The Law of Averages

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Sergeant Ito, as it turns out, was the most senior officer in the entire department. Though his temperament was unsuitable for command, his reputation did hold enough sway for some small requests. One could not survive for over thirty years without earning a certain level of respect. Not in a job like this one, where the mortality rate had once been compared to martyrdom.

Of course, that was no longer the case, but Ito was old enough to have lived through more violent times. His prestige was well earned.

Thus, unable to deal with the shameless begging of his 'disciple,' Ito had found Dan a place within the tour group. Unfortunately, this transfer had occurred at around the halfway point in the tour.

Dan's first impression did not go well.

"This is Daniel Newman!" Gregoir boomed with pride. "He is here to shadow the tour group!"

The giant then grabbed Dan around the shoulders and presented him like a cheap carnival prize.

Dan's mood at this point was bleak. He had never been involved in a Career Day at school. His future at his dad's small company had always been set in stone. As such, he was expecting a casual tour, some unobtrusive thing where he could just slip in unnoticed. So why was there a sea of tailored suits staring back at him!?

Their expressions varied between curiosity, confusion, and, most commonly, disdain. Though it was annoying to be looked down on by this pack of kids, Dan wasn't sure if he could blame them. He was dressed completely inappropriately in their eyes. Loose jeans and a button-down top, he looked like he was on a casual date rather than respectfully touring the prestigious APD.

Dammit! This was all Gregoir's fault!

But the mountain of muscle could not be denied. With what was likely supposed to be a gentle shove, Dan was hurled forward into the group. A wave of rebellious muttering greeted him, courtesy of the well dressed students. The tour guide watched the byplay with a raised eyebrow, but made no effort to protest.

"I'll be back for you at the end of the tour and we can arrange that ride along!" Gregoir announced cheerfully. He tossed Daniel an enthusiastic thumbs-up, and vacated the premises.

Never in his life had Dan wanted to strike someone so badly. Marcus's antics were child's play next to this humiliation. He was twenty-five years old! Gregoir was completely unrelated to him! Could you please not act like you are speaking to your child!?

Dan unwillingly swallowed his anger and plastered an innocent expression on his face. He glanced around the group and waved awkwardly.

"Hi everyone. Sorry to interrupt. Don't mind me." He attempted to defuse the situation as best he could. Taking a cue from Gregoir, he shamelessly slid in-between a pair of scowling students.

Flashing his own thumbs-up to the tour guide, Dan added, "By all means, continue."

Dan's old college roommate had been a police trainee at the time of Dan's abduction. Though the two had never been particularly close, Dan had visited the Austin Police Department of his home dimension once or twice. Because of this experience, there was one thing he could say with absolute certainty.

My god, this dimension really values its cops!

Putting aside the building's fortress-like design and overbearing size, every room was decked out in the newest technology. It was the sort of place Dan could imagine Grandma Summers living in without complaint.

There were desks dotted throughout the building, sturdy wooden things worn from age yet well polished. Computers, modern even by this dimension's lofty standards, were placed on each and every one. The office chairs were mesh hybrids, expensive and comfortable. Dan wished he could snag one away for his hotel room, but hi-definition cameras peppered every inch of the building.

The squad room of the precinct, where the officers were briefed each morning, was coated in SmartPaint, that ridiculously expensive substance that Abby used for her home theater system. Not just the walls, however, but the floors and the ceiling. Such extravagance actually had a unique purpose. When the system was completely activated, it somehow created 3d holograms that reacted to touch. It was practically a hard-light generator!

Dan couldn't help but gawk at the scene straight out of a science fiction movie. The tour guide calmly explained the necessity and uses of the device, but Dan was far too distracted to take in the words. In his mind, he was drooling over the fantastical applications for such an amazing tool, conveniently ignoring whatever limitations it might possess.

So cool!

Suddenly, a whispered conversation broke his daydreaming.

"Not only did he show up late and under-dressed, he can't even be bothered to pay attention," a woman's soft voice scoffed from behind him.

"Don't mind him, darling," a man soothed under his breath. "I recognized that blonde idiot who dropped him off. My uncle told me that guy is always bringing strays in off the street. Nothing ever comes of it."

"Oh?" The girl sounded surprised. "Why was he allowed into our group if he's just a stray? Have the APD's actually standards fallen so far?"

"I've heard that their numbers have gone down over the past few years, but they'd never be that desperate. Who knows what tricks that crazy fool used! The point is, he's beneath us, Freya! Let's not even waste time thinking about him."

A nerve pulsed over Dan's brow. A stray am I? Beneath you am I? I'll show you— Wait.

