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After a time, the worst of the quakes subsided. Most of the damage had been done to the city’s outer wall itself, according to the informative voice crackling back to life some hours later when the projections came back up and the city returned to its loud, beeping, flashing, chaotic former self.
The brief announcement that all remained well and the technological issues had been rectified was replaced almost immediately by the view of the execution room and table. But strapped to it was not the same man; the Jesse who had lived was gone.
The rem-cams captured the gray-robed man with the spectacles pushing a steel, high-lipped tub on wheels across the floor. Then he pressed the panel on the wall, and the round white table lowered on its retractable center and tilted down a few inches.
