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Authors: Christopher Priest
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climbed up ropes. If you say there was a ladder, then I remember we climbed that. I followed my friends up the ladder.
All I know for certain is that when I reached the top they were already there with the sheet of glass. Yes, I was wearing gloves, which is why my fingerprints do not appear on the glass. Yes, I always wear gloves when I am out with my friends. I don’t know why. No, I don’t have those gloves with me any more.
I can’t remember why I wanted to kill Mr Commissah. I don’t think I intended to. We were having a laugh. It was a sort of joke. The people in the audience were laughing. We held the glass until Mr Commissah was beneath us. Then I said the words I just told you, and we let go of the sheet of glass.
I can’t remember how I escaped from the theatre. No one saw me as far as I know. I remember running away down the road. No one chased me. I can’t remember where I ran to. I probably ran back to my ship, where I worked. I didn’t see my friends again, and I can’t remember their names. I think they were from Chill Wind. I think some of them were from Red Jungle, but I’m not sure any more. Yes, they were also from Slow Tide. They were all the same age as me, or older. They looked like islanders, not visitors.
No, I don’t speak the patois of Chill Wind. No, I have never been to Chill Wind. I have never been to the town of Omhuuv. Yes, the ferry I worked on did occasionally call at Omhuuv. Yes, I do recognize the words Teater Sjøkaptein , but I don’t know what they mean. Yes, they mean ‘The Seacaptain Theatre’. That is the theatre I went to, where I murdered Mr Commis. I am definitely telling you the truth.
I was excited by what I had done, but I did not speak to anyone else about it. I saw something about it on television, and by then everyone knew all about it. I carried on with my life and had forgotten all about it until I was arrested. I am very sorry for what I have done. I didn’t mean it.
This statement was dictated by the Detained Person (KS) in the presence of two officers of the Cheoner Policier Seignioral, and transcribed by Serjeant A, the arresting officer. It was read to the Detained Person, Kerith Sington, and all necessary corrections and amendments were made to his instructions. He has initialled every page of this transcript, and has placed his mark below.
X
his mark, Kerith Sington . . . . . .
From Cheoner Chronicle , 34/13/77:
The execution of Kerith Sington, the murderer of the mime artiste Commis, was carried out by guillotine this morning at 6:00 am in Cheoner Category 1 Prison. His execution was witnessed by a jury of twelve volunteers, and the death was confirmed and certified at 6:02 am by the prison doctor. All procedures of mitigation and appeal had been scrupulously followed and applied. Sington made a full confession to the crime and during the trial witnesses came forward to corroborate what he admitted. A last-minute appeal to the Seignior for mercy was turned down.
Gooden Herre, the prison governor, said to reporters outside the prison gate: ‘With the execution of this evil young man, the entire Dream Archipelago has been rid of fear. The execution was carried out properly, expertly and in humane circumstances, and is intended as a deterrent to others.’
Sington was born on Cheoner, and educated at Cheoner Technical School. His parents separated while he was still a child. He began his life of crime while still a teenager and committed many different offences, some of dishonesty but mostly of petty violence, usually in concert with others. He spent many periods in detention, but after he found a job with Muriseay Marine his offending appears to have declined.
Sington’s murder of the distinguished mime artiste, Commis, was carried out while Mr Commis was performing on stage in the Sjøkaptein Theatre , on the island of Goorn, part of the Hetta Group. Kerith Sington committed the murder with three others, but the identity of these people has
All I know for certain is that when I reached the top they were already there with the sheet of glass. Yes, I was wearing gloves, which is why my fingerprints do not appear on the glass. Yes, I always wear gloves when I am out with my friends. I don’t know why. No, I don’t have those gloves with me any more.
I can’t remember why I wanted to kill Mr Commissah. I don’t think I intended to. We were having a laugh. It was a sort of joke. The people in the audience were laughing. We held the glass until Mr Commissah was beneath us. Then I said the words I just told you, and we let go of the sheet of glass.
I can’t remember how I escaped from the theatre. No one saw me as far as I know. I remember running away down the road. No one chased me. I can’t remember where I ran to. I probably ran back to my ship, where I worked. I didn’t see my friends again, and I can’t remember their names. I think they were from Chill Wind. I think some of them were from Red Jungle, but I’m not sure any more. Yes, they were also from Slow Tide. They were all the same age as me, or older. They looked like islanders, not visitors.
No, I don’t speak the patois of Chill Wind. No, I have never been to Chill Wind. I have never been to the town of Omhuuv. Yes, the ferry I worked on did occasionally call at Omhuuv. Yes, I do recognize the words Teater Sjøkaptein , but I don’t know what they mean. Yes, they mean ‘The Seacaptain Theatre’. That is the theatre I went to, where I murdered Mr Commis. I am definitely telling you the truth.
I was excited by what I had done, but I did not speak to anyone else about it. I saw something about it on television, and by then everyone knew all about it. I carried on with my life and had forgotten all about it until I was arrested. I am very sorry for what I have done. I didn’t mean it.
This statement was dictated by the Detained Person (KS) in the presence of two officers of the Cheoner Policier Seignioral, and transcribed by Serjeant A, the arresting officer. It was read to the Detained Person, Kerith Sington, and all necessary corrections and amendments were made to his instructions. He has initialled every page of this transcript, and has placed his mark below.
X
his mark, Kerith Sington . . . . . .
From Cheoner Chronicle , 34/13/77:
The execution of Kerith Sington, the murderer of the mime artiste Commis, was carried out by guillotine this morning at 6:00 am in Cheoner Category 1 Prison. His execution was witnessed by a jury of twelve volunteers, and the death was confirmed and certified at 6:02 am by the prison doctor. All procedures of mitigation and appeal had been scrupulously followed and applied. Sington made a full confession to the crime and during the trial witnesses came forward to corroborate what he admitted. A last-minute appeal to the Seignior for mercy was turned down.
Gooden Herre, the prison governor, said to reporters outside the prison gate: ‘With the execution of this evil young man, the entire Dream Archipelago has been rid of fear. The execution was carried out properly, expertly and in humane circumstances, and is intended as a deterrent to others.’
Sington was born on Cheoner, and educated at Cheoner Technical School. His parents separated while he was still a child. He began his life of crime while still a teenager and committed many different offences, some of dishonesty but mostly of petty violence, usually in concert with others. He spent many periods in detention, but after he found a job with Muriseay Marine his offending appears to have declined.
Sington’s murder of the distinguished mime artiste, Commis, was carried out while Mr Commis was performing on stage in the Sjøkaptein Theatre , on the island of Goorn, part of the Hetta Group. Kerith Sington committed the murder with three others, but the identity of these people has
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