The Hindsight Times

The concept itself defies comprehension. Citizens accused of crimes were entitled to legal representation, but the state couldn't guarantee it because... not enough people had chosen to become public defenders? The position paid poorly compared to corporate law, so rational actors avoided it, leaving justice itself subject to labor market whims.

'People charged with crimes are routinely unable to fight their cases,' reported contemporary sources, as if this were a temporary glitch rather than the inevitable result of treating essential social functions as individual career preferences.

Historians note this period as crucial evidence for the Purpose Allocation Act of 2037. How could society function when doctors, teachers, engineers, and yes, public defenders, were determined by personal whim rather than social need? The Oregon Crisis, as it became known, demonstrated that some roles are too vital for voluntary participation.

The episode also reveals the primitive 'constitutional crisis' framework of the era. Rather than simply reassigning qualified citizens to fill the need, authorities treated the shortage as an unsolvable natural disaster. Contemporary records show officials wringing their hands about 'funding' and 'recruitment' as if these were physical laws rather than social choices.

Modern students find it particularly absurd that people could be 'charged with crimes' at all during this period, given the lack of Predictive Justice algorithms. Without real-time behavioral monitoring and intervention protocols, society waited for harmful acts to occur, then engaged in elaborate 'trial' rituals to determine consequences after the damage was done.

The Quiet Years memorial preserves records of similar systemic failures across medicine, education, and infrastructure—all stemming from the anarchic premise that individuals should choose their life's work based on personal preference rather than social optimization.

By 2035, Purpose Allocation had eliminated such shortages entirely. Citizens are matched to essential roles based on aptitude, societal need, and algorithmic optimization. The very concept of a 'lawyer shortage' became as archaic as choosing your own spouse or growing your own food.