Can a Chatbot Publish an "Original" Novel?

This story is part of Future Tense Fiction, a monthly series of short stories from Future Tense and Arizona State University's Center for Science and the Imagination about how technology and science will change our lives. THE COURT: Please be seated. Let's try to keep the temperature down in here. We don't need a repeat of yesterday. It'll just be Mr. Blatz and myself today. Sorry, it's hard to tell with … are you with us? ORWELL: Omni-dimensional Recursively Written Entity for Language Learning present and ready, Your Honor. THE COURT: You can just say ORWELL. Are we ready to proceed? LIU: Your Honor, we'd like to call the Defendant to the stand. Mr. Blatz will handle examination. THE COURT: We have the wiring sorted out? Please refrain from using the monitor on the Defendant's table until you're off the stand.