| From: | ANGLISS BRIAN EDWARD <angliss@****.colorado.edu> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Valentine's testimony |
| Date: | Thu, 7 Dec 1995 15:08:04 -0700 (MST) |
You see before you the very same courtroom you've been seeing now for
weeks. Beyond the minor changes of clothing, there is only a single
major change. The defendant, Mr. Patrick John O'Kennedy, has just been
called to the stand. As he rises, you realize that, for an elf, he's
rather short. His closely cut hair reflects back to the beginning of the
century for style, rather than the wilder and more modern hairdews you
see around the courtroom. Today he is wearing a simple, well tailored
charcoal pinstripe, double-breasted suit. His white shirt is freshly
pressed and he has a tie that says as much as his suit does. It's a
simple red and green stripe print, and appears to be real silk. His
shoes are Florsheim's wing-tips. The quintesential conservative
buisnessman. For an elf who lounges around Haven wearing jeans,
tee-shirts, and black Converse high-tops, it's quite a change in
appearance. And if you've ever witnessed any of his Yuletide celebration
concerts, you know that this is as far a cry from his druidic robes as
from the jeans and tee-shirts. But regardless, this is a man who, while
not possessing of the raw charisma that many elves have, broadcasts self-
confidence and a presence that few can match. Even Drake, in his awesome
appearance, has none of Valentine's quiet strength, a strength often
reserved in this day and age for martial artist, monks, and similar
individuals whose internal power more than compensates for whatever
physical frailties they might have.
His every movement appears to draw the eyes of the courtroom, and yet he
is almost awkward in his gait as he mounts the steps and sits down in the
box.
"Please state your name and occupation for the Court."
My name is Patrick John O'Kennedy, I am currently administrator, in
absentia, of Haven."
"Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Patrick John O'Kennedy,
hereby swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help me God."
I, Patrick John O'Kennedy, hereby swear to tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me, by the gods."
Judge: "Mr. O'Kennedy, you could be held in contempt for that slight
modification. Please explain your divergance."
Your Honor, I am a Druid. While many theologians view this as meerly a
magical persuasion based in the British isles, to me and many others, it
is also our religion. To say "so help me God" would mean that I was
placing the Christian god, whom I do not follow, above the gods and
goddesses of my ancestry and beliefs. To me, swearing upon the Christian
God would have no meaning, whereas swearing before all my gods has the
same meaning as a Christian before his or her God.
Judge: "I understand. Do Counsels have a problem with this oath
standing as spoken?"
Prosecution: "No, your Honor."
Defense: "Not at all, your Honor."
+++++One of the things that you do notice about Valentine, though, is his
Irish accent. From what you can tell, he's Irish born, although his
accent is light enough to add an almost romantic timbre to his words.
He's been long out of his country....
Prosecution: "I do, however, wish to raise a point. Mr. O'Kennedy is an
accomplished magician, and his explanation mentioned this as well. It
would be remiss of the Court to not ensure that Mr. O'Kennedy did not us
his abilities upon the court in any way."
Judge: "Of course. Mr. O'Kennedy, if you perform any magic whatsoever
within this courtroom, I will be forced to find you in contempt of
court. Do you understand?"
Of course, your honor.
Judge: "Counsel, the witness is yours."
Defense: "Thank you, your Honor. Mr. O'Kennedy, how long have you lived
in Seattle?"
Part time or full time?
"Either."
I first set foot in Seattle some 35 years ago, lived here part time for
about 5 years, and have lived here, with vacations and minor moves, for
about the past 30 years.
"Where have you lived, over your lifetime?"
"London, Seattle, Denver, Ireland, Germany, Colorado, Australia, and many
other locations as well. Is that sufficient?"
"For the time being. Why did you choose to live here in Seattle, some 30
years ago?"
Because the city was smaller. There was hope, and yet there was more
social change upon a large scale than I figured was possible. It was
also very much easier to hide here.
"Hide from what?"
I have had family problems over they years. Until only a few years ago,
my druidic nature was an affront to my Irish cousins, the O'Kennedy
clan. I felt that Seattle would be far enough away from them that I
would be allowed to live in relative peace.
