The Courthouse (before battle)
N Corp.'s courtroom was a stark white chamber drowned in complete silence.
As expected of a place erected for representatives of the law to sit in judgment over criminals, the court of justice was imposing and majestic...
Yet that very grandeur made it feel every bit as hollow.
*sigh* Well, there's no turning back now. Might as well think about what we can actually do.
We know next to nothing about Meursault's past in N Corp....
So I say we pay close attention and carefully listen to every word of the proceedings.
Should've pulled answers from the bloke before he got hauled off. The sod never says a word unless you question it out of him.
Sure, but how were we supposed to know they'd take him away so suddenly?
At the very least... we may safely assume his crime was not a violation of the N Corp. Taboo.
Right... Otherwise, we would've run into N Corp.'s Taboo Hunters left and right since the very first day we met him.
Had fortune aligned the hours, perchance we might have beheld the Yellow Harpoon in his Taboo Hunter days here in N Corp.... But alas...
Yeah... and get Yellow Harpooned to death more times than we can count?
Listening to the Sinners' conversation, I tried to imagine what kind of "crime" Meursault could've committed during his time at N Corp.
The Meursault we've known so far...
... isn't the sort to pick fights with or use violence against other people without justifiable reason, unlike some of us.
What're you givin' me that look for, C.H.? You lookin' for a fight?
Yeah, lookin' for a fight, C.H?
Wait, Heathcliff... have you decided to join in on the abbreviation game too?
Ack, what the - It rubbed off on me, bloody hell...!
*puff* The start of the C.H. era clocks hard.
Nor is he prone to erratic behavior with blatant disregard for possible consequences...
I loathe the notion that Young Meursault could have committed deeds so foul as to warrant a trial...! Though when given orders, he is wont to be the first fist to smite his foes upon their faces, and would fain dislocate their jaw even as, uh, even as they cling to the hem of his breeches, weeping for mercy...
Hm. Of all the actions taken by our men during the last operation, his alone merits compliment. It was an efficient method of neutralizing the enemy.
Nor is he the type to carry a grudge... like someone I know...
... Sorry, why are you looking at me? ... Oh.
Dante, I can almost see the gears turning in your head, but wild guesses won't get us anywhere right now.
Think about it. If his crime were something normal enough to be guessable, then it wouldn't have resulted in a measure as drastic as permanent exile. So let's get out of our own heads, sit down, and focus on the proceedings.
<That's true...>
You know what, it still bothers me that you were looking at me while trying to guess what could've sent Meursault to trial... Never mind. Let's just make sure to focus on the proceedings later.
... Ishmael let out a long breath and returned to watching the commotion past the bar as people prepared to begin the trial.
Something does feel off about him, though. How should I put this...
It's almost like he's not even present with the rest of us in this courtroom.
What are ya talkin' about? Meur's standing right over there.
Um, yes, he is...
But he feels so distant from everyone, like he's here as a spectator to someone else's trial, not as the defendant...
Like he's looking somewhere else even though his body is standing here...
<Really? What's a defendant supposed to look like at a normal trial?>
Normal trials, eh? Here's what:
Chest puffed, eyes mad-doggin', starin' down the judge like you're sayin' "What're you gonna do about it, wanker?"
Are you speaking from experience, Heathcliff...? Oh, never mind, actually. I don't even want to know...
…….
For the briefest moment...
I felt so alone, isolated from every other living soul in all the world.
Everything I'd done, every choice I'd made that I'd believed at the moment was for the best...
... was questioned without end. Are you sure that was the best course of action? Can you truly say it wasn't an arbitrary decision on your part?
And somewhere along the way, as you keep trying to justify yourself...
... you realize that your decisions have come back around as consequences, as chains that bind you.
Outis spoke in a low voice, gazing into the courtroom.
How do you... How do you cope with something like that?
You tell yourself that you were right. Over and over again.
You tell yourself that you had no other choice. There was no other choice. Deceive yourself, if you must.
... It's no more than a contrivance to keep oneself from stooping and succumbing in the end.
