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papers-the writ, and the receipt for the Fuzzies, handing them across the
desk. "My client and I wish to know upon what basis of legality your Honor
sanctioned this act, and by what right Mr. O'Brien sent his officers to Mr.
Holloway's camp to snatch these little people from their friend and protector,
Mr. Holloway."
The judge looked at the two papers. "As you know, Miss Ugatori took prints of
them when you called to make this appointment. I've seen them. But believe me,
Mr. Brannhard, this is the first time I have seen the original of this writ.
You know how these things are signed in blank. It's a practice that has saved
considerable time and effort, and until now they have only been used when
there was no question that I
or any other judge would approve. Such a question should certainly have
existed in this case, because had I seen this writ I would never have signed
it." He turned to the now fidgeting Chief Prosecutor. "Mr.
O'Brien," he said, "one simply does not impound sapient beings as evidence,
as, say, one impounds a veldbeest calf in a brand-alteration case. The fact
that the sapience of these Fuzzies is still sub judice includes the
presumption of its possibility. Now you know perfectly well that the courts
may take no action in the face of the possibility that some innocent person
may suffer wrong."
"And, your Honor," Brannhard leaped into the breach, "it cannot be denied that
these Fuzzies have suffered a most outrageous wrong! Picture them-no, picture
innocent and artless children, for that is what these Fuzzies are, happy,
trusting little children, who, until then, had known only kindness and
affection-rudely kidnaped, stuffed into sacks by brutal and callous men-"
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"Your Honor!" O'Brien's face turned even blacker than the hot sun of Agni had
made it. "I cannot hear officers of the court so char-acterized without
raising my voice in protest!"
"Mr. O'Brien seems to forget that he is speaking in the presence of two eye
witnesses to this brutal abduction."
"If the officers of the court need defense, Mr. O'Brien, the court will defend
them. I believe that you should presently consider a de-fense of your own
actions."
"Your Honor, I insist that I only acted as I felt to be my duty," O'Brien
said. "These Fuzzies are a key exhibit in the case of People versus Kellogg,
since only by demonstration of their sapience can any prosecution against the
defendant be maintained."
"Then why," Brannhard demanded, "did you endanger them in this criminally
reckless manner?"
"Endanger them?" O'Brien was horrified. "Your Honor, I acted only to insure
their safety and appearance in court."
"So you took them away from the only man on this planet who knows anything
about their proper care, a man who loves them as he would his own human
children, and you subjected them to abuse which, for all you knew, might have
been fatal to them."
Judge Pendarvis nodded. "I don't believe, Mr. Brannhard, that you have
overstated the case. Mr.
O'Brien, I take a very unfavorable view of your action in this matter. You had
no right to have what are at least putatively sapient beings treated in this
way, and even view-ing them as mere physical evidence I
must agree with Mr. Brann-hard's characterization of your conduct as
criminally reckless. Now, speaking judicially, I order you to produce those
Fuzzies immediately and return them to the custody of Mr.
Holloway."
"Well, of course, your Honor." O'Brien had been growing progres-sively
distraught, and his face now had the gray-over-brown hue of a Walnut gunstock
that has been out in the rain all day. "It'll take an hour or so to send for
them and have them brought here."
You mean they're not in this building?" Pendarvis asked.
"Oh, no, your Honor, there are no facilities here. I had them taken to Science
Center-"
"What?"
Jack had determined to keep his mouth shut and let Gus do the talking. The
exclamation was literally forced out of him. Nobody no-ticed; it had also been
forced out of both Gus Brannhard and Judge
Pendarvis. Pendarvis leaned forward and spoke with dangerous mildness:
"Do you refer, Mr. O'Brien, to the establishment of the Division of Scientific
Study and Research of the chartered Zarathustra Com-pany?"
"Why, yes; they have facilities for keeping all kinds of live ani-mals, and
they do all the scientific work for-"
Pendarvis cursed blasphemously. Brannhard looked as startled as though his own
briefcase had jumped at his throat and tried to bite him. He didn't look half
as startled as Ham O'Brien did.
"So you think," Pendarvis said, recovering his composure with vis-ible effort,
"that the logical custodian of prosecution evidence in a murder trial is the
defendant? Mr. O'Brien, you simply enlarge my view of the possible?"
"The Zarathustra Company isn't the defendant," O'Brien argued sullenly.
"Not of record, no," Bratinhard agreed. "But isn't the Zarathus-tra Company's
scientific division headed by one Leonard Kellogg?"
"Dr. Kellogg's been relieved of his duties, pending the outcome of the trial.
The division is now headed by
Dr. Ernst Mallin."
"Chief scientific witness for the defense; I fail to see any practical
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difference."
"Well, Mr. Emmert said it would be all right," O'Brien mumbled.
"Jack, did you hear that?" Brannhard asked. "Treasure it in your memory. You
may have to testify to it in court sometime." He turned to the Chief Justice.
"Your Honor, may I suggest the recovery of these
Fuzzies be entrusted to Colonial Marshal Fane, and may I fur-ther suggest that
Mr. O'Brien be kept away from any communication equipment until they are
recovered."
"That sounds like a prudent suggestion, Mr. Brarinhard. Now, I'll give you an
order for the surrender of the Fuzzies, and a search war-rant, just to be on
the safe side. And, I think, an Orphans' Court form naming Mr. Holloway as
guardian of these putatively sapient beings. What are their names? Oh, I have
them here on this receipt." He smiled pleasantly. "See, Mr. O'Brien, we're
saving you a lot of trouble."
O'Brien had little enough wit to protest. "But these are the defend-ant and
his attorney in another murder case I'm prosecuting," he began.
Pendarvis stopped smiling. "Mr. O'Brien, I doubt if you'll be al-lowed to
prosecute anything or anybody around here any more, and I am specifically
relieving you of any connection with either the Kel-logg or the Holloway
trial, and if I hear any argument out of you about it, I will issue a bench
warrant for your arrest on charges of malfeasance in office."
I0
COLONIAL MARSHAL Max Fane was as heavy as Gus Brannhard and considerably
shorter.
Wedged between them on the back seat of the marshal's car, Jack Holloway
contemplated the backs of the two uniformed deputies on the front scat and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]