Rewritten

Chapter 20

Daniel eyes Reva as she is sent back to the table. The jury mumbles words too distant to be heard from the centre tables but they seem just as shocked as Daniel feels.

"Jury!" Mr. Phillips announces. "You have heard now that genuine feelings exist towards Daniel Adams by Reva Jaleen. What do you take from that? Is she worthy of punishment? She clearly memorized the law as she is a member of the Extraction team. Reva Jaleen will brake the law by marrying Daniel Adams. The evidence is clear!" Mr. Phillips says, raising his voice, slowly, slamming his fist on the glass at the last word.

"Would you like to speak to that, Reva?" The judge offers as Mr. Phillips finally sits down.

"Yes, I would." She stands up again. "Have any of you ever seen a Historian?" She encompasses the crowds in single gesture.

The jury stays quiet, a few shaking their heads but not one nodding. "Historians are nothing like they are portrayed by the media. The media makes them up to be these nobodies from our past. Useless except for one purpose, to learn from. They don't say that to 'learn' from them we must drain out all their history! The people left over after an Extraction is a shell of who they used to be. They are taken from their homes so we can fill our textbooks with their knowledge."

Reva shakes her head. "But they are more than that! They are normal people like us. They have unique personalities and experiences. They shouldn't be valued any less than one of us, who knows, maybe in a hundred years, we will still be doing the Extraction and then you will be taken from today! What's stopping them from coming into your house tonight and taking you into the future for an Extraction? Nothing, that's what. The only people they will not consider taking are historical figures, those who made a huge impact on the future. Have you done that?"

"Miss Jaleen, please focus on proving your innocence." The judge suggests.

"Yes, I was just building my way up there." She turns to Daniel. "See this man? He is from 1954. He owns a café in central U.S.A. He has a niece, two nephews, two brothers and an older sister. They're parents, Anna and Joseph were nearly of age to get their pensions when Joseph died." Daniel starts to tear up at this.

"Anna died a few years later and was buried with Joseph, giving her inheritance to her children who shared it out evenly with the needier members of their family. They will have thought Daniel would have died. He has no children to bestow and inheritance upon or even a wife. Daniel is a bachelor. I'm sure Daniel's café would be taken up by the government if he had no official will in place. His siblings won't even have a body to mourn. And Daniel isn't the only Historian to have a family. All Historians had families they were taken from, never to be seen again and never given the chance to say goodbye."

A tear falls down Reva's cheek. "I admit I have feelings for Daniel, feelings of pity and compassion. I understand what I did to him by taking him from his era. I destroyed him. I love him not to break rules. I love him because he is a real person, a real person who is sweet and kind and caring. I love him because he is a genuine gentleman."