All eyes were on us now. Surrounding us, forty floors of gallery seating filled with citizens of Fryga's capital city and from who knows where else. Even while floating in the middle of the atrium of the Superior Court I could clearly make out every detail on every one of their horrified, mournful, outraged faces. While we were suspended within our open, glass casket standing level with the thirty-eighth floor, the chanting was deafening. Screams for justice. Wailing for punishment. Curses laced in bile were shouted through the thick bullet proof glass holding back the crowds that had gathered for our trial. If the sound of the mob were any indication, judgment may have already been passed before this show even began.

From the ceiling, a series of lights flashed on and off. The house lights dimmed. Only a single point of light shone brightly upon the six of us floating in the air. I should have been thinking about how to get us out of this mess. I should have considered that there might not even be a trial at all. Somebody could just flip a switch and the glass beneath our feet could just open up. We'd all fall and that might be the end of it.

I don't know if I would survive a forty story drop in my false body. If he wasn't heavily sedated still, Marth would probably shrug off the fall. Midnight could still fly if she shifted into a dragon before hitting the ground. There's a chance Karma could perform some inhuman acrobatics to soften the blow. Kazuna likewise would utilize some mystic levitation to slow her descent towards the concrete below. Out of all our probable survival, Luna would most assuredly not walk away from such a drop.

Before I could formulate any semblance of plan, a massive bell tolled. Its echo shook the chamber. Above us, out of the darkened balcony, three beings cloaked in long white, black, and golden robes appeared. Each say on black and white thrones. Each of the three judges wore golden face masks carved to represent a Lion, a panther, and a wolf respectively.

Everyone in the building was deathly silent.

The judge in the lion mask rang a bell held in his right hand and spoke first, his voice deep and devoid of any emotion, "Court is now in session. The Superior Judicial Tribunal of Fryga preceding. Today, we will hear the Citizens of Fryga vs. Unknown Persons."

Ringing her bell, the judge wearing the Wolf mask spoke, "Unknown persons, you are being charged with one thousand counts of murder against Frygan Citizens. Before judgment is cast, you will be granted the opportunity to present your evidence, give your testimony, and confess your sins."

The last member of the tribunal, the judge in the Panther mask rang their bell. Their voice was indistinguishable between female or male. Like the others it was unnerving neutral as they spoke, "Councilmen Kvasir, you may join your defendants upon the scale."

Ahead of us, a doorway opened in the gallery across from us. Stepping out from the light, a thin man wearing a similar black and white robe walked forward. He wore expensive looking shoes, and a golden blindfold over his eyes. A glass platform unfolded out from underneath his feet with each step. Despite the blindfold and a lack of railings, the councilor made his way forward without falling to his death. When he reached our platform in the center of the atrium, the glass bridge he'd used to reach us simply vanished.

Councilor Kvasir spoke as a man who had never once slept in their life, "Superior Tribunal, council is present among the accused."

The Tribunal rang their bells in unison and as one proclaimed, "Evidence."

Turning to us, the counselor asked in a haggard voice, "Well? What have you got?"

Panic surged through me as I answered, "We came here straight from the hospital. We weren't told to bring anything."

Slamming his fist on the rails, the counselor growled, "You've got your own damn minds about you, haven't you? Did you or did you not murder those people?"

I answered back, baring my teeth, "No, we tried to save them."

With a grin, the counselor mocked, "Then prove it."

Exactly whose side was this guy on? Didn't Inspector Spades tell us if we're found guilty, he shares whatever punishment we get? Maybe he wanted to die. Regardless of how helpful our public defender happened to be, I was not about to stay silent during this show trial.

I found that simply addressing the tribunal amplified my voice as I stated, "Superior Tribunal of Fryga, my name is Gene Starjammer. My companions and I have not murdered--"

Ringing her bell, the Wolf Judge immediately silenced whatever means amplified my voice. With a wave of her open hand, she proclaimed, "The Superior Tribunal does not recognize non-organic machinery."

My jaw dropped. So I could be judged, sentenced, and executed by a tribunal without speaking my mind. According to this world's laws, I wasn't even a living thing worthy of being heard. Why not kill me now and get it over with? Of course, there was one whose governance over my life may or may not supersede the will of this Tribunal.

Luna shouted back at the Tribunal, her fur and tail bristling, "That's not fair! Gene is alive, sentient, real like any of us here. If he isn't allowed to defend himself then he shouldn't have to be a part of your circus!"

