The break soon came to an end and the court resumed operations. The court rose once more to receive the judges, who walked to their seats stately. Afterward, the court sat and there was a period of silence as the judges assembled their doc.u.ments.
Diao then took the lead and gazed at the entire court. "The court shall resume session. Previously, we discussed and concluded two first two issues raised by the court, and now there are three more left."
"Before we continue, I was made aware that a fight occurred in the courtroom during the break?" Nancy asked with a heavy frown.
She had interrupted Diao, which made the lead judge frown slightly, but since this was the first time Nancy actively participated in the hearing, there was nothing she could say.
Diao was also unhappy because she wanted to gloss over this issue, as - if spun in a certain way - it might strengthen Amber's position. Right now, the powers behind her were working on twisting the story to their benefit.
A policeman stepped forth and responded. "Yes, Milady. Approximately 55 minutes ago, one woman, a Misha K. Rethers, attempted to attack Miss Amber while she was defenseless. Luckily, Miss Amber had some defensive technology on her person which successfully protected her. Due to the severity of the injuries, we had to send the assailant to the hospital for treatment and will arraign her before a court for Assault and Battery."
Most of the court was unaware of this as they had left the room to go on break. They did hear some whispers that something had occurred, but it had been too short a period of time for the news to spread far.
Once they heard this, many were left speechless. Some gazed at Amber with pity, suddenly swayed to her side due to this event. She had been attacked before she had even finished defending herself.
Not to mention that after having time to digest her arguments, they had started to make more and more logical sense to the people here who were not activists.
Diao noticed the public's response and was greatly irritated. She glanced at the policeman with slight coldness, making the fellow jump inwardly. What had he done to piss of this judge? He had only narrated things as they had happened.
Nancy shook her head and displayed a severely unhappy expression. "What do you people take the courtroom for? This is a place where the law is exercised and practiced! To commit a crime in such a place, a person like that should face the full ramifications of her actions!"
To a Positivist like Nancy, Misha's actions were no different from spitting on her face and shitting in her bed. She was completely furious but due to her respect for where she was, she didn't manifest it arbitrarily.
Herbert too seemed a bit uncomfortable, Luis seemed displeased, and even young Jamilee shook her head with disapproval. Diao quickly took over and pushed for matters to go forward.
She greatly regretted allowing Nancy and the policeman to speak.
Ironically, Diao had been the most excited to let Nancy speak during the previous timeline. Due to Amber's behavior, the policeman had narrated the story in a slightly different manner, emphasizing Misha's motives for her actions and stressing the damage she suffered.
He too had been displeased by Amber's cold countenance after the attack and her heartless decision to prosecute Misha to the fullest, especially after he had investigated the assailant's background during the break.
This had turned people against Amber and had given those behind Diao more leverage to push the narrative in a way that benefited them in the short run.
However, in this timeline, since Amber had been merciful in a way to Misha despite not knowing the full story, this fellow and all the other policemen feel more respect for the supposedly cold woman.
They misunderstood her intentions and had wrongfully started to believe that the defendant was someone who could show compassion and was merely here to defend the company behind her.
As such when he narrated events, he spoke from Amber's perspective subconsciously, instead of Misha's.
Well, it was not rocket science. When a person sided with a certain group and was to narrate a tale, he would structure it in a way that benefited the group he believed in.
"We are currently hearing the third issue, whether or not the studio 'GloryGore' has provided a means of compensation and redress for victims as a result of their platform."
Diao paused as her lips silently repeated what she had just read out loud, her lips twitching. Even the public was speechless as by solving the second issue, Amber's witness had practically already resolved issue number three.
Just as Diao was wondering how to attack this, Luis spoke up in a thick Brazilian accent.
"Miss Amber, while it appears that within the confines and rules of the game, you have provided more than adequate compensation to those aggrieved parties, I would like to inquire two things."
Luis leaned forward and placed his arms on the table as he gazed at Amber solemnly. "Firstly, please explain the compensation and its value to us, so we may derive an objective comparison. Secondly, is the compensation provided limited to the game? Do you account for external things like mental health and trauma?"
The rest of the judges focused on Amber to see what her defense would be. Amber herself blinked with surprise but nodded and began explaining.
"Your Lordship, the game of Boundless World uses an internal currency that is split into four types. The lowest denomination is bronze coins, followed by silver coins, the gold coin and lastly platinum coins."
"A single silver is valued at 100 bronze, a gold is valued at a 100 silver and a platinum is valued at 100 gold. I will not explain too much about the economics within the game as that is long and very complicated."
"Instead, I can provide Your Lordship with the most direct objective value, which is the value per bronze to dollar. In order to allow players to trade with each other for in-game currency, there is an auction-like establishment where in-game currency can be bought with real money."
