“May the defendant please take the stand?”
Benjamin Arnauld rises, somewhat robotically, from his seat, compelled by the intangible force of the court security guard looming behind him. He takes the short, uncomfortable steps up into the witness box.
Opposite him, the prosecutor stands and walks into the centre of the crowded courtroom, nodding to the judge. Her eyes are sharp and merciless. He meets her gaze.
“Good morning, Mr Arnauld. Le-”
“Please,” he interrupts with a friendly smile, “call me Ax.”
“I will not. Let's continue on from yesterday with the death of Laszlo Arbim. Why were you attacking Alusia's equipment with a hammer, Mr Arnauld?”
Benjamin pauses for a moment, to gather his thoughts. “I reject the description of my actions as 'attacking'-”
“Noted. Answer the question, please.”
He pauses again, reconstructing his shattered train of thought. “Alusia's 'equipment' was, as the court has been repeatedly told, in fact a cage used to contain and harness a sapient mind. This mind - Violet - had been trapped and suffering for weeks already. I merely sought to free her.” A deliberate and rehearsed line.
“So you were aiming to kill her?”
“I had no intention of causing Violet harm.”
The prosecutors face twitches into a slight smirk. “We've heard from several experts that any consciousness the Bookworm may have had would have ceased had the vat containing its brain been destroyed. You were trying to destroy the vat. Doesn't that mean you were trying to kill her?”
“I- no. I wasn't trying to destroy the vat. I was trying to break the wires connecting Violet to the rest of the system.”
“The 'rest of the system', referring to the interface connecting Violet to the outside world? How would breaking that help to free her, Mr Arnauld?”
Benjamin pauses again, staring back at the prosecutor. He doesn't let her rile him up. “No. Referring to the interface used to exploit Violet's labour-”
“And if you had destroyed that interface, Mr Arnauld, what next? Could Alusia not just have replaced the wiring?”
“Yes, well, our original plan was to remove Violet from the premises entirely. Obviously that didn't quite go to plan.”
The prosecutor raises an eyebrow at him, rifling through her notes. “So you claim. Mr Arnauld, if you had always intended to steal the Bookworm from Alusia, rather than destroy it, why did your partner bring a flask of petrol with her?”
“My partner?” It's worth a shot.
“You know precisely who I mean, Mr Arnauld. Venus Quarterman, the agent that Intra allegedly dispatched to help you. What is not disputed is that they were present, and assisted you in your actions. Why did she bring a flask of petrol with her?”
“I… believe she was planning to use it to cause a distraction.”
“A distraction like the fire that broke out in Alusia?”
“Possibly.”
“So you and your partner were always intending to set a fire?”
“We were intending to remove Violet from the premises.”
The prosecutor hums, satisfied with that line of questioning. Satisfied that the jury can reach their own conclusions.
“So how did Laszlo die?”
“She attempted to stop me from freeing Violet. Threw themselves in front of my hammer as I was already mid-swing. I tried to arrest the strike, but it still landed with enough force to kill him.”
“So you admit that it was a blow from your hammer, wielded by you, that killed her?”
“Yes. I've never denied that. But Laszlo's death was entirely caused by-”
“Please restrain yourself to answering my questions, Mr Arnauld. You claim you were swinging the hammer as part of your attempt to free Violet from the Alusia Foundation. And, just so we're clear, a fire had already started at this point, and was spreading through the room. Had Laszlo not interfered, how would you have continued?”
“I was hoping to separate the vat from the floor and carry it out.”
The prosecutor hums again. “With what tools, Mr Arnauld?”
“Sorry?”
“What tools would you have used to separate the vat from the floor, and carry it out?”
“The hammer, I suppose, and any other tools I could scavenge from nearby.”
“You were planning to unscrew the bolts fixing the vat to the floor with a hammer?”
“Well… bash them off, I suppose?”
“Ah. And then you were planning to carry the solid metal vat out of the Foundation and through the desert by hand? Whilst fending off Alusia's staff?”
“I assumed the fire would distract the staff.”
She hums.
“No further questions for now. Your honour, the prosecution would next like to call to the stand Mr Jarnathan Bailey, as an expert witness on the matter of the Bookworm's consciousness. We will then call Mr Arnauld back to the stand to testify on the charge of attempted murder against the Bookworm, aka 'Violet.'”
The judge nods. The security guard escorts Benjamin back to his seat. The prosecutor returns to her desk and acquires a new paper-bound folder. The trial continues.