Aberrant: Triangle Nova Investigations; Book One, Chapter 2: Gathering Evidence
Game date: 23 Mar 2014
Present: Tabby, Paul, Sara, and Maer
Thursday, 11 Mar 2010
Triangle Nova Investigations
RTP, NC
0700, local time
Irina DiSanti gets to work a little early, resolved to beat everyone to the office. They'd been summoned to a morning meeting with their employer, a mysterious figure known only by the name "Charlie". The office is empty when Irina arrives, save for the ever-present Sara. As usual, Irina trades a gruff greeting with Sara and Sara has Irina's coffee ready.
Sara cheerfully informs Irina that the coffee is illegal in 3 states and 4 countries. Enjoy!
Irina takes her first sip and her eyelids flutter in bliss. Hell if she knows what's in the stuff, but it hits her system like a freight train. Fortified for the day, she orders up Sara's report on Chad's activity of the day before. Looking it over, she finds that they will need to requisition two more trunk lines to handle Chad's capabilities—the kid is THAT good.
Gemma arrives between 0730 and 0740. Javier and Chad arrive at 0745. They get their coffee at the coffee bar off the lobby and Sara reminds Irina of their arrival and the pending meeting at 0750.
Irina calls the crew into her office. At the appointed time, the call comes through. The voice on the line is male. Irina recognizes Jacob Carter, the man who recruited her for her position. After opening pleasantries, he transfers the call to Charlie.
Charlie has a smoky voice that brings to mind bourbon, cigarettes, and Lauren Bacall. There is no picture of the woman accompanying the call. There is only sound. The crew will have to content themselves with that. Irina's already been through this once, so the voice is no surprise.
Charlie: Hello, Irina. You got your team there?
Irina: Sure do, Charlie.
Charlie: I just wanted to make sure that everyone's been introduced. I'm Charlie. I'm your … I guess the best way to put it is your patron. I thoroughly expect all of you to work well together, to solve cases without going public. You will be dealing primarily with cases that concern matters between Novas and non-Novas. Please go around and introduce yourselves so I can place voices with faces.
Chad: (to the air) I'm Andrew Wiggins.
Javier: Javier Ryan.
Gemma: Gemma Kincaid.
Charlie: Nice to meet you. Based on my information, I'm glad Irina agreed to hire all three of you. Gemma, I will say that what I've seen of our training with the Utopia Center, you look good. You have a lot of potential. Irina will definitely be able to guide you and expand your own confidence. Javier, Irina will be able to give you a stable rock to fall back on. Let her make the hard decisions when you don't feel you really want to. And Cha—Andrew. Irina? He has an extraordinarily high potential. Develop it well. You might be surprised. If not, well, you know what to do.
Irina: Yes, Ma'am.
Charlie: So, I've gone over your first case on Occidental Industries. Irina, have you been able to brief everybody on it yet?
Irina: No, Ma'am. That was next on the agenda for the day.
Charlie: In that case, go ahead with the briefing. I want to see where we stand so far.
Internally wincing at being caught flatfooted, Irina nevertheless does as ordered.
Irina: Just recently Occidental Industries has suffered a robbery of their U-fiber equipment and a portion of their motherbatch, 3 kilos worth.
Chad blows his cheeks in amazement.
Irina: (off Chad's expression) Yes. U-fiber cables and embedded U-fiber circuitry and equipment has been stolen. They are anxious to keep this under wraps, obviously. I don't have much to go on at this point. We are still in the early stages of the investigation.
Charlie: Did you speak to Jackie yet?
Irina: Yes, I've spoken to Jackie Quaid and she's been very helpful. If I were to venture speculation at this point, Ma'am, I would say it was an inside job. However I have yet to discover the purpose behind the robbery.
Chad: Can I see a list of what was stolen?
Irina taps her fingers on the glass of her smart desk and sends a copy of the list to one of the many flat screens lining the walls of her office. The list includes the dates the items were noticed missing or stolen. Very helpful.
The thefts occurred over a period of three weeks, with only a few items stolen at a time, making it easy to appear as the missing items were an inventory miscount or a parts failure with subsequent recycling of the defective parts.
Chad: I wonder if someone's using teleport. The items going missing at a time aren't too many and they can only carry so much. It would explain why they're spread out.
Irina: That's a good point.
