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 ï>¿Maragana Girl by EC

   Chapter 3 - Kim's new life

   Kim sullenly accompanied her Spokesman and his secretary across the
plaza back to his office at the Central Police Station.  Her body still was
in considerable pain, not only from the searing welts, but also from her
cramped muscles.  The American walked stiffly and slowly, with Dukov and
Tatiana slowing their own pace to allow her to keep up with them.  The
plaza was crowded with commuters and people relaxing in the afternoon sun.
Kim, with her bare body, Asian features, metal collar, and marked backside,
drew a lot of attention from the public as she walked by.  They've turned
me into a freak, she thought bitterly.  And for two years I have to stay
like this.

   On the steps of the police station Dukov gave several short interviews
to local television reporters, with Kim and the secretary standing behind
him.  His client felt deep bitterness at that moment, being forced to stand
on the steps while the Spokesman cheerfully spoke to the cameras.  The
Danubian official was in very high spirits, having reduced his client's
threatened 20-year sentence to just 2-years.  Kim still did not fully
appreciate how difficult an accomplishment this had been.  She did not yet
realize the reduction of her sentence by 90% in this very high-profile case
had been one of the most significant victories of Dukov's career.

   As the young criminal painfully followed her mentor up the steps, the
cameras focused on her backside, filming the dark welts on her bottom and
shoulders.

   Finally the three were back in the Spokesman's office.  The secretary
who had stayed behind at the office had a recovery table set up; a massage
table with lotion and disinfectant.  Kim's body was stiffer than ever, and
she was grateful for the opportunity to simply lie down.  The secretary at
the recovery table examined her to make sure her skin had not been broken
anywhere, then she gently spread lotion on the welts to soften them.  It
was standard procedure following a judicial punishment.  Six months from
now Kim once again would be lying in this office following her second
punishment.

   Kim had no desire to move once she was on the table.  Even the slightest
movement hurt.  The pain and stiffness were so overwhelming that she could
barely imagine a time that she didn't feel such agony.  She started to cry
again, not only from the physical torment she was enduring, but also from
the emotional suffering she had undergone that day and the overwhelming
feeling that her life was ruined.  She couldn't imagine that there could be
any future for her after what she had endured.  However, physical
exhaustion finally overtook her and she fell asleep.

   Kim did have a future in Upper Danubia, which Dukov spent the rest of
the afternoon arranging.  His first concern was making sure his client had
a job.  The court was dead serious about her needing to be gainfully
employed within 48 hours.  Kim would most definitely present a problem,
given that she spoke no Danubian.  Over time she would learn, but that did
not resolve the issue of the moment.

   Dukov decided that the best temporary position his new client could take
would be to work as a courier.  In a country where fax machines were still
very rare, couriers were an important feature of Danubian business
communications.  Working as a courier would put Kim outdoors most of the
time and keep her moving.  Dukov suspected that the young criminal was a
restless girl and needed movement to stay focused.  At the end of
September, when the weather started to get cold, she would have to change
jobs and do something indoors, but that problem was still three months
away.

   Kim needed a place to live as well.  A convicted criminal in Upper
Danubia usually simply returned to live with his or her family.  Kim, of
course, had no relatives in Danube City, nor anyone else with whom she
could stay.  Dukov had to get her a room, but that presented him with
another problem.  He knew from his professional experience that his client
would be extremely depressed over the next few days, until she got used to
her new life as a convicted criminal.  That transition was difficult for
anyone; with Kim it would be even more so because she had to get used to
living in Danube City as well as get used to her new legal status.  She had
to live with someone who could watch over her, and yet leave her alone when
necessary.

   Finally, there was the issue of Kim's forfeited life in the US.  Dukov
needed to contact the US Embassy and arrange an interview with her.  She
needed to contact her parents and let them know that she would not be
coming home for two years.  Whatever college plans she had would have to
wait.  Dukov wondered if the hardest part of Kim's punishment was yet to
come, having to explain to everyone in the US what happened.

   Dukov spent the afternoon on the phone, first calling the US Embassy. 
The Spokesman had an unpleasant conversation with a consular official, who
ripped into him about the barbarity of Upper Danubia's justice system. 
Dukov was a bit taken aback, given that he was the equivalent of a public
defense attorney in the US and by Danubian standards he had successfully
defended Kim in court.  Finally his temper snapped.

   "You will listen to me now.  I have been to your country.  I have seen
your jails.  You choose to keep your criminals in useless confinement and
your useless system does not work.  Its failure is evident for all of us to
see plainly.  We conduct very speedy trials and return our criminals to
society right away.  They work, they contribute, they lead productive
lives, they learn respect, and they do not re-offend.  What is your
preference, that Kimberly spend two years in a prison cell, or that she
spend two years working?"

   Dukov then called his brother Victor Dukov, who ran a courier service.
Kim had to be trained and learn her way about the 10-kilometer circle in
which she would be delivering messages.  Dukov spent over an hour
discussing the details with his brother.

   Finally there was the issue of where Kim would live.  Until she learned
how to speak Danubian, the only workable solution would be for her to stay
with Dukov and his family.  Anyhow, it was getting late and Dukov needed to
go home, and take his client with him.  He woke her up.

   "Kimberly, you will come with me.  Tonight you will dine with my family
and sleep at my house."

   Once again Kim sadly accompanied her Spokesman out onto the street. 
Once again she had to contend with the constant barrage of curious glances.
The sight of a naked young woman with welts on her backside and a collar on
her neck normally was not something that drew an extraordinary amount of
attention from passers-by.  However, the site of a naked young Asian woman
with welts on her backside and a collar on her neck was something
completely new.  Along the street, at the trolley stop, and on the trolley
itself local residents shifted around and strained their necks to get a
better view of Kim's badly marked body.

   At first Kim looked at the ground to avoid the sight of all her
on-lookers.  However, when Dukov noticed what she was doing he admonished
her.  "Kimberly, you must keep your head up.  You must show your face to
the world.  A convicted criminal in this country is not allowed to hide her
face."

   Sadly Kim complied and lifted her head.  She had to ride to Dukov's
place standing up, even though there were several empty seats on the
trolley.  Criminals could use public transportation for free, but they were
not allowed to occupy a seat.  Dukov, realizing how difficult all this was
for his client, chose to stand next to her.

   The commute took the Spokesman and his client to the outer edge of the
Danube City collar-zone and almost into the countryside.  Dukov's house was
about the size of an average US tract home, but it was solidly made from
cinderblocks and polished wooden paneling.  It overlooked a beautiful
valley of mixed forests and pastures, one of the places Kim and her friends
had hoped to visit.  However, a yellow sign, visible along the street only
a block past Dukov's house, reminded her that valley was now off limits.

