The Trial

I am starting to feel quite at home here, despite the daily march of witnesses the prosecution calls to describe me in the worst possible terms. Did you know Boss Preen is a law-abiding Samundran importer-exporter whose employees I butchered without provocation? Me neither. But I didn't lose too much sleep over it -- that night Duncan made steak.

The worst came first: the widows and widowers, the tortured and barely sane, the stunned soldiers and sickened journalists. Almost all of them were moved to strong emotion by their own testimony or the prosecution's deft stoking. Several times the procedures came to a halt while the witness regained themselves, wiping at their eyes and swallowing.

Master Barrister for the Prosecution: "Please describe in your own smells the events following the transmission..."

Dear beloved readers,

It's happened at last: the no-cost version of this science-fiction novel has been taken offline in order to make room for the hard-cover printed edition from Ephemera Bound Publishing, on sale in stores and online starting Valentine's Day, 2008.

I regret any disappointment. I kept the no-cost version available as long as I could. Please be sure to check out the new edition! See Cheeseburger Brown.com for more news and updates.

Love,
Cheeseburger Brown

P.S. You can read more of my free fiction via my weblog or in the complete story achives.