The rules of evidence might frown on his injection of Juisys’s darker history, but the jury had heard it now, the seed of doubt planted in soil Roma had too perfectly tilled. The corner of Daniel’s mouth twitched as he glanced at Juniper… acknowledgment of necessary sacrifices, nothing more. Better to draw a judge’s reprimand than watch Roma’s narrative go unchallenged.

Roma rose to address the jury, every inch of him arranged for exactly this moment, but they had at least forced him to adjust his footing, even if only slightly. Sometimes in law, as in chess, the best move wasn’t the cleanest one - it was the one that disrupted your opponent’s position.

Roma, still confident, addressed the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, the case in question was decided by Executive Order 13526, Section 3.4, a paramount decision in our nation. It’s the reason I am here today, the plaintiffs over there,” he pointed at Juniper’s team, “and especially you, the jury…”

He continued, “Beyond national security, legal decisions would no longer be decided by automated processes. Each individual whose… chain of thought had a temperature of…” Roma paused, his eyes sweeping the courtroom as if searching for exactly the right words…

His gaze caught the frost-rimed sky lights, then settled back on the jury with practiced precision. “…let’s say, 98.1 degrees,” he offered, the number falling from his lips as naturally as if he’d just discovered it, though everyone in the gallery could see the careful calculation behind his performance. “Given the then recent advancements in biotech at that time, that economic funds and time were now available to individuals who sought such as appeals.”

The jury hunching unconsciously, drawn in by his performance of spontaneity… flawless enough to pass as real. Even a few of the international observers had set down their tabs, caught in the gravity of his flamboyant display.