The Fall of Chance

by McGowan, Terry

  Erk bore the black sash of the Chairman and it was he who rose to address the court. “Partners in Fate,” he said, “We are gathered here to pass judgement on Mr Unt of the Order of Councillors, resident of West Ridge.

  “Mr Unt is charged with causing the obstruction of official rolls of determination, namely the Fall of this year. It is alleged that he knowingly falsified records and encouraged others to do so, thereby affecting the professional and marital allocations of himself and others.

  “Specifically, the charges relate to an incident on the sixteenth of the fourth in which two female minors were rescued from drowning. Statements given at the time credited another party with their rescue whereas it is alleged that the rescues were performed by Mr Unt. Credit given for this rescue affected the Talent Modifiers of the people involved and therefore the results of their Fall.

  “It is estimated that, if true, the miscalculated Talent Modifiers affected the professional draw by a factor of thirty-seven percent and the marital draw by a factor of eighty-two percent.

  “This incident was witnessed by the two accident victims, the person currently accredited with the rescue and Mr Unt.

  “Mr Unt is today represented by Defender Ostin. Mr Ostin will be presently invited to enter a plea, after which witnesses will be summoned.”

  Erk then went over the same procedures that Ostin had explained the night before. When he was done, he looked at Ostin with a small, stiff nod and said, “Mr Ostin, please deliver your client’s plea.”

  Ostin rose. “Innocent of Intent,” he said quickly and planted himself back down. There was a loud murmur from the crowd. Unt wondered if there was any plea that wouldn’t have got the same response.

  “So noted,” said Erk without emotion and wrote the plea on a leather-bound ledger before him.

  “Let us proceed to the first witness,” he said when he was done. “The court calls to the stand Acolyte Pollock of the Order of Councillors.” He nodded to an orderly who disappeared through one door and reappeared with Pollock in tow.

  Pollock went briskly to the witness stand. He was offered a seat but shook his head in refusal. He stood up to the railings that surrounded the stand but didn’t rest so much as a hand to support himself.

  “Mr Pollock,” Erk began, “How many years have you been in the Order of Councillors?”

  “Thirty-five years,” Pollock pronounced it like a sentence but with pride, “Eighteen of those as Acolyte.”

  “You preclude my next question, “Erk smiled in his mild way. “I’ll skip to another for which I know the answer but I’ll state for the benefit of the court: you are my own apprentice, are you not?”

  “I certainly am, sir.”

  “For eighteen years?”

  “For eighteen years.”

  “You are, therefore, after myself, the most senior person responsible for overseeing public order?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And it was in this capacity that yesterday morning, you were handed a letter?”

  “Yes.”

  “And this letter made the allegations against Mr Unt. Thank you, Mr Pollock. In a moment, I will ask you to read from that letter but I have a couple of questions first.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “Very well. How was the letter delivered?”

  “By hand, sir.”

  “And who was the person who gave you the letter?”

  “I can’t say, sir.”

  “Why not?”

  “A condition of anonymity was agreed before the letter was handed over.”

  “This agreement was a decision you made yourself?”

  Pollock looked offended at any implication he’d exceeded his authority. “No sir, it was a decision made by a dice roll which adhered to the guidance in section eight, table three-point-two of the Council Order Handbook.”

  “And you were right to do so,” Erk diffused his underling’s hostility with a bland, patient smile. “Can you at least give us a physical description of this person?”

  “No, sir. This was part of the anonymity agreement. The information contained within the letter could only have been known by a handful of individuals. Any physical description would signal the bearer as much as by name.”

  “All right, Mr Pollock, I think now would be a good time for you to read out the letter.”

  Pollock seemed happy at this important duty. He reached inside his robe and pulled out a crisply-rolled letter. It was bound with a blue ribbon in a neat little cylinder. There were crease-marks where it had been folded by the original bearer and it was obvious that Pollock had shown it more love and care. He looked to Erk for permission to start and receiving a slight nod, he began to read.

