“ We're gonna Nuremberg this fucker. ” –-WilburSoot

The Saint-Malo Trials (a.k.a "The Trials of the Antarctic Empire", officially "Newfoundland v. Technoblade et al") were a series of inter-factional tribunals that occurred on Day 8, conducted chiefly by WilburSoot, with the intent of resolving pressing matters concerning the state of affairs arising from the success of the Antarctic World Domination Plan. The arbiters of the plan were charged with war crimes, with three being found guilty and one being acquitted of all charges.

The trials are widely recognized as a turning point in the history of SMPEarth, as they were the most documented and attended event since the server's launch, with much of the world's major political authorities attending. The trials chartered an inter-factional precedent, drastically altering the global geopolitical dynamic.

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Background

Main article: Antarctic World Domination

On Day 8, the leader of the Antarctic Empire, Technoblade, expressed his dissatisfaction with the implementation of factions on the server. To protest this, he and his faction's co-leader, Ph1lzA, enacted the Antarctic World Domination Plan to claim most of the world's territory. The plan entailed that the two draw a claim outline that encircled most of the world map, which would subsequently auto-fill and visually appear on the Dynmap as the Antarctic Empire claiming what was encircled on the world map. During the plan, VoiceOverPete voiced his approval of the plan whilst ArlusFinch was recruited to assist.

The plan ultimately succeeded, and many complaints and concerns were raised by fellow players in response to its success. In the ensuing chaos and confusion, WilburSoot convened in northern France, near the real-world port of Saint-Malo, Brittany, to bring the Antarctic Empire to justice.

The Trial

The Saint-Malo Trials were opened on 29 November 2019 circa 2:20 pm at Saint-Malo Beach Courthouse. The session was presided over by Newfoundland leader WilburSoot. The prosecution entered indictments against the Antarctic Empire's four members at the conclusion of their world domination plan. The indictments were for war crimes.

Opening Statement

After allowing some time for an adequate jury to assemble, Wilbur began with the opening statement. He drew emphasis to the state of the Dynmap, approximated the Antarctic Empire's claims to 70% of the Earth's surface, and explained how there have previously been no rules against such behavior. He concludes that the trial should go ahead and proceed to charge the defendants with war crimes.

The defendants were then listed in this order:

Technoblade - leader of the Antarctic Empire, likely author of the Antarctic World Domination Plan;

Ph1lzA - co-conspirator and lackey to Technoblade;

ArlusFinch - sideways and co-conspirator;

VoiceOverPete - failed to show up for the start of the trial.

Cross-examination

Technoblade

Techno called the prosecutor out for racial profiling after he was asked to explain why he "wasn't the traitorous pig that [his] skin suggests [he is]". He reiterated that no rules were broken before claiming that the courtroom was located on the Antarctic Empire's territory. A member of the jury, DinksterDaily, rebutted the claim by finding that the courthouse was located in the wilderness (i.e. no faction). Though a few minutes before that Technoblade had claimed that area (which also cut off a part of England).

Ph1lzA

The prosecution inquired on Ph1l's regret during his stream of the plan's events. Ph1l stated his initial worries that the plan would wipe out all other faction claims and how the players would have to re-claim everything from scratch. He then mentioned how Techno proved that this wasn't the case, how their actions "mean nothing", and that they knew that "everything was going to get reverted, but it looked cool".

ArlusFinch

The first major turning point of the trial came when Arlus was asked about what his defense was for his actions. He turned on his fellow defendants, claiming that he was strong-armed by Technoblade into helping them achieve their goals. He then added that he was tricked into forfeiting Iceland and that he had acted out of fear that he would lose more of his land. The other two defendants vocally objected to these claims, pointing out how Arlus had disbanded the Transatlantic.

Following these revelations, the prosecution offered Arlus acquittal of all charges against him in exchange for doubling Technoblade's sentence. Arlus accepted the offer.

