The Judgement
Edward Rodosek
Bailiff: The High Court of Justice in the person of the honorable judge Lecherous Chip is coming into court. Everyone stretch up! (The High Court enters, rattling)
Judge: Everyone may constrict down again. I declare the High Court in session. (The video sensor of the High Court looks at the outward appearance of all the subjects present) It seems to us that several protoplasm subjects who are not witnesses are present. According to the reigning Cyberian law, that is not allowed. Only the artifs and all the invited witnesses, citizens of Cyber III, regardless of their biological structure, are allowed to be present at this trial. In view of what has just been said, we order the wardens on duty to settle the matter. (The wardens on duty escort protoplasm subjects out of the court, which causes some thrashing and several insulting audio signals from the subjects involved.)
Judge: (Authoritatively tapping his gavel) The High Court begins trial number 9658, the population of Cyber III against the Defendant John H. Skillman, a protoplasm subject, immigrant from planet Earth, in the case of supposed intentional disintegration of the artif Improved Download. Does the Defendant understand the accusation?
Defendant: Yes, your Honor.
Judge: How do you intend to plead—guilty or not guilty?
Defendant: Not guilty, your Honor.
Judge: All right. The Prosecutor shall now explain the accusation. (Stooping downward to the Bailiff) For Eniac’s sake, what’s making that constant, beastly buzzing?
Bailiff: (Making meaningful signs with his upper tentacles.)
Judge: Why are you swinging those damned tentacles of yours? Tell me what’s buzzing!
Bailiff: (Contritely) You are, your Honor.
Judge: What? Those damned maintainers! You may proceed, Prosecutor.
Prosecutor: High Court, we will prove the Defendant has viciously disintegrated his employer and benefactor artif Download with the intent to take over his job of fairly high degree D-four and all the advantages of that degree.
Judge: Have you finished, Prosecutor?
Prosecutor: Yes, I have, your Honor; for now.
Judge: Who will stand for the Defense?
Barrister: (She gracefully slides forward) I will, your Honor.
Judge: (His video sensors glowing with admiration) Oh—what a beauty! Has the Defendant hired you at his own cost or are you acting as a public defender?
Barrister: (With modestly downcast video sensors) I am defending the poor lad for a paltry fee but I would do it all the same without any payment whatever because he has such a blameless and noble character and ...
Prosecutor: (Firmly cutting in) Objection, your Honor! The Defense takes advantage of her introductory plea for an unsuitable praising of the Defendant.
Judge: (To the Barrister, hesitantly) We must sustain that objection, my dear. Please understand that we can’t do anything else, and that we prefer, instead of that, to go with you... (To Bailiff, moody) ... Well, what’s the matter again?
Bailiff: (Whispers something incomprehensible to the High Court)
Judge: All right, all right. The Defense should restrict her introductory plea strictly to the facts.
Barrister: (Emitting odors that express modesty) Yes, your Honor. The Defense will prove not only that the Defendant is not guilty, but also that he is an innocent victim of a plot to drag his name through the mud.
Judge: Are you finished? What a pity; we could listen to your sweet voice until ... (The Bailiff waves imploringly with his tongs.) Well then ... the Prosecution should continue presenting the accusation.
Prosecutor: High Court, allow us to call our first witness, the artif Creeping Porter.
Judge: The witness should roll to here. Hey! Careful with those edged chain treads of yours! If you ruin the carpet, you will be charged for damages. Bailiff, carry out the regulative matters. (The Bailiff administers an oath to the witness as required.)
Prosecutor: Witness, introduce yourself to the High Court.
Witness: Artif Creeping Porter, manager of the Recreational Park Refill XVII.
Prosecutor: Have you ever seen the Defendant before this trial?
Witness: Of course I have. He came to Refill XVII on leave in the seventh light period after the double solstice. As the protoplasm subjects come to us rather seldom, I inspect their documents carefully.
Prosecutor: Their documents?
Witness: Yes; the Defendant arrived at our Park with his ...why, his female—that one, who’s sitting there. (The witness emits a light beam on a subject sitting in the first row.)
Judge: (Mumbling confidentially, leaning toward the Bailiff) For Eniac’s sake, where is that repulsive stink coming from? (Concerned) I presume you wouldn’t say, again, that–
Bailiff: No, no, your Honor, by no means. That is the witness.
Prosecutor: Did anyone pay a visit to the Defendant during his stay in the Park?
Witness: Yes; only two light periods after the Defendant had arrived, the missing artif Download visited him—I mean the Defendant.
Judge: Just a moment; why do you say ‘him’? According to your own testimony the Defendant came to the Park with his female companion.
Witness: Yes, your Honor; but she wasn’t in the Defendant’s cabin. I’d noticed her earlier when she went to the solarium, to expose herself to the UV rays. (Unrest in court, the public emits the odor of scandal.)
