The Orthogonal Galaxy (23 page)

The foreman stood and read
the statement prepared by the jury. “In the case of Paol Joonter,
your Honor, we recommend a penalty of life in prison for the murder
of Rawson Becker with parole review in 20 years. Further, we
recommend the death penalty for the murder of Shannyl Cox, as we
consider her to have been an innocent bystander at the murder scene
who was completely absolved from any responsibility in the business
proceedings of Mr. Joonter and Mr. Becker.”

“
I understand,” reiterated
Etherton, “that you are recommending one life in prison sentence
and one death penalty sentence. Is that correct?”

“
Yes, your
Honor.”

“
Will council please
approach the bench?”

Paol was now very intent
as sweat began to bead up on his face. His wife, just behind him,
was sobbing, but rubbed his back in an attempt to show her
continued support of her husband.

“
Your Honor,” Warron was
quick to launch the first words in his sidebar with the judge.
“This is simply unprecedented. Two different sentences for
effectively the same crime?”

“
You heard the jury’s
argument. They could perhaps understand a crime of passion, since
you’ve shown the unscrupulous manner in which Becker handled some
of his business affairs. However, Ms. Cox was not involved in any
decision that should’ve turned your client’s weapon against her. It
was a cold-blooded deed your client dealt her.”

“
My client will appeal, I
assure you… he is innocent. However, this is his first offense. His
record of ethical business dealings speaks for itself. He has
contributed greatly to our society. And he could possibly do no
harm when he is released from prison on parole. In other words,
even if he had committed the crime, I believe that all recognize
that he is not a violent criminal. Why will we throw the book at
him?”

“
Your Honor,” The district
attorney stepped in. “This jury, which was selected by yourself,
and both counsels, has seen all of the evidence, they have spent
ample time deliberating. I believe they have made a conclusion
consistent with the Congressional White-Collar Act of…”

“
Henry,” interrupted
Warron. “You know as well as I do that the White-Collar Act was
intended against crimes of economic import. This case has nothing
to do with that act, and yet, I’m afraid that the jury has been
distracted by this law and has been confused on its
interpretation.”

To this argument, the
judge responded, “The act says nothing about the type of crime
involved.”

“
An oversight by Congress
that simply needs to be resolved sooner than later as this case
apparently dictates. Gentlemen, we all know why Congress was
motivated to pass that law. We must be sensitive to their
intent.”

“
I
interpret the law as I read it. The intent will have to be
determined by a higher court of law than this one. In the meantime,
I have to agree with the jury, and with the prosecutor. The request
of the jury will stand. In the meantime, I suggest you begin the
paperwork on the appeals of the United States v. Paol
Joonter
and
on
the Congressional White Collar Act.”

“
May I ask, your Honor,
what you will consider a reasonable bail for the appeal? The
paperwork has already been submitted, and the appellate court has
accepted it.”

“
Bail?” asked the judge in
surprise. “The Congressional White-Collar act states that any
sentence handed down to an executive officer of a for-profit
incorporated firm must stand as declared by the judge without
possibility of bail. Part of the reason for the act is that
constituents affected adversely economically by the actions of
corporate officers are simply tired of seeing these men convicted
and let free while the vast numbers of white-collar appeals sit on
the benches of judges for years. Where is the justice of a wealthy
criminal who is convicted of effectively robbing from his employees
and investors and then is allowed to enjoy his wealth in the
comforts of his own home for the rest of his life while appeal
after appeal is filed on his behalf?”

“
Your Honor, I must
protest,” began Warron. “Murdering these two people did not make
Mr. Joonter any richer. He will not be enjoying much of anything
while an incorrect judgment has been passed on him.”

“
As for the judgment, my
court has done everything in its power to render a correct verdict.
I trust that my juries have done everything in their power to make
these decisions as just as possible. I would appreciate that you
not suggest ineptness on the part of my court.”

“
Your Honor, I mean no
disrespect, but we all know that one juror had been
corrupted.”

“
And I handled that as
judiciously as possible,” answered the judge, growing more
irritated with the defense attorney with each attempt to persuade
the court to change its mind. “Even you agreed to the handling of
that juror yourself, did you not?”

“
I did, your
Honor.”

“
Then, if you have no
further arguments, may I proceed with this session?”

Enraged at this failure of
the judicial system, Warron conceded defeat, “You may, your
Honor.”

“
Mr. Prosecutor, do you
have anything further in this case?”

“
No, your
Honor.”

“
Then, I believe we are
done here.” The judge dismissed the attorneys with a severe
look.

After the lawyers returned
to their seats, Etherton addressed the suspect directly. “Mr.
Joonter, after discussion with the defense and prosecution in this
case, I have decided to accept the jury’s recommended sentences.
You are to serve one life sentence which is superseded by the death
penalty sentence. As I have explained to your council, I am
disallowed, by law, to grant you the possibility of parole during
appeal, but I will grant you one week before you are to report to
the federal penitentiary to begin your sentence in order to allow
you to put any remaining personal affairs in order. You will be
under house arrest during that period of time, and will be
accompanied by a federal agent at all hours of the day. Because
your appeal has already been accepted, I would expect that the
appellate court will initiate your case within three to six months.
At that time, the appellate judge will determine whether there is
ample evidence to grant you bail at that time, or whether you will
continue to serve your sentence until the jury determines a new
verdict and sentence. Do you understand these
directions?”

Vacantly, Paol gazed into
the eyes of the judge and affirmed. “Yes, your Honor.”

