A nice little story

Barbarism/Medieval punishments on pre 2081 quake Arus

 Examples of what was common in 2060-2081 on Arus in the cities of New Boston, Rotterdam, and Holland

 During the mid and part of the late 21st century, Arus was an extremely violent, impoverished, and barbaric place. Considered a 3rd world country that was once of the worst of the worst, even compared to war torn Earth, it was a very lawless place known and feared mostly for being a giant pirate's cove of cutthroats and blood thirsty profit-seekers, a den of murderers and theives,  a place where convicts were banished to, and where you may wind up should you get too drunk one night at a bar in Atlanta, Georgia and have the misfortune of getting shanghied by men looking for fresh slaves to send to Arus. Even the Arun-German government, who sucessfuly overthrew the Dutch-Arun New Netherlands Company causing Arus to gain indiependence from the Netherlands had very little control of the anarchist, every man for himself, life is expendable country which was Arus at the time.

 Preachers all over the world, and even on Arus condemned Arus as being the wickedest country in the world, and warned their flocks that God was going to do to Arus what he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Indeed, after the 2081 superquake disaster, Arun society mostly turned away from it's old pirate ways, and transformed from a country compareable to war torn Somolia to the richest, most powerful, and most industrialized nation the world has ever seen. However many people argue that, "Arus replaced one form of wickedness with another when Rudolph Weidmann rose to power in 2120, and thus became all out fascist and genocidal during his rule. Even with Weidmann gone, executed, Arus continues to be a very immoral influence on the world well into the 23rd century, blasting the world with it's corrupt, violent culture via accelerated radio, television, and instant worldwide communication."

 Now to get back to the 21st century, even Arus had some rules, and when people violated them, they were in for a world of hurt. Of course, enforcement was very selective, very unfair, and the only effective courts Arus had at the time were of the kangaroo variety. So without further adu:

- The iron mask - men and women were sometimes punished by being forced to wear an iron mask locked over their entire face. With nothing but a few tiny round holes no more than a couple cm in diameter, sight was nearly impossible, and breathing was very difficult. During times of hot, humid temperatures, the mask would become unbearable, and the metal heated up quick in direct sunlight, causing severe and disfiguring burns. As a result, many people died in the mask.

 - Flogging - Flogging was a very common punishment on Arus during this time, and both slave and free man alike would be shackled by the wrist to the whipping post, which every Arun town and city had, and be flogged with their backs bare. Particularly heinous crimes and social offenses would warrant scourging, in which the cat-o'-nine-tails would be fitted with bits of sharp metal tied to the end of the leads. This too has resulted in numerous deaths.
 
- Beggar-pet - Beggars were looked down upon in Arun society, and by Arun law were forfeit as humans. Arus was a cruel, murderously violent, and unforgiving place, and those at the very bottom of the societal hierarchy were fair game. Anybody could claim them as their slave. Indeed, a frail broken man looked up at his to be master, and looking through his long, ragged hair cried with gratitude as a proud and wealthy man took a metal collar from the inside pocket of the great coat he was dressed in and locked it around the neck of the frail broken man. The new master yanked the beggar up by the chain attacked to the collar, and locked the other end to his stage coach. The beggar had to keep quick pace as the wealthy man sat back in the lush interior of the stage coach, and tbe chauffer drove it through the streets of New Boston. Every day after that, the beggar was seen locked in a tight metal collar, hands cuffed behind his back and secured to the collar via chain, and with his new rich master holding the longer chain leash with a hand clad in the finest, most expensive black leather, leading him around like a prize puppy.

- Scold's Bridle - The scold's bridle was another common Arun punishment mostly used on women who nagged, gossiped, or got into fights.

 - Drunkard's cloak - Public drunkeness and violence was extremely common on Arus, but sometimes even the Aruns would be pushed too far. Used mostly on men, the offender would be forced to wear a wooden barrel painted with humiliating images and locked over his torso preventing use of his arms. He would be subject to ridicule and rotten fruit and vegetables thrown at him by the townspeople.

 A simaler punishment used was the offender getting locked inside a jackass costume made of thick rigid leather and with a metal frame that would force him to stay on all fours. The air quickly  became hot and stifling inside the costume. The costume would make sight almost impossible, and a gag would be stuffed in his mouth, preventing him from talking. There were some more advanced versions used that included a mechanical sound box that would emulate the sounds of a braying donkey.