Rhys-Michael Silverlocke                         
     

                                                       5500 Words
             And Now A Word From Our Sponsors...

  [Fade in-- television screen.]
  "Good afternoon, I'm John Abbot for the Total Network News with
live coverage of the media event of the century.  Charles Talbot
has been apprehended by UniPol and is expected to be sentenced in
the next few hours!!!  After eleven years, the national manhunt
for this underground radical is over.
  "For the next thirty minutes we are going to trace the multi-
state search, and the surprising events leading up to the capture
of this notorious criminal.  Then we will take you live to Susan
Fotheringale for live trial coverage as it happens.
  [Tall dignified man sits down next to the anchor.]
  "For the background on this exciting case, Jeremy Sinclair now
joins us in the studio.  Jeremy?"
  "John?"
  "Jeremy?  We have heard a lot about Charles Talbot in the last
few hours.  Can you give us some of the background?"
  "Yes I can, John.  Charles Archibald Talbot was born to Leon
and Emily Talbot in Springfield, Illinois in 1972.  He had no
brothers or sisters, which might go some way towards explaining
the disconnected sense of being which must have led to his
crimes.
  "He attended the local high school and was voted 'Most Likely
to Argue' in his yearbook..."
  "So it was clear, even at an early age, which way Talbot was
leaning?"
  "Oh yes, John.  I've talked to his former teachers and some of
the people who went to his school.  Charles Talbot was always an
outsider, always had a different slant on things.  He rarely
agreed with anyone but himself and seemed to go out of his way to
court disputes.
  "He went on to higher education and graduated from Harvard in
2004.  He led what most observers would call a normal life--
considering his vocation and his leanings.  His family rarely
knew much about his private business and he kept mainly to
himself.
  "Then, when President-for-life Bolt bought out the national
deficit in 2020 and refunded the individual withholding taxes
which each american had paid for twenty years prior to his
ascendence, the climate of the country began to change.  A new
legislative environment was created to handle the kind of
criminals that were destroying society.  People like Charles
Talbot were on their way out.
  "Just before the passage of the 'Bard Act' in 2022 Talbot went
underground with his subversions and mischief.  Shunned by his
family and former friends, he still managed to somehow elude
UniPol agents sent to his office to detain him.  
  "It is speculated he had inside information and was determined
to avoid his just punishment.  He vanished with a considerable
amount of money and no one knew where to look for him.
  "Little is known of his activities while underground, though it
is speculated he may have planned and executed some of the many
unsolved incidents which continue to plague investigators nation-
wide."
  "Unsolved until now, that is...  Right, Jeremy?"
  "That is what everyone hopes, John.  Fergus Harper has now been
positively identified as Charles Talbot by his mother, and his
surviving son, Todd.  They will be at the trial tonight.  But
what Talbot will say at that trial, and how many crimes will be
laid to rest tonight is anyone's guess."
  "I am told Talbot's family has been singularly helpful to the
UniPol in helping to track him down.  Do you see this as a
positive sign for the future?"
  "Yes I do, John.  These people once lived with Talbot, loved
him and were closest to him.  If they had been less courageous
they might have been corrupted by his presence.  But they have
been good citizens; they did their duty.  So there is hope for us
all to resist this kind of evil.
  "Thank you for that thorough investigation, Jeremy."
  [Camera angle shifts to front-view of anchor as Jeremy exits.]
  "To help explain the events of the last few days, and what
ultimately led up to the capture of Charles Talbot, we now have
Shawnee Bariah, on a live remote from Harper's Hardware store in
Lytchfield Park.  Shawnee???"
  [Cut to beautiful long-haired woman holding mike.]
  "John?  Lytchfield Park was a quiet community in the rural area
of Arizona... until last night when the UniPol net finally closed
around the man who had been masquerading as Fergus Harper for
more than a decade.
  "I spoke to his neighbor, Elliot Randolph this morning..."
  [Cut to tape with same woman and a provincial male.]
  "He was a real nice sort of fella'.  Never had a bad word to
say about anyone.  Helped me out in a dispute once-- neighbor of
mine trying to cut into my property line on the other side..."
  "Didn't that make you suspicious?"
  "Nah, not really.  Like I said, he was a nice guy, liked to
help out.  When the Uni's came for him you could have knocked me
over with a feather.  Nobody suspected anything..."
