DEATH ON MESNOS

  "The prosecutor may begin by stating the charges against the defendant."
  "Your Honor, the defendant, Commander Christina Vasa, stands accused of the following crimes: causing, or being otherwise responsible for, the death of 76 members of the Primitivist Militias in the course of the past 125 years;..."
  The assembly, which must have included all of the Militia on Mesnos, reacted to this list of crimes in the way she imagined they would if the Deacon were preaching, like those people did in the Sermon in the Valley that she had seen so many times: with each accusation, and at other moments in the trail, they interrupted the proceedings with exclamations of agreement, with expressions of anger, and with other remarks. In this case, they cried out as though with one voice, "Kill her!  Kill her!"
  "...of having led numerous raids against the Brothers and Sisters of the Militias (We were there! Yes, she did!); of opposing the spread of the doctrine of the Primitivist faith, since she is a nonbeliever, yes, the worst form of infidel (Death to the infidel! Death!); of having willingly consented to the immoral operation which has expanded her life span by at least 200 years while keeping her suspended at her apparent age of 28 (Monster! Abomination!); and of committing these crimes on Earth, on Aphrodite and on Ares, and on Mesnos."
  "Where are the accusers, Brother Prosecutor?"
  "I am the principal accuser, having accompanied the defendant on several of her raids, on Aphrodite, Ares and Mesnos, and learned of other crimes from herself and from official documents. Sister Myrna has known her in the past, and is ready to testify against her, as am I."  (Lay it out, Sister!)
  "What evidence do you present?"
  "Your Honor, I..."
  "What a sham! You have already made a judgment against me, you are using as prosecutor a man who claimed for ten years to be my friend, who himself has killed countless Militia members, who..."
  "Silence!  Prosecutor Smirnoff is not on trial. We will not tolerate further outbursts from the defendant!  Sergeant of the Guards, be ready to silence her."
  "Yes, your Honor."
  "...and who is at best a slimy turncoat, a traitor who might well decide, some day, to betray you, Deacon!"  (Silence, Monster!)
  "Sergeant!"
  "Ow! Let go of my hair! Take that! Ah! Ooooh!"
  "One more outburst, and we'll cut your tongue out. Sergeant, fasten her to her seat. I want two guards holding her down."
  "Yes, your Honor. You two, come here. Any funny business, and ...you heard the Deacon."
  "Yes, sir."
  Christina's green eyes narrowed as she stared at Boris. She struggled against the cords, but the rough hemp cut into her wrists with each movement she made. She shrugged, hoping to get the two soldiers' iron grips off her shoulders, but in vain. She glared defiantly at the Deacon, sitting on a platform in his dark ceremonial robe.
  How could Boris have done this to her? Worse, how could she not have noticed anything about him? He did, after all, kill some Primmies, but he would probably claim that it was in self defense. They didn't seem to know he was a double agent, a mole. A creature living in the filthy underground, not being quite in one camp or the other. And she didn't notice anything, either. Hah! a clue anyone could have missed: he never called them Primmies, they were always Primitivists to him. Still, he never seemed offended when she called them Primmies.
  "...and this very weapon was used just yesterday to kill at least one quadrant."
  "All four members?"
  "Yes, your Honor."
  "Does this weapon have a stun setting?"
  "Yes, your Honor."
  "Was it set at stun?"
  "No, your Honor, it was set at maximum power: kill."  (Death!)
  Christina, as the gun was entered in evidence, became aware of the evidence that Boris was presenting. Basically, it's her rank and her uniform that will provide all the evidence these people need to justify their pre-drawn decision. "Wonder what form of execution I'll be given. Wonder if it's worth even trying to answer these charges," she thought. "Better concentrate on what's being said, and where I am."
  "I repeat, does the defendant wish to make an opening statement?"
  "Yes, I do, but not if I'm tied up and these palookas are digging their hands into my shoulders."
  "Sergeant, place two more guards on her, stand facing her so she cannot lunge forward, and have the guards remove the bonds."
  "Yes, sir."
