“Really?” Klavier asked, raising his eyebrows, fork barely lifted off the table.

Kristoph nods. “Well, my apprentice technically, but I'll still be on the team. I know that we disagree on the matter of Wright's innocence, but I’m sure you-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Klavier interrupts, waving a hand. “He’s your friend, ja?” He doesn’t always understand what his brother does, but he’s sure that Kristoph has his reasons.

(And, well, over the years Klavier has had a few doubts about what happened to Wright himself. Not enough to voice them to his brother, though.)

“That's right.” Kristoph smiles. “I’m glad you understand that I’m simply doing what a good friend would do.”

Klavier hums in acknowledgement as he takes a stab at his food. “And what are the charges?”

“Murder.” Kristoph let out a soft chuckle. “Obviously, a very serious crime, and one that’s rather distressing to be accused of, but I suppose I can’t say that it isn’t ironic, considering his previous specialization.”

Klavier lets out a chuckle as well. For all that Wright may have forged evidence, he’d never seemed like the killing type.

(Then again, the friends and relatives of most of the people he ended up convincing said the same thing…)

“Well, at least he’s got an excellent attorney like you on his side, right, mein bruder?” Kalvier grins as Kristoph reluctantly acknowledges him. Klavier knew full well that his brother thought his German affectations were only a ploy to make himself seem cooler. And, well, he wasn’t wrong, but Klavier did genuinely enjoy using the language that the rest of their family spoke and feeling its words roll off his tongue. It was a beautiful language, and he was always looking for opportunities to speak it more

Also, the fact that it annoyed his brother was nice as well.

“But anyways,” Kristoph said once he was done with his grumbling, “Winston Payne is prosecuting, so I don’t expect this to be very hard.”

Klavier snorted. “Ach, why they haven’t let that man go is a bigger mystery than some of the cases I’ve taken…”

Kristoph sipped his drink. “I would say that it’s because for all his faults, he’s never forged evidence or otherwise ethically compromised himself… but the Prosecutor’s office has always seemed inclined to look the other way in that regard, so I really don’t know.”

“Ja,” Klavier sighed. After all those prosecutors had been convicted of murder, and then Wright’s forgery, it seemed as though the public had given up on the legal profession - and so had the legal profession itself. For a long while it had seemed as though nothing would change, but rumors of Japanifornia trying out some sort of jury or lay judge system like in other countries had started swirling lately. Klavier wasn’t entirely sure if it was change things, but it was clear something had to give if they wanted to improve the system. And even if that didn’t work out, as long as there were honest, good, lawyers like himself and his brother, he was sure there would always be hope and a chance.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Klavier turned to his brother, smiled, and said “But since you’ll be on the case, bruder, I’m sure you’ll be able to win no matter who is on the other bench.”

Kristoph rolled his eyes, but he did smile and say, “I’m quite sure you’re right, Klavier.”

End Note: "Lay judges", if you're curious, is the Actual Real-Life thing that the jurist system in Apollo Justice is meant to represent, and is the reason why it's called the Jurist System and not a Jury - because it isn't one, technically

“That’s me.” Well, not exactly - she doesn’t actually have a last name, she just uses the name of her temple as a formality. She doesn’t bother explaining this, though. It tends to bother other people more than her. 

“Follow me.” They rise, and Iris follows them to the chamber where her sister is.

“I presume you know what to do?” they ask, as the two of them arrive at the door.

“Yes,” Iris replies, and the receptionist nods and leaves. She enters, and sees Dahlia is already there, sitting in a chair on the other side of the glass. There is a guard in the corner as well, but he seems to be doing his best to ignore them.

“Hello,” she says with a nod. “Life going well as ever, I suppose?”

“It is. Bikini sends her regards.”

Dahlia snorts. “Why would she ever do that?”

Iris simply shrugs. They go through this every time, and today is no different. “Have you made preparations yet?”

“It’ll be just you as witness. Well, aside from the prison staff. Oh, and I’ve left everything to you as well.”

Iris nods. That’s about what she was expecting, anyways. They had more or less merged their lives in those months leading up to Dahlia’s arrest, this was just making it formal. “Anything else?”

