Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal | Page 7

Case 1: The dispute among us today is that the present defendant is ac-
cused of being the King of Zembla.
Judge: I now call this court to order. Both attorneys may have their chance
to present
their opening statement. Prosecutor Selim will begin and Defense Attorney
Miles will
follow. Attorney Selim, please begin.
Prosecutor Selim: Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. I stand before you to-
day to urge you to examine this man (points to Kinbote) and see him for
who he truly is- which is not an average man but rather the exiled King of
Zembla that has fled to New Wye in hopes of avoiding murder. I present
this based on the evidence I have accumulated: Whenever Kinbote would
refer to the foreign nation, he would always reference it with a sense of
possession as if it was his. Charles Kinbote, or rather King Xavier also has
extensive knowledge of the palace and palace matters, information that
would only be available to a King or close members of the royal family. Fi-
nally, others such as the respected John Shade, has acknowledge Kinbote
as King. Under this evidence, I feel that it is considerable enough to prove
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