Chad: Are they building a super computer?
Charlie: We don't know. That's what you're supposed to find out. Who did it and why?
Chad: That's something villains always need: a super computer.
Javier: You don't have to be a villain to need a super computer.
Chad: True enough. But they're stealing. Generally, heroes don't steal from, you know, regular companies.
Javier: Might not be a hero or a villain. Everyday people can do a whole lot of justifying.
The date on the colony theft was about 4 days prior to the 10th, on the 6th of March.
Chad: Is there a schedule on this? Does it look like there is a pattern? And their cameras in the area show nothing?
Charlie: That is correct.
Chad: Hmmm …
Irina: That doesn't mean there isn't something to see. It just means that, for whatever reason, the cameras were not able to detect it.
Chad: The cameras were plants or didn't show.
Irina: There is also the possibility that the camera feeds might have been doctored. Can you figure that out? Can you determine that?
Chad: I … might notice something. I'm fairly perceptive but … I don't have the expertise in that area. That's more a security job.
Irina: Javier, could you go over the security feeds and the timetable and see if you can find any discrepancies.
Javier: Yes, ma'am. I'll need the employee records too, to see if anybody covered sick for anybody on the days the thefts occurred.
Irina: That would be a place to start.
Chad: What about checking with the people who recently left our most wonderful benefactors, Project Utopia? Checking to see if anybody's left with no specific job that actually can teleport or has abilities like invisibility or something? They probably track stuff like that.
Irina: That's a very good idea. (a beat) All right, Mr. Wiggins. That will be your job.
Javier: Do the cameras differentiate between life signs?
No. They are multi-spectrum cameras but that's about a crazy as they get. At first glance, none of the spectrum recordings have any discernible discrepancies. If we want to go over the recordings in detail, that would take more effort and time.
Irina will send Chad and Gemma together to the Utopia Center. The two are familiar faces on campus and their presence would not seem odd. They would be able to circulate freely on the grounds and listen for any rumors or tips or scuttlebutt while on their assignment. If word of the case gets out, we would at least have enough warning so as to shield Occidental Industries from the fallout. As to their assignment …
Irina: (to Gemma) I expect you will be professional enough to defuse any faux pas that he—(nods at Chad)—might cause in his exuberance while I have you both look into departing Novas and their success rates.. I will call the Director to expect both of you so they won't be entirely surprised.
Gemma: Okay.
Chad: Should we go about this like, you know, we're looking into something that could be a Nova-committed crime or should we be more like we're attempting to recruit and we're trying to find out who most recently left the Center?
Irina: I will explain to the Director personally why you're there. I'm sure he or she will understand why discretion is required. You need not come up with a cover story, but be ready to leave in about five minutes. Sara could you connect me to the Director of the Utopia Center of RTP?
Sara: Will do.
Charlie: In that case it sounds like you guys are busy. Irina, I will talk on our weekly chats.
Irina: I look forward to it, Ma'am.
Charlie: Everybody: Have fun. Good luck. Keep me posted.
Irina: Will do.
On that note, Irina cuts the call.
Irina: (brisk) Javier, you and I are going to go through the security feeds and the personnel records they were able to give us. Between you and I, we might be able to find something. Sara, what's the name of the Director who I will be talking to?
Sara: His name is Dr. Abraham Williams.
The call goes through.
Woman: Dr. Williams' office.
Irina: (evenly) This is Irina DiSanti from Triangle Nova Investigations. I will be sending sending over two of my personnel over to visit with Dr. Abraham Williams. It concerns a Nova matter that requires the highest amount of discretion. Is he in?
Woman: Yes he is. Is there a problem?
Irina: There is a potential problem and we would like to rule out as many suspects as possible but we will need his assistance.
Woman: He should be available at one this afternoon.
Irina: One this afternoon? (through her teeth) By all means. Please put us down for a one p.m. appointment. And your name is?
Woman: My name is Betsy.
Irina: Thank you very much, Betsy. I look forward to talking with you soon.
The expression on Irina's face says otherwise, but she manages to keep it from her voice.
Betsy: Thank you.
Once the connection is closed, Irina addresses the crew.
Irina: Ladies and Gentlemen, there's a change in plans. We won't be sending you to the Center just yet.