Dahlia pauses for a moment. “Iris,” she asks, “do you love me?”

“I do.” Iris says. She thinks she’s telling the truth. 

Dahlia nods, and her eyes soften. “I love you too.” She has said this many times in her life, sometimes even to Iris. Iris is fairly sure that those are the only times she’s ever meant it. 

Dahlia pauses for a moment, waiting to see if Iris will say anything. When she doesn’t, Dahlia stands up and calls over to the guard in the corner. “We’re ready.”

The guard takes Dahlia by her arm and gestures for Iris to follow them. 

“You don’t have to watch,” the guard assures her as they walk down the corridor. 

Iris swallows and says, “I want to.”

The guard simply nods. Eventually they reach a pair of doors.

“Go there,” he says, pointing to the nearer door. Dahlia nods, and she enters into a small room, divided by a pane of glass. On her side there is nothing, but on the other side there is a rope hanging from the ceiling and a box underneath it on the floor. Another shard stands in the corner.

The guard and Dahlia enter on the other side, and he helps her onto the box. Iris trembles, almost wishing that she had taken the guard up on his offer. But Dahlia is her sister - Iris should be there for her. No matter what she’s done.

“Dahlia Hawthorne,” the guard announces. “You have been convicted by the State of California on two counts of first degree murder, one count of manslaughter, and one count of attempted murder. For these crimes, the State has declared that you shall be put to death by hanging. Do you have any last words before you depart from this Earth?”

Iris isn’t sure what she had expected Dahlia to stay. Nothing, probably.

But instead she looks right at Iris and says, “Remember me. Please.”

Iris’ eyes go wide, but she responds, “I will.”

The guard finishes. “By the power invested in me by the State of California, I shall now execute you. May God have mercy on your soul.”

He kicks out the box from underneath Dahlia, and Iris can only stare at her sister as she dangles down from the rope, dying, dying- dead.

You: What?

Conceptualization: You have forgotten your name, your occupation, and practically every other detail about your life. It’s not that much of a stretch that you’ve forgotten your gender as well.

1: Oh, come on, you’re being ridiculous. There’s no way I could have forgotten something as simple as *that*.
2: Well, since I’ve forgotten so much else… I suppose that it isn’t much of a stretch to add gender to the list as well

Conceptualization: Exactly. So here’s the question: what is a male, and are we one?

Encyclopedia [Easy: Success]: A male person is distinguished at the genetic level by having XY chromosome instead of XX. Externally, he has a penis and testicles, which produce sperm. In addition, he also has high levels of testosterone.

Endurance [Medium: Success]: Which in turn grants us advantages over the wömen. Stronger. Tougher. More resilient. Less affected by emotion.

Espirit de Corps: You could always ask Kim about this. Being a man that is not currently suffering from near-complete amnesia, he probably knows more than you do about this topic.

1: Sure, I’ll ask him later
2: I don’t want to bother him with this kind of thing

Kim: Yes? What can I do for you?

Harry: Kim - how did you know that you were a man?

Kim: He glances at you a moment, a bit taken aback, before responding with a question himself. “Why do you ask?”

Empathy [Difficult: Success]: He is surprised but also - wary. Unfortunately, you cannot figure out why.

1: It is entirely possible that I have forgotten what being a man is, and by extension whether I *am* a man
2: Just some light philosophical chit-chat to pass the time
3: Never mind, that was a stupid question. [Exit conversation]

Kim: He stares at you for another moment before saying, “Well, I basically realized one day that ‘man’ was a better fit for me than ‘woman’.”

Conceptualization: Really? There has to be more to it.

1: Is that all?
2: This makes no sense
3: That makes sense. [Exit conversation]

Kim: That’s it.

1: I wasn’t expecting it to be that simple.
2: And how did you know that you weren’t a woman?

Kim: “Well…” He takes a long pause, deep in thought.

Empathy [Success]: Trying to decide if it’s a good idea to tell you this.

Kim: I was actually born a woman. Spent my childhood hanging out with boys and trying not to wear dresses. Everyone thought I was a homosexual - but a *female* one.

