[ WP ] Time travel exists , and a new form of capital punishment is introduced : Transporting the convict back to the worst , practically unsurvivable , places in human history to find yourself in . You are such a convict , and just got sent back . You will do anything to try and survive .

As the judge ’ s gavel slammed down for the final time I felt relieved by the sentence I ’ d been given. Rather than face the chair I would be sent back in time. Being sent back was actually pretty standard punishment for some of the less gruesome murders that were committed. It solved a few problems that traditional prisons couldn ’ t. The first of which was the actual cost of keeping a prisoner. Did you know that it costs around $ 150 ’ 000 per year to keep a prisoner locked up? Well, not any more. Zap that would-be prisoner back to the dark ages and you just saved yourself a lot of money. Secondly it got rid of the prisoner. Families of victims felt like they ’ d received justice. The man, in my case, who ’ d killed their daughter, would be shot back to a dangerous point in history for that man to be alive. Of course, the period in which you were exiled to varied on the crime. I was expecting to be sent somewhere completely inhospitable where death was almost a certainty. Despite this, I was sort of looking forward to the experience – some people paid a lot of money to travel through time. 
 
 As I was lead from the courtroom I asked the officer escorting me where I was going to be sent. We ’ d gotten to know each other quite well over the course of the trial and I had hoped he ’ d be able to provide some insight. 
 
 “ Oh now come on George, you know I can ’ t tell you that. ” 
 
 “ You can tell me Sir, nobody will know it was you that told me ” I pleaded. 
 
 “ Where would you like to be sent? ” It was an interesting question and one that I hadn ’ t really thought about. 
 
 “ How about the Bahamas 10 years ago? With a local woman wearing a bra made of coconuts serving me cocktails on the beach ” I said jokingly. Officer Gates raised his eyebrows, hinting that he was genuinely curious and wanted a serious answer. I liked him somewhat so decided to humour him. 
 
 “ Well, ” I continued, “ I have committed a terrible crime. I imagine wherever I ’ m sent I ’ ll have a slim chance of survival. I ’ d like to think I ’ d have some chance though. If I was sent to a concentration camp I could plan an escape or maybe kill one of the guards and steal his weapon. Although being in a warzone wouldn ’ t be too bad. We both know I like killing so I think World War I would be a punishment that would leave all parties satisfied. Would you agree? ” 
 
 We were stood outside of my cell door. I was told I ’ d spend a final 24 hours here while they organised my time travel trip. Officer Gates looked me in the eyes in such a way that I felt like he was trying to speak to me. He turned to open my cell door and the bolt drew back with a heavy clunk. As I stepped into the cell he finally spoke. 
 
 “ George, I can tell you that you ’ re not going to be a soldier. I ’ d estimate your chance of survival to be about 1 %, if that. However, as I stand here now and look into your eyes I still see a desire to survive. It ’ s like you ’ re excited about this, like it ’ s an adventure. Maybe if you knew where you were going you wouldn ’ t be so excited but I imagine that when you get there you ’ ll do your best to survive. I almost wish I could be there to see how you react. ” 
 
 Officer Gates paused briefly and allowed the reverberations of his voice to settle. He looked at me again, laughed to himself as he shook his head and then closed the heavy cell door with a thud that reminded me there was no escape. 
 
 “ I ’ ll see you tomorrow George, ” he called, “ you ’ re going to get a hell of a shock when you find out. ” 

