much of Earth’s history they practically were, at least in some countries,” Svetlana replied. “Of course, it meant that police protection was primarily available to those who could afford it, and the biggest spenders were organized crime bosses.”
Clive entered Kelly’s office during this last exchange and took the seat across from her at the display desk. The holo-controller made a space for him at the virtual conference table between Belinda and Svetlana, rearranging them all in a boy-girl pattern for some obscure reason of its own.
“I believe I know all of you except for the gentleman in the nightgown,” Clive said, looking around the hologram.
“They’re pajamas,” Ambassador Fu replied. “I am Zhao Fu, and I was appointed the Void Station ambassador after Mr. Beyer accepted the EarthCent presidency.”
“Clive Oxford, pleased to make your acquaintance,” the director of EarthCent Intelligence introduced himself briskly. “I overheard the last couple comments about funding for a police force as I came in, and I can confirm that self-funding would lead to distortions in enforcement policy. I know that in the case of mercenaries, granting charters to attack enemy shipping usually turns into out-and-out piracy. But first I’d like to present our current assessment of the human-on-human crime situation and discuss whether there’s really a need for policing in some human communities.”
“Please do,” President Beyer said.
“EarthCent has escaped the problem of policing humanity in space to this point thanks to the fact that practically all of the humans who have left Earth are living as guests or contract workers. This means that they, we, live under alien authorities whose surveillance and enforcement technologies make it nearly impossible for human criminals to avoid detection and capture.”
“I can see where that would discourage property crime, and of course, none of the Earth’s laws regarding vice have any meaning to aliens, but what about violent crime?” Belinda asked.
“Human-on-human crimes against persons are indeed the main problem under alien rule,” Clive replied. “But you have to remember that the humans living on alien worlds have no rights other than those granted by the landlords. I’m sure you all see your share of runaways from labor contracts, especially the young people who grew up in the system rather than making a commitment of their own accord. I’m also sure you all have friends or acquaintances who were contract laborers at one time or another, but have you ever heard somebody complain about the alien policing?”
“An interesting point,” the Middle Station ambassador commented. “We conduct an ongoing survey of humans transiting the station, mainly questions about their employment experiences, though you can find most of the same information on the job boards run by the laborer agencies. The food, the pay, the hours, and the conduct of their co-workers all come in for regular criticism. Occasionally we’re asked to look into a failure to deliver on promised bonuses, but I can’t recall the issue of policing coming up even once.”
“Even if it was an issue, we have no jurisdiction in alien space to do anything about it,” Clive pointed out. “The Stryx grant us limited self-government on our own decks, but since they also provide all of the infrastructure and services, there’s never been a need for anything beyond the business associations and school cooperatives. The only place we see a real demand for policing is on the self-governing human colonies and outposts. As more humans who complete labor contracts opt to remain in space rather than retiring to Earth, the human populations on the open worlds of the tunnel network are starting to grow rapidly.”
“But the open worlds still belong to the aliens, don’t they?” Ambassador Fu inquired. “I’m not aware of any sovereign human worlds on the tunnel network.”
“Ahem,” President
Rob Destefano, Joseph Hooper