ARTICLE 28 Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

April 14, 2008

The Washington Post

Lawmakers Prepare to Take on Question of Eti Personhood

By Claire Wenzel

WASHINGTON—When lawmakers on Capitol Hill begin to hear testimony regarding the legal status of ETIs this week, it won’t be exactly what Senate Judiciary Committee members envisioned when they launched their probe in January.

For one thing, the issue of what the ETIs in question even look like was violently revealed to the world in Pershing Square with the sudden appearance of the two ETIs known as Nikola Sassanian and Jude Atheatos. In some ways, their appearance raised more questions than it answered.

For another, although the Department of Defense claims to have 23 of the species known as “amygdaline” in custody, including two who have formally requested asylum as refugees, Atheatos and Sassanian have been missing for more than six weeks. The hearings will be going forward with the two most famous ETIs in the world MIA.

Testimony will be heard from across the spectrum on the personhood issue, from experts in the field of sociology to military officials who claim to have witnessed amygdalines in action. Cora Sabino, the famous subject of the photograph taken during the riot in Pershing Square showing her defending Sassanian and Atheatos from gunman Tony Cascio, will be among witnesses to testify. Jano Miranda, who organized the rally in Pershing Square and was likewise present for the arrival of Nikola Sassanian, will begin his testimony on Tuesday.

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Cora had assumed the hearing would take place in the Capitol Building. She was surprised to learn that was never the case for Senate hearings, but not disappointed; she’d been having nightmares about the Capitol blowing up with her inside it, as that was a thing that tended to happen in movies where aliens were involved.

The building was a sort of new age, open-air structure with a glass ceiling over a strange black art deco sculpture at the center of the interior courtyard, visible from the hallways of any of the several stories that looked down onto it. Right now, that courtyard was flooded with people surrounding the black sculpture, like water around a stone. From her angle, the giant art installation looked like Nikola.

“You know, you could have just watched this on C-SPAN.”

Cora turned to see a face she hadn’t seen in weeks. Sol, taking a drag on a cigarette and blowing it out over the edge of the balcony.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” said Cora.

“Yeah, well, we’re all addicts in some phase of relapse around here. Your day will come.”

She leaned her forearms on the balcony, continuing her survey of the goings-on down below. “Isn’t smoking banned in federal buildings?”