Heroes - ch9
Dossier of evidence for the investigation in to the death of Gramard Henton, and the destruction of the android, Lizzeth. Section A, compiled by Jewel, hardware technician for the Citadel Guard, using evidence gathered by Sergeant Shale and Constable Napper of the Slum police during an independent investigation. Evidence was transmitted via electronic text messages, and then stored on the Esthar pocket-com device, designed and created by Jewel. This evidence comprises transcripts of interviews with a number of witnesses and other evidence including photographs, maps, etc. A suggestion for how the evidence might be viewed is included, as is a suggested course of action.
NB: for the purposes of this section of the dossier, it will be assumed that Henton had taken a very expensive android from the home of its owner without their knowledge, and that all decisions were taken by Henton alone. It will be assumed that the android had no free will at any point in the subsequent escape, but acted only under instruction from Henton. The exact status of the android will be examined elsewhere in this dossier.
This section of the dossier examines the movements of Henton from the point at which he left Alexandria Citadel to his arrival just outside the limits of Alexandria Slums, which was where he died. The first piece of evidence to examine is the likely route taken during the escape.
The original report (attached as Appendix I) that was published immediately following the initial investigation into Henton’s death includes a map of the route the Citadel Guard claimed he had taken through the Slums. This route was discovered, according to the Citadel Guard, by tracking Henton’s personal transmitter by satellite. However, when Sergeant Shale and Constable Napper attempted to walk this route, it was found that it was impossible for a number of reasons.
First of all, the street map of the Slums that was used to record the route was a number of years out of date. In particular, Crystal Square has been demolished and a new housing development is in the process of being built there, making it impossible for anyone to simply walk across (since it is a busy building site), as claimed in the official report.
Secondly, the ‘derelict’ building that the report claims Henton used to hide in during the day is actually a thriving Clan House for the recently created Shadows Clan. It is certainly possible that Henton hid there, but extremely unlikely that he did so without the knowledge or consent of anyone living there.
Thirdly, to have taken the route included in the official report, Henton would have had to walk right past the Citadel Guards who had followed him down in the service lift. Either, the Citadel Guards chose, for some unknown reason, to ignore the man that they were chasing, or they did not see him because he had, in fact, gone forwards in to the Slums.
Given all of the above, and evidence gathered during interviews, Sergeant Shale and Constable Napper suggest an alternative route (attached as Appendix B). This route incorporates all of the facts as they are currently known, and provides a logical explanation for where Henton went immediately upon exiting the service lift, where he hid during the day, and how he arrived at a completely different point on the edge of Alexandria Slums.
It will be seen that this route makes allowance for Henton hiding in a house, but it is a private residence, not a Clan House. It is also most definitely occupied, since Sergeant Shale and Constable Napper have interviewed its resident.
A number of interviews have been conducted as part of this new investigation, and transcripts are included as Appendix C. The original investigation was so brief that it allowed no time for proper interviews to be conducted. The official report, therefore, records that no interviews were carried out at all. However, Sergeant Shale and Constable Napper had managed to informally question a number of people along the first part of the revised route, that being one of the streets leading to Marble Square.
During that process, they were given the name of a person who, it was claimed, had been seen with Henton and the android. They returned to the shop keeper who had supplied that name to verify that he still held to the same story, which he confirmed (see ‘Interview with Hillock, shop keeper’). Having recorded their brief interview with him, they then turned their attention to finding the person he named.
This was Rayman, also known as Raman Hilster, a man with clear Citadweller pretensions though without the means (whether in terms of talent, intelligence, or finance) of reaching the Citadel itself. They visited Rayman at his home, in which they also conducted a thorough search. There, they discovered a large collection of artefacts that had all originated in Uncle’s work shop. One item in particular, an android arm complete with artificial skin, appeared new, and far more advanced than anything else that he owned. There was also a small space on one of the shelves where something appeared to have been recently removed.
At first, Rayman was reluctant to divulge any information. However, little by little, his story was pieced together. The full interview transcript is in Appendix C (see ‘Interview with Rayman, collector’), but the main points are summarised here.
