Punishment

“What’s going on here? Why did you kidnap me? Is anyone there?” A very scared Keysha screamed out.

“We didn’t kidnap you,” A voice boomed in Keysha’s head, “Your punishment is over, Mr. Jones.”

“Punishment? What punishment? Who is Mr. Jones? I think you have the wrong person.”

“Not at all. You have spent the last year as Keysha Thompson, a persona created by the state. It was a punishment for your hate crimes. We temporarily erased your own memories to experience life on the other side.”

“Hate crimes? Was this Mr. Jones some sort of white supremacist? But I love being a Black woman? Why would I ever want to go back to being this Mr. Jones guy? He sounds terrible!”

“Computing...” The voice paused, “You do have a choice. You may keep your current body, but you must take back your memories of being George Jones. You cannot run from your actions.”

“Okay! Okay! That! Yes!”

And so George Jones memories rushed into Keysha’s body. He remembered his racism, his hate crime, his trial, and his sentence. Even though he could recalled his time as Keysha as well, George’s history of hate was mostly winning out.

“Oh, God,” He shouted, “No, I want my body back! I don’t want to be this woman! I want MY body!”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Thompson,” The voice replied, “But you have already made your choice. We are done here.”