   Dukov and Kim entered his house.  She went to the kitchen and looked out
the window, curious to see the back yard.  The yard was small and enclosed
with a wall, as were most back yards of Danubian houses.  Danubians valued
their privacy and no proper house lacked an enclosed back yard.  Two
teenaged girls were sunbathing nude and giggling together over a pop-music
magazine.  Dukov called out to one the girls, asking her a question.  The
girl heaved a deep sigh and answered "Negat, Papa.".  With that both girls
got up, put on sun dresses, and began packing up the things scattered in
the yard.

   "My daughter, Anyia.  You see, she needed to start preparing our meal,
and she neglected to do so.  Teenagers are the same everywhere, is that not
so?"

   The girl's carefree behavior struck at Kim's soul.  Just a short while
ago she had been in high school, doing roughly the same thing with Tiffany
and Susan.

   As Anyia began cleaning and cutting vegetables in the kitchen, Dukov
instructed Kim to go into the main bathroom and get cleaned up.  She sadly
sat in the bathtub as the rest of Dukov's family returned home and he
explained the situation of his new house-guest.

   An hour later the young criminal was eating dinner with her Spokesman
and his family.  Dukov's family was about as typical as a Danubian family
could be.  Besides the teenaged daughter, he had an older son called Vladik
who had just graduated from the National Police Academy.  Dukov's wife, a
sharply-dressed professional woman who introduced herself as Maritza, also
was present, as was Vladik's fiance.  Throughout the dinner Anyia and the
fiance constantly glanced at Kim, not being able to hide their curiosity
about the first Asian woman and the first person from the US to ever eat at
their table.

   As the women cleaned up and his son attended to his revolver and police
uniform, Dukov called Kim to accompany him to his home library.  The
library was full of books in various languages and had two large very
comfortable chairs.  There were various pictures of Dukov and his family
around the room, but one in particular struck Kim.  That picture was the
reason Dukov had brought her into the library.

   It was a medium sized picture of the Spokesman, much younger than he was
now, standing arm-in-arm with his future wife.  Both Dukov and his fiance
were naked, and both were wearing collars.  Beneath the picture two open
collars hung on the wall.

   Kim gasped.  "Mr.  Dukov...  you...  ?"

   "Yes, Kimberly.  I wore the collar for five years, as did my wife
Maritza.  We keep this picture to remind ourselves, and our children, of
who we are and where we came from.  I brought you here so that you can
understand something very important.  Your life has not ended.  Nor has it
been suspended for two years.  On this date, two years from now, you will
be a free woman, but you cannot think about that too much; you cannot live
in the future.  Between now and then you must live from day to day and
enjoy life's momentary small pleasures.  That was how Maritza and I endured
our sentences, and how we found love in each other."

   Kim wondered what Dukov and his wife had done to be convicted as
criminals, but she decided not to ask.  Dukov had not volunteered that
information.  Out of respect for her Spokesman she decided not to pursue
the question.

   Kim slept deeply that night.  She did not wake up until 10:00 the
following morning.  Her body was unbelievably stiff and the pain from her
welts was still very much present.  She would have a very hard time sitting
normally for at least another day.  Kim looked at herself in the guest
bedroom mirror.  The welts had darkened and looked ugly.

   The house was completely silent.  Apparently everyone had left for work.
Kim looked around and finally went to the kitchen, where she peeked out the
window and saw Anyia asleep nude on a towel in the back yard.  As much as
she hated doing it, she forced herself to wake up the girl and ask her
where her father was.  As Kim had feared, Anyia was none too pleasant about
having been woken up.  She gave a disgusted sigh, walked into the kitchen
to retrieve a note and a Danubian-English dictionary, passed both items to
Kim, and then plopped back down on her towel.

   Kim couldn't say anything; a couple of years before she had been just as
rude.

   Dukov's note told Kim to ask Anyia to prepare breakfast for her and then
gave instructions for taking a trolley downtown.  She got her own
breakfast, having no desire to bother the sullen girl on the towel a second
time.  Then she stepped outside to face the world alone as a Danubian
convicted criminal.  She carried the dictionary with her and walked up the
hill to the trolley stop.

   Yet again Kim had to endure all those stares as she rode the trolley
into town.  She wished she could sit down and cover her welts from her
audience, but of course that was impossible due to the rule against
criminals taking any seats on public transportation.  She arrived at the
Central Police Station and again endured the barrage of stares as she went
up to Dukov's office.  By now it was after 11:00.  Dukov's two secretaries
were in the front room.  Upon seeing Kim enter, one of them immediately
ushered her back to Dukov's main office.  Dukov got right to the point. 
There were three problems she needed to resolve that day: find work, call
her parents, and figure out where she was going to live.

   The work issue was the most pressing, given that by the end of the next
day Kim had to be employed.  Dukov suggested the courier job with his
brother.  She agreed, really having no choice.  Upon getting Kim's
agreement Dukov took her to an old office building three kilometers away to
meet Victor Dukov.

   Victor Dukov spoke much less English then did his brother Vladim, but he
still could make himself understood to Kim.  She learned what her working
life would be like over the next several months.  She would be working with
four other couriers, all of whom were recent high school graduates.  One
was close to completing a year-long sentence of wearing a collar for
fighting at his school, but the other three were just average graduates. 
Victor issued his newest employee a cheap Danubian-made bicycle and handed
her three terry-cloth bicycle seat covers designed especially for naked
riders.  He emphasized that she had to change her seat cover every day as a
health precaution.  Another item Kim was issued was a pair of bright orange
courier shoes to protect her feet.  Criminals who worked as couriers were
expected to wear standard courier shoes while riding their bicycles, but
had to take them off when not riding.  Once she was outfitted with her seat
covers and shoes, the two brothers filled out some papers and then Victor
gave Kim her first assignment as a courier:

   "You take this document of work to judge who sentenced you yesterday. 
You retrieve his signature.  You take this paper with signature to office
of my brother.  You leave paper there with him.  Then you return here with
bicycle and receipt from my brother.  And remember, you are criminal in
court.  You act like criminal.  You show respect to judge."

   Kim sighed.  Her new boss did not seem all that friendly, and certainly
had no qualms about putting her in her place.

   Kim set out on her bicycle on her first assignment as a courier.  As she
eased herself on her bicycle seat her body protested in pain.  However, she
gritted her teeth and began peddling, merging into a cluster of other
bicyclists headed in the direction of the city's main plaza.

