Space Crime Conspiracy

by Gareth P. Jones

  ‘Officers, arrest this man on suspicion of trespassing,’ barked Commander Kevolo.

  ‘Have I said something wrong?’

  ‘You will remain silent during your arrest,’ yelled Commander Kevolo.

  Two burly officers led the professor from the courtroom, which was once again filled with muttering and shuffling as everyone took in what they had just heard.

  ‘Silence, silence!’ shouted Kevolo. ‘Mr Skulk, you are turning this court into a circus. Both of your witnesses have revealed themselves to have broken the law, and I have a good mind to launch a full investigation into you once this trial is over. Do you have anything else you want to say before I guide this jury to the correct decision?’

  Eddie was leaning on the desk, his head low. There was anger and frustration in his eyes. It seemed to Stanley that he was barely recognisable from the confident, fast-talking man who had accosted him outside his school gates. On the desk was Dram’s piece of paper. Although Stanley couldn’t read the words, he could see that there was one more line of writing.

  ‘Mr Skulk, you are trying this court’s patience. Do you have anything to add?’

  ‘Here goes nothing,’ Eddie muttered under his breath before standing up straight and announcing, ‘Yes, I have one final witness to call. The court calls the Planner to the witness stand.’

  .

  46

  ‘Mr Skulk, you are turning this hearing into a farce’

  From the reaction in the court Stanley could tell that calling the Planner as a witness wasn’t too different from a lawyer back on Earth calling a toaster or a washing machine to take the stand. Even Kevolo laughed. ‘You are calling an inanimate pre-programmed machine to stand witness?’

  ‘So it would seem,’ replied Eddie, trying to hide his own embarrassment.

  ‘How do you expect it to answer questions?’

  ‘The Planner has a language facility, artificial intelligence and a responsive functionality. There is no reason why it cannot be called as witness. In fact, I could quote you a number of prior cases in which robots and machines have been summoned as witnesses.’

  ‘And how exactly do you expect this machine to appear in the courtroom?’ Stanley felt that Commander Kevolo was playing up to the cameras, trying to make Eddie seem stupid with knowing glances and subtle winks.

  ‘Provision has already been made for this,’ replied Eddie.

  Stanley understood what he meant when an outline appeared in the main arena, as though it was being hastily sketched in pencil. The Planner was being teleported into the courtroom. As the outline gained colour and definition, Stanley recognised the machine from the video footage he had seen while in the police car. It looked like a black photo booth with two white lights like eyes at the top.

  ‘Obviously the Planner is unable to take to the witness stand, but as per article 167 of the exceptional-circumstances clause it can remain in the main arena,’ said Eddie.

  ‘Mr Skulk, you are turning this hearing into a farce,’ said Commander Kevolo angrily.

  ‘Unless the prosecution or judge has any specific legal objection, I will continue,’ countered Eddie.

  Commander Kevolo looked angry, but he evidently couldn’t think of one because he simply waved his hand in a carry on gesture and Eddie turned to address the machine. ‘Planner, please could you state your primary function and your basic parameters?’

  ‘My primary function is to maintain and improve Armoria’s position of dominance in the universe through accelerated evolution of its people,’ said the machine in its flat female voice.

  ‘How do you do this?’

  ‘I think everyone here is well aware of how the single most important invention in the history of our planet works,’ said Kevolo.

  ‘If you’ll indulge me . . .’ said Eddie. ‘Not being Armorian myself, I have never quite understood this fascinating machine. Please continue, Planner. How do you achieve this accelerated evolution?’

  ‘I scan the brain activity of each individual Armorian to discover his or her potential, then I realise this by manipulating genetic components and improving natural abilities.’

  ‘I see, and what brings you here?’

  ‘I was teleported as per Dram Gurdling’s instructions to appear as witness in the trial of Stanley Bound.’

  ‘Sorry, I meant to ask what brings you to the Bucket.’

  ‘Objection!’ cried Kevolo. ‘What is the relevance of this?’

  ‘Let me rephrase the question. Who brought you on board the Bucket?’

