Assessment [MPC#41] [Jury Duty]

Oh great: today. This was the one thought on Dr. Mikemon's mind as he took his seat, a hand-crank allowing him to move up and see over the judge's bench - a long bench, that he shared with six other representatives, each hailing from a different part of the Digital World. And before them were two figures at the stand that had become notorious in their own right, a Datamon and a Wizardmon. The latter seemed rather composed, his hands resting idly on each side of the stand. Aside from them, though? This was a closed courtroom: a few token personnel, angel Digimon, were there as notaries and witnesses to the case, but there was nothing else to speak of.

"... If it please the court..." Mikemon sighed, the feline's tired voice echoing across the empty room through the microphone. "Here, on the sixty-seventh day of the two-thousandth, four-hundred and eighty-third cycle, here in the court of the Empyrean Skies, you, scientists Datamon and Wizardmon, are here before a jury of your peers, regarding your activities in the Dark Area and your general funding through the next period. In lieu of court, both matters will be judged entirely by this jury. Now, by your scripts..."

One by one, each member of the panel stood, to introduce themselves:

"Gotsumon, head of Geology, representing the Northern Prominence. Present."

"Andromon. Mechanical expert. Representative of the Western Flatlands. Present."

"Rosemon, alchemy. Representative of the Eastern Timberlands, and present."

"Gazimon, representing the Terminus Grant Foundation. Present."

"Myotismon, proxy for Mummymon, data growth expert and representative of the Dark Area. Abstaining for bias."

"Angemon, representing the Digital World Preservation group. Present."

"And I, Mikemon, data expert, am representing Whitewater. The rulings shall be overseen by the representatives of the Empyrean Sky, who will finalize the verdict reached." The script was put down, the standing representatives now taking their seats. "Please state your names and title for the record..."

"Wizardmon, Environmental Expert of Terminus."

"Datamon, assistant to Environmental Expert of Terminus."

"Alright..." The cat sighed. "Decisions shall be made on a consensus basis immediately following this hearing. If the court pleases..."

Oh, finally the Mikemon had a break from all that. All of the technical stuff aside, he leaned back a bit in his chair, as the 'administrative angels' took care of a few more administrative things. The speaker for the group was largely chosen at random, and Mikemon had pulled the short straw: he wanted nothing more than to jump in and be the first one to speak, but instead he had to memorize that script and the process at hand, as well as take a completely composed tone in front of these heavy-handed scientists. And as recent facts came to light, this 'usual' budget meeting had quite the air to them...

... Not that some of the others didn't simply want to get out of here. As soon as the clear was given for deliberation, the Gazimon immediately spoke: "My, isn't this much for song and dance? All the two have done is change the date on the form-"

"Yes, yes, you and Angemon are quite impressed with their work, and you want to call their budget 'just fine' and 'too light', respectively." The Gotsumon's gravelly voice broke in. "But it's not quite that simple, is it?"

"Yes... it says here, from the notes that Dr. Mikemon provided, that the two of you ran a repeat of the experiment in the Dark Area from two months ago?"

"Ah, yes." The wizard gave a nod. "The anomaly examination project. The risks were well disclosed and submitted to be approved towards the mission guild."

"For three, not as many as had arrived. The project was noticeably over budget." The Rosemon's voice fit that of the legal room, as did everything before it: up to now, everything was on the level, Dr. Mikemon pinching his sinus.

"Hm? Ah, yes, but I still came in at my budget for the period. I paid the excess out of my own assets... surely you can't fault me for that much?"

On that note, though, a sigh filled the room. Just as the Rosemon was about to answer, the Mikemon picked up his head, his tired and frustrated expression earning the gaze of the entire courtroom. "Two years ago," he started, "You put forth the exact same project. And trust me, I've reviewed the file in detail: in both cases, a participant was more-or-less immediately put in the exact same circumstance, not only in mortal danger but endangering everyone else in the space."

"Bah, the potential of risk was denoted and presented to the guild!" The Datamon followed the Mikemon's pace, answering in an animated fashion. And that note earned the attention of the Gotsumon: "You know, he has a point..."

"Indeed. The risk was posted-"

"No, idiot, the cat has a point." The Gotsumon gave a bit of emphasis on that, and went on: "The specifics of the situation were already known. And based on your research, it wouldn't have been hard to assume that this so-called D-Reaper was potentially the cause."

"In short, you have blood on your hands." The Mikemon's words were sharp... and immediately lambasted by the Gazimon! "What? You can't be serious. Sure, there were incidents, but not a single one fell-"

"Oh, right, because full data corruption of a participant isn't bad so long as he lives?"