"So you came to Seattle for a new start?"
That's correct.
"And in the intervening years between your taking up residence and today,
what have you been doing?"
I've been trying to make the city a safer place for children. I've tried
to restore some hope to the community.
"How, precisely, have you done this?"
I originally searched the streets for individuals who were magically
active, convinced them to come with me, and taught them. I took
exclusivly orphans in those early days, and educated them, gave them hope
and something to dream about, and a home. After a while, I began to
utilize my time, energy, and fortune better and purchased Haven to better
educate and house the number of children I was finding. Eventually, I
started taking in all the children who truly wanted to learn, who truly
wanted to better themselves, regardless of thier magical ability or lack
thereof. I began to offer classes in Matrix theory, and progressed by
hiring out of work teachers to teach everything from the kindergarten
level up to high school. This is where Haven stands now.
"The prosecution has made a very large issue out of your dealings with
various gang members in Seattle. What have you to say regarding this?"
In my defense, I can only say that they are mostly children and young
adults. If I am to be able to change the future, the best place to start
is with the present. The minds of children are more capable of adapting
to change than the minds of adults. Drawing small children and orphans
off of the streets, where they have nothing to gain and very hard and too
often short life to live, into a safe home, Haven, where they have hope
and friends and food and safety, is easy. Drawing a gang member, who has
some element of power because of the gang behind him or her and who can
lead a reasonable life in the streets, is more difficult. I finally
decided that the time had come for me to try and change the streets of
Seattle on more than an individual basis. The only way to do it, at
least on my level, is to work with the gangs.
"And just what do you do when you work with the gangs?"
I start by earning thier respect. I respect them, and after they have
reached the point where they feel they can trust me, they begin to
respect me. I am a pacifist, and in a violent world and violent city
such as Seattle, that is a rare trait. But being willing to place myself
at risk, and to be honorable, and to trust them, and to forgive them
thier flaws, and accept the gangers as they are, well, I earned their
trust and respect. Slowly, I was able to take individuals out of the
gangs and give them hope for more than just the violence and drugs and
sim that the gangs offer, but rather the security of a home, true friends
who accept you for who you are and not how many gangers you've killed in
turf wars. I broker peace agreements between warring gangs, I help set
up turfs so that violence is reduced, and I try to help the gangers, when
they're ready, to leave the gang without getting a bullet in the back of
the head, or a knife in the back.
"Have you ever been hurt in the process of your dealings with the gangs?"
More times than I care to remember. I have a few too many scars. But
those scars are part of what define me, and they are how the gangs know I
can be trusted. I nearly died once when I took a knife meant for a
ganger who was leaving the Halloweeners. But it's the scars of broken
trust, and the losses of the children I can't save, and the students I've
found murdered in a turf war that hurt the most. Some of those wounds
never heal.
"You said that you are a pacifist. Why, Mr. O'Kennedy?"
Because I've been a soldier. I've killed too many men, women, and even
children to ever do it again, or to ever be a party to it again.
Violence has never solved anything in my life and has only made it
worse. It destroys the life of the victor as much as the life of the
victim. I've seen too many brilliant children, students of mine, who
could have gone on to achieve great dreams and accomplish great deeds,
killed in turf wars, shot down in random crossfire, or killed by sadistic
corporate security for no crime other than being in the wrong place at
the wrong time. Violence destroys hope and dreams, and I will not be a
party to it.
"Yet the prosecution has shown that you have had dealings with organized
crime and with violent carreer criminals including terrorists, vampires,
deckers, and many others. How, if you cannot be a party to violence, can
you associate with these individuals?"
Guilt by association has yet to become a common practice, this trial
not-withstanding.
Prosecution: "Objection!"
Judge: "Sustained. The witness will restrain himself from such comments."
My apologies, your Honor, Counsel. Everyone makes their choices, Miss.
As I have chosen to be a pacifist, they have chosen to live thier lives
in a less than legal and far more active manner. I cannot judge them
based on that fact alone. They are individuals rather than a category.