  Before Kevolo could interrupt again the Planner said, ‘I was transported aboard by Commander Kevolo.’

  ‘To what purpose?’

  ‘Commander Kevolo wanted to learn why I had made no alteration to him when he entered the evolution chamber as a child.’

  Kevolo’s face reddened. ‘This is a private matter. I did nothing wrong in bringing the Planner here. Vorlugenar had taken it out of action anyway. I was simply curious about it,’ he argued.

  Eddie continued to address the Planner as though Kevolo hadn’t even spoken. ‘And why didn’t you make any changes to this man when he entered the evolution chamber?’

  ‘No changes were necessary.’

  ‘Why was that?’

  ‘He already possessed qualities to fulfil his destiny and succeed as Commander of the Armorian Intergalactic Police Force.’

  ‘What qualities are those exactly?’

  ‘Strength of mind, ambition, dedication to the primary goal and ruthlessness in dealing with enemies.’

  Kevolo clearly found nothing to object to in this statement.

  ‘And by the primary goal you mean the cause of improving Armoria’s standing in the universe?’ said Eddie.

  ‘That is correct,’ replied the Planner.

  ‘But that isn’t what President Vorlugenar wanted, is it? Towards the end of his presidency he was beginning to talk about loosening Armoria’s grip on the galaxy. That’s why he took you out of use, isn’t it?’

  ‘President Vorlugenar was no longer a component to achieve this goal,’ replied the Planner.

  Eddie gave this a moment to sink in. ‘Is that your belief or Commander Kevolo’s?’ he asked.

  ‘This is not a belief. It is a statement of fact.’

  ‘I fail to see where you are going with this, Mr Skulk,’ said Commander Kevolo.

  Before Eddie could respond, the door burst open again and Professor NomVeber reappeared. Behind him Dram Gurdling held a long-barrelled gun to Senior Officer Grogun’s temple. One of the jury let out a scream.

  ‘Everyone, please stay calm,’ said Dram. ‘The defence simply needs to recall Professor NomVeber as a witness to explain further how the Planner works.’

  ‘This is outrageous, unethical, unlawful and against court procedure,’ shouted Kevolo. ‘All of you will be arrested.’

  ‘Yes, but while I have a gun to this officer’s head you can stick all those things in your ear,’ snarled Dram. ‘And please, no more objections. You wouldn’t want an officer to die in front of all these cameras because of you, would you now?’

  Commander Kevolo said nothing.

  Eddie looked at Dram. ‘This isn’t exactly the tactic we agreed on.’

  ‘Things change. The professor needs to explain how the Planner works.’

  ‘We’ve already established that,’ said Commander Kevolo.

  ‘Not quite, we haven’t,’ said Dram. ‘Now, Professor NomVeber, what can you tell us about the workings of the Planner?’

  The professor spoke with his usual enthusiasm. ‘The Planner is, amongst other things, a mind-reading machine, which manipulates living matter using the material from that mind, always with its primary goal as a point of reference. We Armorians have long since called this accelerated evolution as a kind of shorthand. In fact, it is more akin to sudden mutation. We didn’t mind being mutated by a machine because we believed it was helping us achieve our potential. Look at me. Would I ever have discovered how to e
nter cutspace without this machine’s help? Probably not. But this machine was not helping us achieve our individual potential as we liked to think. It was manipulating us to fulfil a predefined role according to its primary function, namely to secure and further Armorian dominance in the universe. The Planner needed someone clever enough to discover cutspace in order for Armoria to expand further into the galaxy, so it increased my brain capacity.’

  ‘You’re saying that the machine was working according to a pre-programmed plan?’ said Eddie.

  ‘Exactly. But when President Vorlugenar began to question Armoria’s role in the universe, he became a problem for the Planner. He even took it out of use. Isn’t that true, Planner?’

  ‘It is true that President Vorlugenar was acting against primary command,’ said the Planner’s emotionless voice.

  ‘I’m sorry, are you trying to implicate this machine in the murder of President Vorlugenar?’ asked Commander Kevolo, sounding amused by the idea.