VoiceOverPete

The prosecution offered a similar olive branch to Pete before proceeding further, which was ignored. By this time, JoshA20 had joined the jury and was asked by Pete in chat to be teleported into the courtroom, to which Josh obliged. Pete further reiterated that the judge had stated: "no rules were broken; ergo, no consequences can be had". The prosecution clarified by stating that they hadn't broken any server rules. After taking his seat with the remaining defendants, he said that he "doesn't mind this mock trial", and how they all decided to share in the common cause of world domination. He added that he was "detecting more than a glint of jealousy and envy" in the jury, further adding that "Techno won", "please, no haters", and how Techno was shown in the stream VODs as being a "benevolent dictator".

Direct Examination

Witnesses were then requested to come up from the jury to speak against the defendants. Arlus went up, reiterating how he was "there when it happened. [...] It was kind of fucked up, I'm gonna be honest".

Plea Bargaining

The judge determined that the main issue of the trial wasn't with the defendants themselves; rather, the problem was with how they exploited a loophole in the implicit laws of the land to the detriment of everyone else on the server. A plea bargain was offered to each remaining defendant:

For Technoblade to disband the Antarctic Empire, permit unrestricted free access to the Southern End Portal, and be limited to only claim an 8-chunk territory for a week;

For Ph1lzA to leave the Antarctic Empire, form his own faction, and disavow his allegiance to the other defendants; and

For VoiceOverPete to do the same as Ph1l.

Technoblade unilaterally rejected the bargain on behalf of his faction members, adding that whilst the prosecution could easily convince Arlus to "betray" him, the remaining defendants wouldn't leave his side. Following Techno's logic, the other two were questioned on whether they would be fine with all receiving the same punishment. Pete responded by suggesting that the Antarctic Empire erase their global claim.

The prosecution refused to accept the suggestion, explaining that they had requested the defendants cease their plans for World Domination during their circumnavigation of the globe, a request that went unheeded. Citing the event as grounds to reject Pete's suggestion, the prosecution stated that the Antarctic Empire had "went ahead and tried to screw over everyone".

Technoblade stated that the Empire had conducted a similar experiment on a smaller scale, citing the stream VODs as proof where he claimed it was demonstrated to have only a minor cosmetic effect rather than a large scale setback as the prosecution believed happened. The judge then asked Technoblade if he would disband the Antarctic Empire, to which the response was no, followed by Techno explaining the land could simply be unclaimed to reverse the effects.

The prosecution re-stated that their earlier rejection of Pete's offer, before the judge called a recess to speak to the jury. He asked for their opinions, stating that they had heard all of the evidence needed to come to a decision. TommyInnit immediately stated that they should "kill him." Techno attempted at this time to bribe Tommy to vote for the defendants. DinksterDaily offered a middle ground, where the Empire would simply erase their global claim in return for acquittal, explaining that it would be enough to lose their six continents.

One of the members of the prosecution voted in favor of total disbandment, stating that the defendants claimed over Denmark.

Ph1LzA interrupted at this time, referring to his earlier statement during his cross-examination where he explains to the jury that the claims were cosmetic only. Techno interjected that "no land has been taken" before Ph1LzA went on to claim that "this does nothing."

Dinkster then replied by saying that the claim was still shown to overlap his land, followed by a blunt denial from Techno. He motioned for the jury to view the Dynamap before recanting his statement after finding that Denmark lay within the area which the Antarctic Empire had autoclaimed without claiming over.

Ph1LzA said at this time that if the jury had been "paying attention", they "would know" that the claim was cosmetic and could be fixed with the push of a button. Following this statement, Tommy revealed Technoblade was attempting to bribe him, which Techno countered by pointing out Tommy had made a counteroffer for Pete which would have made Techno a "human trafficker". Techno explained that he did not condone slavery, and requested that Tommy be placed on trial.

First Vote

The judge called for a noise vote:

Acquittal in return for unclaiming one chunk. This was unanimously rejected by the jury. Tommy is cited as yelling, "No, kill them!"

Acquittal in return for total disbandment of the defendants' faction, and limiting Techno from claiming land for a week. A majority of the jury voted Yes . Dinkster is cited as saying, "Still no from me."

