“What can I do? She's twenty-two years old and of sound mind.”
“If she were of sound mind she wouldn't be doing this. Didn't you try to talk her out of it?”
“Of course I did, Mother.”
“And?”
“And I didn't succeed. She's determined to become a Cyclist.”
“Well, there must be something we can do. Get an injunction or hire a deprogrammer or sue the Cyclists for brainwashing. You're a judge, there must be some law you can invoke--”
“The law is called personal sovereignty, Mother, and since it was what made the Liberation possible in the first place, it can hardly be used against Perdita. Her decision meets all the criteria for a case of personal sovereignty: it's a personal decision, it was made by a sovereign adult, it affects no one else--”
“What about my practice? Carol Chen is convinced shunts cause cancer.”
“Any effect on your practice is considered an indirect effect. Like secondary smoke. It doesn't apply. Mother, whether we like it or not, Perdita has a perfect right to do this, and we don't have any right to interfere. A free society has to be based on respecting others' opinions and leaving each other alone. We have to respect Perdita's right to make her own decisions.”
All of which was true. It was too bad I hadn't said any of it to Perdita when she called. What I had said, in a tone that sounded exactly like my mother's, was “Oh, Perdita!”
“This is all your fault, you know,” Mother said. “I told you you shouldn't have let her get that tattoo over her shunt. And don't tell me it's a free society. What good is a free society when it allows my granddaughter to ruin her life?” She hung up.
I handed the receiver back to Bysshe.
“I really liked what you said about respecting your daughter's right to make her own decisions,” he said. He held out my robe. “And about not interfering in her life.”
“I want you to research the precedents on deprogramming for me,” I said, sliding my arms in the sleeves. “And find out if the Cyclists have been charged with any free choice violations-– brainwashing, intimidation, coercion.”