She sighs. As a homicide detective with the full authority of the police department behind her, she could order a meeting with the Director at her convenience. Stripped of that authority, it would take more patience or tact than Irina possesses … at least for the moment … to obtain the information she seeks. Irina starts pulling up files and sweeping them to the flat screens. She puts the security feeds up for Chad to examine. They start discussing various light spectrums and what the cameras might or might not be able to record.
Javier has Sara make a list of known Nova types visible on various light spectrums and we narrow it down. Three names repeat across the lists, including the infra-red spectrum, and one shows up on a magneto-spectrum search. The three on the infra-red list were found on the Utopia and the Interpol databases. We expand the search to include a wider range of light spectrums. The same three repeat on a couple of the searches. Widening the search to include those who would show up on those spectrums specifically listed by the security system at Occidental gives us a list of ten names.
A list of their abilities, separated by the spectrums reveal that most of the abilities deal with shifting within the EM spectrum. All of them have the ability to manipulate the EM spectrum to achieve invisibility. When we visit Utopia we must look into these and other abilities too: Elemental Mastery. Magnetic Mastery. Invisibility, Shrink, Teleport, Temporal Manipulation, Mirage, Shape Shift …
Chad: If it's Temporal, no one's going to know it even happened.
Javier: It won't show up on any of the scans, anyway.
Chad: Yeah, and there's not much we'd be able to do with a Temporal.
Irina: But wouldn't that put the Temporal person right at the top of the suspect list?
Javier: Sure, but at this point we're starting with stuff that we can either rule out or rule in and that would be in our pile when we're left with absolutely nothing else or have better clues.
Irina: Understood.
Chad: Magnetic Mastery will allow you to copy invisibility?
Javier: In a manner of speaking, because you wouldn't necessarily show up in the video itself.
Chad: Yeah you would.
No, not necessarily. Magnetic Mastery would allow someone to cloak themselves from a magnetic spectrometer. What about Hypermovement? Moving too fast for the camera to catch? We need to know what spectrum the security feeds were set to and what spectrum the guards on duty were scanning in. Without that information, we're just spinning our wheels with speculation. If the spectrum can be adjusted by the guards or tampered with behind their backs, someone could conceivably hide their presence during the robbery.
As we have several hours yet before the afternoon meeting, Irina dispatches Gemma to the Utopia campus to hang out, keep her eyes peeled for clues and her ears primed for rumors. The rest of us will meet her before our appointment at the café on south campus. Irina assigns Chad to trawling Dark Net, Silk Road, and other online forums and chat rooms, looking for activity there that might point us toward the culprits.
Meanwhile, Irina and Javier go over the camera feeds and security lists. They decide they need to talk to OpNet Node Providers to see if anyone has started up a rival OpNet with the stolen goods. Javier also suggested hiring a White Hat hacker to make a virus to look for the same.
Chad's search produces a name, an internet handle: JacobsLadder2009. It was first posted 1 month before the theft via an anonymous server at Cisco in the RTP.
Gemma finds a place on campus to perch. Unfortunately for the investigation, it's near the track and the sight of all the young men working out and running laps is very distracting. She nearly forgets to meet the team at the café and has to teleport to make it on time. Irina and the team grab a quick lunch before going over to Dr. Abraham William's office.
We're on time. They're expecting us. Someone is just leaving, shaking hands with someone behind the door. We see Dr. Abraham Williams, somewhat dumpy bald gentleman, looking every inch the stereotypical bureaucrat.
Dr. Williams: Ah, Ms. DiSanti. I didn't realize you were to be here as well.
Irina: Doctor. (shakes hands) These are my associates. If we might have a word?
Dr. Williams: Absolutely. Step into my office. What can I help you with?
Irina closes the door after everyone files in.
Irina: Triangle Nova Investigations is involved in handling cases where Normals and Novas intersect that require some amount of investigatory tact. At the moment we are working on behalf of a client who has suffered an unusual theft from their place of business. We suspect that Novas may be involved. I realize you keep a database of Novas and with all respect for privacy we were hoping you could help us narrow down or at least eliminate as suspects folks who did not quite fit in here and were let go.
Dr. Williams: Sure. I can have Betsy put together something for that. Is there anything you're looking for in particular?
Irina: We had narrowed it down to … (nods at her team).
Chad: Someone particularly interested in U-fiber colonies and connectors.
