Fred Aiken Writing

Daniel checks his hand terminal to see the readout.

A couple of officers brought in Mr. Harrison fifteen minutes ago. He sat in the interrogation room waiting to be told why he had been brought in. Daniel checks to see how bad his coffee breath is before going in. He realizes it doesn’t matter, but still, after all these years and interrogations, he feels a pang of self-consciousness before each one.

GOOD MORNING, MR. HARRISON. MY NAME IS OFFICER NORDSKY, BUT YOU CAN CALL ME DANIEL.

WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT? I NEED TO BE AT WORK IN HALF AN HOUR.

I APOLOGIZE. BUT I DON’T THINK YOU’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE IT TO WORK. YOU SEE, YOU HAVE BEEN PICKED ON SUSPICION OF A POTENTIAL TERRORIST PLOT.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I’VE NEVER—I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME WITHOUT ANY SORT OF PROOF!

I UNDERSTAND. I DO. BUT WE DO HAVE PROOF.

Daniel slides his handheld terminal over to Mr. Harrison to read and digest. His eyes scan through the evidence collected and laid bare on Daniel’s hand terminal.

THIS DOESN’T MEAN ANYTHING. THESE ARE JUST THOUGHTS YOU’VE COLLECTED OF MINE. THAT’S NOT EVIDENCE.

I’M SORRY, BUT THE SUPREME COURT HAS RULED OTHERWISE. THE FREQUENCY OF YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS HAS BEEN COLLECTED AND ANALYZED, AND YOU HAVE BEEN FLAGGED AS A RISK TO NATIONAL SECURITY. AS SUCH, UNDER TITLE 7.1-5-10-11 YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR POTENTIAL CRIMES.

THAT’S STUPID. YOU’RE STUPID. YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM MY ATTORNEY.

AS IS YOUR RIGHT.

Daniel relaxes as the officers handcuff Mr. Harrison and he is taken to a cell to be processed. He then goes to check if there’s any more coffee before remembering the promise he made to Diane, his wife, to cut back as per the recommendation of his doctor.