Disclaimer: The characters, much of the dialogue, and sadly, even the plot are not mine; they all belong to Eoin Colfer.
Pages: 248 – 253
Chapter 22: The Trial
Holly's gaze was fixed on the podium in front of her, waiting for Kronski's response. Though she couldn't see more than a quarter of the doctor's face, even to her his returning smile in response to "Pasteur's" accusation looked fake.
"I don't kill humans," he told the room, apparently offended to even have to express something so patently obvious. Not that the majority of them probably cared that much, unless it affected them personally. "Just animals. Like the animal in this cage."
He gestured back at Holly and he was greeted with mild clapping and a few cheers, though Holly thought the feedback lacked some of the ardor of before.
Holly noticed many of the eyes in the hall were instead now trained on Artemis in obvious curiosity, even fascination. All the stubble had been shaved from his chin, his long scraggly hair smoothed back behind his ears, his clothing neatly pressed. Holly found herself thinking idly it was little wonder how this new face could appear out of nowhere and steal the show. "Pasteur" cut a more striking and, dare she say it, handsome figure by far than Damon Kronski. Despite his youth, the young man had a commanding, yet intriguing presence about him. When he was standing next to Kronski it was immediately clear whose would make the more appealing face to have as representative of the organization.
Kronski indeed was staring at Artemis much like the actor of the main character in a high school play production who'd just been upstaged by the comedy relief. He forced himself to stop looking sour however and attempted to wrest control of the flow of his own conference by smoothly switching the subject back to the matter at hand.
"Allow me to explain the rules," he began, and would have continued had not Artemis been too quick for him.
"No need," replied the young man, before Kronski could get even one rule out. "I have read several transcripts. The prosecutor puts his case, the defender puts his case. A few minutes of lively debate, then each table votes. Simple." He went on with just a hint of derisive impatience, "Can we please proceed, Doctor. No one appreciates their time being wasted."
"Very well," said Kronski, who had looked annoyed for a second but regained his confidence quickly. "We shall proceed." With one glance at his computer screen the doctor began his argument.
"People say that we Extinctionist hate animals. But this is not the case. We do not hate poor dumb animals; rather, we love humans."
For once, Kronski spoke in a carefully measured tone that could be described as almost reasonable. Realistically, someone brought in off the street to listen might have very well judged it as so, as long as they couldn't understand English.
"We love humans," Kronski continued, "and will do whatever it takes to ensure that we, as a race, survive for as long as possible. This planet has limited resources, and I, for one, say we should hoard them for ourselves."
Holly's gaze traveled over the room, and she wondered sardonically what part of this extravagant setting was about conserving the planet's natural assets for the human race. If the Extinctionists actually cared about their fellow humans, they would be using all this money to get food to those dying of hunger and disease on the streets all around the world instead of using it to hold a fancy conference like this and purchase exotic animals on the black market. Surely it wouldn't even take a genius to send Kronski's logic tumbling to the ground like a house of cards.
Then again, this wasn't exactly an unbiased audience. No matter how sound the argument, if each person here was crazy enough to have joined this group in the first place, they might be inclined to lynch anyone who started spouting views they didn't like, rather than respond to reason.
"Why should humans starve when dumb animals grow fat?" Kronski asked, just the barest hint of a sneer in his voice. "Why should humans freeze when beasts lie toasty warm in their coats of fur?"
Holly knew the only way to deal with people with views such as these was to maintain a level of indifference. These arguments were so completely absurd that there was no use getting outraged over it.
Yet, at these last words of Kronski's, an unexpected wave of nausea and white-hot anger surged through Holly, punching through her thin wall of determined cool detachment. It was too much, even for Kronski. Images of the bleached, diseased skin of a pod of cheerful dolphins and the frightened chattering of scores of monkeys and beautiful tropical birds deep in the jungle and thin polar bears with sunken eyes flashed like lightning through her mind. The greedy, odious man, how dare he? So animals all around the world were supposed to die in order that profligate humans like him could live surrounded by such gross opulence? Any self-respecting environmentalist on the planet would be apoplectic with rage.
You're the beast, she thought with venom, her eyes boring into Kronski's back, as though with her gaze alone she could knock him from his high place into his own water pit, to float alongside the disrespected corpses of the yellowfin.
However, even if there had been a whole team of conservationists there to rage at Kronski, Artemis chose a method of attack that, in the end, probably proved far more effective.
