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For the Gowachin, to stand alone against all adversity is the most sacred moment of existence

- The Gowachin, a BuSab analysis

The eight prisoners were dumped on the arena floor, bound and shackled McKie stopped near the to arrive It was not yet dawn The ceiling above the arena remained dark A few of the translittered to reveal that they were activated More were co alive by the moment Only a few of the witness seats were occupied, but people were strea in as as passed The judicial bench remained empty

The outer areaas a din of Courtarena security forces co orders, the clank of weapons, a sense of coradually resolved itself as Broey led his fellow judges up onto their bench The witness pen was also filling, people punching sleep fro yawns from the Gowachin

McKie looked to Broey&039;s people, the ones who&039;d brought in the prisoners He nodded for the captors to leave, giving thenal to re passed the her robe She hurried to McKie&039;s side, waited for the judges to be seated before speaking

"What is the naled McKie

McKie stepped forward to address the bench, pointed to the eight bound figures ere beginning to stir and push theht

"Here you see my client"

Parando started to speak, but Broey silenced him with a sharp hich McKie did not catch It sounded like "frenzy"

Bildoon sat in fearful fascination, unable to wrest his attention froures, all of whonize those eight prisoners In his linize that he was in personal danger Parando, of course, knew this iain, Broey nodded to McKie

"A fraud has been perpetrated upon this court," McKie said "It is a fraud which was perpetrated against those great and gallant people, the Gowachin Both Prosecution and Defense are its victirown much quieter in the arena The observer seats were jammed, all the translow touched the translucent ceiling McKie wondered what tiotten to put on any tilanced back, saw attendants belatedly bringing Aritch into the arena Oh, yes - they would have risked any delay to confer with Aritch Aritch was supposed to be the other McKie expert Too bad that this Huht they knew

Ceylang could not hold her silence She raised tendril for attention

"This Tribunal"

McKie interrupted

"is composed of three people Only three"

He allowed theest this reminder that Gowachin trial formalities still dominated this arena, and were like no other such formalities in the ConSentiency It could&039;ve been fifty judges up there on that bench McKie had witnessed Gowachin trials where people were picked at randoment Such jurists took their duties seriously, but their overt behavior could lead another sentient species to question this The Gowachin chattered back and forth, arranged parties, exchanged jokes, asked each other rude questions It was an ancient pattern The jurists were required to becoanis that process

But this Tribunal was coes, only one of them visibly Gowachin They were separate entities, their actions heavy with n to the Gowachin Even Broey, tainted by Dosadi, would be unfaanis to the immutable form beneath Gowachin Law That had to be deeply disturbing to the Legu

Broey leaned forward, addressed the arena

"We&039;ll dispense with the usual arguain, Parando tried to interrupt Broey silenced hi Phylu stood in mute indecision Her advisors re themselves There see them

Aritch shuffled to the death-focus of the arena, the place where every witness was required to stand He glanced at the instruments of pain arrayed beneath the judicial bench, cast a wary look at McKie The old High Magister appeared harried, and undignified That hurried conference to explore this development must&039;ve been a sore trial to the old Gowachin

McKie crossed to the fores

"Here we have Aritch, High Magister of the Running Phyluuilt were to be found in this arena, Aritch bore that guilt He, so ere led to believe, was the one who made the decision to imprison Dosadi But how can that be so? Aritch is old, but he isn&039;t as old as Dosadi Then perhaps his alleged guilt is to be found in concealing the ient of BuSab and sent that agent openly to Dosadi"

A disturbance aht shackled prisoners interrupted McKie Several of the prisoners were trying to get to their feet, but the links of the shackles were too short

On the judicial bench, Parando started to lean forward, but Broey hauled hi the verities of a Gowachin Courtarena, the constant reversals of concepts couilty is to be innocent Thus, to be innocent is to be guilty

At a sharp corew quiet

McKie continued

"Aritch, conscious of the sacred responsibilities which he carried upon his back as a mother carries her tads, was deliberately named to receive the punishment blow lest that punishment be directed at all Gowachin everywhere Who chose this innocent High Magister to suffer for all Gowachin?"

