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"We'd have most of what we predicted of the conquest of space, if we hadn't ignored parasite control."
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![]() The courtarena is introduced in this story; it is a somewhat tamer version than that presented in later books dealing with the same "universe."
The courtarena also figures prominently in The Dosadi Experiment, an excellent novel and the last in the series that dealt with the universe of the Consentiency.
Everyone in the courtarena, plaintiffs, defendants, judges, lawyers and the audience, were all at risk when Gowachin law was at stake. According to the Gowachin, everyone was guilty of something; only the innocent were suspect. One rather admirable characteristic of Gowachin law was that the stakes meant that there were very few lawsuits, and fewer lawyers.
In this excerpt from the novel, Jorj X. McKie, Saboteur Extraordinary, was in danger of being found innocent:
Knowing he was watched by countless eyes, McKie swept his gaze around the arena. Above the soft green absorbent oval where he stood were rank on rank of benches, every seat occupied. Muted morning light from the domed translucent ceiling illuminated rows of Humans, Gowachin, Palenki, Sobarips ... every species and faction of the ConSentiency would be represented here. Those who could not come in person would watch these proceedings via the glittering transmitter eyes which looked down from the ceiling's edges.
The traditional ending of a legal contest in the Gowachin courtarena was those who were found Gowachin-guilty (innocent) were torn apart by the audience just outside the doors.
The Gowachin had many useful aphorisms; here's a good one for those who seek "justice" -
Read more about the Gowachin in the entry for graluz, the place where they raised their young. Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
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