No.12 night

When I met Minos for the first time, my hands were cut behind the back, and I didn’t have time to change into my pajamas. My hair was disheveled, and the scratches on my right cheek were oozing blood little by little; while he was dressed in a red robe, and his long silver-white hair was neatly cut. Docile and tidy, he just sat there and looked at me from a distance, like a colorful beast in an ancient mural.

To be honest, the first time I saw him, I had to have a good impression of this man.His head is tilted slightly, and the corners of his mouth are shadowed at just the right angle, forming a subtle cock that makes him appear to be smiling all the time; his manners are exemplary, even if some His movements can also show a beautiful streamline under his hands.If it wasn't for the inexplicable situation I am in now, I can't guarantee that I wouldn't go up to him and talk to him-I was accused of one sentence in a deep sleep, was arrested immediately, and was injured in the fight. Can't be happy.

The original guards left after escorting me to my place, leaving a relatively safe distance between me and the front desk.They exited the side door one by one, as if catering to a certain preference, rather than simply observing discipline.The people in the seat waited until the surroundings were completely quiet before glancing at the file lazily.Beside him, I noticed a pile of neatly stacked large-format books with gilt spines, each of which was as thick as three fingers.Nowadays, few people will read such paper books, not to mention that these books belong to the valuable collections of the pre-print media era.

I secretly took a deep breath, and then heard him say: "Your name is very interesting."

"Your is more interesting." I have heard the name of the judge before, but I didn't expect him to start in this way, "Dante said that you are hideous and bloated, and that you lie in the second ring of hell all day long. The number of coils wrapped around the body determines which layer of hell the prisoner goes to suffer."

Your Honor was surprised for a moment; then he raised his head, and the turmoil on his face dissipated immediately: "You know Dante?"

His elegant demeanor was mixed with a faint smile, which was more like mockery than approval.Instead of following his words, I asked him instead, "Then do you read Kafka?"

This time he didn't respond, and I couldn't help but want to gesture for him with my hand—unfortunately I couldn't, so I just shrugged and wiped the blood off my face: "He wrote the most ridiculous trial ever written."

"So? I have to remind you, sir, there is no country in our world, and of course there is no court with wider power than the country."

Every syllable of his fuels my rage. "But you wrote something more exciting than him—" I paused, ready to throw out all my doubts in one breath:

"Sleeping on the bed, someone broke into the door in the middle of the night, reached out to touch the defense system, but found that it had been stopped for several hours; there was no formal arraignment procedure, no charges, no case, no jury, and was directly tied up in disheveled clothes. Come to see your lord,—you can’t even get the status of a defendant, is there anything more absurd than this? Besides, this is not a formal court—"

He shrugged, noncommittal. "But I'm not a submissive clerk, I need to know the reason—" My voice gradually became higher, "What gave you the confidence to act beyond your authority, just because you are a valuable justice? You crossed the protective wall to arrest people without guilt, so you turned off my defense program without authorization...I said, you probably did this more than once or twice, who else fell into your hands before?"

Judges in the age of divine consciousness have powers beyond the usual meaning. If the accusation is established, they even have the right to cut off all connections between the defendant and the divine consciousness bank before the trial.Even so, I'm still not afraid to vent my anger on him.

"I did it like this. But..." He casually opened a hardcover book in his hand, his tone raised, as if he took my questioning as a compliment for his work, "Guess what?" I looked at him, and he put Slow speaking: "In the end, none of these people complained about me. So I can work smoothly until now."

I opened my mouth in vain, unable to answer for a while. "These", when he said the word, his eyes sparkled, as if showing off the booty hanging from his waist, I have never seen such a shameless person. "Then I'll be first," I finally said.

"I'm really looking forward to that—if you can connect to the system."

I jumped up and stood up: "Then you did a good job, judge, you did a good job. First isolate the people who don't like it—no, it's not that you don't like it, it depends on who you frame up on that day." interest,——then secret sex, the next step is the logical murder. The Divine Consciousness Library actually elected a judge who would commit murder, and he used this as a talking point... Who the hell do you think you are?" This will I forgot that I was tied up, and I just wanted to rush up to the front desk, argue with him, snatch the file, or beat him up...anything; the next moment I lost my balance and stepped on the steps, and my ankle was crooked , almost fell to his knees in front of him, and the atmosphere was once awkward.

"Hush—please be silent. It stands to reason that you are still within the scope of the court. Please be quiet when you listen to me, or my guards will make you suffer even more." He sat firmly on the spot , not at all worried that I might suddenly jump up and strangle him.

This guy somehow remembered where this place was.I gritted my teeth and said, "You are dereliction of duty."

"'You'——" he seemed to have heard something that couldn't be more funny, and his shoulder bones trembled violently, "I don't think a person who has been dazzled by anger will have the desire to use honorifics, You are deluding yourself, sir."

I found myself often speechless in the face of this person, but fortunately his words brought me back to my senses.I know it won't do me any good to start a fight now, and all I can do is wait for him to convict me.

