BF1 ORIGINAL FICTION
UNANIMOUS
When twelve artificial jurors unanimously acquit Dorian Lexton of his wife's murder, defence lawyer Naomi Varen believes justice has prevailed. But when evidence emerges that her client may have planned the killing—and deliberately chosen her to defend him—everything she believes about truth, justice and her own judgement begins to unravel.
ABOUT THE STORY
Two unanimous verdicts. Two different records. One truth.
In Ravellan, justice is delivered by twelve independent artificial jurors. Their decisions are based on evidence, not emotion. Their reasoning is governed by law.
And when all twelve agree, the verdict is unanimous.
Defence lawyer Naomi Varen has built her career on one principle: suspicion is not proof.
When Dorian Lexton stands accused of murdering his wife, Bethany, Naomi successfully argues that the evidence cannot establish whether he pushed her down a staircase or desperately tried to save her.
The jury agrees.
Not guilty. Twelve votes to zero.
For Naomi, the verdict represents everything a fair justice system should protect.
Until a woman arrives at her office with information that changes everything.
Before Bethany died, Dorian secretly commissioned sophisticated simulations examining how her death might be presented as an accident.
He explored the evidence that would remain.
The explanations that might survive.
And the defence lawyer most likely to secure his freedom.
Naomi herself.
As investigators uncover the concealed operation, Naomi confronts the horrifying possibility that her professional integrity was deliberately exploited to protect a murderer.
But the truth is far from straightforward.
Evidence can be manipulated. Witnesses can lie. Even someone fighting for justice can become dangerously convinced of an answer the facts do not yet support.
When a second criminal case exposes the consequences of Naomi's growing mistrust, and another concealed simulation points towards a death that has not yet happened, she faces an extraordinary reckoning.
How do you defend the truth when your ability to recognise it has become your greatest weakness?
And what happens when justice reaches the correct verdict using an incomplete record?
UNANIMOUS is a gripping, intelligent psychological and speculative legal thriller about artificial intelligence, murder, manipulation, betrayal and the dangerous distance between what we believe and what we can prove.