XIV

They walked together, Frederic and Claudette Pendarvis, down through the

roof garden toward the landing stage, and, as she always did, Claudette

stopped and cut a flower and fastened it in his lapel.

"Will the Fuzzies be in court?" she asked.

"Oh, they'll have to be. I don't know about this morning; it'll be mostly

formalities." He made a grimace that was half a frown and half a smile. "I

really don't know whether to consider them as witnesses or as exhibits,

and I hope I'm not called on to rule on that, at least at the start.

Either way, Coombes or Brannhard would accuse me of showing prejudice."

"I want to see them. I've seen them on screen, but I want to see them for

real."

"You haven't been in one of my courts for a long time, Claudette. If I

find that they'll be brought in today, I'll call you. I'll even abuse my

position to the extent of arranging for you to see them outside the

courtroom. Would you like that?"

She'd love it. Claudette had a limitless capacity for delight in things

like that. They kissed good-bye, and he went to where his driver was

holding open the door of the aircar and got in. At a thousand feet he

looked back; she was still standing at the edge of the roof garden,

looking up.

He'd have to find out whether it would be safe for her to come in. Max

Fane was worried about the possibility of trouble, and so was Ian

Ferguson, and neither was given to timorous imaginings. As the car began

to descend toward the Central Courts buildings, he saw that there were

guards on the roof, and they weren't just carrying pistols--he caught the

glint of rifle barrels, and the twinkle of steel helmets. Then, as he came

in, he saw that their uniforms were a lighter shade of blue than the

constabulary wore. Ankle boots and red-striped trousers; Space Marines in

dress blues. So Ian Ferguson had pushed the button. It occurred to him

that Claudette might be safer here than at home.

A sergeant and a couple of men came up as he got out; the sergeant touched

the beak of his helmet in the nearest thing to a salute a Marine ever gave

anybody in civilian clothes.

"Judge Pendarvis? Good morning, sir."

"Good morning, sergeant. Just why are Federation Marines guarding the

court building?"

"Standing by, sir. Orders of Commodore Napier. You'll find that Marshal

Fane's people are in charge below-decks, but Marine Captain Casagra and

Navy Captain Greibenfeld are waiting to see you in your office."

As he started toward the elevators, a big Zarathustra Company car was

coming in. The sergeant turned quickly, beckoned a couple of his men and

went toward it on the double. He wondered what Leslie Coombes would think

about those Marines.

The two officers in his private chambers were both wearing sidearms. So,

also, was Marshal Fane, who was with them. They all rose to greet him,

sitting down when he was at his desk. He asked the same question he had of

the sergeant above.

"Well, Constabulary Colonel Ferguson called Commodore Napier last evening

and requested armed assistance, your Honor," the officer in Space Navy

black said. "He suspected, he said, that the city had been infiltrated. In

that, your Honor, he was perfectly correct; beginning Wednesday afternoon,

Marine Captain Casagra, here, on Commodore Napier's orders, began landing

a Marine infiltration force, preparatory to taking over the Residency.

That's been accomplished now; Commodore Napier is there, and both Resident

General Emmert and Attorney General O'Brien are under arrest, on a variety

of malfeasance and corrupt-practice charges, but that won't come into your

Honor's court. They'll be sent back to Terra for trial."

"Then Commodore Napier's taken over the civil government?"

"Well, say he's assumed control of it, pending the outcome of this trial.

We want to know whether the present administration's legal or not."

"Then you won't interfere with the trial itself?"

"That depends, your Honor. We are certainly going to participate." He

looked at his watch. "You won't convene court for another hour? Then

perhaps I'll have time to explain."

* * * * *

Max Fane met them at the courtroom door with a pleasant greeting. Then he

saw Baby Fuzzy on Jack's shoulder and looked dubious.

"I don't know about him, Jack. I don't think he'll be allowed in the

courtroom."

"Nonsense!" Gus Brannhard told him. "I admit, he is both a minor child and

an incompetent aborigine, but he is the only surviving member of the

family of the decedent Jane Doe alias Goldilocks, and as such has an

indisputable right to be present."

