System 2.0 - Division of Powers

Bavaria

The river wound its way around alpine peaks and ski resorts, breaking over rocks and surging through rapids. The water was a torrent of spring ice-melt, rendered harmless by the paused simulation.

Two birds were completely frozen in flight, unable to move, as if time itself had stopped flowing forwards.

The effect was spoiled somewhat by the human shapes moving around the static landscape, inspecting evidence or engaged in quiet conversation.

'Very pretty,' said the avatar of Adraeus Certaine as he took in the view.

'I thought you didn't like mountains,' Esther commented.

The avatar smiled. Certaine hadn't made the journey himself but the simulacrum was directly linked to his core identity. It was the next best thing to having him there in person.

'What are you doing anyway?'

'Lunch,' he said pleasantly. 'Lobster and champaign. Then we're meeting Vee Drexel to discuss trade routes.'

'Sounds riveting,' she said.

Sitrep Leos was with a group of agents from the System Authority. They were standing on a nearby road in dark grey suits. Sitrep looked unhappy, and the agents were either asking questions or listening intently.

Esther smiled as his discomfort. She had warned him.

'Shall we take a look for ourselves?' the avatar asked.

'Of course,' she said. 'This way.'

She led her employer down a rocky pathway to the valley floor where others were already standing around a tall thin metal pillar. It was one of the supports for the monorail track that crossed the river at this point.

'What have you learned so far?' Certaine asked.

'Not much,' she said. 'But there's enough to prove that the incidents were intentional, and we now know that they aren't connected to Gastiss or the Viper Virus.'

'How so?'

'We've got photographs of this valley from the past week, and that wasn't on it.'

She pointed to a small package which was fixed to the side of the steel support, about eight feet from the ground.

Certaine nodded as they drew closer for a better view. The demolition charge was held in place by a simple strap with a solid metal clasp.

'Do we know when it was attached?' Certaine asked, and Esther shrugged.

'We know it wasn't there three days ago when a couple of hikers posed for a picture, but we've got nothing since then.'

'Nothing from security cameras?'

'The records were deleted.'

Certaine nodded.

'Of course they were,' he said.

'Someone placed the charge, deleted the camera feeds, and derailed one of the transports...'

'So the track was empty when the explosives were activated.'

'Exactly,' Esther agreed. 'That tells us that the incidents were connected, and that the perpetrator is still active.'

'Unlike Gastiss, who is safely locked away, or the Viper Virus, which has been deactivated.'

She nodded.

'We've got someone out there who is behind these events.'

'An individual or a group?'