He was approached about two years before Henton’s death by a man claiming to be able to help him to leave the Slums and take up permanent residence in the Citadel. All he would have to do was to take care of a few small jobs for the man’s client. In return, he would receive Uncle gadgets to tinker with, and, eventually, his own place in Uncle’s laboratory. The idea that Uncle and the man’s ‘client’ might be the same person, apparently, never occurred to him.
Whatever other tasks the man asked him to do are not considered relevant to this investigation, although it might be interesting to look in to them at some future date. About two months ago, the man visited Rayman, and gave him a small device, which he then placed on one of his shelves as if it was part of his collection. He instructed Rayman carefully in exactly how and when it was to be used, and said he would contact him again, if it proved necessary. In return, he would receive an Uncle original, direct from his experimental laboratory.
On the night that Henton escaped from the Citadel, Rayman received a message from the contact, telling him to be ready to meet with Henton and an android, created and owned by Uncle. He was given detailed descriptions of both the human and the android, and of where they would be arriving in the Slums. His task was to intercept Henton, befriend him, and take him home as a way of hiding from the Citadel Guard.
At some point, he was to ask the android whether or not it wished to return to Uncle. Apparently, when he asked this question, the android replied in the negative. This, of course, suggests that the android did have free will and was not acting under Henton’s instruction. However, speculation into the android’s status is outside the remit of this section of the dossier, as explained previously.
A negative answer was the trigger for Rayman to set the device that he had been given earlier, and to plant it on the android. After a certain amount of time, the device would cause the thermo-core of the android to over heat, and it would explode. The contact and, presumably, his client, had no interest in when or where the explosion occurred. Rayman, however, at least attempted to allow enough time to get the android out of the Slums.
This device was described as a metal spider. Normal working examples play tunes when the legs are flicked, and are worn as brooches by Citadwellers who can afford to. The brooch that Rayman gave to the android did not play music, but it was accepted as a gift from someone who was believed to be aiding Henton.
An object that looked like a metal spider was observed by Sergeant Shale in the remains of Henton and the android. A photograph of the object was included in the original draft of her official report, but was later removed. The object itself also disappeared. Sergeant Shale, however, kept a copy of the photograph, and it is included as Appendix D.
Rayman could not give an exact route from Marble Square to his house, and then from his house to the point at which Henton left the Slums. However, he agreed with the route suggested by Sergeant Shale and Constable Napper, and it is that route which is included in Appendix B.
There are, then, three strands of evidence that can be gathered from this investigation. Firstly, the route included in the official report bears no relation to actual events. Secondly, a third party, working for a person or persons living in the Citadel, intercepted Henton and interacted with him and the android. Thirdly, a device, primed by Rayman, was planted on the android with the express intent of destroying it.
When the android exploded, it also killed Henton. Whether or not the death of Henton was intended is a moot point - the fact is that it happened. It is, therefore, suggested that the death of Henton be regarded as murder, caused by the Citadwellers that gave Rayman his instructions.
Dossier of evidence for the investigation in to the death of Gramard Henton, and the destruction of the android, Lizzeth. Section B, compiled by Jewel, hardware technician for the Citadel Guard, using evidence gathered by Dryfe Henton and Gloria Therford Citadwellers during an independent investigation. Evidence was transmitted via electronic text messages, and then stored on the Esthar pocket-com device, designed and created by Jewel. This evidence comprises transcripts of interviews with a number of witnesses and other evidence including photographs, maps, etc. A suggestion for how the evidence might be viewed is included, as is a suggested course of action.
NB: this section will present evidence that the android Lizzeth was in fact sentient, and should, therefore, be accorded the same consideration as Gramard Henton. Taking this view, obviously, changes this from an investigation in to one death to an investigation in to two deaths.
Henton and Therford were able to contact a number of Citadwellers on an informal basis, many of whom agreed to be interviewed. However, this section will begin with their own testimony concerning both Gramard Henton and Lizzeth.
Dryfe Henton’s testimony: I’ll start off with Gramard, since he was my brother. He was three years younger than me, and we were never really close. He was always doing his own thing, not interested in what I was doing. Some of my friends used to complain about their younger siblings following them everywhere, but I hardly saw Gramard while we were growing up. We were never at each other’s throats either, though. We just didn’t share anything in common.