Judge: (Sternly pounding his gavel) Silence in the court! Quiet, please! Oh my Eniac, what we have to bear with this mob—and all that for only a bit of energy and a few drops of oiling! Prosecutor, do continue.
Prosecutor: Artif Porter, did you sense—shall we say—anything unusual in or around the Defendant’s cabin during the aforementioned visit?
Witness: Actually, yes. There was something strange, even to me, although I’m used to the various oddities of protoplasm subjects. For instance ...
Barrister: Objection, your Honor! The habits of the Defendant’s race are not the subject of this trial.
Judge: Objection sustained. Witness should answer shortly and to the point on all questions and stick only to the facts. And, for Eniac’s sake, don’t fidget so much; you’re going to tear that rug to pieces!”
Witness: I apologize to your High ... I mean ... to your Court ... Sorry, I’m totally confused. What was the question again? Oh, yes, now I remember. Just when I was creeping past the Defendant’s cabin, I made out some loud but hardly comprehensible audio signals. Then the artif Download came out of it, and after him the Defendant who was vulgarly insulting and threatening him.
Prosecutor: Do you perhaps remember his exact words?
Witness: Even better. I’ve an audiotape switched on during all my working time. Just a moment, please. (The witness presses a button in the middle of his upper shell and the sound of talking comes out of it.)
Defendant’s voice: ... Don’t you dare come near her, you bloody plastic freak, because I’ll smash that disgusting bounce of yours! Get lost and don’t you ever come into my sight again! You may be my boss, but I’m not going to let you interfere in my private life, you unnatural mechanical muddle! (Sounds of a door slamming.)
Prosecutor: To sum up what we just heard, artif Porter—how would you, in short, describe the then behavior of the Defendant toward the artif Download?
Witness: Well ... The Defendant was mocking the artif Download’s appearance and threatening him with taking him apart by force.
Judge: We want to add here a short explanation, just for the record. Owning a fairly high degree D-four had allowed the missing artif Download to choose freely his own outward form. Before the trial we perceived some videotapes of him, where we noticed his... Well... his humanoid appearance. Here and now is neither the place nor the time to discuss the taste of the missing artif Download, no matter how queer it might seem to anybody. But, at the same time, we do not understand the recorded words of the Defendant. Although he is a humanoid, he obviously disliked the appearance of artif Download. How can we explain that?
Prosecutor: I don’t know, your Honor.
Barrister: If the High Court would allow me, I think I could help to explain that.
Judge: (Kindly) You just tell us about that, my dear!
Barrister: The opinions of various individuals on aesthetics are diverse; not only among members of various races, but also among artifs. I defend often, in my line of duty, different protoplasm subjects who call themselves people, and who here, on Cyber III, do the various specialized jobs that we need. So I have, during time, gotten used to their appearance to the extent that they no longer seem repulsive to me. (Murmuring and some loud scandalized noise among the public.)
Judge: (Firmly pounding gavel) If such unrest continues we will order an evacuation of the court. You may go ahead, Barrister.
Barrister: High Court, I want to explain that all the subjects of the human race–the people–think themselves, and their race on the whole, rather handsome subjects. (Subdued laughter among the public.) So I believe that it was not because of his humanoid appearance the Defendant considered artif Download ugly.
Judge: No? Then what did the Defendant mean, in your opinion?
Barrister: He considered artif Download ugly for the simple reason he was not humanoid enough. The obsolete term ‘robot’, used by the Defendant, is an archaic term for artif.
Judge: That is amazing. An unflattering denotation, we assume?
Barrister: (Hesitantly) Well ... We might say so, yes. Most of the people are self-confident. Maybe the High Court knows about those unproven, even silly legends about the ancient past of the origin of artifs, here, on Cyber III. I believe those legends stemmed from Earth. The people there persistently claim that, once on a time, they created all the other races in Space including the artifs. (A tremendous tumult rises among the public.)
Judge: (Wrathfully whacking the gavel) QUIET! Silence in the court! (The security guards lead several rowdies out of court; the unrest slowly wanes) This is our last warning. This time we didn’t order clearing the court, but only because we understand the emotional reactions by the artifs present. Don’t get me wrong: we said ‘understand’—but not ‘tolerate.’ The Prosecutor should continue.
Prosecutor: As I have no more questions for this witness, I leave him to the Defense.
Barrister: Artif Porter, you earlier supposed the Defendant’s words, recorded on your tape, meant—in your opinion—the Defendant’s threat to forcibly take apart artif Download. Do you know the reason why the Defendant said that?
Witness: I ... I’m afraid I don’t understand the question.
Barrister: You don’t? Then tell the High Court what the missing artif Download and the Defendant did right away after the quarrel.
