Paradise of Lead Trilogy

by Mackenzie Morris

  "Objection, Your Honor." Damien says.

  "Overruled. Continue, President McSage."

  Blice looks into the eyes of every man on the jury. They are cold and unfeeling, just like the abhorrent machine they are trying to make Isidore out to be. Isidore is more human than they are. He can't talk to these heartless people anymore. "I'm done. Call your witnesses, Montgomery." He goes back and sits beside Isidore who seems eerily disconnected from reality.

  Damien sorts through some papers on his desk. "As first witness, I will call Isidore Williams to the stand."

  Isidore looks up at Blice for support, but Blice only looks down at the table and shakes his head. This was never part of the plan. "Go on, Niko. Be respectful."

  With his gaze focused on the floor, Isidore goes to the witness stand and sits down.

  Damien goes up to him. "Hello, Mr. Williams."

  Isidore plays with the cuff of his sleeve. "Hello."

  "Did I give you permission to speak, android?"

  Blice groans and hides his face in his hands. He grits his teeth as Damien continues.

  "Now you can answer my questions. First question: Who is your owner?" Damien asks.

  "Blice McSage."

  "Is he a good owner?"

  "I guess." Isidore mumbles.

  "Yes or no."

  Blice looks up as Isidore remains silent, looking down at the floor. Come on, Niko. You can do this.

  "Yes."

  "Does he feed you?"

  "Yes."

  "I can see that he gives you clothes and takes general care of you, correct?" Damien asks.

  "Yes."

  Damien begins pacing across the floor. "Has he installed special programs into your computer hardware?"

  "Yes."

  "I would like the jury to observe exhibit one." Damien opens his briefcase.

  It takes every aspect of Blice's restraint to not scream as Damien holds up Isidore's revolver. He's going right to the heart of this. It's too late to uninstall that now. The longer this goes on, the worse of an owner Blice feels.

  Damien lays the gun on the table. "Mr. Williams, this is your gun?"

  Isidore shakes his head. "No."

  "You are saying that this is not a Colt .45 revolver?"

  "It is."

  Damien turns the gun over in his hand. "Then you are saying that the side of this Colt .45 revolver is not engraved with the number 42."

  What? Even Blice didn't know about that. Where did Isidore get that thing anyway? He's had it as long as he can remember. Isidore told him he found it. Evidently not.

  Isidore's hands begin to tremble. "It is."

  "You are android 42, correct?"

  "I am."

  "Then are you saying that we have gone back in time to before the war and bought a large number of firearms and brought them back here to our time?" Damien asks.

  "What? No."

  "I can infer then that you aren't aware of the rarity of this gun?"

  Isidore looks surprised then answers. "No, sir."

  "This is the only remaining model of this gun that has been seen in close to one hundred years. Do you make guns, Mr. Williams?"

  "No."

  "Do you time travel?"

  "No."

  "I will direct the court's attention to exhibit two." Damien pulls up a photograph on the large screen on the wall. "Are these your fingerprints that were taken by Police Chief Andrews?"

  "Yes."

  Damien pulls up another photograph and places them side by side. "Do these sets of fingerprints match?"

  "Looks like it." Isidore says.

  "Do you have the ability to alter your fingerprints, Mr. Williams?"

  "No, sir."

  "So you are saying with certainty that these are your fingerprints?" Damien asks.

  "Sure."

  "These fingerprints were found on the gun. Did you borrow this gun from someone?"

  "No."

  "Did you steal this gun from someone?"

  Blice suddenly remembers who had a Colt .45 revolver. No. No, Isidore can't admit to this. Blice is the only person left alive who would ever know this. "Objection."

  "Overruled." The judge says. "Answer the question, Mr. Williams."

  "Yes, I stole it." Isidore says as the room fills with gasps and people talking amidst themselves.

  "Take a look at exhibit three." Damien puts up a form on the screen. "This is a bill of sale, is it not?"

  "I'm not familiar with-"

  Damien smoothes the paper. "Yes. It is. Can you read the name of the buyer of this exact gun?"

  "Vladimir Evans." Isidore says.

  "Vladimir Evans, our late president. You stole this gun from Vladimir Evans."

  "I did."

  "Then you engraved it yourself."

  "No."

  "Can you tell me who engraved it?" Damien asks.

  Blice stands up. "Objection. Niko, don't answer that."

  The judge waves his hand dismissively. "Overruled."

  Isidore looks to be on the verge of tears. "Kazimir Dark."

  The courtroom fills with anxious whispers.

  Damien grins. "When Kazimir Dark had you steal this gun from Vladimir Evans, he also installed a special program. Is that true?"

  Isidore pushes his bangs out of his eyes. "It is true."

  "That program made you the best shot in the world due to its enhancement of your reflexes and aiming. True?"

  "Yes."

  "I'm no gun expert, but this is the kind of ammo used by a Colt .45 revolver, isn't it?" He holds up a bullet.

  "Yes."

  "This is the exact bullet that was taken from my arm after you shot at me while I was defending Seth Thompson." Damien says.

