work with the older humans, I do not believe it will work with the younger, and chose not to take the two days to reiterate the rules and regulations.
If any member of the Review Board has an objection, I refer him to the Board of Governors’ Response to the Official Inquiry on the Humans [attached above].
—Injustice Collector 0080
In the midst of the arrival of the Bystanding Party, the humans committed yet another protocol breach. I note this here, but do not place it into the record as a secondary interruption since this is an interruption of an interruption.
Nonetheless, I report it here:
“I object,” says the John Graf. “These children have no legal rights here. Their parents must be present.”
“The ‘children’ are the Bystanding Party,” I say. “If the Bystanding Party does not understand its function here, I suggest it choose one representative member, and set the rest free. The representative member will listen to the testimony, will spend time with the Collectors-in-Training to gain an understanding of the rules session which was missed, and will, if need be, relay the Justice/Injustice to the remaining members of the Party.”
“Your Honor,” one of the “children” says. It has a high voice with many overtones, “Our parents don’t want us here.”
Again, I ignore this. “We shall recess for One Cycle while the Bystanding Party picks its representative.”
And so we do.
[It senses my attention, and sends me this message:
[I note the communication here in an aside, since it is within the bag’s rights to make such a communication. Each case I have administered has included such a communication.
Only this time, I actually contemplate the bag’s request. This procedure
[Apparently, it senses my hesitation and turns a violent purple. The color change and the shimmering hatred that rises from the bag’s porous exterior remind me that, no matter how logical a bag’s argument the bag is always concerned with its own power. Too many Injustices, even Perceived Ones, might overload the safety protocols, and the bag would be freed.
[There are fifty bags within traveling distance of this sector. One free bag could free the others— that’s how the Attwne System dissolved.
[I reject the bag’s request, but note my hesitation here, in case the Review Board would like to bring me up on charges for even considering it.
[By the time the Representatives return—two MugwL, two human [as I note with relief], and two “children” of the larger variety—the bag is again pale lavender, and I have made certain the knot and the imprisoning devices are fixed securely.]
Record of Proceeding
Injustice Collector 0080 Presiding
By the time of the Incident at Gray’s Brook, we had already been to the human settlement six times with the express purpose of seeing the “children.” The “children” gather every other Cycle in a building called the “school.” There they sit while a full-sized human passes knowledge to them via three different means—vocal communication, printed communication, and written communication. The system seems inefficient to us, and is part of what led us to believe the “children” were another species. We now believe that the human young are not born with the knowledge of the community implanted in the brain. The knowledge must be transferred by these inefficient means.
Since we use these means only with inferior creatures, ones that we hope to domesticate, we place this assumption of ours before the Decision Desk as a simple Misunderstanding, not an Injustice.
Interruption in the Proceeding
“I don’t suppose anyone wants to explain that distinction/’ says the John Graf. I believe he is referring to the distinction between the “Misunderstanding” and the “Injustice.”
We have explained this, taking days—not cycles— to do so. But I weary of reminding him of that so say nothing.
After a moment of silence, the John Graf says, “I thought not. Why do I even try?”
Record of Proceeding
Injustice Collector 0080 Presiding
Just before the Incident at Gray’s Brook, one of the human Elders came to our Village Council and requested a “field trip” in which their “children” would see how we tend our own young. This “field trip” as best we could understand it was an educational venture designed to exemplify the distinctions between our two species.
It took the humans several visits to explain the need for such an event to us. Even so, we are uncertain as to whether we sufficiently understand it, and believe on this point that the Non-Requesting Party might like a voice.
[“This isn’t a proceeding, it’s a joke, and we’re here under protest,” he says by way of explanation.
[The MugwL seem to find this response as unsatisfactory as I do. But that does not stop their testimony. Their representative continues.]
To understand what transpired next, we must explain a distinction that we have learned over this half-season of dealing with the humans. In their language, “day” means “cycle.” Their concept of time is different from ours in significant ways, ways we do not yet completely understand.
We have come to realize that even though we speak the same accepted Alliance tongue, our understandings break down at even this most basic level. Some of our scientists postulate that the humans have a summer’s lifespan, although others believe this to be impossible based on the humans’ ability to learn Alliance languages and travel in space.
This digression stems from our attempt to understand the humans’ extreme reaction to the Incident at Gray’s Brook and our culpability, if any, in it.
Interruption in the Proceeding
