On the Reliability of Gremlin Witnesses

The subject of Gremlin perceptual memory is relevant to the present chapter only insofar as several of the case histories rely upon eyewitness accounts. I therefore feel obliged to note that Gremlins are, contrary to stereotype, often exceptionally reliable observers of mechanical details and exceptionally unreliable observers of anything they consider boring.

This distinction has caused avoidable difficulty in legal proceedings. A Gremlin who cannot recall the colour of a suspect’s coat may nevertheless reproduce, from memory, the exact pattern of wear upon the suspect’s pocket watch. One witness in the Halvern inquiry was unable to say whether the man he had seen was Human or Elven, but correctly identified the manufacturer, model year, and probable maintenance history of the revolver the man was carrying. The magistrate described this testimony as evasive. It was not evasive. It was Gremlin.