   As she cruised among the other commuters on her cheap bicycle, with her
welts throbbing against the seat and the collar's feel on her neck as a
constant reminder that she was no longer a free woman, Kim had a chance to
reflect on her life.  It was the first time in a while she had thought
about anything other than partying and where Tiffany could score the best
pot.  All that was now behind her now.  Tiffany was no longer her friend,
there was no pot to be had in Danube City, and Kim doubted there would be
any partying in her life for two years.  She couldn't imagine this quiet
city having much of a nightlife, and certainly not for someone like her.

   Kim's first regret was simple and rather strange, considering all the
other problems she faced.  She wished that she could have her mountain bike
from the US with her.  The mountain bike had been a gift for her 16th
birthday, but she probably had not ridden it more than 10 times altogether.
Now that she would be spending her days on a bicycle, she wished fervently
it could have been her own, the gift from her parents she never
appreciated.

   Kim's thoughts drifted to more urgent topics.  She still needed to tell
her parents and her sister what happened.  She realized that she had so
much to tell them.  She had no idea where to begin.  First, they had not
been aware that Kim was using marijuana.  That information alone would be a
terrible shock to them.  Once they knew she was in Danube City they would
want to see her, but how could they?  Kim's family was very conservative
and no member of Lee family had ever seen any other member undressed.  If
her family were to visit they would have a horrible shock, seeing her naked
in public with a metal collar on her neck.  And yet, at the very least her
sister would come to Danube City, and would see her.  The full shame of
Kim's situation would descend on the entire family, which, of course, was
exactly the reason why she was being punished in this manner by the
Danubian government.

   Kim now regretted not having respected her family more in high school,
and not having listened more to her parents.  She had done all kinds of
things behind their backs; lied, stolen, cheated on her classwork in her
private school, played her sister and her parents against each other, and
sacrificed everything at home to spend more time with Tiffany and Susan. 
She had always told herself that she had to treat her family badly, because
Tiffany and Susan were the only people in the world who understood her. 
And yet, and yet, when she needed her friends to stand up for her, they
instead betrayed her.  What a waste!  What a total waste!

   Kim's bitterness towards Tiffany was only now starting to build.  The
shock from Tiffany's betrayal was giving way to an intense hatred.  Because
of Tiffany and Susan, Kim had been facing a 20-year sentence with monthly
whippings for drug trafficking.  She had only avoided the maximum charges
thanks to the dedication of a complete stranger, not thanks to two people
she had known for over five years.  She now understood and could appreciate
what Spokesman Vladim Dukov had done for her.  Thanks to Tiffany, Kim faced
losing 20 years of her life.  Thanks to Dukov, 18 of those years had been
given back to her.

   It was true that Tiffany had panicked, but Kim was convinced had the
situation been reversed she would not have turned on Tiffany, and also was
convinced that Susan would not have turned on her had it not been for
Tiffany's insistence.  It was only natural that she should now hate Tiffany
and disrespect Susan, but she also realized that she had to keep those
feelings under control or they would consume her soul and force her to do
something stupid upon being released and returning to the United States.

   Kim looked around her.  People were still staring at her, although now
that she was on a bicycle with a courier's package and wearing courier's
shoes, a lot of the mystery about this young Asian was resolved.  People
now saw her as simply another criminal who had been punished and was
serving a sentence.  The punishment of foreigners in Upper Danubia was not
very common, but it happened occasionally.  The only thing that really made
Criminal # 98945 stand out from the others was that she was not European.

   Kim parked her bicycle in the couriers' area of the courthouse.  She
winced as she dismounted.  As instructed by Dukov's brother, she took off
her courier's shoes and hung them on the handlebars before going in.  She
went upstairs to the judge's office and knelt at the secretary's desk,
holding the papers out in front of her.  With a very heavy English accent
she repeated the phrase she had memorized: "Tutik ya mauk listok derjavnik
na htre," which was Danubian for "I have an official document for the
judge."

   The secretary called the judge to come out.  Kim handed him the
paperwork and put her head to the carpet.  The judge looked over the
paperwork.  Ordinarily he would have asked the criminal a couple of
questions about her employment, but in this case he had no means of
communicating with her.  He simply signed and replied "Doc-doc." With that
Kim got up, left the courthouse, and returned to her bicycle, having
completed the first portion of her first assignment.

   Kim returned to the Central Police Station and climbed the two flights
of stairs to get to Dukov's office.  She needed to deliver the judge's
signature to her Spokesman, but she also needed to talk to someone. 
Fortunately Dukov was working on case files, so he had some time to talk to
his client about her new life and her feelings.  She started by talking at
length about her building hatred of Tiffany and her concern over what that
could lead to after her release.

   "Kimberly, for someone who is only 18, I think you understand the issues
of your life quite clearly.  You are aware of the dangers that await you,
and I do not blame you for hating your friend.  She betrayed you.  Who
would not hate under such circumstances?  But the question you must ask
yourself is how you plan to live from today.  You can obsess yourself with
what you cannot change, or you can place your thoughts on becoming a better
person.  This is your chance to change your life...  today...  this moment.
Is it not?"

   "I want to change, Mr...  uh...  Spokesman Dukov, I want to do things
right from now on...  not like before."

   "Only you can make such a decision, Kimberly.  Only you can make that
change."

   Kim paused, and thought about her next words.  She realized she had
overlooked something important.  "And...  Spokesman Dukov...  I...  I need
to thank you for what you did for me yesterday...  in court...  I mean...
really thank you.  20 years...  It was gonna be 20 years...  and you got me
two...  "

   "That was nothing, Kimberly.  It was my responsibility to you as your
Spokesman, nothing more."

   Kim nodded and choked back some tears.  After a few minutes Dukov spoke
again.

   "Kimberly, it is time you call your family and explain to them what
happened.  That is your chance to redeem your relationship with them.  You
wish to thank me.  You can do so by making things right with your family.
That is the first request I make of everyone who comes through my office.
Now I make that request of you."

   Dukov dialed Kim's home in the US and passed the phone to her.  Her
older sister picked up the phone at the other end, which made beginning her
task slightly easier, but not by much.  As Kim expected, her family members
were devastated once she laid out her situation.  However, she was
determined to come clean with other things in her life that she had done
wrong, and made several very difficult confessions.  They talked for well
over an hour, in the most truthful conversation Kim ever had with her
family.  Everyone was in tears when she hung up, but now it was over.  The
thing she had most dreaded, having to tell her family about her drug use
and her conviction, now was past her.  As soon as she managed to wipe away
the tears, Dukov spoke to her.

   "You still have an obligation to my brother before you leave work today.
Return my confirmation ticket and your bicycle to his office.  Then return
to my office and I will take you back to my home.  I will wait for you to
return."

   ----------

   The following Sunday night Kim watched her own trial and punishment on
television.