Javier: Somebody with a high aptitude for Net science.
Chad: Well, technical matters.
Irina: (tight grin) I'll let my experts fill you in.
She does. They do. Dr. Williams listens. Chad wraps it up.
Chad: The suspects at the top of our list are those who might have abilities like invisibility, mirage, or cyberkinesis. Possibly someone with shrinking, to shrink other items, clairsentient targeting, or teleport.
Dr. Williams: Hmmm…the only thing I can think of is there was one Nova. He was cyberkinetic. He was here for a while, got trained, and didn't have any memory of who he was originally. He ended up going by "John".
Irina: Last name?
Dr. Williams: I'm not even sure he chose a last name. I'll have to ask Besty on that but I do remember "John". He got into an argument with a few people. With the cyberkinesis, he was a whiz at computers. he ended up disappearing about a month, maybe two months ago when he left the on-site dorms.
Irina: How old was he?
Dr. Williams: In his thirties.
Irina: Will Betsy be able to provide us with a physical description?
Dr. Williams: Yes. Absolutely.
Irina: And who were the people he got into arguments with?
Dr. Williams: There was Mack. If you wander around, you'll probably see him. He's this huge blue guy. Very strong. He might make a Team Tomorrow position given how strong he is and how he takes orders. Not too many lights on upstairs, though.
Irina: Anyone else? You did mention "a few".
Dr. Williams: Nothing that steps out, outside of Mack.
Irina: Would you happen to know the general nature of his arguments?
Dr. Williams: Usually it was about Utopia. We do our best to help Novas when they first Erupt to get a handle on their powers, take what gifts they are given as a Homo novus so they can give back to society and lead a long happy life. What with the question of whether or not Novas are able to reproduce? No kids yet. There's talk about how Utopia was actually causing the problems. I don't know where he gets this stuff. Mostly the tin foil hat conspiracy theorists type of thing. No one ever gave him much in the way of the time of day. Mack got upset because he got a little zealous about the conspiracy theories once. Mack's here. He lives here full time. Like I said, he's more like to be Team Tomorrow. That's all he wants to do. As a kid he was scrawny but now he's a 7 foot monstrosity of a guy. Happened trying to save family of his. That's all he wants to do, to continue saving people.
Irina: I see.
Chad: How often to do people lose their memory when Erupting?
Dr. Williams: Not all that often. As far as the records go. They go back, what? 12 years. One of the things we worried about with John is after a while he really started to spout some of the TerraGen information.
Irina: TerraGen?
Chad: They are the "Novas are superior and normal humans are cattle" people.
Not quite a terrorist group like Al Quaeda, not quite as widely known as White Supremicists, TerraGen adherents nevertheless share some of the same qualities of both. The Null Manifesto, put out by the Nova known only as "Mal", exemplifies their philosophy, stating that Novas are so outside the scope of human laws that those laws do not apply and that they are countries unto themselves. Human mores and laws do not apply as they were not made by Novas with Novas in mind. At the moment they aren't making any news, having done nothing to put them on the media map (to say nothing of the media's reluctance to lend their views any credence by covering them), but they are out there.
Irina: Dr. Williams, do you have a list of his instructors and will they be available to speak to me?
Dr. Williams: We do have a list but outside the doctors and the psychiatrists, they are in and out. They're Novas themselves, most of them. Some of them are research staff from the Aeon Foundation doing their rounds with the Utopia Centers.
Irina: Just one of them will do.
Dr. Williams: Hmm … Who would be a good person to talk to? … (thinks) … The Head of our Computer Training. He likes to go by … I need to verify that ….
While Dr. Williams looks the information up, Irina leans over to Javier.
Irina: (very quietly) Either this guy is a red herring or he's a solid lead.
Javier: (ditto) We should check with the regular IT department if they have records of student use of websites under their user IDs.
Irina: Mm-hm.
Dr. Williams finds that name and looks up.
Dr. Williams: He goes by "Zero Cool".
Irina: "Zero Cool".
Dr. Williams: Yes, he won't answer to anything else. His real name is "Dave."
Dr. Williams pulls up a picture and displays it on a screen. On it is a Caucasian male almost painfully thin, with a receding hairline, sharp features, nervous looking hands, and three day facial stubble.
Javier: Do you have a separate IT department?
Dr. Williams: Yes, we do.