  [Cut back to live remote.]
  "But that wasn't exactly true, John.  Talbot had successfully
ingratiated himself to the rest of the community and did his best
to remain anonymous.  But Agnes Hilliard-- the woman being
credited with the vital tip which finally led to the capture of
Charles Talbot-- had been suspicious of her neighbor for several
years now."
  [Cut to studio.]
  "A vigilant citizen, Shawnee.  There aren't enough of them
nowadays."
  [Cut to remote.] 
  "Right you are, John.  But Agnes Hilliard certainly showed that
one person can make a difference in the world..."
  [Cut to studio.]
  "We should all be more like her, Shawnee.  Thank you for that
informative report.  We take you now live to our Phoenix studios
where David Morehouse is talking with Agnes Hilliard about her
momentous discovery.
  "David?"
  [Cut to phoenix studio.  Distinguished man and harridan.]
  "John?  I'm sitting here with Agnes Hilliard-- the woman of the
hour.  Agnes, what led you to first suspect that the man who
owned the local hardware store in your town was an infamous
fugitive?"
  "Well, it was a lot of things.  I watch CrimNet all the time; I
never turn it off.  And I have the morph controls so I try and
see if I can make any of the faces look like my friends and
neighbors..."
  "I'm sorry to interrupt you there, Agnes, I think you meant to
say that you try and see if your neighbors look like any of the
suspects."
  "Yeah, whatever.  Anyway, they been doing a series of specials
on people who've gotten away from the UniPol for more than seven
years.  But since there's no statue of liberations..."
  "Statute of limitations?"
  "Whatever!  Anyway, the rewards just keep going up each year
with the index.  So I been paying attention.
  "He didn't fool me for one minute.  I was always suspicious of
him.  Ever since he just kind of showed up one night ten years
ago out of nowhere.  No family, no friends, and pockets full of
money.  Bought the Hardware store from old Ed Perkins and paid
cash for it too."
  "Of course that was right after the 'Big Rebate' of 2021 and
many people did have a lot of extra money.  What else sparked
your suspicions, Agnes?"
  "He was just too nice, you know?  He tried too hard.  He always
wanted things to work out.  And he would mix in to other people's
problems..."
  "Telling signs.  What finally clinched it for you?"
  "It was the accident the other day; the way he put himself
right into the thick of it before UniPol even showed up.  That
was what did it for me.
  "When he ran out there into the street he looked just like the
guy I saw on the special the other night running from his office
before the UniPols got there.  Charles Albert or something like
that..."
  "Charles Talbot?"
  "Whatever!!!"
  [Camera shift to frontal of reporter.]
  "John?  She's talking about the now-famous collision of two
cars in the parking lot of Harper's Hardware yesterday...
  [Phoenix affiliate goes to the UniPol tape with a male voice-
over.]
  "At three fifteen, pacific time, in Lytchfield Park Arizona,
typical events were unfolding with a somewhat less than typical
outcome.  Here is the scene, the way it looked outside Harper's
Hardware store a few minutes before the crash.
  "You can see two men, one of whom has been identified as
Harland Mason and the other who has proved to be the fugitive
Charles Talbot, seated on the porch playing a board game.  A
third man lingers on the steps.  Traffic is minimal and there are
no customers nearby.
  "You can see from the angle of the UniPol streetlight camera
that a white cars is now approaching the corner of Miller and
Grove Streets.  The white car is not exceeding the speed markers
by more than one or two miles an hour.  A blue turbo appears
coming north on Grove and the markers show that the driver is
exceeding the speed by fifteen miles an hour or more.  Now the
blue turbo makes a left turn in front of the approaching vehicle
and...
  "The flames rise and the driver of the white car makes his way
out of the passenger side and to the street.  The driver of the
blue turbo is still inside the car as the flames burn higher.
  "Now we can see the men on the porch of the hardware store rise
to their feet and run into the street.  They approach the blue
turbo but before they can get there...
  "And as the car explodes the three men, and the driver of the
white car are hurtled backwards and fall to the street..."
  [Tape runs out; cut back to the affiliate studio.]
  "And what happened next, Agnes?"
  "Well, I came out of the Postals and saw the lights from the
fire.  I punched in my code immediately..."
