"We've procrastinated as long as possible, but unfortunately we're still going to have to get through this next segment before any of us can go home to sleep," Beryl said, shifting in her seat. "Stacey has fallen into the elimination zone for this challenge. As such, according to the rules of her participation, she will need to be punished. Let's find out what punishment viewers have voted for this time."
The type of punishment came up on screen and silence fell. It was written in Tadpole and while Stacey could read it, she didn't know what the words meant. She could see everyone was deeply shocked and startled. For a moment, the auditorium was so quiet that the whirring of the air conditioners could be heard.
"Is that for real?" shouted a trainee. "Can't be."
The question stirred the rest of the auditorium into action. Mentors and trainees jumped up to shout in anger.
"This is a family friendly show," Beryl hissed with barely suppressed anger. "Get that off the screen."
"We've been hacked," Landen called from among the crew. "Please excuse us."
"What was that?" Stacey turned to the mentors with curiosity while some of the trainees were still reacting in horror.
"You don't need to know," Telea told her in a curt voice.
There was a moment and the screens flickered. New words emerged on the screen leading to everyone in the auditorium jumping to their feet and shouting once more.
"What's that mean?" Stacey asked again.
"You don't need to know that one either," Telea said.
"Yes, she does," Beryl said in a sharp voice. "It's still listed as one of the acceptable forms of corporal punishment, although it's never used anymore. It's archaic, barbaric and disgusting. While it's generally agreed to no longer be acceptable, because it hasn't been removed from the actual law, there is the potential for it to still be used."
"What is it?" Stacey asked.
"The English translation would be close to 'the lawgivers right'," Beryl told her in a cold voice. "In older times, it was used only when the usual punishments were no longer a deterrent to the criminal and gave the local official in charge of corporal punishment the right to bring the criminal to a torture chamber or to touch the criminal's family in order to punish them on behalf of the criminal. And as you can guess, it was also often twisted to the purposes of corrupt officials, allowing them to force themselves upon others without their consent - married or not. This particular sentence has a dark, dark history behind it."
"What?" Stacey felt sick at such a twisted punishment.
The lights flickered and went out. Multiple trainees screamed.
"Cut the livestream," Landen ordered. "Get those lights back on."
There was a long moment and then the lights flickered back on.
"Send an apology online," Landen directed, "and inform the viewers that the stream has needed to be cut short because we've been hacked."
"The punishment officials are here!" the cry came from the main doors.
A group of four officers strode onto the stage, marching in unison. Before anyone could react, Stacey had been cuffed hand and foot to a stretcher and was being carried away. The trainees screamed and shouted. Thieren blocked the officials' way at the foot of the stage, where there was a long stare off.
Nobody said a word.
In the end, the four officers brushed him aside and continued to carry Stacey away. She called Thieren's name in fear and he followed after her only to be blocked at the auditorium door by more officials.
"Let him come," said a clipped voice after a long moment.
Thieren hurried after Stacey and the officers, following them to a big black truck parked in the underground parking lot of the building. When Thieren followed them into the truck, he was cuffed to the wall.
"Since you want to come and watch, as the offender's guardian and husband, you are permitted to do so. Let this be a lesson to you, so that you will teach her more strictly in the future," the clipped voice of the leading official said. "We are disappointed in how she has invited others to rebel and question the instructions given by the government. This is not a good example for others who may watch the show. Anastasia, you must be a good role model or you will be permanently removed from the entertainment industry altogether."
"Don't be too harsh on her," Thieren called. "She hasn't been well. She's overworked and her condition has been getting worse. Please. Tell the President that she can't handle such a heavy workload. He can look at her medical records. We are very close to pulling her out of the program already. If they want her to stay in the industry as a role model, they can't demand the impossible."
"Get me her medical records," the leading official told one of his subordinates. He adjusted his glasses and pulled on a pair of green surgical gloves. "In the meantime, we will continue with the punishment and make sure you, Anastasia, remember to stay in line."
"There's no such thing as the freedom of speech?" Stacey asked in a querulous voice.
"Freedom of speech?" the leading official scoffed. "You must have been brought up by dissidents after all. We will have to make sure we teach you well. If there was a freedom of speech, the country would be a mess. People would argue with the government and then there'd be no order. Without order, we would be easily conquered and become slaves of the Ancients and Beastmen again. Our pets and animals would have more rights than we do. I will not allow you to encourage our proud nation in that direction. If any of the other countries saw we were slipping, they would destroy us rather than give the beastmen or Ancients the chance to gain a foothold on the continent. Do you understand?"