Javier: Who's in charge of that?
Dr. Williams: That's actually handled by the Aeon Foundation and the United Nations.
Javier: (dryly) Your basic ISP issues are handled by the United Nations.
Dr. Williams: They are handled by the Aeon Foundation and the United Nations Support Center.
Irina: Do they have a representative on campus that we may interview?
Dr. Williams: No.
Hmm. Why would the Utopia Center have the United Nations and Aeon Foundation involved in their day-to-day IT and internet operations? Wouldn't it make more sense for the Utopia Center to have outsourced it to a private third party company? And why don't they have someone assigned to the campus?
Javier: Do you supply housing on campus?
Dr. Williams: We do have dorms.
Javier: Who's the guy you send out to fix the jacks when they break or the routers?
Dr. Williams: We hire a local company to take care of it.
Javier: And that company is, typically? Who's got that contract?
Dr. Williams: Depending on who it is and what it is, it's either going to be a tech sent from Central Office and it could be any tech from Central Office or it's going to be a company with strategic connections that we hire out to drop a couple of cables in such-and-such a room.
Javier: Strategic connections and the UN. We're going to need names.
Dr. Williams: There isn't going to be any particular person.
There is no particular person … or no one Dr. Williams is going to give us. It's a fine distinction and Javier is well aware of it. At least he knows who to ask for or about at the UN main support center, which is staffed and managed by both the UN and the Aeon Foundation through Project Utopia.
Irina recognizes a wall when she runs into it. She rises.
Irina: Dr. Williams, thank you so much for your time and information. I really do appreciate you taking time out of your day to help us.
Dr. Williams: (all smiles) Not a problem.
Irina: Ladies and gentlemen, we are done here. (to Dr. Williams) Thank you very much. I will see Betsy on the way out.
They leave and Irina stops at Betsy's desk.
Irina: Dr. Williams was very helpful and he referred me to you for a couple of things. There was a Nova here by name of John, no last name, an amnesiac and a cyberkinetic. I was hoping that you could get me his files so that I might have a description of him.
Betsy: Yes. (types) Here you go.
A printer hums and spits out a few pages with a color image. Caucasian male. Skinny. Average height. Short brown hair. John Lennon glasses.
Javier: Looks like a college student to me. (undervoice) I'm getting flashbacks.
Chad: He's a cyber kinetic. Do you have a paper copy, to make sure nothing's been altered?
Betsy: This is the information we have.
Meaning any handwritten or hard copy records that were produced when John first got here, before the information was entered into the system.
Betsy: These are the records I have.
Looking over the notes again, we find out that when John Erupted, others noticed what looked like digital lines going across his glasses and in his eyes. Specifically, when his glasses are not worn, the lines show in his eyes. When the glasses are worn, the lines are present on glasses and in his eyes.
Hmmm….
Javier: What do the glasses do?
There is nothing in the record to suggest they do anything more than filter out light like normal sunglasses. The last known address is listed at an apartment complex in Morrisville. Morrisville is a mere few miles away on the outskirts of RTP. Irina looks up from the notes with a polite smile for Betsy.
Irina: Thank you very much.
Javier: Oh, where can we find Zero Cool?
Betsy: In the basement.
Irina: Of the building here?
Betsy: Yes. It's not where we actually assigned him but that's where he always ends up.
Javier: Best place for a bank of computers.
Betsy: (skeptical) Mmm … You'll see.
Irina: Do we need special clearance to visit him?
Betsy: Ahhh … (checks a schedule) … Depending on the day. Today you should be able to catch up with him.
Irina: Thank you very much. That's where we're going next. Have a nice day.
Irina gathers her team and leaves for that basement. Once they're out of earshot …
Javier: Perhaps I should take point when we get to the … subterranean sanctum.
Irina: … (pauses) … I won't argue with that. (briskly) Mr. Wiggins. Keep your eyes open. There are computers. Gemma, keep your eyes and ears open as well.
Javier: Be ready to port out if he doesn't like us on, you know, principle.
After all, how much of a people person can you expect of someone who prefers living in a basement surrounded by computers? Of course, the way to the basement isn't devoid of people. It is a campus environment and there are lounges. Listening in on conversations while passing through one of them, the team hears the usual grousing about having to work and follow orders, how crappy the job is, the usual 9-to-5 bitchiness. Some of it involves the effort of mastering various power, the hoops one has to jump through, etc., to ensure no one abuses their powers or pulls a Corbin.