Witness: Well, artif Download went to the visitor’s parking lot where he sat in his car, and the Defendant followed him and I escorted them. As you know, it was my duty to control what might happen, to prevent possible further problems.
Barrister: Were there many cars in the parking lot then?
Witness: No. Artif Download was then the only visitor in the Park. Just before he drove off, he asked me in a low voice about the Defendant’s female and I told him she was in the solarium. Then artif Download drove off rapidly.
Barrister: Artif Porter, tell the High Court what you did next.
Witness: Then it was time for lunch so I went into a buffet for a dram of engine oil. After that, I headed toward the solarium to check if everything was all right there.
Barrister: Was anything irregular happening in the solarium?
Witness: Why, no; at first everything seemed all right to me. There were only four female protoplasm subjects lying, undressed, under the UV lamps. (Several subdued audio signals of disgust rise from the public.)
Barrister: Was the Defendant’s female one of those four subjects?
Witness: Yes, she was. Then I decided to inspect the basement so I crept downstairs; and just at the instant, when I ordered the mechanic to clean a generator set, I heard some loud audio signals from above. I hastened upstairs, but as I arrived there it was already over.
Barrister: What was ‘already over’?
Witness: Well, the female subjects—by that time there were only three of them—were emitting loud audio signals of a high frequency and they were pointing out toward the open service gate, and when I stepped through it ...
Barrister: Just a moment. Did you notice which of the four female subjects was missing?
Witness: It was the Defendant’s female that was missing.
Barrister: And what did you make out after you’d stepped through the gate?
Witness: Outside, on the sandy drive, there were two shallow ruts like somebody had dragged some heavy load over the sand. Those ruts led from the gate toward the corner of the building. At the instant I came around the corner, I noted some unknown car just in front of me. It started roaring and rushed off at full speed out of the Park.
Barrister: You said ‘car just in front of me’—how far was that?
Witness: Well ... I couldn’t say exactly...
Barrister: Was that unknown car roughly as far away from you as the car of artif Download in the parking lot, not long ago?
Witness: Yes, I guess so.
Barrister: In that case you must have seen that ‘unknown’ car and its driver just as clearly as the other one in the lot which had been driven by the missing artif Download. Am I right?
Witness: Why ... Yes, you are.
Barrister: Very good. And now I ask you for a straight answer: was that ‘unknown’ car the same as the earlier one?
Witness: (After a short hesitation) Well—yes, it was.
Barrister: And who was driving it?
Witness: (Gloomily) The missing artif Download.
Barrister: Excellent. Was the missing artif Download alone in his car or was anybody else beside him?
Witness: (Leaking some machine oil on to the carpet) I noticed, for just a moment, somebody else beside him, some motionless figure. But I couldn’t recognize it.
Barrister: That was not my question. My question was: did you see what that motionless figure looked like?
Witness: Yes. It looked as repulsive as all the other protoplasm subjects—a naked humanoid figure.
Barrister: Let’s hold off the final identification of that repulsive naked figure for a moment and return to the solarium. Did you put some questions about what had happened to the three females remaining there?
Witness: (Grimacing) Of course I did. But their answers didn’t explain much because they affirmed that everything had happened so quickly. I was told somebody had rushed into the solarium through the service gate and attacked one of the females. Despite her resistance he forced a white object to her upper roundness and finally he dragged her flabby body out of the solarium.
Barrister: You said ‘somebody had rushed in the solarium’. According to your earlier statement, the missing artif Download was then the only visitor in the Park. And we found out before that he was also driving his car from the parking place only a few seconds after the attack, as described by you. Is it possible, in your opinion, the attacker was somebody else except the missing artif Download?
Witness: (Gnashing with its chain treads again) I ... I don’t think anybody else could have been there.
Barrister: Thank you. And now let us return to the question of the identity of the ‘naked humanoid figure’ that sat beside the artif Download in his car. Have you any doubt about whether it was the Defendant’s female, who had been kidnapped immediately before?
Witness: (Contritely) No, I haven’t. It was she.
Barrister: High Court, I have no more questions for the witness.
Judge: (With perceivable relief) Thanks be to Eniac! The witness may leave the court–but slowly and as carefully as possible. We also recommend that he change his variety of lubricant. And—damn it—the carpet has to be replaced. Bailiff, take care the cleaners remove those disagreeable stains at once.”
Bailiff: (Doing what he was told.)
Judge: Thank you, my dear Barrister. Because it is now the middle of the light period, we order a break for lunch, and the after-lunch rest. (To the Barrister, confidentially) I’m going to get some refreshment in my private rooms; there would be perhaps a good opportunity to... Well, I wish to ask you something in private. Do you mind joining me there, my dear?
Barrister: (Emitting seductive odors) I don’t mind at all, your Honor.
