The future that I created for my novel, Through Their Eyes, started out with the desire to have a world with a fair and just judicial system.
I asked myself what that meant for me. No more ‘reasonable doubt’, no more favoritism, no more question surrounding guilt or innocence. I felt that if the judicial system really was just than only those who were truly guilty would even be on trial.
I also strongly believe(d) that a true just system wouldn’t stop at the court, that it would concentrate on rehabilitation, not punishment.
Once I had these premises in mind I allowed my imagination to take over. I had to find answers to some questions:
1. How could one be certain that a defendant was guilty?
Well you can’t rely on the memory of anyone… otherwise eye witness testimonies would all be the same.
2. If memory is questionable, maybe there is another place in the brain that is fact base?
I’m no Neuroscientist, but this is fiction. I can make that shit up.
3. How could you be sure that the witness states the actual facts of the past.
Don’t give them a choice. Create something that does it for them.
Hence Mind-Watching came into being. A device, like a VR helmet, that projects actual memories on a viewing screen or platform. And it is viewed though the eyes of the wearer. (get it? Through Their Eyes)
With the technology of mind-watching a suspect undergoes a simple ‘test’. They put on a helmet and are asked; “Where were you at such-n-such time on such-n-such day?” and the screen comes to life with an image of what that person was doing at that time and date. If the cops did their jobs, the scene that unfolds is the crime in question. They are guilty. No question. No doubt. No high power lawyers twisting the truth or manipulating evidence or finding loopholes. Off to holding until a trial date can be arranged. And the only thing that the trial will determine is the sentencing.
If by chance the scene is not that of the crime… innocent. Sorry for the inconvenience. Have a nice day.
The next piece was rehabilitation… I will tell you about that next week.
