Macmillan orders Detringer to leave

Edward Makepeace Macmillan’s order that Detringer leave Earth turns a military hearing into a civilian judgment—and a sentence of exile into the means of escape. Macmillan refuses to cancel the punishment imposed by Ferlang, but orders the crew to fuel Detringer’s ship and send him back into space. Detringer departs with Ichor, whose compulsion to serve Ferlang has just ended, leaving the destination uncertain between a marvelous new world and death.

From confession to judgment

The ruling follows a hearing aboard an Earth ship. After Ichor has told his story, Colonel Kettelman considers the account complete, but Edward Makepeace Macmillan asks Detringer to specify his crimes. Detringer recites three categories: Acts of Incredible Grossness, Willful Disobedience, and a final Act of Overt Malevolent Violence. Ichor nods in agreement. The proceedings thus establish that Detringer has been condemned by his own state, even as Macmillan questions whether this court has authority to impose or alter a sentence.

Kettelman prepares to pronounce judgment, but Macmillan interrupts to ask whether Detringer has ever belonged to the Armed Forces of Ferlang. Detringer says no, and Ichor confirms it. Macmillan concludes that Detringer is a civilian and must be judged by a civilian authority, not a military one. That distinction redirects the case: the issue is no longer simply what punishment Detringer deserves, but which jurisdiction can lawfully decide what happens to him.

The authority and limits of the ruling

Macmillan argues that the position is clear: Detringer is a civilian under sentence from a civilian court, and no state of war exists between his people and Earth. The matter, he insists, is therefore not military. Kettelman objects that he knows more about such cases, but Macmillan asserts that he will judge it, challenging the colonel to take command of the ship by force if he intends to overrule him. Kettelman declines, unwilling to risk a black mark on his record, and yields the decision.

Macmillan then distinguishes legal judgment from personal inclination. He tells Detringer that Ferlang has already judged him and that rescinding its decision would be ill-advised, impertinent, and unpolitic. Rather than claim the power to erase the sentence, Macmillan continues Detringer’s perpetual exile, while promising to enforce it more stringently than before. The ruling is therefore not an acquittal or a pardon: it accepts Ferlang’s punishment as binding while changing the immediate conditions under which it will be carried out.

Exile enforced through departure

The judgment specifies what stricter enforcement means. Macmillan rules that Detringer’s stay on Earth is an amenity not intended by Ferlang’s authorities and orders him to leave the refuge immediately, returning to the empty reaches of space. Kettelman approves of the severity and agrees to carry out the sentence. At Macmillan’s direction, he is to use all his men to fill Detringer’s fuel tanks; the work should take about two hours, after which Detringer must leave the planet at once. Kettelman says he will have him moving before nightfall.

The provision produces an immediate reversal. Kettelman realizes that fuel for the tanks was what Detringer wanted all along. Macmillan answers that the court is uninterested in the prisoner’s desires: they are not relevant to its judgment. He further insists that he is making Detringer go, not granting him permission to go. The distinction preserves the ruling’s legal form, although its practical effect is to provide Detringer with the fuel required to depart. The scene leaves that tension intact rather than resolving it into either simple mercy or simple punishment.

Departure and uncertain destination

Detringer bows in acquiescence and leaves the Earth ship with a straight face. At nightfall, he blasts off. Ichor accompanies him, now more faithful than ever because he has discharged the compulsion that had bound him to Ferlang’s demands. His first question is where they are going. Detringer answers that they are headed to some marvelous new world; Ichor raises the alternative that they may be going to their deaths. Their exchange ends the event without confirming a destination or outcome. The order has removed Detringer from Earth and restored his exile, but the voyage opens onto a future that neither companion can guarantee.