But in this trial, what we ought to be more concerned about is not self-justification, but how the man will carry himself before the judge.
What you actually have done... matters less than how convincingly and eloquently you can account for it when you're stood in front of the bench.
<*sigh* But he doesn't even have a lawyer to do that for him...>
Please come to order.
All rise. The court is now in session, with the honorable judge presiding.
The spectators all rose to their feet the instant the bailiff finished speaking.
*groan* Heathcliff... Will you get a move on and get your butt off the chair? They know we're with Meursault. Do you really wanna get on their bad side before the trial even begins?
Like I said, lookin' cowed is the worst thing you can do in a courtroom... You act like a scared little bird; they'll pick you clean.
It wasn't long before three figures, the collars of their suits starched stiff, entered the courtroom.
You may be seated.
Due to the urgency of the matter, this court has suspended the previously scheduled case hearing to prioritize this emergency session.
This will be a summary trial. Unless the defense can prove facts materially inconsistent with the indicted charges, this court will issue a prompt ruling and finish the proceedings within session.
... This bodes ill. They intend to get this fast-tracked.
It's always bad when the court is unwilling to devote much time to a case.
Defendant: Meursault. Registered address: Revoked... Former member of the Maintenance and Management Team at Grand Magasin Sisyphe, once counted among the Ones Who Nail.
Is that correct?
Yes, that is correct.
Prosecution and defense counsel - state your appearances for the record.
For the prosecution, Your Honor.
... Defense? Is the defense not present?
Has the defendant made no separate arrangements for counsel?
... We're really going ahead with this without a lawyer?
And Meursault's expected to... uh, argue his own case?
... The sod barely gets three words out in a day, even with us. Honestly, mate, we'll be lucky if he doesn't just go gruntin', "Mm. Mm." through the whole thing.
Still... remember our cooking contest at K Corp.? Something about that chicken dish seemed to have inspired Meursault to become a veritable orator back then.
I s'pose you're right... One mouthful of that botched slop, and out came every word he'd been saving his whole bloody life...
Ain't there anything here we can ram down his gob?
Heathcliff's eyes swiftly scan the room as though he were actually looking for a plate of "botched slop" to feed to Meursault.
Where exactly do you expect to find food in a courtroom...? And suppose we do - what're you gonna do, lob it into his mouth from here? C'mon, this isn't a cartoon...
<Wait, where did Faust go?>
Fau? Oh, she's right here - hang on, she was here with me a second ago... Where'd she run off to?
... Could it be that, with the appointed hour arriving, she has gone forth in search of an advocate?
Would she even have enough time...? I mean, applying for observation alone took forever, so...
At this rate, one of us will have to go up there and pretend to be a lawyer.
How could any of us possibly pretend to be a lawyer...? For the last time, this isn't a cartoon...
What's with you and cartoons today?
Hm? If Young Faust be the one thou seekest, why, doth she not stand yonder?
<Eh?>
Dost thou not see her? There, beside Young Meursault! She standeth proudly beneath the undivided gaze of the courtroom!
What are you talking about? Why would Faust be...
... standing...
... next to Meursault...?
I looked back toward the defendant's seat...
... and sure enough, just as Don Quixote had said, Faust was standing beside Meursault...
... right where it said "Counsel Table."
Apologies for the tardiness.
Counsel for the defense, Your Honor.
<She really is going to be his lawyer...?>
See? Told you the lass had somethin' brewing in that big head of hers.
No, you didn't.
I had not thought such a means was within our reach. Perhaps... we may relieve our shoulders of some weight.
For in matters of perspicacity... there exists none among us who may eclipse Miss Faust.
Yeah... Having her up there is reassuring, I'll give you that.
You got this, lass! That prosecutor's got nothin' on you! Lay into that woman 'till she's bleedin'! Metaphorically!
... There remains one concern.
What is he doing up there with her?
True to Outis's observation,
That was when we saw Sinclair, poking his head out from Faust's side.
...?
