Chapter 17

We write a formal document of law

When: Day 214 in Midveil

Where: Library

It was officially winter in Midveil. We had our first snow, enough to cover the ground and then some but things like shovels and snowshoes were pretty easy to make. Construction had slowed down, but not because we couldn't use magic to clear the snow or anything, but because everyone wanted to play. Those with Earth affinity magic had worked to create some hills, and the kids we had plus those that looked like kids and more than a few adults were happily sledding, skiing, and snowboarding down them. I had been happily watching them when I realized there was something we hadn't thought of when designing the new lottery. I didn't have to search for long to find Michael.

"I need to make a change to the point system," I told him. "It was an oversight on our part and hopefully this won't be too big a deal."

"All changes are a big deal," he told me. "And are you going behind the other's back? Usually you have a town meeting for this sort of thing."

"I don't think we'll need it for this, no one would- no one currently here would oppose what I'm about to ask."

"I'm glad you made that clarification," Janet added. "Because there are people on Earth that would oppose just about anything. Even the most sensible and well thought out argument can be lost on just about anyone."

"And they should rightly spend some time in The Bad Place. Now, here's what we have to correct; We have to exempt the kids from losing points. I don't want a kid who studies diligently all day and goes out to play in the snow to lose points because they didn't tangibly benefit society yet. I don't care what they study, it can be magic if they hate math, or gardening if they hate being in a stuffy classroom, but as long as they're learning something and growing as people towards adulthood, until our community considers them adults we can cut them some slack." After all, they may never show signs of age if they don't want to. Not here. But if they've been here twenty years it's time for you to step up and do something that benefits the lives of everyone in Midveil. Hopefully by that time you've discovered what you're good at, and can be reasonably expected to do it. Maybe you can't calculate the area of a square but if you need to learn to do that, you probably will to do something else you do like, figuring out how many plants can be in a lot for instance if every one needs a certain amount of space. Give kids a reason to seek out areas of study instead of causing resentment by forcing them to without context.

"I see what you mean," Michael told me. "I'll submit the request, you don't have to worry about it. Janet, submit the request!"

"Submitting! Request submitted."

"I submitted the request," he told me.

Don't strain yourself. "Thank you."

With several more days of snow and the cold temperatures keeping the snow we already had around it was getting pretty deep, but those with magic were keeping houses warm in whatever way they could. Fire users were of course in the most demand, with water users coming second to allow one to simply ignore the cold. We discovered a spell for those with wood affinity to do a small scale telekinesis allowing objects to be vibrated, and thus heated up and metal affinity could call up bolts of electricity which could serve to warm up coils of metal if properly applied. It was only those with earth affinity that were left out in the cold, so to speak. With construction slowing down (even the celestials didn't like slogging through deep snow) we moved into the factories, and started to experiment with crude versions of what we all knew back home like lights and ovens. We did plan on planting crops come spring, after all, and I for one couldn't wait to have that first slice of warm apple pie.

Meanwhile, the arrival of those from Bad Place showed we needed to get some things down on paper, a "constitution" if you will. How would we elect a "leader" in the future, if we felt we needed one at all? How would punishment be decided? There were a lot of issues to think about and I had been distributing and asking for contributions on various topics over the last two weeks. Anyone interested was then invited to the library for the first debate around the constitution. Should it go well and everyone agreed it would then be be formally written up and we would have a signing ceremony where everyone was invited. As usual I sat at the table with the chunk of gold, lots of papers before me with various parts of what I wanted to include and snippets from other documents like this from various countries on Earth. Probably about a hundred people were there, including Siew Yan, Stefan, and Ramesh I was glad to see. However, this might be my last time in this chair, a fact I told everyone as the meeting came to order.

"I would like to first bring up the matter of electing a leader," I told them. "If we decide to elect one, and we know each other pretty well by now I think, they should take over the duty of getting this signed. I started it because I felt it was my duty as unofficial leader, but we either need to make it official and set some kind of term limit, or find who is going to be official. Thoughts?"

"No electoral collage crap," Stefan said after taking the chunk. "It made no sense on Earth and it certainly wouldn't make sense here. A vote is a vote, we don't get one person's vote being 'worth' three times as much as someone else's vote because of where they happen to live."

Siew Yan took the chunk. "Do we have to vote? I propose that the world has already given us everything we need, we simply must recognize it. To that end I wish to put forth a hierarchy that negates the need to elect a leader because the afterlife has already done that for us. We have a perfect system already in place, the point system. We simply use it. In all cases where there is some question over who is 'right' the person with the highest point total is assumed to be right. This goes right to the top. As the person with the most points cannot be challenged, they are the de facto leader."

"I suppose the person with the most points can be assumed to have done the most for the community anyway," I mused. "Or who was the nicest person on Earth before coming here. I have no objection to stepping down in place of such a person. Janet, can you tell us who currently leads in points? Are they here?"

"You do, silly," she told me. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"Wait really?" My eyebrows shot up.

"I don't lie," she said with a little pout.

"So you put her up to it?" someone said, jerking a thumb to point at Siew Yan. "Because this seems fixed."

