Robert Sawyer - Illegal Alien

“I had begun dropping scales earlier that day, and I was experiencing the itchy feeling that is normally associated with the shedding of skin. I grant that my shedding was unscheduled, but I was aware in advance that it was going to happen.”

“And how do you explain the presence of objects resembling Tosok scales being found in Dr. Calhoun’s room?”

“Objection,” said Dale. “Calls for speculation.”

“I’ll allow it,” said Pringle.

Hask’s topknot waved slightly. “I visited him earlier in the day; perhaps I dropped some scales then. Or perhaps I had dropped scales elsewhere in the dormitory, and Dr. Calhoun, intrigued by them, picked them up and took them to his room for study; they could have then been knocked to the floor from his desk during whatever melee might have accompanied his murder.”

“What were you doing while Dr. Calhoun was murdered?”

“I believe the People have been unable to establish precisely when that occurred,” said Hask.

“Very well. What were you doing between eight p.m. and midnight last December twenty-second?”

“From eight p.m. to eight-thirty p.m., I watched TV.”

“What program?”

“I believe I was ‘channel surfing,’ if I understand the term. I watched a variety of programs.” His tuft parted in a Tosok shrug. “I am a male, after all.”

The jury laughed. Ziegler’s cheeks turned slightly red. “And after your channel surfing?”

“Meditation, mostly. And, of course, the shedding of my skin.”

“Of course,” said Ziegler. “The very convenient shedding of your skin.”

“It is never convenient, Ms. Ziegler. I do not know if you are prone to any periodic biological function, but, trust me, such things are just plain irritating.”

Judge Pringle was struggling to suppress a grin.

“The tool used to kill Dr. Calhoun,” said Ziegler. “Was it yours?”

“It certainly looks as though he was killed with a Tosok monofilament, yes. It could have been mine or that of any of the others; it is a common tool—we have dozens of them aboard our starship. But even if it was mine, it was hardly an item I kept under lock and key.”

Dale allowed himself a small smile. Hask was being a wonderful witness—funny, warm, reasonable. It was clear that he was winning the jury over.

Linda Ziegler must have been thinking the same thing. Dale could almost see her changing mental gears. Her manner became much more aggressive, her voice much harsher. “Mr. Hask, isn’t it true that you were awoken prematurely from hibernation to deal with a shipboard emergency?”

“Yes.”

“You were awoken because you were the crew member designated as ‘First’, correct?”

“Yes.”

“What about Seltar? What was her title?”

“She was Second—if a situation arose that I could not deal with alone, she, too, would be revived. I was more expendable than she, but she was more expendable than all the others.”

“And the two of you were revived to deal with an accident affecting your ship?”

“Yes.”

“Simultaneously? Or did you revive first?”

“Simultaneously. The on-board computer recognized that both of us would be required, and so began heating our hibernation pallets and blankets to awaken us.”

“But Seltar died during repairs?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“She was working in the engineering compartment. A containment plate ruptured and blew out toward her. The impact killed her instantly.”

“Was her body severely damaged?”

“No. The injury was to her head.”

“And so what did you do with the body?”

“As per the standard procedures of my ship, I dissected it to harvest her organs, in case they might be needed for transplant.”

“And didn’t you find yourself aroused by the process of doing so?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you find the cutting of flesh pleasurable?”

“No.”

“You didn’t feel compelled to experience the same sensation again?”

“No.”

“And once you arrived at Earth, weren’t you curious about human anatomy?”

“No. Such curiosity would be prurient.”

“Come now, Hask! You’re an explorer, and you’re on what is, to you, an alien world. Weren’t you curious about the lifeforms you found here?”

“When you put it that way…”

“So you lied a moment ago when you said no.”

“I misspoke.”

“How many other times have you misspoken?”

“Objection!” said Dale. “Argumentative.”

“Sustained,” said Pringle.

“So you admit that you had recently experienced the opening up of a body, and that you were fascinated by human anatomy—even if such fascination was not polite by the standards of your race.”

“You are overstating my curiosity.”

“On December twenty-second, you found yourself with Dr. Calhoun while almost everyone else was away. Did your urge to see human in-wards get the best of you?”

“No.”

“Did you pull out your cutting device and sever his leg?”

“No.”

“And did you then slit open his belly and carve out his organs—just is you had carved out Seltar’s organs?”

“No. No. None of what you say is true.”

“You’re a monster, aren’t you, Mister Hask? A killer, and, even by the standards of your own people, a deviant.”

“Objection!” said Dale.

“That is not true,” said Hask. His topknot was flailing wildly.

“The one inescapable truth, though,” said Ziegler, “is that Cletus Calhoun is dead.”

Hask was quiet for several seconds. His topknot slowly calmed down.

“That,” agreed Hask, at last, “is the one inescapable truth.”

The media excitement was slightly—but only slightly—less the next day, when the defense’s case-in-chief continued.

“The defense calls the Tosok named Rendo,” said Dale Rice.

Rendo strode to the witness stand and was sworn in.

Dale rose. “Mr. Rendo, what is your job title aboard the Tosok starship?”

“I am Sixth.”

“And what specialty did you perform?”

“I am chief engineer.”

“Prior to embarking on your starflight, where did you live?

“In the city known as Destalb‹ pop › on the planet my people call home.”

“And that planet,” said Dale, “where is it located?”

“In the scheme of naming used by your species, it is part of the Alpha Centauri system.”

“Why did your people come to Earth?”

Rendo looked at the jurors. “In our skies, your sun appears in the constellation you call Cassiopeia. From Earth, Cassiopeia looks like your capital letter W. From our world, your sun forms an extra jag off the W. We call that constellation the serpent. Your sun is the bright eye of the serpent; the rest of what you call Cassiopeia makes up the fainter tail.” Rendo’s tuft parted in the center. “Every young Tosok has looked up at the eye of the serpent, knowing that, save for Orange and Red, it is the nearest star. It is only natural that we should wish to visit here.”

“Orange and Red?”

“Our names for Alpha Centauri B and C. We call Alpha Centauri A ‘Yellow’, B ‘Orange’, and C ‘Red’ ”

“What is the purpose of your mission?”

“We are explorers. We came in peace, and in friendship.”

“Your mission is, to quote an Earth TV show, to seek out new life and new civilizations?”

“Yes.”

“Something is wrong with your starship, the Ka ‹ click › tarsk , isn’t there?” Dale did a credible job of imitating the Tosok name.

“Yes.”

“What, exactly?”

“The ship has two engines. The main one is a large fusion engine, used for interstellar travel. The other, smaller one, is a standard rocket engine, used for maneuvering within a star system. Although this secondary one still operates, the main one was damaged and requires repair.”