Called, page 11
Initially, I thought I might sway Stratton, but the Chairmanship has hardened him; he is constructing his perfect machine. He glimpsed the raw potential the algorithm promises, though I had obscured the truth as best I could. Despite his thirst, Stratton allowed us to continue, largely unmonitored, a silence I should have found suspicious.
I am certain you will have heard about Sue by now. I am lost without her as you might be without Jed. You cannot know that Sue and I were not long delivered of a child. We were approved to breed but had never made any plans. Nature had some in the end, and suddenly, we could do nothing to keep our secrets from them. If they knew we had a child…
I am sure you thought me a fool with my “cryo tour.” But I was intent on drawing attention to disguise her absence. Too focused on my own machinations, I grossly underestimated the interest Stratton would take in the subject. He has signaled to the Board that Strattonworks will be commissioned to produce massive numbers of cryo units for use in Guardianship.
Imagine the power to stop time used as a punishment?
Sue and I realized quickly we would not be able to stop him without more in our arsenal. But we could misdirect: our opening gambit was a meeting. Sue never returned, and Stratton denied knowing anything. He never did like the slow cat-and-mouse game.
Repaying the universe for my hubris, I find myself in even greater peril because of the cryo tour; however, the ruse was successful, and our daughter was safely born. Now that Sue is gone, I know I will not be able to keep our child hidden. Next to me is no longer safe for anyone, let alone an infant. Being my daughter is enough for her to become a target. They have taken Sue, and I may have signed my own death warrant.
But this is no ordinary child…
She needs time to grow, hidden from the Conglomerate. Sue and I made a plan that remains the best way to ensure her safety. Please, my old friend, can you forgive me for my mistakes and help us keep her safe?
I can barely face the prospect of losing her, but they cannot know she is ours or her life will be in danger.
I know your heart. You will care for her as if she were your own.
A journey past Elysium could be dangerous, but I have more to offer to help the three of you. The drone delivering this URL bar has enough scrip for your travel since I doubt you have gotten any Conglomerate identity.
I will be able to explain everything when you arrive in Argatha.
Please, Martha, come.
For her sake.
Love,
Jonas
Lab 4
Simeon was smiling again. The lab team was ready to present the scene analysis and suspect profiles for his review. He was also over-eager for the chance to speak with Freddy. Besides the initial conversation after his friend arrived, they’d had no additional contact.
Simeon didn’t suspect they would have a chance to talk openly, but perhaps there would be a way to drop a hint. Once the physical evidence review was completed, Freddy would stay on until Simeon’s prosecutorial review was satisfied, which might come in handy should they actually find…the Trail.
Stepping into his private lift, Simeon descended to the labs through the Zion Centre tower. Having all functions under the same roof was one of the many innovations he had worked with Zoning and Planning to recommend when refurbishing the heart of Zion. The vision was to unite all the functions around a given type of transgression rather than separating them into individual buildings. Central Zion had more than twenty focuses—contraband, murder, sexual violence among them. In Simeon’s building, six labs were solely dedicated to investigations he supervised, including the gravest of transgressions. His divisions were not only focused on prosecuting but also on marketing the most shocking of details to Conglomerate media outlets. Zion Centre buildings had broadcast studios like those in Elysium.
While the lab team worked on the evidence, Simeon and TESS reviewed everything that had to do with cryo, leaving no detail to chance. They suspected Carlton wanted to use cryo to evade the Conglomerate, which is part of why they now pursued transgressions related to it so vehemently.
Despite appearing to be anti-crime, the Conglomerate profited from citizen transgressions. The prospect of being held indefinitely deters the broadest segment of the population, but for those who seem to transgress frequently, the Conglomerate imposes penalties and charges for the time any citizen is held in cryo. Once in stasis, there’s no incentive to determine if anyone is innocent.
The backlogs in the labs are deliberate.