  "Objection. There is no evidence that suggests Mr. Williams was in any way involved with this." Blice reaches into his pocket for the one bit of evidence he didn't think he actually had. "Your Honor, I have proof that Isidore was at my side the entire time. There was no way for him to commit any of these crimes."

  "Your Honor, that data can be fabricated." Damien says. "As a computer, Mr. Williams is able to easily manipulate audio and text files. There is no basis for McSage's evidence."

  "Objection is overruled. Continue, Mr. Montgomery."

  Blice's mouth falls open. How the hell is this happening? Why can Damien say whatever he wants to without substantiated evidence?

  Isidore grabs onto the rail in front of him. "You told me that the attacker used Seth's gun. It was a Glock 17."

  The sound of the gavel silences the room again. "Mr. Williams, you will only answer questions and only when you have been asked. Strike Mr. Williams's outburst from the record. The jury is to dismiss what was said."

  Damien holds up a key card. "This is Seth Thompson's key card, isn't it?"

  "Yes."

  "And it was found on your person one week ago."

  "Yes."

  "Have you ever challenged the authority of your owner?" Damien asks.

  Isidore looks panicked as he glances at Blice. "What do you mean?"

  "Have you disobeyed orders?"

  "Yes."

  "Have you been in a physical altercation with your owner? Let me ask it this way. Have you hit your owner?"

  Blice can only close his eyes and wait for the truth to come out. This is the surest way to ensure a guilty verdict.

  "I have."

  "Have you yelled at your owner? Called him names?"

  "Yes." Isidore says.

  "Do you deny that you have broken the Android Laws multiple times?"

  "No. I don't deny it."

  "Are you aware that with just this confession, the jury is ordered to add the possibility of the death penalty if you are found guilty?" Damien asks as he looks at the jury.

  Isidore sinks down in the chair. "I am now."

  "I think I've finished with this witness for now, Your Honor."

  Isidore rejoins Blice's side and is silent as he starts scribbling in his notebook.


  "For my next witness, I call Mr. McSage to the stand."

  Blice's hands tighten into fists as he moves up to the stand. "It's President McSage."

  "Yes, yes. Sorry."

  Blice sits at the witness stand and puts his feet up on the rail. This should be entertaining to see what new accusations Damien has. Let's go.

  "We've known each other for a while, yes?" Damien asks.

  "A few months."

  "Would you classify us as ever having been friends?"

  Blice crosses his arms. "At one point I might have said that in passing."

  "How do you feel about friends, President McSage?"

  "I don't know where you're going with this."

  "Let me try something else. Do you have many friends?"

  "No. I guess not."

  "But you would have labeled me as a friend?" Damien asks.

  "I don't-"

  "Did you not just say that you might have called me a friend in passing?"

  "I did."

  "Good. Just making sure we are on the same page here. Now, did you or did you not call Mr. Williams your friend in your opening statement?"

  Yes. What does this have to do with anything? "I did and he is."

  "What are some characteristics of two people being friends? Is talking considered something that friends do?"

  "I guess."

  "It's a yes or no question, sir." Damien says.

  "Okay. Yes."

  "What about playing games together?"

  "Sure."

  "Giving your life for your friend?"

  "In extreme circumstances, yes."

  "I see." Damien then grins and turns to the jury. "What about rape?"

  The courtroom erupts in furious whispers and the flashing of cameras. Blice glares at Damien as the rage fills him. Of course he would bring this up here of all places. He can't look at Isidore. Instead, he looks down at his hands and grits his teeth.

  "Answer the question, McSage. Does a friend beat and rape another friend?"

  Blice can't answer that. He knows exactly where Damien is going with this and if he answers, it is an automatic loss for Isidore.

  "Your Honor, the witness is being unresponsive."

  "President McSage, you are ordered to answer the question." The judge says.

  Fine. "No. Friends don't do that."

  "Is it true that you have been pardoned for fifty-eight counts of sexual assault against Mr. Williams?"

  "It's true." Even the admittance of that hurts.

  "How is that true if you claimed that Isidore was your friend? One of these is a lie, is it not, McSage?"

  "You're trying to make me say something that's not true. Isidore is my friend and I will give my own life for him. I will do anything to ensure his happiness and safety."

  "It was a yes or no question. Please only answer what I ask." Damien says.

  "I can't answer this question, Your Honor."

  The judge waves his hand. "Fine. Ask something else, Mr. Montgomery."

  "I'd like to draw your attention to exhibit four." Damien goes to the computer in the middle of the room and presses some buttons until a picture appears on the far wall for all to see. "Do you recognize this notebook page?"

  Where the hell did he get that? It's a page from Leena's journal. He can tell by her handwriting and the tiny flowers she drew on every page. "Yes."

  "Do you know who wrote this?"

  "Leena McSage."

  "Did you know Leena?" Damien asks.

  "She was my wife."

  "So you agree that your wife wrote this?"

  "I do."

  "I'd like for you to read from the forth line to the end. Can you do that? Read it out loud to the court."

  At first it seems innocent enough, then as he looks over it, Blice feels sick. "I'd rather not."

  "Read the document, Mr. President."

