Page 33 - Tales Apocalyptic and Dystopian

Desynthesis

be given an opportunity to see that we acted responsibly when the
chips were down.” He paused, gazing up at the dusty rafters. “Hmm.
Poker chips. Won’t be seeing them again, I guess. Well, Mr. Vice
President: you are prosecuting this case. We’ll assume the defendant
has waived the right to a jury trial. Moot point, but it should go on
the record.”
Juan Cabron struggled to his feet to object, but was pushed down
roughly by the guard. The prosecutor, a lean and disheveled man in a
heavy wool sweater, approached the bench.
“Your Honor, I will be brief. The defendant stands accused of the
following crime against humanity: playing God.”
“Eh? Is that in the criminal statutes?”
“Well, no, Your Honor, but we couldn’t find any ordinary charge
worthy of the magnitude of the offense.”
“Fine, fine. That’ll do for an opening statement. Call your witness.”
The prosecutor nodded; he was in no less a hurry than the judge.
“The State calls Harold Finch.”
A burly man in an anorak ambled up to a wooden chair with
broken back propped against the judge’s table.
“Clerk!” ordered the judge. “Administer the oath.”
The court reporter realized his role in the drama had just
expanded. “Yes, sir. Do you swear or affirm or promise or whatever
to tell the truth, the whole truth, and everything else, so help us all?”
“I do.”
Finch’s breath puffed out in clouds. The barn, like most other
structures extant, had no functioning heater.
“State your name and occupation, please.”
“I am Harold Finch, an investigator for the Center for Disease
Control. At least, I used to be.”
The prosecutor squinted at notes on a crumpled sheet of paper.
“And where were you working on or about September tenth of this
year?”
“I was working out of the branch office here in the capital.”
“And did anything unusual occur on that day?”
“Of course. Everyone knows that’s when desynthesis started.”
The prosecutor looked over his shoulder before he recalled the
absence of any defense counsel to object. “How did you find out?”

32