The lift slowed to a stop before the doors opened with a cool hiss. His arrival at the two-story Lab 4 complex was met by supervisor Giovanna Pavese. She was an athletic and stout woman with a perfect, round face and long, chestnut hair that cascaded across her shoulders.
“Thank you for joining us, Mister Godwin,” chirped Giovanna.
Born in the Suburbs of Ilios, she was a confident woman who expected her team to be the best. She wore a long, plain, maroon shift dress under her crisp lab coat accented by smooth jewelry on her wrists and ears, with just the hint of a glisten on her plump lips.
“We are glad to be able to present you with such complete research given the expedited timeline.” She gestured to the team. Simeon acknowledged Doctors Garamond Flint, Jumaline Chakravarti, Frederich Orson, and Miss Helena Rostand with a nod.
“Unlicensed cryo is a severe infraction; we cannot afford to seem soft on these types of transgressions.”
“Of course not, sir. Shall we begin?”
Simeon nodded. Giovanna clapped her hands, and the technicians scattered to their stations to present conclusions from a different part of the investigation. As was customary, Giovanna led him first to Garamond, who prepared comprehensive scene analyses and was responsible for any pertinent matters of public record.
Compared to his human-looking colleagues, Garamond Flint was a phantom of a man with white-blonde hair, nearly translucent skin, and a set of red-lined, icy-blue eyes. His thin, reedy voice didn’t help. Raised in the mining territory of Maelstrom, he was one of the few who made it out before their lungs were ruined. He preferred to work from a small, dark room, which he kept almost oppressively messy. If he weren’t the best at his job, Simeon would have removed him from the team and had his little rat’s nest exterminated.
Being near Garamond made Simeon uncomfortable, so he stopped short and kept Giovanna between them. Garamond turned on the holographic projection system that he used to narrate his presentations on the situation and public records components of the investigation, slowly zooming in to show the crime scene in position in the larger Exurb zone.
“You’ll see here that the land apportionment is both on the border of 31 and abutting Jericho’s walls. The bed of the Navarro River, used as the dividing line between administrative divisions 31 and 32, has an interesting story. The Navarro River flows in part of the nation’s territory, norf of Elysium. The Navarro is full beyond the norvern border, rushing past Valtara to Elysium. Yet the Navarro is a trickle on the souvern side of the Elysian cliffs.”
Simeon shifted uncomfortably. Giovanna was distracted, reviewing something on one of Garamond’s other screens.
Garamond, oblivious now that he was talking, continued. “Zion was meant to be built in the mountains, but the original site didn’t work out. They couldn’t keep the effort profitable, so they shifted Jericho further souf and connected the two. Instead of alongside, the Navarro flows through the twin Citadels. If they’d followed the original designs, Jericho and Zion would be on opposite sides of the river, and perhaps it wouldn’t have dried up.”
Simeon couldn’t take it anymore and cleared his throat softly.
As was her way, Giovanna whipped back around and assessed the dynamic instantly. “Garamond, relevant information only, please.”
Garamond’s beady eyes blinked twice before he pushed a button. The projection began to move and shift, zooming in to show the site of the farm. He stared at Simeon for a moment before continuing.
“Here you see the size of the apportionment. Five plots that were released by exception to ancestors of the most recently deceased occupants.”
Simeon shifted away from Garamond and Giovanna as the projection changed from a two-dimensional line map to a three-dimensional recreation of the land.
“Here is the location of the residential structure, constructed on the highest point, in the novernmost section. Nearby, you will observe two additional structures: a large barn connected to a garage.” As Garamond mentioned each, they blinked in the display. “I constructed this from images collected a few decennia previous as part of the aerial scans for RapidRecon projects in the area. There are no more recent scans since the rest of the Exurb was fully developed during the last refurbishment.”
Simeon walked further around the projection table, looking at the layout of the three buildings until he felt Garamond’s cold stare upon him. He blinked and gestured for Garamond to continue. The projection changed to show the same site in the fire’s aftermath.
