The Nth Degree

The coldness inside the chamber was unbearable. Tiny intricate designs of frost painted the chamber like icy flowers. Small icicles hung like long witch-like fingers from the ceiling in hopes of falling upon a passerby. Frosty branches seemed to grip the walls as if the walls were caving in. In the midst of this frigid dungeon sat Captain Kokou. He was a large muscular African man with very large hands. Kokou’s green military fatigues were dingy and frostbitten, with small tears in the kneecap area of his pants and shoulder area. His greenish black combat boots were unpolished and had several cracks in them. Kokou’s dreadlocks cascaded over his face masking his eyes. Captain Kokou sat in a large black wooden chair in the middle of the freezing room. The chair was reminiscent of an old-fashioned

electric chair. His wrists and ankles were held firmly in place by four silver bands, which restrained his movement. Thick white puffs of vapor billowed from Captain Kokou’s mouth and floated listlessly in the air. His chest rose and fell with each labored breath like a dragon in captivity. Captain Kokou appeared to be unconscious, but seemed to be waking up as if he were coming out of a coma. Suddenly, the large white door to the chamber opened. Aja, a petite, caramel-colored bespectacled African woman with almond shaped beautiful brown eyes walked into the room and observed him momentarily. She was dressed in white medical scrubs and her head was wrapped in a traditional African gele and wore an angelic smile. Aja tiptoed gingerly towards Kokou and kneeled. Gently, she placed her thumb on the front of his wrist and her index finger on the back of his wrist to take his pulse. Slowly he awoke, coughing and wheezing for breath. Aja went to a nearby table and picked up a silver pitcher and cup. She filled the cup with water and held the cup of water up to Kokou’s lips. Greedily, he gulped the water down, spilling as much water on his uniform as he was able to drink. When Kokou realized he was chained, he became belligerent.

“Where am I? What am I doing here? Why do you have me chained up like this?” yelled Captain Kokou.

“Captain Kokou, Aja began, “you have been brought here because you have violated several laws here in the future. Therefore, you are here to stand trial for those offenses.”

“What do you mean ‘here in the future’? This is 2021.”

“I’m sorry Captain Kokou, but you are presently in the year 2101,” Aja reassured. Captain Kokou began to laugh wildly at Aja’s response. His wild laughter turned into screams of incredulity and he began to stare angrily at Aja.

“Time travel, huh? And you or whoever else has brought me into the future to stand trial.” Kokou took in a deep breath and exhaled. “All right, I’ll play along. Am I being brought for up for war crimes from the past? I simply responded to the call of my country to serve. Is that a crime?”

“Your service in the military is not in question. As a matter of fact,” Aja retorted, “My name is Aja. I am a psychogeneticist, and I am here to help you transition to a civilian state. And at the present moment, your mental condition is not good.”

“I can’t be held responsible for what I did during the war. There were lives at stake,” he said as his voice trailed off and he sullenly looked away. “I had to make decisions that I regret. Decisions I have to live with for the rest of my life.”

Aja slowly stood up, turned her back to Kokou, strolled away from him and began intensely staring at the frosty designs on the wall, running her hands across the jagged ice formations. After several moments, she turned back to Captain Kokou; her once pleasant and smiling demeanor had now turned into a cold calculating stare.

“Captain Kokou, I am not here to discuss your actions during the war, I am here to discuss your actions before and after the war,” she quipped. Kokou was confused. What had he done that he couldn’t remember? Was he still a prisoner of war

and this was some sort of psy-op experiment to get him to divulge information? Was all of this simply a virtual projection of his former imprisonment? He wasn’t sure what to think. He only knew that this woman, whoever she was, held the key to the answers he was seeking.

Hesitantly he said, “I’m not sure I understand what you are talking about.”

“After the Final War,” Aja began, “many of its greatest heroes went back to their homes and back to their everyday lives. You were one of those heroes Captain Kokou. Unfortunately, you resumed a bad habit that you practiced before the war, which is a direct violation of our current Constitution. The 28th Amendment was passed in 2025, which states, ‘The right to live without fear of verbal, emotional, or physical violence, and shall not be abridged by the Republic, the State, or any individual.’ You violated the 28th Amendment by physically abusing your wife Captain Kokou. You’re guilty of the Nth Degree.”

Kokou frowned and asked, “The Nth Degree?”

“The Nth Degree,” Aja began, “is the highest crime against humanity. It is now punishable by life isolation. The Council of Three has decreed that those who are guilty of these crimes shall be summarily punished and banished from society.”

“Now wait a minute! Aje and I had our struggles, but there was never any violence. Who are you to judge me anyway? What is this place? I refuse to answer any more questions, and I demand you let me know why I am being held!”

“Captain Kokou, much of your memory was erased when you were placed in the Cryogenic Ytterbium Pod Tube. However, we do have the ability to project your memories on to the C.A.G.E. Screening Analysis.”

