Chapter 8

As the recess came to a close, hara settled back into their seats and Gella once again rose to take lead of the hearings. "This tribunal will now present one final actor in the obscene activities conducted at the breeding facility. I will speculate that this har may offer us some of the most revealing testimony. Please bring him in."

Cobweb watched as the guards approached the side door and pulled inward, allowing the escorting guards to enter. Coming into the courtroom was a handsome har with curling black hair and clean black pants and shirt to match. He looked as if he could be trusted, and Cobweb suspected that in fact the hostlings had trusted him. Using the process of elimination, he knew that this har had to be one of the facility's doctors.

Lisia didn't need to guess the har's identity; as soon as he'd appeared, he'd clutched his hands together even more tightly on his lap. As the har was led to the witness stand, he whispered to Cobweb, "That was my doctor."

The questioning began almost as soon as the doctor took a seat at the witness stand. "I would like you to give the tribunal your name, Tiahaar."

"I am Tiahaar Laran," the har pronounced in a voice that was clear and, unlike the three previous witnesses, obviously proud.

"Tell me, Tiahaar Laran, what was your position at the facility in question?"

Laran was forthright. "I was one of the staff doctors."

Gella stood on his heels with his arms crossed. "What level position was this? A high level position or low grade?"

"A high level position," Laran replied without hesitation. "I was second only to Tiahaar Botbek, the chief doctor."

Detecting movement in the corner of his eye, Cobweb glanced over to Lisia, who was shaking his head, hand pressed against his mouth. This witness was obviously affecting him more than any of the others.

The questions and answers continued.

"How many years did you serve in this position?"

"Approximately ten years."

"And what were your main duties?"

"At first it was care of the pureborn harlings."

Gella looked out across the assembly. "The harlings who were to be raised as hostlings -- like Lisia, Springtime, Buttercup and the others, correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Laran replied. "I served as their doctor and also cared for facility staff."

"Now tell me, Tiahaar Laran, you assisted the harlings when they reached their Feybraiah?"

"Yes, Tiahaar Botbek and I were called upon to address that."

"Exactly what care did you provide the growing harlings? I mean, specifically."

"Well, specifically I performed physical examinations and outlined to them some of what they would be experiencing -- the headaches, sweating, growth of the genitals, et cetera," the doctor explained.

Gella was standing with a finger pressed against his lips in thought. "Tiahaar Lisia reported in his testimony that the hostlings received excellent treatment during their Feybraiah," he began. "Now given that we all know that Varrs were always rather less elaborate about such matters than other tribes, I'm wondering why this was given so much attention, why they were treated so well."

"Why?" the doctor asked rhetorically. "Well, naturally the pureborn harlings were very important to us and we wanted to give them every advantage as they moved toward their future as hostlings. After all, their lives were to be focused on aruna, and so all matters relating to that needed to be handled quite carefully. It was really in the best interest of everyone."

Gella approached the doctor with a look that showed he was about to pull an ace from his sleeve. "'The best interests of everyone' -- interesting choice of words, Tiahaar Laran. Thinking on that, I can't help but think back to another point related to the Feybraiah examinations. You haven't mentioned it."

"What is it?" the doctor asked.

Gella glanced over the crowd and looked straight over to Lisia. "Tiahaar Lisia has testified that you indicated to harlings that sensations in their ouana-lims were to be ignored, as this organ was of no importance. Is this true?" He shifted his gaze to the doctor, who squirmed slightly in his chair.

"I provided the harlings the information required."

"You led them to believe they were solely soume, is that not true?" Gella challenged.

"I did what was necessary to fulfil the facility's purpose," the doctor hedged.

A general uproar ensued in the hall, during which Lisia looked as if he very much wanted to leave.

"Are you going to be all right, Lis?" Cobweb asked.

Lisia nodded tightly, still wound up tight as a coil of wire. "Yes, although it's difficult."

Finally the din was under control and Gella continued with the questions. "Now once these harlings grew to be adults, were you at all involved in their training as hostlings?"