“The first time that Guardians visited the scene, you can see the destruction of the primary living structure. The IRIS overlay shows that the fire began in the scullery area and has been traced to an old Milestone brand cookery unit found at the scene. It seems to have ruptured, spewing fuel across the structure, igniting everything.”
A red outline appeared on the now-destroyed foundation of the house.
“That’s where the remains were found among the rubble.”
The smile in Garamond’s voice gave Simeon another chill.
This time, Giovanna cleared her throat.
Garamond’s tone resumed, neutral once more. “This MAIA simulation shows the suspected explosion centered in the barn. As you can see, it was a significant blast, given the spread of debris. As Guardian logs show, it ignited the remaining structure of the barn, which is how the subterranean areas were discovered.”
The holographic images expanded on the barn, the floor stripped away, and images of three rooms laid into a line came into focus. The middle section had clearly been part of the plan for the barn itself, with the smallest room being made by closing off a portion of it.
Garamond abruptly stopped speaking, and the simulation disappeared. Finished with his prepared remarks, he immediately moved on to something else, oblivious to his superiors who stood there briefly wondering if he would start speaking again.
“Shall we continue, then, sir?” Giovanna smiled awkwardly.
Simeon nodded, glad to escape the dirty little room. He would have to do something about that ghoul’s haunt. Maybe before he left, Freddy could plant a dead mouse. That would require them to clear the space. A couple judiciously placed words, and Giovanna wouldn’t let him fill it up again.
They stepped back into the central atrium, where Giovanna directed him to their next presentation. “Helena can show you what was found in the medical pod extracted from the site.”
“Were they able to send the entirety of the third chamber?” Simeon asked innocently, knowing full well they had done so at his explicit request.
Giovanna nodded, shepherding Simeon over to Helena, standing in front of one of the large tables around the atrium. Each a vast, smooth surface lit from below to highlight objects for discussion.
Helena Rostand was a buxom blonde, tall and striking. Simeon felt like a greasy teenager next to her raw, feminine power. She had violet eyes and a delicious smile. Helena’s presence had a humbling effect on Simeon; she was also eager to please, something Simeon tried not to exploit too deliberately in their interactions.
“Mister Godwin, hello.”
“Good morning, Miss Rostand. Please begin.”
Helena led him to some circuitry and bits of tech, beaming. “As you can see, we are looking at some dated technology. This selection here has hardware manufactured a centad ago, if not earlier.”
“How can you tell?”
Helena shifted the lighting to highlight a collection of items spread across the table. “I’ve reconstructed the items in situ here. As the lights now indicate, the mineral composition of this circuitry includes organic silicon and tungsten. As you likely know, the Conglomerate has been bio-engineering silica and wolfram for the last several decennia to mitigate the shortages of their organic counterparts.”
“Very interesting. What else do you have, Miss Rostand?”
There was a momentary pause before she continued, “MAIA simulated the explosion more than twelve thousand times, which amalgamated with the view you see as we step this way. The unit closest to the explosion received the most damage while the remaining units remained largely intact.”
A new hologram overlaid the table, showing the pieces in their suspected original forms in the air above them. One of the reconstructions resembled an early Carlton prototype. It had that sleek look, and none of the bulky coolant towers were ubiquitous among Conglomerate units.
“On this side, you can see the other items largely undamaged by the explosion,” said Helena, drawing Simeon and Giovanna to the opposite end of the table. “A rudimentary digital display, an antique alarm clock, and some empty, or purged, data storage. Scans of the surviving hardware indicate it was once used, but none of our systems have been able to retrieve any of the information. It is as if the data stored on it simply vanished. We’ve never seen anything like it, to be perfectly frank.”
Simeon had known what he was looking at before she’d started speaking. These were the server pieces that had held the anti-record…and the tools for rudimentary cryo auto-waking.
