Hmmm...
Scott 2G Kellogg says (in msg 5876):
<These are not `Beat Cops'. However, the Tavrchedl' are *not* a
LEGAL system at all. Analogies to any sort of legal system are right
out.>
You missed my (probably obscure) point. The Tavrchedl' OPERATE a
bit like beat cops. They get out and walk (or drive) the
neighborhoods, mentally looking for "trouble". To borrow from your post,
they are a prowling ambulance crew, hunting for people to save.
They must do this to some extent, since sitting at the Morality Ward
in the center of town and scanning everyone will not produce very
accurate results ("I've got a five person headache. Two in that
direction, three over there."). While such a system is good for a start,
you will need the street crews to pinpoint the troubled folks ANYWAY,
so why not make them standard.
<Catie says that under the Zhodani system there are no judges, no
juries, no lawyers, no trials, and no appeals. This is true.>
Actually, its not. When it comes to LEGAL questions, any telepathic
Noble can (and usually will) function as Judge and Jury. Trials
(supposedly) discover the truth of a legal matter, but a telepath
can do this for himself. The only appeals in Zhodani society are
for "grey crimes", which have no clear method of resolution. In these
cases you may get several Nobility (how ever many are available)
putting their heads together and producing a common solution.
This primarily deals with Proles however. But we were talking about
medical matters, not legal ones...
<The Re-education centers are not prisons, they are *Hospitals*.>
Thus my point about "really good medical insurance".
<...I must point out that Hospitals rarely have only one doctor.>
Quite true. There will also be a greater sense of cooperation between
therapy teams than we find these days. Among other reasons, the
Tavrchedl' don't have "the BILL" hanging over their heads as an excuse
to not cooperate. They help the people, and their salaries are
guaranteed (and probably high; talk about a stress job).
As far as what is considered "Normal" is Zhodani society, I notice
that Brawling skill is quite common on the Prole charts (in the old
Zho Module). I suspect that a little drunken pugilism is good for
the soul, and the Guardians know it.
Adrian Hurt says (in msg 5877):
<Now, maybe I've got my history wrong,
but I thought there had been five Frontier Wars and the Zhodani started
all five of them. Who's threatening whom? Besides, if I were Supreme
Zhodani, or whatever title is used, I'd consider the fact that some time
in the future the Imperium is bound to re-form, and remove the "threat"
from Deneb while it is easy to do so.>
The Imperium has never gotten very far on armed conquest. Imperials
prefer to settle an area beyond the border then move the border. The
Frontier Wars were the Zhodani way of controlling this urge among the
Imperials. Each Frontier War stated in subconcious terms: "We will
not let the Imperium surround us, so it had best not try." Taken at
the conscious level, this message is not really apparent, producing
a queasy sense of curiousity and paranoia among the Denebian leadership:
"Why aren't they attacking us? We are weak." The Zhodani answer is:
"If you are weak, you will not expand. We do not need to remind you
of our resolve if you do not have the resources to test it."
And so it goes...
James Kundert [email removed]
There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was much faster, much faster than Light.
She departed one day in a relative way,
And returned on the previous Night.
--Albert & the Heart of Gold