Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The life of a pawn depends very little on the pawn itself. Alone, it waits to die
unless its general can marshal his forces and escort the pawn across the battlefield. It
cannot retreat. It cannot move to the side. And even if this march is successful, the pawn
merely dies, replaced by a more useful piece. True, in a group, it may have some value.
Standing in formation with its comrades, it forms part of an intimidating wall, but its
When Maharin told me that the trial was going according to plan, I knew that was
exactly what I was. I wanted to scream in his face, yell at the top of my lungs, unload all
Nothing came out. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot.
After a few moments, Maharin turned away from me and strolled away.
The worst part of all this? I still had to wait three hours before getting my time in
court. Stupid trial recess. I didn’t see any of my team at lunch. They told me later that
they huddled up with Maharin to prep my defense or some crap like that, which left me
nothing to do but sit in the cafeteria and hit up the unlimited self-serve soda machine.
After my third cup, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one killing time with their
unlimited refills. There were others, though their drink of choice was usually coffee.
Most of them sat alone, mumbling to themselves about lawsuits, creditors, how she was a
mistake, or something about the stupid economy. One guy, though, seemed like the only
happy person in the room. He’d bounce about from table to table, chatting with people,
wishing them good luck, and generally being a welcome annoyance. His name was
Jonathan Bradford. I think he was 45 at the time, getting a bit of a gut, and as loud as
ever. And it wasn’t long before he ended up at my table. He introduced himself and said
“Board’s trying to screw me, my lawyers are working their own angle, and all
“Screwed for doing the right thing. I hear you. I got the same thing, just
backwards. I’m suing my former employers for wrongful termination because I did the
right thing.”
“Ten thousand strong, except for the strong part. They’d rather do the wrong
Ah commiseration. “What got you fired from a church? Every time I hear of
“Heh. Nothing that fun, you won’t hear about me on TMZ. My job’s to speak the
“Well, I told them that having magical abilities isn’t a sin. That something
happened, and the world changed. It wasn’t because of demonic influences or spiritual
warfare. So, whether they have powers or not, it doesn’t mean anything. You still have
you use whatever gifts you have to serve God and love those around you. Just like what
“What?”
“You heard what I said. I know what you can do, what you did, and why you’re
here. It’s messed up that you’re getting into trouble for this, but unfortunately, it’ll
“How did you save Mr. Benjamin’s life?” Brad winked. He never was too open
about his magic. He patted me on the shoulder and stood up. “Chat with me anytime you
need to. I’d invite you to my church sometime, but I don’t seem to have one right now.”
I wasn’t quite done yet, however. I jumped up and chased after him. “Wait, so
“It’s more than that. See, a lot of people use verses against magic or sorcery to
say how people shouldn’t have magic gifts. Or maybe if they have them, they need to
refrain from using them, maybe because it’ll cause others, or god-forbid children, to
stumble in their faith. I told them this. What we call magic today is different from magic
back in the old, old days. There’s no weird sacrifices or rituals or wands or potions.
That’s worshiping some weird demi-god, and that’s not cool. But this ‘magic’ is merely
what we don’t understand. Something happens, it’s beyond our comprehension of the
world, so the media’s labeled it magic. But the truth is, there’s an explanation for
everything.”
For a second I though he mumbled at the end, “You just might not like it.”
why was Maharin the one talking with my legal team? Shouldn’t I be the one to defend
myself? This was beyond my comprehension for the time being, and there had to be an
I went back into the courtroom at 1:00. Maharin had his back turned, talking to
some of the lawyer guys. Stanbeck patted me on the shoulder and told me to sit tight and
that everything would work out. Then he walked away. No one else said a word to me.
The Judge seemed all business and pounded his gavel, calling us into session. “I
Stanbeck nodded. “Yes, your honor. I call our expert witness in the matter of
magic, Dr. John Maharin. He is the preeminent authority on these matters, a former
Dr. Maharin strolled into the witness bench. He looked the room over, eyeing
everyone from the prosecutors, to my legal team, and even those watching. For some
reason, everyone looked intimidated. Even my legal team seemed intimidated. Then
with a pleasant smile, he turned to the Judge. “First, I must congratulate you.”
“In ten years, this proceeding will be a case study in every law school across the
“Thank you, but case studies are usually from higher courts, not simple hearings.”
“But this is a special case. You have the opportunity to interpret laws which have
But the Judge didn’t seem to mind. “I’ll allow it, but what is your point, Mister…
Doctor. Maharin.”
“Your honor, laws are written with the best of intentions, but it is quite impossible
for legislators to predict changes in technology. For example, the Federal Government
set limits on computers, limiting the amount of processing power in electronic exports.
Not long after, they found that a Playstation, a simple child’s toy, easily exceeded this
limit. Today, even my cell phone possesses more power than this.”