If Artemis was irritated by Kronski's comments, which had to represent the epitome of the self-centeredness of humanity, he didn't show it and instead kept a steady gaze on the doctor the entire time, lips upturned just a bit at the corners in an expression that had the potential for mockery in every line.
As soon as Kronski had reached a stopping point, Artemis said, "Ahem," into his fist, looking as though he were trying not to smile. "Really, Dr. Kronski, I have read several variations on this speech. Every year, it seems, you trot out the same simplistic arguments. Can we please focus on the creature before us tonight?"
Artemis wasn't just being insulting, Holly noticed, he was drawing attention to the clear lack of specificity of Kronski's statements. Holly heard murmurs of agreement around the audience and Kronski looked clearly angry by Artemis's condescending attitude, though he made every effort to conceal it.
"Most amusing, boy," said Kronski, the spurious smile on his lips contrasting with the tightness around his eyes as he stared hard at his opponent. "I was going to take it easy on you, but now the gloves are off."
Kronski, take it easy on Artemis – ha. Holly would like to see the man try to keep up.
Apparently Artemis was thinking the same thing. "We are delighted to hear it," he said wryly.
Kronski must have sensed danger of some kind or other. His eyes flickered from Artemis to the audience, a nervous, almost calculating look in his eye.
Holly realized that the fact that he needed to regain his audience's sympathy and soon must have begun to really dawn on the Extinctionist president. "Pasteur" only had to say a few words to get the crowd ready and eager to be critical of their leader, putting Kronski further and further at a disadvantage with every word. He had to act.
In response, Kronski raised his arms, spreading them wide in a kind of 'V' above his head like a butterfly about to take flight, though without the elegance or beauty. When he opened his mouth again, he spoke in a completely different voice. For the first time, he sounded truly powerful and authoritative. So much so that it almost made one forget he was, in fact, a pudgy old man who squealed at loud noises and made random James Bond references.
"This is not what we are about, people," he boomed and the room went silent as heads swiveled back toward Kronski, who had at last succeeded in retrieving their attention. "We did not travel all this way for some petty verbal sparring."
Interesting that Kronski was suddenly above 'verbal sparring,' Holly thought. Apparently hypocrisy and finger pointing were the universal distractions in debates when one's actual logic turned out to be a consummate failure.
Kronski wasn't done yet. He jabbed a finger in Holly's direction. "This is what the Extinctionists are about," said Kronski, as though he was a salesmen advocating a company's newest product, or else denouncing that of a rival. "Ridding our planet of creatures like this."
Kronski hesitated, shooting a glance at Artemis almost compulsively, perhaps to see how his opponent was reacting. But Artemis, while attentive, did not appear worried, and even maintained a look of polite interest, if appearing slightly bewildered, as he listened to Kronski's claims. Perhaps showing an adversary some shred of respect was another way to gain credibility with the audience, even if that respect was purely superficial.
Kronski continued, ignoring Artemis. "We have a new species here, friends. A dangerous species." He went on with considerable feeling as he listed off everything Butler had told him yet again as though it was his own discovery, "It can make itself invisible, it can hypnotize with speech. It was armed."
While Holly was wondering if the doctor could possibly fit the word it into this speech any more times, Kronski produced Holly's Neutrino and waved the gun around a bit, forging on with his exposition on what a menace Holly was.
"Do any of us wish to face a future where this could be pointed in our faces?" he demanded of the now rapt crowd. "Do we? The answer, I think, is clearly no." His voice fell, like an orchestra pulling back just before the climax of the piece, a tone that as ever seemed to simulate that of careful reason. "Now, I'm not going to pretend that this is the last one of its kind. I feel certain that there are thousands of these fairies, or aliens, or whatever, all around us. But does that mean we should grovel and release this little creature?"
His voice rose again with passion. "I say no. I say we send a message. Execute one, and the rest will know we mean business. The governments of the world despise us now, but tomorrow they will come banging down our door for guidance."
Holly wished she could have somehow conveyed her lack of awe just to get under the doctor's skin. Yawning widely might have been a good start, but unfortunately her mouth was still taped.
The concept Kronski was trying to convey was far from new or insightful. It was only the age-old tactic so often used by Mud Men in general throughout the ages to control each other, trying to tap into their own kind's strongest natural instincts: fear and the desire to dominate. In short, the doctor was unstoppable.
Kronski cried out in a powerful roar like the voice of some supernatural power from the stars, rising to a fevered pitch, "We are Extinctionists, and our time is now!"