Some of the most violent criminals I associate with are, paradoxically,
the most decent people I know. Perhaps the best example I can give is
Dr. Jackson, whom I have met on occastion and who the Prosecution focused
on due to Dr. Jackson's prior history with InterPol. He is a very
violent man, and indeed must cause some pain and suffering meerly to
continue living. Yet I cannot, and will not, judge him on this basis
alone. He has a very violent past, yet he tries every day to compensate
for the violence he has done, and continues to do. He is a doctor, a
surgeon, who once devoted his life to helping people and tries to do so
as best he can again.
I do not condone his lifestyle, or the violence he does. Were there a
means of returning him to a meer human again, I would help him to do it,
and he would do it himself. But I cannot condemn a man for what he has
no control over either. Dr. Jackson and I are as close to friends as two
from our very different worlds can be, but that does not, as far as I am
concerned, make me guilty of his crimes.
Prosecution: "Objection."
Judge: "Sustained. Mr, O'Kennedy...."
I am very sorry. As I said before, I find it within me to overlook and
forgive the wrongs that Dr. Jackson has done and prefer to emphasize the
good he does to those who want or need his help.
"Mr. O'Kennedy, the most damning evidence against you has said that you
have harbored criminals in Haven, putting the children you board and
educate there at risk. What have you to say to this?"
I can only say that the children are never at risk. No weapons are
allowed within Haven itself unless the administrator, usually me, permits
it. While I have been administrator, I have allowed weapons on rare
occasions, but they were always stored in my office where they were
relatively safe. Certainly, there is magical threats as well, but most
of my fellow teachers are magicians, and many of them are, in fact, the
first students who I rescued from the streets. With so many magicians
and the occasional spirit, it is difficult to do anything violent within
Haven's walls. The children have never been in danger, to the best of my
knowledge.
"No further questions, your Honor."
Prosecution: "I notice that you did not comment about the criminals,
only on the safety of the children."
Is not thier wellfare most important?
"That's not the question, Mr. O'Kennedy. Have you ever housed known
criminals in Haven?"
Every time I allow a gang member to board, for even a day.
"Mr. O'Kennedy, you are attempting to divert me and twist my questions,
and I'll not allow you do to so. Have you ever allowed the criminals
known as shadowrunners to board at Haven?"
Yes, I have.
"I bring it to the attention of the court that, while Mr. O'Kennedy has
pleaded not-guilty to the charges, he has just admitted that he is, in
fact, guilty of harboring criminals. Mr. O'Kennedy, if you admit this,
then what of the other charges you pleaded not-guilty to?"
To the best of my knowledge, most of them are are also accurate, and I
have done them.
"Then why, Mr. O'Kennedy, have you put us through these long weeks of
trial when you could have saved us the time and effort?"
I had never intended to take the stand, Sir, but after yesterday's
witnesses and unpleasant grilling by you of my students and wards, I
could not sit back and let the charade continue any longer. I am
responsible for my own actions, yet you personally attacked the children
in my care. Two of them were even brought to tears, sir! I could not
allow that to continue. I could not permit my silence to cause those I
love and care for to be harmed. Just as I am not responsible for the
crimes of others, my wards are not responsible for my crimes. And were I
to keep silent, I would be responsible for thier distress as well.
I pleaded not-guilty to the charges for the simple reason that I should
not be arrested, charged, and put on trial because I chose to live my
life willing to overlook people's pasts. The laws, while generally
better than pure anarchy, break down when a private citizen is trying to
better the world he lives in. I am trying to make Seattle a better
place. Against all odds, I am trying to do this. I am a moral man, sir,
yet I am surrounded by people and corporations who care not for anyone or
anything but themselves. I care what happens to the city of Seattle. I
care what happens to my wards. I care that there are more children dying
in Seattle squats than I can house in Haven.
Sir, I am on trial here not because of the evidence, but because I care.
Your Honor, I wish to change my pleas.
Judge: "Very well. Mr. O'Kennedy, please stand. How plead you to the
charges listed before you?"
Your Honor, I plead guilty on all charges. May I step down and return to
my seat?
Judge: "You may step down."
+++++End Trideo Download+++++
The judge called a recess until tomorrow, so he could figure out what the
frag was going on, I figure.]<<<<<
-- Trideo Pirate <15:06:59/12-07-56>