1: But you’re a *male* homosexual!
2: [keep quiet and let him keep talking]

Kim: I was rather confused at that when I started puberty and began to take even more notice of the other boys. Eventually someone made a remark along the lines of “you might as well be a boy, what with how much you act like them.” I gave it some thought and I realized that I would, in fact, rather like to be a boy. So I became one.

1: That’s very interesting information. Thank you for sharing that with me.
2: So, all this is to say… I’m a guy if I like it better than being a girl?
3: What?
4: [stare stupidly at Kim]

Kim: An ounce of confusion must shine through The Expression, because Kim adds “It’s called being transsexual.”

Encyclopedia: You have absolutely no recollection of this word. And it’s not because of the amnesia - you are very certain that you have never heard this word before, except perhaps in passing. And you certainly did not know what the word meant, or the phenomenon it referred to.

1: That’s very interesting information. Thank you for sharing that with me.
2: So, all this is to say… I’m a guy if I like it better than being a girl?
3: What?
4: [stare stupidly at Kim]

Kim: Well, there has been much work by the theorists on the complexities of it all, but that’s the gist of it, yes.

Conceptualisation?: We certainly know what it’s like to be a man, but we haven’t really thought about being a woman. Would you like to?

Endurance: It’s probably worse than masculinity.

1: Close your eyes and imagine what it would be like to be a woman [Inland Empire: Formidable]
+1 Considered your sexuality
Check Success
2: Nah, I’m good for now

Inland Empire: Everyone calls you Harriet as you walk around in women’s clothes. A civilian walks up to you, and says, “ma’am, could you spare a moment of your time?” Later, you will overhear one of your colleagues say “she’s a strange one, that Harriet”. Later still, you will find a bottle of alcohol and drink about the fact that you do not just have an ex-wife, but *are* one as well.

Conceptualization?: It feels the same way as the fact you are a police officer, or that you have an ex-wife, or where you live, as it felt when you first woke up in the Whirling-In-Rags. Which is to say: not right. But not wrong, either. It feels like nothing, as though you have no particular attachment to any of these facts, even though you should. Jamais Vu.

Conceptualization: But is that the same way you feel about being a man?

Inland Empire:..Yes. I suppose it is.

1: Kim, what does it mean if I feel nothing in particular about being a man or a woman?
2: Keep your lips shut about this

Kim: “Well… there are people, other transsexuals, who feel that way. They call themselves androgynes, or sometimes genderqueer. Unfortunately, I don’t really know much more than that.” He gives an apologetic smile.

Empathy [Easy: Success]: He’d tell you more about them if he could.

Drama: Hold on a moment - didn’t that one fellow say that the homo-sexual underground wanted something similar? Destroy the boundaries between man and woman and all that? Maybe we should ask about that.

1: Well, that’s unfortunate. Thanks for telling me anyways.
2: Does this have anything to do with the homo-sexual underground?

Kim: He chuckles a bit. “That’s another one the theorists have put quite a bit of argument into. But if you want my own hypothesis on the matter…” He casts a glance upwards and begins speaking slowly, deliberately. “I suppose… I would say that the general public generally considers any deviation from expected masculinity or femininity to be a sign of a gender traitor. Dressing like the other gender would, liking people of the same gender - that is all the same to them, which is why I was called a female homo-sexual growing up. As such the transsexuals and the homosexuals have found common ground with each other, but no, they are not the same thing. Does that answer your question?”

Rhetoric: Quite a well-articulated perspective. But you don’t really know enough to say whether it’s one you’d want to adopt - it’s something you’ll have to think about.

1: Not really, no.
2: It did, yes.
3: I’ll have to think about it.

Kim: He nods. “No harm in thinking about things, especially complicated ones like this. Let me know if you’d like to talk some more.”

Thought gained: Gendered Identity

Male, female, both, neither - it’s something that you believed you understood, until you gave it a few moments’ thought and realized that it’s not really something that you have much personal attachment to. Now you are faced with questions: Do you really know what gender is? What place do you have with it? And what connections, if any, does it have to the homo-sexual underground?

Kim: Well, if you don’t have anything else to say right now… I suppose we should get back to the case.