[ WP ] You are a lowly minion in a computer game . The hero has just completed a speed run , and you have to report to your boss and explain why you were spared , while so many of your comrades were slain .

“ I don ’ t know. ” 
 
 They were honest words- words that left my mouth desperately following the question and the eternity of silence. 
 
 No- I wasn ’ t stupid. They were words that I knew wouldn ’ t be accepted. 
 The courtroom was a pixilated rainbow. Sprites of various neon hues, meant to stand out against different, darker backgrounds, were jammed next to each other at random in the stadium. Looking at them all made my eyes hurt, so I looked down. Their eyes on me made my heart hurt, so I trembled. 
 
 Boos echoed from the stand at this sign of guilt. The judge- Angra Mainyu, the dragon-king who preceded over the military, the senate, and the courts, allowed it to continue. He knew they weren ’ t in a hurry. He allowed me to suffer. 
 Then, if only to save his own, monster-sized ears and those of the jurors, the strike of his gable finally put an end to it. For now, at least. 
 “ Order- order in the court! The prosecution may continue… ” 
 “ Thank you, your honor, ” said a sleek, tuxedoed lizard named Afzal. His oversized, lambent-green body towered over me and most of the jurors in the front rows. Every vowel sound he made sounded choppy in some implacable, metallic accent, like he used tuning forks for toothpicks. For this reason, he had no speaking roles in his boss-fight level. His sheer presence was intimidating enough. 
 “ Now, Doppelganger Number 8A-277, ” Afzal continued. More booing consumed the court, and he raised his horrible voice over them, “ How else do you explain these incriminating circumstances?! ” 
 
 He turned his body 90 degrees to face the expansive jury, casting his shadow over my defense attorney and me. 
 
 “ That villain…that terrorist had not been seen in approximately three months, three days, twenty hours, eight minutes, and fifty one seconds. Are we to believe that, out of nowhere, that menace to our kind returned and not only completed the first five levels with unheard casualties, but also managed to find, operate, and successfully use our hidden, experimental powers up, our reality-breaking glitches, and our top secret warp zones? ” 
 
 He let a silence fill the court, only broken by the tittering mumbles of the braver jurors. 
 
 “ No! ” Afzal said finally. “ The horrible man from not even Angra Mainyu knows where had to have inside assistance! ” 
 
 “ Objection! ” my defense rose up. She was a blackbird: an air ally and one of the only monochrome characters in the world. Her voice had a twitter to it, and I much enjoyed it to Afzal ’ s. “ The prosecution engages in argumentative questions, which he himself answers. ” 
 
 “ Sustained! ” agreed Angra Mainyu. “ Please, the prosecution must rephrase the question or move on… ” 
 
 “ Alright… ” Afzal turned back to me. “ Doppelganger Number 8A-277…did you or did you not engage in treasonous acts and first-degree, intentional, and premeditated murder?! ” 
 
 “ no, ” a frightened voice answered. Only after the sound had dissipated, I realized it had been my own. 
 
 “ Did you or did you not leave your post during the invasion? ” 
 
 “ no. ” 
 
 “ Where were you? ” 
 
 “ Buh-between the two cement pipes, patrolling left and right. As I was trained. ” 
 
 “ Did you, or did you not, voluntarily let the invader through? ” 
 
 “ I- ” I stumbled, “ He got through, but he was going very fast… ” 
 
 “ Did you or did you not allow him through? ” 
 
 “ No, I- ” 
 
 “ Did he get through because of your own faults and culpabilities?! ” 
 
 “ …yes. ” 
 
 Afzal smiled- I didn ’ t know the lizard allies could smile. 
 
 “ Then, ” he continued, speaking to no one in particular, “ is it so much of a leap to assume this was purposeful? ” 
 
 He turned to me, eagerly expecting an answer. 
 
 “ I didn ’ t mean to- ” 
 
 “ Is it not possible…? ” 
 
 “ I would never endanger my comra- ” 
 
 “ But you did let him through? ” 
 
 “ Yes. ” 
 
 “ And you did let him go on- presumably to slaughter your fellow comrades? ” 
 
 “ …yes. ” 
 
 “ …The prosecution rests its case! ” 
 
 The rest of the trial drove on. Too soon, I saw the judge sit up. He was speaking now- 
 
 “ The jury may confer... ” 
 He exited. 
 
 The rainbow before me dissipated. Sitting in the echoing, empty chamber, I tried to stop shaking. Afzal began organizing his papers in a small briefcase. My Defense Attorney patted my back. We had tried. There, together, was silence. 
 
 Slowly, those jurors began to fill the room. And slowly, there, a rainbow was painted in the seats. They chattered among themselves. Finally, Angra Mainyu reentered. With that, a well-dressed turtle stood. 
 
 “ We the jury find the defendant, Doppelganger Number 8A-277, not guilty on the charge of first-degree murder. ” said the turtle. “ However, we find Doppelganger Number 8A-277 guilty of the lesser charges of culpable murder and negligent, militant treason. ” 
 
 My head hit the desk in front of me, and I glued it there. I ’ d never cried in public anymore- I ’ d never even been around this many people. But it didn ’ t matter anymore. 
 
 Angra Mainyu spoke thus, “ Very well. Doppelganger Number 8A-277, I sentence you to the mandatory sentence for this thing you have done- and that is death. You will be detained indefinitely in maximum security. And may I have mercy on your soul. ”