  "And your watch-comm let the UniPol operators know where to
respond.  Then what did you do?"
  "I went to see what was going on.  Harper was telling the
driver how he should relax, even though the other driver died. 
How he saw the whole thing and how it wasn't his fault."
  "And by 'his' you mean..?
  "The driver that was still alive.  Geez!  Who else???  Harper
said it was the other guy who caused the accident and that there
wasn't anything to worry about."
  "Did you get a sense he was just trying to reassure the driver,
or did you sense something else underlying his words?"
  "Oh he was scheming alright, I could see it.  He couldn't help
letting his true colors come out."
  "Thank you, Agnes.  A story of bravery and vigilance.  I'm sure
the reward had nothing to do with your..."
  [Studio interrupts.]
  "Shawnee?  I'm sorry but we have to cut away right now.  I am
told that Charles Talbot is being led into his trial and we are
going over there to Clay Feidler as the drama unfolds.
  "Clay?"
  [Technical difficulties; no picture transmission.]
  "John?  I'm standing outside the studio now, where the trial of
Charles Talbot is destined to begin in a few short moments.  We
can see Talbot being ushered up the front walkway now.  Security
is tighter here than at the White House.
  "Mister Talbot!  Mister Talbot!!!  People are calling you a
monster... do you have any comments???"
  [Well modulated voice sounds over similar questions.]
  "I did what I had to do.  I fulfilled a societal purpose.  I
had a goal and I followed it because it was the right thing to
do!"
  [Voice of Feidler continues.]
  "But Mister Talbot, they say you... oh, well they are taking
him inside now, John.  We won't be getting any more comments
until it's all over.
  "But clearly this defendant is not afraid or quiet.  He sings
the song of all the worst criminals of history.  He was only
'doing his job'.  From outside the trial, I'm Clay Feidler."
  [Cut back to the studio.]
  "I'm told we have time to take a station identification before
we pick up live inside the trial room, so we will pause now."
  [Cut to logo which fills the screen and deep voice.]
  "You are watching the Total News Network, a Bolt broadcasting
group.  The best in entertainment for fifteen years and still
going strong."
  [Cut to programming placard, same voice.]
  "A few programming notes, The Capital Bunch will be aired an
hour later tonight so that we can continue our live coverage of
the Talbot Trial.  Larry King Junior will return to its regular
time-slot tomorrow night, where his guest will be former
President Axl Rose, and his thoughts on the recent conspiracy
to put a white supremacist into the Speaker's Chair.
  "We now return to John Abbot at the news desk."
  [Cut to the studio.]
  "And we take you now, live, to where the trial of Charles
Talbot is getting started.
  [Cut to a huge room with an audience and a crisp, older woman.]
  "Good afternoon, I'm Susan Ellen Fotheringale..."
  [Loud applause, titles of The Susan Show run.]
  "Criminals.  The scourge of society.  With the crime rate
falling past the four percent mark can we ever relax our
vigilance and allow ourselves to forget about the crimes of the
past???"
  [Many shouts of negatives and boos, primate sounds.]
  'With us tonight is Charles Talbot, former fugitive, who has
eluded the UniPol efforts to track him down for nearly eleven
years.  Also with us is the UniPol inspector assigned to arrest
Talbot and a retired superior court judge.  Gentlemen?"
  [She walks over to a seating area and introduces three men.]
  "For the few people who may not know him, this is former
Justice John R. Solomon, and a regular on our show.  Good evening
your honor."
  "Always a pleasure, Susan."
  "And making his first appearance tonight is Inspector Micah
Crane.  Welcome to the show, inspector..."
  "Great to be here Susan."
  "And now ladies and gentlemen, the man in the Hot Seat, the man
we all want to hear from... Charles Archibald Talbot!!!"
  [Loud boos, catcalls, and other unflattering primate noises.]
  "I'd like to make a statement if I could..."
  "Typical.  Why am I not surprised???"
  [Loud cheers and shouts of "Go Susan!"]
  "Well, you can make your statement later, before we vote on the
verdict.  For now why don't you just try saying hello to the
viewing audience?"
  "I am ashamed to be here tonight, sitting here meekly as the
values of centuries are perverted into..."
  [Susan Fotheringale does her trademark negative head-shake.]
