（外文电子版资料）Spider Robinson - The Gifts of the Magistrate.pdf

THE GIFTS OF TILE MAGISTRATE Merry Christmas, Mr. Chief Justice, the Captain of the Guard said; but his subsequent behavior scarcely reflected the holiday spirit. Wolfgang Jannike submitted philosophically to the fingerprinting, retina scan and close body search which were his Christmas presents from his subordinate. Jannike could hardly protest an order he had written himself. Nor would any conceivable protest have made the slightest difference; all the human guards at this stronghold were—again, by his own direction—Gurkhas, the deadliest humans alive. Scanners had shown him unarmed, and the ID signal broadcast by the chip in his skull had been confirmed as legitimate and valid, else he would not have lived to reach Captain Lai. But even after Jannike had been positively identified as the person described by that ID chip, and therefore as the Chief Justice of the Solar High Court—nominal master of this prison—Captain Lal remained vigilant. That was understandable. Of the four assas-sins who had come here to date, two had gotten this far; one of them so recently that Jannike could still see the stains on the wall. That one, he knew, had been a friend of the Captains. How may I help Your Honor? Lal asked when the ritual was done. I will speak with the prisoner alone for a time, Jannike replied firmly. He was commit-ted now; at least three microphones had recorded those words. There was a long pause, during which Cap-tain Lals eyes made all the responses his lips dared not—even a Gurkha must sometimes tread cautiously—and at last his lips made the only reply they could. Yes, sir. Have you ever read the works of Clement Samuels, Captain? the Chief Justice was moved to ask then. No, sir, Lal replied, doubtless baffled but showing nothing. He spun