"Tomorrow you will be taken to the Mountain." That was all he said, and then some guards came in and took me away.

＊**＊

I met his younger brother in the corridor. He was a tall, tall young man with cool short blond hair. He was a 23-year-old Radamandis, an associate judge who had recently been certified by the Divine Consciousness Bank, and had a promising future.He was rushing somewhere, so he didn't notice who was being escorted in front of him, until he missed me and was caught by the button on my pajama pants, he turned his head to look at me, it was a very weird gaze.He gestured to me and continued on his way.

"What is he trying to say to me?" I didn't understand the gesture and hadn't seen the man before, but the look in his eyes still made me uncomfortable.

"What he means is that if you dare to hurt Lord Minos again, he will never spare you." The one who answered me was a guard named Biak, who seemed to be very sympathetic to what happened to me, and left the courtroom Finally, I took the initiative to ask me if I need to drink water, but I naturally refused.

An unexpected answer.I was annoyed and laughed: "What do you mean—"Zai"?"

"Just once more, once more than last time." Biak was a straightforward person, and thanks to this, he almost answered every question.I just remembered that I almost attacked the justice just now.

"Thankfully, it is enough for your judge not to do me any harm during the detention period. Mr. Rada, why does he think that a prisoner has the ability to cause harm to the serving judge?" That is to say, once I find the opportunity, of course I will go Suing Minos is a legitimate way to protect rights, and by the way, apply for a thorough investigation of his previous abuse of power.

Biak seemed a little hesitant, but in the end he chose to tell the truth: "Sir, that's not certain, there have been criminals assassinating judges before, and it is said that that person committed a crime and was imprisoned for the purpose of Create panic among the public."

"That's probably before the age of consciousness. After that, the real power of judges has shifted to the level of social regulation, and anyone's interaction can be killed if they disagree with each other. For example, I was arrested in this way." I said He couldn't help but utter some sarcastic remarks, which often made Biak silent for a while. It seemed that he was extremely impressed by Minos, and he didn't want to think about his faults at all.

We went to a certain corner on the third floor and stopped. There was a room connected to it, which was, of course, where I was going to stay tonight.Next, Biak took out a copper key to open the door, and I was naturally quite surprised: "No one is still using the old-fashioned key, and the system will refuse to accept the real thing, it can only eat the information flow."

He didn't say much. He lowered his head and groped in the keyhole for a while, and the door opened; then he shook the key handle at me. "The courts are different from the outside world. For some reason, uh... I mean, you know, Judge Minos has to cut the suspect as far as possible before he can be brought to trial, so the connections here are weak. "He smiled, "We don't need to connect with the spirit, except for the few days when the court is in session."

It made sense that Minos would always have paper books by his side.I also thought that at the beginning, he directly searched for dossiers in a large stack of files. It would be much easier to locate the pages provided by the spiritual knowledge library. It seems that this person would rather increase the difficulty of work infinitely and stick to some of his own habits. Mental cleanliness.

"I'll wake you up at eight o'clock." Biak locked me with the bedpost and turned to close the door.

I remember it was two o'clock in the morning when I was accused, and the sky is already graying. "You don't think I can still fall asleep, do you?—It's better to stay and chat with me for a few minutes, just to pass the time, so that I may plead guilty more quickly when I face the judge next time."

Biack didn't pay much attention to the sarcasm in my words.Seemingly thinking that what I said was reasonable, he let the other guards go first, while he stood on the edge of the window sill.In order to show his sincerity, he also specifically explained to me why he couldn't let go of my handcuffs.

"You know, this room is very special. It just locks the windows with metal locks, and there are no guardrails. It is very suitable for escaping through the windows." He made a gesture of breaking the glass, "But if it restricts your range of activities, you don't have to. Worry about that."

"It seems that our chief justice is really unique, and he actually created a cell suitable for suspects to escape." I became more and more aware of Minos's behavior in all aspects, and he may even suffer from mental illness ; and the reason why I was arrested was just a whim of a psychopath.

I began to look at the room, and Biak was rarely excited, needless to say, wanted to defend his boss: "Judge Minos is not as unreliable as you think. There will be no people living here, if Somebody, look—" He tapped on the window frame, pointing to me as an example.

I think that Minos has arrested many people privately before, presumably this place is used to hold unofficial prisoners.But Biak's next words aroused my interest: "After all, this is not a prison cell, but it really needs to be rectified. It is lying here, like a soft thorn soaked in vinegar,... There were even rumors in the past that Judge Minos built an extra room so that he could meet his favorite here."

"A man like him can have...?" I wondered who could stand Minos.

"It's just a rumor that doesn't fit. As a matter of fact, no one who has worked here has ever seen the man, even the deputy judge Mr. Looney who has followed him since he was a child and is still his deputy. You know this How long has this courthouse been built?—51, before my father was born." He seemed obsessed with the matter, which is why he deliberately revealed the rumor to me, and then refuted it, "Judge Minos has no relationship history. Think about it. A person who was promoted to a full-fledged judge at the age of 21 has been deliberately cultivated by the Divine Consciousness Library since childhood. He will only be busier in the future. How can there be any extra time?" To squander before the flowers and under the moon?"

