Magazine - Asimov's Science Fiction - 2005 - Issue 02 - February (v1.0) [txt] by February (v1.0)

Author:February (v1.0) [txt] [February (v1.0) [txt]]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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_Portland Woman_ Greenies needed no death penalty, since they never killed each other, and genocide was such a preposterous concept they had no laws against it. So the trial took place on the surface, on a lowland LZ, under military law, with Leo for a judge. The defendants were the last to leave Pender's bunker, the trio in flight suits and Tammy, who turned out to be on Pender's staff, an operations assistant doubling as a door-gunner. All were charged with murdering more than ten thousand Gekko civilians in a nuclear strike near the end of the fighting. The older man had piloted the strike craft, and his two teenage sons had served as weapons officer and crew chief. Tammy's office had given the order. Liking to work outdoors, Leo held the trial in a deep green valley floored by stands of elephant grass and tall tree ferns -- a hint of what Harmonia would be like when terraforming was complete. Brightly colored birds called from atop the tree ferns. Derek refused to sit on the jury, so it was made up of SuperChimps, SuperCats, and Greenie males -- since no female could vote for death. Learning that Derek would not serve on the jury, Leo asked, "Will you be defense attorney then?" Derek shook his head. "That would be racist." Why have him do it, just because he was human? Derek had no training as a lawyer, and no particular sympathy for Pender's people. Nor for Gekkos, so far as that goes. Let some earnest young Greenie try to get them off. Tammy immediately volunteered, stepping up and saying to the SuperCat, "I will defend myself and the others -- if they want me." Prosecutors objected, claiming, "It creates conflict of interests for the defense attorney to be a co-defendant." The prosecutors were Gekkos. Not real ones, who could not tolerate the humid oxygen-rich atmosphere of the lowlands; instead, they appeared as holograms beamed down from orbit -- grim humanoid bio-constructs, stretched-out versions of Greenies with horny skin, big bald heads, and barrel chests; bred for dry, low-g, low-oxygen worlds, like Harmonia was before real humans arrived. The Gekkos suggested, "Have the unindicted human do it." They meant Derek, who had already refused. Leo turned to look Tammy over, lazily eyeing the Earthwoman in her worn militia uniform. Disarmed, defeated, but not the least downcast, Tammy looked calmly back at the SuperCat, not afraid to defend herself, against him, or anyone. Leo liked what he saw, saying, "Charges against you are dismissed without prejudice. Prosecutors may try to revive them before another judge -- but not me. Until then, do your best. Since this is your first case, I'm sure the prosecution will agree to give you leeway.... "He glanced at the Gekkos. "Dismissed?" Speed-of-light lag made the hologram prosecutors seem slow and insensitive, as well as insubstantial. "This human is a dangerous war criminal, responsible for the deaths of thousands of sentient beings...." "So you say." Leo yawned, showing off gleaming canines.

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