Stand Trial

"Could you please state your name and occupation for the court." Nielsen said. He ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair and took a deep breath, preparing for the long day ahead.
"My name is William Henrow, but most people call me Willie." Willie waved to the group of three men in the front row, his coworkers. They all looked alike: faded brown suits with stains, greying hair, and giving Willie a thumbs-up. Willie was dressed the same, the cheap rental suits were all he and his coworkers could afford on their salaries. When he returned the gesture to his friends, Nielsen coughed.
"And your occupation, as well, Mr. Henrow?" Nielsen sighed, and fought back the urge to turn and look at his counsel. A team of other lawyers sat at his bench, but they were only there as a show of force; Nielsen was the main event. And it wouldn't do for him to look at them for help, not that they could offer it anyways.
"I'm a looker." Willie winked at the cameras. The TV audience would think he was reacting to the double meaning of the word looker, but in truth he had a love-affair with those cameras, the ones marked with a white diamond.
"But your professional title is video technician, correct?"
"That's the stuffy way to say it, but sure."
"And could you explain for us what it is you do, as a video technician?"
"I watch the video recorded by F.A.T.H.E.R."
"Father?"
"It stands for Future Analytic Technology's High Efficiency Replacement."
"Future Analytic Technology. That is the company you work for, Mr. Henrow?"
"I told you, you can call me Willie. Yeah, I'm a F.A.T. looker." Willie looked around and expected a laugh. Most people laughed when he told that line. His friends had heard it a hundred times so they didn't laugh, but neither did anyone else in the live audience. Silence covered the courtroom and Willie started to sweat. Nielsen walked back to his table, pretending to shuffle through notes while he let the silence set in. This man was out of his usual territory, and Nielsen was going to destroy him.
"You don't look fat to me. I guess you could afford to lose a few pounds here and there." Nielsen said, and finally turned to the cameras. His smile was full of shining white teeth, and the contrast with his enveloping black hair made him look like an actor from an old movie. The crowd loved it. Willie pulled at the throat of his ill-fitting suit. Nielsen, the cheerful man who had prepped him during the last few weeks was gone, and replaced by Nielsen the shark.
"If it's not too much effort for you, could you give us a detailed explanation of your day-to-day work?" Nielsen made a mental note to make no more fat jokes. There was a line between funny and offensive, and it was important to keep the audience on his side.
"Ah, sure. I start out the day by skimming through the recorded overnight video. Another employee will have already gone through it while live, so I just double-check anything they've flagged as important. By coffee break, I'm watching the live feed. If I see anything suspicious, or the computer points something out for me, I watch it, flag it, and write a report. That's about it, until I clock out." Willie stumbled through the explanation, pausing occasionally to rub his hands and dry off the sweat. He had rehearsed it with Nielsen many times, but now, in public, Nielsen's responses had changed.
"What type of things usually get flagged, by employees or by the computer?"
"The, uh, employees, usually flag things like jaywalking, drunk-driving... the more visual things. Father handles the technical stuff, like speeding and facial-recognition."
"For the sake of clarity, Mr. Henrow, would it be correct to say that the staff in your division at Future Analytic are merely observers? You, and father, don't have the ability to hand out speeding tickets, or lock doors, or anything like that?"
"That's right. We just provide the information to the police, who make the arrest or send out the ticket."
"Thank you. The background information is very helpful, this technology confuses a lot of people, so it's good to know the details." Nielsen added this part not for the record, but for the audience. As a technology advocate, and an employee of Future Analytics, it was his job not only to win this case but also to cultivate respect and trust in the F.A.T.H.E.R system. Even if he somehow lost the case, if he could get the world to come to terms with what the system could offer them, then that would be the greater victory. Father already recorded most of human movement in the civilized world, and if it was given a piece, no matter how small, in the actual judicial and sentencing of the people it watched over, the world would be forever changed. This was more or less the speech that the company gave to Nielsen almost a month ago. He didn't need persuading, but he liked how thorough and passionate they were.
"Let's get to the heart of the matter, Willie." Nielsen said, intentionally using the nickname to devalue the man.
"On September the fourteenth, you were at work, correct?"
Willie nodded.
"And by the afternoon, you would be done with the recordings, and be watching live video?" Another nod. Willie looked down anxiously. In front of him, embedded in the wood, was a small black screen. It converted his speech into text to be reviewed later. As it worked, it made a clacking noise: an imitation of a typewriter, harkening to the days of the past. Willie had been told what the device did and how it worked, but he still found it eerie that it interpreted his head nods as yeses. He started intently at the small white diamond on its face, the symbol of Future Analytics, rather than look Nielsen in the eye.
"Could you please tell the court what happened just before 2 o'clock, that day?"
"I was watching the live feed from C9. The downtown west side. One of the cameras caught my eye, its edge was flashing red. That means father has identified the face of someone the police are looking for. The person was Armelio Fossi, the gang leader."
"Objection!" yelled Gustav Krant, the head lawyer for the plaintiff, Armelio Fossi's estate.