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Andre Corbin, a Nova soccer player and ex-Team Tomorrow member, was televised on OpNet News speaking at a funeral for a fellow Team member Jennifer Landers.
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Everyone is familiar how Corbin spoke at the podium and then looked aside, ran off stage, and disappeared. That was in 2008 and he hasn't been seen since, giving rise to much speculation over his behavior and disappearance. The grumblers in the lounge today are complaining about how they don't have the freedom to do as they wish, that they have to take orders and get pushed around by an organization purporting to be their benefactors.
Irina notes the complaints and follows Javier as he takes point. Chad takes rear guard and Gemma falls in behind Irina. The team reaches the basement door. It's not locked but there is a lot of computer stuff all around the door. Electronic locks, sensors, the works. Despite all this, the door is standing ajar.
Why?
Hinked, Irina pulls a pen from her pocket to use it to move the door open but Javier stops her.
Javier: Let me.
Irina: Don't touch it.
Javier: No, you don't have to touch it. You look through it at what you can see. Be ready to hold the door if it starts to move but with my dexterity I could push out that door and be back in place before you can even see what I've done.
Habits from her days on the force die hard, but Irina doesn't argue. Javier's the security expert and he is taking point. Javier puts an eye to the crack looking for booby traps. Seeing nothing, he punches the door with a quick jab. It swings in slowly, clearly hooked up to dampers. Javier slips in and checks behind the door.
Clear.
He takes point and checks the space ahead. It's a hallway. Dark, with a door ajar at the far end. Light spills out from behind it. Irina slips in behind Javier, her hand on the grip of her gun. Just in case.
Javier: (whispers) Probably doesn't have anything too dangerous with student trainees running around.
Irina: (ditto) Yeah. But still, dark hallway. Is there a light switch?
No switch. Interesting. And not necessarily in a good way. A person walking from a dark area into a light area would be blinded until the eyes adjusted, giving whoever's in the lighted area a tactical advantage. On the flip side, a person entering a dim room full of computer monitors would likely need a dark space to allow his eyes to adjust for the monitors before entering. That might explain the dark hallway. Or maybe Zero Cool just enjoys the haunted house effect.
Javier pulls his cell phone, turns on its flashlight app, and points it to the floor to avoid tripping on anything.
The room beyond is a cave filled with the glowing screens of monitors mounted everywhere. There is enough computing power here to probably call the space station. Optimally placed to view it all is a chair with wires and cables leading to the computers and monitors. Sitting in it is a thin bald man who's physically jacked into to the chair via ports in his skull, melding him into the computers. His eyes are completely white from cataracts. A little bit of H. R. Giger, a little bit of the Wachowski's Matrix movies, and more than a little bit weird.
Kinda horrific, actually, but least the man's not screaming. Without turning around, he says in a quite normal voice:
Zero Cool: Welcome to my abode.
Irina: (evenly) Thanks for having us.
Zero Cool: What can I do for you? Oh wait. You're here about John.
Irina: Yes.
Zero Cool: So what questions do you have that haven't hit the digital?
Irina: Far too many to count. I'll cut right to the chase. He is the prime suspect in the robbery of essential U-fiber material. I would like to verify or eliminate him as a suspect. Do you in your estimation think he is capable of such a theft, and if so, what do you think he would steal it for?
Zero Cool: He would be capable of just about anything he wants. He was not the most stable of individuals. I haven't seen him in ages.
Irina: He was not stable how?
Zero Cool: He was always on about Project Utopia this and Project Utopia that. How evil it was.
Irina: I see. Did he have any associates still on campus who thought the same way he did
?
Zero Cool: There's a couple but they come and go. Usually the ones who don't like Project Utopia don't stick around. They'll disappear. Some stick around and cause problems until they're told they have to leave or they get transferred to a different center.
Javier mentions the post Chad found. It was on UseNet, started by Durham's own Duke University. UseNet is on a series of servers on the internet, a bit antiquated now that OpNet exists. Nevertheless, Javier gives Zero Cool the information we've got on the post.
Javier: Is there any way you can tell if the post originated from here?
Zero Cool: Yeah but what in it for me? Nothing's free in this life.