He was the sporty one - there’s a whole cabinet dedicated to his trophies, at home. Every night, he was out at some club or other, even had trials for a couple of professional sports teams - sky ball and high diving, I think - but he wasn’t interested in making his living that way. He was more than happy to join Dad’s interior design firm, and continue the sport as a hobby. He was just about to join full time when… this happened.
His speciality was wall hangings. Dad had already used a couple in rooms he’d designed for a few really special clients. I’m in to creative lighting, so I was really looking forward to making a feature of his hangings on a regular basis.
Anyway, once he came of age, we found ourselves spending more time together, since we both got invited to the same parties, and had some mutual friends. Some of the people I knew had been on the same teams as Gramard, or people he knew met me through netwide video games. He went a bit wild, those first few months. I suppose it happens to a lot of people just out of school but without a steady occupation. I was probably just the same!
He soon got a reputation as someone who was up for anything, and got invited to the wilder parties on the back of it. I wasn’t complaining, because it got me invites, too. And I was able to keep a discrete eye on him, too. I’ve done my share of low class drugs and getting smashed, but he seemed to be trying to live five years in five months. Mum and Dad have no idea how many times I sneaked him into the house when he could hardly even stand.
That was how we ended up at Uncle’s. Uncle had, apparently, heard of Gramard through a friend of a friend who’d seen him go skinny dipping in someone’s swimming pool. And where Gramard went, I went. I nearly didn’t, though. For once, we didn’t get an invitation each - Gramard got one for him and ‘a friend’. Dad caught him thumbing through his little black book - he had managed to accumulate a veritable harem of girls’ names in just a few months - and refused to allow him to go to the party without me. He sulked about it, but he took me along. I suppose he could have gone against Dad, but he wasn’t like that - openly rebellious, I mean.
So, we were at Uncle’s party, and we’d been introduced to the great man, but I got the impression Gramard was a kind of novelty to him - a toy, or performing animal. He urged him to help himself to anything that took his fancy, and not hold back. I thought he wanted to see just how far Gramard would go. He had no idea.
There were plenty of temptations at that party - enough alcohol to fill several swimming pools, every variety of drugs, and every pretty young thing in the Citadel. Uncle didn’t scrimp when it came to entertaining himself and his guests, and he certainly didn’t resist his own offer. I found Gloria and some Smoke, and settled down in a corner. I told Gramard not to leave without me, and then just kicked back.
After a couple of hours, the music was turned off, and we could hear Uncle making some kind of announcement. We found our way to the room he was in just as a line of dancing girls came in. They performed an old folk dance, but flawlessly. I mean, their timing was perfect, every movement was exactly right. We were all just blown away by them.
When they’d done a couple more dances, they joined the party, though none of them ate or drank anything. I saw Gramard chatting happily to one of them, and she seemed to be responding. All of the dancers were beautiful, but she was just his type, and she seemed to be just as captivated by him as he was by her.
Then Uncle gave a strange little smile and said, ‘Watch.’
He took a remote control out of his pocket, adjusted a setting, and pointed it at the girl Gramard was talking to. Suddenly, she just went rigid, and her eyes went dark - as if a light had been turned out. We couldn’t work out what was going on. Then he pointed the remote again, and the girl seemed to relax again and the light in her eyes came back on.
Uncle gave a weird little chuckle, and then started pressing buttons on the remote just at random. The girl moved her arms and legs in response, getting into impossible positions. At first, I had thought it was some kind of routine they had worked out between them, but then I realised that the girl wasn’t human, she was an android. She was Lizzeth.
Gramard looked as if someone had just slapped him. A couple of his friends were obviously teasing him about it, but he ignored them. He was looking directly into Lizzeth’s eyes, and she was looking back. Uncle might have had control over her body, but it seemed she was still in control of some part of her brain - at least enough to choose where to look. I looked at her eyes, too, and I swear I saw pain in them. She knew she was being humiliated. Uncle was torturing her, but whether deliberately or not, I don’t know. I do think he was deliberately taunting Gramard, though - he kept looking over at my brother, as if to gauge his reaction.
Finally, though, he seemed to get tired of the game. He threw the remote at Gramard, who simply turned it off and led Lizzeth away to another room. Uncle didn’t even seem aware that they’d left; he was dancing with some boy younger than me.
Gloria and I went in search of Gramard and Lizzeth. We found them outside in the garden, just sitting on one of the benches and holding hands. She had her head on his shoulder. It was just the most natural looking scene. You would never have believed she wasn’t human.