<... I'm not sure if he knows that himself?>
What treachery is this?! Why should Young Sinclair alone be granted the privilege of commanding the gaze of the entire courtroom?! Aah, it stirreth the bitterest envy within me!
The defense counsel consists of just the two of you, correct?
Err... Yes?
Yes, that is correct.
... Counsel acknowledged.
... I guess "Err, yes?" counts as an acknowledgment?
Prosecution, you may read the indictment.
The prosecutor opened the case file and began to speak with practiced ease.
Your Honor. The prosecution shows that the defendant, Meursault, has already stood before this court for causing severe criminal property damage to N Corp.
<Property damage?>
Y'know... like pickin' a lock to sneak into the backdoor of a shop...
There's also nickin' carriage wheels. Better if they belong to posh tossers.
"Gra-ffi-ti" upon a wall would also fall within that category...
Back home, you'd get off with a lecture or a lil' fine - if it's something small enough to let slide. So it was pretty important to know the neighborhood patrolmen by face.
'Course, yours truly was never the one to get caught~ ... Most of the time. The clumsiest and the slowest ones usually ended up holdin' the bag, though. Unfortunate, I know, but that's just how it goes. There's no sense in everyone getting pinched tryina' save that one guy, right?
Damn right, lass! You leg it without lookin' back no matter who gets left in the dust. Backstreets rule number one.
The way Heathcliff and Rodya told their stories reminded us, once again, of the large overlap in their past experiences.
Be that as it may, I should think that to forsake a lagging fellow in such a manner is to forsake one's fellowship...
... Because the body's want of swiftness can hardly be laid at the feet of one's resolve.
Yi Sang, you... uh, been busted before or something?
But once. It was a day during the years of my reckless youth... when my fellows and I limned a painting on a wall, with the purpose of it being a portrayal of the anguish of difficult times. Little did I know that doing so on private property would prove such a grave offense...
What...? But isn't offending the law the whole point of doing graffiti? You know, being a rebel and all that stuff?
Nay... I did not know that it was such a thing. Not a single face was marred by guilt as my fellows committed the act. I had thought I was alone in my ignorance of new culture, but...
Mate... That's what loyalty is. You get caught, you be proud of yourself, 'coz only true friends are willing to take the fall.
Perhaps, yet I find it wholly unnecessary that they giggled so merrily as they bolted, leaving me a mournful, fallen form on the ground...
Anyways, I'd say Meur still has a chance to skate by with a light sentence if all he did was damage some property~
I don't know how many times I've got to make this point, but if all he did was just "damage some property," N Corp. wouldn't have sentenced him to a permanent exile, would they?
Oh, ya have a point. Yeah, I wonder why...
Oi, mate! Just what dodgy shite were you mixed up in before joinin' us?!
We're in a courtroom! Lower your voice, imbecile!
Please, can't you keep it down for even one second?! You'll get us all kicked out!
... There was little else we could do than watch Meursault's trial unfold.
As the court may already be aware, Your Honor, the incident caused harm, both immense and grievous, to N Corp.'s interests.
I am aware.
The defense may speak regarding the incident.
Yes, Your Honor. First, a confirmation of facts.
Could you tell us about the incident, Mister Sinclair?
... Huh?
Um, uh... So Meurs - I mean, the defendant was in N Corp., and...
Am I to understand that the defense counsel appeared before this court without even reviewing the case file?
I... I didn't really have the time to read it...
Why's the lad makin' such a bloody mess of it?!
Well, she's really going out of her way to ask him things he obviously knows nothing about... I doubt you'd have fared any better up there.
Why the heck would Fau bring Sinclair with her in the first place?
... Allow me to answer instead.
3 years ago, the defendant, Meursault, was charged with the murder of a Sisyphean Giant in N Corp.'s employ. As this crime broke N Corp.'s Taboo, it was deemed an offense of aggravated criminal damage, for which he was formally indicted.
The employee in question was also the defendant's biological mother.
... What?