  "It says, 'Today I saw Blice and his partner Isidore Williams together again. Blice did something absolutely terrible and I feel so awful even writing this. He was raping him.'" Blice holds his face in his hands as his eyes sting with tears. "I can't do this. I can't read anymore."

  "Do you deny that this happened?"

  "No. I don't deny it." He manages to look over at Isidore who is sitting there, looking down at his notebook, expressionless.

  Damien brings up another document and this one is worse than the first. "This is exhibit five. Do you know what this is, McSage?"

  "A medical report."

  "Whose medical report?"

  "Mr. Williams's."

  "Can you tell the court what it says?" Damien asks.

  No. "I'm not reading anything else."

  "Then just tell us what it says. Surely you know, do you not?"

  "I do."

  "Then tell the court."

  Blice's hands are grasping the wooden rail so tightly, he's afraid he's going to break it. "Fractured pelvis, internal bleeding, multiple lacerations to genital area, bruises to legs and arms, and dehydration."

  Isidore still isn't showing any emotions whatsoever. All he does is scribble in his notebook.

  Damien replaces the document with a picture. "Can you tell the court what this is?"

  Oh dear God, not this. How the hell does Damien have all of this? "A bottle of pills."

  "What pills?"

  "Rohypnol."

  "And the one on the right?"

  "Propofol."

  "And this one?"

  "Diazepam."

  "What are these for, sir?" Damien asks.

  How did they get pictures of these? Blice is certain he had kept these hidden. He's not going to say anything. If anyone knows what these drugs are, it's self-explanatory.

  "What do all of these have in common?"

  "They are terribly expensive to obtain now."

  Damien doesn't seem pleased at that answer. "Okay, I'll ask you directly. Did you use these on Mr. Williams?"

  "Yes."

  "Do you know that each of these drugs can inflict anterograde amnesia on the person who takes it?"

  "Yes."

  "Did you give these to Mr. Williams in an attempt to make him not remember what you were doing to him?"

  Blice hides his face in his hands again. "Yes."

  "You made sure to give him enough so he wouldn't remember anything the next day. Is that correct?"

  "Yes."

  "After administering those drugs, you raped him. Is that true?" Damien asks.

  "It's true."

  "Sometimes with objects like a loaded gun?"

  "Yes."

  "Is that what friends do, Mr. McSage?"

  Blice feels his eyes stinging. "No, it's not."

  "Are you stating that you and Mr. Williams were not friends?"

  "I'm not answering that question."

  "By your own logic and admittance which is on record, if someone rapes someone, they can't be friends. Did you or did you not say that?" Damien asks.

  "I did."

  "Now, take a look at exhibit six." Damien replaces the picture with another one. "What is this a picture of?"

  A maniacal power-hungry abusive bastard who should have died a long time ago. "My father."

  "Your father doing what?"

  "Playing with me and my brother."

  "Who is your brother?" Damien asks.

  "Byron Erikson."

  "Would you say that you and Mr. Erikson are friends?"

  "We're brothers and acquaintances at best. We don't get along very well."

  "Do you hate Mr. Erikson?"

  Not by any means. "I don't hate anyone."

  "By anyone you mean human beings, right?"

  "Or-"

  Damien interrupts him. "Yes or no."

  "Yes."

  "Is it true that your wife ran away on your wedding night?"

  "That is true." Blice says.

  "Would you say you were friends with your wife?"

  "I would hope so. I loved her." He really did love Leena.

  "How wou
ld you define love? Kissing?"

  "Sure."

  "Sex?"

  "Depends." Blice says.

  "It's a yes or no question."

  "Yes."

  "Is making love different than rape?"

  What kind of question is that? They aren't even in the same realm. "Of course."

  "Would you say it is the opposite of making love?"

  "Yes."

  "If making love is love, then rape is hate. Is that what you are implying?" Damien asks.

  "Sure. Why not?"

  "Then by that logic, your logic, you hate Mr. Williams."

  How did Damien get so good at this? Oh wait. He's a tricky bastard. Why did Blice expect anything different? What can he say to that? Damien has him backed up in a corner with no way out.

  "And because you don't hate any human beings, Mr. Williams must not be human at all."

  There it is, Damien's point in all of this. How can Blice counteract this?

  "That's all from this witness, Your Honor."

  Damn it. Damien won this round. Blice steps down and joins Isidore's side again. Isidore doesn't look up from his drawing.

  "For my next witness, I will call Clara Lifestone to the stand."

  Isidore looks up pleadingly at Blice. "No."

  Two guards escort Clara into the courtroom and up to the stand. She has obviously been crying.

  "Where's Katarina?" Isidore whispers.

  "I don't know. Hold on. This isn't going to happen." Blice stands again. "Objection, Your Honor. What about spousal immunity?"

  "Their marriage is not legally binding and therefore not recognized by the Unified State."

  Damn it. He has to do something. "Your Honor, I motion for a short recess in order to discuss developments with Mr. Williams. We were not notified of this witness."

  "I will allow it. One hour recess before testimony."

  11

  Blice leads Isidore over to one of the conference rooms so they can discuss what's happened. How dare they try to bring Clara into this? He motions at the table. "Sit down, Niko. Don't say anything. I need some quiet to clear my head."