One portion of the Maximalist Club matter was settled before the end of December. Captain Dorian Anderson pleaded no contest to his role in the matter, but upon examination, it was found that while he had the memory and skill acquisition ability of a genius, he had the emotional and ethical development of a five year old.
“No better than a very, very advanced child soldier,” one psychologist said, “and he was worse than that before the Good Neighbors got hold to him. How they have helped this man on the steep uphill journey for him to get as far as he has, to understand the wrongness of his wrongs now, is beyond us.”
Captain Anderson said himself for the record, “The Holy Spirit is the only conscience, only guide to right and wrong, that I have ever known.”
Captain Anderson had, however, deployed his memory, and assured convictions for the men that had made use of his unique gifts and weaknesses. So: not quite non compus mentis, but still: incompetent to stand trial for murder, because at the time of his many, many assassinations, it had been established that he had no more comprehension of the ethics of the matter than a child trained to kill would have. He was thus remanded to the special facilities the Veteran's Lodge maintained for such men, for a life term.
“It is better than I deserve,” he said, “and it will give me some chance to repay the families of my victims by whatever labor is assigned to me, and by whatever monies I have, but will no longer need.”
No one complained of this, because he was the only man to repent of what he did understand, and not seek to justify himself. Compared to the rest, he seemed angelic. Because he came to the public light in complete humility, demanded no forgiveness, turned over all his earthly goods to the families of his victims, and faced all other consequences of his crimes without complaint, Dorian Anderson was allowed to depart the scene pitied instead of hated, and to some degree, forgiven.
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