The Orthogonal Galaxy
Chapter 5

Walking confidently toward the jury, the DistrictAttorney began wrapping up the case from his perspective. “Ladies and gentlemen, first let me thank youfor the full attention that you’ve given this case over the last couple ofweeks. I know that each of you have verybusy lives, and I appreciate the devotion and service you have given to seethat justice is served.

“What we have before us is a classic case of acrime of passion… a very serious, violent crime of passion. It is a case where the defendant seated overthere”—the attorney whirled around and pointed a long index finger at thesuspect, who did not flinch at the attention, but who inwardly did despise theman standing before him, trying his best to wrongly ruin his life—“lost betterjudgment to greed. It is a case wheremoney, in all of its ugliness, cost the lives of two hard-working individuals,murdered in cold blood. Oh, how vain andsenseless is the almighty dollar at ruining the lives of people who should knowbetter.

“This man, Paol Joonter, a high-flying executive,flew from his home in Seattle, Washington to Atlanta, Georgia, in order toprevent further risk to a failed business deal. He arrived on March 27th of this year, in order to mitigatethe loss of vast corporate wealth, which he, in part is responsible forlosing. When he could not succeed in histask, we have shown the unfortunate sequence of events which ensued.

“We have shown through documents and eyewitnessthat Mr. Joonter purchased a .38 caliber pistol at a local gun dealer on March28th. We have shownsurveillance video of his late-night entry into the office of Mr. Rawson Beckeron the evening of the 28th. We have provided a chilling recorded audio of the exchange of words—andbullets—which experts have matched to the mouth and gun of the defendant. We have given forensic evidence offingerprints matching those of Mr. Joonter so clearly that Detective Johnson ofthe FBI was quoted in the courtroom as saying, ‘Those prints leapt right offthe gun.’ There is motive, there isclear, irrefutable evidence, and there is a man who must be punished for hiscrimes. Paol Joonter is clearlyresponsible for the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Becker and his assistant, Ms.Shannyl Cox. I’m confident that you willsee justice done in this case. Thank youfor your time.”

As confidently as he approached the jury, hereturned to his table convinced of victory in this case. His opponent exchanged some hushed words withhis client before proceeding with his closing remarks. While he was one of the most renowned defenseattorneys of his day, he couldn’t help feeling that the odds were stackedagainst him. What made him such anexcellent lawyer was his ability to remain composed, and to observe and utilizeany holes in prosecution's defense. As aresult, he did not give the impression that he was on the losing side of thecase.