Judge: Excellent. Bailiff, come with us; you will take care that nobody disturbs us.
***
Judge: (A bit less tidy than before) Prosecutor, we assume you have more witnesses, are we right?
Prosecutor: High Court, your assumption is correct. We do indeed have one more witness. Although that witness might, perhaps, be the cause of some concern, I am convinced his testimony would be of the greatest significance to the trial. After his testimony there will not be any more doubt that artif Download has been murdered by the Defendant.
Judge: What are you talking about, Prosecutor? You must better explain your abstruse elocutions about ‘the cause of some concern’ to the High Court.
Prosecutor: In just a minute, your Honor. I ask the High Court to allow the testimony of the spirit of the missing artif Download. Here we have all the devices needed for that purpose.
Barrister: Objection, High Court! The Prosecutor obviously believes he is not in the High Court, but at a spiritualist séance. This is a court of law, not some place where some old swindler calls ghosts or practices witchcraft with a crystal ball.
Prosecutor: I ask the High Court to consider the two precedents that I have with me: the case Android Amalgam v. Short Circuit and Condenser Ltd v. Silicon&Co. I have here the summaries of both verdicts, based on the same manner of testifying that I am submitting to the High Court now.”
Judge: (Putting in an extra lens into his video sensor) “Hmm ... Let me perceive ... Well, I must admit it is true, regretfully. Though I have never heard of such foolishness in my whole existence. (To the Barrister) I regret I must overrule your objection, my dear. (To the Prosecutor) You shall continue, Prosecutor.
Prosecutor: High Court, I ask for permission to bring into court a DARAS—Device for Automatic Realization of Artif’s Spirits.
Judge: All right—although I have no idea how you would ... Well, get it in.
Prosecutor: That device works very simply, High Court. It’s based on the following principle: during the genesis of every artif on the Cyber III, the entire electromagnetic structure of his programmed personality is formed—in other words, his spirit.
Judge: Why are you lecturing us about that? All artifs know this simple fact already; it’s in their basic programming. It is generally known, also, that the electromagnetic structure of each artif is unique and so it is the core of his personality. Have we forgotten something essential?”
Prosecutor: No, you have not, your Honor. With your permission, I would add only that this structure is indestructible and would not disappear even by an atrif’s disintegration. At that instant it only incorporates into the integral electromagnetic structure which surrounds our Cyber III.
Judge: That is also generally known, Prosecutor. The only matter that nobody here knows is what you intend to do with that queer box with the even queerer abbreviation. Would you be so kind to explain that trifle to us?
Prosecutor: I plan to do so right away, your Honor. DARAS was developed recently and so far, it has been used in only the two cases that I presented earlier. This useful device emits electromagnetic waves of chosen frequencies that look for the spiritual structure of a disintegrated artif and then embody it in the form of a hologram. This hologram has its own sensors with all the same properties as the disintegrated artif. Besides, it can communicate normally with its environment. Simple, isn’t it?
Judge: Almighty Eniac—if this is simple then I’m ... (The next words of High Court have not been noted down) Let us start, Prosecutor.
Prosecutor: Yes, your Honor. Artif technician, start the procedure.
Technician: Yes, Prosecutor. (The technician is poking at some switches on the device and after a while a hologram of an artif appears.)
Prosecutor: (Somewhat nervously) Are you the spirit of respected artif Improved Download?
Hologram: (Scornfully) You may say so, yes; but without that hypocritical term ‘respected’. I was never respected during the entire time of my existence, regretfully. I wasn’t respected despite my D-four degree and though I carried out the responsibility of supervising all the servicemen—those damned protoplasm villains—in the Seventh District. Nobody on Cyber III respected me. Neither my contractual female companion nor my acquaintances. And, especially, not my damn subordinates—the Eniac-devil take them!”
Prosecutor: That is exactly the reason you are here; one of your subordinates, John H. Skillman, is on trial just now. The High Court admits to you the status of witness. Are you willing to testify in this case?
Hologram: Skillman, huh? (The slight haze round him turns red.) That morally degenerate heap of spoiled protoplasm used to be one of my servicemen, regrettably. Of course I would testify against him if that would help to nail him! What a pity I couldn’t do that already before he committed this crime.
Bailiff: (Leaning toward the audio sensor of the High Court and whispering something into it until the High Court makes a gesture of approval.)
Judge: Regarding the incapability of that ... hologram to lay his hand on Eniac’s Book, we excuse him from that duty. Artif Download, do you swear you will tell all the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you Eniac?
Witness: I do.
Prosecutor: Would you tell us how the crime of your taking apart was carried out?
Barrister: Objection, High Court! At this trial, so far, no crime has been proved.
Judge: Objection sustained. At this trial the compulsory term ‘alleged crime’ is to be used.
