[Silence]
[Low Organ Drone]
[Single Kick — Slow Pulse]
[Muted Guitar Harmonics]
[Clerk]
All rise.
[Judge]
Be seated.
[Snare — Dry. Minimal.]
[Verse 1 — Examination]
[Counsel]
State your name.
[Witness]
Climate Working Group.
[Counsel]
Authorized?
[Witness]
Advisory.
[Counsel]
Under FACA?
[Pause]
[Witness]
We believed so.
[Bass — One Note Repeats]
[Counsel]
Public notice?
[Witness]
Limited.
[Counsel]
Balanced membership?
[Witness]
Selected experts.
[Counsel]
Selected how?
[Silence]
[Refrain — Whispered]
Department
of Energy
(D.O.E.)
Gee.
(Really.)
Could’ve sworn
this was policy.
[Verse 2 — Tighter]
[Percussion — Heartbeat Kick]
[Counsel]
Did you study feedback loops?
[Witness]
We reviewed uncertainties.
[Counsel]
Tipping points?
[Witness]
Debated.
[Counsel]
Sea level rise?
[Witness]
Projected.
[Counsel]
Accelerating?
[Witness]
Contested.
[Counsel]
By whom?
[Witness]
Members present.
[Bridge — Rising Tension]
[Organ Swell — Distorted]
[Snare March — Louder]
[Counsel]
Were transcripts kept?
[Witness]
Not formally.
[Counsel]
Public access?
[Witness]
Unavailable.
[Counsel]
Transparency?
[Witness]
Implied.
[Counsel]
Implied.
[Echo: Implied… implied…]
[Break — Guitar, Sharp Stabs]
[Counsel]
Was the report cited?
[Witness]
Yes.
[Counsel]
In reconsidering
the Endangerment Finding?
[Witness]
Referenced.
[Counsel]
To weaken?
[Witness]
To reassess.
[Counsel]
Reassess what?
[Witness]
Risk.
[Counsel]
Whose?
[Silence]
[Refrain — Louder]
Department
of Energy
(D.O.E.)
Gee.
(Really.)
Operating
off the record.
[Verse 3 — Names Entered]
[Low Piano Notes — Sparse]
[Counsel]
Dr. Koonin —
book titled Unsettled?
[Witness]
Yes.
[Counsel]
Dr. Curry —
“alarmism”?
[Witness]
Her term.
[Counsel]
Dr. Spencer —
CO₂ Coalition?
[Witness]
Affiliated.
[Counsel]
Dr. Christy?
[Witness]
Satellite data.
[Counsel]
Dr. McKitrick?
[Witness]
Economics.
[Counsel]
Common thread?
[Witness]
Skepticism.
[Counsel]
Of models?
[Witness]
Yes.
[Counsel]
Of consensus?
[Witness]
Yes.
[Counsel]
Of urgency?
[Silence]
[Final Break — Everything Drops Out]
[Counsel — Soft]
Did you consider harm?
[Witness]
We considered uncertainty.
[Counsel]
Did you consider delay?
[Witness]
We considered cost.
[Counsel]
Of action?
[Witness]
Yes.
[Counsel]
Of inaction?
[Long Silence]
[Final Refrain — Whispered, Layered Voices]
Department
of Energy
(D.O.E.)
Gee.
(Really.)
Court finds
non-compliant.
[Snare — Three Sharp Hits]
[Judge]
Stricken.
[Organ Drone Fades]
[Single Bass Note]
[Silence]
From the album “Account“