"Well, just as long as you keep him from sitting on people's heads. Gus,

you and Jack sit over there; Ben, you and Gerd find seats in the witness

section."

It would be half an hour till court would convene, but already the

spectators' seats were full, and so was the balcony. The jury box, on the

left of the bench, was occupied by a number of officers in Navy black and

Marine blue. Since there would be no jury, they had apparently

appropriated it for themselves. The press box was jammed and bristling

with equipment.

Baby was looking up interestedly at the big screen behind the judges'

seats; while transmitting the court scene to the public, it also showed,

like a nonreversing mirror, the same view to the spectators. Baby wasn't

long in identifying himself in it, and waved his arms excitedly. At that

moment, there was a bustle at the door by which they had entered, and

Leslie Coombes came in, followed by Ernst Mallin and a couple of his

assistants, Ruth Ortheris, Juan Jimenez--and Leonard Kellogg. The last

time he had seen Kellogg had been at George Lunt's complaint court, his

face bandaged and his feet in a pair of borrowed moccasins because his

shoes, stained with the blood of Goldilocks, had been impounded as

evidence.

Coombes glanced toward the table where he and Brannhard were sitting,

caught sight of Baby waving to himself in the big screen and turned to

Fane with an indignant protest. Fane shook his head. Coombes protested

again, and drew another headshake. Finally he shrugged and led Kellogg to

the table reserved for them, where they sat down.

Once Pendarvis and his two associates--a short, roundfaced man on his

right, a tall, slender man with white hair and a black mustache on his

left--were seated, the trial got underway briskly. The charges were read,

and then Brannhard, as the Kellogg prosecutor, addressed the court--"being

known as Goldilocks ... sapient member of a sapient race ... willful and

deliberate act of the said Leonard Kellogg ... brutal and unprovoked

murder." He backed away, sat on the edge of the table and picked up Baby

Fuzzy, fondling him while Leslie Coombes accused Jack Holloway of brutally

assaulting the said Leonard Kellogg and ruthlessly shooting down Kurt

Borch.

"Well, gentlemen, I believe we can now begin hearing the witnesses," the

Chief Justice said. "Who will start prosecuting whom?"

Gus handed Baby to Jack and went forward: Coombes stepped up beside him.

"Your Honor, this entire trial hinges upon the question of whether a

member of the species _Fuzzy fuzzy holloway zarathustra_ is or is not a

sapient being," Gus said. "However, before any attempt is made to

determine this question, we should first establish, by testimony, just

what happened at Holloway's Camp, in Cold Creek Valley, on the afternoon

of June 19, Atomic Era Six Fifty-Four, and once this is established, we

can then proceed to the question of whether or not the said Goldilocks was

truly a sapient being."

"I agree," Coombes said equably. "Most of these witnesses will have to be

recalled to the stand later, but in general I think Mr. Brannhard's

suggestion will be economical of the court's time."

"Will Mr. Coombes agree to stipulate that any evidence tending to prove or

disprove the sapience of Fuzzies in general be accepted as proving or

disproving the sapience of the being referred to as Goldilocks?"

Coombes looked that over carefully, decided that it wasn't booby-trapped

and agreed. A deputy marshal went over to the witness stand, made some

adjustments and snapped on a switch at the back of the chair. Immediately

the two-foot globe in a standard behind it lit, a clear blue. George

Lunt's name was called; the lieutenant took his seat and the bright helmet

was let down over his head and the electrodes attached.

The globe stayed a calm, untroubled blue while he stated his name and

rank. Then he waited while Coombes and Brannhard conferred. Finally

Brannhard took a silver half-sol piece from his pocket, shook it between

cupped palms and slapped it onto his wrist. Coombes said, "Heads," and

Brannhard uncovered it, bowed slightly and stepped back.

"Now, Lieutenant Lunt," Coombes began, "when you arrived at the temporary

camp across the run from Holloway's camp, what did you find there?"