14

Conversation was light in
the Palomar dining room on Saturday evening. The stresses of the
evening before coupled with the grind of nighttime work in the
astronomy induced significant fatigue on the part of Professor
Zimmer’s graduate students. Each would eventually shake off the
slumber of the day through their microwave dinners and choice of
caffeinated beverages. Joram had already consumed half of his
bottle of Coca-Cola, Reyd was sipping at his hot coffee, and Kath
was savoring her peach-flavored iced tea. Engulfed in silence, the
trio looked up from their meals as they heard the door to the room
open.

“
Professor Zimmer!” Kath
exclaimed, relieved to see her mentor appear.

With bags under his eyes,
it was clear that the toil of the last couple of weeks was even
taking its toll on this seasoned astronomer, all too acquainted
with nocturnal living.

“
Hello!” Zimmer nodded and
smiled. “I’m glad I’ll be able to assist you with your efforts this
evening. I’m very sorry I left the three of you alone in your
duties last night, especially considering the scare that you gave
yourselves. However, I’m impressed with the accomplishments that
you were able to make last night.”

“
Accomplishments?” sneered
Reyd, cutting a glance at Joram. “We spent the whole evening
regenerating the same set of numbers from the same set of
calculations.”

“
Ah, but in the end, you
made a discovery that has become a great piece of the puzzle,”
Zimmer stated in a congratulatory manner.

After a brief pause, Kath
broke the silence in an imploring tone, “Professor?”

“
Yes, Kath.”

“
I’m sorry that I jumped
to such ridiculous conclusions last night.”

“
Nonsense, Miss Mirabelle.
They were not ridiculous at all. I was singularly impressed with
your theory. It fit Mr. Anders’ calculations. It fit the manner of
the brightening of the beam. It was a really clever piece of
deduction.”

“
Clever, indeed. It only
took you five seconds to disprove it. I… I didn’t think it through
enough.”

“
Only because of
experience, Kath. I’ve been around the block enough with scientific
discovery that I’m constantly trying to analyze all of the data in
an effort to disprove any theory which I might concoct, as it is
always easier to prove a theory wrong than to prove one right. For
example, take Einstein’s theory of relativity. It has dominated the
thought process and laws of physics for centuries now, yet it
cannot be proven. Just because we’ve observed that it holds true in
a million and one experiments which have been conducted over many
years doesn’t mean that experiment number one million and two will
not provide evidence to disprove it—or at least provide a
singularity to the theory. It would take infinite observational
prowess to prove a theory, but it takes just one contrary piece of
data to disprove it.

“
That said, as you set
forth your theory to me last night, my first objective was to
disprove it. And so, I realized that the calculation of the
distance from the beam to Mars was calculated by several teams over
several days. All of these teams came up with the same number.
12,500 miles. This indicates that there was no motion of the beam
towards the planet Mars, thus it could not be emanating away from
the center of the Milky Way as you had proposed.

“
Further, any such
radiation would propagate through the empty expanses of the galaxy
nearly at the speed of light. Had the beam been approaching from
the center of the galaxy, we would have been hit with the radiation
only minutes after it had rained its destructive powers down on
Camp Mars.

“
Further, we know that the radiation had
already
hit Earth, just not with the
same punch that it had on Mars—which is most fortunate. We know
that there was an unidentifiable impact of radiation on the side of
the Earth which is facing in the direction of where the beam rests
now. The Sun also received a radiation event at the same time as
well.”

At this, Joram interrupted
Zimmer. “That’s what’s got me confused, Professor. How can the
event be synchronized between Earth, Mars and the Sun? How could it
be omni-present at the same exact moment in time?”

“
That, Mr. Anders… has
cost me many a night of sleep in the last couple of weeks. It is a
serious piece of the puzzle that must be understood, and as you
know… in order to do that, we would be better served spending time
over at 26, instead of here in the dining room.”

All three students got the
hint, and each returned to their dinner and drink. Zimmer pulled an
apple out of an oversized pocket on his windbreaker and instructed
the team to meet him at the observatory as soon as they were
finished with their dinner. The distinctive crunch of the juicy
apple was clearly heard as the door shut behind him.

“
I think your theory was
brilliant, Kath,” Joram complemented. “You had Reyd and me
convinced, you know.”

“
It’s not so much the
theory that’s bothering me.” Kath shared. “I really am starting to
wonder if I really want to do this type of research. I’m afraid of
what we might find.”

Reyd attempted to console
her. “You know, Kath, even if we discover it without you, you’ll
eventually know what the yellow beam is. As soon as the phenomenon
of what happened here is understood, it will be broadcast to the
world. You should be thrilled—honored—to be a part of
it.”

“
I know, but what if we
actually come in contact with extra-terrestrial life,
Reyd?”

“
Well, they’re just as
likely to be friendly as they are to be ornery, aren’t they?
Besides in thousands of years of human history that we can piece
together, what do we have to show for it in terms of any alien
interaction?”

Joram, attempting to
lighten the situation, fired off a fast answer to the question.
“Well, we do have all of those accounts of alien abductions and UFO
sightings.”

Kath pursed her lips and
playfully slugged Joram in the shoulder. “Oh, stop it, Joram
Anders.”

Joram simply shrugged his
shoulders, covering up his smile by stuffing the last piece of
lasagna in his mouth.

“
Well, anyway, what do I
really have to contribute to the team, anyway? I’m just a
meteorologist, remember? I’m not an expert astronomer, or a
computer whiz.”

Joram got serious. “Kath,
you are a first-year astronomy graduate student, just like Reyd and
me. We have an education in front of us. What better way to obtain
it than to be on a research team, obtaining our knowledge of the
universe from one of the world’s foremost astrophysicists. I have a
feeling that we’re going to learn a lot as we continue to work with
Zimmer. This project he’s assigned us to—it’s large, very large!
When there are questions that Zimmer cannot answer…” He trailed
off. Realizing that he had made his point, he opted to use his
mouth to consume the remainder of his garlic bread and soft
drink.