Dan blinked, then reigned in his emotions. A pack of idiot kids, what did they know? Dan had stared down mad scientists and eldritch horrors and even murderous old grandmas! These brats couldn't break his cool.

...

On a completely unrelated note, Dan decided to pay a little more attention to his surroundings. He'd come here to learn more about the way the police operated in this world, not to daydream. Frankly, the direction that law enforcement had evolved in this dimension scared the hell out of him.

Police needed a certain amount of leeway in any world, to say nothing of this chaotic Earth. Dan understood that, accepted it even. Violence was inevitable in any society, and the peacekeepers had to be able to respond in equal measure.

That said, the laws put in place by the Vigilante Act were just too vicious. Taken together, they basically forbid upgrade use on another person, even in self-defense, unless the aggressor used an upgrade first. Additionally the conventional response for law enforcement, when facing any sort of upgrade use to aid in the commission of a crime, became lethal force. No matter how seemingly minor or irrelevant, no quarter was given. It was impossible to determine a person's specific upgrade from visual inspection alone (with some obvious exceptions) and police officers were not interested in taking chances with their own lives. There was an immense amount of trust and responsibility given to these people.

Now, granted, from what Dan was able to discover, the majority of officers did not put this legal protection into practice particularly often these days. The Vigilante Act was drafted in the fifties, a necessary measure to stem the tide of violent vigilantes and superpowered gangs. The law was put into place nationally by the American government, with a version adopted locally by almost every state immediately afterwards. The powers that this outdated thing bestowed on the country's law enforcement shaped its culture for years to come.

This Earth was a violent one. Cities were not war zones, but nobody could truly say that any place was absolutely safe. Every person that walked the streets had a superpower. A small percentage of them were mutates, whose upgrades dwarfed their follows. Smaller still, but just as relevant, were the natural powers, random yet limitless. Danger was a constant variable in everyday life. The idea that any random stranger on the street might snap and destroy a few city blocks somehow became mundane as the years passed by. A small wonder that public service was so highly regarded.

So Dan had seized this opportunity to take a look at these people, to see if they were the true heroes of this world. Gregoir's conviction had impressed him; the man's sanity, less so. Sergeant Ito seemed a good sort, at first glance, if a little hard-boiled and stern. The atmosphere of this place was... calm. Quiet and orderly, once you got past that odd aura of menace that the captain apparently emanated.

So why were the prospective recruits such giant shits!?

The tour group stood by the entrance hall, within sight of the outer courtyard. Dan could see the security rope-line and metal detectors in the distance, though Ito's shift had apparently ended. The scarred officer was nowhere to be found, and the group's tour guide had briefly stepped away.

The lobby was fairly sparse, consisting only of a large circular reception desk tucked up against the back wall. It was currently empty; the students seemed completely unattended.

As time passed, the group spread out into smaller chunks. Dan watched with mild amusement as these young elites formed into various cliques, clumping together and gossiping quietly. He couldn't help but overhear the ones closest to him.

"Do you know that guy?"

"He's so weird. It looked like he wasn't even paying attention when Officer Parker was speaking!"

"Yeah, he just kept looking around like he was a sightseer."

"Someone should go explain to him that this place isn't for the weak-minded!"

Dan softly groaned into his hand. Honestly, people were so fascinated by things they couldn't immediately explain. Did they really have nothing better to talk about? They had just walked through a modern castle, right!? Did kids these days no longer covet shiny technology?

Though... the students were from a prestigious private college. Most of them were probably reasonably wealthy. Maybe it was just Dan's bias that was coloring this tour. He was used to seeing old box monitors and cheap Dell pre-made computers, not the top-of-the-line products that this precinct displayed.

The police had no lack of funding in this dimension. Honestly speaking, finding good officers was the first priority and largest problem. Though the police were given an astonishing breadth of power, abuse of that power carried especially severe penalties. Civilians had to trust their guardians; character was the deciding factor. Those who only craved power were not welcome in this institution.

That was the explanation given by Officer Parker, the tour guide, as he had walked the group through the precinct. Their lack of manpower was an issue of quality, not quantity. Even so, the standards were creeping lower every year. With large-scale villain attacks occurring more each year, criminals were growing bolder. The police department could no longer afford to be picky, and cities would no longer allow it, regardless. Despite the inherent danger, the culture of public service was strong. Applicants were extremely common, but the weak could no longer be preemptively culled. The department's best hope was to shame those who knew they were not worthy into withdrawing. In this way, they could still maintain a certain level of character within their ranks.

This was never said aloud, obviously, but the intention was clear enough. Many of the students had realized this message as well, judging by the number of glares Dan continued to receive. They stared at him like he was intruding on a holy ground. A tresspasser, unneeded and unwelcome.