"There are three key points here and those not financial savvy should be able to understand it regardless. Firstly, this mechanic is handled from player to player. In other words, neither we, the studio behind the game, nor the NPCs - non-player characters, or the computer-generated characters - are able to take part or influence it in any way."
"Secondly, in-game currency is extremely hard to acquire. For the first few months, most players were capped at the level of silver, with only a few able to acquire gold and they were heavyweights. We made it like this so as to give it a correlation with the real world where 70% of the world's wealth is held by the 1%."
"Finally, and most crucially, this system works solely through demand and supply. As we made clear, the supply of in-game currency is scarce while its utility is great. Due to our high player base and the extreme immersion of Boundless, the demand for in-game currency is never-ending, a black hole that cannot be filled."
"As such, the price per bronze is currently averaged at three Central Country Dollars." Amber concluded with a smile.
Hearing this, the crowd gasped. Many were not economics titans, but everyone with a functioning brain understood demand and supply because it was the framework by which economics was established.
By creating an artificial scarcity, while providing many attractive outlets for spending, they had created a scenario where there was immense demand and low supply creating a very brutal variation of hunger marketing.
For a single bronze coin, which was of the lowest value in the game, to be around $3!
That meant if one were to gather a silver coin and sell it, they could earn about $300 just like that! If they earned a gold coin, that was $30,000!
Thirty whole thousand dollars! How many people even earned that much a year? Even the bigwigs mostly earned such money every quarter at the most.
But then what about a platinum coin? Just one was $3,000,000!
Even the judges were shocked, not realizing that the game was such a goldmine. No wonder so many people still flocked to it despite the abuse they could suffer!
The shit people would do for $300 alone was very disheartening and sad, much fewer what people would be willing to suffer for $30,000 and above. It had been something that had puzzled the judges and all those who did not play the game.
From what they had heard, this game sound really horrible and traumatic, so who in their right mind would rush into it to get themselves harmed? Now, they understood at least part of the allure.
Many in the crowd felt their eyes gleam, their interest piqued. The same would happen for all those who would watch the recorded proceedings of the hearing, as well as those who researched into Boundless after reading about this matter.
Diao also understood much clearer why the powers behind her were so serious and forceful about this issue. She also resolved to not give Amber more leeway as this kind of benefit should not be for a mere scientist like her to enjoy.
Amber continued after purposefully letting the court digest her words. "So, with that in mind, can Miss Helen explain to the court the exact amount she got and the value of them?"
Helen, who was still in her witness box, nodded. "I was given all the money my assailants had on their person, which amounted to 20 Silver and 33 Bronze. Additionally, I was also given all the items they had equipped as well as in their Inventory. I kept some that I could use and sold the rest, with the final value totaling 3 gold and 24 silver in total after sale."
Everyone rapidly did the calculations in their heads and sprouted shocked expressions when they were done. The young woman had received $103,300 in compensation for an attempt that never succeeded!
Even women who actually suffered the abuse and sought out of court settlements would be lucky to get a fraction of that. After all, they usually wanted the money and didn't care about court, so they wouldn't overdo their demands.
After all, if the rapist was sent to jail, not a cent would enter their hands. That was useless, since the fellow in question could likely find his way out in due time, so it was better to secure some benefits, right?
Julia's face became horrendous. She wanted to complain but remembered the warning Diao had given her earlier, so she waited for Diao to gaze at her and speak.
"What do you have to say about this, Miss Julia?"
"Thank you, Your Ladyship. I find this to be lacking, because while I can concede that the protections within the game are in place and I was too far to be saved at the time, I did report this crime to the guards and all that happened was that the players in question were given a bounty!"
"However, the bounty was only posted in the city in question! Of course, knowing this, the perpetrators never came back to that specific city, allowing them to freely gallivant elsewhere after committing such atrocity!" Julia spoke with her teeth clenched in anger.
Diao was about to speak when Amber intervened. "Miss Julia, pardon me for asking, but have you ever heard of something called jurisdiction? If you haven't, that's fine, but I'm sure legally literate people like our judges are aware of what I mean."
Julia looked slightly confused but Diao and the other four showed different reactions. As the court burst into low mutters, Diao banged the gavel and called for order.
"What you mean to say, following your point from the second issue, is that each city has its own legal jurisdiction, and since the crime was reported in that city in question, it could not be spread or pursued outside its legal borders?" Nancy asked seriously, making Diao's face change.
Amber smiled widely. While Nancy wasn't on her side, her questions were truly helpful in furthering Amber's arguments and cementing them. Not only that, Nancy was coming round to supporting them because, so far, legally speaking, Boundless World was in the clear.
Now morally and philosophically, it was a different ball game. That was why Herbert, Jamilee, and Luis had yet to come around at all.