"She didn't!" she insisted.

Janet shook her head. "I assure you, neither one came to me to discuss such a system beforehand. As far as I can tell, Denice is genuinely shocked to learn she is in the lead."

"Still seems fixed."

"I'm not surprised," Ramesh told them. "I mean she risked herself to rescue me. Everyone comes to her for advice or orders on what to do next. She took the lead against the racists and solved that problem."

"Hummm..."

"And in all honesty," I told him, "there is a way you can 'vote' in a new leader if you want them. People can vote with their points. Nothing stops me from giving someone my points, I did it when we first discussed it as a currency system. You want someone else as leader, put together a campaign and get everyone to donate their points to that person. If you feel strongly about getting rid of me, give them fifty of your own points and hope you can get enough. Of course you have to be careful, too many points given to one person and they just head for Good Place and you're back where you started. And you're further away, as they take their points with them. That sets a nice 'term limit' too, no one can stay the leader forever because eventually you'll have the points to move on." I mean unless you keep giving them away but to never go to Good Place? Is that realistic just to stay in 'power' here? Maybe.

"I guess that could work," he admitted. "But isn't that too big a job for one person? We can't just think about our community, but whatever we have a thousand 'years' from now."

"I would say as far as a leader goes, it applies per warehouse," I explained. "So in this case, the highest point total person is the authority for five hundred kilometers in every direction from whatever warehouse they live next to. And no more."

"Better say that explicitly, and I have no further objections." He put the chunk down.

"Very well." I made a note. "As I am still leader I will carry on running the meeting. What's next?" I consulted my notes. "Punishments for crimes. I would say that because we are eternal, even a murder victim will be back to face their attacker. So in most cases the punishment for the crime can be decided by the victim of the crime. We don't need courts, judges, or lawyers because there's magical ways to verify if a crime has been committed. Truth magic, mental magic, divination magic, probably others." Time magic. "Naturally if it seems too harsh the leader can override it. Punishment must relate to the crime in some way, so if you burn someone's house down deliberately you could be set on fire but not drowned. It's the victim's call, they were the one wronged and thus only they can know what will satisfy them. A judge just saying 'that's all you're getting' isn't all that fair."

"Setting people on fire seems fairly horrible," said a woman, taking the chunk. "Even knowing we come back the next day, is that justified? A more creative person could come up with a more creative punishment than someone else. How is that fair?"

I shrugged. "So discuss it with others, nothing says you have to come up with it on your own. Plus as it's nearly impossible to commit a crime here that can't be undone with a little work, even murder," though I can think of a few things psychologically scaring that would be worse, "punishment must be known to be harsh, creative, and swift. I know, it doesn't prevent crime because no one expects to be caught. But it's a little different here- we have access to magic. Once we have the personpower I envision an anti-crime unit being formed that can use divination magic to send 'officers' if you will to wherever crime is going to happen that day. No crime will be overlooked here, they'll be ready to pounce on any act as it's being committed. Meaning, every criminal will be caught and punished. It shouldn't take long before people get it through their heads not do to crime. Plus I have hopes that crime will simply be low in Midveil because it's the afterlife and those here will finally know better." I mean a girl can dream, can't she? But murder is useless, there's no concept of wealth but points which can't be forcibly taken, I guess theft could be a thing but again, magically determine who the owner of something is. Done.

"Ah, but can't magic also block divination magic?" she countered.

"I… maybe?" I admitted. "But it's pretty clear people can cooperate in casting magic. I would have to hope five or ten people putting their efforts to see what crimes will be committed in the next hour would overpower any single person trying to hide that crime."

"But it could happen. Say a person is tied up for a month and finally escapes. How can you believe them and rightly allow punishment if this anti-crime squad of yours didn't pick up on it all that time?"

"There is magic that can help," I hedged, thinking of temporal magic that water affinity people could use. If you can simply look through time you can verify any story. No amount of anti-divination magic can prevent that. "I can't be more specific than that, let's just say not every spell is to be found in the library, and I've been given access to some of them. Call it a reward for going to rescue Ramesh."

"She was quite insistent on it," Michael agreed. "I know what she's thinking of, and it would work, you have my word on that. If you put in the effort like she says, there's no reason any crime would be hidden well enough to avoid detection."

"Well, if you say so. I don't plan to do any crimes so..." She handed the chunk back.

"Seems like an invasion of privacy," Siew Yan remarked, taking the chunk again. "How is this divination magic going to work, exactly?"

"Creatively," I answered with conviction. "The easiest divination magic simply allows you to get a yes/no answer to a question. I envision each district around a warehouse to have their own team. They have a map with a grid on it. The grid to start is fairly big and they can just ask say nine times "in the next hour will a crime happen in sector A1? Then B1, C1, A2, and so on. They get a 'yes' answer and they pull up a map that is only that sector, blown up. Now they ask a tougher spell which gives better answers where in the next hour a crime will happen. They get a new set of coordinates. They dispatch someone to watch that area for the next hour and see what they find. Naturally once there they can narrow it down further, asking if this is the street the next crime will happen on. We can refine it later I'm just putting one example out there how it could work. They wouldn't be looking into every house to see if someone was planning a crime, if that's what you're asking. We wouldn't have the numbers for that."

