I slept badly. In the dream I was the young Gaal Dornick, in his first visit to Trantor. I was endlessly being pursued by hideous creatures along dark metal corridors. My loyal friend, Paul’s and Inga’s friend, was aware of my agitation, and tried to pacify me by rubbing his humid nuzzle on my cheek, after a while successfully. I/we woke up before dawn, I made coffee and breakfast, the latter for both of us, and some sandwiches for the later break.

I sat at the little table and started a long note to myself, as to how far we’d gone with Inga. Today would be verdict day, or, at least, the start of the Jury’s considerations. Inga texted me as I was summarising yesterday’s work, to tell me that she was to meet with the tribunal president early, to explain our defence approach, and seek her approval. Inga said also that she understood that, yesterday, the Jury had elected the representative of the “celestial bodies” as their spoke-person, and leader. We would meet later as soon as the Court room was open. I continued writing. “I am confident that we have the right approach. It remains to be seen if the Jury will be sensitive to this call to the Foundation’s history, and our argument that inhibiting our willingness to sacrifice, perhaps our lives, to pioneer the next step would convince the twelve jurors who will eventually deliver the verdict.” Pioneering the next step was a jump in the dark both legally and for our own survival. Should we be vindicated by the court, I was determined to follow Melissa all the way, and I knew that determination was shared by her.

I dressed soberly in what was my work uniform for public appearances. I then texted Inga that our mutual friend and I would be making their way slowly toward the Court building. I suspected she probably was there already. The morning was fresh with a light wind blowing through the branches of the trees around my cottage. I would come back here to pack, after we heard the verdict. Paul’s and Inga’s friend and I were happy to fill our lungs with fresh air, and the scents of the forest. I could almost believe we were on Earth.

There was already a small crowd at the door of the Court building. There was also a space transport harbouring the colours of the Foundation. It came to my mind that, if the Jury approved the Prosecutor’s request for punishment, the transport would take me straight to the penal colony. We waited for the door to open. Suddenly I realised we had not seen the small sphere till now. It soon reappeared, when I was expecting Inga, to invite me to follow “it” in the building. My friend said he would wait for me at the door. The sphere led me to a small office. Inga was sitting there with the president, and that lady welcome me with a warm smile. She explained that she approved of the approach Inga had explained, and that we should be patient and wait for the Jury to proceed with their deliberations. Inga smiled at me and thanked the president for her time.

We went to our place in the Court room, noting that the Jury was present and was waiting for the president’s return before the trial could resume. A quick look at the corner where the prosecutor should have been sitting showed me that the person was not there. At its place another small sphere was hovering. Inga took my hand, and told me things were ok, meaning as positive as we could hope.

The president came in, and immediately asked the Jury’s representative if there was any question. The reply came from the larger sphere, which was the device for incarnating, as it were, the representative of the “celestial bodies”. The Jury was asking to retire to consider the arguments presented by the prosecutor and Inga, and reflect, before drawing their conclusion. Shortly afterwards they all moved out to that side of the Court building that was their private quarter. The president declared a recess, until the Jury had concluded. I suggested to Inga to take a walk back to the cottage with our friend. She smiled and said it was perfect.

As we left the Court building I noticed that the Foundation transport had gone. Instead of walking straight to my hut, we went and sat near the pond, and we ate some provision I had prepared earlier. Inga said she had a message from Melissa, adding that it was not strictly lawful, but had cleared with the president she could share it with me. It was a short voice record, with a tone that signalled tiredness and hope: “My love, I am confident we will win in the end, I also know we will wait for each other.” I drank some coffee, aware that Inga’s arm was around my shoulders. We walked to the cottage and I slept a little while Inga was working on her messenger. When I woke up she had disappeared, to reappear shortly afterwards, she’d been busy communicating. She said it was time to go back to Court.

As we were walking back to the Court building I asked Inga how much she knew about the “celestial bodies”. She smiled, saying that no-one knew much about them. They were an intelligent species in a remote area of the known Universe populated by gas nebulae. No-one had ever seen them, but they communicated with both Arcturus and Earth via those ubiquitous spheres that enabled high density trans-stellar communication. The Foundation had insisted for one representative to attend the trial and join the Jury. The “celestial bodies” had already, in the two of three centuries when contact was regular, made substantial contributions to a range of human and Arcturian sciences, astronomy, astrophysics, psychology and psychohistory, biology and chemistry.

Inga paused and hugged me. She said: “Now we must face our fate, and I want to say that whatever the verdict is, I will continue to work with you, however difficult that is.” We kissed. Momentarily she vanished, to reappear and led me to our place in the Court room. I was terrified.

The president walked in and invited the leader of the Jury to speak. The jurors waited for their spoke-person, he or her, from the “celestial bodies”, or, rather the metal ball that was their image in the Court room, to come to the fore, at a pul[pit located in front of the Jury’s benches.

I will reproduce here what I heard on the day, a clear statement which is now part of our common history, and has been widely read and commented upon, through our worlds.

“Madam President, I will first of all introduce myself to the Court, the Prosecutor, the accused and the defence attorney, as well as to the vast audience, that later will have access to my statement. Let me say that both professionally – I am a teacher at the equivalent of one of your universities, in a discipline called neuro-psychology – and emotionally, all my life I have been a Hari Seldon admirer. He showed us the way, not just predicting accurately the convulsions that led to the destruction of the old Empire, and the creation of the First Foundation, but created the science that, today, has enabled interaction and cooperation between all human-like beings in our universe. Now, millennia after his death, we know that the future of our civilisation depends on our constant effort to foster cooperation, in all activities shared between our species, and above all strengthening our common coexistence. In that respect, we the jurors share the same outlook on the nature of this trial.

We believe Paul Atreides is acting in the line set by the creators of the First Foundation. We know that both the First and Second Foundation were destroyed by centrifugal forces that pulled apart the fragile construct of the pioneers. Some of the supporters of the Foundation were trialled, and many executed. Our recovery since then has been due, and succeeded so far, thanks to generations of Paul Atreides-like heroes. Of course we understand worries about the legal consequences of moving too fast. But there is urgency, now, to avoid a stasis so complete that the momentum of the Foundation could flounder in what looks increasingly like the ancient apartheid: the fallacy of “separate development”, that human ancestors fought against on the continent of Africa. We know that humans and Arcturians enjoy the playground of sexual fantasies, but never taking the risk of breaking the 14th dimensional law. We believe this is delusion, and death.

We, this Jury, declare today that the 14th dimensional law must be abrogated. We declare that Paul Atreides is innocent of the crime he’s been accused of. We further declare that his companion, Melissa Baudoin, must be cleared of all accusations of plotting against the Foundation, and be free to marry Paul Atreides, and have children with him. This must become the normal condition of what Arcturus’ and Earth’s commonwealth must become. I only need to add that this verdict has already been approved by referendum by the human population of what is named the ‘celestial bodies.’ A mere two hundred billions lives.”

The Court stood silent for long minutes. The president then declared the trial closed. I was aware of Inga crying next to me, her head resting on my shoulder. We did not move, as we saw the jurors leaving the Court, followed by the other actors. The room was empty when we left. We were welcome at the door by our mutual friend. We walked together to the cottage. From afar I saw a small Foundation transport in front of the entrance. Inga hugged me again, our friend trotted enthusiastically to the door of the cottage. I sank at once in puzzled anxiety.

We walked in, and she came to us. I collapsed in tears as she hugged me, a hand on Inga’s shoulder. She, whom I thought I may be separated from forever, Melissa, my love for eternity.