  “Dear sirs, it is my sad duty to tell you of illegal activity made by Unt, a resident of West Ridge. This activity involves several others, including myself, who were persuaded by Unt to falsify witness statements we made during our Work Experience.

  “On the occasion I’m writing about, our group was working alone. The people in the group were Unt, Bulton, Mélie and Olissa. Mélie and Olissa fell in the river and Unt rescued them. Bulton helped pull them out of the water.

  “After the girls had recovered, we knew we had to go and report the accident and get treatment but Unt stopped us. He said he didn’t want anyone to know that he’d made the rescue and asked us to say Bulton did it.

  “He said he didn’t want credit but when the Fall came, that credit would help Bulton get the job he wanted. He told the girls if they were thankful that they’d do this for him.

  “It didn’t seem to hurt anyone and it seemed fair to do what the rescuer wanted so we all agreed. When we gave our reports, we said Bulton did it.

  “For weeks afterwards, I felt guilty about lying, even though it seemed nobody would get hurt. It felt wrong against who we are and the values of the town but I didn’t think I could say anything.

  “After the Fall, I saw what even a well-meant lie could do. People I knew who’d wanted certain jobs couldn’t get them because of where Unt and Bulton ended up. Then the people who wanted their jobs couldn’t get them because they were also taken. I saw a lot of people made upset.

  “Then, when the marriages were drawn, the same thing happened. Because of the jobs they’d ended up with, people were put into marriages they didn’t want. Even more people were upset.

  “I now see the harm my actions have done and I am truly very sorry. Although we didn’t mean it, we’ve brought great hurt to our friends and the people around them.

  “It has taken me many weeks to get up the courage to make this confession. I don’t want to bring harm to Unt - he didn’t know the wrong he was doing - but I know we are guilty and this is the only way to repair the damage we did. Once again, I’m truly sorry.”

  Pollock stopped and looked to his master as though for approval. Somehow, in the most neutral look imaginable, he captured complete smugness, as though he’d not only unveiled a great masterpiece but created it himself.

  Unt was cut with mixed emotions. He raged at the betrayal - at the way one of the people he’d saved could do this to him - but a part of him had to admit the truth of it. He had got them to lie and as the letter claimed, he’d indirectly brought misery to all those other people.

  He could say to himself that just as many other people had been made happier by the effect of his actions on them. He could argue that, with or without his help, some people would have been miserable; he’d just altered the order.

  But that didn’t stop the fact that he had definitely caused real misery. He owned that responsibility and would have to carry it. Maybe he should have owned up himself. Maybe private guilt wasn’t enough.

  But it should have been his call to make. Olissa or Mélie - whichever it had been - they’d rewarded saving their lives by ruining his. What about feeling guilty for that?

  These thoughts had circled his head as Pollock read the letter, rising in pitch until they became a cyclone. He was so caught up
in the energy of anger that he almost missed Erk’s next words.

  “Thank you, Mr Pollock for such a clear reading. Now, please tell us, did you read the letter yourself at the time you received it?”

  “I did, sir.”

  “And what did you do then?”

  “I brought it to your attention. I then accompanied you to the offices of Councillor Kelly. I remained with you while Councillor Brooker was summoned and then went with you to confront the accused.”

  “And that ended your involvement with the case?”

  “Until this trial, yes.”

  “Thank you, Mr Pollock. That will be all from me. But I sense beside me that Councillor Taylor is eager to ask a question. Councillor, your witness.”

  Taylor shuffled forward, leaning on his elbows. “Mr Pollock, did you say that you’ve been an Acolyte for seventeen years?”

  “Eighteen,” said Pollock, stiffly.

  “My mistake,” said Taylor, his broad mouth betraying a smirk. “That’s a long time to be an apprentice.”

  “Your point, sir?” Pollock frowned.

