Chapter 161
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The prison system of Antarctica focused on rehabilitation, on restorative justice. Given how many of the dead had found their way here, it was entirely possible for a person to talk with the very person who had killed them. In the world before, some of these killers had deluded themselves into thinking that death was the end, that they could never be confronted by those whom they had killed. Now, that happenned more often than they would have liked. It was a slow process, first the offender had to acknowledge that they had done wrong. They had to admit this both to themselves and to those whom they had wronged. The offender had to make an effort to make amends. It was impossible to undo the past, but they could try to help this person now. Sometimes it was just about taking someone else's shift in various jobs. Not much, but a start. It would take time for the victim to forgive the person who had killed them, in some cases it was impossible. Nor was it always possible to make amends, sometimes their victim was nowhere to be found. Presumably that person was either in Heaven, or Hell. If it was the former, the offender could only hope that they were happy, and willing to forgive them. If it was the latter, then perhaps a rescue was possible. If so, it might not undo the past, but it could help them now. Colonel Mcnamara wasn't wrong, there was always the possibility that the captures were merely a trojan horse trick. And more than a few people in Antarctica were calling for these murderers and rapists to be sent back to Hell. But, while it might make them feel safe for awhile, it would only hurt their side in the long run. Restorative justice might be a very slow process, but they seemed to be making progress for some. Lana Lang and Alicia were now friends, Luke Cage and his brother Willis were now real brothers, many like them had finally reconciled. But, it seemed that some would never repent. Lobo was very adament that he would never be a "geek" and would always be a villain. At least he was honest, there was the fear that some were only pretending to want redemption, and were only waiting for the right opportunity to strike. And it seemed impossible to tell what someone was truley thinking. Charles Xavier hated to go into someone else's mind without their consent, but he felt it neccessary this time. Lorne tried to read someone else's minds when they sang for him. In each case, they got nothing from the refugees from Hell. Somehow Evil had been able to block even powerful mind readers. It seemed unlikely that they were all covert agents, more likely Evil simply wanted them to turn against each other through fear and mis-trust. All that the heroes could do was continue to try and reach these people, to help convince at least some of them to renounce Evil and do good for others. It might not be much, but it was the best they could do.