   Danube City averaged about 18 trials per week that resulted in corporal
punishments.  The average ratio of male offenders to female offenders was
about 2 to 1.  Crimes that required corporal punishments included stealing,
fraud, public drunkenness, public drug use, drug possession, being at fault
in any type of accident that resulted in an injury, vandalism, deliberately
inflicting injury on another person, and "insurrection", a crime that
covered any act of defiance against the police or public officials.  Other
crimes in which corporal punishment could be inflicted included "crimes of
disrespect", an example being the accusation against Kim of disrespecting
the land behind the Temple of the Ancients.  (Upper Danubia also had a
system of capital punishment for murder, rape, child molestation, organized
crime, arson, and in times of military conflict, treason.  However the
capital court system was completely separate from the corporal court system
and operated under totally different rules.)

   Upper Danubia's unique justice system had one strange side effect on the
country's society.  Every Sunday night, the government television station
broadcast several hours of highlights from the week's trials and judicial
corporal punishments, complete with commentary.  Almost everyone in the
country watched the broadcasts, which were a holdover from times when
criminals were publicly switched in Danube City's main plaza.  As the
city's population expanded after World War II, public viewing of the
switchings in the plaza became impractical due to the large crowds.  The
solution was to televise the punishments instead.

   Danubians loved to watch the punishments and debate among themselves the
merits of the cases and the charges brought against the offenders.  They
also were curious to see how brave each offender was, how quickly he or she
started to scream or cry during a switching.  How much air-time the network
gave any particular case depended on how many cases there were that week,
how interesting a particular case was, whether the defendant was likeable,
and the seriousness of the offense.  Since most of the administrators at
the television station were men, female criminals could expect to have
their punishments, and sometimes even their trials, broadcast in their
entirely.  Besides, most of the public agreed that crimes committed by
women were more interesting than crimes committed by men.

   The case of Criminal # 98945 received prominent feature the Sunday night
following her punishment.  That was not a surprise to anyone, given that
Kim was a foreigner, she was the first Asian woman ever punished in Upper
Danubia, and because of the circumstances that led to the most serious
charges being dropped.  Spokesman Dukov's rebuttal of the prosecutor was
aired in its entirety prior to the broadcast of Kim's sentencing and her
punishment.

   The guest room in Dukov's house where Kim was sleeping had its own TV,
and that night she excused herself to watch herself be punished.  She
expected to be mortified and horribly embarrassed by the broadcast, but she
was not.  She found it fascinating to see herself filmed on the criminal's
stand, legs and arms spread under the bright lights.  She began lightly
touching her breasts and stomach when she saw herself strapped to the
table.

   By the time the switching began on TV, Kim was sitting in her easy chair
with her legs spread wide open, teasing her clitoris.  Seeing herself
spread, her bottom and vagina completely exposed to the camera, and seeing
the cops' hands rub her welt-covered bottom-cheeks, excited her in a way
that she could never have previously imagined.  It made no sense.  During
the punishment itself sexual desire was the farthest thing from Kim's mind,
and yet, seeing herself suffer on TV aroused her almost uncontrollably. 
She was totally wet and experienced orgasm after orgasm as she moved one
hand, and then both, over and over her soaked vagina.  She threw her head
back and closed her eyes, as she listened to herself scream on TV.  Her
breath came in irregular gasps and she started moaning, biting her lip and
rocking back and forth.  Suddenly she was filled with an overwhelming
desire to be once again strapped to that table.  She wanted to have those
two cops fondle and caress her.  She wanted to be helpless, to be fully
exposed, and waiting for the pain.  She wanted her suffering and her
pleasure to be prominently featured in front of Upper Danubia, in front of
all Europe, in front of the entire world.

   Kim went to her hands and knees on the floor.  She spread her legs wide
and thrust her bottom up, enjoying the feel of the room's cool air between
her legs.  She went down on her knees and chest, freeing her hands to
fondle herself, to explore her vagina and her exposed bottom-hole.  The
fantasy came back stronger than ever...  she badly wanted those two cops to
explore, to probe, to caress, to fondle her...  there.  She came yet again.

   Kim was gasping for breath as she lay on the floor and watched herself
on TV standing behind Dukov on the National Police Station's steps.  On the
screen the Spokesman was cheerfully explaining his strategy for forcing the
reduction of Criminal # 98945's sentence in a post-punishment interview.

   Slowly the spell lifted and Kim returned to her senses.  The room reeked
of orgasm.  She opened the window as wide as possible to air out the room
and then dashed to the adjacent bathroom to clean off before anyone could
smell her.

   She sat in the bathtub, wondering what on earth had just happened.  She
had enjoyed the best series of orgasms of her life, as she watched herself
being publicly humiliated and horribly switched on television.  She felt
ashamed that something like that could possibly have excited her.  She had
learned something about herself a few minutes ago, something that she
really had not wanted to know.  She was terrified of the dark secret in her
soul, a secret that had just forced itself to the surface.



   Chapter 4 - The Socrates Club

   By the end of Kim's first week in Danube City she was partially settled
into her strange new life as a convicted criminal and bicycle courier. 
Within a week her welts were fading and no longer hurt.  She had come to
terms with what had happened and even managed to pass by the Temple of the
Ancients where all her trouble had started.  Kim vaguely wondered if that
sadistic cop and her partner were still patrolling the grounds behind the
Temple, but had no desire to go there and find out.  She would see the
woman in six months in the Police Station for her second punishment, and
that was soon enough.

   Kim's new boss, Victor Dukov, forced her to quickly learn the skills
needed to move about as a courier in Danube City.  Victor Dukov was very
different from his brother Vladim.  He was gruff and impatient and pushed
her very hard.  He quickly forced her to learn how to ask for and
understand directions in Danubian.  He ordered her to memorize a map of the
city and yelled at her when she made mistakes.  He expected her to find and
use the shortest route and to ride from one assignment to another with no
breaks.  His favorite line for admonishing the American was:

   "Kimberly, you smart girl.  You pretty girl.  But you lazy girl, and you
do dumb thing.  Why you lazy?  Why you do dumb thing?"

   Kim knew that line always led into an unpleasant lecture, but over time
she got used to it.  She learned it was easiest to go along with Victor's
nagging, and if she agreed with him and apologized that tended to shorten
his lectures.  Whether Victor was right or wrong, Kim simply answered "Mr.
Dukov, I guess I wasn't paying attention.  I'm sorry for not listening. 
I'll try harder in the future."

   Kim did not like Victor, but she had no specific grievances against him.
He did not treat her any worse than he treated his other employees.  Victor
never disrespected Kim for being a convicted criminal or for being a
foreigner.  For example, he never required her to kneel when she spoke to
him, which was something that in theory he had the right to do, being her
superior.  To Victor, Criminal # 98945 simply was his employee, the same as
four other individuals, and thus she was subject to his temper and demands
no more and no less than were the others.