  "Hey, hey, hey!  I told you once!  You can make your statement
later.  For now the folks at home will have to take that as your
greeting, because we have to go to a break.
  "And we'll be right back with more after this..."
  [Viewer misses commercials while in bathroom.]
  "And we're back.  Justice Solomon, what are your thoughts on
this case?"
  [Judge in tight shot.]
  "Well, Susan, this is a classic example of what we are up
against.  Look at the defendant for a minute.  He sits here even
now with no hint of remorse, no repentance for his actions.  He
deplores us and despises us and represents everything we have
been fighting for so long.
  "Charles Talbot is a recalcitrant criminal.  The people of this
country have spent millions of dollars and UniPol has put in
countless man-hours to bring this perverted radical to justice.
  "I say the full weight of the law should be brought to bear and
the provisions of the 'Bard Act' be put into practice as they
were intended to be by God and man!"
  [Cut to Susan Fotheringale.]
  "Strong words, but well spoken, Your Honor.  Mister Talbot? 
Your response???"
  [Close-up of defendant.]
  "If you must know, I think that if UniPol spent millions of
dollars to find me that they are a bunch of idiots.  I drove from
California direct to Arizona and didn't even stop to change my
hair-color.
  "I also think Justice Solomon is a small-minded man who has
lost sight of the principles of freedom and self-reliance which
once made this country the greatest place on God's earth-- a
country which now teeters on the brink of social collapse from
paranoia, suspicion and greed."
  [Cut to tight shot of judge.]
  "See how he tries to wrap himself in the flag, Susan?  The last
refuge of a scoundrel is always patriotism.  Has anyone out there
heard an apology for the crimes this man committed?
  [Primate hoots in the negative.  Susan Fotheringale takes
control.]
  "If I might turn this over to Inspector Crane for a minute,
what was involved in the search for this fugitive?  And when did
you first become involved?"
  [Tight shot of Inspector.]
  "It was chaos, Susan.  After the 'Bard Act' UniPol had less
than three weeks to round up all the offenders and destroyers of
our nation's order.  There was panic in the streets.  Many
escaped our nets.
  "I joined the search for Talbot in 2024.  There had been little
luck, and with CrimNet not up yet, there were other priorities
for the viewing public.  The terrorist raids made by the 'Eco-
Raga Party' the previous year had created a whole list of
criminals whose pictures flooded the regular airwaves.
  "Despite what Mister Talbot might try and make your audience
think with his clever ways, we employed all the latest technology
in a fifteen-state search for him.  It just so happened that
Arizona was not one of the states targeted.  No one thought he
would go there-- too rural, and too hot for someone who always
enjoyed living the good life on the backs of other people's
misery..."
  [Cut to Susan Fotheringale.]
  "Excuse me, Inspector.  Was that a snort, Mister Talbot?"
  [Close-up of defendant.]
  "Want to hear it again..?"
  [Cut to Susan Fotheringale.]
  "Would you care to elaborate further?  Never let it be said
that you aren't getting your fair say here."
  [Unflatteringly closer close-up of defendant.]
  "Susan, if you keep saying sarcastic things like that you're
going to hear a lot more of that snort.  I never made my profits
on anyone's misery.  I worked hard all my life to get to the top
of my profession and provide for my family..."
  [Cut to Susan Fotheringale, then audience.]
  "A family you kept ignorant of your atrocities; a family which
is in our studio right now and will be appearing on the screen to
your left in a few moments."
  [Wide shot of entire stage and defendant shaking his head.]
  "Atrocities?"
  "Don't look so surprised.  I'm sure you've heard the word
before.  I can see you need a moment to regroup... we're going to
take another commercial break now and return with the family of
former fugitive Charles Talbot.  Stay with us."
  [Commercials include robo-maids, suppositories, new sexual
stimulants, freshness products and a plea for money for the
UniPol Children's Fund, a Bolt corporation.]
  "Joining us now is Emily Talbot and the defendant's son Todd
Roberts.
  [Large screen at left fills with picture of old woman and
younger man.]
  "Emily, how do you feel about your son's capture?"
  [Old woman in center screen.]
  "Susan, I am just so glad for Regeno-mat and modern science;
I'm glad that I could be kept alive to see this day.  I've had a
sickness in my stomach ever since he ran away from justice and
I'm going to sleep better tonight I can tell you!"