Chad: How about a stock tip?
Zero Cool: That's not as useful as you might think, considering stocks come and go over internet systems. So. What do you think? What's it worth to you?
Javier: There's the whole not-subpoena-ing you during the civil portion of the trial. Not to mention keeping you as an anonymous source during the criminal investigation. But that's more the stick than the carrot, though.
Irina: Forgive me if I'm wrong, sir, but it looks like you've got a pretty sweet rig here.
Zero Cool: Mm-hm.
Irina: I would imagine a man as connected as you are would lack for nothing. So why ask?
Zero Cool: Everything's about bargaining. Nothing's free.
Javier: Any parts you haven't replaced yet?
Zero Cool: Hmmm. Nothing I can get right now.
Javier: So maybe we can get it. It depends what's on your list.
Zero Cool: Well, as it stands right now, the only thing that doesn't work that I wish it would right now are my eyes. They burned out when I Erupted.
Irina sighs oh-so-quietly. She can see where this is going.
Irina: Is it simply the surface of the eyeball, sir, or is it the entire network from the optic nerve down.
Zero Cool: They said everything from the bone forward, which would be the eyeball itself.
Javier: So you need cybernetic replacements.
Zero Cool: They don't make cybernetic replacements quite like that, none that would interface well or be more likely to interface with me. Unfortunately nothing like that technology is out right now. Bioengineered ones, however …There is a Nova in Calcutta that's been known replacement parts for people. Unfortunately, the Aeon Foundation and Project Utopia won't make the connections with that person to give me eyes.
Javier: Is there any particular reason why the UN and Utopia blacklisted that guy?
Zero Cool: Probably because that particular person isn't amicable with the Aeon Foundation, Project Utopia, and the UN in general. But I could trace this guy down for you.
Irina: If I could ask you a question … You need eyes and yet you're able to manipulate all this equipment. How?
Zero Cool: The equipment sees for me right now. But digital sight and analog sight are two different things. And surprisingly enough for a cyberkinetic, I miss the analog.
Irina: When was the last time you've been outside?
Zero Cool: What year is it?
Irina: 2010. March 11.
Zero Cool: Since Jennifer's death.
Irina: Two years.
Zero Cool: About two years.
Irina: Did you know her?
Zero Cool: Yes. I was the point person for that particular team for Cyber Investigations.
Irina: You were with Team Tomorrow?
Zero Cool: I still technically am with Team Tomorrow.
Irina: Wasn't her funeral in Calcutta?
Zero Cool: Yes.
Irina: Was that when you lost your eyes?
Zero Cool: No I lost my eyes when I Erupted. So … '99, 2000.
Hoping to trip him up on a previously stated part of his story is an old interrogation technique. Irina has to conclude that part of his story is probably true.
Irina: So what were you doing there?
Zero Cool: In Calcutta?
Irina: What I told you I was doing. Cyber Investigations. Dealing with the set up for their offices.
Irina: Investigating Jennifer's death?
Zero Cool: No. I was there for the funeral, too, I think.
Irina: So what were you investigating, if I might ask?
Zero Cool: It depends on the particular case.
Irina: Several, then.
Zero Cool: I did it for a few years. I still do, on occasion. Right now I'm training new Cyberkinetics, mostly.
Irina: So what do you like most about this job?
Zero Cool: Right now?
Irina: Yes.
Zero Cool: The fact that I can continuously requisition the equipment I want, so I can set up the equipment the way I want it.
Irina: Workflow's very important. And in 2008 when you were in Calcutta, what did you like best?
Zero Cool: I had a good team.
Irina: How many of them were there?
Zero Cool: My primary team had only about five or six, but we had a few teams going through that I anchored on the cyber side for. Actually, I was part of getting all the network systems in Calcutta set up for them.
Irina: That makes sense. Are your teams still alive?
Zero Cool: Andre's gone.
Irina: Well, disappeared.
Zero Cool: He was kicked out, then disappeared.
Irina: What was he kicked out for?
Zero Cool: Not allowed to talk about it.
Irina: All right. Classified. I understand.
Zero Cool: Jennifer died. Most of the guys are still there or they have gone merc. A couple just up and disappeared out of the different teams. That seems to be happening a bit often lately.
Javier: Any of them I might I know?
