| From: | ANGLISS BRIAN EDWARD <angliss@****.colorado.edu> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | The first of the Defense's arguments |
| Date: | Thu, 7 Dec 1995 01:36:17 -0700 (MST) |
drek. Enjoy.
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The trial, again, but this time the individual speaking is a little
different than it has been for the past few weeks. The Defense now has
it's chance to disprove every argument.
Patrick O'Kennedy is sitting, as he has for weeks, very quietly and
outwardly patient, with his old, conservative suit and tie on. His eyes,
however, seem to dart over all the courtroom, taking in everything,
intensely aware of all going on around him.
Defense: "Your Honor, I call to the stand Ms. Mariah Merril."
You see an attractive human woman, about 35 or 40, enter the courtroom,
wearing a long skirt and simple, cotton blouse. This is Mozart, the
current administrator of Haven, in Pat's absence. Her long, blonde hair
reaches down to the middle of her back, and her outfit bespeaks only
slightly her magical abilites, through the alchemical symbol for solution
that hangs as a pendant from her neck. She and the rest of the court go
through the entire ordeal of being sworn in.
"Ms. Merril, how long have you known Mr. O'Kennedy?"
Nearly 30 years now.
"Could you explain to the court how you came to meet him?"
When I was four, my father was laid off from his job. My mother had died
in bearing me, and my father had never been able to save enough to live
for long without income. We found ourselves out on the street within a
month, and my father soon became a casualty. He was killed by a bunch of
gangers who mistook him for a rival. I was 4 and a half. I became very
street wary and wise over the next couple of years as I was forced to
fend for myself, trust no-one, and live by my wits alone. One day, when
I was nearly nine, I was awakened by a small creature. My first thought
was that it was a devil rat attempting to decide whether I was dead or
meerly asleep, and so I kicked very violently at it. It turned out to be
meerly a spectre, and my kick was strong enough that I accidently knocked
myself out of the straw mat I called a bed. At the time I was unaware of
watchers and their simple lives, but that's what it was, and it stayed
with me for a few minutes until I was startled by an elven man appearing
before my eyes. I knew magic when I saw it, and I ran and ran and ran,
but couldn't get away. About 30 minutes later, a small van pulled up,
with a driver in the front, and out of the back stepped the elf. By
using magic that day, he soothed my fears and convinced me that I would
be far better off with him than on my own. That was how I met Mr. O'Kennedy.
"And in the intervening years, what has Mr. O'Kennedy done to help you?"
Prosecution: "Your Honor, I object. I fail to see the relevance of this
line of questioning."
Defense: "I am meerly questioning Ms. Merril as a characher witness for
Mr. O'Kennedy."
Judge: "Overruled."
"Ms. Merril?"
After meeting with Pat...
"That is Mr. O'Kennedy?"
I'm sorry, that's correct. After Mr. O'Kennedy convinced me to join him,
he began to educate me. He taught me mathematics, literature,
philosophy, reading, composition, all the classes that a well educated
student would have otherwise acquired. And through it all was magical
theory. I later discovered that all the students he first saught out
were magically active. I wasn't even the first, but rather the second,
student Mr. O'Kennedy had recruited. Gradually, the classes grew larger,
and my 15th birthday, I was already learning sorcery, conjuring,
enchanting, and casting spells. Mr. O'Kennedy also had to move our
classes, which had grown to several dozen, from his private residence to
a larger building. Mr. O'Kennedy purchased Haven, paid to refurbish it,
and we moved in.
"What do you feel Mr. O'Kennedy did for you personally?"
Prosecution: "Objection. Personal opinion."
Defense: "I am in the process of setting up a line of examples, your
Honor. I ask the Court's patience in this matter."
Judge: "Overruled. Please proceed, Ms. Merril."
I belive that Mr. O'Kennedy rescued me from a short life of hunger,
disease, terror, and violence. He helped me to learn what life could be
if only I dared to dream about something better. He taught me that it
was all right to be different, and that being afraid of the dark was
normal.
He became a second father to me. When I went off to High School, he paid
for my education. He helped me get through college as well, when the
loans and grants ran out or were recalled.
He gave me my life back.
"And what brought you back to Seattle?"
Mr O'Kennedy has a vision for the future, a dream if you prefer, that I
agree with. He wants to see the world become a far better place than it
is now, and he wants to start with the children. He wants to save our
future by giving us back our hope.
"Thank you, Ms. Merril. No further questions."
Prosecution: "Ms. Merril, you said that you first met Mr. O'Kennedy when
you were 9, is that correct?"
It is.
"How many years were you with him before you left for college?"
11.
"What did you do at college?"
I studied hermetic magic and followed my conscience.
"Did following your conscience include a history of violent
anti-corporate protests, Ms. Merril?"
Yes, I'm afraid it did.
"And the arrest record you recieved from these protests was the ultimate
cause of your grants being revoked, is that not also correct?"
That is correct.
"And what did you do after graduating from college?"
I became an activist.
"In fact, Ms. Merril, you became a member of several anti-corporate
agitation groups, three of which were borderline illegal, and one of
which was, and still is, I might add, classified as a terrorist
orginization, correct?"
Yes.
"If you so believed in hope for the future, Ms. Merril, then why did you
become a convicted felon for your actions while a member of these
groups? Why, if you find Mr. O'Kennedy's philosophies so wonderful, did
you blatently disregard them?"
I hope for a corporate free world, sir. But I was raised by Mr.
O'Kennedy to think for myself and to form my own opinions. I find Mr.
O'Kennedy's ideals admirable, but his methods too passive for my personal
tastes.
"How much time have you served in prison, Ms. Merril?"
Defense: "Objection. Argumentative."
Judge: "Sustained."
"No further questions, your Honor."
Judge: "The witness may step down."
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