"And what is crime, anyway?"

"Breaking the One Law, of course. Causing harm. That would be clearly defined. They wouldn't be chasing after someone littering just those actively causing harm to another."

"So just because two people are engaging in some activity one of the members of this 'enforcement squad' maybe doesn't like, as long as they're not causing harm it won't be investigated?"

"No, only harm. I'll write up language to that effect, Siew Yan." I made a note. I'll have to define harm, or at least give examples. Loss of property, of autonomy, physical or mental harm- no can't use the same word in the definition.

"Thank you." She set the chunk down.

"Anything else on this topic? Naturally I'll get the wording down and everyone will have a chance to read it before signing." I looked around the room but there wasn't. "Okay, I'm not sure where this would go but to avoid any unpleasantness like last time all factories can be inspected at any time. Any research or construction of objects clearly dedicated only to harm, and you know what I mean when I say that, can be shut down."

A man raised his hand and came forward, taking the chunk. "Do you need that level of detail?" he asked. "I'm Travis by the way. As long as you define harm to include making something with the intent to harm someone this anti-crime unit of yours would come up with it at once right?"

"Ah, maybe," I decided. "It would have to be expanded, if the person making the item doesn't intend to harm someone with it, but give it to someone else to cause harm, that wouldn't work. We would have to define it as making something that will later be used to cause harm. If you wanted to create a decorative sword but it would never be used to harm, I mean I guess that would be okay." I could see someone taking up forging as an art form, same as any other, and almost anything can be considered art, even swords.

"And then you would catch someone making a frying pan that would later go on to hit someone in the head," he countered. "They can't be held responsible for something someone else does."

"No, I'm okay with a frying pan," I decided. "That can be made and used until the day it causes harm. Then then anti-crime squad would pick it up. Okay, I'll just make a note to define harm to include this but not make it a separate section. I still don't think factories should be closed to whoever wants to inspect them. I mean we had safety inspectors back on Earth for a reason. Even with healing magic I would rather keep them safe and not producing things to later cause trouble for Midveil."

"I'm fine with that." He held the chunk out and someone else took it.

"Omar here. I just wanted to ask if there would be some kind of local ordinance, I think it's called. Like if I want to take a warehouse area and declare no other permanent structures can be placed there, so it's just an area for tents and nature, can I do that? Someone coming along and building a house doesn't cause me 'harm' but it's still against the spirit of the place I want to create for myself."

"I guess as long as you posted the laws around the perimeter," I offered. "Or otherwise made them available to those coming into the area."

"Wait a second," said a woman with dark skin who came forward. She grabbed the chunk. "So someone can just post a sign 'no blacks' and have it enforced? Those racists from before will love that! Once they go back to being white again, that is." She snickered.

"Ah," I countered, raising a finger. "Discrimination is harm. Saying a zone is clothing free, or building free, or every seventh day is a huge party isn't. A local rule can't override the One Law. Nothing can."

"As long as that's clear," she muttered, handing it back.

"So I can do something like that?" Omar asked.

"It goes along with me wanting to create an elven wood, so I think it's fine," I told him. "Obviously you'll have to get enough people to go along with it, to support whatever local conditions you want to enforce. If you say everyone in that area has to be shorter than four feet tall but only ten people show up, well, we don't have any shortage of warehouses but you'll be a long time building anything for yourselves with only those ten other people."Unless you gave up points to have someone else build you stuff I guess. But that's an option for everybody."And the more people you attract, the greater the chances someone with a higher point total comes along and reverses it. So sure, if you can get enough people to agree on some local rule," good luck with that, "go for it. Again, as long as it causes no harm to anyone who would want to join you. My elven paradise has to accept people without pointed ears, but they'll have to live in the trees along with everyone else, for example." Because trees are what we'll have to live in.

"Okay."

"I'm Phoebe," said the next woman to take the chunk. "I fully support an elven wood, as long as we get some unicorns to frolic in the fields nearby. But that brings up a point. All boundaries between different zones have to be kept clear. If I want to visit someone on the other side of the elves' forest I don't want to have to make my way through the trees. There has to be at least some space between the forest and the mermaid cove next door. Because I don't want to swim across either. I just want a nice, even, grassy path I can use."

"That's sensible."

"Write it down!"

"I'm writing!"

"Fine. Here you go."

I didn't actually have anything else, but said I would get started on writing up a document with everything we had talked about formally laid out so we could all sign it. Stefan stepped up and wanted the chunk though, so he took the floor.

"I just want it said this document should be as clear as possible. Even if it has to be bullet points. Everything defined if it needs to be, no flowery language. I see you looking at that "in Order to form a more perfect Union" business there. If you're thinking of writing up something like that, forget it. Remember the whole "other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" business? Without defining those things that statement can mean anything. Make it clear, as unambiguous as possible, and straightforward."

"Very well," I sighed. "You have a good point."

"Thank you."

"In fact, there's no reason you all can't help. Let me get out a fresh sheet of paper and we can get this thing written up right now!"