The crowd broke out in enthusiastic applause, signaling the end of the doctor's side of the address.
Holly didn't need to be able to see the future to predict how this would turn out. The minds of every single one of these people were already long made up. It didn't matter what Artemis might say; by going first, Kronski had already captured the audience.
Kronski indeed looked immensely satisfied. He nodded in Artemis's direction. "The floor is yours, boy."
However, Artemis for his part did not appear in the least disturbed by Kronski's good reception. He stood straight and tall, and looked steadily out over the room filled with sanguinary faces. After a short pause he began, speaking with the easy confidence of a practiced public speaker, though whether he was or not Holly couldn't have said.
"When I was young," he began, "and the family wintered in South Africa, my grandfather would tell me stories of a time when people had the right attitude toward animals."
Holly had been expecting another speech like Kronski's which, for all it's drama and emotion, she had found rather tedious at the beginning, and in the middle. But now she had to admit she was curious. She had once had a gnommish teacher back in her early years of schooling, an old gnome whose memory was perhaps failing a little, because he was constantly repeating this bit of wisdom: "Now you all, never underestimate the power of a good personal story to arouse interest in your writing. Research papers, argumentative essays – believe it or not, they can be downright pleasurable with the right relevant little narratives mixed in, even if the original subject's about as exciting as watching stinkworms grow."
Apparently her former instructor and Artemis were on the same page, and now she had to admit she thought she might finally be able to see what the aged gnome had meant.
"'We kill 'em when it suits us,' he said to me," Artemis told the crowd sitting before him. "When it serves our purposes."
Holly could see his cold eyes briefly meeting each one of those of the Extinctionists, not imploring or begging, not putting himself at the mercy of their judgment, but connecting with them, bringing them into his way of thinking, the world as he saw it. "This is what the Extinctionists used to be about. A species was not protected unless we humans benefited from its survival. We kill when it benefits us."
Holly's breath caught involuntarily. An inexplicable chill coursed down her spine at these words. She knew that this was all a front, that Artemis was merely creating a false image of himself that would make it appear as though he shared the beliefs of all the Extinctionists here in order that they would be more disposed to listen to him. This was all an act, and Artemis was the actor, as in a play.
Yet even so it sounded for just an instant like a sentiment Artemis might really have. Even at the age of twelve when he had been at his worst he had never done atrocious things purely for entertainment like Opal Koboi. But if he saw a profit of some kind in it, if it brought him closer to achieving his goals, he would not hesitate to commit despicable, heinous acts all the same. Horrible crimes against justice. Lying, kidnapping, blackmailing, selling off a nearly-extinct species and then a sentient being to an insane group to be slaughtered...
Though she fought it, Holly felt a flicker of discomfort. For the first time, she felt in her mind herself placing Artemis and the other criminals she had come across on the same scale, placing Artemis one one side of the tilting scale and other criminals on the other.
At this, Holly began to feel a surreal haze falling over her vision as she stared at the backs of the two debating Extinctionists, as though she were drifting through a dream and had come to a scene that could not possibly be really happening, as though her body was here, but she herself was somewhere else. She felt a heightened awareness of herself and her surroundings from her realization of what should have been obvious from the start.
The realness of that connection between young Artemis and the likes of Damon Kronski, one purchasing her for the pleasure of murdering her, the other selling her to someone who he knew would dispose of her, the equality of the level of evil of the two acts, was suddenly tangible. She felt slightly sick.
What troubled her most of all, however, was not the unpleasant comparison. The Artemis she knew now had changed so much, he was no longer like Kronski or Spiro or Cudgeon, those ruthless, grasping individuals. He had done things that were not the things indicative of a noble character, but they had been understandable.
Rather, it was her own reaction to the thought that alarmed her. How much she realized she did not want to think of her friend's past in those terms, how she wanted to justify it, to make excuses so that she could say there was no comparison at all. After all these years of so often defying the LEP in order to do as she thought was right, was there no sense of justice in her anymore, of fairness? Had her judgment become so biased without her noticing?
Don't think about it, she told herself firmly. Just watch.
Meanwhile, Artemis was still speaking. "...This was an ideal worth fighting for. Worth killing for. But this... This is a circus." He pointed straight back at Holly without turning to look at her. "This in an insult to the memory of our ancestors who gave their time and gold to the Extinctionists' cause."
It was the perfect simulation of the quintessential Extinctionist. She would expect nothing less from Artemis Fowl.