McKie pointed to the eight shackled prisoners

"Who are these people?" Parando de count Parando kneho these eight were Did he think he could divert the present course of events by such a blatant ploy?

Presently, McKie spoke

"I will enlighten the court in due course My duty, however, comes first My client&039;s innocence comes first"

"One &039;s advisors hurried past McKie, asked and received per A thwarted Parando sat like a condeh he hoped to find reprieve there Bildoon had hunched forward, head buried in his arms Broey obviously controlled the Tribunal

The advisor Legu reputation, an officer out of breeding His words to Ceylang were low and intense, de hurried back to his companions They now understood the tenor of McKie&039;s defense Aritchthat he could be sacrificed here The ConSentient Covenant no longer permitted the ancient custom where the Gowachin audience had poured into the arena to kill with bare hands and claws the innocent defendant But let Aritch walk from here with the brand of innocence upon him; he would not take ten paces outside the arena&039;s precincts before being torn to pieces

There&039;d been worried ad Yesnow they understood why McKie had maneuvered for a san a new disturbance which Broey silenced with a shout He signaled for McKie to continue

"Aritch&039;s design was that I expose Dosadi, return and defend hiical experi populace He was prepared to sacrifice hilance at Aritch Let the High Magister try to fight in half-truths in that defense!

"Unfortunately, the Dosadi populace was not unsuspecting In fact, forces under the command of Keila Jedrik had e Broey will affirain, McKie pointed to the shackled prisoners

"But these conspirators, these people who designed and profited from the Dosadi Experiment, ordered the death of Keila Jedrik! She washer at the proper e Broey is witness to the truth of what I say Keila Jedrik was brought into this arena yesterday only that she ht be traced and killed!"

McKie raised both aresture of completion, lowered his arms

Aritch looked stricken He saw it If the eight prisoners denied the charges, they faced Aritch&039;s fate And they uilty They could bring in the Caleban contract and expose the body-exchange plot, but that risked having McKie defend or prosecute them because he&039;d already locked them to his actual client, Aritch Broey would affirm this, too They were at Broey&039;s uilty, they walked free only here on Tandaloor Innocent, they died here

As though they were one organisht turned their heads and looked at Aritch Indeed! What would Aritch do? If he agreed to sacrifice hi, too, focused on Aritch

Around the entire arena there was a sense of collective held breath

McKie watched Ceylang How candid had Aritch&039;s people been with their Wreave? Did she know the full Dosadi story?

She broke the silence, exposing her knowledge She chose to aim her attack at McKie on the well-known dictum that, when all else failed, you tried to discredit the opposing Leguht people who deo along?

McKie countered her probe with a question of his own

"Are you suggesting that you&039;d prosecute these people?"

"I didn&039;t charge them! You did"

"To prove Aritch&039;s innocence"

"But you call theasp arose from the cluster of advisors behind her near the arena doorway They&039;d seen the trap If McKie accepted the challenge, the judges had no choice but to bring the eight into the arena under Gowachin for had trapped herself into the posture of prosecutor against the eight She&039;d said, in effect, that she affirainst Aritch and her life was ilittered with the unspoken question

What would McKie do?

Not yet, McKie thought Not yet, my precious Wreave dupe

He turned his attention to Parando Would they dare introduce the Caleban contract? The eight prisoners were only the exposed tip of the shadowy forces, a vulnerable tip They could be sacrificed It was clear that they saw this and didn&039;t like it No Gowachin Mrregs here with that iron submission to responsibility! They loved life and its power, especially the ones ore Human flesh How precious life must be for those who&039;d lived many lives! Very desperate, indeed

To McKie&039;s Dosadi-conditioned eyes, it was as though he read the prisoners&039; thoughts They were safest if they remained silent Trust Parando Rely on Broey&039;s enlightened greed At the worst, they could live out what life was left to the for new bodies before the flesh they noore ran out of vitality As long as they still lived they could hope and scheme Perhaps another Caleban could be hired,to lose what had alister&039;s Tandaloor accent was hoarse with protest

"But I did supervise the tests on Dosadi&039;s population!"

