On Fri, 20 Aug 2004, Bryan Newell wrote:
>Matthew Klahn wrote:
>> this in _Phoenix_, and it was more like he was truthful, but
>> skillfully evasive by interpretting and responding to each
>> question in a way that would be evaluted superficially as true,
>> but deeply as evasive. The problem really is that the Orb seems
>> to only do the superficial analysis, as it doesn't have all the
>> requisite context to do the deeper analysis that would show that
>> the answer was evasive.
Well, yeah, but any competent *interrogator* should be able to tell
that the answer is evasive. Heck, any competent *five-year-old*
(or Dragaeran equivalent thereof) should be able to tell that the
answer is evasive, and pipe up with "You didn't answer the
question!"
Which brings me back to my other notion, that the interrogation was
"scripted"; questions would be asked, and as long as the answers
were true, the interrogators *would not press for other (less
evasive) answers*. Which in turn strongly suggests that the
interrogators were utterly incompetent, or completely corrupt, or
both, but more probably the latter than the former.
>
>Book of Taltos
>
>pg 306 -
> I was ordered to testify "Under the Orb," with the Empress
> there to observe, and all these peers of House Jhereg who had
> no power at all in the running of the Organization.
Bingo. See what I mean about corrupt? "A Jhereg noble was killed
- but he was a member of the Organization, as is the suspect, and
we don't mess with the Organization, and the Organization doesn't
mess with us. If the Organization wants, the suspect will be
'taken care of' by someone in the Organization."
> I was asked things like, "When did you last see him alive?"
> and I'd say, "Oh, I don't know; he was always pretty dead,"
> and they'd rebuke me sternly.
Note that it says they "rebuke" him - but don't press for the damn
*time*.
> They asked my opinion as to who killed him and I said that I
> believed he had killed himself. The Orb showed that I was
> telling the truth, and I was; messing with me the way he'd
> been doing was like asking to die.
Yeah, and do they ever ask, point blank "Did you kill him, yes or
no?"
> The only time the Orb caught me lying was when I made some
> remark about how overwhelmed I was to be speaking before such
> an august assembly.
>
Which strongly suggests that Vlad knows/knew in advance that the
whole interrogation thing was a sham, a farce, a pathetic joke, and
was completely prepared to cakewalk it. Unless, of course, it
wasn't, in which case his preparations might well have included
witchcraft to affect his own memory.
"Listen, Vlad: Jhereg trials for inter-Organization stuff are
a mere formality. It's more of an intelligence test, really.
Any halfway clever person can give answers which are true, but
which don't implicate himself, and the interrogators don't give
enough of a damn to dig further."
"There are exceptions, of course. If you're ever caught for,
say, a Morganti assassination - I know you don't do those sorts
of things, but I know you have a friend who maybe does - you
won't be interrogated by nobles of House Jhereg who know the
kinds of questions to ask that *can* be evaded, you'll be put
to the question by Iorich justicers, who *will not stop* until
you have almost literally damned yourself with your own mouth.
And then you'd be executed. End of story."
Hmm. Sudden thought: Morganti assassins who are caught are
themselves permanently assassinated by the Jhereg, although perhaps
non-Morganti, in order to protect those who hired him, as well as
anyone else involved, precisely because of the dangers of competent
and non-corrupt investigation.
>pg 307 -
> "Thank you, Your Majesty. I ask only to serve you."
> "Indeed, Baronet?" She seemed amused. "I suspect the
> Orb would detect a falsehood there. You are usually more
> careful in your evasions."
> She remembered.
Actually, as the Paarfiad suggests, she is able to immediately
review the entire trial then and there because the *Orb* remembers
*everything*.