by Peter Ponzo
CHAPTER 10
The Trial
As a young girl, Cher saw her first courtoom trial on the televiewer and had dreamed of being an Advocate since that time. Yet, serious crime was practically nonexistent in the Dome so she had spent the years since graduation performing dreary investigations of business impropriety and foodstick mishandling. Only slightly more interesting was the occasional charge of sexual harassment, normally made between couples intended for mating. Citizens took sides early and regardless of which party she represented, she would provoke the passions of many.
But this trial was different. Professor Kriss, charged with attempted homocide, was generally disliked by the Dome community and when Cher was appointed Dome Advocate, she had the enthusiastic support of every citizen. She would give them the drama they craved.
The courtroom was filled early that first day. A crowd of citizens filled the mall outside the courtroom, shouting and jeering. The entire community would remain glued to their televiewers watching the events unfold.
Cher paraded before the panel of judges a series of witnesses who testified to the unsavory character of Professor Kriss, his capacity to alienate his colleagues and his penchant for plagiarism. He was the cause of widespread dissension in the Phonarite Lab.
The Defense Advocate waited patiently, calling no witnesses of his own, recognizing that Kriss' character was not on trial. When the Dome Advocate was finished, he rose and spoke to the judges.
"I could, if pressed," he began, "call witnesses who will confirm that Professor Kriss, recent Chief of Research at the Phonarite Research Lab, is a talented citizen who has dedicated himself to the advancement of science and the enrichment of the community. However, such devotion does not come without penalty for there are those who aspire to his high office, who resent such unusual dedication, who are envious of his contributions. Indeed, any individual who rises above the crowd will be vilified by those who have neither the talent nor the energy to do likewise. Yes, I could call such witnesses, yet I would demean the stature of the good Professor by doing so. Let me say only that he has been callously charged with homocide, not with a lack of admirers."
With that, the Defense Advocate sat, grinning. Kriss sneered at Cher, red lips curled in contempt.
Cher smiled inwardly. These were the opening shots of a great battle. She would begin rolling the major artillery into the courtroom the next day.
______________________________________________________
All rose to greet the judges who walked in solemn procession to the row of seats at the front of the courtroom. The Prime Judge pointed briefly at the Dome Advocate and Cher leaned out of her seat and stood defiantly.
"Citizens," Cher began, "I would like to introduce to the court the most advanced automaton on any transworld vessel." She paused and caressed the console which had been installed the night before, linking the courtroom to the transworld vessel, K-47. Above the console was a large audiolink so that all could hear the coming testimony. There was a murmur from the crowd as she carefully pressed a comtab and LIZ began to speak.
The courtroom was hushed into silence as LIZ described, in great detail, how Professor Kriss had entered K-47 late one evening. She described in technical terms the modifications which Kriss had made on her cortex. She described her subsequent inability to guide the vessel in and out of subspace folds. She described the catastrophic trajectory toward the white star in subspace.
When the shipcomp was finished, the crowd howled for Kriss' banishment from the Dome.
The Defense Advocate rose and strutted to the front of the courtroom, waiting for the noise to subside.
"Citizens," he said confidently, "never before in the history of jurisprudence has a court admitted testimony by a ... a machine. It sets a most disturbing precedent. We would surely admit testimony by God, were He to see fit to testify. Failing that, we admit testimony by humans, as creatures cast in His likeness. But machines? Creations of humans, subject to the frailties of mankind? Are we to accept testimony from an assemblage of crystals that embraces senility upon removal of a power source?"
He grinned at the panel of judges, then at Kriss, then at the silent crowd. "In this instance it is even more unworthy of the court to admit such evidence since this particular ship computer has been recently overhauled for defects in its cortex!"
The crowd gasped, then hushed into silence.
Kriss was called to the stand and introduced as recent Chief of Research and an expert in computer technology.
"Professor Kriss," asked the Defense Advocate, "is it not possible for a phonarite computer to decay, spontaneously, thereby becoming nonfunctional?"
"Yes, yes ... quite possible," Kriss responded. "Indeed,the probability of spontaneous decay is increased in those automata which have earlier exhibited signs of degeneration."
The Defense Advocate spun about and faced the panel of judges.
"That, I submit, is precisely the case with the shipcomp called LIZ! Its testimony is afflicted with the disease of decay, degeneration, disintegration and must be discarded!" he shouted.
There was silence in the courtroom as the Prime Judge nodded in agreement. In turn the rest of the panel nodded agreement. The crowd was quiet.
Cher rose and marched briskly to the front of the room and waved toward the rear. The doors swung open and a large screen was carried in and erected at the side of the courtroom. The crowd began to whisper.