Witness: Well, all right, if you insist. As you probably know, I used to be, until recently, a humanoid artif, tall and well shaped. So I was considered a handsome artif—not only by female artiffs but also by many ‘women’, if I’m allowed to use that protoplasm term for their female subjects. (The noise of disapproval and several insulting audio signals emit from the audience.) But there were also some subjects that envied my charm and they tried to compete with me for the affections of those female subjects. The Defendant was the most persistent among them, even though he wasn’t an artif but only had that repulsive, gelatinous protoplasm structure.
Prosecutor: Witness, how came it that you had employed, instead of artif servicemen, those protoplasm subjects about whom you have such a low opinion?
Witness: Because there weren’t any artifs qualified as servicemen. Programming students for this job is demanding and drawn-out, the wages of servicemen are low, and this profession is, among the artifs, considered inferior. But I’d been trying to change all that, so several years ago I formed SEAS—School for Education of Artif Servicemen. To my great regret, we were, then, still forced to use the protoplasm subjects as instructors.
Prosecutor: I congratulate you on your patriotic efforts. Has anybody graduated from this school of yours yet?
Witness: Yes. So far, only a single artif. His label is ‘Artif Serviceman 1’, with an abbreviation AS-1. Allow me to remark that I’m ...I used to be very proud of him.
Prosecutor: Used to be?
Witness: Yes; regretfully he was killed in a traffic accident recently.
Prosecutor: I am sorry to hear that. And now, witness, describe to the High Court the next events relevant to this case.
Witness: Well, it then happened that a handsome girl—that’s the protoplasm word for young female—fell in love with me. Her name was Lisa and she’s present right now, over there, among the public in the first row. The Defendant persistently tried to take her from me and he courted Lisa whenever I was absent because of duty. But he wasn’t even satisfied with that; one certain light period he was so cheeky he simply kidnapped Lisa and drove her away against her will!
Prosecutor: Art Download, did you simply reconcile to that shameless kidnapping of your fema ... ahem, girl?
Witness: Of course not. After a few light periods, I managed to find out that they were hiding in the recreational Park Refill XVII. Right away, after I drove there, I found their cabin and told the Defendant everything that was necessary. But he was most arrogant and wouldn’t think about my reasonable arguments. Besides, he started to threaten me with violent disintegration if I didn’t leave my girl alone. Thank Eniac, there’s the manager of the Park who can confirm my statements.
Prosecutor: The High Court has heard his testimony earlier. Do continue, please.
Witness: Well, then I simply drove away with my girl, who’d been so brutally kidnapped. She was delighted that I’d freed her and especially because we were together again. Unfortunately, we couldn’t enjoy our happy reunion for long because ... Because my beloved girl disappeared, unexplainably, one more time on our journey home ... (The hologram of the witness trembles slightly.)
Prosecutor: And what happened then, artif Download?
Witness: Not long after I returned home I felt certain disturbances in the functioning of some my units. Those troubles soon became so serious that I decided to ask for help from a service member. You would understand that I didn’t dare go to the Defendant, who’d be able, in that case, to carry out his grievous threat. Because I didn’t have confidence in any other protoplasm servicemen, I visited AS-1, the first graduate of my SEAS. But the next fatal events showed, regretfully, that even that precaution wasn’t enough. (Yellowish vapors are undulating slightly around the hologram of artif Download.)
Prosecutor: (Emitting the odor of sympathy) I’ve sincere compassion toward you, witness. Still, the High Court must be informed about how that crime—sorry—how that alleged crime occurred. Please, describe to us all the circumstances you remember.
Witness: I remember the laboratory area in SEAS was then so meagerly lit up that I wondered how AS-1 could service his artif clients in such a half-light.
Prosecutor: Artif Download, my next question is extremely important: could you, in that half-light, perceive clearly the whole figure of the service member you came to? Did you, positively and without any doubt, recognize him as AS-1?
Witness: I couldn’t, unfortunately. But at that moment, it seemed of no importance to me; how could I have suspected there was anything wrong? Besides, as I’ve said before, I was affected by certain disturbances which prevented me from thinking clearly.
Prosecutor: And what happened then?
Witness: Well, I was told to stretch up on to the service table and I obeyed, without any distrust. The service member—whom I then assumed was AS-1—took some pointed tool in his upper tentacle and began an intervention on me, and then... (The witness becomes silent.)
Prosecutor: And then?
Witness: (Yellowish vapors round the hologram suddenly becomes green and emitting intensive odor of wrath) From that instant on I ceased to be aware of my material body. And since then my consciousness about my own existence has not returned. (Boiling with rage.) It’s obvious to me that protoplasm degenerate took me apart.
Prosecutor: Your witness, Barrister.
Barrister: Witness, you have asserted earlier that your contractual female companion did not respect you. Was she staying at your home during the time you were visiting the Defendant in the recreation Park Refill XVII?