  ‘Ask the question, Eddie,’ said Dram.

  ‘Planner, was it your idea to kill the president? And please remember that under Armorian law, you are required to tell the truth in a court of law,’ Eddie said.

  ‘No,’ replied the machine.

  ‘There. Are you happy?’ said Commander Kevolo.

  Eddie ignored him and continued to address the Planner. ‘Whose idea was it?’

  ‘The idea originated from Commander Kevolo.’

  A ripple of a reaction spread across the courtroom.

  ‘This machine is faulty. That isn’t true,’ cried Kevolo.

  ‘Planner, please tell us the circumstances surrounding the death of the president,’ asked Eddie, shouting his question over Commander Kevolo’s objection.

  ‘Commander Kevolo brought me to the Bucket after I was taken out of service by President Vorlugenar. Commander Kevolo sat each night in my chamber. I saw in his thoughts his notion to become the next president. This desire complied with the primary goal, so I acted upon it as I am programmed to do and made the necessary change.’

  ‘This is rot! You can see that I have experienced no change,’ protested Commander Kevolo.

  ‘That’s true. Commander Kevolo looks the same to me,’ said Eddie.

  ‘No change was necessary to Commander Kevolo’s person,’ said the machine. ‘For Commander Kevolo to become president, external changes were required.’

  ‘What kind of external changes?’ asked Eddie.

  ‘Commander Kevolo’s thoughts presented a solution to the problem.’

  ‘What was that solution?’

  ‘The assassination of President Vorlugenar.’

  There was such silence in the court at that moment that it would have been possible to hear a fragment of a nano-pin drop.

  ‘How can you believe this machine?’ demanded Commander Kevolo.

  ‘Because it does not have a facility to lie. To deceive, yes. To manipulate, certainly. But not to lie.’

  ‘This is ridiculous. It is my job to consider every possibility.’

  ‘Consider or fantasise about?’

  ‘Even if the thought of what would happen in the circumstances of the president’s death did occur to me, I never spoke or acted upon it.’

  Eddie spun on his heel to face the machine again. ‘Planner, did you act upon this idea?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘I could see from the plan in the commander’s mind that the assassination had to be carried out by someone he would be able to arrest, so that he could capitalise on his success in catching him. Also, if the assassin came from a pre-contact planet, that would strengthen the argument for furthering Armorian boundaries beyond this galaxy.’

  ‘It’s talking about an idle daydream, not a plan,’ yelled Kevolo.

  ‘A daydream to kill the president to further your own career,’ shouted Eddie. ‘A daydream to frame an innocent boy. Planner, did you frame the boy who stands accused today?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How did you frame him?’

  ‘The person who was arrested had to be unaware of the role he was playing and unable to defend himself against the accusations. So I created a duplicate version of Stanley Bound to carry out the assassination.’

  ‘What do you mean by duplicate?’ asked Eddie. ‘Can you create life?’

  ‘No. Only change it.’

  ‘What did you change into a duplicate of Stanley?’

  ‘I manipulated primitive matter and turned it into a duplicate of Stanley Bound.’

  ‘And by primitive matter you are referring to what the professor called . . .’ Eddie floundered.

  ‘Gomphus mobilus,’ said Professor NomVeber.

  ‘Yes,’ said the Planner.

  ‘What is this meaning?’ asked Spore.

  ‘There were two samples,’ said the Planner. ‘This one was an experiment, to see if it was possible to turn a life form with only basic instincts into something which looked and behaved like a more evolved animal. The second became the replica of Stanley Bound.’

  ‘You are talking about my brother,’ said Spore.

  Eddie turned to Professor NomVeber. ‘I’m confused,’ he said.

  ‘It’s quite simple really. The Planner’s main function is the alteration and stimulation of living matter. He had altered many shapes before. It stands to reason that he would be capable of turning a primitive life form into a likeness of another being.’

  ‘But if you created another me out of Spore’s brother, what happened to it?’ said Stanley.

  ‘Order,’ growled Kevolo, but even he seemed intrigued as to where this was leading.

  ‘Answer the question, please,’ said Eddie.