"Two dead people," Lunt said. "A Terran human, who had been shot three

times through the chest, and a Fuzzy, who had been kicked or trampled to

death."

"Your Honors!" Coombes expostulated, "I must ask that the witness be

requested to rephrase his answer, and that the answer he has just made be

stricken from the record. The witness, under the circumstances, has no

right to refer to the Fuzzies as 'people.'"

"Your Honors," Brannhard caught it up, "Mr. Coombes's objection is no less

prejudicial. He has no right, under the circumstances, to deny that the

Fuzzies be referred to as 'people.' This is tantamount to insisting that

the witness speak of them as nonsapient animals."

It went on like that for five minutes. Jack began doodling on a notepad.

Baby picked up a pencil with both hands and began making doodles too. They

looked rather like the knots he had been learning to tie. Finally, the

court intervened and told Lunt to tell, in his own words, why he went to

Holloway's camp, what he found there, what he was told and what he did.

There was some argument between Coombes and Brannhard, at one point, about

the difference between hearsay and _res gestae_. When he was through,

Coombes said, "No questions."

"Lieutenant, you placed Leonard Kellogg under arrest on a complaint of

homicide by Jack Holloway. I take it that you considered this complaint a

valid one?"

"Yes, sir. I believed that Leonard Kellogg had killed a sapient being.

Only sapient beings bury their dead."

Ahmed Khadra testified. The two troopers who had come in the other car,

and the men who had brought the investigative equipment and done the

photographing at the scene testified. Brannhard called Ruth Ortheris to

the stand, and, after some futile objections by Coombes, she was allowed

to tell her own story of the killing of Goldilocks, the beating of Kellogg

and the shooting of Borch. When she had finished, the Chief Justice rapped

with his gavel.

"I believe that this testimony is sufficient to establish the fact that

the being referred to as Jane Doe alias Goldilocks was in fact kicked and

trampled to death by the defendant Leonard Kellogg, and that the Terran

human known as Kurt Borch was in fact shot to death by Jack Holloway. This

being the case, we may now consider whether or not either or both of these

killings constitute murder within the meaning of the law. It is now eleven

forty. We will adjourn for lunch, and court will reconvene at fourteen

hundred. There are a number of things, including some alterations to the

courtroom, which must be done before the afternoon session.... Yes, Mr.

Brannhard?"

"Your Honors, there is only one member of the species _Fuzzy fuzzy

holloway zarathustra_ at present in court, an immature and hence

nonrepresentative individual." He picked up Baby and exhibited him. "If we

are to take up the question of the sapience of this species, or race,

would it not be well to send for the Fuzzies now staying at the Hotel

Mallory and have them on hand?"

"Well, Mr. Brannhard," Pendarvis said, "we will certainly want Fuzzies in

court, but let me suggest that we wait until after court reconvenes before

sending for them. It may be that they will not be needed this afternoon.

Anything else?" He tapped with his gavel. "Then court is adjourned until

fourteen hundred."

* * * * *

Some alterations in the courtroom had been a conservative way of putting

it. Four rows of spectators' seats had been abolished, and the dividing

rail moved back. The witness chair, originally at the side of the bench,

had been moved to the dividing rail and now faced the bench, and a large

number of tables had been brought in and ranged in an arc with the witness

chair in the middle of it. Everybody at the tables could face the judges,

and also see everybody else by looking into the big screen. A witness on

the chair could also see the veridicator in the same way.

Gus Brannhard looked around, when he entered with Jack, and swore softly.

"No wonder they gave us two hours for lunch. I wonder what the idea is."

Then he gave a short laugh. "Look at Coombes; he doesn't like it a bit."

A deputy with a seating diagram came up to them.

"Mr. Brannhard, you and Mr. Holloway over here, at this table." He pointed

to one a little apart from the others, at the extreme right facing the

bench. "And Dr. van Riebeek, and Dr. Rainsford over here, please."

The court crier's loud-speaker, overhead, gave two sharp whistles and

began:

"Now hear this! Now hear this! Court will convene in five minutes--"

Brannhard's head jerked around instantly, and Jack's eyes followed his.