  “It must be very frustrating to be the age you are and with so little career progress.”

  Pollock shrugged. “It goes with the post. But I still don’t see your point.”

  “My point, Mr Pollock, is that you must harbour a lot of resentment. I think this situation gave you a chance to be a big deal for once in your life and it gave you a chance to take out your frustration on a younger member of your Order.”

  Pollock fumed. “Absolutely not. And whatever wrong opinion you might have of me, I don’t see what you would have me do different.”

  “I would have you give us the identity of the accuser!” Taylor thumped his finger down like a gavel. “The allegations made in this letter are among the most serious this community has, yet you let the coward point fingers from behind closed curtains.”

  “I rolled against the correct table and this was the result,” Pollock was firm. “I had no input.”

  “So you say, and yet there’s no witness. Tell me, what were the odds that anonymity be granted? What were the other options? What were the odds on them?”

  “Those are three questions,” said Pollock, “And I can’t answer any of them off-hand.”

  “Funny. I’d have thought all those years would give you time to memorise every table. Can you at least tell us if the odds of the grant were long?”

  Pollock considered, “Fairly long, yes, but that’s the roll that was made.”

  There was a small cough and the little frame of Pello leant forward from the end of the bench. Looking along the line of peers, he said, mildly, “I don’t think there’s any need to call Mr Pollock’s integrity into question. His duty here was to read the letter he’d been given.”

  “And he did it beautifully,” Taylor snorted.

  Pello serenely ignored the remark and carried on. “The system allows for the possibility that anonymity be granted and we must assume that any roll made by anyone is made honourably. Indeed, it is the betrayal of that trust that is the nature of this trial. The system allowed for the chance of this result and if that chance was too short, then it’s the system that is at fault.”

  “You’ll get no disagreement here,” growled Taylor.

  Erk gave Taylor a moment to speak further and when he didn’t, he asked him, “Are you finished examining the witness?”

  Taylor waved him away. “No further questions.”

  “In that case, Councillor Hodd, he’s your witness.”

  Hodd arched his fingers together and smiled blandly at Pollock. “Mr Pollock, my chief concern is the state of the accuser. How did the bearer of this letter seem to you?”

  “Seem, sir?”

  “Were they awkward? Shy? Confident? Did they seem like someone making a confession or an accusation?”

  Pollock frowned as he thought this over. “I thought they were genuine, sir. I felt they were like the words in the letter.”

  “A mixture of fear, guilt and remorse?”

  “Exactly.”

  “And you got no impression of an attempt to deceive you?”

  “They might have been putting it on,” said Pollock, “but if they’ve fooled me I’m not going to be the one to know, am I?”

  “Quite,” smiled Hodd. “So, to summarise, they came in, said they wanted to submit an accusing letter and you accepted this letter. You accepted the plea for anonymity and then passed on the letter, so ending your involvement.”

  “Well, I accompanied Councillor Erk,” said Pollock.

  “But you ceased to be involved in any significant fashion?”

  “Well, I suppose my major job was done.”

  “Thank you,” said Hodd. “My second line of enquiry then begins with an obvious question: you granted anonymity so you must know the identity of the letter-bearer?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then I must ask, did you make any effort to investigate the motive of this person?”

  Pollock frowned, “They put their motive in the letter.”

  “And we have no means to check if they had any other motive,” said Hodd, “But you did. You had the chance to look into the background of this person. You could have seen what they stood to gain from discrediting the accused. Did you make any form of investigation?”

  Pollock’s demeanour lost its swagger. “No, I didn’t.”

  “You didn’t think to do so?”

  “I, er, no.”

  Hodd looked like a disappointed teacher. “What a shame. I have one last question: I’m curious how far this anonymity has been extended. Is it only you who knows the accuser’s identity?”

  “Well, no. I told Councillor Erk, obviously.”