The defendant stood before this court 3 days after the incident,
pleaded guilty to every fact charged by the prosecution, and was sentenced to permanent exile from N Corp.
<Am I... Am I hearing this right...?>
D-did she just say "murder"?
His own mum...?
Faust spoke without a hint of emotion. Her words rang in my ears as though they were spoken in a dream.
Murdering his mother, getting exiled, the risk of trial - Meursault never told us about any of this when Vergilius announced that the Bus was bound for District 14. He could have chosen to; there were ears that would've listened, but he never did.
Was it because nobody asked him anything? Obviously. But...
Sinner #5... was never meant to return to this District.
So this was what he was pointing to...
... Case in point.
The defendant explicitly admitted to being aware of these facts - both during the fact-finding questioning and during the interrogation conducted after N Corp.'s assets secured his custody.
And yet, here he is, at this very moment, standing in a courtroom located in none other than N Corp.'s Nest. Nothing could be better proof of his breaking the Taboo.
Your Honor.
... Does the defense wish to add any statements regarding this?
... This is going to be tough.
She'll... get through it somehow.
This is Fau we're talkin' about.
Rodion muttered the words like she desperately needed to believe them.
... Your Honor.
Faust answered immediately. That's our Faust. I knew she had prepared a brilliant, perfectly logical strategy to save Meursault from certain legal ruin...
The defendant...
... has entered N Corp. without adhering to the required immigration process.
Strictly speaking, his actions may be construed as an attempted illegal entry.
...?!
... I see.
Was the prosecution aware of this?
N-no, Your Honor.
The prosecution moves to append that charge to the indictment...
The prosecutor shot a perplexed glance in Faust's way, confronted with an argument she could never have anticipated from the opposing counsel. We followed suit.
F-Faust...?
You know we're on Meursault's side, not N Corp.'s, right...?
.......
To summarize, Your Honor... The defendant not only destroyed N Corp.'s most critical asset for its core business - the production of Canned Experience; but also violated the court's order of permanent exile, traveled through District 14, and attempted to enter N Corp. unlawfully.
The defendant's heinous acts have damaged N Corp.'s sustainability and competitiveness among the Wings, Your Honor. To this day, the Canned Experience output has not yet recovered to its former productivity levels. The prosecution submits further details regarding the case:
Records indicate that he visited a cinema the day after he murdered his own mother in cold blood. How could a human being...
Faust raised her hand.
... Objection.
Whew... I knew you'd stand up for him! That was just a mistake earlier, right, Faust?
The defendant visited the cinema not on the following day, but on the very day of the incident.
...?
W-wait... wait! B-b-but...!
Mister Meursault... I mean, Mister Defendant... had reasons he couldn't control. That's why he had to... and after what happened to his mother, he... he needed to deal with the grief, so... yeah, he couldn't help coming back... so...
Face drained pale, Sinclair tried his best to present his case.
Woe, much like tears they are, the beads of sweat upon Young Sinclair's cheeks...
Mayhaps that is the reality, not a metaphor... For the beads may indeed be formed of tears...
<... Maybe Faust... was never trying to save Meursault to begin with.>
Objection.
Faust ruthlessly presented objection after objection in spite of Sinclair's pitifully moist attempts at defense.
You may speak.
The conditions attached to the defendant's permanent exile include provisions designed to accommodate extenuating circumstances.
Should any unavoidable circumstances force him to enter District 14, the defendant is to submit a detailed purpose of visit and a written pledge that he will not enter N Corp. itself, at least 14 days in advance.
In addition, should the defendant enter District 14 without prior authorization, he is to depart, of his own volition, within a 6-hour grace period.
Despite these conditions, the defendant neither submitted the necessary documents nor departed voluntarily.
... Why are you doing this? Why are you objecting me?!
A-as the counsel states, Your Honor.
... What's wrong with White Hair? She got some grudge against the bloke we don't know about?
Things were already lookin' bad... And now the whole courtroom is glaring at Meur.
B-but...! But...!! But!!!
Sinclair still refused to give up.
