Companion
Los Angeles County Court House
23 May 2075
The People of the State of California v Howard Crane Charged in the First Degree Murder of a Companion
“Mr. Shultz, you are the owner of the Games4Us franchise located on Sydney Street in Los Angeles…is that correct?” asked Soon Fatua, attorney for the prosecution.
“Yes, I own the store.”
“Can you tell us what you sell?”
“The usual games, you know…for computers, game boxes, p-pads, stuff like that.”
“And do you recall seeing the defendant, Mr. Crane, in your store?”
Fatua pointed at Howard Crane, seated at the defendant’s bench. Howard held his head down, staring intently at the table top, as if contemplating the fine craftsmanship of furniture made of real wood. His left hand was cupped on the table, while a finger lazily traced a wandering grain along its surface.
“Yes, indeed.”
“And did Mr. Crane purchase anything at your store?”
“He bought a copy of Companion.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I remember he paid cash, and I remember something else.”
“And, what was that?”
“He sneered when I handed him the chip.”
“Did he say anything unusual?”
“He said ‘One less’.”
“And what did you think he meant by that?”
“It was an odd thing to say. It sounded to me like he was going to get rid of the chip.”
A collective gasp ran through the seated audience.
Howard Crane’s attorney jumped up. “Objection, Your Honor! I move that the last statement be struck from the record. The witness cannot have known what Mr. Crane was thinking.”
Judge Ignatius Sanders, grey before his time, nodded in agreement. “Sustained. Strike the last statement. The jury is instructed to ignore the witness’s opinion regarding Mr. Crane’s motivation.”
Fatua turned to look at Jamie Oscura, the defendant’s attorney, and threw him a smile. “I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
“Your witness, Mr. Oscura.”
Oscura patted Howard on the back as he rose to question Mr. Schultz. “You have been in business for many years?”
“Indeed. I’d say about fourteen years.”
“And, in all that time, how many copies of Companion do you think you sold?”
Schultz scratched his head, looked up at the ceiling and answered, “That game has been popular since the day it hit the market. I’d say at least a couple of thousand copies.”
"And, of course, you have records of all these sales?”
“Indeed. It’s the law.”
“And, would you know if any of yhese games were misused, or destroyed?”
Once again, the audience stirred.
Shultz cleared his throat, and answered, “As you know, the law requires that each purchase be accompanied by a signed statement that the owner would care for the software in perpetuity. And I think you also know that, since the discovery of sentience in the Companion game, some ten years back, each copy is now registered with the Central Agency. They probably know more about the status of these games than I.”
“I notice that you keep using the term, ‘game’ even when referring to Companion. Is that because, after all is said and done, after all the experts’ opinions, and the government enacting laws to protect the software, that you, yourself, still consider Companion as no more
than a game?”
Several shrieks erupted from behind Oscura.
Fatua jumped up and sputtered, “Objection, objection!”
The audience was in an uproar. Several posters erupted from the crowd.
“The Court will come to order!”
Judge Sanders smashed his gavel onto the massive desktop.
“Bailiff, please instruct the Officers of the Court to have those signs removed. I will not tolerate such outbursts. Now, let us conduct these proceedings in a respectful and civilized manner. Mr. Fatua, your objection is overruled. The question goes to the witness’s expertise. Mr. Schultz please answer the question.”
Schultz mopped his forehead with a wrinkled handkerchief.
23 May 2075
The People of the State of California v Howard Crane Charged in the First Degree Murder of a Companion
“Mr. Shultz, you are the owner of the Games4Us franchise located on Sydney Street in Los Angeles…is that correct?” asked Soon Fatua, attorney for the prosecution.
“Yes, I own the store.”
“Can you tell us what you sell?”
“The usual games, you know…for computers, game boxes, p-pads, stuff like that.”
“And do you recall seeing the defendant, Mr. Crane, in your store?”
Fatua pointed at Howard Crane, seated at the defendant’s bench. Howard held his head down, staring intently at the table top, as if contemplating the fine craftsmanship of furniture made of real wood. His left hand was cupped on the table, while a finger lazily traced a wandering grain along its surface.
“Yes, indeed.”
“And did Mr. Crane purchase anything at your store?”
“He bought a copy of Companion.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I remember he paid cash, and I remember something else.”
“And, what was that?”
“He sneered when I handed him the chip.”
“Did he say anything unusual?”
“He said ‘One less’.”
“And what did you think he meant by that?”
“It was an odd thing to say. It sounded to me like he was going to get rid of the chip.”
A collective gasp ran through the seated audience.
Howard Crane’s attorney jumped up. “Objection, Your Honor! I move that the last statement be struck from the record. The witness cannot have known what Mr. Crane was thinking.”
Judge Ignatius Sanders, grey before his time, nodded in agreement. “Sustained. Strike the last statement. The jury is instructed to ignore the witness’s opinion regarding Mr. Crane’s motivation.”
Fatua turned to look at Jamie Oscura, the defendant’s attorney, and threw him a smile. “I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
“Your witness, Mr. Oscura.”
Oscura patted Howard on the back as he rose to question Mr. Schultz. “You have been in business for many years?”
“Indeed. I’d say about fourteen years.”
“And, in all that time, how many copies of Companion do you think you sold?”
Schultz scratched his head, looked up at the ceiling and answered, “That game has been popular since the day it hit the market. I’d say at least a couple of thousand copies.”
"And, of course, you have records of all these sales?”
“Indeed. It’s the law.”
“And, would you know if any of yhese games were misused, or destroyed?”
Once again, the audience stirred.
Shultz cleared his throat, and answered, “As you know, the law requires that each purchase be accompanied by a signed statement that the owner would care for the software in perpetuity. And I think you also know that, since the discovery of sentience in the Companion game, some ten years back, each copy is now registered with the Central Agency. They probably know more about the status of these games than I.”
“I notice that you keep using the term, ‘game’ even when referring to Companion. Is that because, after all is said and done, after all the experts’ opinions, and the government enacting laws to protect the software, that you, yourself, still consider Companion as no more
than a game?”
Several shrieks erupted from behind Oscura.
Fatua jumped up and sputtered, “Objection, objection!”
The audience was in an uproar. Several posters erupted from the crowd.
“The Court will come to order!”
Judge Sanders smashed his gavel onto the massive desktop.
“Bailiff, please instruct the Officers of the Court to have those signs removed. I will not tolerate such outbursts. Now, let us conduct these proceedings in a respectful and civilized manner. Mr. Fatua, your objection is overruled. The question goes to the witness’s expertise. Mr. Schultz please answer the question.”
Schultz mopped his forehead with a wrinkled handkerchief.