"That is right, Your Ladyship. The politics within the world are very backward and antagonistic. It is after all set in the medieval age, and I am sure you can imagine how territorial states were back then."
"That is not even factoring in the slow travel of information, the lack of monitoring and identification, among others. It was an inefficient period of time legally speaking, and the game is perfectly similar in that regard."
Nancy nodded and remained silent. Diao frowned and gestured to Amber. "Please continue the point you were explaining to His Lordship Luis."
"As I have answered the first question, which is the value of the compensation in-game, I shall now answer the second, which is the presence of external compensation." Amber began.
"In regards to compensation of that nature… There is no compensation." Amber spoke with a strange smile.
The crowd once again burst into uproar, especially on the activists' side. They had finally seen a point of weakness, where a chunk of flesh could be bitten off this detestable studio!
Diao banged the gavel and then faced Amber. "Miss Amber, what do you mean by this? Are you admitting that GloryGore does not compensate the victims for the harm caused?"
Amber smiled thinly. "Explaining why we do not has all to do with the fourth issue, whether or not the game 'Boundless World' has been the direct cause of the various complaints received."
"Allow me to go ahead and state that we did not cause harm to the victimized party, others did. So why should we compensate them? Should that not be the duty of those who committed the crime?"
"Following the idea of us providing any form of direct compensation would mean that we are admitting to being part of the cause for the abuse."
"I apologize for not being as well versed in legal matters as the Honorable Judges, but if a person is pickpocketed while in, say, a restaurant, is it the establishment's duty to replace the money stolen from the victim's party? Does the law penalize the innocent third party or the culprit themselves?" Amber questioned as she folded her arms.
The crowd remained silent, many nodding at her words. It would form a dangerous precedent if such a thing were acknowledged, so many parties of power were forced to agree with Amber on this one.
Chasing her on this point would be like using a nuke to win a war. It would not be a clean win but a pyrrhic one at best.
Luis understood this and nodded. As for Diao, she gazed at Amber. "Please make your conclusion on issue number three."
"As to whether or not GloryGore has provided a sufficient means of compensation, we have more than done so. Following our own rules, as well as the law, we have covered every aspect we are supposed to logically. Miss Helen is a good example of this."
Amber kept it short as there was no need to say anymore.
Diao banged the gavel and spoke. "We shall now proceed to the fourth issue, whether or not the game 'Boundless World' has been the direct cause of the various complaints received."
"This is a very crucial issue to the court, as it is the main one pertaining to this hearing. Now, we shall begin by hearing from the witnesses." Diao added as she faced Julia.
Taking her cue, Julia began. "From my circ.u.mstances, Boundless World was the direct cause of my abuse. Because it is a game and not the real body - but feels like it - those bastards had the courage to do such a thing."
"In our society where there are police, technology, and strong punishments, they would never have tried to do anything like that to me. However, knowing that the atrocities they committed in the game cannot be reported to the police nor tried in court, they did such a thing."
Julia pointed to Amber. "Her studio has provided a platform for rapists, murders, and torturers to practice their evil fantasies without fear of real repercussion!"
It had to be said that Julia had hit the nail on the head. Everything she had said before culminated to this point, this one crucial argument that could send Boundless down the drain unless Amber made a solid counterargument.
Diao turned to Helen, who also spoke her mind. "On this issue, I agree with Miss Julia. While I was certainly protected and given great compensation, that was only because I was at the right place at the right time. If I had been in a position similar to Miss Julia, I would have had to suffer such atrocity without a chance to save myself."
Helen shook her head. "While I do not believe that it is the intention of the studio to create a platform for such crimes, nor do I believe it came about due to negligence for the measures put in place, it doesn't change the fact that the game is the direct cause of such acts."
Many in the crowd nodded, even those who had previously agreed with Amber. This point was quite basic and simple to understand. Even Nancy seemed agreeable to this, because it was no longer emotional but argued logically.
It wasn't that Helen had betrayed Amber or anything like that, but it was a fact that Helen was not Amber's lackey. She was just a witness whose story had been necessary to resolve the second and third issues.
Amber hadn't expected anything else from her, so she wasn't angry nor worried that public opinion seemed to have turned. In fact, she was most excited because now that the argument had shifted from an emotional one to a logical one, she would have a great advantage!
In this world, nothing was more futile than an argument or debate where one party is arguing using emotions or morals and another logic or mechanical reasoning.
It was a rabbit hole with no end. After all, both parties were fundamentally using different methods to handle the issue, so how could there ever be a resolution?
It was only when both parties were using the same method in different ways to argue a point that one could triumph, because they would both have the same scale for measuring validity.
Incidentally, one of the functions of law was to act as an objective medium to handle arguments and disputes using a fixed measuring stick. That was why law seemed like a mix of morality and logic.