Swifteye mindspoke to Von: “A Witchman.”

Von replied: “He could be naught else.”

The Judge grimaced, his version of a smile. “By your face, Chief Von, I sense that I’m failing to convince you. Very well, j’ll admit the truth: I am their leader because I am inedible. You asked what 1 was. I am no man, so behave.” “What would you have of us?” demanded Ethera.

The Judge hopped over to one of the Ganiks, reached out his long fingers, and triumphantly held up a squirming white louse. “See this? Their bodies are crawling with fleas and lice. They like it because it’s what they know. I want to broaden their outlook, bring out their potential.”

“If you choose to live with Ganiks, you’re lower than they,” said Ethera.

“A woman who thinks that she thinks! Very good. I am an expert on parasites, my lady, and eminently qualified to lead. A thousand years ago, they had their own city-—Paris I believe it was called. But enough history.”

A fat Ganik entered the chamber—Von wondered how long the man could avoid being on the menu of his leaner brothers—carrying something wrapped in a brown cloth, a red stain on the bottom. The Judge was given the now dripping parcel, which he opened to reveal a gelatinous object that he held with some difficulty between two fingers and thumb, as it was very slippery, and took a bite out of the end, pulling and chewing before he could separate a piece of the rubberlike material. There was a splatter of blood.

“1 won’t watch,” screamed Ethera, covering her eyes.

‘‘May I have a knife for this?” asked the Judge of the room at large. “A Horseclansman’s liver is tasty, but tough.” He looked straight at Von and said: “I’ve picked up a few bad habits, but when in Rome, do as the Romans. Of course, you don’t know anything more about Rome than Paris, but—”

Von’s discipline was forgotten as one of the prairiecats, Firepaw, leapt toward the Judge and bit into his arm with three-inch-long fangs. Once again, it was Bigboy who was first to react, throwing the cat with such force that its back was broken, legs quivering in death agony.

Several things happened at once: Swifteye pleaded for a command from her chief, flashing the thought that she had seen Chief Graypaw crushed beneath a rockslide, and was sure that Flatear was dead, as well. With no reason left for living, the cat wished to join the fray, but with the sanction of an order. Von was busy commanding that everyone resist temptation, Swifteye included. Until that machine gun was neutralized, he couldn’t take the risk. The Judge was as concerned over the gun as anyone. “Stop!” he shouted, as the nervous Ganik debated whether or not he should open fire. “Look!” cried the Judge, holding out his mangled arm to reveal that not one single drop of blood had been spilled. Several Ganiks fell on their faces in reverential swoons. “This always impresses them,” said the Judge, winking at Von.

“It’s fascinating to watch your expressions as you play with telepathy,” said the Judge, his mouth full. He had retrieved his meal from the floor. Swallowing by turning his head at an inhuman angle, and jerking his head in the process, he continued with better enunciation: “No need to be upset. You’ll end up as your friend did. They won’t eat your dead cat, of course. They really aren't the best material with which to bring back civilization, but they are all I have . . . and they do obey.”

A chair was brought for the Judge. When he was sitting, the folds of his robe draped about him, it appeared that his vulture’s head and emaciated arms grew out of a black obelisk, “Please note, if you will, the oversized head of the Ganik. You’d almost think that he had some intelligence. The overbite of his teeth help to correct that impression, as it makes him appear a caricature of the stupid. Here, then, is the creature I would bring into civilization. To accomplish this unlikely task will require repeated demonstrations of the court’s justice.”

Pointing at Terrell, he accused: “You, theologian, have Ahrmehnee blood. I can spot it a mile away. Have not the Ahrmehnee collected heads from these poor brutes? You, Chief Von, chieftain of this sorry little band, have you not put Ganiks to the sword more times than you can count?”

Von would rise to a mental challenge as readily as a physical one. “Aye, I’ve slain shaggies, and proud of it remain. Any who eat their own kind are less than men.” Von pointedly looked at the soggy mess in the Judge’s hand.

“Thank you for your candor,” replied the Judge. “One of the first things you must learn about Law, however, is that only the accused is on trial. The moral stature of the authorities should not be brought into question, as the inspiring edifice of our justice is based on the rule of Law and not of men.” Munching heartily upon Berti’s liver, the Judge persisted in the high purpose he had set himself.

“My de^r barbarians,” said the Judge, “it’s not your fault that you’re uncouth mutants. You can’t help misunderstanding that you have wronged the Shaggy Men, as you call them. The reason that my children are better able to appreciate a proper ethical code is that they have a custom neither practiced by you nor by the fools at the Center. They are cannibals. Since justice is a social concept, and rests on the welfare of the group, the highest form of justice places the group first. Cannibalism is not the death of the group; it is merely rough on individual members.

“You may wonder what role the court has to play. When individuals in one group suffer at the hands of individuals from another, the barbaric response is to bring in the notion of honor, and reduce the grievances to an individual level. True justice requires a disinterested third party to find one group entirely guilty, exonerate the other group entirely, and make certain that individuals suffer the penalty. It may be pointed out that 1 am not an entirely disinterested party, but to this I can only respond that nothing is perfect. We have a system that works.”

“You speak wickedness and call it justice,” said Von.

“From your point of view, that is a reasonable conclusion. Mine is a loftier perspective. All of you must die for your crimes against the Ganiks. True, the Ganiks have committed crimes as well, but they are not on trial; and no social purpose would be served if we viewed the case in individual terms. Coming at it from the other direction, it would surely be utopian to put everyone on trial at the same time. No one would be left to discharge the office of executioner.” The Judge swallowed the last of his macabre meal.

There are silences so complete that they defy the idea of sound. The courtroom was like that for at least a minute, until the low growling of Swifteye begin to fill the spaces.

“You mutants cannot learn the error of your ways, but you can serve as an object lesson to my children. The superstition of an earlier age’s inquisition was to save the individual’s soul. A later age was enlightened enough to admit the real objective of torture: welfare of the greater number. Your deaths will be of benefit to these poor shaggies on two levels: spiritual and physical.”

“’Tis justice when two-legs eats two-legs,” Swifteye beamed to Von, who could only nod in grim agreement.

“Civilization was never an easy proposition. It prided itself on having left the primitive rites of sacrifice behind, and clucked its collective tongue over the simplistic codes of savages. Lord Milo believes in personal responsibility. How terribly unsophisticated of him! Justice teaches that the more people alive, the greater the number to be sacrificed! One virgin girl sliced open to irrigate the crops won’t do for a civilized man. Such a paltry sacrifice is an insult to his morality. For him, whole cities must be reduced to fertilizer, and not to grow food, but to feed his guilty conscience. The best enemy is one in which you see a reflection of yourself. We are all killers in here. That is a fact. Another is that there is no higher morality than joyous self-sacrifice. Despite my lofty ideals, 1 fall short of this noble ideal. For me, the best I can accomplish this evening is to sacrifice the selves of others.”