“What is a C.A.G.E. Screening Analysis?” asked a bewildered Kokou.

“I will show you.”

A large white screen slowly descended from the ceiling. The screen showed an inebriated Kokou in his full military uniform arguing with his deceased wife Aje. There is no sound, but it is obvious that this is a very heated exchange. Aje throws up her hands as if pleading with her husband, but he turns and walks away from her. As Kokou storms towards the door, Aje grabbed his

shoulders. Immediately, he turned and pummeled her face with a flurry of blows, and knocked her to the ground unconscious. A golden heart-shaped locket she was wearing fell to the ground beside her lifeless body. A horrified Kokou rushed to her and appeared to try to revive her. He held her in his arms and seemed to look towards the heavens for help, but with no avail. The screen slowly scrolled up with this last image frozen on it as it vanished into the crevice of the ceiling from which it came. Once the screen disappeared, Kokou began to sob uncontrollably. Suddenly, Kokou regained his composure and glared at Aja for this intrusion into his private life.

“If you froze me in one of these chambers, and I’m such an animal, why did you revive me? Kokou snapped. “Why didn’t you just let me die if I committed such horrible crimes?”

“I’m so glad you asked that question,” Aja chirped eagerly, “this is the beginning of your electronic sensory programming. The C.A.G.E. Screening Analysis consists of four key-words; Cease, Annoyed, Guilty, and Existential Threat. So, here is the first question I will pose to you: Have you ever felt you needed to cut down on your abuse?”

Kokou was livid that she would ask such a question. He made up in his mind that he would not answer the question, but the longer he resisted the more he felt the need to respond.

“Yes, I have felt the need to cease. But it only happened on rare occasions,” Kokou admittedly replied.

“Very good Captain Kokou,” Aja said. “Thank you for your honest answer. The second question is this: Have people annoyed you by criticizing your abuse?”

After taking a deep breath, Kokou again strived to give an honest assessment of the question. “Aje’s parents were against our marriage from the beginning. Her father never approved oour relationship, but her mother simply tolerated me for her daughter’s sake.”

Aja nodded approvingly to Kokou’s response. Peering down her glasses she said, “Thank you for that. I only have two more questions. Here’s the third question: Have you ever felt guilty about abusing your wife?”

“You saw my response when you showed me that screening!” he bellowed. “What more do you want?

I want you to simply answer the question,” she said calmly. “So, I will ask it again. Have you ever felt guilty about abusing your wife?”

After a long silence, Kokou murmured, “Yes.”

“All right Captain Kokou, here is the fourth question: “Do you consider yourself an existential threat?”

There was a long awkward silence. Aja broke the silence by standing up and slowly ambling toward the door.

“Am I an existential threat? Am I? Tell me. Tell me!”

“I’m here to help you Captain, but you leave me no choice.”

Aja took out a golden heart shaped locket, placed it around Kokou’s neck and pressed a remote control that sent an electric shock through Kokou’s body. Instantly, he fell unconscious and motionless. Moments later, three regal looking women enter the chamber and appear to be frightened. The three women are dressed in flowing white African robes and white gele head wraps. They have golden bracelets around their wrists and gold necklaces around their necks. Their names are Oya, Yemaja, and Odudua; they represent the Council of Three. Aja bowed in their presence and stood at their behest. Oya, the youngest council member asked,

"We heard him raise his voice at you. Dr. Aja. Are you all right?” Gratified at her concern, Aja said, “Yes your honor. I am fine.”

Yemaja asked cautiously, “Is he contagious?”

Aja sadly commented, “Yes, he is. He is infected with the Structural Helical Gene.” The three women rejoiced at Aja’s discovery, but Aja looked dejectedly away. Odudua, the senior council member gently cupped Aja’s teary face in her hands and said, “Child, you have done a great work. You have discovered the gene that causes domestic violence. You are now free to use his genes as antibodies to cure yourself and free to bear children who will be free of this disease. The Iphigenia 1621 Project, your life’s work can begin. Tell me, why are you so sad?”

“Because he was my ancestor,” Aja replied. “I don’t want his name remembered as the last abusive man on Earth. I don’t want his descendants to be known for that.”

Odudua said, “It is important that Kokou has been sentenced with the Nth Degree, so that future generations will reflect and remember. That is why he must remain in this chamber, frozen for all time. His body cannot be buried in the ground for it will infect the Earth again. Let us leave quickly, our Supreme Leader Olorun will seal this chamber with justice, and it will never be opened again.”

Aja looked at Kokou one last time and turned away. Odudua recognized her pain and tried to console her.

“Your ancestor Aje thought enough of you to record this act, which has been used for decades to try to cure this disease. You honor her by developing the antidote and saving countless lives.”

The women departed the chamber as the crackling of ice filled the room. Kokou began to awake, but his face was frozen in a tableau of contrition. An icy vapor filled the room and the room crystallized a brilliant silverfish white for all eternity.