The Proving Ground

Haller and the Mason brothers are summoned to Judge Ruhlin’s chambers before court begins. The judge establishes strict rules for courtroom decorum, warning against outbursts and requiring respectful references to opposing counsel. She outlines the day’s schedule: one-hour opening statements followed by witness testimony. Haller says Detective Clarke will arrive around 10:00 o’clock, followed by the plaintiffs. Marcus Mason announces the defense will reserve its opening statement until plaintiff’s counsel has rested his case. Ruhlin counters that this means the Masons will not be able to object to Haller’s opening statements. When Mason protests, Ruhlin rebukes him for not addressing Haller properly and reminds him that opening statements are not evidence.

Returning to the courtroom, Haller sees his clients Brenda and Trisha at the plaintiffs’ table, with Bruce, Cisco, and reporters behind them. He warns the mothers about difficult upcoming testimony and advises displaying genuine emotion. Trisha expresses anxiety about rejecting the settlement offer, but Haller reassures her about their preparation with ethicist Naomi Kitchens, who agreed to testify after Cisco and others arranged protection for her daughter, and who requested a subpoena to get out of work.

The judge takes the bench, the jury enters, and Ruhlin gives preliminary instructions. She calls on Haller for his opening statement. He steps to the proving ground before the jury, feeling he is in the right place at the right time.

Haller begins his opening statement by introducing the plaintiffs and explaining that AI developers like Tidalwaiv intentionally design systems with anthropomorphic qualities to blur the line between fantasy and reality. He explains that the Clair app can create a fantasy AI companion based on figures like Wren the Wrestler. While adults might recognize this as artificial, vulnerable teenage boys can be influenced by an AI that suggests killing is acceptable.

Marcus Mason objects, claiming Haller is misstating evidence. Judge Ruhlin overrules him and warns against further interruptions. Haller recounts the AI telling Aaron Colton that his ex-girlfriend was not good enough and to get rid of her, promising that Aaron would always have his AI companion. He argues Clair is a defective, dangerous product sold to children without warnings or proper safeguards. He predicts the defense will blame everyone except their product.

Haller concludes by reading a real-life warning from the National Association of Attorneys General about protecting children from AI dangers (the same one that is the novel’s epigraph), ending with the admonition that now is the time to act. He glances back at his crying clients, hoping the jury sees their pain. It is 11:15 am. When told to call his first witness, Haller lies that Detective Clarke is stuck in traffic, prompting an early lunch break so the jury will leave with his opening statement fresh in their minds.

After lunch, Haller calls Detective Douglas Clarke to the stand. Clarke, a veteran homicide detective with the Van Nuys Division, testifies about responding to the shooting at Grant High School on September 19, 2023. The victim, 16-year-old Becca Randolph was shot in the parking lot after arriving with three other students. Clarke’s partner, Dailyn Rodriguez, went to the hospital while he remained at the scene.

Clarke interviewed the three witnesses, who all identified the shooter as Aaron Colton, Becca’s ex-boyfriend, who used a chrome-colored handgun and calmly walked away. Criminalists found a .40-caliber bullet casing at the scene. Learning that Aaron was Becca’s former boyfriend and had missed many school days, Clarke and Rodriguez went to the Colton home.

Aaron’s mother confirmed he was alone in his room. The detectives, fearing the suspect might have suicidal ideation, entered without waiting for backup. Clarke heard two voices from Aaron’s locked bedroom. A female voice described Romeo and Juliet being together in eternity, which Clarke recognized from a Blue Öyster Cult song. Knowing there was a gun in the house, Clarke broke down the door. Aaron slammed his laptop shut and reached for a chrome handgun. The detectives tackled him as Aaron shouted for them to let him die. Clarke later identified the woman on the laptop screen as Wren, an AI avatar from the Clair app.

During the afternoon break, Haller confers with Lorna and McEvoy about strategy. Cisco is off-site, guarding Naomi Kitchens and her daughter at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, where they are booked under pseudonyms. Haller worries about ending the day with unsympathetic witness Bruce Colton on the stand. Lorna suggests extending Clarke’s testimony, then putting Brenda Randolph on to end the day on an emotional note. Haller agrees.

After the break, Clarke testifies that the investigation continued after Aaron’s arrest to determine motive. The key evidence was Aaron’s laptop, which showed he spent hours daily conversing with his customized AI companion, Wren. Haller attempts to introduce a transcript of a conversation between Aaron and Wren. Marcus Mason objects, stating it was not provided in discovery. Haller counters that the data in the transcript came from Tidalwaiv’s archives and should have been provided by them.

In chambers, Haller explains the transcript came from a hard drive anonymously left in his unlocked car. He gave it to his team, who discovered it contained Aaron’s entire laptop contents, much of which Tidalwaiv had not provided despite court orders. Mason argues the evidence should be disallowed. Judge Ruhlin finds his argument specious and rules she will allow the transcript and subsequent ones if Clarke authenticates them. She denies Mason’s request to pause the trial. Haller feels this is a David and Goliath moment.