The defendant... has shown... signs of remorse. He...
Objection.
The defense objects, Your Honor. The defendant has displayed no attitude indicative of contrition.
.......
Meursault remained silent, even under Faust's relentless attack.
The prosecutor likewise seemed to find little need to speak. Faust was competently doing her job for her, after all. If anything, she was probably grateful.
I looked toward the spectators. Every one of them was staring at Meursault.
To put it more precisely - they were staring at Meursault as defined by this court of law.
And it defined him as a shameless criminal who, after murdering his own mother, had unrepentantly violated the terms of his permanent exile and returned to N Corp.
<.......>
For the briefest moment, I caught sight of a woman seated among the crowded gallery of spectators,
her silent gaze fixed on Meursault.
I had no way of explaining why she alone stood out so clearly among all those spectators.
Somehow, I thought... her gaze was not directed at a despicable matricide, but at a human being who was isolated from the rest of the world.
Bloody hell... Why's it suddenly so damned bright?
But then a violent torrent of sunlight poured into the courtroom, swallowing the contours of her face until she vanished from my sight.
... So... the crime they're accusing Meursault of right now...
Gregor opened his mouth with a raspy sigh. He sounded as though his throat had suddenly gone dry.
... Correct me if I'm wrong... The court's saying he killed his own mother, is that it?
... Mm.
... That seems to be the case, given the context.
And that was all we could say on the matter. As none of us had been informed on the details of the incident, anything we said about Meursault would be no more than pure speculation.
In light of these facts, the defense counsel... requests that the maximum sentence available be imposed on the defendant.
Counsel. The defense does not make sentencing requests in this court.
... is what we would ask the prosecution to state.
Ah... yes, of course...
... I get it now. You never meant to defend him in the first place, did you, Faust?
... The defense rests, Your Honor.
Faust concluded her statement with an air of finality.
Silence fell over us. At some point, even Heathcliff's incessant complaining about the heat had stopped.
The spectators were fanning themselves in near unison.
... Defendant, do you wish to add a closing argument?
No.
Neither Faust's unexpected behavior nor the words "maximum sentence" seemed to affect Meursault in the slightest.
<...!>
And the moment that thought occurred to my mind, a momentary vision of what he was experiencing began to unfold before me...
... as had happened with the other Sinners in the past.
I have to admit, with no other way to know what he's thinking, I could not help but sigh with a rarely-felt appreciation for this phenomenon.
So far, the visions I'd seen about the other Sinners all took different forms depending on their past experience and the circumstances surrounding it.
Some would show me memories of the past etched on their minds...
Some, visions of the future they desperately yearn for...
And others showed the emotions brimming over the threshold they could tolerate.
But what I'm seeing right now is...
Meursault standing at the very center of the courtroom, yet he doesn't seem to occupy the same space as us.
He seems as though he's been set down alone in some immeasurably distant place,
or as though he was utterly bored of everything happening in the courtroom.
All things ripple dizzily in his line of sight, like the surface of colorless water that can't stay still for a single moment.
Everything seems so far removed from his own being, futile and meaningless.
It's a strange and unfamiliar sight - the kind that I've never seen before.
None of us had a clue about what to do next.
... The trial is nearing its conclusion.
The prosecution and the defense have left their respective tables, Executive Manager. We will have a verdict soon.
Just as Outis said, Faust returned to us; her part in the proceedings ended.
Sinclair trudged miserably behind her, every step looking like a ball of lead had been tied to his feet.
You little...!
Why, Fau...?!
You...!
Thou...!
Before the bristling Sinners could say anything, Faust cut them off with a weary expression.
This will be explained succinctly, as what each of you intends to say is very much predictable.
No heat-related neurological dysfunction is involved. Faust harbors no private hostility toward Meursault, nor has there been a covert corporate arrangement with N Corp.
Then what the heck was that? Why didya ask them to give Meursault the maximum -
Wait. They're announcing the verdict.
This court will now pronounce final judgment in the matter of the defendant Meursault.