  [Cut to Susan Fotheringale.]
  "Any thoughts, Mister Talbot?"
  [Tight shot of defendant.]
  "Gee, I don't know...  What do you say to that?  We're on
television, so how about a simple 'Hi, Mom!'?"
  [Tight shot of judge.]
  "There's more of that flippancy, Susan.  No hint of remorse..."
  [Pull back to include Susan Fotheringale.]
  "So you said earlier, Your Honor.  Still, I'd like to hear from
the defendant's son.  Todd?  You changed your name to avoid being
linked with this man.  Now that he's here, is there anything you
want to say to him?"
  [Son in center of screen.]
  "I hate you for what you put us all through.  You aren't my
father; you are an embarrassment.  I wish you would just go
away."
  [Cut back for Talbot's reaction in close-up.]
  "You're going to get that wish, my son, soon enough.  I hope
you won't be watching as they actually do it to me.  There is a
sickness in this country, a sickness which perv..."
  [Tight shot of Susan Fotheringale.]
  "Whoa, hold on there.  I told you the time for statements is
later.  We're still showing the evidence."
  [Unflattering close-up of defendant.]
  "Evidence?  I see no evidence.  I hear no evidence.  Only
allegations."
  [Susan Fotheringale does her trademark negative head-shake.]
  "None of your tricks, now.  I'm on to you.  It doesn't take an
Agnes Hilliard to figure out where your mind is.  The Honorable
Justice Solomon put his finger right on it: You have no respect
for the law!"
  [Tight shot of judge.]
  "There!  He's snorting again!  See what I mean?"
  "Calm down Judge Solomon.  He is only trying to provoke you."
  [Tight shot of defendant.]
  "Provoke?  Is that what I am doing?  Susan, if the rest of the
'evidence' against me is of similar stature I am willing to
stipulate to it right now, anything to get this farce over with. 
I just want to make my statement."
  [Pull back to Susan Fotheringale approaching center stage.]
  "Stipulate?  Just change the order of the whole show?  Forget
about the next two segments?  Gee, I usually tend to do things my
way around here, but then I'm only the hostess of the show."
  "Look I admit it, alright?  I admit it all.  I did it all; all
the charges are true!!!  Anything, just so I can make my
statement!!!"
  [Hushed and excited whispers.  Susan Fotheringale reasserts
control over the room.]
  "An astounding total admission of guilt by the defendant here
tonight... and we'll be right back with his personal statement
after this break."
  [Viewer goes to window to investigate sounds of shots.]
  "And we're back with you live.  I'm Susan Fotheringale and in
an unprecedented move, the defendant has waived the remainder of
the evidence and confessed his guilt.  For those of you who
missed it just now...
  [On monitor mother and son vanish and Talbot clip comes up.]
  "I admit it all.  I did it all; all the charges are true!!!"
  [Cut to Susan Fotheringale.]
  "And now the moment America has awaited for more than a decade. 
Here it is, the confession of Charles Archibald Talbot.  Mister
Talbot."
  [Hushed hisses as Talbot stands center-stage in spotlight.]
  "I grew up in an America to be proud of; an America which was a
shining beacon of hope and freedom to all other lands on the face
of the planet.  People used to escape to this country.  Now, over
20,000 people flee our country each year to other lands abroad."
  [Loud boos and shouted obscenities.]
  "You can deride them as traitors as the press tells us to, and
hate them for turning their backs on us.  Or you can look for the
reason why they decided to leave...
  "This used to be a country where everyone could speak his mind
without fear of being locked up and put away somewhere to rot. 
Where people had a right to fair representation under the law and
an advocate to argue their case.
  "But we sold out.  We sold the highest office in the land to
the richest man in the world and then we let him buy each and
every one of us.
  "Yes, there is less crime-- because we all live in constant
fear of being arrested.  Yes, there is no delay in justice. 
Swift doesn't begin to describe it!  I was arrested yesterday
evening.  I am on trial this afternoon and if all goes as
expected I will be dead before the end of prime screening hours.
  "That is unconscionable!  How have we come to this?  When did
we first lay the foundations which would lead to innocent people
becoming criminals overnight by act of legislation?  Is this what
made America the great nation she once was?