. Shooting the members of the Antarctic Empire with a crossbow. This was unanimously accepted by the jury.

The judge informed the defendants that the jury had voted and that they must disband their Empire. Techno questioned the source from which they derived their authority, with the judge declaring that it came from his authority. Techno then questioned from where he had derived his authority, with the answer given as "the gods of /op", followed by Techno countering by saying that the players lived in a secular world, not a theocracy.

The judge explained that either Techno could type the command to disband his faction and conclude the trial, or the judge would. Dinkster made his first assassination attempt on the judge at this time with a bow and arrow. Techno pointed out that the jury did not appear impartial, nor were they even fit for their duty. Dinkster made his second assassination attempt following this statement, with the arrow glancing off of the judge's body.

The judge explained that his actions would not serve to excuse the defendants of their sins. Dinkster made his third assassination attempt, again failing to injure the judge. The judge then informed Techno it was his last chance, upon which Techno took the offensive and demanded to know why the judge was peer pressuring him, explaining that he did not break any laws. The judge explained that it was an ordered trial, not peer pressuring for it was the law.

Techno then demanded which law he had broken, citing it as "one of the first human rights." One of the jury members then called out, "You don't have any rights! You're inhuman!" Technoblade and Pete protested that the jury was racist, while Dinkster acknowledged that the Empire did not break any laws and that he was willing to acquit the defendants of all charges provided they removed their global claim. Techno stated that he would accept those conditions before calling the jury "boomers."

The prosecution stated they required a binding agreement that neither the Antarctic Empire nor any others would repeat their feat. The prosecution also sought to remove the defendants from their stronghold in the South Pole, which Technoblade rebutted by noting there was an end portal in the North Pole.

A temporary disruption came from Dinkster on the jury watching the best moments of Big Bang Theory, which the judge halted as it was causing a disturbance.

The judge resumed by declaring that he did not wish to have a repeat of the real-world Treaty of Versailles, stating that, "we don't want to screw them over so much that they have to rally over the fact that they're dejected." He was asked who he was comparing Technoblade to, and the answer given was "Nazi Germany." Techno pointed out that the Treaty of Versailles ended World War I, not World War II, and the aforementioned government didn't exist at the time.

Dinkster made his fourth assassination attempt, this time succeeding in shooting the judge and setting him on fire. Techno again claimed the jury was unfit for trial, with biases and assassination attempts serving as evidence.

The judge then asked Technoblade for his opinion on what must be done. Techno replied that the defendants would return six of the seven continents in exchange for monetary payment, to which the jury and Pete objected, counting it as extortion.

Suggested Trial by Combat

Techno then informed the judge and jury that his chat was demanding a "trial by combat", which the prosecution accepted, on the conditions that it take place on a hill in Brittany, France, that both combatants are unarmored and unarmed, and that if Technoblade loses, he must disband his faction, while if he won he would be allowed to keep his faction without the land.

Techno unilaterally rejected these conditions, stating that nobody would accept the "garbage" deal. During this time, the prosecution also compared Techno to Hitler, Ph1lzA to Himmler, and Pete to Göring.

The prosecution then declared that Techno had thus refused a trial by combat, which, given that he too refused to accept any other offers, left the trial at an impasse.

Second Plea Bargain Attempt

Another turning point in the trial came when Pete was again given the offer to distance himself from Techno. Pete rejected the offer, declaring himself to be "proud to stand side by side with Ph1L and Technoblade" before calling out the trial as being a "witch trial" and "a sham". Technoblade replied to the prosecution that the two by his side had made the week the "happiest" week of his YouTube career, interrupting the trial to hug the other defendants. The judge warned him to watch himself or face "bro-euthanization."

The prosecution then made Ph1LzA the same offer, citing that he had done what he set out to do and conquered the world and now he could be free to step down and carry on without Techno and Pete. Ph1LzA noted that it was a tempting offer, but he had "[his] boys" and that he couldn't abandon them, as well as noting that the defendants as a whole did nothing wrong, and nothing "totally disruptive."