  "My defense," she said, in her clear and powerful voice, "can only be the facts. First of all, it is true that I have killed some Militia men and women, but I have never fired a bolt first: I was always defending my life or that of my comrades, including Lieutenant Smirnoff, whose life I saved on at least five occasions in this manner. Second, I have never opposed the spread of the Primitivist faith, or any faith, my own lack of religious beliefs notwithstanding.  (Lies! Lies!)  What I have opposed, and what I will always oppose as long as I live, if I survive this ordeal, will be groups like yours that set themselves up as counter-governments, and conduct kangaroo courts like this one." (Her tongue!  Her tongue!)
  "Be careful, Commander, I am not a patient man."
  "In the third place, there is nothing illegal about becoming what you refer to as a longie. This procedure has been authorized by law, and can be performed only under certain very carefully defined conditions, and by licensed practitioners. I am proud to have been chosen as a member of the Extended-Life Brigade." (Death to the monster!) Christina looked defiantly around the room, at the Primmies assembled there, maybe 100 or more; then taking in every detail of this large natural chamber, transformed from textile mill to assembly hall. The blue light cast an eerie purplish glow on the heated faces of the audience and the jury, burning as they were with hate. She glared at Boris, who deflected his gaze from hers, and then at the Deacon.
  "The testimony will now begin."
  Myrna took the stand first, and testified that she had been present on Ares when Christina killed two Militia women who had jumped her. She fought furiously, "like a man," (Monster!) then drew her gun and blasted them without warning. On cross-examination, Christina, acting as her own defense counsel, was able to establish that the women attacked her without any provocation, that they had pulled knives on her and had stabbed her several times, and that she killed them in self defense. To Myrna's unwilling testimony she added: "This is the kind of struggle I have had in every case mentioned here: I was never the aggressor." She then indicated that she had no more questions to ask.
  Christina wondered how Boris would interrogate himself publicly, without appearing to be ridiculous.  "Where were you, Lieutenant Smirnoff, when on Aphrodite the defendant claims to have saved your life during a Militia attack five years ago?" "I was standing beside Commander Vasa, who at that time was not only my commanding officer but also my friend and my lover." "Is it true that she saved you from being poisoned on Ares, and you're now betraying her?  Is that gratitude?" "It's true, and I'm the lowest of snakes." Could he carry it off? Oh, damn, look at this: it's more dignified than that. I should have guessed.
  "Your Honor, since I cannot act simultaneously as prosecutor and witness, I request permission to suspend my functions as prosecutor until my testimony is complete. I have prepared a list of questions a deputy prosecutor might ask."
  "Permission granted. Sister Myrna, you will act in Brother Boris's stead."
  "Lieutenant Smirnoff, is it true that you served as a subordinate to the defendant in the Space Fleet?"
  "Yes, it is."
  "Is it true that in order not to reveal your identity as a spy for the Militia you had received prior permission from the High Synod to act as a regular member of Space Fleet, like our other Brothers and Sisters on this dangerous assignment, and that the Synod knew that your official duties might include killing or wounding our comrades?"
  "That is true; and I would like to point out that our esteemed Deacon was present at that meeting. He can verify the facts."
  "Is this true, your Honor?"
  "It is true. Unfortunately, we must make sacrifices to reach the final goal, which is the extermination of the World Government (Yes! Yes!) and the reestablishment of the rule of God (Of God! of God!). We are all sworn to make whatever sacrifice we must."
  "Is it true, Brother Boris, that the Life-Extension operation, although sanctioned by the laws of the illegitimate government, is contrary to the law of God?"
  "Our High Synod and our Governing Bishops have never once wavered from their belief in this doctrine.  The Holy Scriptures do not sanction such a deviance from the life Almighty God has granted us." (Monster!)
  "Is it true that the Space Fleet, being an arm of the illegitimate government, is waging war against the Militia? And is it not true that therefore no act of aggression against the Militia can be construed as self-defense, even if the Militia personnel take preemptive action?"
  "Both statements are true."
  "That is all, your Honor."
  "Do you wish to cross-examine the witness, Commander?"
