The 40 Charges
A Play in Two Acts
By
Bennett Sunder

Dramatis Personae

ELIAS VOSS – Mid-40s. A university professor of bioethics with an unsettling calm. His left leg is artificial, landing to a noticeable limp when walking.

LILLIAN CROSS – late 20s. Former geneticist, now defendant. Her fervor masks profound guilt. Revealed later in act one to actually be Assistant 2.

KIERAN HOLT – early 40s. Defense attorney. Wears $3,000 suits and quotes Rousseau. A fierce libertarian who does his job. Has some very solid points against murder charges.

MARA DUVALL – mid 30s. Prosecutor. Carries a handkerchief she never uses. Objects in court too much. This annoys Holt greatly.

JUDGE HENRIETTA LAURENS - late 50s. Judge. Unbendingly fair, stern and legal. Gets more and more invested in the case as it proceeds.

DR. WILLIAM GRAVES – Late 40s. Chief Medical Officer for Second Trimester Development at Vita Kindergarten. Believes in efficiency, not sentiment.

ASSISTANT 1 – 20s-30s. Clinical, emotionally detached, prefers to follow rules rather than question them.

AMIRA LANG – Early 30s. Former Director of Records and Documentation at Vita Kindergarten. Methodical, professional, worn down by what she has seen.