The guards pushed the detainees down the hall. They shoved each child into a separate interrogation room. Solrio came down the hall. She looked at Eiske, "Take him to sick bay.". She turned to Haerm. “Detainment,” she said to the guards. They escorted him to a small alcove, shoved him in, and turned on a forcefield.
She stalked to the room that Kryn was in and questioned him. He told her his version of what happened. When she asked him what he hoped to accomplish by hitting Bahansir, he became arrogant. “That’s Syp. She needs to be taught a lesson.”
“You are confused. That is Bahansir the Younger. You try to teach lessons by hurting people? What lesson was that?"
“The one where she keeps her mouth shut. She told everyone that the house we live in isn’t good enough for people to live in.”
“I see. You want to blame someone for what is happening at your home,” Solrio responded.
“The kids at school are saying that we live in a barn.”
“Let me see if I have this right. You provoked a fight with someone you don't know because everyone knows that your house is not up to the living standards for humans? How exactly would a fight change the situation at your home?” Kryn didn’t have an answer for her. Solrio slammed the door as she left the room.
She interrogated Teed. He repeated what his brother had said but added that his parents couldn’t afford to build a new house. He was mad that Syp had left. Now he was getting treated by his parents the way she had been. When Solrio asked him to explain, he told her that he was the last one fed, and he was being starved to death. He was forced to help with laundry, scrub the floors and wash dishes. Teed whined that he never had time to play games on his electronic pad like he used to.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Solrio said to Teed. “You get smaller portions than everyone else. You have chores to do. You don’t get to play as much as you used to.”
“Yes.”
Solrio listened as Thies complained that Syp wasn’t there to harass. “Now they pick on me,” he whined, “And I have to do chores. Mom made us move our sleeping pads, and now I’m in Syp’s old spot. It’s the furthest from the heater. I’m always cold when I’m in bed.” Solrio thought he was done talking, but Kryn went on. “Syp must have told someone about the house we live in. A man in a uniform came to the door one day and demanded to be let in. He walked through, scanned all the walls, and told my parents that the house was intended for cattle and goats. Supposedly we need to have a communication connection, insulation on the outside walls, and more electrical outlets so that there’s light in all the rooms. Our family’s lived for eleven years like this, and we’ve been fine. Syp must have told someone. Her and her big mouth!”
“You claim that you’re being treated like Syp had been when she lived there. Did you have chores to do then?” He shook his head no. “You’re five years old. Many children begin to help before they turn three. Your parents are trying to help you grow up.” She went on, “You say that you’ve always lived like this and that you were ‘fine.’ It doesn’t sound to me like you’ve been fine. How many nights did Syp go to sleep in the same spot you’re in? Is it truly ‘fine’ if any one of you are going to bed cold? How do you know that it was Syp’s fault that your parents have to build a new house? Did you hear Syp tell someone about it?”
“Well, no. But Dad says that Syp told someone.”
“You didn’t hear Syp tell anyone about your home. There are nine of you living there. Any one of you might have told someone about it. If you didn’t hear a family member telling someone about it, then you’re guessing.”
Solrio went next to Syp. “Please tell me what happened tonight.” Syp told her they had been seated in the restaurant when the Bron family came in. Haerm had approached the table and Eiske had asked him to leave them alone. When she heard Haerm had told Eiske that “it wasn’t over,” she wondered what he meant. Syp explained what happened in the library and that they were leaving when Haerm started hitting Eiske. “Why did you fight?” Solrio demanded.
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Syp looked at her. “Some of the boys jumped on me at the same time. I tried to push them away.”
Solrio entered the security room where Haerm had been confined. When she asked him what had transpired, Haerm said he was mad that Eiske refused to talk to him. “Tell me why you didn’t leave the restaurant when you saw Eiske.”
“My family and I have the right to eat where we want.”
“No, you don’t. The last time you were here, you were told to leave a building if the doctor was there first. You could have made the choice to walk away from both places.”
“My boys have the right to eat and do their schoolwork.”
“Yes. Someplace else. If Dr. Bonnema is there first, you’re supposed to leave.” She glanced down at her pad. “Your boys tried to agitate Bahansir the Younger all evening, and you didn’t stop them.”
“I can’t stop what I don’t know about.”
“The videotapes clearly show you watching them! Why didn’t you tell them that this was unacceptable behavior?”
“They weren’t hurting her.”
“You tried to blame Bahansir the Younger for tripping you.”
“Bahansir the Younger? That’s Syp!”
“You tried to blame Bahansir the Younger for tripping you. You failed in your efforts, and you were irritated.”
“I was not!”
“You followed the doctor outside, tried to agitate him and when you failed, you struck him.”
“He deserved it! He’s protecting that little brat and should send her on her way. He knows that we don’t want her around.”
“Please tell me why it is that you have such strong feelings about Bahansir the Younger.” He couldn't answer her. "This child that used to live with you, why are you so angry at her?"
“Because she’s ugly, a disgrace to our family and humankind. She’s blind as a bat, stupid, and can’t get anything right.”
Solrio looked at the document that she had flipped up on her pad. “You are angry with a person that you've sent off your property and have told your family to not interact with. You go into public settings against disciplinary rulings. You show anger against your sister's brother. Your records indicate that you refused to go to the anger management classes. Is there a reason that you chose not to participate?”
“I manage my anger fine without such bullshit!”
“Really? You actually believe that you are 'managing your anger? Is this what you want to teach your sons? That it’s okay to provoke people, then hurt them?”
“I didn’t teach them that!”
“Three of them are in interrogation rooms. They each have shared with me their versions of what happened. They each told me that Eiske tried to walk away. You have successfully shown them how to provoke a fight.”
“You need to let me out of here, so that I can finish what I started.”
“Tell me what that would look like.”
“I’d beat the shit out of Eiske, that’s what! Then I’d go after Syp and spank her until her bottom was so sore she couldn’t sit down for a week.”
"What exactly did the child Syp do to you?”
“She told someone that our home wasn’t fit for human use. Now I have to build a house.”
“Haerm, you told me that you had no communication device in your home. The inspectors went out to see if that was true or not.”
“It’s my choice to not have a communication device. These people think they can force their lifestyle on us. They say we need insulation, more electrical outlets and a cooking area that meets some special standards. We have lived this way since we built the house. It’s my and Geldou’s choice."
“It's your choice that your children sleep on the cold floor while you and your wife have a warm bed? Since when was not providing a warm place for children an acceptable lifestyle?"
“Who told you that?” he shouted.
“It doesn’t matter who told me that. ” He didn’t respond. “You are the person who told me that you had no communication device. Only you. I’m hearing you claim responsibility for choosing to live in a home that is below human living standards on the Iragos Peninsula where the temperatures drop dangerously low in the winter. You deliberately went around the system that has been created so that everyone has access to emergency care and a safe and healthy place to live. I’d like to know the reason that you chose to subject everyone in your family to these conditions. What if something would have happened and you needed emergency treatment for any of your children, your wife, or yourself?” Haerm didn’t respond. “Please explain to me why you deny your children the medical and dental care, educational benefits, and access to the multitude of services that everyone on the peninsula is eligible for. You have chosen to put them at a disadvantage.”
Solrio waited for him to say something. "Three of your children are here. I have to make a decision as to how to respond to their unacceptable behavior."