The court crier was a Space Navy petty officer.

"What the devil is this?" Brannhard demanded. "A Navy court-martial?"

"That's what I've been wondering, Mr. Brannhard," the deputy said.

"They've taken over the whole planet, you know."

"Maybe we're in luck, Gus. I've always heard that if you're innocent

you're better off before a court-martial and if you're guilty you're

better off in a civil court."

He saw Leslie Coombes and Leonard Kellogg being seated at a similar table

at the opposite side of the bench. Apparently Coombes had also heard that.

The seating arrangements at the other tables seemed a little odd too. Gerd

van Riebeek was next to Ruth Ortheris, and Ernst Mallin was next to Ben

Rainsford, with Juan Jimenez on his other side. Gus was looking up at the

balcony.

"I'll bet every lawyer on the planet's taking this in," he said. "Oh-oh!

See the white-haired lady in the blue dress, Jack? That's the Chief

Justice's wife. This is the first time she's been in court for years."

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! Rise for the Honorable Court!"

Somebody must have given the petty officer a quick briefing on courtroom

phraseology. He stood up, holding Baby Fuzzy, while the three judges filed

in and took their seats. As soon as they sat down, the Chief Justice

rapped briskly with his gavel.

"In order to forestall a spate of objections, I want to say that these

present arrangements are temporary, and so will be the procedures which

will be followed. We are not, at the moment, trying Jack Holloway or

Leonard Kellogg. For the rest of this day, and, I fear, for a good many

days to come, we will be concerned exclusively with determining the level

of mentation of _Fuzzy fuzzy holloway zarathustra_.

"For this purpose, we are temporarily abandoning some of the traditional

trial procedures. We will call witnesses; statements of purported fact

will be made under veridication as usual. We will also have a general

discussion, in which all of you at these tables will be free to

participate. I and my associates will preside; as we can't have everybody

shouting disputations at once, anyone wishing to speak will have to be

recognized. At least, I hope we will be able to conduct the discussion in

this manner.

"You will all have noticed the presence of a number of officers from

Xerxes Naval Base, and I suppose you have all heard that Commodore Napier

has assumed control of the civil government. Captain Greibenfeld, will you

please rise and be seen? He is here participating as _amicus curiae_, and

I have given him the right to question witnesses and to delegate that

right to any of his officers he may deem proper. Mr. Coombes and Mr.

Brannhard may also delegate that right as they see fit."

Coombes was on his feet at once. "Your Honors, if we are now to discuss

the sapience question, I would suggest that the first item on our order of

business be the presentation of some acceptable definition of sapience. I

should, for my part, very much like to know what it is that the Kellogg

prosecution and the Holloway defense mean when they use that term."

That's it. They want us to define it. Gerd van Riebeek was looking

chagrined; Ernst Mallin was smirking. Gus Brannhard, however, was pleased.

"Jack, they haven't any more damn definition than we do," he whispered.

Captain Greibenfeld, who had seated himself after rising at the request of

the court, was on his feet again.

"Your Honors, during the past month we at Xerxes Naval Base have been

working on exactly that problem. We have a very considerable interest in

having the classification of this planet established, and we also feel

that this may not be the last time a question of disputable sapience may

arise. I believe, your Honors, that we have approached such a definition.

However, before we begin discussing it, I would like the court's

permission to present a demonstration which may be of help in

understanding the problems involved."

"Captain Greibenfeld has already discussed this demonstration with me, and

it has my approval. Will you please proceed, Captain," the Chief Justice

said.

Greibenfeld nodded, and a deputy marshal opened the door on the right of

the bench. Two spacemen came in, carrying cartons. One went up to the

bench; the other started around in front of the tables, distributing small

battery-powered hearing aids.

"Please put them in your ears and turn them on," he said. "Thank you."

Baby Fuzzy tried to get Jack's. He put the plug in his ear and switched on

the power. Instantly he began hearing a number of small sounds he had

never heard before, and Baby was saying to him: "_He-inta sa-wa'aka; igga

sa geeda?_"

"Muhgawd, Gus, he's talking!"