Javier states a list of contacts in Calcutta, some of them he's worked with before as a merc.
Zero Cool: One. Elim Garrick.
Javier nods. Yeah. He knows him.
Chad: Is it the travel or the contact or is it paying him that's the difficulty of getting the eyes.
Zero Cool: Partly with paying him and partly with the fact that he won't deal with anybody that deals with or works for Team Tomorrow or Project Utopia or yadda-yadda-yadda.
Chad: So he won't build your eyes as long as you're a part of or as long as he knows you're a part.
Zero Cool: As long as he thinks it's going to someone who works for Team Tomorrow or Aeon or Project Utopia, he won't do it.
Irina: Why not?
Zero Cool: Philosophical disagreements.
Javier: (knowing laugh) Differences of creative opinions.
Irina: I've been hearing some of that right outside, actually.
Zero Cool: Young bucks get in, they learn a bunch of stuff, they think they know everything. They go out, they do stuff. They immediately don't get into Team Tomorrow, become superheroes. They don't make the pile of money they think they're going to make as a Nova … (shrugs)
Javier: Yeah, like I said. College students.
Zero Cool: Yup. Of all ages. High school students is a more accurate description.
Javier: High school never got me co-ed sleeping arrangements.
True. Be thankful for small favors.
Irina: All right. Well. Maybe we're going to Calcutta.
Chad: Do you have the specifications for your eyes in case we—
Zero Cool: Go ahead and grab the disc. It has everything that would be needed. Right next to the disc is a small genetic sample.
There's a small whirr and a tray slides out of the chair. The tray contains a disc and a sealed vial. Irina takes very carefully takes both and secures them somewhere on her person.
Irina: You've been very helpful, sir. I'll see what we can do about your eyes. I don't know enough to promise anything but I will try.
Zero Cool: In that case, I'll start the runs. If this was John, it may take a while before we can get an accurate trace.
Irina: I understand. If you need to reach me, day or night—
She verbally gives him her cell phone number.
Zero Cool: Thank you.
Javier: You might want to keep an eye out for new hubs being tested out, as if somebody were trying to grow their own U-fiber hub.
Zero Cool: Hmmm … what you could do if you could actually grow into your own colony.
Javier: Many great things. Potentially terrible, but great.
Irina: Yes. That.
Zero Cool laughs.
Zero Cool: In that case, let me know if you make progress with your stuff and I'll let you know if I make progress with my stuff.
Irina: Thank you very much, sir. Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to go.
Javier: You want us to close the door on the way out?
Zero Cool: I'll close it.
Javier: Fair enough.
As they walk out, the door closes behind them. There's a whine and the clacks of several locks sound clearly. An audible 60 Hertz hum of an electric field follows. Nobody touching that door uninvited is likely coming away with anything less than a very nasty shock. That has some implications, including the possibility that Zero Cool knew they were coming and left the door ajar for them. As to how he knew they were coming ….
Irina: I would be interested to know if he's got the entire campus wired, because that door was open for us like he knew we were coming.
Javier: If I were him? Of course, he does.
Yeah. Implications. Once they're outside, Irina sighs and says:
Irina: Well, it's nice to know he was willing to talk to us.
Javier: He's probably got the Director's office wired.
Irina: Yeah. If you were going to wire the campus, wouldn't that be the first place you'd wire?
Chad: No. The secretary's office is the first place I'd wire.
Irina: I'd wire Accounting. Everything goes through Accounting.
Javier: That's truth, right there.
Irina: (laughs) And bribe a couple of accountants with donuts or whatever it took.
Actually for optimal outcome, you'd probably wire the Executive Assistants first, then Accounting, and then the Execs. Whatever the Execs do that the Assistants don't touch is handled by Accounting. Or someone else's Executive Assistant.
Javier: And somebody who's been there for 60 years, just in case there's somebody who isn't in the digital record.
Irina: Yeah. So … we may be going to Calcutta, people.
Chad: No big.
Javier: Field trip.
Chad: The time differential is … (calculates) … sixteen hours.
The team walks back to the car. They may or may not have just gained a very useful ally in Zero Cool … or he might have covert ties to their adversaries. Calcutta might be a big fat McGuffin … or it might crack the case wide open.
There is no telling from here.
Go to Triangle Nova Investigations | Characters | Timeline | Traveler's Guide to TNI