  A Buzz of chatter erupted from the crowd. Among it, Unt heard Hodd say, “Thank you, that’s all.” The delay gave Unt a chance to think. The Councillors were giving Pollock a hard time. Were they trying to close ranks and discredit the charge? If they were, it wasn’t much of a unified front. Taylor seemed to be fighting Unt’s corner but then Pello, mild as he was, had effectively pulled the teeth from his attack.

  Then there were these questions from Hodd. He’d opened up a big crack in the case against Unt, shown there’d been little effort by the Council to investigate, and then he’d stopped short.

  Was it because Hodd had made his point without the need to probe further? Was the point even related to Unt? It was Erk who was left looking clueless and Hodd had to know that. Unt feared he was set to be a pawn in a fight between Councillors.

  “Thank you,” Erk spoke to the crowd. “Thank you,” he repeated louder. “Councillor Pello, I give you your witness.”

  “No questions,” said Pello, quickly.

  “Councillor Lasper, then,” said Erk.

  Lapser. He’d forgotten about Lasper. Surely his attention was focused purely on ruining Unt?

  Rearing up like a snake prepared to strike, Lasper spoke. “Thank you, Mr Chairman. Mr Pollock, I feel I must agree with my colleagues, Councillors Taylor and Hodd. There are certain aspects to the handling of the affair that are unsatisfactory, however, I also agree with the sentiment of Councillor Pello. This is no place for making distracting allegations. What we are here to do is establish the guilt, or otherwise, of the person in the dock.

  “Therefore, I have only one question for you, Pollock. As you know the identity of the accuser, can you confirm their claim that they were one of the people at the drowning incident?”

  “I can indeed.”

  “That’s all,” said Lasper and sitting down, he snapped a nod at Erk.

  “Very well,” said Erk. “Mr Ostin, you may now cross-examine.”

  Ostin rose with rare energy. “No questions.”

  “Good,” said Erk. “Mr Pollock, you’re excused.”

  12. Olissa

  Unt hadn’t time to register Ostin’s words before the Defender was back in his seat and Pollock was leaving the court.

  “No questions?” he hi
ssed.

  “There’s no point,” said Ostin, biting into a biscuit.

  “No point? Taylor and Hodd laid out two points right in front of you.”

  “And as your friend, Mr Lasper pointed out, they’re irrelevant. Our argument is that you acted without thinking but your heart was pure. That doesn’t work if you go pointing an accusing finger at everybody else. I can’t make the argument any better for us than they’ve already done.”

  That, Unt didn’t doubt.

  As the courtroom door closed behind Pollock, Erk retook control of the room. “The court now summons Mrs Olissa, a plumber of Granary Street,” he announced. Olissa entered through the door Pollock had just left. Looking uncomfortable, she let her bushy hair hide her face as she quickly took the stand. She didn’t look at Unt. Had she done so, she’d have met an accusing stare.

  “She wrote the letter,” he whispered to Ostin.

  “You know this?” Ostin was doubtful.

  “There were four of us there. I didn’t do it, Bull’s my best friend and that only leaves the two girls. Mélie’s nice and Olissa’s a bitch. It doesn’t take much working out.”

  “Don’t discount Bulton just because he’s a friend,” warned Ostin. “The letter-writer spoke of guilt and he gained more than the other two by your deception.”

  “It’s not just that. The letter was written by a girl.”

  “An expert on writing styles, are you?”

  “No, but I know my friend. It’s too neat and orderly to be Bull. He doesn’t talk like that.”

  “The other girl, then.”

  “Mélie doesn’t have a bad bone in her body.”

  “You know that for sure?”

  Unt didn’t have a chance to answer. Erk was already starting Olissa’s questioning.

  “Mrs Olissa, you were one of the party involved in the incident that occurred on the sixteenth of the fourth, this year?”

  “I was.”

  “You were one of the two people rescued from drowning?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you hear the accusing letter as it was read out by Mr Pollock?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Then the clerk of the court will read it to you now.”