"Yes, I hear him; what do you suppose--?"

"Ultrasonic; God, why didn't we think of that long ago?"

He snapped off the hearing aid. Baby Fuzzy was saying, "Yeeek." When he

turned it on again, Baby was saying, "_Kukk-ina za zeeva._"

"No, Baby, Pappy Jack doesn't understand. We'll have to be awfully

patient, and learn each other's language."

"_Pa-pee Jaaak!_" Baby cried. "_Ba-bee za-hinga; Pa-pee Jaak za zag ga

he-izza!_"

"That yeeking is just the audible edge of their speech; bet we have a lot

of transsonic tones in our voices, too."

"Well, he can hear what we say; he's picked up his name and yours."

"Mr. Brannhard, Mr. Holloway," Judge Pendarvis was saying, "may we please

have your attention? Now, have you all your earplugs in and turned on?

Very well; carry on, Captain."

This time, an ensign went out and came back with a crowd of enlisted men,

who had six Fuzzies with them. They set them down in the open space

between the bench and the arc of tables and backed away. The Fuzzies drew

together into a clump and stared around them, and he stared,

unbelievingly, at them. They couldn't be; they didn't exist any more. But

they were--Little Fuzzy and Mamma Fuzzy and Mike and Mitzi and Ko-Ko and

Cinderella. Baby whooped something and leaped from the table, and Mamma

came stumbling to meet him, clasping him in her arms. Then they all saw

him and began clamoring: "_Pa-pee Jaaak! Pa-pee Jaaak!_"

He wasn't aware of rising and leaving the table; the next thing he

realized, he was sitting on the floor, his family mobbing him and hugging

him, gabbling with joy. Dimly he heard the gavel hammering, and the voice

of Chief Justice Pendarvis: "Court is recessed for ten minutes!" By that

time, Gus was with him; gathering the family up, they carried them over to

their table.

They stumbled and staggered when they moved, and that frightened him for a

moment. Then he realized that they weren't sick or drugged. They'd just

been in low-G for a while and hadn't become reaccustomed to normal weight.

Now he knew why he hadn't been able to find any trace of them. He noticed

that each of them was wearing a little shoulder bag--a Marine Corps

first-aid pouch--slung from a webbing strap. Why the devil hadn't he

thought of making them something like that? He touched one and commented,

trying to pitch his voice as nearly like theirs as he could. They all

babbled in reply and began opening the little bags and showing him what

they had in them--little knives and miniature tools and bits of bright or

colored junk they had picked up. Little Fuzzy produced a tiny pipe with a

hardwood bowl, and a little pouch of tobacco from which he filled it.

Finally, he got out a small lighter.

"Your Honors!" Gus shouted, "I know court is recessed, but please observe

what Little Fuzzy is doing."

While they watched, Little Fuzzy snapped the lighter and held the flame to

the pipe bowl, puffing.

Across on the other side, Leslie Coombes swallowed once or twice and

closed his eyes.

When Pendarvis rapped for attention and declared court reconvened, he

said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have all seen and heard this demonstration of

Captain Greibenfeld's. You have heard these Fuzzies uttering what

certainly sounds like meaningful speech, and you have seen one of them

light a pipe and smoke. Incidentally, while smoking in court is

discountenanced, we are going to make an exception, during this trial, in

favor of Fuzzies. Other people will please not feel themselves

discriminated against."

That brought Coombes to his feet with a rush. He started around the table

and then remembered that under the new rules he didn't have to.

"Your Honors, I objected strongly to the use of that term by a witness

this morning; I must object even more emphatically to its employment from

the bench. I have indeed heard these Fuzzies make sounds which might be

mistaken for words, but I must deny that this is true speech. As to this

trick of using a lighter, I will undertake, in not more than thirty days,

to teach it to any Terran primate or Freyan kholph."