  ‘The evidence was destroyed. The replica was terminated after the completion of his duties,’ said the Planner.

  ‘What means this for my brother?’ asked Spore.

  ‘This machine killed him,’ said Stanley.

  ‘The termination was necessary for the plan to work.’

  ‘But the plan hasn’t worked, has it?’ said Eddie.

  ‘Clearly there were factors beyond my knowledge,’ admitted the Planner.

  Professor NomVeber scratched his large head. ‘I don’t understand how you could make a clone of Stanley without first acquiring his DNA.’

  ‘Exactly. Good point. The whole thing is utterly ridiculous,’ blustered Commander Kevolo.

  ‘Why did you select Stanley, and how were you able to make a copy of him?’ asked Eddie.

  ‘DNA sample provided by Commander Kevolo,’ replied the Planner.

  ‘I am adjourning this court with immediate effect,’ bellowed Commander Kevolo.

  ‘You ain’t adjourning a thing,’ snarled Dram, still holding the gun to Grogun’s neck. ‘I think everyone in this courtroom, not to mention everyone watching at home, is far too interested in this to go to a commercial break just now.’

  ‘Are you all right, Senior Officer Grogun?’ asked Commander Kevolo.

  ‘I’m fine, sir, but this moon dweller will pay when he releases me,’ replied Grogun.

  ‘Where did you get the DNA, Kevolo?’ asked Eddie.

  ‘I do not have to answer your questions,’ said Commander Kevolo.

  ‘Having already made yourself available as a witness for the prosecution you cannot refuse to appear as witness for the defence.’

  ‘Oh, all right. I got a selection of DNA samples from pre-contact planets sent by one of my outskirt spies, OK?’

  ‘Which are what exactly?’

  ‘Spies posted on pre-contact planets that report back to us and let us know when a planet is ripe for Armorian inclusion. The Planner asked for some DNA samples from life forms from pre-contact planets. I didn’t know why. It just said it would help achieve the primary goal. I saw no harm in it. I had no idea that it would come to this. My only crime is that this machine has used me in order to carry out murder.’

  ‘A murder which was your idea,’ said Eddie.

  ‘You ca
n’t hold me responsible for having an idea if I never spoke of it or acted on it. I’m completely innocent.’

  ‘The crime was your idea, and you provided vital material for the framing of Stanley Bound. It doesn’t sound like innocence when I put it like that, does it?’

  ‘Until a few seconds ago I was completely ignorant of any of this. You cannot possibly implicate me.’

  Eddie turned to the jury. ‘Good people of the jury, when this case began you were led to believe that it was a simple one. You had all seen the footage of a person resembling my client killing the president. Now you have heard that this was not my client, but a replica created by a machine which was carrying out the wish of Commander Kevolo, using materials provided by Commander Kevolo. He claims to be innocent because he had no knowledge of his involvement until now, but I put it to you that he was both responsible for the crime itself and for the implication of Stanley Bound. The defence rests.’

  Commander Kevolo was undoubtedly shaken by what had occurred, but he gathered himself and addressed the jury. As he spoke he began quietly and calmly, building up to an impassioned crescendo. ‘As judge, good people of the jury, I should remind you that intent is an important aspect of any crime. My intent has only ever been to serve my planet. It seems that many of us were tricked into believing that Stanley Bound killed President Vorlugenar, but this does not mean that I am guilty of the crime. I never ordered the Planner to do anything. Imagine if a machine suddenly acted out scenarios that you had only imagined and never spoken of. Would you be guilty of those acts? I work tirelessly for our planet’s safety and protection from menaces such as the Marauding Picaroons. The Armorian Intergalactic Police force is the only thing which stands in the way of chaos and, as commander of that force, I am at the forefront of that fight, so please consider these factors when making your decision. And please remember, your task here is to make a decision on the accused, Stanley Bound. Any other decisions need to be put forward for another case and another jury.’

  .

  47

  ‘Even the deadliest of enemies have to speak sometimes’

  Commander Kevolo informed the jury that it was time for them to make their decision. The blue dome rose into position.