"Citizens," Cher began, "I will assume that the temporary defect suffered by the shipcomp LIZ mitigates against accepting her testimony. I accept that. However, I will not adhere to the philosophy that automatons may not provide evidence of misconduct, malpractice or other wrongdoing. Indeed, we accept human testimony even when that testimony is simply the recalling of data generated by machines, such as DNA scans or video profiles. With that understanding I call my next witness."
Cher tapped a comtab and the screen glowed momentarily and words marched across the monitor:
WE ARE AT YOUR SERVICE
There was scattered applause from the audience.
The Dome Omniscient Computer gave an account of the modifications to the conduit beneath the mall - the door and the levitator. He also gave precise information as to when these changes were made, starting at 21:00. Further, he recalled data obtained from Dome sensors, describing exactly where Kriss was every minute of that day. At 21:00 hours the sensors had placed Kriss in the vault beneath the mall.
Kriss looked frail. The crowd went wild. Outside, they began crashing at the doors to the courtroom, crying for Kriss' blood. An extra contingent of Dome militia was required to keep them at bay.
The Defense Advocate again strutted to the front of the courtroom. He paused for a long time until the room was silent.
"Citizens, may I remind you that DOC is a computer, not a human cast in the image of God. Yet my admirable adversary refuses to deny such testimony except that it be tainted by malfunction or electronic migraine. So be it." He turned to the large screen which displayed DOC's testimony and raised both arms. "Citizens, the Dome Omniscient Computer suffers from phonarite decay!"
Gasps and cries of anguish were heard everywhere. Surely DOC was not defective.
The Advocate waved at Kriss who jumped nimbly to his feet and took the stand. At the invitation of his Advocate, Kriss described the premature closing of the Dome canopy and the anomalies in the Dome clocks, then went on to describe the theory of phonarite decay, prevalent in many of the Dome automatons. The explanation was deliberately abstruse. The crowd understood only that the most sophisticated automaton on Home planet was ill.
The Defense Advocate continued. "The testimony of a defective machine must not, can not be allowed to decide the fate of an innocent human who has devoted his life to the good of the Dome!" he shouted, his hand waving in the direction of a crestfallen Kriss.
The crowd hushed to silence, all eyes on the panel of judges. The Prime Judge nodded. The others ec
hoed his decision.
Cher waited only a moment then jumped to her feet and strode to the front.
"Citizens, I now call a human witness," she said loudly, bowing in the direction of the judges. She waved at the crowd and a pretty but stocky lady rose. She had short, straight, black hair which barely came to her ears. Kevn and Sal and especially Kriss were taken by surprise.
Jan walked slowly to the chair at the front of the room, pulled down the sides of her dark grey tunic, straightened her hair and began immediately to cry. The Defense Advocate leaned over and whispered something into Kriss' ear. Kriss frowned and shrugged then stared fiercely at Jan.
Between sobbing and talking, Jan spent an hour relating how Kriss had threatened to get rid of Kevn, how he had boasted that Kevn would never return Home from C-phon3, how he forced her to call Kevn one evening to lure him into the vault.
Kriss twisted his lips and pulled his hair. The crowd went wild. The Prime Judge banged his gavel. The trial was over. The next day, Kriss was banished to the Barrens.
______________________________________________________
During the next eighteen months the Phonarite Research Labs worked diligently under the direction of its new Chief, Kevn, to determine the alpha crystal data which would grow automatons with 1-states in place of the radiation sensitive states. For each of the many computers in the Dome the appropriate alpha crystal was identified and eventually all of the computers in the Dome and in the transworld vessels were replaced by radiation insensitive automatons. Sal received the Turing Prize for his contributions. The most difficult part of the task was re-networking the new Dome Omniscient Computer since DOC was intimately involved in the process. Remarkably, it was done without interruption to the operation of the Dome control systems.
The new DOC was given verbal communication skills and his booming voice delighted the Dome community. Several public consoles were made available in the malls and the citizens came to DOC with their every problem.
Jan was absolved of any blame in connection with her role in Kriss' devious plans. She was transferred out of the office of the First Citizen and into foodstick production. She eventually worked her way up to production manager.
Cher was promoted to Prime Dome Advocate, eventually becoming close friends with Kriss' Advocate and eventually marrying the man.
Gry married his long time girlfriend, Lori, and they officially adopted Runr in a ceremony which was witnessed by most of the Dome citizenry via videolink. Thereafter, the black boy was easily recognized in the Dome and the citizens would stop and point and whisper when he was spotted. Although no one talked to him, Runr was a favorite topic of conversation.
Gravic came later and later to his office (eventually he arrived after his staff) and left much earlier. He spent a great deal of time sipping hot brandy and gazing at the Barrens out the window of his room.
All was well in the Dome. Thoughts of returning to Earth were banished and everyone looked forward to a happy and bright future. Even the oldtimers could not remember when there was so much optimism.
And the spacial vortex, the star-eater, continued to wander through space, engulfing stars.
PART TWO