“We are not speaking about technology. This case is about legality of treatment
“No, we are speaking today about the basic human right to be allowed to do what
we are physically able to accomplish. There are no laws governing the will of a man to
test his own limits. If he wishes to climb a mountain, this is not illegal, nor should it be.
In the same way that technology allows a man to fly, magic allows mankind a whole new
set of avenues.”
“Yes, but a mountain climber may still be fined for negligence if his actions result
“That is true, and if there was negligence performed, this would be a malpractice
case. But there was not. Mr Benjamin is alive and well today because of the actions of
Dr. Shao. The best medical professionals assisted and supervised the procedure. And
you must remember the oath of doctors to treat those in need. A man was dying and Dr.
Shao saved him using every skill he possessed. Is that not the duty of every doctor?”
They were sure letting Maharin talk a lot. I thought there was supposed to be
Maharin was just getting warmed up. “The facts of this case are simple. Legally,
Dr. Carter was the surgeon, Dr. Shao assisted. Truthfully, Dr. Shao was the surgeon, Dr.
Carter assisted. The legality issue is only important because of obsolete laws created by
those with little knowledge of the medical advances now possible. The prosecution
challenges this legality because their job is to protect the commerce of those in control.
Well, that’s their job. They do it very well. Unfortunately, their job impairs progress, and
this is a progress which will occur whether you rule in our favor or not.”
“What exactly do you mean? This ruling only affects Dr. Shao.”
“Do you honestly believe that across the whole globe, there will only be one
doctor with the magical abilities to enhance his abilities? Or perhaps there are others
who will heal and then be regarded as gods. A ruling that Dr. Shao is allowed to
incorporate his magic into his practice allows this to be regulated by the government and
placed into mainstream society. A ruling against magical healing arts pushes honest
practitioners into the wild. Now, if they were all charlatans, this would not be a major
concern. Truth would be told eventually. But the truth in this matter is that Dr. Shao did
heal the patient. He did repair a condition that was untreatable by any other means. And
if you push the truth into the outlaw realms, the public will follow that truth and become
outlaws as well.”
My legal team huddled together. I just sat and watched. I guess this was Maharin’s plan,
and I was just his pawn to get it done. There were more discussions that afternoon, but
nobody remembers them. Hell, I sure don’t. I do remember having to come back a few
Those were a couple of crappy days. No one knew if I could work or not, and my
lawyers weren’t very forthcoming, probably because they didn’t know anything either. I
Apparently that’s all anyone else cares about as well. During the original
hearings, there was like nobody watching from the seats. For the verdict, the place was
packed, and not just the room, the whole courthouse was packed. I had to squeeze
through a crowded hall just to get to the room. Reporters barraged me with questions.
“How do you feel about being on trial?” “Were you unfairly singled out?” “What do you
seemed to be able to move the pile of humanity and get through. Inside, I saw Ryan,
Kevin, and Rachel. They’d come to offer moral support, and a little “insurance” just in
I didn’t ask if he used a fireball to move people around to get inside. Maybe he
should have used one to get people to shut up. I know they weren’t supposed to be
asking me questions while I sat in the defendant’s penalty box, but I guess reporters don’t
really care. I could barely hear the bailiff when he said, “All rise.” It took a few loud
“Order! Order! You will all settle down or I will hold you in contempt.”
Just then, I noticed Maharin stroll into the room. The crowd didn’t seem to give
him any trouble. In fact, aside from myself, I don’t know if anyone noticed him. Oh, and
Once the room settled down, the Judge cleared his throat and read from piece of
paper. “I thought long and hard about this case last night. Dr. Maharin is correct when
he says that although simple, this case and this decision will affect a vast array of
policies, especially affecting magic and the workplace. The words I speak today will be
analyzed for the next decades in every single case involving legality of magical abilities.
Now the letter of the law is simple. In his scope of practice, Dr. Shao cannot
pierce the skin for any therapeutic technique. But what does that truly mean? If he
instruments used to perform surgery or injections of any kind. I see none of that in this
case, and so my ruling is simple. The defendant is not guilty. All of his therapy was
performed by his hands, the literal definition of Chiropractic. Therefore, case dismissed.”
Instantly, the room erupted in noise. Some cheered, others yelled things that I
couldn’t quite make out, but would have gotten them kicked off most message boards.
The prosecution hung their heads. My team shook each other’s hands. They didn’t shake
A few whacks of the gavel settled down the crowd once again. The Judge set
down his paper and said, “Now, I know this isn’t the last you’ll hear of cases like this. I
wouldn’t be surprised of the Appellate panel looks this over. It might even get Federal
recognition. But my thoughts are now part of the record. I’m done here. Any questions
you might have are answered in my brief. As for you, Dr. Shao, I’m afraid that over the
next few years, you might be asked to answer a lot more questions like these.”
Damn.