Hi all,
to those who have been wondering about the "why's and the how's ?" perhaps this, together with a little imagination, might help fill in some blanks.
CHAPTER XXII
Dressed in black the man knelt within a bright spotlit circle inside the whirling rings of the confinement field. Beads of sweat glistened on his bald head as he awaited his fate, the verdict and sentencing were imminent.
"Vel Yor'Tel Rise and Prepare to hear the verdict " said a deep booming voice from the darkness.
Struggling with his wrist restraints Vel rose to his feet and glanced about into the darkness but saw no one. His heart thumped, the silence was deafening and it seemed to take an age before the voice spoke again.
"In the case of the citizenry versus Vel Yor'Tel how do the justices find ?" boomed the voice of justice.
"For the caste Del'Tak - GUILTY"
"For the caste Bem'El - GUILTY"
"For the caste Zad'Ral - GUILTY"
"For the caste Zor'El - GUILTY"
Vel Yor'Tel closed his eyes in contemplation as the voices continued .... "GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY "
"NO NO NO NO NO NO ......... I didn't do it ....Im a mathematician.!" Vel Yor'Tel raged.
"SILENCE !" boomed the voice. "You have been found guilty by the 12 noble castes, do you have anything to say before you are sentenced."
"What more can I say, there is nothing more to be said, I don't know how it came to be that you found their blood on my hands, those cruel acts are not mine, I swear .... I ....... listen .... you need me ..... I AM A GENIUS ..... MATHEMATICS, PATTERNS, PREDICTIONS, I AM A GOD , MY INTELLIGENCE CANNOT EVEN BE QUANTIFIED......how could I be so stupid as to ... I DID NOT DO IT !" Vel Yor'Tel almost began to sob.
"Very well ....... sentencing " boomed the voice of justice.
"For the caste Del'Tak - DEATH"
"For the caste Bem'El - DEATH"
"For the caste Zad'Ral - DEATH"
"For the caste Zor'El - PRESERVATION"
"For the caste ......" the voices continued as Vel fell to his knees in resignation, the overwhelming vote calling for his death.
How had it come to this, his life's work had been about making his society better, his efforts had led to the understanding of space, of physics, the beautiful purity of mathematics, of finding patterns, proving theories with the undeniability of logic. Yet for all the intelligence he had he couldn't understand how he had come to kidnap and harm all those women.
"......DEATH" called the last voice causing Vel to snap back to the present.
"The twelve noble castes have spoken. Caste Zor'El - you stand alone for Preservation - EXPLAIN ......" asked the voice of justice.
"Vel Yor'Tel has demonstrated his genius to the fields of the sciences and mathematics and it is true that his intelligence is unmeasurable on any scale with have, BUT, likewise, his vicious acts against women have been unmeasurable too.
I propose that we preserve his mind in a crystal matrix and seek to separate out these distinct characteristics so that the genius that he is can continue to serve the greater good" the voice of the caste Zor'El explained warmly.
"So be it ..... Vel Yor'Tel, your mind shall be preserved and your mortal body shall be put to death ......... perhaps ......... one day.......if it is possible....... you may live again in a new body and resume making a positive contribution to our society. In the meantime your mind will be given over to the sciences in order to determine if your defective behavior can be resolved"
"You are all FOOLS ..... Do you not see ....... by then .......if I am right ......A CATACLYSM IS COMING ....." protested Vel.
"This session is now closed ......" boomed the voice of justice and the room began to light up as two guards approached the confinement circle.