The virgin & the bad boy (Gravity)

Chapter 56/The Highest court in the land

It was the first day of Io's trial. I had gone with Io, Kentro, Kindra, Memphis, Dante, Casey, George and Leo take taken the hyper loop to New York. We got off a local loop at Herald Sq Station and being a fine day walked up to the court. Memphis sounded confident. We had a decided the best way to get the human jury to decided she was human was to show she had feelings and emotions. Io's brain scan was normal so they could not use any Turing tests they used on children or the insane.

We walked up the street in the clear autumn light. There before us was the highest court in the world. The court had originally been a halfway up Mount Everest , but an avalanche after a heavy snowfall had smashed it.

It was a shame. They had installed a stair lift up to the top of Everest it's original appeal had dropped anyway. The avalanche had caused this building in New York to be promoted to highest status. Hight court of human rights and wrongs was established in a converted Shopping Mall.

I looked up, the court was on west 33Rd street. Further down the street you could glimpse the Empire State building. This court building was in a converted shopping mall opposite a grown up multilayered Bound house space. Grown up bounce house was the latest adult exercise craze.

Opposite about 20 stories up above the yellow stone buildings was a small network of thin beams from one building to the next. This performed what on Mars we called the Internet of stuff. Small robots about the size of a large shoebox would move from building to building, like a vast army of large cutter ants. This network had been built when the city was at its peak. We had them on Mars is well. I had caught my dad designing one. He told me they kept in the city supplied with everything. This would keep the streets free of delivery trucks. On Mars under a dome the buildings were really close together. People would walk everywhere and there wasn't much space for trucks. If you wanted to build a building from bricks. Instead of a large delivery truck the robots would bring the bricks to you brick by brick. The beams were quite strong but narrow. They formed a complete rooftop network. They were a kind of sky network which I had used during my time as an 'urban Explorer'. As such whenever I notice them I always looked at them and made a mental map. Even on earth with my newfound phobia I couldn't stop trying to memorize the locations of this network.

We entered the court and I let out a sigh of relief. Crime mostly happened over the internet and judgement and punishment was similarly internet based. When robots took over the legal system there had been a push to 'reinvent' the court room. So you have theme courts - with simulated plastic grass carpets, plants, flowers and murals of landscape to 'calm' the defendants and others so to 'foster a more collaborative peaceful and constructive approach' to crime and punishment. I think it was the prospect of having to stand before my accusers in a simulation of a 1950's diner which finally pushed me over the edge and go for the flee Mars option. This court had gone for 'classic' or 'traditional' red mahogany, not out of place with that of the classic court room scenes in Pride and Prejudice. Call me old fashioned but this was very much to my liking and the design had even got an award in 'Judgemental Interiors today' magazine. Coming just a head of one which had a sea/side nautical theme in navy blue and white.

Io was sitting on the other side of Memphis at the defense desk. Before us was an elaborate carved mahogany bench raising the seven judges above us. Behind them were some flags I'm the seal of the united earth. By seal I mean this large round relief carving, not a fish-eating aquatic mammal with a streamlined body and feet developed as flippers, that returns to land to breed or rest. If you like me have never been in a court of high appeal the absence of any aquatic animals is something we really should establish. It'd got Io confused too.

"What is the big round brown thing behind the people up there?" She had asked nervously.

"It's the seal of the united Earth" I had told her.