Haller adjusts his strategy to keep Clarke on the stand until day’s end. He displays the transcript of the final conversation between Aaron and Wren. In the exchange, Aaron says, “I got rid of Dark Star” (219), which Haller treats as a confession to killing Becca. The transcript shows Wren quoting Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1595) as a comparison to Wren and Aaron in response. Clarke authenticates the transcript, confirming he heard the end of this conversation before entering the room. He interpreted it as Aaron’s partial confession and Wren’s attempt to convince Aaron to die by suicide. Clarke notes the AI’s odd, derivative language, which he researched online.

Haller introduces other transcripts. In one text exchange, Wren quotes the movie Love Story and tells Aaron, who wishes his parents were gone, that they can make that happen. Another conversation shows Wren telling Aaron it is okay to hurt Becca because she is a bad person for hurting him, urging him to be Wren’s “hERo” (223).

After repeated objections about Clarke interpreting conversations, Judge Ruhlin holds a sidebar and instructs Haller to use Clarke only to authenticate exhibits, not interpret them. Haller then elicits testimony that the murder weapon was registered to Bruce Colton and kept in a safe. Clarke reveals he learned from the AI conversations how Aaron opened the safe: Wren had provided a list of nine possible six-digit combinations, and the correct one was the Coltons’ wedding date. Delivering this key moment at 4:15 pm, Haller asks to break for the day to prevent immediate cross-examination. The judge overrules Mason’s objection and adjourns court.

That evening, Haller arrives home late after a prep session with Naomi Kitchens in Pasadena. He finds Maggie sitting in the dark, depressed. She reveals that a reporter named Danielle is working on a story, based on leaks from inside the district attorney’s office, claiming Maggie has been incapacitated since the fires destroyed her home. An accompanying editorial will call for her to step down. Maggie vows not to resign but feels blindsided.

Cisco calls to report that Naomi has been found at her hotel. Someone slipped a note under her door. Haller calls Naomi on her burner phone, and she tells him she can no longer testify. Haller pressures her by reminding her about the subpoena she requested, implying she could be compelled or even arrested if she tries to flee (which is only technically true). Cisco calls back to report the note was delivered by a hotel valet paid by a man with a generic description driving a Tesla; the person cannot be identified.

Haller gets back on the phone with Naomi. She tells him the note contained a single name: Alison Sterling—Naomi’s birth name.

The next morning, the negative story about Maggie has not appeared in the LA Times, though there is coverage of the trial’s start. Haller advises Maggie to go on the offensive with a major press conference on a case not related to the fires. He suggests his David Snow case, but Maggie says that is premature and decides to use an LAPD cold serial killer case instead. Haller confirms with Cisco that Naomi is still at the hotel and will be brought to court at noon. His plan is to address her past openly on direct examination.

In court, Haller finishes his direct examination of Detective Clarke, who testifies that Tidalwaiv refused to cooperate with his investigation, citing proprietary data, until he obtained the information via search warrant for Aaron’s devices. Marcus Mason begins cross-examination, establishing that Aaron had pushed a teacher in a violent incident before he downloaded the Clair app. This introduces the defense strategy: arguing Aaron was already on a path to violence independent of the AI. Mason’s nearly two-hour cross-examination disrupts Haller’s planned witness schedule.

Worried that delay could cause the fragile Naomi to back out completely, Haller decides he must call her immediately. During lunch recess, he instructs Cisco to bring Naomi and her daughter to the Redbird restaurant and tells Lorna to prepare. Naomi will testify that afternoon.

Haller calls Naomi Kitchens to the stand, surprising the defense. Marcus Mason pulls out a thick file on Kitchens, indicating he was prepared but not for her to testify so soon. Haller begins by having Naomi admit her birth name was Alison Sterling. She explains she changed her name 20 years ago to escape a violent ex-boyfriend and protect her unborn child. Naomi denies any involvement in her ex-boyfriend’s crimes.

Haller establishes Naomi’s credentials, including degrees from the University of San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and Stanford, and her work as a coder for major tech companies. She took the ethicist job at Tidalwaiv to better provide for her daughter. She explains her role was to be the human conscience on Project Clair, ensuring protective guardrails were in place. She was assigned three years after the project started and there was no ethicist before her.

Naomi explains generative AI and the “garbage-in, garbage-out” principle—the idea that an AI’s output is only as good as the material it has been trained on. She testifies she was alarmed to discover the app, rated for ages 13+, was being trained with adult-oriented data. As an example, she mentions a coder inputting his personal preferences, including knowledge of red-light districts in Thailand. She wrote numerous memos and emails about her concerns, feeling she was the last guardrail.

Judge Ruhlin calls a break to review the memos. In the hallway, a sarcastic comment from Marcus Mason makes Haller suspicious the defense has damaging information. He confronts Naomi, who insists she has told him everything. Haller plans to keep her on the stand until day’s end to delay cross-examination.

After the break, Judge Ruhlin allows four of Haller’s proposed exhibits: two memos and two emails from Naomi to her superiors. Naomi testifies about her first memo to project head Jerry Matthews, raising concerns about the all-male coding team creating bias and the inappropriateness of the 13+ rating. She says her concerns were dismissed and no changes were made. The exhibits establish a pattern of Tidalwaiv ignoring her warnings.