   Because Kim's command of Danubian language and society were so limited
at the beginning, Victor Dukov sent her on the deliveries that were
furthest from his office, the ones that would take time away from his other
employees.  That meant fewer deliveries and thus fewer chances of making
mistakes, but also longer trips and constant riding.  Kim rode hard all
over Danube City, often to within just a block or so of the dreaded yellow
signs.  She made her delivery, or picked up the needed signatures and
receipts, and then was riding again, desperate to make the next delivery
before Victor Dukov's cell phone went off to check on her whereabouts.  She
was always exhausted after each day's work from her hours of hard riding
through the city summer heat.  However, the courier job was extremely
beneficial, because within a month she knew the entire city very well and
understood some details about Danubian business protocol.

   A delivery to a private individual or business owner was no different
than a delivery would be in the US.  Kim walked in with her package and her
signature pad, announced herself with her terrible Danubian, completed the
delivery, and quickly was out the door on her bicycle.  If the delivery was
made to a public official, she had to go to her knees and hold the delivery
items out in front of her.  Once the client took them Kim put her forehead
to the floor, and stayed in that position until she felt the signature pad
placed back in her hands.  If she wasn't sure if the client was a public
official, she asked, and dropped to her knees if the answer was
affirmative.

   Over the first few days following her sentence Kim was mortified at the
thought of having her body on display for a full two years.  However, a
person can get used to many things in life.  Within a week Kim's mind had
accepted her constant nudity; by the end of the second week she no longer
even thought about it.  It seemed that the intense stares from bystanders
had started to diminish and Criminal # 98945 simply received the same
casual glances any other naked criminal would receive.  The unwelcome
attention towards her body had receded, and with it much of her
self-consciousness.

   What helped reduce the constant curious stares, ironically, was the
broadcast of Kim's punishment on Danubian television.  Kim's case generated
a sensational amount of interest.  However, the broadcast also satisfied
much of the curiosity surrounding Kim and answered a lot of questions.  The
naked Asian girl with welts on her backside and a collar on her neck had
been sentenced under Danubia's marijuana laws and was serving a two-year
sentence as a criminal.  It was that mundane, and that simple.

   No one in Danube City felt that Kim should have been exonerated, since
there was no doubt she had possessed and smoked marijuana.  However, most
of the people interested in Kim's case felt the reduced sentence was fair
and that she did deserve some leniency.  Kimberly Lee projected a
sympathetic and likeable image on TV and there was general agreement that
she had been treated shamefully by her two friends.  People also agreed
with Dukov that the prosecutor had behaved irresponsibly in trying to get a
maximum sentence for Kim while releasing the other two Americans.  But that
was why a Spokesman-for-the-Criminal was needed, to argue on behalf of the
suspect and work out a fair sentence.  Spokesman Dukov had done his job
admirably and as a result the American had received fair treatment in
court.

   The hot summer weather continued unabated as July became August.  Kim
continued her sweaty bicycle trips around Danube City.  She was in great
physical shape from the constant exercising.  She ate well and slept
soundly at Vladim Dukov's house.  She spoke by phone to her parents at
least once a week and tried to assure them she was fine.  Kim was too busy
to have much time to feel sorry for herself.  She was too busy even to
think about how much she hated Tiffany.  While she was not exactly happy,
she had achieved a daily equilibrium in her life.  Kim's tranquil existence
in Danube City had been one of the goals of the judge who had sentenced
her.

   Vladim Dukov decided to extend Kim's stay at his house until she had
enough money saved up to get a decent room.  He insisted that she open a
Danubian bank account and deposit most of her paycheck from her job.  Dukov
also laid out a series of chores he wanted the American to perform at his
house in exchange for her free boarding.  He sent his client out to buy
groceries, pay household bills, and other errands with the intent of
forcing her to learn how to perform the basic tasks needed to live from day
to day.  Often Anyia went with Kim and helped her carry the groceries.

   By the end of her first month in Danube City, Kim had become a de facto
member of Vladim Dukov's family.  Her professional relationship with Dukov,
her dependency on him, and her lack of any other friends in Upper Danubia
resulted in her becoming almost a second daughter of the elder Dukovs. 
Having been convicted criminals themselves, both Vladim and Maritza
understood much of what she had to face.  Furthermore, the Spokesman had
traveled to the US several times in his life on official functions.  While
US society and its values were unfathomable to Dukov, at least he had a
glimpse of the world that had produced Kimberly Lee and was able to
understand some of the cross-cultural difficulties she faced in her new
life as a Danubian criminal.  Kim needed to be educated and brought up to
function in Danubian society.  She needed to learn what that society
expected of her and how she needed to behave in many different situations,
large and small.  The restrictions and rules Kim had to live under as a
convicted criminal only complicated her adaptation to Danubian society.

   After just a few days Kim knew how to speak some phases of Danubian, the
most important and most frequently used being "Ya negat rozumigut," which
meant "I don't understand".  Danubian was a difficult language, very
archaic and with grammar and pronunciation rules that would make the
average Westerner cringe.  Not many average people in the isolated country
spoke anything other than their native tongue, thus the task of learning
Danubian was a top priority.

   Oddly enough, Anyia was willing to help Kim with learning Danubian, at
least during the times she wasn't sunbathing.  She learned to leave Anyia
alone if she was in the yard on her towel or with one of her friends, but
if she was in the house alone the girl was perfectly approachable.  After a
short time Kim's vocabulary expanded way beyond "Ya negat rozumigut",
largely with the help of Dukov's moody teenager.

   ----------

   August 15 was a significant day for the members of Victor Dukov's
courier service.  On that day there were to be no deliveries during the
morning, no bicycle runs whatsoever.  On that day Kim briefly saw a
different side of Victor Dukov, even if it was only for a single day.  It
was the day Kim's co-worker Vita completed his sentence for fighting in
school.  It was a significant day for Vita and one that Victor and his
staff fully appreciated.  Vita would enter the courtroom still a criminal,
but would exit as a free man.

   Unlike trials, the only day of the week that end-of-sentence ceremonies
were held was on Mondays.  Normally around 20 criminals ended their
sentences on any given week.  It was a significant event in their lives and
one marked by a formal celebration of the transition from criminals to free
citizens.

   Monday morning Victor and his couriers went to the courthouse.  Vita
separated from the group to hug his parents, and then joined the group of
naked soon-to-be ex-criminals waiting at the entrance of the main hall of
the court.  The departure of Vita left Kim feeling a bit uneasy, given that
she now was the only naked member of the courier group and as of today
would be the only naked member of Victor's staff.  She pushed that thought
aside and tried to concentrate on Vita, not herself.

