Summons

"Hey Mark, there are some men, they want to talk to you."
Mark's mother was standing behind a door to his room. "Not now, mum, I'm watching something."
Mark was not in the mood to talk to anyone.

He texted Ariel yesterday evening. She did not reply. When he tried again in the morning, she wrote him a mean message that did not even make sense. So Mark was feeling bad and didn't want to do anything. "They say that you need to go to visit them otherwise."
"Ok, whatever!"
and Mark returned to the trending series he was watching.

When he finished and went to the toilet, his mother stopped him.
"Mark, they left this envelope here. It looks important."
Mark opened it in his room. The envelope contained one sheet of paper.

"Official summons." read the headline.
"In the association with the disappearance and demise of a dog Fluffy, we invite you to cooperate with the investigation and offer your biometrics data."
Mark's heart sunk. Was Fluffy dead? What does it mean for him? He didn't do anything illegal. Hopefully, it's some mistake.

Mark continued reading, but the letter contained only information on how to register and where to go. Many theories were racing in his mind. What Ariel did to Fluffy? Maybe the dog run away. Have I done something wrong? I can prove that Ariel asked me to bring Fluffy to her.

Mark checked the dates. He needed to give the data in three days. He heard about it. They say voluntary, but you have to go. If you don't cooperate, they get the data. They ask for an "opening." They scan everything. Every jaywalking, every littering will be examined and punished.

Mark decided to register immediately. There were some free dates even today, but he decided that it's too soon. It would be too much for today. So he selected the next day evening.

The rest of the day, he was not trying to think about summons. He watched some short videos and the trending show. He also tried to play, but every time, his mind got back to Fluffy. Mark started to be exhausted just from thinking about it. He decided to write to Ariel, but he couldn't do it. It seemed that she blacklisted him. There was no way how to contact her now.

Mark hoped that everything clears out tomorrow. They will explain everything, apologize and let him go, hopefully. He looked if he can reschedule the meeting for today, but it was already too late. So he got back to watching.

Mark stayed up late. First, he was playing. Then, he was afraid to stay with his thoughts alone, so he was mindlessly clicking one video after another. Even after he got to his bed, he couldn't fall asleep.

Mark's sleep was restless. He got up from his bed only with enough time to have breakfast and get to the police station immediately.

In the station, Mark waited just a few minutes. Then they photographed him and took his biometrics. He tried to learn more about his case, but no one paid any attention to him. They just offered him the possibility of getting his legal documents electronically, so he opted in.

Even if he didn't learn anything, he was relieved. People were smiling, and nobody accused him.

At home, he even exercised and felt even better.

After few days of silence, Mark got a message. It was weirdly formatted, and the sender was the local court. It was summons for a preliminary trial. Mark needed to confirm that he attends and there was a possibility of speaking with a lawyer.

Mark confirmed and set up a meeting with the lawyer at the earliest time possible. Then he studied the message again. It did not make too much sense. So he decided to wait for the lawyer.

Mark's lawyer was a bit older, and even on a video call, he was wearing a tie. Also, his office looked nice, but it might have been just a virtual background.

"Ok, most people do not understand these letters.
The court blames you for the death of the dog... Fluffy."
The lawyer was slowly reading details from his computer.
"I didn't do anything to him." Mark defended himself.
"There is some evidence, when the girl opened the bag, the dog was dead already."
"That's impossible! Fluffy was sleeping!" Mark protested.
The lawyer just turned his head.
"Why do you think so?"
"Ariel gave me a sausage that I gave to Fluffy. It made him sleep."
"What, the girl? Do you have some evidences for it?"
Mark was thinking, so the lawyer added: "Like a message or a verified video."
Mark just shook his head.
"If you had something, you can go higher.
But if you don't have evidence or a lot of money, I don't recommend it."
Mark was sitting with his head down.
"I thought so." the lawyer just continued.

"Now, you need to bear consequences."
"If you accept your fault, then there are two possible punishments."
"Two?" Mark felt that he should say something, but after he spoke, he felt stupid.
"Yes, in the case as yours, you can choose from two possibilities."
The lawyer made a long pause between every sentence. It made Mark uneasy.
"You either lose almost everything you own and then be in the lowest bracket."
"You might even do some public work, but nothing too hard."
Mark was counting in his head. He does not own anything too valuable. His universal basic income is just a few brackets above the lowest, so not a significant change anyway. He can still live with his mother, and nothing will change. Maybe he gets fewer takeouts and a less expensive girl.
"I usually recommend this option to my clients." the lawyer continued.