Perhaps it was because he was so completely convincing that, even knowing it was not real, revulsion of the things that were coming out of his mouth wormed its way irresistibly past her defenses, working its way to the surface of her mind. Yet simultaneously she was also struck by the brilliance of his delivery, captivated by the way he built it up like a master sculptor, creating piece by perfectly molded piece a kind of work of art.
"We have an opportunity to learn from this creature. We owe it to our predecessors to find out if she can contribute to our coffers. If this is, in reality, a fairy, then who knows what magic it possesses?" His voice dropped tantalizingly. "Magic that could be yours," he said softly. "If we kill this fairy, we will never know what unimaginable wealth dies with it."
There was just a tinge of regret to his tone, already mourning the waste of such a veritable source of power and resources.
With his piece done, Artemis swept a bow and fell silent.
For a moment, Holly could do nothing but sit unmoving in her place, her breath barely coming through her mouth as though winded by a blow to the stomach.
When Artemis had first started talking, Holly had privately thought that Artemis did not have quite the charisma Kronski did, even if she hated to admit it. With the way the doctor's voice rang through the room in deep tones they could all feel vibrating deep in their chests, there could be no doubt he knew how to handle a crowd. He was able to touch their emotions with the sound of his voice alone, able to rile them up and get them excited about the kill, or make them feel the fear of some indefinable danger. But now she could see she had been dead wrong.
Kronski had the charisma to stir up emotions, but ultimately there was little substance to what he said. The audience had been left with the vague impression that Holly was dangerous and her species needed to be shown the Extinctionist philosophy that humans were the rulers of this world, and that was it. It sounded perfectly fine until "Pasteur" got well into explaining the defense's side of things.
Holly hadn't noticed at first the subtlety with which the human teenager was drawing in the Extinctionists to this opposing viewpoint, slowly creating a shared sense of purpose between himself and the other Extinctionists. "We owe it to our predecessors..." Kronski had tried to do the same thing in proclaiming humans were all at risk because of 'the creature' and her ilk. But Artemis had finished by appealing first and foremost to their sense of greed. "Magic that could be yours..." He was offering them something more tactile, an acquisition that no one else in the world would have.
Artemis was indeed every bit as powerful and charismatic a speaker as Kronski. Kronski spoke like some kind of twisted version of an inspirational speaker, with such force as to appear almost capable of imposing his own will on the audience. Artemis, on the other hand, was more subtle. Instead, it was logic that was his weapon, and it seemed to pierce through Kronski's faulty arguments like as sword, even as his voice never rose above a certain level, ever carefully weaving his way into the good graces of the audience. The understated emotion of each word only seemed to add to the power of his speech.
First he introduced a tinge of shame at what the Extinctionists had been reduced to, placing the blame not on the Extinctionists but on Kronski, then invited them to help him fix the problem with a sort of gentle plea as he spoke of the opportunity they now had and what they owed those that came before. Artemis's view had the ring of rationality, of true logic to it, so much so that it was almost mesmerizing.
Between Artemis and Kronski, Artemis truly would by all appearances make the greater, more inspiring leader. It was amazing to think that on top of that, this persona of Artemis's was an utter facade, a sham. He was merely injecting all his words with that familiar ring of truth and combining it with the power of his cold certain eyes, that technique of his Holly knew so well. He always arranged his moves so that both his enemies and his friends alike would have no choice but to follow the projected path of his plans – Ironic that that deceptive tongue which had been to her such a source of pain and anxiety just a day or two before may turn out to be her salvation.
Holly realized that before now she had never seen the full extent of Artemis's power of persuasion. She wasn't even sure she was seeing his full abilities now, even as he stood before an entire room full of insane, beastly people who all stood in the way of his goal and were dead set against his achieving it, all the while not a one doubting his authenticity as their gazes remained resolutely fixed on him.
Holly suddenly had an image of Artemis as a puppeteer as he stood behind his podium, rapidly manipulating the many strings like a pro so fast that Holly hadn't a chance of keeping up as he guided and bent the crowd to his will. If he so wanted, Holly had no doubt Artemis could lead the Extinctionists, with a much surer hand than Kronski – Artemis honestly made a better Extinctionist than Kronski. Even after knowing the boy for so long, Holly knew she had not fully recognized just what a formidable force this boy would be when he reached adulthood and he was taken more seriously by the world than he was as an adolescent.