Greibenfeld rose immediately. "Your Honors, in the past thirty days, while

these Fuzzies were at Xerxes Naval Base, we have compiled a vocabulary of

a hundred-odd Fuzzy words, for all of which definite meanings have been

established, and a great many more for which we have not as yet learned

the meanings. We even have the beginning of a Fuzzy grammar. As for this

so-called trick of using a lighter, Little Fuzzy--we didn't know his name

then and referred to him as M2--learned that for himself, by observation.

We didn't teach him to smoke a pipe either; he knew that before we had

anything to do with him."

Jack rose while Greibenfeld was still speaking. As soon as the Space Navy

captain had finished, he said:

"Captain Greibenfeld, I want to thank you and your people for taking care

of the Fuzzies, and I'm very glad you learned how to hear what they're

saying, and thank you for all the nice things you gave them, but why

couldn't you have let me know they were safe? I haven't been very happy

the last month, you know."

"I know that, Mr. Holloway, and if it's any comfort to you, we were all

very sorry for you, but we could not take the risk of compromising our

secret intelligence agent in the Company's Science Center, the one who

smuggled the Fuzzies out the morning after their escape." He looked

quickly across in front of the bench to the table at the other end of the

arc. Kellogg was sitting with his face in his hands, oblivious to

everything that was going on, but Leslie Coombes's well-disciplined face

had broken, briefly, into a look of consternation. "By the time you and

Mr. Brannhard and Marshal Fane arrived with an order of the court for the

Fuzzies' recovery, they had already been taken from Science Center and

were on a Navy landing craft for Xerxes. We couldn't do anything without

exposing our agent. That, I am glad to say, is no longer a consideration."

"Well, Captain Greibenfeld," the Chief Justice said, "I assume you mean to

introduce further testimony about the observations and studies made by

your people on Xerxes. For the record, we'd like to have it established

that they were actually taken there, and when, and how."

"Yes, your Honor. If you will call the fourth name on the list I gave you,

and allow me to do the questioning, we can establish that."

The Chief Justice picked up a paper. "Lieutenant j.g. Ruth Ortheris, TFN

Reserve," he called out.

This time, Jack Holloway looked up into the big screen, in which he could

see everybody. Gerd van Riebeek, who had been trying to ignore the

existence of the woman beside him, had turned to stare at her in

amazement. Coombes's face was ghastly for an instant, then froze into

corpselike immobility: Ernst Mallin was dithering in incredulous anger;

beside him Ben Rainsford was grinning in just as incredulous delight. As

Ruth came around in front of the bench, the Fuzzies gave her an ovation;

they remembered and liked her. Gus Brannhard was gripping his arm and

saying: "Oh, brother! This is it, Jack; it's all over but shooting the

cripples!"

Lieutenant j.g. Ortheris, under a calmly blue globe, testified to coming

to Zarathustra as a Federation Naval Reserve officer recalled to duty with

Intelligence, and taking a position with the Company.

"As a regularly qualified doctor of psychology, I worked under Dr. Mallin

in the scientific division, and also with the school department and the

juvenile court. At the same time I was regularly transmitting reports to

Commander Aelborg, the chief of Intelligence on Xerxes. The object of this

surveillance was to make sure that the Zarathustra Company was not

violating the provisions of their charter or Federation law. Until the

middle of last month, I had nothing to report beyond some rather irregular

financial transactions involving Resident General Emmert. Then, on the

evening of June fifteen--"

That was when Ben had transmitted the tape to Juan Jimenez; she described

how it had come to her attention.

"As soon as possible, I transmitted a copy of this tape to Commander

Aelborg. The next night, I called Xerxes from the screen on Dr. van

Riebeek's boat and reported what I'd learned about the Fuzzies. I was then

informed that Leonard Kellogg had gotten hold of a copy of the

Holloway-Rainsford tape and had alerted Victor Grego; that Kellogg and

Ernst Mallin were being sent to Beta Continent with instructions to

prevent publication of any report claiming sapience for the Fuzzies and to

fabricate evidence to support an accusation that Dr. Rainsford and Mr.

Holloway were perpetrating a deliberate scientific hoax."