Somehow, they kept in touch with each other. I never asked how, and Gramard never told me. They managed to form what they obviously felt was a genuine relationship, exchange sweet nothings - I don’t know. Anyway, the important thing was that they managed to arrange their escape. I have no idea who’s idea it was, who took the lead, who planned the details, but I believe that it was as likely to be Lizzeth as Gramard.
My brother might have been acting up a little recently, but he was young and tasting freedom for the first time. He would never have dreamed of stealing an object from someone who had welcomed him as a guest, however they had treated him. But he was always a sucker for the underdog, always wanted to find a damsel in distress to rescue. Lizzeth might not have been human, but she was no object, either to Gramard or to me.
Gloria Therford’s testimony: I’d known Gramard quite a long time, but only really got to know him over the last few months. I’m the same age as Dryfe, and we went to school together. I’d come over to their house for homework and stuff. I mostly remember the back of Gramard’s head as he disappeared out of the door to one of his endless sports teams.
Recently, I’d seen more of him, since we’d all been to the same parties. There was one occasion - I don’t know if Dryfe even remembers - I just got it into my head that I should make a man of him. Dryfe had found himself some bimbo, and was snogging her on my couch, for goodness sake! And suddenly Gramard was just there, and I’d probably had a bit too much Smoke… Anyway, it turned out I didn’t have much to teach him.
It only happened that once, though. There were always girls flocking around him, and he could take his pick. Not that I minded - I’m not hurting for company, myself! And… he got a bit wild for me. Yeah! Even me. Skinny dipping in his host’s swimming pool was only the half of it.
And then there was the night at Uncle’s party. I’d actually seen him do the trick with the androids before, about four years ago, now. My father is a merchant in precious stones and Uncle had placed an order with him. He was going to use them to decorate something he was making, he said. Dad took me along to see how the deal was done, not that I took any interest! I wandered out into the garden, and met a group of young women. They were the most glamorous people I’d ever met. Their clothes were gorgeous. They seemed quite happy to chat to an awkward teenage girl, and I loved them for that.
Suddenly, one of them said that they had to go inside and get ready. One of them protested, but the first one hushed her and they all disappeared in to the house.
I went back inside, where my father and Uncle were just concluding their deal. Just before we left, he offered to show my father something really special. He clapped his hands, and the girls all appeared, all dressed as dancers and performed for us. I was enchanted. One of them, the one who hadn’t wanted to go inside, even winked at me.
And then he got the remote control out and… It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever watched. Then, when he’d demonstrated his absolute control over his machines, he sent them all away. My father said something about it being an amazing show, and got us out of there as quickly as possible. He’s normally the calmest person - being agreeable makes his job easier, after all - but he was absolutely fuming that day. He told me that Uncle gave the androids the ability to think for themselves so that he didn’t have to give them detailed instructions all the time, but then he also wanted to be in complete control.
Until that day, I’d never heard anything but praise for Uncle and his inventions. After all, our lives just wouldn’t work the way we want them to without him! But there’s something deeply disagreeable about the man himself.
So, why did I go to his party that night? Well, like Dryfe, I was someone else’s guest, and I knew he would be there and a lot of our other friends. Why not enjoy the best food, booze and drugs in Alexandria at someone else’s expense?
I saw the dancing girls, and knew they must be Uncle’s androids. I think some of them where ones that I’d seen on that earlier occasion, but I can’t be sure. Lizzeth was definitely new, though. I didn’t say anything to Dryfe - I wanted to see how he reacted when he realised the girl I seemed to be chatting up turned out to be an android.
Yeah, a little joke of my own. Nothing like so cruel as Uncle’s though.
I was so busy with my little bit of acting that I didn’t notice Gramard and Lizzeth. If I had, I swear I would have told him. Maybe it wouldn’t have made any difference. But maybe it would.
Dossier of evidence for the investigation in to the death of Gramard Henton, and the destruction of the android, Lizzeth. Section C, compiled by Jewel, hardware technician for the Citadel Guard, making conclusions based on the evidence presented in Sections A and B. Evidence was transmitted via electronic text messages, and then stored on the Esthar pocket-com device, designed and created by Jewel. This evidence comprises transcripts of interviews with a number of witnesses and other evidence including photographs, maps, etc. A suggestion for how the evidence might be viewed is included, as is a suggested course of action. A decision on what use to make of this dossier is required.
