Banchu met his friend Zero in a conversation between planets after he was able to book a space trip to go to him and visit him. But while Zero was showing him the wonders of his planet, Banchu stumbled over a ball that was on the road, and the ball hit a small man. The man suffered a large bruise on his head. Zero began to feel worried about Banchu, especially after Banchu went to the man to apologize to him.
Before Banchu asked for forgiveness, two huge robots wearing official uniforms appeared to him. They brought out some small devices and scanned the entire area. When they finished that, they brought out a small metal card from a device they had. One of the robots showed the card to the small man, and without any word, they seized Banchu and the small man and moved them away at maximum speed.
Before they realized what was happening, Banchu was imprisoned inside a large ball with the small man, and a robot with an attractive appearance wearing a black vest. Before knowing what was happening, Banchu heard the robot say, “Must proceed.” Suddenly, the small man gave Banchu a strong blow to the head. After that, the robot brought out another device and examined Banchu’s injured head and treated it, then gave him a small metal card at the end, and said to him, “Your turn now, but do not exceed what is stamped on the card.”
Banchu had no idea what was happening. When he looked around through the transparent walls, he could see many other balls, each containing a robot wearing tuxedo clothes, in addition to people hitting and pushing each other and holding small metal cards in their hands. Suddenly, the small man was standing before Banchu, looking at him with fear, and the robot remained standing on his side.
Then the robot said to Banchu, “You must hit him, and remember, no more than the marks on the card.” The robot continued his instructions, and Banchu was hesitant at first. But the robot insisted on Banchu, “This is the process of perfect justice. You should not worry about anything. Each of you will receive the same harm that befell him. If one of you exceeds the limit, he will receive another blow with the same exact value required so that everything is equal.”
It is ideal justice, and this seemed very nice. No one could come out with less than anyone else, and everyone would suffer from what they suffered from. Here Banchu was surprised by the extent of their advancement on this planet, and he was very careful to tell Zero what had happened, so he ran toward the door. Here the robot said to him, “You are not allowed to leave,” then blocked his path, saying, “The process must be completed. You must spend the points on your card.”
Banchu had no desire to hit this poor simple man any more, even though the small man had already smashed him. He said to the robot, “It is okay, I forgive him.” But the robot repeated his words, saying, “You must use the points on your card. This is a process of perfect justice.” Banchu said, “What pain! How is it impossible to forgive someone?”
Banchu began to feel distressed by this arrogant robot, so he took his card and tore it into two, saying, “Look! Now there are no points left.” The robot seemed to collapse and began to make whistling sounds. Many lights lit up all over his body, and he lost control of his movements. Suddenly, the robot returned to normal status and said calmly, “That is right. Now you can leave. Thank you for using the perfect justice system.”
He opened the door, but before he could greet Zero, Banchu had to push the small man away from him, for he was hugging him and thanking him as if Banchu had saved his life. Upon leaving the ball, Banchu began to understand what was happening. Everywhere around them, he could see users of the perfect justice system in a state of extreme fatigue and exhaustion. The main problem in the perfect justice system was that it was almost impossible to give the exact correct amount of harm.
The matter would end with judgment and exchanging blows for days and days, so everyone’s fear at the end after the judgment process was that many people would live isolated lives inside small glass spheres, just like the small man whom Banchu had fallen on. After a few days, Banchu returned home, but his name was not forgotten on this planet. Previously, no one had forgiven anyone else anything, but thanks to him, they discovered that forgiveness is a necessary part of justice.
The story translated from: Perfect Justice