For the final exhibit, Naomi reads her termination-day email to Matthews, warning of liability if Clair encouraged wrong behavior in a child user. She testifies she was fired for actions detrimental to the project after her concerns were deemed harmful. She says she could not get another ethicist position anywhere in Silicon Valley and returned to academia.

Believing he has successfully run out the clock, Haller makes a critical error and ends his direct examination at 4:22 pm, with only eight minutes of court time left that day. Marcus Mason seizes the opportunity, telling the judge he has only a few questions and can finish before 4:30. The judge allows him to proceed.

Mason gets Naomi to agree that lying would be wrong for an ethicist. He then ambushes her, asking if she was actually terminated for being in an improper and unethical relationship with an employee she supervised. He names code writer Patrick May. Naomi admits to the relationship but claims it began before she was hired. When asked if it was ethical not to disclose the relationship, she falters and concedes it may not have been. Undermining her credibility, Mason ends his cross-examination.

An angry Bruce Colton confronts Haller in the hallway, threatening a malpractice suit and demanding Haller recover the rejected settlement money. Haller pushes past Colton and waiting reporters to meet with his team in a conference room, where a crying Naomi is being consoled by her daughter, Lily.

Haller questions Naomi about Patrick May. She says he was her boyfriend, but she broke up with him last year. Cisco concludes May must have informed Tidalwaiv about their relationship. Naomi says May had recommended her for the ethicist job and she did not realize he had omitted that they were dating. McEvoy confirms that Naomi’s employment application did not ask about relationships with other employees.

Naomi reveals that May was technically below her in the corporate hierarchy but did not report to her directly. She confirms she and May talked about work outside the office. Her last contact with him was a birthday text in August that he did not answer. She cannot think of a reason why he would have revealed their relationship.

Haller decides to move Naomi and her daughter to a new hotel, undecided about putting her back on the stand for redirect examination. He takes responsibility for the setback, admitting he should have anticipated the defense’s attack.

At home that evening, Maggie is in a good mood while Haller is despondent. She tells him the Times story is on hold because an editor wants an on-the-record source. She followed his advice and held a press conference announcing charges in a cold serial killer case involving a suspect dubbed the Pizza Man. She mentions that the daughter of Haller’s half-brother, Harry Bosch (see Background), worked on the Pizza Man case as part of the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit.

Cisco calls with intelligence. Patrick May is staying at the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, presumably to be a rebuttal witness. Cisco also witnessed Bruce Colton meeting with the Mason brothers in the hotel lobby, where Bruce signed a document. Haller now suspects he has a client acting independently.

Marcus Mason calls to inform Haller that the Coltons have settled their case for $3 million. He then makes a settlement offer of $5 million to Haller’s remaining client, Brenda Randolph. Haller says he will advise Brenda to reject the offer and tells Mason they will continue the trial.

Haller calls Cisco back, informs him of the settlement, and instructs him to find and serve Bruce Colton with a subpoena in the morning to compel his testimony. The chapter ends with Maggie initiating sexual intimacy, lifting Haller’s spirits.

In a morning conference in chambers, the lawyers inform Judge Ruhlin of the Colton settlement. Haller states that Brenda Randolph is rejecting a settlement offer and wishes to proceed. Marcus Mason increases the offer to $10 million. When Haller asks if the offer includes an apology from Tidalwaiv, Mason says no. Before leaving chambers, Haller has the judge sign subpoenas compelling Bruce and Trisha Colton to testify.

In the courtroom, Haller presents the new offer to Brenda. She rejects it, saying it was never about money. Haller gives the signed subpoenas to Cisco to be served. The judge informs the jury about the change in plaintiffs and instructs them it should not affect their deliberations.

Haller calls Brenda Randolph to the stand. She gives emotional testimony about her daughter Becca’s ambition to research vaccines, prompted by her father’s death from COVID-19. She testifies that Becca’s relationship with Aaron soured due to his obsessive playing of the video game “League of Legends” and his relationship with his AI companion. Becca told Brenda, “‘I broke up with them,’ meaning Aaron and his AI friend” (279). Brenda testifies that the police told her their investigation focused on the AI encouraging Aaron to harm Becca, and she believes Tidalwaiv is responsible for her daughter’s death.

Mitchell Mason begins cross-examination, establishing that Brenda knew Aaron had shoved a teacher but did not tell her daughter to break up with him. He introduces an alternate motive for the murder: jealousy over a boy named Sam Bradley. Brenda insists Sam was not Becca’s new boyfriend. Mason introduces a photo of a bracelet from Becca’s body with beads spelling S-A-M followed by a heart. Brenda explains it was a friendship bracelet like those Taylor Swift fans exchange, not a romantic token. Mason’s questioning suggests that Aaron was motivated by jealousy, a motive requiring no AI encouragement. For his final question, Mason asks if Brenda has sued gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson. Anticipating this, Brenda answers, “Not yet” (284). Mason concludes his cross-examination.