NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK; THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2032 7:00 A.M.

Dept. no. 465 Hon. Helena X. Nirvana, Judge

Trial 13/50

(The following proceedings were held in open court, out of the presence of the jury:)

THE COURT: We are back with Mr. Duggerty and his attorney. We are also here with a representative from Telestellar’s information analysis department, as well as an attorney from Telestellar.

THE COURT: Mr. Duggerty, will you please take the stand for interrogation by the Telestellar attorney.

MR. DUGGERTY: Yes, ma’m.

T ATTORNEY: Good morning, Mr. Duggerty. I would like to ask you a few questions concerning the recent breach in the Telestellar information analytics department concerning Betelgeuse. Are you aware of this breach?

MR. DUGGERTY: Well, we’ve been in trial for two weeks now, so yes I am aware at this point.

T ATTORNEY: Please answer with either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

MR. DUGGERTY: Judge Nirvana, when will I be interrogated by a real human who can parse through my answers?

THE COURT: Mr. Duggerty, please comply to what the attorney asks of you. Human-on-human interrogation is not as accurate as multiple AI rounds.

MR. DUGGERTY: Yes.

T ATTORNEY: Thank you. Shortly after this breach, you were recorded traveling to Switzerland. Is this true?

MR. DUGGERTY: Yes. For the thirteenth time.

T ATTORNEY: And why did you go to Switzerland?

MR. DUGGERTY: To ski. Like I do every year.

T ATTORNEY: The recent economic shifts caused by the sociopolitical reconfiguration encouraged by Telestellar have negatively affected your wealth. Is this true?

D ATTORNEY: I object. This question is attempting to frame the interviewee.

THE COURT: Sustained.

T ATTORNEY: How did the sociopolitical reconfiguration caused by Telestellar’s system affect your wealth?

MR. DUGGERTY: My status had shifted, but I was still living comfortably.

T ATTORNEY: But the real estate market changed dramatically when Telestellar users became interested in galactic grouping as a means of housing.

MR. DUGGERTY: This is true. But your conventional penthouses and apartment complexes on the Upper East Side were still in high demand.

T ATTORNEY: You delayed your decision to find out which star you are matched with. Can you explain why?

MR. DUGGERTY: Because I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

T ATTORNEY: Yet you did end up undergoing the process after returning from Switzerland.

MR. DUGGERTY: Yes because any social group is now based off knowing what Telestellar claims you identify with. It became hard to carry on a high-class life in NYC without that status.

T ATTORNEY: Did you have your DNA altered to receive Betelgeuse as a match?

MR. DUGGERTY: No, I did not.

T ATTORNEY: Can you repeat this five times?

MR. DUGGERTY: No, I did not. No, I did not. No, I did not. No, I did not. No, I did not.

T ATTORNEY: Your face shows signs of anxiety.

MR. DUGGERTY: Of course. I’m sitting in a fucking courtroom just like I have been for two weeks. I’m stressed out.

T ATTORNEY: Were you surprised when your match ended up being Betelgeuse?

MR. DUGGERTY: No, someone was bound to get it eventually.

T ATTORNEY: Betelgeuse’s status exemplifies your previous economic status, which allowed you to go back to your high-status lifestyle. Is this true?

D ATTORNEY: Your honor, I object.

THE COURT: Overruled. Please answer the question, Mr. Duggerty.

MR. DUGGERTY: Yes, I got attention over it. My financial success was still due to my real estate decisions.

T ATTORNEY: So the Betelgeuse information breach correlating with your trip to Switzerland, the DNA black market capital, is just coincidental?

MR. DUGGERTY: I know that it looks strange, but yes. I was just matched with Betelgeuse because the DNA I was born with translates to it.

T ATTORNEY: No further questions.

THE COURT: If Mr. Duggerty’s attorney also has no questions, we will bring Telestellar’s information analysis representative, Luke Gelmans to the stand.