  "One day I woke and found I had been made illegal.  My whole
life, my profession, everything I was became evil overnight."
  [Catcalls, screams of, "Yeah, right!"]
  "Some of you make think what I did was evil at the outset.  I
cannot argue that point.  But at least it was legal.  It was
accepted.  I was breaking no law.
  "All I ever did, I did for love of my country.  Sneer if you
like, but I believe in America.  But not the America we live in. 
The America we once had, and foolishly turned our backs on in
fear and ignorance.
  "When I grew up you could walk out of your house and leave the
door open and come back a few hours later and everything was just
where you left it.  Many of you cannot understand that, but it
was before the times of institutionalized gangs and the UniPol
and the death of the values which once made us great.
  "Surely some of you can remember what it was like.  Before
there were cameras on every street corner, before all phone calls
were recorded, before we traded away our freedoms to assuage our
fears.  Some of you must have listened to your mothers or fathers
talk about such a time, when things were simpler, and people were
not suspicious of each other all the time or waiting to turn in
their neighbors for any minor infraction."
  [Thoughtful musing whispers and some recognition.]
  "But now where are we?  Children spy on their parents and earn
money for handing them over to UniPol.  Every word and action of
our lives is recorded in 3-d and tagged for use against us later
in our life.
  "And one man rules us all with a titanium fist.  Anyone who
disagrees or does not conform to the newest lowering of national
standards becomes an 'Enemy of the People' and is put on trial on
television shows like this one.
  "Now who's snorting, Susan?  But I am not finished yet!!!  This
show is a travesty.  If it wasn't mandatory watching, your
audience would be limited to the sick and the deranged."
  [Some slight agreement there.]
  "This is the modern Rome at it's very worst and under the
foulest of Caesars.  And these public show-trials and executions
during prime-time are the new 'bread & circuses' of the Coliseum.
  "We no longer toss Christians to lions for sport; we have
progressed to this.   How, my friends?  How did this happen? 
When did we become so scared, so paranoid that we were willing to
barter our rights and our basic human dignity for a little money
and the hopeful promise of stifling protection from the biggest
brother of them all???"
  [Excited whispering and some general curiosity.  Host panics
and interjects.]
  "Mister Talbot, you are exceeding limits of taste and decorum
when you compare this show and the work we have done here to the
Romans..."
  [Zoom in on defendant.]
  "Only someone who knows nothing of history could make such a
claim, Miss Fotheringale, and it doesn't surprise me that you are
such a person."
  [Titters of laughter and some nervous acknowledgement of the
hostess and her limitations in that and other regards.]
  "But you interrupted.  I am almost finished.  I have no excuses
to make. I have no apologies to offer.  There is little point in
my denying involvement in a whole list of other crimes UniPol
wishes to get off the books with my death.  I won't bother to
tell you that in the last decade I haven't done anything more
offensive than selling a few plungers and some spackle.
  "I want to close with a few questions.  I leave it to the
members of your audience to decide for themselves, and maybe for
the future of all mankind.
  "Are we so small we cannot stand up to one man and change
things?  Is America-- as a nation-- so reduced that we must be
'protected' from everything and everyone?  Are we content to live
in a society where we must watch our neighbors and fear they are
likewise keeping tabs on us?
  [Much agreement and looking around in audience.]
  "Do we want to be shut up in our homes, kept in ignorance, fed
only the one-sided lies of the propaganda machine that the press
has become?  Are you content to sit in front of your screens
while the world goes on around you?
  [Some people hesitantly subvocalize, "No."]  
  "If the answer to those questions is 'no' for you as it is for
me, then let the world know it now!  There are too many of you,
they cannot take you all away in the night for your disobedience. 
Have the courage in your strength of numbers, and stand by your
convictions!
  "This country can be a beautiful place to live, a place which
beckons to the world instead of fears and despises the world. 
And we can start to make that change today!  Will you let them
run your lives down to the last detail in order to protect
you???"
  [Some chorused, "No"s.]
  "Do we want to give in to suspicion and doubt?  Do we want to
sell out our heritage and our children, to see all the things we
love and cherish perverted and made into something evil???"
  [Loud calls of sympathy and agreement with speaker's ideas.]
  "Then vote now!  Press those damned buttons which have enslaved
the entire country and let the whole viewing world know what you
think!!!"