Mistaking Simeon’s silence for boredom, Giovanna jumped in, “What do you make of the clock, Helena?”
“It’s fairly common - millions were manufactured before the Conglomerate implemented digital time. Analog clocks remained common around the time the circuitry from the server would have been in use. As it has no computerized components, there isn’t anything more it can tell us.”
“I think you’ll find the presence of these clocks have previously been tied to cryo. Do you remember the failed Argathan rebellion?”
“Why yes, of course, you’re right,” she said in a softer tone, any rediscovered confidence buckling. Simeon hated the way he enjoyed seeing the blush rising in her cheeks. “They used cryo units on themselves and entered the pods fully armed before they were confiscated and transported into Guardian labs.”
“Cryo return requires an external initiation, and that group tried to use a similar device to wake themselves automatically.” Giovanna smoothed the bump in Helena’s read-out effortlessly.
“Yes, they were largely unsuccessful too,” Simeon pushed harder. “The clock worked, but they were released into cryo storage lockers, and their weaponry was not enough to break through. Only one survived to be discovered alive, the rest fell victim to starvation or frostbite. A sad affair but a good example of Guardian protocols keeping us safe.”
“I can’t believe I missed that,” Helena said softly. “We studied all about it in Academy.”
“Don’t chastise yourself, Miss Rostand, but please inform me if anything comes of it.”
“Of course, Mister Godwin. Thank you, sir.”
“Shall we see the exhumed chamber next?” he asked Giovanna, hoping to understand what secrets it might hold, as well as to learn what Freddy might have for him.
Giovanna nodded, “In the larger examination suite—this way.”
Together, they made their way to a door at the rear of the lab that opened into a sunken-level room used for oversized evidence or scene recreations. It was dominated by a block of concrete and metal. Now that it had been extracted, it was clear the concrete had been poured from above and hadn’t been enough to fill the space around the pod. It stuck out in several places where the concrete hadn’t reached the cellar floor. This had been a hasty operation, done with minimal planning.
“Good morning, Simeon,” Freddy called, exiting the medical pod. He was glad to see his friend. Like Helena, Freddy was Valtaran. Tall, classically handsome, wavy hair, and an enviable physique.
“Freddy, thank you again for joining the team for this case. How’re you settling in?”
“Lovely to be here, running into old friends.”
Simeon assumed Freddy meant him and gestured to the pod.
Freddy held up a finger and pulled up a report on his terminal. “Apologies for the delay, Doctor Pavese. Would you mind reviewing my initial conclusions? When he is finished here, Mister Godwin will want them with everything else.”
“Of course, Doctor Orson. And before you ask, Mister Godwin, we have been doing our best to make your friend feel at home. He’s been a great asset and very eager to help. You two look at the pod, and I will catch up.”
Leaving her, Freddy directed Simeon into the medical pod. “Manufactured by Shelter Works, one of the last models before they were Assumed,” Freddy droned. Once inside the concrete encasement, Freddy gestured to Simeon to be quiet. He lowered his voice and spoke quickly. “We have a problem, my friend.”
“Shhh…” Simeon’s eyes bulged.
“We’re okay - the pod’s concrete and metal obscure surveillance. No one can hear us in here.”
Simeon relaxed, but only slightly. “Still, we need to be quick. What’s the problem?”
“They were talking about Carlton when I got here. This isn’t just some long shot. This is the Trail. This is it for sure.”
“No chance of keeping it out of the reporting?”
“Would you like me to try to crash the system before we publish?”
Simeon winced at the joke. “How much do you think we can safely hide?”
“We might be able to make it look like it’s all in the past.”
“Break ties with the current occupants, giving us a cold case to explore,” Simeon said with a vigorous nod.
Giovanna called to them, “Are you finding things satisfactory, Mister Godwin?”
“Yes, thank you,” Simeon called loudly. Turning back to Freddy, he resumed his whisper, “Where would that leave the conclusions?”