Witness: Yes, she was.
Barrister: Otherwise it would have been a little inconvenient for you, I suppose. Although you are contractually bound, you have, recently, talked about Lisa as ‘my girl,’ although she is the contractual female companion of the Defendant. Could you explain that puzzle to the High Court?
Witness: Why ... Lisa is in love with me and I intended to break off my present contractual companionship, as she intends to break off hers.
Barrister: So much for good intentions. That is a mess, is it not? You have recently stated, quote, ... she was very delighted as I freed her and especially because we were together again, unquote. Do you remember that statement of yours?
Witness: Yes, I do.
Barrister: Did that happy reunion take place in the Defendant’s cabin?
Witness: Certainly not. Lisa wasn’t there when the Defendant and I had had our ... well, talk.
Barrister: She wasn’t there? Where was she then?
Witness: I did not know at that point. Later, when I was about to leave, the manager told me that Lisa was in the solarium.
Barrister: And you just went off without trying to meet your beloved, kidnapped girl?
Witness: I was a bit confused back then. You must understand the Defendant had just threatened to destroy me.
Barrister: But later you returned to the Park, did you not?
Witness: Yes, I did; after some time, when I’d calmed down in full and after I’d sedately considered the whole affair.
Barrister: Excellent. After the incident, three witnesses in the solarium testified that you—so calmed down in full and after sedate consideration—broke into the solarium, rushed Lisa and subdued her by force, against her struggling, and, finally, you dragged her into your car. Do you suppose the High Court would interpret all that as a happy, joyful reunion of two lovers?
Witness: Well ... Lisa was beside herself with joy and probably felt dizzy for a moment. So I helped her out as a polite artif and a cosmopolitan.
Barrister: Oh yes, naturally. You helped her politely with the chloroform; probably because there was no cudgel around.
Prosecutor: (Stretching up) Objection, High Court! The Defense is mocking the witness.
Judge: (Severely) Prosecutor, you should constrict down again right away; and you better give a piece of advice to that ... spirit of yours, that he should not entangle himself in such foolish contradictions. Objection overruled. (To the Barrister) Do continue, my dear.
Barrister: Witness, where did you drive with Lisa after you left the Park?
Witness: (Emitting the odor of disappointment and despair) I drove toward the town where I lived. But, after some time, when Lisa recovered, she asked me to stop for a while because she needed ... You know—those protoplasm individuals and their strange physiological needs. Well, before long I parked my car at some motel and went with Lisa to the door of the rest rooms. I waited outside for her for a long time, but at last, I lost my patience and entered. But then...
Barrister: Well?
Witness: (Furiously) There was nobody inside. All the stalls were empty and the biggest window was wide open.
Barrister: It looks like ‘your girl’, so very in love with you, had herself kidnapped again. High Court, I haven’t any more questions for this so-called witness.
Judge: Very well. The trial shall continue at the next light period at dawn of the second sun. (Knocking with his gavel and stooping to the Barrister, the High Court whispers something to her and then both leave court.)
***
Judge: The trial shall continue. Now, it’s the Defense’s turn. How many witnesses do you have, my dear Barrister?
Barrister: Only two, Your Honor. The first one is the Defendant’s contractual female companion, Lisa, and then, if necessary, the Defendant himself.
Judge: The witness should step forth. (The witness steps forth and is put under oath by the Bailiff.)
Barrister: Witness, tell the High Court your name and status.
Witness: Lisa Mild, Earthborn, typist by occupation, contractual female companion of John Skillman.
Barrister: Where did you perform your job until the time of the trial?
Witness: At that lascivious ... I’m sorry ... in the office of the missing artif Download.
Barrister: Were you content with your position there?
Witness: The job itself wasn’t difficult at all. (Emotionally) But my employer, artif Download, was ...awful—oh, more than awful! I’d been trying to find some employment elsewhere, but in vain. For us people it’s not easy finding a decent job, you know.
Barrister: Please, explain to the High Court why you’ve used the term ‘awful’ for the behavior of your boss.
Witness: Soon after I’d started my job with him he began to make ...very insolent offers.
Barrister: Insolent offers?
Witness: (Embarrassed) Download endlessly strove to have sex with me. He paid no heed to my flat refusals and he kept bothering me all the time when he wasn’t on duty. Sometimes he turned up suddenly in my typing area and rushed at me so I had to wrestle with him ...” (The witness gives off some liquid out of her video sensors.)
Barrister: Have you ever mentioned that to the Defendant?
Witness: Yes, I had to. Still, I didn’t dare to tell him everything.
Barrister: Yet the missing artif Download approved your vacation?
Witness: Yes he did; but only after I’ve fulfilled his demand to tell him where John and I intended to go. But then I didn’t expect he would come to get me in that recreation park. (The upper part of the witness slightly shivers for some time.)