In the back of her mind, just a tinge of fear perhaps should have sprung up then, a black tendril of the barest hint of doubt appearing from nowhere to slowly wrap around her subconscious. Her friend was almost frightening where he was, that terrifying power of his voice and mind, so much more dangerous than any physical power.
But the dominant emotion that seemed to well up inside her momentarily as she stared at her friend was not fear or apprehension, and the worries about her own perhaps waning sense of justice where he was concerned did not seem quite so important. She was still far from convinced that Artemis would be able to get her out, but still this was her ally standing in this room. He was fighting for her case, wielding such might as to gain control over these people bit by bit with so few words. In this nightmare hall, this nest of such mentally depraved and sunken individuals, he alone was on her side, and so to see him with such insurmountable strength in this moment came as a comfort. No, an exhilaration.
Kronski, however, did not seem nearly as in awe as Holly over Artemis's performance. "How many times must we listen to this argument?" he wanted to know, throwing his hands up dismissively. "Master Pasteur accuses me of repeating myself, while he repeats the tired argument of every defense counsel we have ever listened to."
Of course, Holly thought, the difference between Kronski's accusation that Artemis was being repetitive and Artemis's earlier charge leveled at the doctor was mainly that Artemis was specifically pointing out the fact that Kronski had only been making generalizations. The Extinctionist president probably could have just inserted a tape-recording of a speech from a previous year and no one would have been able to much tell the difference. In contrast, Artemis was taking an argument, used perhaps, and applying it to this particular situation in an effective way.
Holly wondered if the Extinctionists would even be able to pick up on that subtlety, though. She doubted it.
Now, for the record, Holly normally hated messing around thinking about anything too philosophical or any abstract concepts concerning argument, but she had found herself more than interested almost against her will as she recognized each tactic being put to use; she had no doubt she was understanding things as well as she was only because of all the time she had spent in Artemis's company. Holly also preferred to pay attention from the standpoint that she figured that somewhere along the line Artemis's plan may require her to actually do something, and she didn't want to be caught staring off into space if that happened.
"Ooh," Kronski meanwhile went on mockingly, "let us not kill the creature, for it is potentially the source of all our power and wealth. I remember spending a fortune on a sea slug that was supposed to cure arthritis. All we got was very expensive goo."
While Holly was relishing the thought of Kronski wasting his money on useless sea slugs, the doctor finished with an insistent, "This is all supposition."
"But this creature is magical," argued Artemis, hitting the podium's surface to emphasize the point, though his emotions remained veiled and controlled even now. "We have all heard how she can turn invisible. Even now her mouth is taped so she cannot hypnotize us." His voice dropped once more as he verbally reached out, offering forth again the tempting reward that seemed to be at their fingertips. "Imagine the power we could wield if we were to unlock the secrets of these gifts. If nothing else, they would better prepare us to deal with the rest of her kind."
And there they had it. Artemis had not only provided a better prize than Kronski, the power of actual magic versus merely getting the chance to feel superior for a little while, he had undermined Kronski's main argument, that Holly was dangerous and therefore had to be eliminated. After all, the danger was better averted learning all they could from their captured fairy.
However, by this time the initial thrill was wearing off and Holly didn't much feel like silently gloating. Of course, it was still up to the Extinctionists to decide her fate even if Artemis had done his best, but her main worry was starting to be that Artemis may have done too good a job, and she might actually survive after all. Artemis may hope to extend her life and, once she was away from all the sharpshooters and audience members, mount a rescue with the extra time, but if Holly took what Artemis was saying at face value, he wasn't really doing her any favors. After all, if she had a choice between being tortured and drugged for information followed by dissection for scientific analysis, and being incinerated, she would take the incineration every time.
"We have tried to interrogate her," said Kronski, lying through his teeth. "Our best men tried, and she told us nothing."
Kronski was clearly more concerned about his position in the organization than with human supremacy, or the ideals of Extinctionism. If Artemis's ultimate plan, whatever it was, in all this failed, ironically it may be Kronski's short-sightedness that saved the fairy people. Without Holly's body, the only evidence of her existence would be the recording, and video recordings could lie much more easily than hard evidence, as the skeptical world at large would be aware.
"It is difficult to talk with a taped mouth," Artemis commented, and Holly felt gratified to have someone at last acknowledge a bit of the doctor's lunacy.
However, Kronski instantly pounced on this sliver of apparent lack of proper disgust or hostility toward their captive.
"The human race faces its most deadly enemy," said Kronski, voice low and almost shaking with apparent righteous indignation, "and you want to cozy up to it. That is not how we Extinctionists do things. If there is a threat, we wipe it out. That is how it has always been."