Section A of this dossier presents three strands of evidence that provide a different picture of the events leading up to the death of Gramard Henton, and the destruction of the android, Lizzeth, than that presented in the official report. The original document, credited to Sergeant Shale of the Slum police, was amended on the instruction of her superior officer, who, it might be assumed, was acting under instructions from the Citadel Guard. The Citadel Guard certainly disrupted the original investigation, which was being carried out according to the training that they had previously given to the Slum police. They also supplied the map that purported to show the route take by Gramard in the Slums, traced, the Citadel Guard claimed, using his personal transmitter.
What reason the Citadel Guard might have for wanting an inaccurate report published is unknown. However, they were certainly involved in the investigation from the moment that Lizzeth’s disappearance from Uncle’s house was discovered to the moment when the official report was published. They conducted the initial search of the Citadel, set up the road block, followed Gramard and Lizzeth down the service lift, also conducted a search in the Slums (whilst also disrupting the search already being conducted by the Slum police), removed the remains (and the object that Sergeant Shale saw amongst them) for analysis, provided material to be included in the final version of the official report, and published it even though it was clear that a proper investigation had not been carried out.
No blame is attached to Sergeant Shale of the Slum police over the matter of the incomplete original investigation by Dryfe Henton, nor is any suggested by the evidence gathered in this dossier. Sergeant Shale has co-operated fully in conducting this additional investigation, and has proved invaluable in supplying evidence that could not otherwise have been obtained. In particular, her knowledge of the Slums, her persistence in tracking down Rayman, and her secret copy of the photograph showing the object that she saw amongst Gramard and Lizzeth’s remains, provide the basis for this dossier.
The tracing of the most likely route taken by Rayman, Gramard, and Lizzeth from Marble Square to Rayman’s house shows that the Citadel Guard could not have traced Gramard Henton’s personal transmitter along the route included in the official report. That is not to say that they were unable to trace it (there is no reason to believe that they do not have the technology to do so), but that they did not trace it, or did not supply the true route for inclusion in the official report. Again, there is no obvious reason why they would act in this way. Speculation, however, might provide any number of reasons, but that will be set aside for the time being.
The interview with Rayman has proved particularly interesting. He has clearly been in the pay of Uncle (via an intermediary) for a number of years. Whether or not he will ever receive the promised reward of a place in Uncle’s laboratory is not known. It is clear, however, that he has provided a valuable service for Uncle, and has been paid in kind with a number of trinkets that he could not otherwise have obtained. The latest service was rewarded with a particularly valuable piece of technology, which, perhaps, indicates the worth that Uncle placed on the task he completed.
This task was to track down Gramard Henton, retrieve Lizzeth, and return her to Uncle her ‘rightful owner’. If, however, she did not return, he was to sabotage her, causing her to explode. It does not appear that there was any intention to harm Henton in this plan. Presumably, it was expected that he would seek self preservation over dying with his android lover. However, the outcome was that he was killed in the explosion that destroyed the android.
It may, therefore, be that at the very least a charge of manslaughter be brought against Uncle for the death of Gramard Henton. There was, as far as can be ascertained, no plot to kill him, but the deliberate blowing up of the android, Lizzeth, (which was owned by Uncle and, apparently destroyed on his orders) whilst he was in the vicinity resulted in his death. On the other hand, Rayman’s testimony indicates that he chose to remain, knowing that the android was going to explode and that there was virtually no chance of him surviving that explosion. This might suggest that Henton actually committed suicide.
However, there is a further dimension to this case, and that is the exact status of the android, Lizzeth. Gramard Henton obviously believed that Lizzeth, whilst being composed of metal, plastic and circuitry, was a person with feelings and a will of her own. He did not enter Uncle’s house in order to steal her; in fact, security footage from the night taken within the Citadel show that he never even entered Uncle’s garden. Lizzeth clearly emerges from the house to join him in the street. The search for a thief and his loot was, therefore, incorrect from the start.
