Papa opened its mouth again. Carl instantly lay down. Papa opened its mouth a third time and Carl rolled onto his back, tongue lolling out. Papa tossed the bacon piece to Carl, who gobbled it up greedily. Then it continued to enjoy the rest of its treat.
A spatter of bacon grease on Holloway’s arm brought his attention back to the fact that he was still actually cooking food. He finished up the second round of bacon, distributing it equally among the Fuzzys and Carl, each of whom was delighted at the second serving; bacon had now clearly replaced smoked turkey as the king of all meats, at least for the Fuzzys. Holloway put the rest of the uncooked bacon into the cooler, cleaned and stowed the pan, and then walked back over to his desk and picked up his infopanel.
When Isabel departed, she had left Holloway a set of her videos and notes concerning the fuzzys, partly as a courtesy and partly for archival purposes. If anything happened to her set of data, his set would probably still be fine. Holloway accessed the data now, calling up video files in particular. He fiddled with them, changing some of the presentation parameters.
He did this for the next several hours.
Chapter Sixteen
“This is how the inquiry works,” Sullivan said to Holloway. The two of them were standing outside Aubreytown’s single, and cramped, courtroom. “The judge enters and makes a few prefatory statements. Then there’s a presentation of the materials. Isabel is handling that. It’s mostly pro forma because the judge already has all of Isabel’s records and recordings, but if she wants to ask Isabel questions about any of it, this is when she’ll do it. Then a representative from ZaraCorp will question the experts, which in this case are Isabel and you. The judge can also ask questions during this period. At the end of it, the judge will issue a ruling.” Holloway frowned. “So ZaraCorp gets to question me and Isabel. Who’s representing us?” “No one’s representing you. It’s an inquiry, not a trial,” Sullivan said.
“There’s an official legal ruling issued at the end of it,” Holloway said. “Sounds like a trial to me.” “But you’re not accused of a crime, Jack,” Sullivan said. “You and Isabel are like witnesses, not defendants.” “Right,” Holloway said. “It’s the fuzzys who are the defendants.”
“In a manner of speaking,” Sullivan said.
“So who’s representing them?” Holloway asked.
Sullivan sighed. “Just promise me you won’t antagonize the judge,” he said.
“I swear to you that I am not here to antagonize the judge,” Holloway said.
“Good,” Sullivan said.
“So what is your role in this inquiry?” Holloway asked.
“I have no role,” Sullivan said. “I recused myself because it involves Isabel, and my boss was fine with that. I told you she was hot for this inquiry. She thinks it’s her ticket off this rock. And look, here she comes now.” Sullivan nodded down the hallway of the Aubreytown administrative building, where Janice Meyer was striding toward the two of them and the courtroom. Behind her, a young assistant was carrying her case files.
“What’s she like?” Holloway asked.
“What do you mean?” Sullivan said.
“As a human being,” Holloway said.
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” Sullivan said, murmuring now that his boss had gotten close up.
She stopped in front of the two men. “Mark,” she said, by way of greeting, and then looked at Holloway. “And Mr. Holloway. Good to see you again.” She held out her hand; Holloway took it and shook.
“Interesting new species you’ve found,” Meyer said.
“They are full of surprises,” Holloway said.
“Has Mark here explained to you how today’s inquiry is going to work?” Meyer asked.
“He has,” Holloway said.
“It’s not a trial,” Meyer said. “So remember that there’s no need to feel hesitant about answering the questions I’m going to ask you.” “I promise to tell the whole truth,” Holloway said. Meyer smiled at this, which made Holloway wonder if she knew anything about Aubrey’s secret trip out to his compound. She turned to Sullivan, nodded, and entered the courtroom, assistant trailing behind.
“As a boss, she’s ambitious,” Sullivan concluded.
“It’s not bad for you,” Holloway said. “Ambitious bosses leave vacant jobs behind them.” “True enough,” Sullivan said, and then smiled broadly as he saw another person down the halclass="underline" Isabel. She smiled in return and when she came up to Sullivan, gave him a warm but publicly decorous kiss on the cheek. She turned to Holloway.
He held out his hand. “Jack Holloway,” he said. “I’m your fellow expert witness.” “Very cute, Jack,” Isabel said, and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Are you nervous about this?” “No,” Holloway said. “Are you?”
“I’m terrified,” Isabel said. “What I tell the judge here could mean the fuzzys are recognized as people. I don’t want to screw it up. I don’t think I’ve been this nervous since my doctoral defense.” “Well, that turned out all right, didn’t it?” Holloway said. “So you have a track record.” “When did you get in?” Isabel asked.
“Carl and I landed about an hour ago,” Holloway said.
“Where’s Carl?” Isabel asked.
“He’s in the skimmer,” Holloway said. “Relax,” he added, catching Isabel’s expression. “The skimmer has autonomous climate control. He’s cool as a cucumber. You can see him after the inquiry just to be sure.” “Speaking of which,” Sullivan said, “it’s time for the two of you to get in there. This thing starts in a few minutes, and Judge Soltan isn’t the sort to be kept waiting.” *
Judge Nedra Soltan came in and took her seat without preamble; there was no bailiff to announce her arrival or to tell everyone to stand. By the time everyone had stood up, Soltan had already sat down.
“Let’s get through this as quickly as possible,” Soltan said, and then looked at her inquiry timetable. “Dr. Wangai?” “Yes, Your Honor?” Isabel stood. Holloway sat next to her, at the table generally reserved for the defense. Janice Meyer and her assistant sat at the table usually reserved for the prosecution. Not a trial my ass, Holloway thought. The audience portion of the courtroom was empty save for Brad Landon, in the back row, whose expression was one of polite boredom, and Sullivan, who sat directly behind Isabel.
“Our schedule calls for you to give an overview of the research materials,” Soltan said.
“Yes, Your Honor,” Isabel said.
“Is there anything new that you’re going to add to the materials that wasn’t in the package you sent to me?” Soltan asked. “Because if there’s not, I’d just as soon skip it.” Isabel blinked at this. “Skip it?” she said. She glanced over at the large monitor that had been brought in for her presentation.
“Yes,” Soltan said. “Your report was comprehensive to the point of exhausting, Dr. Wangai. If all we’re going to do here is get a recap, I’d rather not.” “The point of the presentation was to give you time to ask any questions you might have on the material,” Isabel said. “I’m sure you have questions.” “Not really, no,” Soltan said, blandly. “So, shall we move forward?”
Isabel glanced over at Holloway, who arched his eyebrows an infinitesimally small amount, and then back at Sullivan, who was utterly blank. “I suppose,” she said finally, turning back to Soltan.
“Good,” Soltan said. She looked over at Meyer. “That’s fine with you as well, Ms. Meyer?” “Not a problem, Your Honor,” Meyer said.