| The Modern Prison System The needs of the prison system had brought a lot of technological advances leading up to 2129. Prisons were moved to underground facilities, and sometimes they were even under water. Many inmates could devise ways to escape from the traditional prisons, and the initial idea to stop this from happening was for the prisons to be kept in space on space stations, but it wasn�t cost effective, and visitation for the families of inmates was costly as well. That�s when the underground system came into the eye of the public. Facilities would be dug into mountain ranges and the only entrance and exit would be guarded at all times, and huge, metal doors would make it difficult for inmates to escape. Heating, cooling, electricity, and running water would all come into the facility from that same entrance, and telephones were to be used strictly in a guarded area. By that time, computers were the main interest of many skilled inmates that were incarcerated for fraud, so the computers were taken away. Weights were taken away from murderers, and there was no television for undeserving eyes. Prison became almost a savage place. Instead of computers, inmates were given a paper and crayons - for the safety of the guards - and games like chess and checkers; instead of weights, they were given a healthy diet and a morning jog around an indoor track; instead of television, they were given books. Some inmates didn�t mind, but others were dismayed that they no longer had high-tech amusement, and there was a lot of tension in the prisons. A small revolt failed, and the inmates instilled a new punishment on themselves. Inmates would be tattooed on their left arm with a barcode, and a computer chip would be implanted in their left hand. The barcode could be scanned by the police to see if an inmate was reported as an escapee, and the computer chip could be used to locate an inmate by satellite, much like a homing beacon. In spaceports, the chip would also be detected in metal detectors, so security guards could focus their search on an inmate, whether he was properly discharged or not. A huge revolt in a mars prison in 2122 was the result of the disgruntled inmates. Sixteen guards were killed in the revolt, but only eight inmates escaped. Two of those inmates were tracked down using the chips, but the other six removed their chips and slipped from sight. To this day, those six still haven�t been found. Go Back |