Overpopulation and atomic wars have left America an irradiated wasteland.
Mutants, criminals and exiles roam the cursed earth, fighting and warring against one another
in the ruins of the old world.
What remains of civilization persists in the last Mega Cities: enormous metropolises in
which hundreds of millions live, work and die amongst an endless urban sprawl.
Outside the walls of the Mega Cities, there is no law, inside Mega City One, are the Judges
of the Justice Department.
The rampant spread of crime within Mega City One has left little room for assumptions of
innocence or lengthy trials.
Those granted the title of Judge are expected to act as officers of the law, and fulfill
the role of judge, jury, and executioner.
Criminals apprehended are tried and sentenced on the spot, either sent to isolation blocks
or put to death.
Judges are the product of years, often decades, of training.
They are selected from promising children as young as five or cloned from gifted individuals.
Within the Academy of Law, potential Judges undergo rigorous physical and psychological
conditioning: trained to use a wide variety of weapons and vehicles and restricted from
travelling outside the Academy in order to maintain absolute discipline.
Typically, Cadet Judges will only leave the Academy to journey across the Cursed Earth
where they test their skills in actual combat.
Those who survive are appointed Rookie Judges.
Rookies must undergo assessment by a more experienced Judge before any promotion, an
assessment in which the majority typically fail, relegated to auxiliary duties or expelled
from the Justice Department altogether.
Various divisions and bodies employ dozens of types of Judges.
Major organizations within the Justice Department include:
The Public Surveillance Unit, responsible for monitoring the activity of every citizen
in Mega City One through an elaborate network of surveillance devices, DNA records and computer
systems;
The Special Judicial Squad which investigates internal corruption as part of the Department’s
Internal Affairs;
The “Wally Squad” which operates entirely undercover, hidden among the destitute in
Mega City One;
And many others.
The vast majority of Judges however are assigned to the Street Division.
These officers are responsible for various territories across Mega City One, maintaining
the law by any means necessary.
The typical sidearm employed by the Street Judges is the Lawgiver, a voice activated
machine pistol capable of utilizing a variety of ammunition types, ranging from Armor Piercing
to Incendiary.
Street transportation is provided by the Lawmaster, a heavy-duty motorcycle equipped with sophisticated
weaponry and communications equipment.
Street Judges are occasionally augmented by specialized units, Tek Judges, Judge Pilots,
Riot Squad Judges and perhaps most notably, Psi Judges.
Psi Judges are capable of utilizing remarkable psychic abilities, able to enter minds and
determine the location of missing targets.
For most of their existence, the Judges themselves have been led by a Chief Judge and a Council
of Five.
These individuals administer complete authority from the Grand Hall of Justice and as their
power has waxed and waned over the years, sometimes perform the duties of the central
government for the entirety of Mega City One.
The Judges are the law in Mega City One but they are not above it and are treated with
far less leniency than the average citizen.
A crime that might earn a citizen a sentence of a few months in solitary could mean years
or even execution if committed by a Judge.
Despite this, corruption within the Judges is not uncommon with powerful crime lords
and drug dealers often attempting to buy their loyalty.
A Judge reaching the age of retirement is a rare thing within the Justice Department,
but those who complete their term of service are offered a choice.
Either be placed into an administrative or teaching post, rejoin the common citizenry,
or instead, take the Long Walk.
A Judge who takes the Long Walk is sent into the Cursed Earth, expected to never return,
but die bringing law to the lawless.
Within Mega City One, a dozen serious crimes are reported every minute, seventeen thousand
every day.
Judges can respond to only six percent, and a lucky criminal might go years without ever
meeting a Judge or staring down the barrel of a Lawgiver.
For those six percent however, there can be no hope or escape.
For in Mega City One, the Judges are the Law.
The Templin Institute investigates alternate worlds and realities.
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