Induction: Progress
Dear Congressman,
I have the honour to inform you that at a meeting of the CQ staff on Monday evening the following resolution was passed unanimously:
“Being aware of his tireless support for our work and his aim to incorporate effective punitive procedures into the penal system of his own great country, we as a quorate assembly of the Crux Qualified officers of the Main Punitive Facility for Women of the EU Ministry of Justice, Frankfort, elect Congressman Pescara an honorary CQ officer and direct that his name should be added in that capacity to the roll of CQ members and, as a mark of his CQ status, he be awarded a CQ rod as presented to each officer on graduation.”
I enclose the rod we have therefore had made for you. Rods vary slightly in length, being personalised for each officer. Yours measures 39.6 cm, a Biblical cubit from the tip of the finger to the crook of the elbow, a length we calculated from photographs taken during your visit.
The core is composed of a 3mm rod of high-tensile steel with a 1cm tungsten tip, enclosed in a 3mm plastic coating to give a diameter of 9mm.
Since tungsten has a density almost twice that of lead, the tip has considerable impact even when merely flicked against the skin with a quick wrist action. When a full-blooded stroke is given its weight, coupled with the flexibility of the rod, holds the tip back momentarily at the start of the stroke. High-speed photographs show that the rod bends almost into a semi-circle before the elasticity of the rod whips the tip forward at increasing velocity, achieving maximum speed at the moment of impact. It is thus a highly versatile instrument, able to be used continually for encouragement when necessary without causing long-term injury or desensitization, or to accurately deliver a sound thrashing, all with great economy of effort on the part of the officer using it.
The handle, 12 cm in length, is of plaited leather and the ball at the end of the grip is engraved with your initials, as with the rod presented to each CQ officer on graduation.
I believe you observed Corporal Graner using her rod to encourage Jonquières with light wrist-flick “stingers” during her first stint on the treadmill, so you will know how effective it is. It was also used more strongly by Lt Arbiter and Sgt Hallows to put an end to her nonsense on the first Governor’s Report and you will have seen the change in her behaviour that resulted. It is a pity you did not see her backside when she had her shower that evening; you would never look at a sunset in the same way again.
The Governor sends his respects and asks me to give you a brief account of Jonquières’ history to date. You have probably heard that the Court of Appeal rejected her plea for a mistrial. That was to be expected as the presiding judge was the Chief Justice herself who is a meticulous jurist, in association with two of the most experienced judges of the Supreme Court.
The Appeal Against Sentence will begin in ten days time. Jonquières’ defence will no doubt argue that the crime of murder does not of itself usually incur the extreme penalty, nor does money laundering or administrative corruption. However Chief Justice Banner’s detailed considerations in her “Reasons for Sentence” seem to me irrefutable. In particular, her discussion of the relationship between the scale of money laundering and the appropriate sentence will, I believe, be both a definitive precedent and an essential text for law students for many years to come. As you can find the text on line, I will not take up your time by quoting it here.
The hiding Jonquières got from Hallows and Arbiter had a most salutary effect, and Madame was much less mouthy the next morning. As you know, we allow prisoners a certain degree of leeway on the first day or two of their sentence, but I decided that we should take advantage of this temporary change in her attitude and put the pressure on. I therefore instructed the staff to tolerate no more of the kind of insolence you witnessed when she was being dressed for the Governor’s Report.
But old habits die hard, and even a harsh regime cannot entirely eradicate the old Adam. A few days later Madame unleashed a furious tirade against the block corporal, for which the Governor prescribed 18 strokes of the prison cane, which certainly got through to her and we saw a great improvement. But, if you will believe it, two weeks later she actually attempted to assault the warder on duty. I say attempted because we CQ officers are well trained, as Jonquières swiftly found out. For that she got three dozen, administered in two sessions with a four-day interval between. We have not had much lip from her since.
Instead, however, she had a fit of the sulks, as many prisoners at this stage do. While at work and exercise she was careful to do just enough to avoid serious punishment – she particularly hates the PADS – she did not try to stretch herself to the limit. The Prison Psychiatrist refers to this as depression, but we have another word for it.
At Corporal Graner’s request, we decided to use a stim suit while she was on the treadmill. This is a rudimentary bra and pants set equipped with electrodes and computer-controlled. If the computer senses that she is not making the maximum effort it will stimulate her, at first with mild warning shocks and then with increasing intensity. After a couple of sessions with this, Corporal Graner reported that her “depression” was thoroughly cured.
Jonquières told the Prison Psychiatrist that she had never seen a crucifixion. She was voluble in her disgust for what she called common scum, “vulgar voyeurs”, rabble, who watch executions on screen in bars or at private Crux parties.
You will probably have heard that Patterson got the nails ten days ago. I had Jonquières watch the first two hours, strapped in a chair at a window overlooking the yard. It was all the more unpleasant for her as she vomited when the nails went in, and had to sit like that for some time. I had her watch for an hour a day over the next four days.
I also put her on the disposal team and, once the cross had been lowered, assigned her to extract one of the wrist nails. This requires considerable effort, and the fulcrum we use to give leverage often cracks the bones. She also had to help carry the body to the disposal chute.
The effect on Jonquières has been dramatic. All this week she has hardly stopped shaking. At night she spends a lot of her time on her knees, although I gather she had never prayed before.
I hope we shall have the pleasure of seeing you soon. As an honorary CQ officer you are, of course, entitled to come as and when you wish and to visit and observe every aspect of our operations.
Respectfully yours,
Greta Kellinger, Chief Executions Officer.
TBC
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