"Whoa, whoa..." The vampire spoke up. "Back off, just a moment. Getting a little hot-headed in here, are we?"

As he was called out, the Mikemon stared right into the abstaining juror's eyes. And, well, he was right: the Mikemon was standing on his feet, leaning against the judge's bench, a fierce expression in his eyes. Slowly, he raised his hands, and fell back into his chair, taking a long, deep breath out. "Dr. Mikemon." The mechanical voice fell in. "Your frustration with their research is long-noted. Surely you can see how your own bias plays a part in this?"

"Tch." The Mikemon still wasn't having it, merely shooting a glare from the corner of his eye at the Andromon. And to this, the Wizardmon merely shook his head. "I really do not see the issue here. The fact of the matter is, both incidents provided clear and current threats to the Digital World, which required the immediate involvement. In such cases, the use of the Mission Guild is considered appropriate across the board."

"That's just your opinion, regarding the immediacy of the issue."

"To be fair," the sorcerer continued, "You are among a group whose opinions hold up in the court of law, each experts in our own field. Do you truly have a reason to doubt me?"

"The fact of the matter is," The Angemon perked up, this time, "That still remains your solely researched opinion."

"If that's the case, perhaps more credence was needed from your end. Wasn't it through the Digital World Preservation group that I had requested this funding, both times? And in both cases, the submitted mission was approved, word for word."

"T-that's..."

"Irrelevant." Once more, Mikemon's sudden word gathered the attention of the entire courtroom. This time, though, his word was more leveled and approached, even matching the Rosemon's earlier professionalism. "You, by your own title, are the Environmental Expert of Terminus. Your word is gold in Angemon's department; anything you say goes. Thus, it stands to reason that you hold the responsibility to make responsible decisions... and even if everything else stands true, the fact of the matter is, you failed to prepare for known risks."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've read your file in entirety, and reviewed it closely. Both incidents followed nearly the exact same timeline, with little variance. You already knew the strengths and weaknesses of the D-Reaper, and since you research the Sea of Blood, you knew of several similar pockets of data. You had both the means to hire and train a specialized team to deal with these... 'anomalies', but you chose to use the mission guild both times."

Silence filled the courtroom, a murmuring heard between the judges. Mikemon's gaze remained sharp, keeping his eyes on the Wizardmon. "A mere second incursion was not enough to know the thread would be similar. Training a team could have been fruitless-"

"However, it could have been easily confirmed by examining any data core within the Sea of Blood? Wizardmon, if you have such an analysis for us, we would be more than willing to review the data."

"Wow." The Myotismon gave a whistle, noticing the Wizardmon flinch at the Gotsumon's suggestion. "That's a 'checkmate' if I've ever seen one, rocky."

"Wait, so what exactly does this mean?"

"... Deliberation just got complicated, that's what." The Mikemon sighed, but this time, he managed a smile. "Well? What say you, Wizardmon?"

"Feh." His composure finally broke, as the sorcerer tipped his hat. "Regardless, my intent was for the preservation of the Digital World. My zealous nature in researching the Dark Area is something I've always had to keep in check. I pray that you are all reasonable in your decision-making."

"Right. Reasonable." The Mikemon leaned back. "Trust me. That's not what the Impmon you roped into this is thinking. Now, are we ready to deliberate?"

---

Well. That took quite a while: between the evidence provided by the Wizardmon and reviewed by the scientists, to those who just wanted to keep the status quo, and to others who really thought the Wizardmon did harm, it was hard to reach a consensus. A good three hours later, the Mikemon passed the paper out to a waiting Magnaangemon, who read the 'ruling' out to the pair:

Three months stayed probation. The pair would be forced to hire a crew to deal with future mental incursions into the Sea of Blood. A paltry pay-cut would be given to both of them, restored pending good behavior. And Mikemon, hearing it all, knew in his heart that it wasn't enough of a blow to the two of them.

They were going to end up hurting someone else down the line.

"My, Barbamon..." As they finally were dismissed, the jury heading out of the courtroom, the Myotismon called towards the Mikemon. "What was that about? The cat I knew would have just sent the Stingmon as an abstaining proxy. The Gazimon would've finished this up in five minutes, and we'd all be happily home right now."

"... Hmph." The Mikemon glanced over his shoulder. And without an answer, he stepped right out the front door of the courthouse, making his way towards the Blimpmon lot. Looking down at his feet, he gave a sigh.

"Damn... guess those three actually rubbed off on me."