I'd love to add "but he's busy making up the crime" at the end, but I can't put Biack in a difficult position, and I have more important things to ask him.

"What is 'The Magic Mountain'?"

Biack wasn't going to answer that question.

"There is one hour left, I have to go to the meeting hall to gather first, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

***

The position I was in happened to be able to see the rolling hills in the distance, large clusters of reeds scattered in the shape of the hills, and the brilliance flowed under the shroud of the morning sun, which was as dazzling white as molten silver.Needless to say, the scenery around the courthouse is really good. I can't help but want to blend in with the warm and humid air when I close my eyes.At this time, the door lock rang, and I thought the guards were coming to call me. I was about to get up, but my face darkened when I saw the person coming.

It was Minos.

"Ah, you must want to ask, why me?" He looked good, "Because you can't go out from here without my personal authorization. After all, everything is legal nowadays. If it is possible, I don't want to Standing here for no reason is covered in ashes." He flicked the tapestry on one side at me, and a cloud of dust kicked up in the sun.

"You should have arranged a clean room for me yesterday, at least—it had to be a cell first."

The judge opened his eyes slightly.I went on to say: "This place is a rare place to confine people. It is not suitable for use as a cell, but it is very suitable for trysts."

He folded his hands and leaned against the wall with a meaningful expression: "What news did Biak tell you?"

"He said that you had been rumored to have a secret lover." I suddenly felt a little sympathetic to Biak, "Right here, this window—if it is true—maybe you climbed through it, otherwise why didn't you install it And the fence. Well, that last sentence is my wild guess."

Instead of the sulking I expected, he lowered his eyelids and let out a nonchalant sneer. "I don't think he would gossip about anything else," he said.

"He is a good subordinate, he thinks of you wholeheartedly, and he reminded me that this is not true." The corners of my mouth raised slightly.

The judge nodded and thanked me for the compliment for Biack: "In a sense, he is right, but the generalization is not accurate." Once upon a time, a long time ago."

"Is it related to you?"

He looked at me: "You should ask what this has to do with him."

I didn't think much about it: "So, because of your presumptuous assertion, he just... for no reason like me?"

"Of course it's not like you. He's different from you.—he's a lot worse than you." He interrupted me, and soon I was immersed in the memory. I could guess from the expression on his face that he was in a state of mind at the moment .He gritted his teeth: "A real, real, tricky person."

From what I did yesterday, I can't really imagine anyone with a worse attitude than I did; but I'm quite happy that someone should give Minos a headache.I told him: "Believe me, if you don't give a reasonable explanation for your behavior this time, I will prick my hand like a nettle,-or, below a certain level, you don't care, that person can irritate you." To you, because even nettles are not enough to describe him in your heart..."

"It's really not enough to describe."

He answered quite readily.

"He has the name of a rose."

——"Abofika."

I don’t know if it’s due to his good humanistic upbringing, Minos always speaks with a sense of rhyme like pearls and jade, but it is so poetic to praise a person’s name like this, especially if he still remembers this person. It was beyond my expectation.

"Alba" is the Latin prefix of a rose, meaning "white". "Alba-fi--ca", he pronounced the word in this way, the tongue quickly tapped on the palate, the lips and teeth opened and closed twice, and then the tone dragged back a long time, ending in a light plosive sound .He maintained the posture where he spoke the last voice, as if he was tasting the mellow fragrance of rose petals.

I paid attention to this name because my own name has the root "red" in Latin, which of course can also refer to a flower, and I think that's why Minos rated it as "interesting".But even more interesting is how Minos is doing now.

"Biaque said you have no lover."

He made an innocent face: "I didn't say I was in a relationship. Also, you wouldn't really think he was—"

Sure enough, this person would never say anything nice.I felt fooled again, but curiosity overwhelmed dissatisfaction: "I've never seen anyone pronouncing another person's name like that, and he denied that the two were related. You said he used to live in this place." room, but everyone knows this is a court. You have always been unscrupulous in exercising your powers...is he humiliated by this?"

"It's not polite to inquire too much into someone who has passed away."

If this person named Yabofika had died before, it probably had something to do with Minos himself.I don't believe that he is really guilty. The reason why he replied to me like that is that he is too lazy to talk to me any more.

"Because he is a victim of your trampling on the public law. Or, the first impression he gave you was too different, so you will remember him especially."

"There are a few things I need to be clear about. First, I didn't arrest him, and I didn't see him here in the first place. Second, listen—"

Prying into the past of the dead has never made me feel guilty, but now I shudder for no reason.

"The first impression is nothing out of the ordinary." He was rarely serious and looked into my eyes seriously, "I just wanted to fuck him then."