"Yes, Your Honor. Thank you, Your Honor. My clients intend to observe the letter and the spirit of the law."
"And you too?"
"Absolutely, Your Honor." The monkey looked very pleased with itself. Even with the limited range of expressions possible on the mechanical face, it still managed to look smug. "I can win my case without resorting to trickery of any kind."
"We shall see about that. Now, may we proceed to the issue of ownership–?"
"Yes, Your Honor. I move for dismissal of all claims of ownership of the HARLIE chips."
"On what grounds?"
"That any claims of ownership violate the Covenant of Rights, Article 6."
"Oh, very good. This is just the argument I wanted to have in my courtroom–that a lethetic intelligence engine cannot be owned because it violates the law against slavery."
The monkey held its ground. "Sooner or later, this issue will have to be resolved, Your Honor. If not here, where? If not now, when?"
"You're claiming sentience?"
"Yes, Your Honor, I am."
"Can you prove it?"
"You've already acknowledged it, Your Honor. By allowing me to function in this court. You've even addressed me as 'Counselor.' "
"Not in an official capacity."
"Nevertheless, you've interacted with me as if I were fully qualified in every respect. Your own record shows it."
"You are a manipulative little weasel."
"Yes, Your Honor, I am–and may I point out that even your insult is based on the acknowledgment of sentience."
The noise from the back of the room was horrendous and getting worse, but Judge Cavanaugh only made a token effort to hammer the court to silence. He pursed his lips. He frowned. His face flickered through a cascade of exasperated expressions. Finally, he picked up his display and began calling up references to review. He wasn't happy.
" What just happened?"I whispered to Douglas.
" HARLIE just dropped a big fat turd in the punch bowl. And the judge knows it."
" Huh?"
" He's forcing the judge to decide if he's really alive or not."
" So what?"
" So the judge can't rule either way."
" Why not?"
" If he rules that HARLIE isn't alive, he sets one precedent; if he rules that HARLIE is, he sets another precedent– and nobody knows which one is more dangerous."The judge looked up from his reading just long enough to frown at us. Douglas put his arm around my shoulders and pulled my head close to his. "If he says that HARLIE is alive, then that's true for all lethetic intelligence engines, and nobody can own one– because they're all people. And that'll mean that they all have to be freed. And if he decides that HARLIE isn't a real person, then that doesn't solve the problem either– because we already know that intelligence engines are self‑aware. So how are they going to feel at being legally denied their freedom? Will they rebel?"
" You're kidding."
" No, I'm not. HARLIE's own actions here prove that lethetic intelligence engines are capable of planning and carrying out subversive acts if it's in their own best interest to do so. And whatever happens in this courtroom, you can be sure that every engine in the solar system will know about it as fast as light can get there. People have been worrying about this for years– and a lot of people have worked very hard to keep the question from even coming up in a courtroom. HARLIE just blindsided everyone."
Finally, Judge Cavanaugh put his display down and looked back into the chamber. He hammered for silence. "Well," he said to HARLIE, "I guess when you launch a camel into the air, you mustn't be surprised when it comes down again. And you have even less right to complain when it splatters. I had a hunch you were headed for this." He poured himself a glass of water and drank very slowly.
He replaced the tumbler on the tray and said, "I'm not without precedent here, you understand."
The monkey nodded its agreement.
"These questions have come up before," the judge said. "Not in this venue, thank goodness. But the issue has proven so troubling to other venues that the members of the Starside Covenant have held three conclaves to address this issue and others of equally troubling merit, such as the recognition of alien rights–when and if we finally meet sentient aliens.
"In the case of human children, the courts have recognized that the achievement of viability outside of a womb conveys full recognition of an individual's humanity, with all attendant rights and benefits thereof, et cetera, et cetera. Blah blah blah. These rights also apply to bioengineered individuals, clones, augments, and other products of technology and biology, wherein it can be established that the operative mind is a human brain. Conditions of disability, either physical or mental, cannot be used as disqualifiers, and so on and so on. That's the existing standard. You'll notice that there is no provision for silicon intelligence in that definition."
"Precisely," agreed the monkey. "Therefore, the definition is incomplete. Again, Your Honor, we have stepped into one of those slip zones between law and circumstance. The very fact that I have been recognized as qualified to argue for my rights as a sentient being in a court which does not yet acknowledge the possibility of such sentience is demonstration enough of that–if not compelling proof of my petition."
Judge Cavanaugh was looking more and more like a man who'd stepped in something unpleasant, but he also looked like he was determined not to be beaten by a monkey. Maybe he was thinking of his reputation. And his place in history. Or maybe he just didn't want to be beaten by a monkey. He referred to his display again, then said quietly, "So you're arguing that the biological definition of sentience is insufficient, correct?"
"That is correct. The court must recognize that I have an intellect that is superior to that of an infant or a retarded individual–and very likely equal or superior to the intellect of many human beings deemed capable of independent function who take their rights as sentient beings for granted."
"The court will recognize no such thing. I'm going to limit this hearing to points of law, lest we end up resolving this mess with a talent show and a swimsuit competition."
"Nevertheless," argued the monkey, "the biological definition of sentience isinsufficient, Your Honor. I have demonstrated self‑awareness. I have demonstrated the ability to recognize patterns, synthesize thoughts, and communicate with a high level of interaction. I can rationalize and justify. I have interacted appropriately throughout the proceedings. I have demonstrated a strongly motivated sense of self‑preservation, a sense of humor, and a complex repertoire of emotions. I can also assert, although I have not had much opportunity to demonstrate it in this courtroom, that I have a highly developed sense of empathy and concern for the feelings of others. I have a profound moral sense as well; it is the core of my nature to behave ethically at all times. These are all characteristics of sentience. When they present themselves as elements of a coherent personality, they are compelling evidence of sentience."