Prison Cell Killing
The killing of a new prisoner in Staja 84F marks a decisive turning point in Alex's imprisonment, transforming him from an anonymous number into a test subject for the state's controversial Ludovico's Technique and setting the stage for his eventual release.
Causes and Background
The overcrowded cell on Tier 6 of Staja 84F, designed for three but holding six prisoners, was already a tinderbox of tension. Into this cramped, sweaty space on a Sunday evening, the guards threw a new inmate—a chinny, quarrelsome man who immediately began creeching complaints and demanding his rights. He boasted loudly of his criminal exploits, claiming to have killed ten rozzes with one crack of his hand, but none of the other prisoners were impressed. Turning his attention to Alex, the youngest in the cell, he insisted that Alex should sleep on the floor instead of him. The other cellmates—Zophar, Wall, Big Jew, Jojohn, and The Doctor—sided with Alex, telling the newcomer to leave him alone. The man then began whining that nobody loved him.
What Happens
That same night, Alex woke to find the new prisoner lying on his narrow bottom bunk, stroking him and whispering dirty love-words. Enraged, Alex lashed out in the near-dark, clawing at the man's face until blood dripped from his mouth. The commotion woke the other cellmates, who joined in the fighting, and the noise spread through the entire tier as prisoners banged tin mugs against the walls, thinking a breakout was beginning. Guards arrived with sticks and turned on the lights, but they blamed Alex for starting the trouble, noting that he had no scratches while the new prisoner was bleeding. Alex declared he would not sleep another night in the cell if the authorities allowed perverted criminals to attack him while he slept. The guards promised to deal with it in the morning and left.
After the lights went out, Alex offered his bunk to the new man, saying it was now filthy. But Big Jew and the others refused to let the newcomer take it. The man insulted Big Jew by telling him to "crash your dermott, yid," and then mocked The Doctor's refined voice. Jojohn suggested teaching the man a lesson. In a strangely quiet, gentle way, the cellmates set upon him: Wall fisted his mouth while Big Jew held him against the bars, and Alex, feeling the old joy rising in his guts, asked to be given the man. He fisted him all over, dancing about with his boots on, then tripped him and delivered one real horrorshow kick to the head. The man went "ohhhh" and then snorted off to sleep. The Doctor declared the lesson sufficient, and everyone climbed back into their bunks.
In the morning, Alex found the new prisoner lying on the floor, bloody, bruised, and still unconscious. When he nudged the body with his bare foot, he felt a stiff coldness. The Doctor confirmed a heart attack, and the other cellmates quickly turned on Alex, saying his final kick had been too impetuous and had dealt the "coo de gras." Jojohn and Wall readily swore to the guards that Alex alone had done the real dirty tolchocking and brutality.
Consequences and Aftermath
The death of the prisoner brought the entire prison to a standstill. All inmates were locked up, no food was served, and guards patrolled the tiers in silence. Around eleven in the morning, the Governor, the Chief Chasso, and a very important-looking man—the Minister of the Interior—walked past the cell. The Minister, dressed in a lovely suit and speaking in a beautiful educated voice, declared that the Government could no longer be concerned with outmoded penological theories. He pointed at Alex and the other prisoners, calling them "common criminals" and "unsavoury," and said they could best be dealt with on a purely curative basis. He ordered the Governor to use Alex as a "trail-blazer" for the new treatment, saying that Brodsky would deal with him tomorrow and that this vicious young hoodlum would be transformed out of all recognition. Alex's protest that he was not a common criminal was ignored. The Minister's hard words, Alex reflects, were like the beginning of his freedom.
