Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

26 - Those Who Reach for the Dark

Pardua's work station was sunk deep into a broad recess at the back of his apartment, safely sealed behind a sliding wall section that completely concealed it from prying eyes. His visor glittered as he withdrew his hand from DNA lock sensor, a thin smile on his face.

A shining forest of screens looked back at them. The one in the centre was the size of a dinner table, currently shimmering with a screensaver of an elegant coral dragon swimming through emerald seas. Around it, the subsidiary monitors lay dormant for the moment, their gossamer screens arranged in a symmetrical arrangement on either side. Holly could feel the intricate hive of circuits behind it all, a system as beautiful as it was powerful.

"And all this time you never invited me to see this?" she said quietly.

Pardua smirked. "As I understand it, people like you don't really need computers, do you?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Come along."

Gathering his robe around him, he glided across the room and settled into the plush, high-backed chair. She felt the sing of the visor chips in his temples, and a glass-band of light shone across his eyes. His hands moved delicately over the intricate holo-interface in front of the screen cluster.

One by one they came to life, drifting into wakefulness, as though the whole machine had surfaced from a tranquil lagoon. The central screensaver melted away to be replaced by a massively complex directory of networked files under Gammaton logos. Pardua made gentle motions with his hands, and files whipped away to the left and right until the screen was clear.

He keyed a command in, then beckoned her.

"Alright, Lockley," he told her. "Let's see what we can see. The chip."

She handed it to him. "Make sure you're not networked."

"What do you think I just did?" He swivelled to face her and gestured to the screen. "Go on. Check it yourself."

Holly felt around the structure of the computer with her implants. Sure enough, the whole complex jungle of circuitry was roped off from the rest of the data-stream with a sheathe of formidable firewalls, connections severed to the wider networks.

"Alright."

Pardua sniffed indignantly and slipped the control chip into a malleable port interface. The needle-thin limbs folded shut around the chip, mapping its structure and finding connections. He took another sip of his scotch, turning idly left and right in his chair.

"Where'd you dredge this up, Holly?" he chuckled. "It usually only takes a couple of seconds to map a new port configuration."

"Honestly, Pardy, it's probably better if you don't know."

"Now that just invites more questions."

"Humour me."

He rolled his eyes, his attention turning back to the screen. "O-kay. Looks like we're ready." Putting down his glass, he danced his fingers over the interface. On the main monitor an image of the chip appeared, stripped down to its deepest layers, with text annotations spilled across the screen around it. Some of it she understood, some not so much. Pardua's brow furrowed and he tapped a finger thoughtfully against his chin.

"Well, that explains why the port had trouble identifying it." He looked back over his shoulder at her accusingly. "Schism-tech, Holly? I thought you had more sense than that."

Oh, Pardy, if only you knew what you were saying. She stuffed down her surprise and kept her thoughts to herself and threw him a wan smile instead. "Being sensible isn't a luxury I have right now."