"Here, I'll have to object to this, your Honor," Coombes said, rising.

"This is nothing but hearsay."

"This is part of a Navy Intelligence situation estimate given to

Lieutenant Ortheris, based on reports we had received from other agents,"

Captain Greibenfeld said. "She isn't the only one we have on Zarathustra,

you know. Mr. Coombes, if I hear another word of objection to this

officer's testimony from you, I am going to ask Mr. Brannhard to subpoena

Victor Grego and question him under veridication about it."

"Mr. Brannhard will be more than happy to oblige, Commander," Gus said

loudly and distinctly.

Coombes sat down hastily.

"Well, Lieutenant Ortheris, this is most interesting, but at the moment,

what we're trying to establish is how these Fuzzies got to Xerxes Naval

Base," the chubby associate justice, Ruiz, put in.

"I'll try to get them there as quickly as possible, your Honor," she said.

"On the night of Friday the twenty-second, the Fuzzies were taken from Mr.

Holloway and brought into Mallorysport; they were turned over by Mohammed

O'Brien to Juan Jimenez, who took them to Science Center and put them in

cages in a room back of his office. They immediately escaped. I found

them, the next morning, and was able to get them out of the building, and

to turn them over to Commander Aelborg, who had come down from Xerxes to

take personal charge of the Fuzzy operation. I will not testify as to how

I was able to do this. I am at present and was then an officer of the

Terran Federation Armed Forces; the courts have no power to compel a

Federation officer to give testimony involving breach of military

security. I was informed, through my contact in Mallorysport, from time to

time, of the progress of the work of measuring the Fuzzies' mental level

there; I was able to pass on suggestions occasionally. Any time any of

these suggestions was based on ideas originating with Dr. Mallin, I was

careful to give him full credit."

Mallin looked singularly unappreciative.

Brannhard got up. "Before this witness is excused, I'd like to ask if she

knows anything about four other Fuzzies, the ones found by Jack Holloway

up Ferny Creek on Friday."

"Why, yes; they're my Fuzzies, and I was worried about them. Their names

are Complex, Syndrome, Id and Superego."

"Your Fuzzies, Lieutenant?"

"Well, I took care of them and worked with them; Juan Jimenez and some

Company hunters caught them over on Beta Continent. They were kept at a

farm center about five hundred miles north of here, which had been vacated

for the purpose. I spent all my time with them, and Dr. Mallin was with

them most of the time. Then, on Monday night, Mr. Coombes came and got

them."

"Mr. Coombes, did you say?" Gus Brannhard asked.

"Mr. Leslie Coombes, the Company attorney. He said they were needed in

Mallorysport. It wasn't till the next day that I found out what they were

needed for. They'd been turned loose in front of that Fuzzy hunt, in the

hope that they would be killed."

She looked across at Coombes; if looks were bullets, he'd have been deader

than Kurt Borch.

"Why would they sacrifice four Fuzzies merely to support a story that was

bound to come apart anyhow?" Brannhard asked.

"That was no sacrifice. They had to get rid of those Fuzzies, and they

were afraid to kill them themselves for fear they'd be charged with murder

along with Leonard Kellogg. Everybody, from Ernst Mallin down, who had

anything to do with them was convinced of their sapience. For one thing,

we'd been using those hearing aids ourselves; I suggested it, after

getting the idea from Xerxes. Ask Dr. Mallin about it, under veridication.

Ask him about the multiordinal polyencephalograph experiments, too."

"Well, we have the Holloway Fuzzies placed on Xerxes," the Chief Justice

said. "We can hear the testimony of the people who worked with them there

at any time. Now, I want to hear from Dr. Ernst Mallin."

Coombes was on his feet again. "Your Honors, before any further testimony

is heard, I would like to confer with my client privately."

"I fail to see any reason why we should interrupt proceedings for that

purpose, Mr. Coombes. You can confer as much as you wish with your client

after this session, and I can assure you that you will be called upon to

do nothing on his behalf until then." He gave a light tap with his gavel

and then said: "Dr. Ernst Mallin will please take the stand."