"To what tests do you refer?"

"The Dosadi"

Aritch fell silent, seeing the trap More than a million Dosadi Gowachin already had left their planet Would Aritchhe said could open the door to proof that the Dosadis were superior to non-Dosadis Any Gowachin (or Huet in the next few minutes One had only to denounce a selected Human or Gowachin as Dosadi ConSentient fears would do the rest And any of his arguments could be directed into exposure of Dosadi&039;s real purpose He obviously saw the peril in that, had seen it frolancing at the Ferret Wreaves in the audience What consternation it would create a the secretive Wreaves to learn that another species could masquerade successfully as one of their own!

McKie could not leave h He threw a question at Aritch

"Were the original transportees to Dosadi apprised of the nature of the project?"

"Only they could testify to that"

"And their memories were erased We don&039;t even have historical testiht of the original designers of the Dosadi project sat near him on the arena floor Would he denounce theht not A person dee could not possess such a flaw Could he? Here was the real point of no return

The High Magister confir his back on the Tribunal, the ages-old Gowachin gesture of submission What a shock Aritch&039;s performance must have been for those who&039;d seen hi A poor choice except at the end, and that&039;d been aselse

McKie waited, knohat had to happen now Here was Ceylang&039;s ested that you would prosecute these eight prisoners The uum McKie?"

The moment to test Broey had come McKie countered with a question

"Can this Courtarena suggest another disposition for these eight prisoners?"

Ceylang held her breath

Broey was pleased He had triumphed in the end over Jedrik Broey was certain in his um body on the arena floor Now, he could show the puppet masters what a Dosadi-born could do And McKie saw that Broey intended to move fast, much faster than anyone had expected

Anyone except Jedrik, and she was only a silent (iven the appearance of deliberation, Broey spoke

"I can order these eight bound over to ConSentient jurisdiction if McKie agrees"

The eight stirred, subsided

"I agree," McKie said He glanced at Ceylang Shethe futility Her only hope now lay in the possible deterrent presence of the Ferret Wreaves

"Then I so order it," Broey said He spared a triulance for Parando "Let a ConSentient jurisdiction decide if these eight are guilty of murder and other conspiracy"

He ithin the bounds of the Covenant between the ConSentiency and Gowachin, but the Gowachin members of his audience didn&039;t like it Their Laas best! Angry whistlings could be heard all around the arena

Broey rose half-out of his seat, pointed at the instruments of pain arrayed beneath him Gowachin in the audience fell silent They, better than anyone, knew that no person here, not even a member of the audience, was outside the Tribunal&039;s power And many understood clearly nohy those bloody tools had been displayed here Thoughtful people had anticipated the proble to the silent acceptance of his authority, Broey sank back into his seat

Parando was staring at Broey as though having just discovered the presence of a monster in this Gowachin for Broey now

Aritch held his attitude of cohts almost hummed in the air around her Every way she turned, she saw only a tangle of une

McKie saw that it was ti matters to a head He crossed to the foot of the judicial bench, lifted a short spear from the instrued weapon

"Who sits on this Tribunal?"

Once, Aritch had issued such a challenge McKie, repeating it, pointed with the spear, answered his own question

"A Gowachin of ed by the Dosadi project Were you wronged, Broey?"

"No"

McKie faced Parando

"And here we have a Human from Lirat Is that not the case, Parando?"

"I a a parade of witnesses into this arena to testify as to your occupation on Lirat Would you care to state that occupation?"

"How dare you question this Tribunal?"