It is the Inspector's job in this district to ensure that
any deviations are discovered and mercilessly destroyed according to the regulations
laid out in the law. This may mean sacrificing animals or burning crops, or, more
disturbingly in the case of humans, sterilising and exiling them into the Fringes and
away from acceptable society. Of course, the "justice" that he administers is entirely
based on a wrong understanding of the Bible and God's laws, that have somehow been
twisted to argue that deviations such as Sophie are dangerous and not actually human. Of
course, the biggest victim that we are introduced to in the first few chapters, that
foreshadows the kind of treatment that David and others in the group will experience, is
Sophie, whose extra toe warrants all the "justice" that the Inspector can bring to bear.
Note how he justifies his position to David:
"The Devil sends Deviations among us to weaken
us and tempt us away from Purity. Sometimes he is clever enough to make a nearly-perfect
imitation, so we have always to be on the look-out for the mistake he has made, however
small, and when we see one it must be reported at
once."
From the Inspector's
point of view, therefore, he is merely upholding the purity of the human species as
prescribed in law, but we as readers share David's scepticism of whether this is
"justice" or not.
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