"No, that was left to our instructors," Laran explained slowly. "The facility had highly skilled hara who provided the young hostlings-in-training with instructions on aruna and conception."

"Once a hostling conceived, however, you were heavily involved, yes?"

"Of course. I performed examinations during term, provided medical advice, and assisted them at the time of the birth."

"You oversaw hundreds of births."

"Yes, such was my position."

"And you also oversaw the care of the pearls? You tested their health and made sure they were incubated?"

"I examined all pearls, and along with Tiahaar Botbek, came up with a system for keeping them incubated."

"Out of the care of their hostlings," Gella clarified.

The doctor didn't even blink. "Yes, out of the care of their hostlings."

"Permanently, you mean?"

The doctor nodded.

Gella couldn't hide the look of disgust on his face. "So, Tiahaar Laran, what did you think of the time interval given to hostlings between births?"

"I believed it was acceptable," Laran shrugged. "Medically it was possible."

"But what did you think of it in ethical terms?" Gella asked, above a general murmuring among the crowd.

"It fit in with the system at the facility," the doctor offered. "As you know and as I've just said, the hostlings were separated from their pearls at birth."

"And how does this relate to the fact that the hostlings were made to deliver as many as five pearls a year?"

"Well, I mean that the hostlings were not parents to the pearls," Laran replied, speaking above the crowd, which was once again expressing its thoughts on the matter. "They didn't take care of them and so they could move on to hosting more. They had no attachment to the pearls. Or," he amended, "they were not supposed to have any."

Cobweb knew one hostling who obviously had harbored an attachment to his pearls; Lisia was now staring at the doctor fixedly, hid eyes hard yet brimming with tears.

Gella stepped closer to the witness stand to pursue some of the tougher questions. "I see, Tiahaar. Now tell me, outside of your role as a doctor, what did you think of what was being done? Did you approve of the notion of mass-producing harlings to become soldiers?"

The doctor didn't give anything away. "I can't answer that question."

"Can't or won't?" Gella challenged.

"I can't. It wasn't my place to question it."

Gella shook his head. "Wasn't it? You were in a position of authority, Tiahaar. You were, as you said early on in your remarks, in a high level position. Could you not have objected?"

"No, I couldn't have," Laran replied coolly. "I was hired as a doctor and took my orders from Tiahaar Botbek and Tiahaar Upsari, the facility's director. As you well know, all of us were under orders from the highest authority in the Varr empire."

"Meaning General Ponclast."

"He was one of the highest authorities, yes," Laran agreed. "It was his order that created the facility in the first place -- and his that ordered its destruction."

"Messengers came with the order and were going to slaughter the harlings to eliminate the evidence -- is this correct?"

"Yes," Laran replied, "but we killed the messengers rather than obey such an... an abominable order."

"You saved lives then," Gella said.

Laran shrugged. "We didn't think the harlings would survive with only a few hostlings protecting them."

"Ah, I see," Gella responded, fingers steepled. "That must explain why, once you had left with the rest of the adults you never reported the facility to the authorities."

The doctor calmly surveyed the assembly. "Yes, that's exactly why. When I first heard the rumors that the facility had been discovered and that the harlings had survived, I was shocked and didn't believe it. It wasn't until I was confronted by one of your agents that I received any further details. I am amazed to find what Tiahaar Lisia has accomplished."

Despite the har's conciliatory words, Gella did not appear to have softened his confrontational manner. "Now tell me, Tiahaar Laran, do you plan to continue on practicing medicine?"

"Yes, of course, Tiahaar Gella, that is my profession."

"What if I told you it wouldn't be allowed?"

"Then I'd say you'd be depriving me of my livelihood and wasting a good doctor."

"Ah, and of course you never deprived any of the hostlings of anything -- least of all their full potential," Gella pronounced. "Even so, objection is noted," Gella said drily. Several audible chuckles bubbled up from the assembly. Gella had done very well. "You may step down from the witness stand."