Elaine walked over and took the phone from him, once unlocked and the cryptography on the phone broken she could easily use the Enoch at her hip to access the active storage on the phones. A moment later and she had what she needed from her entire team’s set of cryptophones. “Yes. They’re all green,” … Read more
Frog smirked and passed a finger through some curling green hairs dripping down her bangs. “I know everyone is anxious to get this over with,” she said. “But we just need to wait a little longer for David and Russell to get here.” A knock at the door to Elaine’s lab and Frog opened it … Read more
Today the dean looked less like an old British man in a trimmed suit and more like an administrator flush with presence and purpose. To Frog and Elaine, his attitude made him almost-gentlemanly—friendly but not too friendly and filled with a profound joy restrained by reserved social grace. Elaine stood in front of his desk … Read more
“Coming in loud and clear,” Frog said. “What now?” “I have established the diagnostic net,” Elaine said as she caught a rolling chair, sat in it, and then slid it across the room to another workstation. Her fingers danced across the keyboard like a concert pianist at a recital, flourishing single-handedly time-to-time to gesture in … Read more
“Actually, no,” Elaine said. “Neither of these Universities shows a great amount of anomalies. What is anomalous here is that ASU generally receives a lot more graduate students from out of state than they do from their own undergraduate population. In this case, the opposite is true. Something Dr. Fedora said earlier today got me … Read more
Zane enthroned himself in his ergonomic computer chair in the living room as he, Elaine, Frog, Roger, and Hadaly all held an audience by the flickering light of the numerous monitors. Each one currently displayed scenes from different video games as they cycled through downloading all the various media feeds that Zane consumed during a … Read more
“You’ll be able to stand in a minute or so,” Elaine said without lifting her eyes from the Enoch’s screen. “There will be no permanent damage. The nerves and muscles in your legs have been overloaded with an electroshock pulse.” “So clinical,” Susan said. “Larry, I didn’t know you were on one of the other … Read more
“Webcams show six people around the house,” Elaine said. She flipped open her phone and started plugging away at the keys. “All your computers in the house are still shielded and grounded? Zane?” “Uh, yes, always,” he said. “Good,” Elaine said. She smiled to herself as she loaded up an experimental program she’d been baking … Read more
The first members of Zane’s team arrived through the back door as she was lining the phones up. Frog firmly closed the entrance door, kicking some foam soundproofing against the jamb at Zane’s instruction. After she’d finished her task, she grabbed a stool, propped herself up against the door, and crossed her arms. The small … Read more
Elaine glanced up from the diffuse glow of code to see Zane at the window. For the third time in the past hour a streak of light from a break in the window blinds crossed his pale features, a pigmentation trait common to their family. It manifested genetically alongside what appeared to be a tendency … Read more