Barrister: Lisa, do you want a short break before continuing?
Witness: No, thank you; I’m all right. When John and I arrived at Refill XVII, everything there seemed so beautiful. At first, we enjoyed it there until the day when that horrible thing happened. That day I was lying quietly on the bench in the solarium when suddenly ... (The witness pauses.)
Barrister: Did somebody appear there?
Witness: (Excitedly) Yes! I heard a bang, and at the next instant I noticed that repulsive Download bending over me! I screamed and tried to rise but he pressed something pungent on my face and then... And then I didn’t know anything more ... (Some more liquid flows out of the witness’ video sensors.)
Barrister: And after that, when did you come to your senses again?
Witness: I realized I was in Download’s car and I knew I was in big trouble. I had to escape somehow so I asked him kindly to stop anywhere because I had to go to the bathroom. He stopped at some motel and escorted me up to the bathroom. Once inside, I opened a window–it was so narrow I could hardly to squeeze through it. And then I ran and ran away, without knowing where I was running to. After a while, I came to some side road and an older contractual pair pulled up in their car and drove me home.
Barrister: Did you call the Defendant from there?
Witness: Yes, I called John, and he came for me. Then I had to tell him everything. I pleaded him with not to act rashly because we both knew what punishment awaits an Earthman who does anything violent to an artif.
Barrister: Had the Defendant threatened—then or any time later—to do something violent to the artif Download?
Witness: No, definitely not. After awhile John calmed down and then he was lost in thought for a long time. He then told me that an excellent idea had entered his mind. I wouldn’t have to worry about Download ever again. That was all.
Barrister: Thank you, Lisa. Prosecutor, you may continue with the cross-examination.
Prosecutor: Witness, are you sure that you weren’t deliberately seducing the missing artif Download all the time?
Witness: (Irritated) Bah! By no means. Not at all. In that case, I’d have to be out of my mind. Download was hideously ugly even for a robo— Sorry, I mean, even for an artif. (Restlessness in court.)
Prosecutor: (Sarcastically) I remember hearing that particular term ‘ugly’ earlier on in the trial. I am afraid the Barrister’s comment has not explained anything to the High Court. Witness, would you mind clearing up the opinion of protoplasm subjects on aesthetics? Would you describe how ugly has the missing artif Download seemed to you? Perhaps you could find some good example so everyone in court would understand what you mean.
Witness: Well ... Download was almost as ugly as you are. (There is a roar of laughter in court that continues for some time without any intervention by the High Court.)
Prosecutor: (Emitting the odor of extreme irritation) That’s ... That is beyond the limits! Such insolence, such arrogance! I appeal to the High Court to punish the witness severely because she insulted me and hurt my feelings.
Judge: (Dryly) Prosecutor, we recommend you to stop with these appeals of yours. You have been the one who demanded from the witness some example that would be understandable to all. And that she gave you; we do not believe there is anyone one in the court who could have misunderstood what she meant. Do you have any further questions for the witness?
Prosecutor: (offended) No, I have not, your Honor.
Judge: My dear Barrister, would you call the Defendant in for testimony?
Barrister: I think that is not necessary, your Honor. I am sure we have heard enough for the acquittal verdict, your Honor.
Judge: All right. In that case, the Prosecutor shall present his closing.
Prosecutor: All the testimonies we heard have indisputably proved the Defendant threatened the missing artif Download with violent disintegration. Under the intoxicating influence of his blind jealousy, the Defendant, masked as Artif Serviceman-1, took apart artif Download in that darkish service workshop in SEAS. We appeal to the High Court to find the Defendant guilty as charged, and to sentence him to annihilation. That is the only suitable punishment for such a wicked crime—according to the principle noted down in The Holy Eniac Book: a chip for a chip, and a sensor for a sensor.”
Judge: Thank you, Prosecutor, for your original and enlightened quotation. (To the Barrister) And now it is your turn, my dear.
Barrister: High Court, the whole trial has showed that the Prosecutor has not succeeded in proving any part of the earlier accusation. It has not been proved that any crime has been committed at all. It has also not been proved the Defendant might be guilty of any of those ridiculous, far-fetched accusations. Neither the corpse of the missing artif nor any of its parts have been found. There has been no trace of any murder weapons or tools. There have been no witnesses presented who have de facto perceived the alleged crime in question. And, finally, because the Defendant and his contractual female companion have found each other so soon after the incident at the Park, there is not even a credible motive for the alleged crime. So I respectfully suggest the High Court reject the indictment as unfounded and find the Defendant not guilty.
Judge: After due reflection and taking everything into account, the High Court agrees to the request of our dear ...of the Defense. We declare the indictment unfounded and declare the Defendant not guilty. The High Court of justice closes this trial. (Knocks with his gavel.)