The Judge wearing the Panther mask didn't speak, but with a ring of their bell Luna cried out in pain. A sharp jolt of electricity shot through the restraining rod that ran up her backside. I reached out for her, but the restraints on my shoulders and arms held me in place. After Luna caught her breath, the Panther spoke; "Any mockery against the Superior Tribunal shall not be tolerated. Councilmen Kvasir, this is your first warning."

Kvasir snapped back quickly, "Yes, your honor. Our apologies."

The Wolf Judge spoke again, "If you have no evidence to prove your innocence, we shall proceed to testimony."

Raising his hands, Kvasir implored the Tribunal, "We shall present our evidence, your Honors. We give thanks for your patience."

Turning again to us, Kvasir's tone and voice flipped to impatience and ire; "If you... whatever you are, have an alibi, now is the only time you'll get a chance to say it."

It was Kazna who spoke with eloquence, and authority, "Superior Tribunal of Fryga, we six Travelers of Peace are innocent. If you seek the guilty party, the man who imprisoned your citizens, and would have sentenced them to death, his name is Director Stephen Jenkins of the BiFrost Communications Company."

Restrained on the furthest end of the glass platform, I heard Marth mumble, "Jenkins."

That incoherent mumbling from Marth was quickly drowned out by the crowd who turned their whispers into an indignant roar.

Another ring of the bell, followed by a second and third. Three bells chimed together and the Tribunal proclaimed, "The defendants accused Stepehen Damian Jenkins. The clerks shall summon the Director of BiFrost to the court."

With a satisfied nod, Kvasir turned to us, "What else have you got?"

I asked hurriedly, "What else are we allowed to say?"

Kvasir snapped at me, "You aren't allowed to say anything, remember?" I was about to reach for the thin man's throat, but he added, "The Tribunal won't recognize you as a defendant, but you're still a valid witness."

Exacerbated, I snarled, "What the hell use is that to us?"

It was Karma who answered for me, and spoke towards the council, "Superior Tribunal, we are witness to Stephen Jenkins admission of guilt aboard Heimdall Station."

Midnight followed up with a decidedly more terse response, "Yeah, Jenkins said, 'Normally [he'd] just shoot us all.' Like he killed people before. Then his robots attacked us."

Kazuna again attempted to bring more poise to the accusation, "In fact, Director Stephen Jenkins himself had become an Android with machinations of eternal life. We believe that this intention also extended to the one thousand souls he had imprisoned."

There was more bickering from the galleries surrounding us. Laughter turned into jering. The jering morphed into shouts rage. Once again, the Tribunal rang their bells, and silence overcame the forty floors of citizens awaiting judgment. The Wolf spoke for the tribunal, "We hear these accusations against Stephen Jenkins. Have you a hard copy, or third party witnesses to substantiate your claims?"

Luna spoke, weak from the electric shock, "Yes. Our android recorded the information." She didn't even look over at me while she spoke the words. I felt as if I should have jumped off the edge of the railing right then and there. It was a hard truth. It was the knife that continued to twist within; I was an android, not a man. Not her man. Not anything.

Councilor Kvasir turned to me, "Can you produce the recordings?"

I clenched my fists, and spoke low and steady in reply, "I'm not a VCR, pal."

Unperturbed by my anger, Kvasir replied, "You are whatever you need to be if you wanna be declared innocent. So are you an android or not?" All I could do was nod. It was true. That's all I was, but I couldn't do what he asked. Functionally, I didn't know how. Without waiting for a reply, the Counselor asked the council, "Your honors, I'd like to request a brief recess to retrieve the information from the android to present to the Tribunal."

The Tribunal nodded in unison, and spoke as one, "While we wait for Director Stephen Jenkins to arrive, we shall recess this session for ten minutes to produce further evidence. Afterwards, we shall move to Testimony."

A bell was rung, a second, and third. Our platform swiftly lowered back down into the grey holding room. As the glass platform touched down to the solid floor, the two halves of the ceiling slid together. For a moment there was darkness, but white track light gradually illuminated our holding cell.

Unlike the rest of us, Councilor Kvasir was free to walk about the room. He did so, pacing nervously in front of us. After moving down the line, his expensive polished shoes clacking across the glass, he stopped and stared at each one of us in succession; Myself, Luna, Midnight, Kazuna, Karma, and Marth. With an irritated edge, Kvasir spoke allowed, "Are any of you capable enough to get the information out of your friend's head? I need not remind you all that your lives are at stake."

After a moment's pause, Luna spoke up in a deflated voice, "I can."

