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Illegal Alien

Judge Pringle looked at Stant. "By hostile, she means vehemently opposed to the prosecution’s case. Now please don’t speak again until I’ve ruled in this matter."

"Your Honor," said Dale, rising to his feet and spreading his giant arms, "the defense objects. Stant has exhibited no hostility."

"Your Honor," said Ziegler, "some latitude would be appropriate."

Pringle frowned. "Being someone’s brother doesn’t necessarily confer Hostile status. Besides, we don’t know anything about Tosok family relationships. I’m going to reserve judgment until we do."

"Very well," said Ziegler. She turned to Stant. "Let’s find out a bit about them, then. Stant, how is that you come to be Hask’s half brother?"

"I have male genitalia. Otherwise, I would be his half sister."

The jury laughed. Ziegler looked annoyed. Dale sympathized with her. She had no idea what was going to come out here, and that was a position no lawyer liked to be in. "Are you the product of a broken home?"

"Our domicile was intact."

"No, no. What I mean is, did your parents divorce? Why is it that the same female had children by two males?"

"My mother had children by four males, of course," said Stant.

"Four males," said Ziegler, blinking.

"That is correct."

Ziegler paused, apparently trying to formulate a proper question. Finally, she looked again at Dale, as if entreating him not to object simply for the sake of objecting, and said to Stant, "Perhaps you could explain Tosok reproduction to us… if that’s not a private matter, that is."

"It is not private, although our custom is not to speak of the inner workings of the body, except when consulting with a priest-physician. The outer self is one’s own responsibility, but the inner self is the province of God."

Everyone waited for Stant to go on. After a few moments Judge Pringle said, gently, "Stant, you are required to answer the question."

The Tosok was silent for a moment longer, then his topknot parted in a shrug. "For one short period during her lifetime a Tosok female is able to reproduce." He averted his eyes from the other Tosoks in the room. "During that period each of her four wombs will be inseminated on the same day — usually by four different males, but in some deviant cases, individual males will be responsible for multiple wombs. In the usual case, though, all offspring will have the same mother, but each have a different father."

"I see," said Ziegler. "Well, then—"

"Ms. Ziegler," said Judge Pringle, interrupting from her position high up on the bench, "there’s only one relevant point here, so let’s get to it." The judge herself turned to face Stant. "Stant, on Earth it’s common for people to feel extraordinary loyalty to their close relatives — so much so that they might be inclined to shelter them, even if they’ve committed an illegal act. Is this in fact the case on your world?"

Stant considered for a moment, then: "In addition to Hask, I have two other half siblings on my mother’s side. Beyond that, my father impregnated three other females, of course, and so the products of those unions are also my half siblings. Being one’s half sibling is a common enough occurrence, and most everyone I know is related to me to some degree. For instance, Rendo" — he pointed to a Tosok with cyan-colored skin—"and I are related maternally as well, although not as directly as Hask and I. These are points of mild interest to us; they do not circumscribe our interpersonal relationships."

"Thank you," said Judge Pringle. "Motion to confer hostile status denied. Please proceed with normal questioning, Ms. Ziegler."

Ziegler nodded. "Stant, tell us what your profession is."

"I am a biochemist."

Ziegler looked relieved to have this time gotten the answer she’d expected. "And where did you receive your training in this discipline?"

Dale rose. "Objection, Your Honor. The Court has no way to verify any of this."

"Overruled."

"You may answer the question, Stant."

"I trained under Kest‹click› in Deta‹pop›darl."

Dale rose again. "Your Honor, this is gibberish. We object strenuously."

"Overruled. Sit down, Mr. Rice."

Ziegler nodded thanks at the judge. "Let’s try it this way, Stant. How long have the Tosoks been on Earth?"

"Approximately 1.2 Earth years."