"Surely you mean Armelio Fossi, the alleged gang leader?" said the judge, Stanley Edelstein. He was reluctant to choose sides this early, if at all. He was known as the most neutral judge in the country. Some naysayers thought that fact was enough to ally him with the defendant, having the cold steely likeness of neutrality,  but he tended to ignore naysayers, as well as anyone and anything not pertinent to the case at hand. Thankfully for all parties, Willie agreed.
"Yes, Armelio Fossi the alleged gang leader." Gustav's temper stopped flaring and he sat down, but he could be counted on to enter the fray again soon.
"He was driving a red sports car. I followed him across the screens while I alerted the cops."
"And this is all the standard procedure for an event like this?"
"Yes. I was directing the police to his location, when he drove through an intersection. His car was halfway across when it was t-boned by another vehicle, a large black truck." Armelio's wife and daughter gasped, sitting behind the plaintiff's table. The rest of the crowd whispered to each other. After a respectful moment, Judge Edelstein swung his gavel and brought order to the court.
"If you could, please give us your opinion on why the other car drove into him." said Nielsen. From behind, he could hear Gustav shuffling in his seat.
"This is just the man's opinion Gustav, there's nothing to object to yet." he said, just loud enough for Gustav to hear him, and no one else.
"I believe there was a... malfunction, with the lights. The truck had a green light, as did Mr. Fossi." Never could Willie bring himself to say that father caused the accident. While he didn't trust everything that Future Analytics made, the cameras were his window to the world, and in his eyes they were infallible. Father didn't have the power to control the lights anyways. It was only an observer, like he was.
"A malfunction? Hmm. Willie, how long have you been working as a video technician?"
"Over 20 years." This part wasn't in the script, but Willie didn't see how the truth could hurt him.
"And how many times have there been malfunctions with the lights? Or with any of Future Analytics hardware for that matter?"
"None, that I know of." Willie started to worry again. He wasn't sure where Nielsen was leading him, and after the display of cruelty earlier on, he wasn't sure he could trust Nielsen.
"Then why do you think it was a malfunction and not something done on purpose?" Nielsen spoke quickly, knowing what would come. He had to make sure his words were heard so the audience knew what was going on. The instant he finished, Gustav was standing, his arms thrust against the table.
"Objection, your honor! He's leading him on!" The old man's face was red like a tomato, and little sprigs of grey hair poked out from his head. He looked ready to charge at Nielsen.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to allow it. We're here to figure out the truth, not hide from it. You may answer the question, witness." Gustav appeared ready to steam, and his assisting lawyers had to pull him down to sit.
"It just doesn't seem possible. Father doesn't have control of intersection lights. And who could have known Armelio would be at that light, anyways?" Willie felt himself leaning forwards, subconsciously fighting against the line of questioning.
"Who, indeed. Mr. Henrow, was anyone else working with you that day?"
"No. We work alone, in shifts."
"And did you phone anyone else, besides the police officers?"
"No. The phone is a direct line to the police headquarters, we can't call anyone else."
"So then it would be right to assume that no one knew of Mr. Armelio's whereabouts aside from father, yourself, and the police? According to you, father has no control of the lights, and it's a computer, how could it have intent? The police were still en route. That just leaves you. You're friends with people who work for the city, aren't you Mr. Henrow?" Nielsen reverted back to his proper name, cutting the bond of familiarity, and making way for the audience to see him as a potential criminal.
"Yes, I am. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Please just answer the questions. So you know people who, theoretically, could change those lights at your command?"
"Excuse me, is the defendant's lawyer really suspecting his own witness?" said Gustav, his most level-headed statement all day, though he did forget to say objection in his hurry.
"I believe he is. I must say, it's a tactic I don't fully understand either. We'll have a brief recess to discuss it further." The judge threw down his gavel, and immediately the doors at the back of the room were opened, and the people ushered out.
"What are you trying to pull, Nielsen?"
"I'm submitting an alternate suspect for your case, I thought you would be happy about it."
"We're here to prove your unholy computer killed my client, not that some boring schmuck did it. We don't even have any evidence on this guy, how could we hope to convict him?"
"Why don't you leave that up to me, Gustav."
"If you two are done, I asked you to approach the bench, not each other. Are you really hanging your own witness?"
"Yes."
"I was expecting many weird antics throughout this case. I'll allow you to continue, but know this: I'm not happy when people play games in my courtroom. If you're just stalling for time..."
"I'm not, your honor. No other antics either. We believe Mr. Henrow is the killer."
"Then let's continue..."
"Judge Edelstein?" said Willie. He was still sitting in the witness chair, as he listened to his prep lawyer condemn him. The judge and both lawyers eyed him expectantly, waiting to hear what this man would have to say about being thrown under the figurative bus, how he would defend himself.
"Can I go to the washroom first?" Nielsen nearly giggled. Gustav shook his head and walked sadly back to his table. The judge waved him on, and told the guard to escort him. The guard was a bigger man with a bald head. He looked very stern until they left the court room when he smiled at Willie, and all the tension left his face. He led Willie through the crowded hallway, an easy feat as the people parted for them. He checked inside the bathroom, then stood outside the door to wait. Willie went inside and stood at a urinal stall. He loosened his tie and tried to relax. It took him a minute to get started, and when he had finally finished, he was stressed enough to spill on his pants leg. He shook his hand, then turned around to look for a paper towel dispenser, but instead found a tall man in a black suit. He wore thin wire glasses, in contrast to the ferocity that lay behind them. The man pushed his hand against Willie's chest and shoved him back against the wall.