   The courtroom was filled with relatives, co-workers, and friends of the
19 criminals whose sentences would end that day.  There was a lot of happy
chatter among the audience.  The atmosphere was similar to the over-all
feel of a graduation ceremony.

   A trumpeter in a traditional Danubian tunic blew a very old horn,
signaling the criminals to enter the chamber.  They filed in, 12 men and 7
women.  They knelt and put their heads to the carpet, for the last time of
their lives.  The trumpeter blew again.

   "Doc-doc Danube!"

   The entire room put their right hands to their left shoulders, except
for the hand-full of criminals in the audience such as Kim.  The criminals
in the audience dropped to their knees and put their foreheads to the
carpet.  The judge who had sentenced Kim six weeks before entered the room,
and everyone in the audience sat down.  The 19 criminals in the front of
the room stayed kneeling, although they knelt upright to be able to watch
the proceedings.

   Vladim Dukov and three other Spokespersons for the Criminals came
forward.  They saluted the judge, who saluted back.

   The judge asked each Spokesperson if each of the criminals under his or
her authority had completed their sentences and whether or not they were
ready to assume the rights and responsibilities of a free citizen.  He
asked the same question 19 times.  Kim heard a loud "Doc!" 19 times.  The
judge then gave a brief speech about the transition from criminal to free
citizen and the significance of reform and a new start in life.

   The next part of the ceremony was the de-collaring of the criminals. 
One by one they came forward and knelt facing a sturdy metal post.  The
collar technician then hooked a scary-looking device to the post and closed
it around the criminal's collar.  The device looked like a huge pair of
pliers.  It had several clamps that latched into the collar and firing pin
to snap the collar's latch.  The technician fired the pin into the collar's
locking mechanism and pulled it apart by opening the extractor's handles.
Once the collar was off, the technician quickly removed the small
transmitter and then handed the open collar back to the ex-criminal.

   Still naked, but now free citizens, the ex-criminals lined up for the
next part of the ceremony; the passing out of their clothes.  There were 19
sets of traditional Danubian clothing waiting, tunics for the men and
dresses for the women.  The Spokespersons placed the respective outfits at
the feet of each of their clients.  Once everyone was ready, the judge
ordered the ex-criminals to get dressed.  They did so, quickly.  The
Spokespersons then stepped in front of the group and saluted them.  Their
ex-clients saluted back, then turned around and faced their audience,
smiling and holding their collars over their heads.  The room exploded into
cheering and camera flashes.  The long suffering of these 19 persons had
come to an end.

   Later that afternoon Victor Dukov held a small party for Vita in the
office.  The party was short, because Vita later had to go home and
celebrate with his family.  Vita's co-workers teased him about the tan-line
around his neck from where the collar had been.  There was laughter and
good cheer in the office.  Tomorrow Victor would return to his usual dour
over-bearing self, but for one day, at least, he proved himself able to
celebrate a joyful moment in another person's life.

   ----------

   Kim's bike routes frequently took her past the plaza where the Temple of
the Ancients was located.  The first couple of times she passed the Temple
she experienced both fear and regret over what that building meant for the
loss of her old life.  However, towards the end of August the location also
began to symbolize a new beginning for Kim and new hope for her future.

   On a blazing hot day Kim finished her morning deliveries early. 
However, she was dehydrated and did not want to wait to go all the way back
to Victor's office just to have some water.  She decided to stop at the
outdoor cafe across from the Temple, the one where she had gone with
Tiffany and Susan just before they were arrested.  The naked waiter was
there, the same shy young man that Tiffany had tormented just before Kim's
arrest.  She sat down and ordered a large glass of fruit punch, and...  oh
please, with lots of ice.

   The cafe was nearly empty, leaving the young waiter with some spare time
to converse with Kim.  She could tell he was fascinated with her.  Suddenly
she found herself somewhat attracted to him as well.  He was not the type
of guy she would have been attracted to in the US, but she had changed as a
result of her two months in Upper Danubia.  Kim realized that she
desperately needed someone to talk to who was not connected to Dukov or his
family.  In a flash she realized this waiter was her first chance to make a
friend of her own, one who she had chosen herself.

   The waiter's name was Sergekt.  Kim found the name hard to pronounce
correctly, but he in turn called her "Geemberglek".  The two laughed at the
mangled pronunciation of each other's names.  With that they briefly
exchanged a few details about their lives.  It wasn't much, but it was a
start.

   Some new customers came into the cafe and Kim's cell phone went off,
pulling her and Sergekt away from their brief conversation.  With that Kim
was back on her bicycle, but she shyly smiled and waved to Sergekt as she
pulled away.  She badly wanted to see him again.

   Over the next few days Kim never missed a chance to stop at the cafe,
even if she could only stay a few minutes.  Finally at the end of her fifth
visit, Sergekt asked her when she got off work.  It turned out that Kim
would be off work just after Sergekt got off, giving him time to meet her
outside Victor Dukov's office.  The result was a pleasant uninterrupted
conversation at a nearby cafe.  Kim had to force Sergekt to repeat himself
many times to understand him, but gradually she found out more about him.

   Sergekt had completed the first year of a three-year sentence for
participating in a student riot at his high school.  Kim was not able to
understand much of Sergekt's explanation of why the riot took place, but
apparently a total of 28 students had been convicted of the crimes of
insurrection and vandalism resulting from the incident.

   Kim did understand enough of Sergekt's explanation to get a perspective
on how Danubians saw "honor".  When the 28 students were brought before the
judge, each refused to say anything about what any of the others had done.
Apparently both the judge and the police chief had expected the students
would not say anything against each other, and thus the group had to be
punished collectively.  They were sentenced to three and a half years,
collared, and returned to their school.  They were switched one-by-one in
the school courtyard in front of their classmates, something that took up
an entire school day.  Because they were under-aged, their punishments were
not televised.  The offenders then returned to their classes as criminals,
naked except for their collars.  As far as everyone was concerned the
matter was closed and no one ever mentioned it again.  All 28 students
graduated at the end of the previous May, some of them with honors.  Most
were now in college.  However, the sentences remained, the expected price
of loyalty and friendship among the group.  Every four months they had to
show up at the local police station near their old school to be switched, a
burden they would endure until their collars came off two years in the
future.