  [Audience, so swept away, presses their buttons.  Susan
Fotheringale tries to regain control.]
  "This is not the proper time for voting, Mister Talbot.  And
while you may have interrupted the orderly flow of the trial, you
cannot and will not take over this show while I am the
hostess..."
  [Tally comes up as eighty percent against guilty verdict. 
Hostess is visibly shaken.]
  "I have never seen anything like this.  You are good, Mister
Talbot.  Even an audience who should have been on the lookout for
your tricks was fooled.  But the vote does not count in this
case.  You rigged the outcome!
  "The question is not whether some misguided individuals might
be swept away in the heat of the moment and believe your lies. 
The question is whether you are guilty of violating the 'Bard
Act' and whether sentence should now be carried out...
  "And we will return with that vote after these message so that
our audience can take some time to reflect."
  [Station break, commercials for pet funerary services and a new
hallucinogenic drug "Lycogen".]
  "And now, America, the moment you have all been waiting for. 
The verdict in this bizarre and twisted case will soon be here
for all to see.  I would like to take this time out to say that
whatever self-serving excuses the defendant might have offered up
here, this system does work.  
  "Crime rates are at record lows, repeat offenses are non-
existent, and we now have order.  These things would not be
possible but for the benevolent administration of President Bolt,
and since I know he's watching, I'd like to take this moment to
thank him for all he's done for us."
  [Brief, unenthusiastic mandatory applause.]
  "And now the vote!  As you know our audience is selected from
the random pool of jurors in all zones, and tonight we have eight
hundred participants from Sector Ten, Zone R-100!"
  [Audience applauds itself.]
  "The issue you will be deciding tonight is a simple one.  Do we
let criminals go free to terrorize us all?  Or do we enforce the
laws which have given us more than a decade of peace and
prosperity?
  "You will be voting on the innocence or guilt of the defendant,
Charles Archibald Talbot, and no other matters should intrude on
your deliberations.  I will give you all a moment or two to
think, and then we will tally the votes.
  [The syncopated clock melody plays as the audience votes
hesitantly.  The numbers come up on the voting board.  Seventy-
four percent of the votes are for acquittal.  Hostess yells at
staff.]
  "Cut the feed!"
  [Fade out.  Lengthy commercial break, two station
identifications.  Fade in to anchor desk.]
  "I'm John Abbot for Total Network News.  We are experiencing
some technical problems and we have lost our feed to the trial of
Charles Talbot, which is continuing even as we speak.
  "We received reports during the break that a computer software
problem caused an erroneous tally on the verdict processors and
hope to be back with Susan Fotheringale live in a few minutes.
  "While we wait let's go to Clay Feidler for reactions outside
the trial so far.  Clay???"
  [Cut to in front of the building and Clay Feidler.]
  "John?"
  "Clay?"
  "John?  I'm standing outside where right now the mood is...
  [Abrupt cut back to the anchor desk.]
  "I'm sorry Clay, but we have our feed again and we are
returning live to the trial..."
  [Cut to a totally empty studio and Susan alone on the stage.]
  "Well the trial is all over.  Charles Archibald Talbot was
found guilty on all counts.  His own words damned him in the
minds of the American people more clearly than any evidence we
could have submitted; his own eloquence at his defence made his
past crimes and willingness to repeat those odious offenses more
than simply obvious... they were incontrovertible!
  "Our thanks go out to all the fine people of Zone R-100 for
coming and doing their duty as good citizens tonight.  An
additional and totally unrelated problem with our systems has
caused us to clear the studio for the safety of our audience, but
the execution will take place as scheduled in just a few minutes.
  "This is the most unusual show I've ever done, ladies and
gentlemen, but a rewarding one.  It is so good to know that the
work we do here helps make this country a better place for all of
us to live.
  "And so I say goodbye to you; goodbye to the past; and goodbye
to Charles Archibald Talbot... the last living lawyer in America.
  "Stay with T.N.N. for coverage of the execution after this
commercial break.  I'm Susan Fotheringale..."
  [Cut to the anchor desk.]
  "And I'm John Abbot.  The Bolt White House announced this
evening that crime statistics have fallen another percentage
point.  More on that, and continued coverage of the Charles
Talbot case after this..."
  [Fade out.]