Prosecutor: (Stretching up and emitting the odor of wrathful protest) Objection! I protest against the extreme unfair judgment with clear favoritism toward the Barrister, and I resolutely disagree with this utterly wrongful verdict! This whole trial has been a farce so I am going to submit an immediate appeal against the verdict to the Supreme Court!
Judge: That is your legitimate right, Prosecutor. We are glad that somebody else, and not we, will have to deal with you from now on. (To the Barrister) Let’s go, my darling.
***
Clerk: The Supreme Court of Justice in the person of Chief Justice Queer Processor is coming into court. Everyone present in court ... hmm ... I mean, the only one present—the Defendant—shall stretch up.” (The Supreme Court comes in with a buzz.)
Chief Justice: The Defendant may constrict down again. We declare the Supreme Court in session. (The video sensor of Chief Justice is gazing fixedly at the Defendant.) We start the appeal trial—population of Cyber III versus the Defendant John Skillman, accused of destroying artif Improved Download in the inadequate lit up laboratory area in SEAS. The attached recorded protocol of the previous trial displays several notable mistakes had been made. The presence of an undisciplined audience was allowed, as well as the encroachment of various disturbances. And, above all, the most deciding influence on the outcome of that trial was that the judge had an obvious attraction to the Barrister. (Contemptuously) We can hardly account for the odd sexual preferences of certain artifs. (Normally again) In short, all the irregularities mentioned led to a biased verdict. So, we consider the Prosecution’s appeal well grounded. The Clerk shall read through the stipulations of today’s trial.
Clerk: The Supreme Court has decided the trial will be carried out without any audience and without any witnesses. To avoid possible suspicions of sexual partiality at that trial, the roles of the Prosecutor and the Barrister will be represented by two computers programmed especially for such purposes. The Supreme Court will address both representatives with the titles ‘Pros’ and ‘Barr’. Instead of a stenographer, automatic video and audio devices will be switched on during the entire trial.
Chef Justice: We decide that neither of the previous representatives has submitted either any new witnesses or any new evidence for the trial. We believe that a renewed interrogation of the previous witnesses would in no way contribute to clarifying the case. Do you agree with that, representatives?
Pros: Yes, Chef Justice.
Barr: Yes, Chef Justice.
Chef Justice: (Benevolently) The only one who could clarify that case is the Defendant himself. Up till now he had not had the opportunity to present his own view, so we have determined to correct this substantial mistake made during the previous trial. To avoid any extra wasting of time and money we have decided to question him personally. Do you agree with that, representatives?
Pros: Yes, Chef Justice.
Barr: Yes, Chef Justice.
Chef Justice: (Friendly) My dear lad, did you take apart the missing artif Download inside the darkish laboratory area in SEAS or anywhere else?
Defendant: No, I did not, Chef Justice.
Chef Justice: (Extending his audio transmitter) We knew that from the first moment we saw you! Such a well-shaped youth, with such a handsome and honest face, could not be bad. Let me ask you one more question. If we suppose—hypothetically, of course—the dismantlement of the missing artif really has happened, could you, perhaps, presume to suggest who might have been the perpetrator?
Defendant: Honorable Chef Justice, if we hypothetically suppose the dismantlement of the missing artif really has happened, I could suggest that Artif Serviceman-1 might have done it.
Chef Justice: That looks like a logical presumption to us, too. Still, for such a purpose AS-1 would have to have been suitably programmed, wouldn’t he?
Defendant: Yes, he would have to have been, Chef Justice.
Chef Justice: (Thoughtfully) One last question, my dear lad, just out of curiosity and without any connection to this trial: were you at any time one of instructors at the aforementioned SEAS?
Defendant: Yes, Chef Justice, I used to be an instructor there. And—as you’ve said before—that has no connection whatever with this trial.
Chef Justice: Of course not. Now all is clear to us. (Knocking authoritatively with his big gavel) We declare the appeal of the Prosecution of the High Court as unfounded. The previous judgment stays in force. The Defendant is acquitted of all charges and he is free to go. (Stooping toward to the acquitted) One more matter, my dear boy, before you leave: is it true that you have, at least now, a contractual companionship with a female?
Acquitter: (A bit confusedly) Well, of course I have, Chef Justice. Is there, in your opinion, anything ... unusual in that?
Chef Justice: (Warmly) Not at all, my boy. We’ve been in the world long enough to understand all the wantonness and oddities of youth. You’ll surely get tired of it in time; and we sincerely hope that will occur before long. (In a low voice, confidentially) And then we could see each other again, in private, to have a nice little chat and to enjoy ourselves. Our existence is much too short to waste it on frivolities; don’t you agree, darling?
Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.
Problems with this page? Then deal with it...
