THE HEARING

The parole hearing took place in Adrian's twelfth year of imprisonment, three years earlier than his original eligibility. Chen's advocacy, combined with the extraordinary contributions he'd made from confinement, had convinced the board to consider early release.

Adrian presented himself carefully—clean-shaven, wearing the suit Chen had sent, speaking with the precise calm that had always characterized his professional demeanor. He answered questions about his crimes without evasion, acknowledging what he'd done and expressing remorse that was genuine rather than performative.

"Dr. Vale," the board chair asked, "why do you believe you deserve parole?"

"I don't believe I deserve it," Adrian replied. "I believe I've earned the opportunity to continue contributing to society. My imprisonment has given me time to reflect, to understand the harm I caused, and to develop alternatives to the methods I employed. The empathy enhancement research that emerged from my work has helped thousands of people. I believe I can help thousands more if given the chance."

"And your victims? The families of those you killed?"

"I've written to each of them, expressing my remorse and offering whatever restitution I can provide. Some have responded with forgiveness. Others with justified anger. I accept both responses as legitimate consequences of my actions."

The board deliberated for three hours. When they returned, the decision was unanimous.

Parole granted. Conditions included continued cooperation with the foundation, prohibition against unsupervised development of neurochemical compounds, and regular psychological evaluation. Adrian accepted all conditions without objection.