"This court has determined your guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt. Your crime has been recorded."

I always thought that describing words as "heavy" was a cheap literary device employed by writers with insufficient skill to avoid the cliche. Perhaps it still is, as I am no writer. But I can think of no other way to describe the pronouncement. "Your crime has been recorded". There would be no service, no sentence. No prison term, no re-education, no re-integration. The heaviest sentence I had ever heard.

Were my crime more serious, I might be eligible for prison anyway, where at least I would be fed, but since I was no physical threat to my fellow citizens, I could not be placed in custody for the protection of civil society, nor executed.

"You are free to go".

Go where? How?

It's funny how sometimes you need to test even the most obvious knowledge for yourself. I pulled out my all-comm, thankfully government issued and a guaranteed right, as no citizen corporation would have issued me one, or continued service once my record was posted . I tried to summon a car, but my screen went red. "Service Denied". I thought about public transportation, but knew it was a matter of policy to deny service to offenders.

I walked.

Food would be a problem sooner rather than later. I knew better than to try to buy my own groceries. I'd never heard of an establishment that would serve offenders. Restaurants were likewise out, I didn't know of any that didn't ping you before serving. Of course they advertised it as a courtesy to make sure you didn't forget your comm before eating, but it was really to make sure you could pay.

Fortunately, I had stocked up a little before sentencing. I wouldn't go hungry today.

I couldn't resist trying my luck at a vendor cart. I even took a bite as I held up my comm. Surely they wouldn't refuse for food already eaten. The vendor grabbed the hot dog from my hand and threw it down.

"No mercy for offenders".