The jury rebutted by stating that "[they] claimed the whole world! You set back everyone's progress", though Techno refuted with "it's just visually." and Ph1LzA replied that "this doesn't set back anything. It's autoclaim fill, it's cosmetic only. Once we hit the button to undo it goes back to normal."

One of the members of the prosecution immediately stated that Technoblade had manually claimed the area around Brittany where the trial was held and had claimed a small series of chunks off of Britain. While Techno protested the crime's insignificance, the prosecution adamantly held onto the point, noting that it was evidence of wrongdoing.

Ph1LzA went on to reiterate that "it was purely cosmetic" and "doesn't do shit". The prosecution maintained that the borders were to establish what area belongs to the claimant, to which Techno replied that by that logic, the entire world belonged to him. Ph1LzA replied that they had proved there was a "flaw in the system" and it "needed to be fixed", while Techno added that the Empire deserved rewards for the Quality Assurance (QA) test. Ph1LzA stated it was a friendly test to display the problem caused by the way the factions had been implemented, given that an ambitious enough person could claim the world.

The judge questioned Ph1LzA's statement, pointing to the fact that he had earlier stated that the purpose was to "own the world." Ph1LzA replied that the defendants had proved it could work and thus it required a solution to prevent future problems like such.

Second Vote

The judge called for a second noise vote:

Disband the Antarctic Empire. A majority of the jury voted Yes .

. Acquittal in return for the Antarctic Empire unclaiming the global claim. This was unanimously rejected by the jury, with at least one member (GrunksPromise) demanding that the Empire also cede Antarctica. Ph1LzA replied that the prosecution could have Antarctica, stating that it was a "shithole", with Techno backing him up, citing that they could not even breed chickens and Pete following their lead.



The Antarctic Empire was therefore found guilty of all charges.

Conclusion

The judge spoke to chip, the owner, and asked whether chip had permissions to forcefully disband the Antarctic Empire, to which the answer was yes.

The judge and prosecution then offered a final ultimatum: The Antarctic Empire would unclaim their global claims or the owner would disband their faction for them.

The defendants deliberated amongst themselves, before they accepted the terms, bringing the trial to an end.

Aftermath

The Antarctic Empire remained for the UN meeting where the first two worldwide laws were written. Shortly afterward, Technoblade led his faction back to the South Pole, where they reclaimed their home.

Effects

Main article: Worldwide laws

The restriction of the Antarctic Empire's land claims to the continent of Antarctica, alongside the undoing of several effects of their prior escapades.

The codification of the first three worldwide laws.

The establishment of the United Nations, a diplomatic faction, intended to serve as an arbiter, facilitating dispute resolution to reach consensus.

The Post Saint-Malo War was declared against the Transatlantic following Arlus's betrayal to the Antarctic Empire during the trials.

Controversies

Some have accused the proceedings as being a "show trial" or "witch hunt". The judge's demeaning tone toward the defendants suggests that he may have been biased against them. JoshA20, a key witness for the prosecution, was allowed onto the jury. He voted against the defendants. ArlusFinch, who turned against the defendants during the trial, was allowed onto the jury after being acquitted. He voted against the defendants.

Technoblade attempted to arm Arlus prior to the start of the trial, suggesting he intended to murder the judge and/or jury before he and the defendants could be sentenced.

WilburSoot's role as judge, prosecutor, and executioner has raised questions regarding conflicts of interest impacting the decisions made under each role. Wilbur, following the conclusion of the trials, went on to claim Saint-Malo for Newfoundland, connecting it to the Transatlantic Bridge. This has raised allegations of a further corporate conflict of interest regarding his role in the trials; between fair justice and profit.

As of Day 9, no actions have been taken by the court or the UN regarding some troubling comments made by members of the jury, including (but not limited to): TommyInnit being willing to accept a bribe from Technoblade, with the precondition that Techno participate in human trafficking by giving up one of his fellow faction members to him. DinksterDaily attempting to assassinate Wilbur on four separate occasions.



Aftermath