Kvasir marched over to the Wolf Girl who kept her gaze squarely on the floor; "Out with it, girl. Time is precious," the counselor spoke.

Again, Luna responded listlessly, "In my third belt pouch, there's a Node Scanner. That should identify a connection port." Reaching into the specified belt pouch, Kvasir withdrew that same device that looked like a compact mirror Luna had used before. She continued to instruct our councilor; "Slide the center latch left to open, and flip the two halves apart. Hit the center touch pad to activate." Her instructions were followed, and a low hum could be heard as the device booted up and turned on.

Midnight huffed out, "Hey, why did you get to keep your stuff? You said I had to give all my weapons to the hospital people."

Karma replied in place of Luna's lack of patience; "Those machines are not weapons, they are tools, Midnight-Chan."

Rolling her eyes, Midnight rebuffed the explanation; "My daggers are tools. I can fix someone who doesn't need to be alive anymore."

Disgusted, councilman Kvasir interjected, "You're not helping your case as painting yourselves as anything more than murderers."

Not the least bit ashamed, Midnight explained, "I said I could fix people who don't deserve to live. Killing people who deserve to be alive is wrong."

Restraining her annoyance, Luna continued her instruction, "Sweep the scanner over his skin. You'll hear a sharp ping if it's found an entry Node."

Kvasir stepped up closer to me. He began to rub the flat circular device over me starting at my boots, up the inside then outside of my pants, waist, chest, arms... a PING. Kvasir reached out and grabbed my wrist and rubbed the device over my right hand. I could see on the top circle, a the flat computer monitor indicated that there was some kind of hole located on top of my wrist. Looking up to me, Kvasir barked, "How do you open it?"

Furious, I replied, "Open what!?"

Luna continued to pin her eyes to the floor, "In my second pouch, use my multi-tool. Cycle through the heads until it indicates the proper dermal scalpel."

I protested, "You're not gonna just open me up!"

In a soft voice, full of sorrow, Luna replied, "Gene, it won't hurt. You'll be okay." I could feel the weight of everyone's silence. In a whisper, she instructed Kvasir, "Hurry. We need the data."

Kvasir didn't hesitate. First reaching into Luna's pocket then withdrawing the thick screwdriver with the cassette tape fitted on the side. His finger toggled the dials until it emitted an electronic chirp. The head of the screw driver had morphed into a thin curved blade. I tried to resist as Kvasir touched the scalpel to my wrist, but I couldn't move far. Only a small incision, I felt the resistance of the knife against something hard. It wasn't a bone. His fingers dexterously worked the blade until I felt a tugging sensation against my skin.

Looking down at the hole atop my wrist was unsettling. It looked like some kind of slot that would belong on a monitor or some other mechanical device. That shouldn't belong on me, or in me, but it was. Even after seeing the truth with my own eyes, I was still in denial with what I've become. There was still a part of me that wanted to believe this was only a false body, and not the only body I had. That part of me that wanted to believe I was still human kept shrinking.

Without warning or permission, Kvasir plugged Luna's compact device into the port on the top of my wrist. Almost immediately within my mind's eye, information flipped up like pages in a book. Upon that book, a rectangular highlighter scrolled across the various chapters upon the page.

Even within my mind, I could still hear Kvasir ask aloud, "How long ago were you on Heimdall Station?" There was cross talk from the others while they argued how long our journey had started, but Kvasir interrupted, "Never mind, I think I found it."

Pushing a few keystrokes on Luna's device, I heard the playback from a rather unpleasant meeting I'd had with the Director. Jenkins' voice comes in loud and clear over the speaker, "Conquest cannot begin until we have everything and everyone under our control, Mister Starjammer. Until that time has come.,I need you to forget and fall in line."

Kvasir continues to make adjustments and type on Luna's device. All I want is to see her ruby eyes again. I want to forget what's underneath this pretend flesh. I want to believe that there's more to me than just a machine body... but I can't.

An alarm within the grey room screams. Kvasir scurries across the room to stand in his separate glass box attached to our platform. The ceiling opens up again, and our box lifts back into the air. There's cheering. The crowd is clapping. Had our accusations against Jenkins really swayed the our jury?

No.

They didn't cheer for us. As our platform leveled off on the thirty-eight floor, another glass box was suspended across from us. A familiar man waved at the crowd with a smile plastered across his face. That obnoxious, sinister voice bellowed out to the adoring crowd as he spoke, "Citizens of Fryga, your favorite son welcomes you and is proud to participate in this fair and unbiased administration of justice!"

The crowd replied with thunderous applause as the murderer waved back at them.