  Christina stood up and looked straight at Boris, who squirmed slightly. Almost as though he felt she was looking deep into his soul. "Boris, we served together for almost ten years. Very closely together. After hours, we were often even closer, in private quarters. Was this part of your Militia service?"
  "I object, you Honor, and I refuse to answer such a question, which is irrelevant to the point."
  "Overruled.  Our Brotherhood has sworn to tell the truth, all the truth. Answer the question."
  "We became very close; we were lovers; I felt great affection for you. But I never once forgot my mission, and I learned much. It was thanks to our intimate relations that I was able to procure a map of Mesnos, which allowed the Militia to land here. I did not know that New Terra had been destroyed by an earthquake and that the citizens, or most of them, had fled to Sandstone in the north, or had established a new New Terra a few kilometers to the south. But I did know that Space Fleet would follow the Militia unit here, since I arranged for a leak in their security system to lure your forces here. I also destroyed our communicators, which means that we have lost all contact with Constellation."
  Christina was relieved to learn that the Mesnosians were still all alive. But what an actor this man must be! She had no idea! Their friends, all dead, because she didn't see through him! And yet, in retrospect, how could she have missed the signs? No time to consider that now; back to the cross-examination.
  "You therefore admit that you committed treason against your own people, even murdering some? Your own people: it doesn't matter whether you think of yourself as a Space Fleet Lieutenant or as a Militia man, because in both cases you're a traitor!  (A traitor, no!)"
  "Your question is rhetorical, Commander. It would be improper to reply."
  "Do you not acknowledge that the World Government began its operations against the Militia only after the Militia had attacked a score of sites and killed over 500 people? And that this is not the comportment of an aggressor organization, but a legitimate act of self-defense?" (Lies! Lies!)
  "While it is true that the Militia attacked first, it is also true that the World Government refused to halt its illegal operations, and thus provoked the Militia with a virtual declaration of war. In this sense, the World Government has been the aggressor for generations, and the Militia has been defending itself. Sometimes self-defense must take the form of preemptive strikes." (He tells the truth!)
  "According to this twisted reasoning, aggression is self-defense, terrorism is legal, and self-defense is aggression. It is hard to speak reason to a mind-set that refuses reason. No further questions."
  "The defendant will now take the stand, closely guarded. Commander Vasa, do you wish to question yourself, or would you prefer to have a surrogate appointed?"
  "No. I have already replied to the trumped-up and misrepresented charges against me." (She lies! She lies!).
  "Prosecutor, do you wish to cross-examine the defendant?"
  Come on, Boris, get after me. Ask me about the battle at the waterfall in Assam, when you blew up a cargo train full of Primmies, or the time on Ares when you killed the Deacon's predecessor. Come on.
  "I do, your Honor. Commander Vasa, you claim that in the 76 murders you are charged with, you were never the aggressor. And yet you were a member of the aggressor force, the World Government Space Fleet, were you not? And your mission was to seek and destroy the enemy, the 'Primmies,' as you called them?"
  "The Space Fleet was then and continues now to operate against the Militia in a defensive manner. When we are given orders to seek out its members, we are never told to destroy them. We aim to capture them, and to rehabilitate them (Liar!  Liar!) Furthermore, Lieutenant, you know this is the truth."
  Boris chose not to reply.
  "No further questions, your Honor."
  "Take the prisoner to her cell. And let the jury debate the case in the adjacent chamber. And remember, Commander, any attempt to escape or fight will result in a slow and painful death."
  Christina glared at the old manipulator, then turned to her guards and said, "I am at your disposal."


 
  "Has the jury reached a decision?"
  "We have, your Honor. Concerning the charge of murder, we find the defendant not guilty of murder in six of the cases (the two on Ares and the four here on Mesnos), not guilty of first-degree murder in the other 70, since she did not plan in advance to kill them; but we find her guilty of manslaughter in those cases, since she acted as a paid killer for the World Government, and in any case could have used less than lethal force."
  Christina, caught by surprise by the not-guilty verdicts, was smitten by the manslaughter verdicts. The brief smile that had flashed across her face faded. Boris was looking at her, expressionless.