"It's time to take one for the team, Willie." He punched Willie in the gut then threw him to the bathroom floor, ripping his rented suit.
"Your own lawyer is setting you up for a fall. I suggest you take it. Prison isn't so bad, and we'll get you out early. Think of it this way, we'll have one big red eye watching out for you."
"But I didn't do it…" Willie said half-heartedly. He scrabbled along the floor, trying to keep his distance from the attacker.
"Doesn't matter. The age of the machine is long overdue. Whether you take the fall or not, the age will come. And when it does, the machines, and I, will be able to find you, anywhere. Remember that, as you make your decision." The man took one step closer, making sure Willie flinched in fear, then left confidently. Willie sat on the floor as he considered what just happened. His whole job was about looking through the machines cameras; the man was right, they could find him anywhere. If he really thought about it, he would prefer to be on the side of the machines, they were the only ones he could trust, not the two-faced humans like Nielsen. He stood up and looked at his suit, more stained than before, and ripped now too.
"That's the worst of your problems." said a voice. It was one of Gustav's assistant lawyers. He smiled and held out his hand.
"Aston Smith. I'm a representative of the Humanity for Humans group. And don't worry, my sales pitch isn't nearly as painful as the last one you must have endured."
"That's good, I don't know how much more I could take. Though, Humanity for Humans sounds like a stupid name to me. I think his offer will probably be better."
"At least hear me out. Humanity for Humans is guided by the idea that humans should run their own lives, not computers. We stand at the precipice. This is a landmark case. Do you know what that means, Mr. Henrow?"
"My friends call me Willie. And no, I don't."
"Willie. It means that this case will set a precedent that all future cases will rely on. If you are found guilty, the human tampering of a perfect computer system, will likely become illegal. Computers will run by themselves, and be above the inspection of the law. Do you understand what that means? It means you cannot plead guilty, or you will doom the rest of society."
"What has the rest of society ever done for me? What do I get for doing the right thing?" Aston went quiet. He figured that the surviving fate of mankind would be enough to justify fighting for the truth, but apparently it wasn't.
"I don't care much for the rest of society. My best friends are the people I see when I exchange shifts, for one minute each day. The rest of my time is spent with a computer, a computer you want me to condemn as a murderer? My job would be destroyed."
"But human-kind would be saved..."
"Doesn't matter. I've heard enough." Aston tried to say more, but Willie waved the man away. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself. All he saw was the cheap clothing and poor health that society had dealt him. He washed his hands, finally. Outside, the guard still stood smiling.
"Why did you let those people in, aren't you supposed to be watching me?"
"I'm only supposed to be making sure you don't escape, really. Plus I'm just a court officer. I work for minimum wage. Both of those men handed me more money than I make in a year. We all have to take what we can get, right?" said the guard. Willie nodded, understanding more than the guard could have known. The guard led Willie back to the witness stand, and he waited there while the room filled up again. The instant the doors closed, Nielsen was back on him. Willie almost felt a shred of pity for the man.
"So, Mr. Henrow. In your time as a video technician, you must have seen a lot of criminals get away. Ones the police couldn't catch, or that went out of your jurisdiction. Even the ones they do catch, often get off with too light of sentences. It would be enough to make any man want to take the law into their own hands, right?" Nielsen said. It was certainly a flashy statement, and the cameras caught every word. It wouldn't be enough to crack Willie, not yet, but it was a great way to lay the foundation.
"Yes. So that's what I did. Armelio Fossi was a brutal killer, and even if the police caught him, he had the money to pay expensive lawyers to get a short sentence. I had to do something about it myself." said Willie.
"You... you did?"
"Yes. I have a connection at the traffic bureau, and I used the system without his knowledge. I wanted to play it off as a malfunction. I love my job, my life... but I can't let F.A.T.H.E.R take the fall for my actions. He's too great a benefit to the world, to be held back by my anger. I killed Armelio Fossi." Willie said the entire speech while looking at the cameras, his little friends. He saved their life, and he hoped they knew it. The audience went wild, and ignored the judge's call to order. The judge directed the guard to handcuff Willie and take him from the room. The lawyers exited as well, while the remaining guards tried to calm the room. Back in his private office, Nielsen sat down. "That went pretty well. I had hoped he wouldn't confess for a while, so that I could have time to play the audience. But I think he did a pretty good job of that himself, don't you think?" The man in the dark suit was seated at the table. He nodded along with Nielsen.
"I offered to cut his sentence short but I think with intensity and passion like that, we need to offer him more. It's minds like his that F.A.T.H.E.R will learn best from."
"I agree. He's been with father for so long, he's almost free of the hindrance of humanity all on his own. Make sure, when he gets out, that we recruit him. I think he'll have no hesitation about being merged with father permanently."