... It is the judgment of this court...
... that the defendant be sentenced to the Sisyphe Penalty, N Corp.'s highest possible punishment permitted by law.
........
Come to think of it, Meursault had not looked our way even once throughout that merciless ordeal they called a trial.
Never once did he cry out for our help, or ask us to save him.
He neglected to explain anything about the matter and offered us no reassurance, either. Didn't tell us that he's gonna be okay. Nothing.
Then again, looking back on Meursault's reactions throughout the proceeding of the trial...
... had he ever shown what people would call a "normal" response?
The sentence is to be carried out immediately, without possibility of appeal or overturning.
This trial is concluded.
The sound of the gavel echoes through the courtroom.
N Corp.'s agents had already taken their places on either side of Meursault to march him away.
The Sisyphe Penalty...? Does anybody know what that is?
The judge said it's N Corp.'s maximum possible punishment. Is it another name for... the death penalty?
We'd witnessed something similar back in T Corp.
Meursault had climbed a Temporal Scale Gallows just because he was told to. It was one of those absurd little memories the Sinners and I would occasionally joke about for a good laugh.
I know death isn't a big deal for us, whether by hanging or whatever, but...
... But is this seriously something we should just watch happen without even trying to save him?
Meursault climbs up the scaffold at an even, unhurried pace.
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead from the heat of the sun casting its light on him. Perspiration was probably the only kind of reaction the hot, prickling beams of sunshine could manage to pull from him, as he didn't seem particularly nervous or afraid.
... The mission's plan and objective remain unchanged.
... Very well. I expect this obstacle will not deter us. This is not the first time we have faced such an unforeseen, senseless development. There must be a reason for this...
Still, this is the first time we've been made to watch one of us getting hanged...
Once the noose was around Meursault's neck, the executioners stepped away. A good distance away.
.......
Only an instant before the hanging did Meursault's gaze meet mine.
Perhaps I had imagined it. Or perhaps his gaze simply chanced to rest upon a fragment of an impossibly unfamiliar sight that could only be seen from the scaffold where he was standing.
Meursault's face remained stoic and expressionless to the very last moment.
He merely closed his eyes, like a man shielding his vision from the blinding sunlight.
The rope didn't wait. With a loud click, the machine whirred into motion. The noose pulled Meursault up into the air...
<...!>
And then, it was over.
It's over.
So... What now? Do we lie in cover somewhere nearby until Manager Bud can bring him back?
No. This is the point where the mission will officially commence.
Eh...?
First, the sentencing of Meursault to the Sisyphe Penalty, then his being sent to the gallows.
This was the prerequisite order of events for this mission.
... So that's why you sabotaged his case, huh?
Faust gave a light nod. She didn't seem to think it was necessary to even defend herself.
... I get that part, but why did you have to bring me along? I seriously thought I was going to burst into tears up there, Faust...
Regarding that... an apology is in order. This step of the preparation required an individual whose presence could... "downgrade" Faust's competence. The exigencies of the situation permitted no alternative.
What the hell is that supposed to mean...?
The idea may prove difficult for you to understand, but the deliberate concealment of Faust's unparalleled logical precision and perspicacity is far more arduous than you might think.
Are you saying... you dragged me out there because me standing next to you would make you seem... less smart?
Heathcliff might have been a serviceable candidate for this purpose; however, his instinctive faculties have developed to a rather remarkable degree of late. In extremely rare cases, he has displayed a capability to arrive at insights that even I did not anticipate.
There was also the option of bringing along a Sinner prone to spontaneous and unpredictable actions... But that would have introduced the risk of contempt of court in the worst-case scenario, not only delaying the court proceedings but also subjecting the company to a punitive fine...
Your sacrifice was an indispensable one.
... I'll G.Y.B. for this...
Heh.
For what it's worth, Sinc... Ya really took one for the team...
The courtroom was cleared as soon as the execution was completed.
Fau, do ya know where they're taking Meur's... Taking Meur?
That... would be a question for me to answer.