d be half an hour till court would convene, but already the
spectators' seats were full, and so was the balcony. The jury box, on the
left of the bench, was occupied by a number of officers in Navy black and
Marine blue. Since there would be no jury, they had apparently
appropriated it for themselves. The press box was jammed and bristling
with equipment.

Baby was looking up interestedly at the big screen behind the judges'
seats; while transmitting the court scene to the public, it also showed,
like a nonreversing mirror, the same view to the spectators. Baby wasn't
long in identifying himself in it, and waved his arms excitedly. At that
moment, there was a bustle at the door by which they had entered, and
Leslie Coombes came in, followed by Ernst Mallin and a couple of his
assistants, Ruth Ortheris, Juan Jimenez--and Leonard Kellogg. The last
time he had seen Kellogg had been at George Lunt's complaint court, his
face bandaged and his feet in a pair of borrowed moccasins because his
shoes, stained with the blood of Goldilocks, had been impounded as
evidence.

Coombes glanced toward the table where he and Brannhard were sitting,
caught sight of Baby waving to himself in the big screen and turned to
Fane with an indignant protest. Fane shook his head. Coombes protested
again, and drew another headshake. Finally he shrugged and led Kellogg to
the table reserved for them, where they sat down.

Once Pendarvis and his two associates--a short, roundfaced man on his
right, a tall, slender man with white hair and a black mustache on his
left--were seated, the trial got underway briskly. The charges were read,
and then Brannhard, as the Kellogg prosecutor, addressed the court--"being
known as Goldilocks ... sapient member of a sapient race ... willful and
deliberate act of the said Leonard Kellogg ... brutal and unprovoked
murder." He backed away, sat on the edge of the table and picked up Baby
Fuzzy, fondling him while Leslie Coombes accused Jack Holloway of brutally
assaulting the said Leonard Kellogg and ruthlessly shooting down Kurt
Borch.

"Well, gentlemen, I believe we can now begin hearing the witnesses," the
Chief Justice said. "Who will start prosecuting whom?"

Gus handed Baby to Jack and went forward: Coombes stepped up beside him.

"Your Honor, this entire trial hinges upon the question of whether a
member of the species _Fuzzy fuzzy holloway zarathustra_ is or is not a
sapient being," Gus said. "However, bef