   Sergekt was all too-aware of Kim's case.  More than anything else he was
shocked and appalled by the behavior of her friends Tiffany and Susan, as
were many other Danubians.  No Danubian in his right mind would ever
dishonor himself by betraying a friend out of self-interest.  The American
tourists had violated one of the most fundamental values of Danubian
society, the belief that friendship is sacred and friends never betray each
other.  Sergekt believed that having to endure the betrayal of her friends
must have been far worse for his guest to endure than her actual
punishment. Kim sighed and thought to herself, you don't know my country,
Sergekt.  Where I'm from it's everyone looking out for Number One.

   It was only natural that two criminals would start out by talking about
their sentences and convictions, since that was the one thing all criminals
had in common.  However, both Kim and Sergekt realized that to become
friends they had to move beyond that topic and see each other as
individuals, not as fellow criminals.  They probed each other's interests,
but quickly realized that Kim's Danubian vocabulary was not advanced enough
to have such a conversation.  Sergekt finally decided to invite Kim out on
Sunday, for a walk in the park, for dinner, and for a movie.  That sounded
great, yes, just hanging out.  She agreed, but later decided it would be a
good idea to clear her plans with Spokesman Dukov first.

   That night Kim found out that she was quite right in taking the
precaution of clearing the planned afternoon of "hanging out" with her
custodian.

   "Kimberly, as long as you are in my house, there will be no 'hanging
out', as you say it, with a young man who has not sat at my table.  I will
not tolerate such improper behavior in my household.  That young man will
sit at my table before you spend any time alone with him."

   Kim was a bit taken aback, not only by Dukov's response, but also by the
harsh tone he used when he responded.  She did not feel that the Spokesman
was treating her like an adult.  However, the following day Kim briefly saw
Sergekt and brought up her guardian's objection.  Sergekt seemed very
embarrassed and apologetic.  He immediately agreed to go to Dukov's office
and ask for permission to visit his house.

   Kim somewhat resented the whole exercise in permissions.  All she wanted
was have a friend and spend Sunday afternoon with someone her own age.  She
did not want a long-term relationship, just a friend.  However, apparently
in this country all contact between a young man and a young woman had to be
sanctioned by the girl's parents, no matter how casual it might be.

   Saturday afternoon Vladim and Maritza Dukov dressed up in traditional
Danubian clothing; a tunic for him and an old-style dress for her.  They
prepared several elaborate traditional dishes and awaited Sergekt.

   Kim rolled her eyes when she saw the set-up in the kitchen.  This is
totally ridiculous, she thought to herself.  We're just friends.  That's
all I want from him.  On top of everything else, she was not even Dukov's
daughter.  But she had learned not to argue.  Upper Danubia had its own
logic that she could only begin to fathom.

   Sergekt came onto the Dukovs' property.  Because Dukov was a public
official Kim's friend immediately went to his knees, touching his forehead
to the ground.  Dukov quickly requested that Sergekt stand up and join
himself, his wife, and his client at dinner.  Dukov and Maritza spoke at
length with Sergekt as Kim stayed quiet.  Over time Sergekt spoke more and
more.  The elder Dukovs initially wanted to have three basic questions
answered, what had Sergekt done to be convicted as a criminal, how he saw
himself as a person, and what were his plans for the future.  Once Sergekt
answered to their satisfaction, the conversation became more two-way.

   The evening ended pleasantly enough with a strange combination of
salutations.  At first Dukov warmly shook Sergekt's hand and patted his
arm, but then Kim's friend acknowledged his role as a criminal by going to
his knees and placing his forehead on the ground.  Kim did not like any of
this.  She resented having Sergekt essentially spend the evening with the
elder Dukovs instead of with herself, and she resented all the formality.
However, in the end Kim got what she wanted, Dukov's official blessing that
she be allowed to spend time alone with Sergekt.

   "Sergekt is a man with honor.  He has proper values.  He will become a
good friend for you."

   Gee, thanks "Dad", thought Kim to herself.  I think I had that figured
out already.

   Later that night, when she was alone, Kim gave some thought over the
significance of the Dukov's stepping into her personal life.  He had
handled the matter with Sergekt in the same way he would have handled it
with his own daughter.  She now remembered that there had been no recent
mention of her needing to find her own place, no hint that Dukov and
Maritza expected her to move out any time soon.  Increasingly, whenever the
elder Dukovs went out, they wanted Kim to go with them.  It seemed that at
first they had taken Criminal # 98945 in as a temporary house-guest, but
now increasingly they were subjecting her to household rules and Danubian
protocol.  For better or for worse, with no one ever saying anything about
it, Kim had become a member of the Dukov family.

   ----------

   Kim spent a very pleasant Sunday afternoon with Sergekt.  They went into
town and walked along the Danube River, struggling to get to know each
other through the language barrier.  They had Kim's dictionary and were
constantly looking up words.  They had dinner at a cafe in the warm
late-summer sun, and finally went to see a British movie.  The movie must
have been 30 years old, but it was in English with Danubian subtitles.  Kim
was grateful that Sergekt had taken the effort to find a movie she could
understand.  It was nice to hear something in English again.

   Kim's second outing with Sergekt was a crash-course in Danubian culture.
It also was the beginning of many huge changes in Kim's life; of her
relationship with Sergekt, how she saw her own role as a Danubian criminal,
and ultimately how she would look at herself.

   Sergekt suggested going to a nightclub called the Socrates Club.  Kim
was thrilled.  A nightclub, we can actually go to a nightclub?  Sure
enough, in the old part of town was the Socrates Club, which had been in
that location for many years.  Apparently the club was only for criminals
and ex-criminals.  The first thing she noticed was that everyone going into
the club was naked.  Not everyone was wearing collars, but club protocol
mandated that anyone not still wearing a collar had to show proper respect
to those who were still serving their sentences by not entering the club
dressed.  At first Kim felt a pang of fear, thinking that a nightclub only
for criminals might be dangerous.  Once inside, she realized that danger
was the farthest thing from anyone's mind.

   Danubians often used the saying "to sing like a criminal" to describe a
person who was capable of expressing himself in a very emotional or moving
manner.  The expression resulted from the fact that most of the country's
romantic and serious music was written and sung by criminals, and most of
that music had its origins in the Socrates Club.

   Kim later learned the club was a fixture in Danubian popular culture. 
It was a refuge for Danube City's criminals, a place where they could
express themselves to a sympathetic audience, listen to each other's poetry
and music, and share what they had created.  The evening's entertainment
started as club-goers stood before the audience to express their feelings,
in as poetic a manner as possible.  The poetry readings allowed other club
members who had a talent for writing music to pick up ideas for songs from
their companions on stage.  During the ensuing week musicians in the
audience wrote songs and music, which in turn were performed by the
criminals who had the best talent for singing and playing instruments.  It
was a collaborative effort that produced a huge amount of very high-quality
music, much of which eventually made it to Danubian radio.

