The banging of the gavel worked its magic once again, and the room fell silent.
"Alright," the Chairman said, rubbing at his temples. "Let's go back to school on this one. If you have a question, raise your hand. One at a time, please." The Chairman slipped an earpiece in his own ear and motioned to an elderly looking woman in the front.
"I am Ambassador Montgomery, England," she stated, her voice as stiff as her spine appeared. "Where are you originally from?" she asked in a heavily laced English accent.
"Most of us are originally from Scotland," Goliath answered, "though we have called Manhattan home for many years now."
A man stood next and spoke in a different language.
"Ambassador Nguyen asks, how you came to be here," the woman seated beside the man repeated in English, and Nayeli suddenly realized why the room was so full.
The Ambassadors, some of them, at least, would need translators.
And so the night went. Each question asked and answered, led to more and more questions. With every question answered, Nayeli felt the pitch and roll of her nervous stomach begin as the questions became more and more pointed.
"What are your feelings towards humans?"
"How many of you are there?
"What are your plans?"
Nayeli looked at her father's face, then at Brooklyn's. They were both holding themselves so stiff, so still, trying to hide what they were feeling, though Nayeli could see the telltale signs of stress, worry and irritation on both their faces.
"Governor Pine, United States, here as a guest to Ambassador Price," a man's booming voice came from the front and something about his tone caught Nayeli's attention. The large man stood, straightened his suit coat, and then turned to face the trio. "I would like to know how you see yourselves."
For the first time, Goliath didn't have a ready answer. "I… do not understand," Goliath answered slowly.
"I have here," the man said in a heavily southern twang, "a copy of a list that was produced by a reputable organization on what it means to be a sentient being."
The Chairman banged his gavel. "Governor Pine," Chairman Burnsides all but growled out. "As a guest of an ambassador, you have the right to speak, but please have a care. I would like a copy of that list, if you don't mind."
"Of course, of course," the man said jovially, and hurried forward to hand a copy to the Chairman. As the Chairman began looking at the list, Governor Pine began again, "Now, as I was saying, I have a list of the ten things to make you a sentient species. First, is to be able to communicate." The man eyeballed the gargoyles, "Well you can speak, but are you able to read? Write?"
"Of course," Goliath said, still confused but looking more than a little angry.
"Very well," the man said, then hurried forward, "there are other items on this list." He began to tick them off on his fingers. "To make decisions and bear consequences of your actions. To wear clothing and accessories," he smirked at the males' attire. "Then there's becoming individuals in the process of…"
BANG
"Governor Pine," the Chairman snapped. "This is not a courtroom, and the gargoyles are not on trial. This list," He said, waving the offending piece of paper in the air, "states at the top that it is a list of qualities that qualify a human being. The gargoyles are not human," he said firmly, "Nor are we out to make them such. We are here to speak, to learn, and to try to decide what the best way to help them is."
"You propose, and rightly so," Governor Pine stated, "that they be declared an endangered species. Does that not make them animals?"
"Does your lack of manners make you one?" A voice called from the back, making the Governor's face redden in anger.
"May I suggest," the Chairman said, pointing to the seat that the governor had vacated, "that you sit back down. You have had your moment to speak. If you have anything else you would like asked, please pass it to your Ambassador."
The governor was not happy, but he made his way to his seat amidst glares and chuckles from the others in the room.