  "Concerning the charge of leading raids against the Militia, we believe that she was behaving in a manner proper for a soldier in a time of war, and find her innocent."
  "Concerning the charge of her being an infidel and a non-believer, she has admitted to this, and is guilty.  There is no proof that she has opposed the Primitivist religion in particular, and we find her not guilty of that charge."
  The crowd had been strangely quiet up to now. Perhaps the Deacon had instructed them to behave themselves, who knows? But suddenly they stood up and shouted, "Death to the infidel!" almost as if they had rehearsed their line.
  "Finally, the defendant has admitted to having undergone the operation extending her life unnaturally, and is therefore guilty as charged." (Death to the Monster!)
  "Thank you, Brothers and Sisters of the jury. Commander Vasa, please rise. I sentence you to 20 years in prison for each of the 70 counts of manslaughter; the sentences are to be served consecutively."
  You don't have to have mastered macroquantum mathematics to calculate that 1400 years far exceeds even my lifetime, thought Christina; anyway she had only 175 years or so left to live. Unless she died first, she added, with a rueful form of gallows humor. The Primmies caught on to the math, too, and were on their feet cheering. The Deacon silenced them, and then continued issuing the sentences.
  "For the crime of atheism, our divine law has but one sentence: death!" (Death to the infidel! Death to the infidel!) Christina stole a glance at Boris; he appeared to be twitching a little, unless she was imagining things, but soon recovered his passivity.
  "And for the crime of wilfully undergoing the unnatural operation, our law has but one sentence: death!" (Death to the Monster!)
  "I will suspend the death sentences if the defendant chooses to embrace the Primitivist religion before the firing squad executes her in the morning. Do you have anything to say?"
  "I wish to appeal this so-called trial."
  "There is no appeal to a deaconate trial in a time of war. Guards! Take her away, and make sure she does not escape. Your lives are at stake."
     

  Damn blue glow! How can you think when that's surrounding you? How can I slip past the guards? If I can just get past them, I'll find my way out that door Boris and I saw this morning. Boris! The bastard.  Yeah, he told the truth, but not all of it. You'd almost think he was an angel. And what twisted reasoning!  How could anybody believe that? Well, they did, that's what counts. And I die at dawn. I'll die, when there's still so much to do! when I have so many things stored in my brain! so many things I have to let other people in on! The Deacon, that hateful slug! How smug is the slug!
  She chuckled softly at her little pun, when she heard a light thud outside the door. The door opened a crack. Boris!
  "Get out of here, you son of a bitch!"
  "Shh! I'm here to free you. Listen. I know you can't believe me, but I have just a few minutes before my task is finished. I had to go through with the sham trial in order to be able to come here and take care of my next-to-last mission, which is to get you back to the Constellation."
  "You bastard! You just want to get me killed more horribly. I'm prepared to be zapped, but not to be tortured to death."
  "Christina, please listen," he whispered to this bundle of hate tied up on a bed. "Let me cut the ropes.  We have a unique situation tonight: all the Militia force is gathered here, in a few rooms, 165 of them. Either they will be alive tomorrow morning, or you will. It's your choice."
  "Why are you doing this?"
  "Not every Primmie, as you call us, supports the Militia. Most of us want peace, a quiet place to live, to practice our religion. We don't agree with your notion of extended life, of colonization as a means of dealing with the population pressures on Earth. Maybe a planet of our own is the answer. Anyway, we're looking for a peaceful way out. And I have to get you out while there's time."
  "What about you?"
  "If I manage to get free, I have some ID that will allow me to become a Mesnosian. No time for sentimentality," he added, tears welling in his reddened eyes. "You know the way to that side door. Go!"
  "Boris!" she sobbed. Then, seeing he was resolute, she gave him a final kiss on his cheek, and slipped out the door.
  The maze of the tunnels was child's play to her, and she soon was out in the dark world outside. The stars were shining brightly overhead in the moonless sky. She had just reached the transmat site a few hundred meters away, at the edge of the woods, when she heard a mighty explosion. Turning around, she saw the old hangar blown apart, and a fireball consuming the tunnels.
  "Boris!"