MR. HAYES: [To the jury.] Morality. Accountability. Choice. We’ve heard these words a lot over the last few weeks. The State would like you all to believe that the Kingdom’s Fantasists—seven beautiful hybrid-human girls created to bring happiness, light, and hope to children and families the world over—are capable of making immoral choices. [Pause.] But how do we determine whether Ana is even capable of morality in the first place?
Let’s look at what we know.
One. Did Ana kill Owen Chen? Yes. She did.
[Whispers heard in courtroom.]
But this is not a murder trial. Whether or not she did it is not the point of this case. The point of this case, ladies and gentlemen, is why.
The State is going to tell you that Ana is a moral being—that she chose to kill Owen Chen—but Fantasists do not choose to do anything. Everything Ana knows, she is programmed to know. Everything she does and says, she has been engineered to do and say. A Fantasist’s job is to entertain, to provide a sense of connection. But make no mistake. The Fantasists are not governed by any sort of moral compass. Fantasists do not make us happy because they want to … they behave as they have been programmed to behave. It’s as simple as that.
But sadly … things sometimes go wrong. Accidents happen. That is the reality of a complex mechanical theme park: you do your best to avoid them, you fix them when necessary, but always—always—you endeavor to use the most sophisticated technologies to keep your guests entertained and, above all, safe.
Safe.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why the Kingdom hired a Proctor.