The readout remained a cerulean shade of calm.
“Your personal override code was used to access Dr Lawrence Kane’s office twice yesterday,” Darius asserted, “and yet you’re telling me that you only used it once.”
“I accessed Lawrence Kane’s office using my personal override code once.” Aster replied, registering blue on the readout.
“Are you hiding anything?” Darius asked.
“There’s a data chip in my pocket that I was planning to use later.” Aster responded truthfully, “then suddenly the blackout occurred and you brought me up here.”
On its own terms, that statement was entirely truthful, whilst leaving out details and context that would have made it sound suspicious. The blue readout bore out her thinking.
Darius pointed to Aster and snapped his fingers. The technician nodded and stepped out of the booth to approach Aster, who felt suddenly vulnerable as the technician rifled through her pockets, digging out the blue decoy chip and returning to the booth with it. Darius took the chip from her and glared at it under the light.
The door burst open and one of the guards barged in looking panicked.
“Sir! There’s a…” the guard began to speak before trailing off.
“There’s a what?” Darius demanded, annoyed at the interruption.
“It’s about the power loss just now.” the guard replied.
Darius followed the guard outside, the door sealing behind him with an ominous clang. Aster gulped nervously and tried to sit still as she avoided eye contact with the technician.
After a minute or so the door was opened again, more violently than necessary, and Darius re-entered with a furious look on his face. Instead of returning to the booth, he stormed over to Aster and grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt.
“Did you disable the power generator?!” he demanded angrily.
“No!” Aster answered, taken aback by the chairman’s outburst.
The readout fizzled into an inconclusive shade of grey before turning blue again. Darius looked back at the technician who nervously shook her head. Turning back to Aster, he reluctantly released her and took a step back.
“Did you cause the blackout?” Darius demanded, his tone only slightly calmer.
“No.” Aster replied, keeping the readout blue.
“Do you know who caused the blackout?” Darius demanded.
“No.”
“Have you ever used your personal override code to gain access to restricted areas other than another employee’s office?”
“No, I have not.”
“Then why was your personal override code used less than ten minutes ago to gain access to the primary power conduit for this building?”
“Sir, the questions need to be–” the technician tried in vain to explain.
“I know they need to be yes/no questions!” Darius snapped at her.
“I have no idea who caused the blackout or what you’re talking about.” Aster replied calmly, trying to keep her breathing level.
The readout stayed blue.
Darius stood over Aster like an angry drill instructor overseeing the punishment of a cadet, visibly fuming with frustration. Evidently the blackout had been sabotage, and he was convinced that Aster had had something to do with it. But even though people lied, the neuroimaging scanner didn’t.
After a full minute of silent fuming, Darius turned away and snapped his fingers at the technician who nodded and deactivated the machine. The neuroimaging scanner was lifted back up to the ceiling and Aster restraints unlocked, releasing her from the chair. Aster stood up, rubbing her wrists to soothe the welts, then looked up at Darius.
“Dr Aster Thorn,” Darius said in a more formal and level tone, “you mostly passed the lie detection session, but the fact remains that your personal override code was used to access Dr Lawrence Kane’s office twice – not in itself a violation of company rules, but curious given that the Directorate of Naval Intelligence was so interested in him.”
“I went in to his office exactly once,” Aster said truthfully, “I don’t know who could have gotten my personal override code.”
“Probably the same person who used it to enter the power conduit chamber and cause the blackout,” Darius answered with calm authority, “thereby disabling security long enough to sneak out during the confusion.”
Aster felt her stomach tighten as she realised that someone had tried to frame her.
“In any case,” Chairman Darius continued, “the secrecy of your personal override code is your responsibility, and you are therefore responsible for any security breaches resulting from its use or abuse. I am hereby suspending as project-lead pending an internal investigation; your security clearance and other associated privileges are also suspended. Go home and don’t return until further notice.”
Aster’s spirit crumbled.
“…Yes sir.” She replied, feeling utterly crushed.
* * *
Between the wealthy Clouds and the Undercity far below, the middle levels of Asgard City were a patchwork of homes, shopping centres, industrial complexes, and other assorted real estate. Buried in the maze of back alleys was an entertainment club, the sort of place in which Jezebel Thorn normally wouldn’t be caught dead.
She had occupied a private room, flanked by two android servants, and was passing the time by wrinkling her nose at this foul place. The lighting was dim, her chair was uncomfortable, the surfaces were less than spotless, and the decor was a crime against good taste.
And then there was the nature of the establishment itself. It was an ‘entertainment’ club where the main feature was a stage and a set of vertical poles which female entertainers used to flaunt themselves in front of a pack of drooling male patrons, all set to faintly gyrating dance music. Jezebel had come in through a side entrance, partly for discretion’s sake and partly to avoid having to witness the lurid spectacle.
There was a knock at the door and a person entered without asking to be allowed in, slamming the door shut behind him and laying back against the door. Jezebel sat and waited patiently whilst he caught his breath. He was late, but as long as he’d acquired what she wanted, she could wait another minute.
“I got it.” He said breathlessly.
“The blue data chip?”
“Blue data chips are for non-essential data only,” he replied, reaching into his left pocket and pulling out the prize, “red data chips are for sensitive data. This is what you want.”
Jezebel motioned for him to approach and give her the chip, not deigning to get out of her seat to collect it. She took it from him and held it up to the dim light with her finger and thumb, smiling like a shark smelling blood.
“Well done.” She replied, getting up to leave.
“I’m sick of doing this.” the informant exclaimed, “everyone on Loki is dead, and now the company could well go under because of the scandal. I’m sick of being your rat.”
“‘Mole’,” Jezebel corrected him, “a ‘rat’ would be an informant for the authorities. Plus, I prefer to think of you as an unofficial observer of sorts.”
“Whatever, I’m sick of being your mole or observer.”
“Not as sick as your partner, I bet.” Jezebel quipped cruelly.
“We’ll manage without your financial help,” he said defiantly, “so are we done?”
“We are.” Jezebel confirmed.
She snapped her fingers and the two androids grabbed the man by his arms and kicked him behind both knees, forcing him to the dirty ground. He struggled in vain against the superhuman strength of the androids as they gripped his arms and each kept a foot planted on the back of his knees to hold him there.
“What the fleek are you doing?!” the informant shouted, struggling frantically.
No one could hear him. The thick walls dampened most of the noise he made and the thumping dance music beyond drowned out the rest.
“You’ve been incredibly useful to me over the years,” Jezebel replied coldly, “but as you pointed out, J.E. Co. is about to go under, so I no longer require your services.”