes the table, a sound that echoes like thunder off the high Chamber walls. Chief Justice Fargo rises from his chair. While Judge Griffin never fails to stir the Council, it is Fargo, with his dignity and iron will who brings instant silence to the room.]

JUDGE FARGO

My friends, my fellow Council members… As a city, we continue to grow. And growth is painful. Over fifty million people live in an area that was originally built for under twenty. It is not enough that they rely on us for clothing, food, water, and clean air…

[Judge Griffin comes to his feet. He spreads his hands in exasperation.]

JUDGE GRIFFIN