The dean chose to remain in his office after he regained use of his back and leg muscles (his resignation to what happened summed up with a “You know where I am if you need me.”) Whitaker had been taken by Toller into one of the adjoining rooms and handcuffed to a chair—she left the … Read more
Dean Harwood huffed and made as if to sit back down in his chair. His eyes flashed to the gun once again and his frown deepened. Instead of sitting, he folded his arms across his chest and seemed to fold into himself. “Give him the code,” Whitaker said. “No.” The gun switched to Harwood. “If … Read more
She withdrew the Enoch from her hip, opened a circular menu that accessed the surveillance spellcode in the door and selected a few specialized bits of code. In front of the four, the door began to shimmer. At first it seemed to glow with an orange light, then shadows formed and clotted together, forming into … Read more
“Why did you send me the list of professors that you did?” Elaine asked. Warren blinked a few times and rubbed his temple, he looked to Toller as if for help, but she only shrugged. “Must you hang from the ceiling like that?” he asked, still craning his neck. “Come to think of it, how … Read more
“You think the message from Mercer is legit?” Toller asked Warren as she eased the car into the parking space—the wheels crunched over a carelessly discarded soft drink there. The side of the ASU Bookstore loomed large in front of them, the sun had already fallen far from its zenith in the sky and now … Read more
“Whitaker certainly seems to have a lot to lose if something goes wrong,” Toller said. “Is that what you’re getting at? This whole story about them doing it on the University dime sounds nice when Shutter’s tells the story but it sounds like a game to him—but perhaps those two aren’t playing.” “So you’re going … Read more
“With all the relevant data points,” Elaine said, “we can see that someone is using some sort of extremely sophisticated statistical magick to affect the outcome of tests. Now, it’s similar to but not exactly like the Improbability Engine that took hold in the minds of Brad and Larry. The type of effect we’re seeing … Read more
“It’s not what it looks like,” Shutters finally said with a single long breath. “What we’re doing isn’t illegal—okay—we’ve all had scrapes with the law before, by testing mathematical theory on poker games in Las Vegas. No cops were called, understand. It’s just that what we’ve been testing isn’t totally covered by University policy and … Read more
Professor James Shutters stared nervously at the two FBI agents standing on his stoop, uncertain how to proceed from their introduction. He fidgeted with the ice water held in his clammy hands, condensation dripping down the sides. To cover his anxiety, he took a sip and drew out the moment. “May we come in?” Agent … Read more
“I’m more interested in if people use it for less-than-legitimate purposes.” Their trek took them into a workshop made of iron girders, wood floors, with a furnace and a circular dais. He carefully stayed back as Shodan charged in recklessly and flattened all opposition that rose to attack her. She seemed to carom off the … Read more