Finally, the day came: the Tribunal was to begin.

I was taken to the austere courtroom at 8:30 in the morning, where I was met by Lt. Strait. The Tribunal was to be adjudicated by three high-ranking military judges; the chief justice of the case was called the President. There was no jury; the case would be argued to the three justices, whose unanimous decision would determine my fate.

After some hushed pre-trial conversation, the bailiff silenced the courtroom by asking us: "Please rise for the President and the associate justices."

We rose, and the three stern-looking officers filed in, taking their seats. The one in the center, the President, banged his gavel and began to speak.

"This Tribunal is now in session.

"Before the defendant in this case, Jill Valentine, is called upon to make her pleas to the indictments which have been lodged against her, it is the wish of the governing bodies that I make a very brief statement on behalf of the Tribunal.

"This International Security Tribunal has been established pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution BOW578-A, dated the 8th of September, 2003, and the Charter of the Tribunal annexed thereto. The purpose for which the Tribunal has been established is stated in Article 1 of the Charter to be the just and prompt trial and punishment of international terrorists making use of bio-organic weapons in the execution of their crimes.

"The signatories to the Agreement and Charter are the fifteen nations that comprise the United Nations Security Council.

"The defendant is represented by counsel. The defendant has had the opportunity to vet and approve her counsel, and has waved her right to select different counsel for the duration of this Tribunal proceeding.

"The Tribunal has heard, and is satisfied by, the steps which have been taken by the prosecution to make available to defending counsel the collection of documents, data and evidence upon which the prosecution's case is reliant, with the aim of giving to the defendant every possibility for a just defense.

"Although the governing bodies of this Tribunal are committed to serving the public interest and to transparency to the extent that safety and security concerns permit, due to the sensitive nature of the events that have lead to the convening of this Tribunal, we are compelled to conduct this trial in a secure and private manner. I must, therefore, remind all those in attendance, including witnesses for both the defense and prosecution, that the Tribunal will insist upon the complete maintenance of order, decorum and secrecy, and will take the strictest measures to enforce it. And now, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, the indictment shall now be read."

The President gestured to the prosecution's table, yielding the floor to the lead prosecutor, Franz Leiter. Leiter approached the microphone stand between our two tables and spoke.

"As the duly appointed representative of the United Nations Security Counsel in the investigation of the charges against the defendant Jill Valentine, pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution BOW578-A, dated the 8th of September, 2003, and the Charter of the Tribunal annexed thereto, I hereby accuse Jill Valentine as guilty, in the respects I shall set forth, of crimes of terror, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace.

"I shall now read the statement of the offense.

"It is our contention that the defendant, in collusion with other individuals to be named as co-conspirators during the course of these proceedings, did participate in the formulation and execution of crimes of terror, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace, and the defendant, in violation of international law, did use bio-organic weapons on civilians and soldiers, in furtherance of a conspiracy whose intent was nothing less than the eradication of the human race as we know it from the face of the earth. Furthermore, the defendant does not deny that these actions took place, and at her own hand."

The prosecutor continued to read the indictment, which chronicled the incidents in which I had been involved: the murder of Father Kendrick, the infection of Obasanjo's men, the genocide at Kijuju, the deliberate infection of individuals with the intention of turning them into bio-organic weapons capable of large-scale destruction. All of it was the truth.

Finally, he concluded his statement and sat. The President spoke again.

"I now call upon the defendant to plead guity or not guilty to the charges that have been brought against her."

Lt. Strait nodded at me. I stood and spoke into the microphone placed before the Tribunal.

"Not guilty."

Even though I knew in my soul that I was not guilty of choosing to commit any of the crimes that the indictment described, some part of me felt strange and dirty for pleading that way. I was there, I watched my body do those things, I was unable to stop my hands from acting out according to Wesker's will. Even if, technically I was not morally at fault, perhaps someone should pay the price, and perhaps I was just the unfortunate person called upon to do so. I guess I was confronting issues of guilt, of action, of agency and choice and free will that no one had ever had to face; it'll throw you for a loop.

In any case, I said those words and sat. Too late now.

The President spoke next. "The defendant's plea is entered as not guilty on all charges. The prosecution may now make its opening statement."

Leiter rose, approached the microphone, and began. "May it please Your Honor, to represent the people of the world in the prosecution of crimes of terror imposes a grave responsibility. The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored, because it cannot survive their being repeated. That we stand here today, conducting this proceeding in a manner designed to show the utmost respect for the judgment of the law, is a testament to the commitment of all parties affected by these terrible events to justice, to peace and to the advancement of civilization.

"What this defendant has done, we shall patiently and thoroughly disclose. We will demonstrate undeniable proof of events that challenge credulity, and we will meticulously show the ties that bind the defendant inseparably to the cause of these events.

"Before I discuss the specifics of the evidence, some general considerations which may affect the credibility of this trial in the eyes of the world should be faced. The acts of terror that have brought us together today are the result of scientific advancements and discoveries that are far beyond the pale of the mainstream. They are not well understood, nor widely studied, but are the inventions of a small consortium of very secretive individuals and agencies bent on the pursuit of power and destruction. As a result of this, the full investigation and study of these inventions will likely take years, perhaps decades, before thorough and solid conclusions can be made. Justice, however, and the rights I concede are fully possessed by the defendant, both dictate that this trial be conducted and concluded in a timely fashion. Therefore, I beg the indulgence of the tribunal in regard to the testimony brought forth by experts in the field of forensics and bio-engineering. Much of what will be heard can only be regarded as theoretical and preliminary, and yet it is inescapable that these tentative findings must form the foundation for the conclusions the Tribunal must reach. On this matter, I can only say that all concerned parties have no choice but to leave the final judgments to the wisdom of the apportioned adjudicators, who in the end will consider many other factors regarding the guilt or innocence of the defendant. On behalf of the public, I pledge the confidence and support of the prosecution in this Tribunal, and in whatever determinations are reached by the Tribunal based on the best evidence and most plausible findings the prosecution and defense will be able to present."

In other words: it's all fringe science, we don't expect military judges to believe or understand it all, and in the end, the truth will have to rest as much on my credibility as on the viability of a serum like P30. It was an honorable thing for the prosecution to say, but the implausibility of true mind control in the perception of the judges was still my biggest worry, no matter how I came off on the stand.

All in all, the start of the tribunal was harder than I had thought it would be. I felt like I was on trial at Nuremberg. Everything was so formal, so careful, so thorough – and I was the center, the cause of all this effort. So much work, so much time being devoted by so many important people – I almost wanted to plead guilty and get it over with just to release these people to more important tasks.

But something had begun that had to be seen through, and not just for me or for those involved in my trial.