Authors: Patricia-Marie Budd
General Birtwistle’s office, though the largest in the complex, is far too small for the ceremony taking place. Crammed into the small room (8’ by 10’) standing in a semi-circle behind the general’s extremely large mahogany desk (the desk itself taking up close to one-fourth of the entire space) are Danny Duggin from
Salve!,
Melissa Eagleton from
Hadrian’s Real News,
President Stiles, Colonel de la Chappelle, whose beaming smile is seraphic, Lieutenant Kimberly Westgate (known as Mid by her peers), Lieutenant Devon Rankin, Geoffrey Hunter, Dean Stuttgart, and Roger Hunter.
General Birtwistle is seated at his desk, staring intently at the door, awaiting the anticipated knock. He, too, is grinning, but rather than looking seraphic, his expression simply looks goofy. No one in the room, especially the officers of lesser rank, is willing to inform him of this, though. Across from him, standing on either side of the door, are a cameraman (for
Salve!
) and a camerawoman (for
HRN
). Each holds steady a miniaturized version of the old-fashioned movie camera. This particular style is for appearances only, but it lends an air of authenticity to their role as camerapersons. Both could use their voc lens, but the union of photographers and filmmakers has proved that the handheld device is capable of producing a higher resolution than even the most expensive of vocal contacts.
Soon the knock arrives, and General Birtwistle attempts to compose himself in a serious manner, failing miserably and only adding to the clownish representation of his character.
“Enter!” His attempt at sounding stern fails as his voice cracks. The two lieutenants standing behind and to the right of the general desperately try to stifle their laughter. It is difficult since the overall mood of the room is jocular. General Birtwistle wisely chooses to ignore them. This is Frank Hunter’s day; nothing and no one is going to spoil it.
Frank Hunter opens the door and walks into the room. He walks directly to the center of the room where he stands at attention and promptly salutes the general. The general stands and salutes the young man.
“I am certain you are curious as to why I summoned you here today.” Once again, the general’s goofy smile slips out as his attempt to be stern and stolid fails.
Frank notices how foolish the older man looks, but he doesn’t feel inclined to laugh. He is confused. He was certain he was in for a reprimand. After having successfully seized the gate and “killed” the general in his sleep, it seemed like Frank was always managing to annoy the general. But that is clearly not the case or the old man wouldn’t be grinning like a monkey right now. Nor would there be such an unusual array of individuals present. He mouths the word
Dad
and then notices the woman standing immediately to Geoffrey Hunter’s right.
Hadrian’s Lover,
he muses,
is that the President?
The dumfounded look on Frank’s face causes much mirth to explode in the room, even from the President and the general. Devon is laughing outright, along with their cohort, Mid.
“Yes, son,” General Birtwistle finally answers the quizzical look in Frank’s face, “that is the President.” Sitting back down at his desk, the general continues, “She is here today to present you with a Presidential Pardon.” Frank’s expression merely grows in confusion, going from mere befuddlement to being outright flummoxed.
“A—a pardon, sir?”
“Yes, private, a pardon.” The general looks the President’s way. “Madame President, if you please.”
But before the President can begin, Frank interjects, “But I don’t deserve a pardon. I killed a man. I killed—I killed my best friend.” Devon’s heart clenches tight; it is agony for him to watch Frank suffer from pangs of guilt.
“Yes, Private Hunter,” President Stiles remarks, “but in the past five years, you have proved yourself more than worthy of this parole. You have helped to strengthen Hadrian’s security with the War Games scenarios you produced, and if you are to travel from gate to gate continuing with this good work, then I have no choice but to pardon you.” Madame President, unlike the poor general, is able to maintain a strong sense of authority while simultaneously expressing her pleasure in today’s proceedings. “I have great plans for this country of ours, Private Hunter, and in order for me to follow through on my campaign promises, I need to be able to
reassure the electorate that our Wall is impenetrable. Your War Games scenarios will help me do that. The citizenship of this country deserves to have our soldiers being trained by the very best in order to anticipate the unexpected and that, Private Recruit Hunter, is exactly what I want you to do.” Ceremoniously, Madame President steps out from the semi-circle and approaches Frank. Standing before him, and with all the authority and strength seen only in the rare few who become the great leaders of all time, President Stiles announces, “Private Frank Hunter, you are officially pardoned of your crime against the state. You are free to live your life as you see fit without hindrance by the state or our military.” She hands Frank a small box. Inside is a vocal contact lens. “It is a small gift from your friends. Rather than show you your pardon on a wall screen, we thought you might like to link up and view it by using this instead.”
Frank’s fingers shake as he reaches inside the little box and retrieves his vocal contact lens. He places it in his right eye and blinks. Appearing on the main drive is a file title “Presidential Pardon.” Frank blinks it open to read the very words the President just vocalized.
As the tears stream free from Frank’s eyes, Devon rushes forward to give his fiancé the biggest bear hug of his life. Even though this action has brushed the President off to one side, she shows no sign of annoyance, so the general allows for this momentary bit of indiscretion. He can appreciate the joy of the moment, but since this ritual is not yet finished, he clears his throat and orders Lieutenant Rankin back into line. “Private Frank Hunter, attention!” Frank obeys instantly. Standing now, the general walks around his gigantic desk and stands before Private Frank Hunter. “You have been given the opportunity to leave the military, if that is your choice, though I do hope you decide otherwise. If you are interested in becoming career military, I will then present you with the rank of lieutenant.” Smiling, General Birtwistle waits for Frank to nod before pinning on his lieutenant’s badge. “One last thing,” the general says with a wink. “Colonel de la Chappelle, please step forward.” The colonel obeys with starch formality and a sparkle of a smile in his eyes. This is a day he has been waiting for for close to two years. He salutes the general and then turns to face Frank. The general then orders, “Open tactile tattoo restraint control FH001.” Simultaneously, the two men blink open the doc that runs the program controlling Frank’s tactile tattoo restraint. Neither man needs to say anything, just blink the scroll to off, and it need not happen
concurrently either. It is a military ceremony, though, so they follow procedure to the letter. “Blink off.” Frank feels a slight tingle in his right ankle where the tactile tattoo sits. The sudden realization that he is no longer condemned to a three-mile stretch along the Midwest Gate brings tears of joy to his eyes. General Birtwistle and Colonel de la Chappelle salute Lieutenant Hunter. All military personnel do the same. Frank returns their salute.
With all ceremony complete, the room explodes with the formerly suppressed jocularity, and everyone engages in the full gaiety of the moment. Once again, Devon rushes to his lover. They hug. They kiss. Frank’s family joins them. All cry freely—tears of joy.
* * * * *
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