[Neo-Atlantis - Sector 4 (Commercial District)]
The sun was setting over the gleaming white city. While 90% of the population was rushing to the Registry Office to start businesses, the "Rot" was spreading in the shadows.
Greg, the agitator, had gathered a mob of two hundred angry men. They weren't interested in working. They were interested in taking.
"Look at that!" Greg pointed a crowbar at the display window of a new 'Apex Electronics' store. Inside, S-Rank VR Headsets (worth 1,000 Tycoon Credits) were displayed.
"Why should the rich have them?" Greg shouted. "We built this world! We deserve a share!"
(Narrator: They had arrived on the island 24 hours ago and had built nothing).
SMASH.
Greg threw the crowbar. The smart-glass shattered. "Loot it!" Greg screamed. "Take everything! It's reparations!"
The mob surged forward, grabbing consoles, holographic tablets, and food synthesizers. Alarms blared, but Greg laughed. "He won't stop us! There are too many of us!"
[The Royal Palace - Throne Room]
Alex watched the looting on the main screen. He wasn't angry. He looked disappointed.
"Sir," Luna said, her eyes cold. "Praetorian Squad 4 is en route. Orders?"
"Do not kill them," Alex said.
Luna paused. "Sir? They are looters."
"If we kill them, they become victims," Alex stood up, adjusting his cuffs. "We need to show the world that Neo-Atlantis is a nation of Law."
"Dawn," Alex ordered. "Activate Protocol: Judgment."
"And buy the Courthouse of The Arbiter."
[Transaction Processing...] [Expenditure: $5,000,000,000.] [Asset Acquired: The High Court.]
[The Arrest]
Greg was running out of the store with three VR headsets when the ground shook. He looked up.
A Praetorian Guard dropped from the sky, landing in front of him. Greg froze. "I... I'm a political refugee! You can't touch me!"
The Praetorian didn't shoot. It raised a massive, open hand. "CITIZEN GREG. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR GRAND LARCENY."
"Get him!" Greg yelled to his mob. But the mob stopped. Surrounding the plaza were fifty Praetorians. They weren't firing weapons. They were holding Stun Batons.
ZAP.
A wave of blue electricity swept through the crowd. Greg twitched and fell unconscious.
[The Trial]
Greg woke up. He wasn't in a jail cell. He was strapped to a chair in a massive, circular room made of black marble. The room was floating in the sky.
Thousands of "Virtual Screens" floated in the air—the citizens of Neo-Atlantis were watching the trial live from their homes.
"Where... where am I?" Greg stammered.
BOOM.
A gavel the size of a hammer struck a podium. Sitting on the high bench was not a human judge. It was a 20-foot tall hologram of a faceless figure in golden robes. The Arbiter. (An AI Judge purchased from the System).
"Defendant Greg," The Arbiter's voice shook the room. "You are charged with Looting, Incitement of Violence, and Parasitic Behavior."
"I demand a lawyer!" Greg screamed.
"This is a Meritocracy," Alex's voice cut through the air. Alex walked out from the shadows. He stood next to the Judge. "You don't need a lawyer, Greg. You need an excuse."
Alex pointed to the screen showing the video of Greg smashing the window. "Did you do this?"
"I... I was protesting inequality!" Greg shouted. "You are a tyrant!"
"I gave you a home," Alex said calmly. "I gave you food. And you stole from your neighbors."
Alex looked at The Arbiter. "Verdict?"
The AI Judge's eyes glowed red. "GUILTY."
[The Sentence]
"We don't have prisons in Neo-Atlantis," Alex said to the camera. "Prisons cost money. And I don't spend money on criminals."
Alex snapped his fingers. The floor beneath Greg became transparent. Below the floating courthouse, Greg saw a dark, rocky island off the coast. Robots were mining glowing green crystals there.
"That is The Void Mine," Alex explained. "It mines the raw material for our fusion cores. It is hard work. It is hot. It is unpleasant."
Greg turned pale. "No... no please!"
"You owe the state 50,000 Credits for the damage you caused," Alex said cold-heartedly. "You will work in the mines until your debt is paid. At current wages... that should take you five years."
"Sentence: Enforced Labor," The Arbiter declared.
The chair Greg was sitting on suddenly dropped through a chute. "AHHHHHHH!" His scream faded as he was ejected from the courthouse and transported directly to the mining island.
[The Message]
Alex turned to the camera. To the millions watching.
"There is no crime in Neo-Atlantis," Alex said. "Because every crime has a price tag. And you will pay it."
[System Notification] [Crime Rate: 0%.] [Productivity: 200%.]