"The second is complete clearing."
"You lose nothing, but you need to attend reeducation, and then you will do a lot of public works. Not everything will be pleasant."
"It might take from two to three years." finished the layer.
"I don't want that one. Tell me more about the first."
Only the worst criminals were in jails, but this seemed close enough to Mark.
"Yes, I thought so. Most people take that one."

"Upon your request, I can assess how much are you own and use."
"Based on that, your UBI will be decreased for some time."
"There are some public works that you might need to do."
"Technically, they are voluntary, but if you don't do them, your UBI will stay low for a very long time."
"So if you authorize me, I can get access to your data to find out how much you have to lose."
ended the lawyer. He waited for Mark's reaction.

Mark paused, not because he was thinking, but because he didn't want to do it. His life was bad enough without any punishment. He didn't want to get even worse.
"Ok, find out how much it costs." he finally replied.
"Good, I will get to it. I will send you a message when I'm done. Then you can register for a meeting again."
"Thank you."
"Bye." said the lawyer and disconnected.

Five hours after the meeting, the layer called Mark.
"I have good news for you, Mark. Your UBI will be lowered just for seven years. Normally, I would expect to be much longer."
Mark almost shrieked with joy, but the lawyer continued.
"There is just a small problem. You live with your mother, do you?"
"Yes."
"The thing is, she would need to sell the flat she lives in and move too."
"Why?" Mark was surprised.
"You are using the room and common areas without paying for them. They consider them yours."
"So what should I do now?"
Mark started to be afraid of going to jail. That was how he imagined the second option.
"I think nothing. You should inform your mother."
The lawyer's voice was calming."
"I'm not sure. Why my mum needs to lose the flat?"
"Hmm, a lot of people have their official flats somewhere else.
She made a mistake. She shouldn't let you live there."
"Losing the flat is no big deal. She will get a state one."
"It's better than if you lose a lot of years from your life."
"Just let her know. That's everything you should do."
Mark felt that he should say the correct answer, so he said it.
"Ok, I'll do that."
"So see you tomorrow for the trial."
The lawyer ended the call with a smile.

Mark called his mother and sat down at the kitchen table. She joined him in a few moments.
"Mum, I need to tell you something."
"I got scammed, and now it seems that I will have to pay some fine."
Mark was speaking slowly, choosing his words. He didn't want his mother to know what exactly he did.
"That's horrible. Can the police help you?" She was concerned about Mark.
"No, that's not possible. They did it well. Police would only worsen it."
Mark probably looked terrible, because she hugged him and said:
"What about me. Can I help you?"
"Thank you, mum, but unfortunately not."
Mark was cursing himself, now was the chance to tell her about the flat. He was afraid that this hurts his mother and she will not be so sympathetic. He can always tell her later.

"Mum, can you tell me about my father? You lived here the whole time?"
Mark remembered his father in just some flashes. He died soon. Mark didn't want to talk about his father. The main thing he wanted to talk about was the flat. His mother took it differently. She talked a lot about his father. How he was, what they were planning to do. Mark was sitting there and nodding.

Mark left the conversation with a strange feeling. Like he just remembered something that was in his mind for a long time. Also, he didn't have the guts to say anything about the flat. He knew that his mother liked it and had it like a reserve, as she was saying:
"If something would struck me, they might put me back together from money from the flat."
But now, it even seemed that his father's ghost was here.

Mark didn't want to play or watch something, so he looked up the possibilities he has in the trial. There were various forums, and he was reading through them. Some parts made him happy. His sentence was not so harsh compared with others. Then he found a guy that had a similar problem. He had some money and some small possessions. He was deciding whether to lose that or be cleared.

One of the answers got his attention. He didn't know the credential, but the person wrote:
"Be aware that your lawyer might not be honest with you. They are getting some percentage from the thing you lose (they are also getting paid if you get reeducated)."
"In your case, the lawyer might get more money if you decide to lose everything."
"And if you don't get reeducated, there is no guarantee that they will treat you well in the future."
"You will have a permanent record next to your name. Next time they increase UBI, you might not get it."
Mark continued reading the thread. The discussion was lively. It also contained some illegal advice. Mark wondered what the person decided for, but there wasn't any post from him.

From other questions and examples, Mark didn't learn anything useful. He was reading anyway until he could see the sunrise. Then he went to bed.

Mark woke up late again. He knew what he needed to do, but still, he wanted to hide somewhere and don't speak with anyone, ever. He dressed up, checked his camera, and joined the virtual courtroom.