The conversations between Gramard and Dryfe Henton after the party at Uncle’s house suggest that Gramard thought of Lizzeth often. They even found a way to communicate, and plan their escape. It seems unlikely that Uncle detected this communication, but he was definitely suspicious of Lizzeth and thought that an escape attempt was likely.
In addition, there is the testimony of Dryfe Henton and Gloria Therford to consider. Dryfe Henton and Gloria Therford both believed the androids in Uncle’s house to be human beings when they first saw them. Everything about them, from the way they moved to the way they spoke suggested that they were real people. These androids are more than just sophisticated versions of the shop dummies found in every clothing boutique in Alexandria Citadel. They have unique thoughts of their own and can hold an intelligent conversation independently of any input from human beings other than their part of the conversation. Until Uncle produced his remote control, there was nothing to distinguish them from any of the other people in the room.
On the first occasion that Gloria Therford saw the androids, and saw Uncle make his demonstration, she was horrified. Her youth on the occasion must, of course be taken into account. However, the incident also clearly affected her father. It seems clear that Uncle was demonstrating his control over his own creations, albeit rather crudely. What reason he might have for doing so is, again, a matter for speculation only. It is unlikely that any answers will be forthcoming from the man himself.
A number of years later, at a party at Uncle’s house, Gloria Therford encountered the androids again. She recognised that they were not living women, but chose not to reveal this to her friend Dryfe Henton, wanting to see his reaction when Uncle performed his little trick. In her testimony, she suggests that making this revelation to Gramard Henton might have changed the subsequent course of events. However, it is now impossible to say what might or might not have altered what eventually happened. All that can be considered are the events that actually occurred, and speculation on the meaning of the additional evidence gathered in this dossier.
In his testimony, Dryfe Henton indicates that he witnessed what he believed to be genuine pain in the eyes of the android that Uncle controlled using his remote control device, which also happened to be the android that his brother had been talking with. It is unlikely that anyone would argue that our own pet animals do not demonstrate ‘feelings’ such as pleasure and pain. However, a shop dummy simply obeys its programming, and does not need to do anything else. It appears that the androids in Uncle’s house are, at the very least, somewhere between the two.
Whether or not they can be accorded the full dignity of being people is something that could be argued over. However, one thing is clear. Uncle wanted Rayman to offer Lizzeth the chance to return to his house of her own free will. The man who was able to muster the Citadel Guard to recover a ‘stolen item’ from his house, seems to have considered that ‘item’ as something very much more than an inanimate object. Uncle appears to have considered Lizzeth as a person, capable of making her own decisions on where to go and what to do. He also seems to have wanted her to choose to return to him. However, the choice not to return would result in the ultimate punishment.
The accumulated evidence all seems to point towards Uncle as the person who initiated the search of the Citadel for Gramard Henton and Lizzeth by the Citadel Guard, and who instructed (whether directly or indirectly) that the road block be set up. This suggests that he has at least one contact in a senior position in the Citadel Guard who would be able to give the specific instructions on his behalf. Following this logic, it would also seem that Uncle, perhaps inadvertently, perhaps deliberately, was responsible for the publication of an erroneous and incomplete official report into these events.
So, what does all of this mean? What is the next step? Should this dossier be published, and what would be the effects if it were?
The first consideration is one of self preservation and personal safety. If Uncle, as this dossier suggests, is capable of calling out the Citadel Guard to investigate his personal loss, and of plotting far enough ahead of events to have a detonator ready for the precise moment when it is required, can any of those involved in compiling this dossier ever feel safe, again? That might depend on whether there is enough belief in the truth of the evidence contained in the dossier. If it is largely dismissed as fanciful rubbish, Uncle might not see it as being in his interest to threaten, harm, or remove any of us. On the other hand, if it is widely accepted, we would all have to consider ourselves as his targets.
Publishing this dossier anonymously is, of course, an option. However, there are probably enough clues as to our individual identities that this would be a moot point. Also, Uncle had enough warning that Lizzeth might be planning to escape to plant a detonation device with Rayman some weeks ahead of the actual event.
It is possible that the result would be the prosecution of Uncle, but whether for one death or two can not be stated at this point. The loss of Uncle would be deeply felt by Alexandria Citadel, since he supplies all of the technological items that allow the Citadel to function. However, there are enough items currently in circulation that this effect would not be felt immediately. And in the meantime, someone else might step in to the gap left by Uncle.