Choosing tradition over efficiency and intelligence, then. Kronski was certainly behind the times. However, it seemed so were the majority of the Extinctionists, as they broke into a round of ferocious cheers at Kronski's words.
Holly got the sneaking suspicion they couldn't care less about ideals or 'sending a message' or unlocking obscure magical secrets. They just wanted to kill something.
Kronski had won. He knew it, an unpleasant grin spreading from one flabby ear to the other on his wide face, and Holly knew it. As clever as Artemis had been in dealing with this crowd on their terms, tailoring his argument based on their own views and tearing down every single one of Kronski's, it just hadn't been enough. Maybe Artemis had known from the start it was a long shot, that it would be near impossible to make them change their minds.
Holly stayed alert, determined not to completely give up hope until the end. She would be ready for any opportunity to escape that came her way, but at the same time, she hadn't been expecting much different than this from the start. There had never been much hope.
Holly studied the back of Artemis's head. If she was going to die here, at least there would be a friend nearby. There was no danger of her breaking down into a panic now. Ever since he had come, in some ways she had felt oddly calm, as though it did not matter what happened to her in the end.
Still, she wished that Artemis would look at her, if only to send some signal, give her some clue as to whether he had something more in store, or if she might as well start preparing herself for the inevitable. Even if he would just meet her gaze out of the corner of his eye and shake his head by a fraction.
Holly wanted her eyes to drift closed so she wouldn't have to see anymore. However, she couldn't afford to miss anything in case Artemis did suddenly decide to send a silent, furtive message, or an opportunity of another kind just happened to come her way. Besides, she did not think even now she could ever make herself give in.
Holly stared hard at the carefully combed locks of jet black hair. Look at me, Artemis, she thought. Look at me.
Artemis did not turn, much the way he had turned away from her when she had laid stranded on Hybras, reaching out to him before her body had given out on her, her heart beating its last.
Yet, much like on Hybras, that moment of abandonment didn't mean he wasn't going to save her in the end. And this particular plan of Artemis Fowl's was far from over.
A/N: Well, here it is. (; (And it grew into quite a long one) Did I say I didn't think this chapter needed to have much done to it...? Yeah, that turned out to be a lie, heh. I don't think I realized there was so much complicated inner monologuing going on when I read over it before, and those kind of chapters always have to come together/be corrected piece by painful piece. Plus I didn't think the commentary of the underlying things going on in the arguments was as clear as I thought it was originally, so that was stressful...
Meh, yeah, I'm still not sure if I pulled any of this off very effectively in the end. I'm afraid it may have come out disjointed or incomprehensible, lol. (Plus, you probably won't believe me when I say this, but I really hate monster paragraphs that refuse to be broken up. Which this chapter was just chock full of. I did try my best, though.) I think honestly I needed a couple more months on this chapter to make it flow right, eheh.
Anyway, some notes as always (sorry for these long author's notes XD; you don't have to read them, especially if you're not picky about details): Again, logistics... ick. I admit, some of the descriptions of where things are may not seem to exactly match what's in the book. This is mainly because I couldn't figure out how things were arranged exactly. For instance, it sounds at some points like the wooden dock was wheeled over the pit, and then the trap door in the dock would open and let the captive fall into the flames, while other times it seems to say the dock is "in" the pit. I'm also pretty sure Holly's cage is supposed to be in front of where Kronski and Artemis are in their podiums, although I'm not sure it ever says this directly.
But for a lot of reasons, most of which would be too tedious to go into, I set it up this way instead, with Holly behind them. For starters, Holly's cage isn't a small one (because Artemis and Kronski have to fall into it and kind of fight inside it later), so if the cage was in front of where Artemis and Kronski were facing, then either their podiums would have to be really high or the cage really low, the second of which I rejected by deciding to go with the image of Holly's dock being rolled over the pit and not actually inside it. Otherwise it would be more like they were facing the cage rather than the audience, which would have felt odd to me.
So, I guess the point of this rambling explanation is, for future reference, I do want to be as true to canon as I can, but when there are bits I have trouble reconciling, I will just do each one whatever way fits best. Most of you probably don't notice these things anyway, if you're like me when you read a book. (;
Wow! So much response last chapter! (at least in terms of this story, lol) Thank you so, so much for reviewing, I really appreciate it; it's a big encouragement. Hope to hear from you, if you like. (:
Posted: 1/24/12