“This reads like stereo instructions,” Rachael reading the book Enoch left for her; Treaty of Heaven and Hell volume two: crimes and punishment, read like a convoluted guide to nonsense for her. Sections and paragraphs, referencing a battle in heaven; a skirmish in hell. The book read less like a criminal code and more like a history lesson from the losing side of a war. About the only two nuggets of information she could glean were the following statements.
‘Demons are free and clear to impose any sentence on a condemned human soul, so long as there is no attempt to torment/torture via temptation. Punishment for the sake of punishment is to be barred. Public displays of humiliation are permited so long as it is used to punish disobedience. Judges are required to be notified at minimum 24 hours prior to and to witness and document such acts. Public participation is permitted. Under NO circumstances is rape to be used in public humiliation. Public act of punishment are to be limited to certain locations within the nine circles of Hell and to take place during the afternoon hours.’
‘Suicides are the one group of dammed souls to be deposited in the lake of fire. There is to be no exceptions as stipulated by Jehovah a witness and signatory upon the creation of this treaty.’
“To take a life is a sin unto itself. To take your own life is the most unforgivable sin,” Rachael closing the book; “Ghastly.”
“No system is perfect,” Maisy sighing as she observes the gardeners repair the damage the brimstone storm did to the flowers; “but this one is better than the alternative.”
“And what’s the alternative,” Rachael looking at Maisy.
“You know how the Old Testament referred to hell as a place of inferno torment,” Maisy responding; “well imagine that coupled with demons feasting. As in eating the condemned soul, watching said condemned soul regenerate and eating him/her over again. Rinse and repeat over and over.”
“Cannibalism,” Rachael looking shocked; “like Kidney on a bed of Fava Beans cannibal?”
“Only dialed up to eleven,” Maisy shaking her head; “At least that is what dad described when he and the rebels arrived.”
“Fortunately he had the good sense to organize things,” Maisy grabbing the book and rifling to a page near the end; “and this treaty helped refine how punishments are doled out. Look at this page.”
Rachael looked at the offered page and saw something that helped put things into perspective visa vi sentencing. Sentencing ranges for various offenses. On the lighter end; a sentence of several months to ten years of house work was listed for minor sins.
However on the serious side; crimes such as murder ranged from one hundred years to five hundred in hell and were subjected to automatic re-incarnation upon completion of sentence. Crimes such as rape were just as harsh and had added mandatory acts of public humiliation. It was the only crime in which sentence enhancements were permitted. Then she noticed yet again the sentencing for suicides; eternal torment in the lake of fire.
“Ghastly,” Rachael putting the book down and taking a sip of water; “and Enoch thinks I’ll make a good judge.”
“Give it a shot,” Maisy smiling; “I once did.”
“You a judge,” Rachael looking shocked; “how?”
There is a section in the treaty that states all demons must serve at minimum twenty years as a judge every two hundred years.”
“I got to do this for twenty years,” Rachael looking aghast.
“Not all at once,” Maisy nodding at the gardener towards replacing the non-native plants that did not evolve to handle brimstone storms. “You can space the twenty years out in blocks. Do a year, take a year off. It’s beneficial to do it that way as a judge who is pregnant will be unable to perform their duties with a youngling to nurse.”
“Okay,” Rachael nodding; “kind of like maternity leave on earth.”
“Only better organized and gender neutral” Maisy nodding; “Why don’t you take a break from reading that book.”
“I suppose,” Rachael standing up and stretching; “but I still need to look at that other book. Idiot’s guide too portal summoning,” Rachael looking at the sky to see the sun has not reached noon hour.
"Hey, one thing I noticed..." Rachael said.
"What's that?" asked Maisy.
"The article on public humiliation said that rape isn't a valid form of public humiliation," Rachael said. "I don't think that's being properly enforced."
"I'm not surprised," Maisy scoffed. "Beelzebub always liked to 'play' with sinners. It was disgusting!"
"I'll be sure to bring that up with Enoch when he gets back," said Rachael.
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With Lord Enoch Moringstar the Grand Chamberlain to Lucifer’s court out on a personal family emergency; Lucifer’s court was temporarily cancelled. So Lucifer opted to attend the Senate; a Senate that Lamashtu was recently appointed to as president of. However with Lamashtu also indisposed, Laz Deathfire was acting president for the Senate. Lord Chancellor Nergal Deathfire was also present and it was clear he was looking as proud as a peacock; his wife was about to announce Lamashtu’s proposition 13666.
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Laz knew the law well. She also knew the hardliners in the Senate well. She had put in a few additional clauses into the bill that distributed any confiscated property among them. Nothing worked on a corrupt political elite quite like bribery.
Still, there was definitely some lively debate on the bill. "I have a question, Senator Deathfire," said Senator Tammuz Morningstar, Lamashtu's eldest son. "How do you intend to enforce this, when it clearly violates a major article in the treaty with heaven? The article that specifically states that ALL demons are required to serve a minimum twenty years as a judge every two hundred years. The article makes no distinction if said demon is blood-born or human-born!"
"We are simply redefining what is and isn't a demon," Laz smirked. "These human-born 'demons' are simply human souls reshaped by Darkness. A true demon is an angel reshaped by sacred Darkness or a descendant thereof."
Same senators smiled and nodded at this, while others looked troubled. Lucifer stroked his beard. He hadn't realized that the Senate was as polarized is this.
"You're just playing word games, Senator Deathfire!" Tammuz shouted.
"And you have already made your point, Senator Morningstar," Laz said icily. "You no longer have the floor."
"Could the law be amended in the future?" asked one of the hardliners. "I believe that the definition of 'recent human origin' is too lenient."
"Of course," Laz smiled.
After an hour of this back-and-forth, it was finally time to vote. Much to the dismay of Lucifer and Tammuz, Proposition 13666 passed 61 votes to 39. A caste system was now legally enshrined.
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After the vote, Lucifer approached a celebratory Laz. "My daughter wrote that bill!" Lucifer shouted. "And she threw it away! How in the name of Darkness did you get it?"
"I can explain," Nergal cut in. "I found the bill while I was in the Palace protecting your son Enoch from assassination attempts. The Iron Knights appear to be targeting him. I found the bill and presumed that Lamashtu had lost it. Under a mistaken belief that I was being helpful, I brought it to Laz, and she got it ready to submit."
"You could have just returned it to Lamashtu," Lucifer said, narrowing his eyes.
"These are dangerous times, my king," said Nergal. "Travel and communication are risky things right now."
"I suppose," Lucifer said, not sure what to think. He stepped away from Nergal and Laz, lost in thought.
Lucifer was snapped out of his musings as several of the reformist senators approached him. "Your Majesty!" said one. "Your daughter has gone too far."
"My daughter never intended that law to reach the Senate floor," Lucifer groaned. "This is all a misunderstanding. These things happen when the President of the Senate has to take an emergency leave of absence."
"Is Lamashtu’s emergency anything to do with missing demons?" asked a senator.
"It is," said Senator Tammuz. "My mother's... other wives... have gone missing, as well as my younger brother Pazuzu."
"My son went missing last night!" said the first senator. "I reported it to Lord Nergal. He said he'd sent the secret police to find him, but nothing seems to have turned up yet."
"Same here!" another senator shouted.
"My sister is missing!" added another. "She was last seen in the Fourth Circle!"
"Are you all saying," Lucifer looked like he just got hit with a migraine, "that it’s not just my family that has missing loved ones?"