   Sergekt introduced Criminal # 98945 to a bunch of his fellow classmates.
They greeted her warmly, but also with much curiosity.  Finally they were
able to meet the young American drug addict who had been so horribly
betrayed by her friends.  Kim saw in them a group of determined and very
serious young people, hardly a group of rioting hooligans.  Again she
wondered what on earth had happened at their school.  She also saw in them
a group of people her own age with whom she would be able to hang out.  Kim
was a foreigner and a convicted drug-user, and yet Sergekt's friends seemed
to accept her as one of their own.

   The group ordered several pitchers of Danubian beer and sat down at a
couple of tables that had been pushed together.  Sergekt's friends talked a
bit about themselves one-by-one.  For a long time Kim struggled with
introducing herself and trying to understand as much as she could from her
companions.  That effort was cut short by the beginning of the night's
activities, the poetry reading.  Two of Sergekt's classmates participated
in that portion of the entertainment, as did five other club-goers.

   Sergekt and five companions excused themselves for the next portion of
the evening, the musical presentation.  As two of his classmates, a man and
a woman, sang together, the other four in the group played back-up
instruments.  Sergekt played an instrument that looked something like a
balalaika.  Even though Kim could only understand a few of the words from
the group's songs, she could tell they were immensely sad and moving.  One
song she did understand almost in its entirety.  It was a duet from
Sergekt's classmates, in which the male singer lamented about no longer
being able to sit at the table of his girlfriend's family; while she
responded that she would wait for his sentence to end, and then insist he
be allowed to return to her house.

   Once Sergekt's group was finished singing, several others followed, all
of which had produced excellent music for their companions.  The criminals
sung of lost love and lost opportunities, and also of the humiliations and
physical suffering they were enduring.  They sang about friendship and the
personal sacrifices a person sometimes had to make to stay loyal to a
friend.  Above all, however, the criminals sang about their hope for the
future.  Kim sat fascinated as she listed to one sad philosophical song
after another.  None of the music that came out of the Socrates Club was
light and happy, and certainly was not the type of music that would go very
far in the United States.  However, Kim reflected that what she was
listening to now came far closer to the reality of her life than the
escapist industrial product coming out of Hollywood.

   Sergekt and Kim got up to dance, joining several other naked couples on
the dance floor.  They danced slowly and sadly, holding on to each other
and seeking refuge from their lives on the outside.  Kim vaguely wondered
if Vladim Dukov and his fiancee Maritza might have danced here 25 years
ago.

   Sergekt and Kim left the club very late.  The temperature outside was
chilly, a warning that summer was coming to an end.  On the way home the
couple hugged each other for warmth.  Kim was thrilled at the feel of
Sergekt's body against her own as they huddled together on the trolley to
Dukov's house.  By the time Sergekt left Kim at Dukov's front door, she
realized that her feelings towards him were much more than friendship. 
Perhaps her Spokesman had been right after-all by taking this relationship
seriously from the very beginning.

   ----------

   The following day was the first day of high school for Dukov's teenager.
That morning the Spokesman's household was hit by a loud crisis.  It began
very early with several doors slamming and Anyia screaming at her mother.
Both Vladim and Maritza tried to reason with the irate teenager, but she
stormed off and slammed yet another door.  There was more yelling, and
another door slam.

   The issue was the teenager's school uniform.  Having spent the entire
summer tanning, the Anyia wanted to show off as much of her body as
possible by converting her uniform skirt to a mini-skirt and shortening the
sleeves of her blouse.  Dukov was incensed.  He had no problem with his
daughter lying naked in the back yard all summer, but when it came to the
school uniform she needed to wear it properly.  Maritza had found the
mini-skirt in the girl's closet and burned it the night before, replacing
it with a standard school skirt.  Once Anyia discovered her converted skirt
was now a pile of ashes in the backyard fire-pit, she directed her wrath
full-force at her parents.

   The battle continued four days; screaming and door-slamming in the
mornings and tense sullen silence at dinner each night.  Danubians normally
tended to spoil their children and rarely punished them, but by Thursday
Dukov had enough.  He borrowed a leather switch from the police chief and
returned home with it that night.  He did not really want to use it, but he
was ready to if necessary.  That night Vladim and Maritza Dukov sat their
daughter down in the living room.  Dukov pulled out the switch, tapped it
in his hand, and in Danubian stated very coldly:

   "I brought this switch from work today and I am keeping it in the
library.  I want you to understand the issue of your school uniform is
resolved to the satisfaction of your mother and myself.  Whether or not it
is resolved to your satisfaction is of no concern to me whatsoever.  There
will be no further talk about your school uniform in this house.  If you
wish to discuss it further, you can get undressed and we'll settle matters
in the backyard with you bent over a chair.  Now, do you want to talk about
your uniform anymore?"

   The wide-eyed girl shook her head.  "N...  negat, Papa."

   With that peace returned to the Dukov household.  However, the next day,
as she was heading to work, Kim noticed Anyia standing in front of her
friend's house.  The friend was showing the girl how to shorten her skirt
by rolling it up at the waist.  Kim pretended not to notice.  Better not to
get involved in this one, she thought to herself.

   ----------

   The desire to talk burned inside Criminal # 98945 the week after she
visited the Socrates Club.  She had so much she needed to get off her
chest. Where to begin?  At night she began writing her disjointed thoughts
down on paper.  She wrote about everything she could think of; the kindness
of the Dukov's, her feelings about Tiffany, the painful conversations with
her parents, the horror of her first two days while under arrest.  She
wanted to talk, to be heard, and to have her feelings put into a song. 
Ultimately she wanted to stand at the microphone at the Socrates Club and
speak her mind.

   Finally Kim settled on an unlikely topic for her first reading; her
mountain bike in the US.  Somehow that bike seemed to represent everything
she had been given in the past and never appreciated.  She struggled with
the words in English, trying to make sure that her listeners could
understand her bicycle as a metaphor for something much greater in her life
than simply an unappreciated object.

   She presented her idea to Dukov, who spent three hours helping her
translate the text to Danubian.  Anyia then helped her go over the phrases
and memorize them.  Finally Kim presented the idea to Sergekt, who looked
over her text.  She could tell he liked it tremendously.

   Two weeks after she visited the Socrates Club for the first time, Kim
spoke to her fellow criminals in heavily accented Danubian.  She stood at
the microphone with her knees shaking as she struggled to express herself
in a language she still only partially knew.  The entire club listened with
respect to the perspective of an American trying to come to terms with
being a Danubian criminal.

   Two weeks after Kim's first speech to the club a group of Sergekt's
friends presented a song titled "Nemat mi biciklet".  They officially
dedicated the song to Criminal # 98945.