tell me you didn't at least consider the question?"
"I didn't run it, Mr. Supposed Photographic Memory, just assisted."
"Close enough. You've never thought about it?"
"I've been doing your tune-ups for this long and we've never had this discussion before, either," he said. "So, no. Not in those terms, anyway. Did you become any different when you suddenly had another man's lifetime of memories in with yours?"
"It's let me see someone else's viewpoint on things. I think it did affect me in some ways. But did it change me completely? No."
"There's your answer, then."
"Ah, but I know those aren't my memories kicking around in here. I knew who I was when they got put in. It's different."
Neal apparently noticed something on his screen and leaned forward again. "Probably better not to worry about it. And you check out just fine here."
Felix nodded and began to unplug. "I didn't say I was worried, I said I wondered. You can relate to that? Wondering?"
Neal gathered up the cables. "Yeah, but I'm not getting paid to wonder about this anymore. The project's shut down. The data's been sold off. You, my friend, are simply housekeeping as far as anyone here is concerned."
Felix laughed. "Nice to know where I stand."
Neal led Felix toward the exit. "I mean as far as the company is concerned. I don't want you to lose your memory any more than you do, but to answer the kind of question you're asking would take a psychologist or something. I'm just a humble neurological cybernetics research technician." He opened the door for Felix and smiled. "See you next month."
"I sure hope so!" He headed out the door, but then stopped and turned back. "You wanna tell me who they sold the data to?"
Neal chuckled. "Every month you ask me that, and every month I tell you I don't know."
"Oh, come on. I'm nice enough to come in here, let you test me every month, and irritate you with questions you don't have the answers to. The least you could do is a little sleuthing for me." Felix tried out his best grin.
"See you next month."
"Not even willing to risk his job to satisfy my curiosity." Felix made a show of sighing and teased, "I don't know. This may jeopardize our friendship."
The shrill ring of Felix's phone sounded before Neal could respond. It was Caitlin. "I'll see you later," he told Neal with a wave. Neal locked the door behind him as Felix stepped down the corridor a few paces to take the call.
"Caitlin , hi!"
" Hullo, ducks. Did your appointment go alright? "
The sound of Caitlin's Welsh accent was always a pleasure to hear, but s omething felt wrong that he couldn't quite put his finger on. "It went fine. You sound a little. . . off?" It was a routine check-up. She knew that. It wasn't like her to be bothered by such a thing.
There was a pause on the line.
" Felix, I may have just seen Gideon. He's alive. "
Chapter 8
The others sat on Marc's bunk awaiting his answer while he paced his quarters. The clock on his visor display read nearly ten p.m., and Marette hadn't arrived yet. The signal at the door minutes earlier had instead turned out to be Nick, Gunther, and Elsa, come to ask his help a second time. It was two hours since Nick had first tried to get Marc's help with hacking into ESA's system at Alpha Station.
It was six hours since the incident.
Shouting and confusion in the darkness had filled the moments after Namura's aborted scream. When they restored the power shortly thereafter, she was collapsed over her smoking rig.
Instantly -summoned ESA personnel rushed into the room and swept Namura off to a medical bay while Marette ordered the rest to wait behind; they'd only be in the way. The hackers were left alone in the room, stunned into silence.
It hadn't lasted. Nearly everyone spoke at once. What happened? What went wrong? Did ESA know such a thing would occur? A lack of available answers led to a renewed silence before someone suggested they go find out, despite Marette's orders.
Marc was primarily in
"I didn't run it, Mr. Supposed Photographic Memory, just assisted."
"Close enough. You've never thought about it?"
"I've been doing your tune-ups for this long and we've never had this discussion before, either," he said. "So, no. Not in those terms, anyway. Did you become any different when you suddenly had another man's lifetime of memories in with yours?"
"It's let me see someone else's viewpoint on things. I think it did affect me in some ways. But did it change me completely? No."
"There's your answer, then."
"Ah, but I know those aren't my memories kicking around in here. I knew who I was when they got put in. It's different."
Neal apparently noticed something on his screen and leaned forward again. "Probably better not to worry about it. And you check out just fine here."
Felix nodded and began to unplug. "I didn't say I was worried, I said I wondered. You can relate to that? Wondering?"
Neal gathered up the cables. "Yeah, but I'm not getting paid to wonder about this anymore. The project's shut down. The data's been sold off. You, my friend, are simply housekeeping as far as anyone here is concerned."
Felix laughed. "Nice to know where I stand."
Neal led Felix toward the exit. "I mean as far as the company is concerned. I don't want you to lose your memory any more than you do, but to answer the kind of question you're asking would take a psychologist or something. I'm just a humble neurological cybernetics research technician." He opened the door for Felix and smiled. "See you next month."
"I sure hope so!" He headed out the door, but then stopped and turned back. "You wanna tell me who they sold the data to?"
Neal chuckled. "Every month you ask me that, and every month I tell you I don't know."
"Oh, come on. I'm nice enough to come in here, let you test me every month, and irritate you with questions you don't have the answers to. The least you could do is a little sleuthing for me." Felix tried out his best grin.
"See you next month."
"Not even willing to risk his job to satisfy my curiosity." Felix made a show of sighing and teased, "I don't know. This may jeopardize our friendship."
The shrill ring of Felix's phone sounded before Neal could respond. It was Caitlin. "I'll see you later," he told Neal with a wave. Neal locked the door behind him as Felix stepped down the corridor a few paces to take the call.
"Caitlin , hi!"
" Hullo, ducks. Did your appointment go alright? "
The sound of Caitlin's Welsh accent was always a pleasure to hear, but s omething felt wrong that he couldn't quite put his finger on. "It went fine. You sound a little. . . off?" It was a routine check-up. She knew that. It wasn't like her to be bothered by such a thing.
There was a pause on the line.
" Felix, I may have just seen Gideon. He's alive. "
Chapter 8
The others sat on Marc's bunk awaiting his answer while he paced his quarters. The clock on his visor display read nearly ten p.m., and Marette hadn't arrived yet. The signal at the door minutes earlier had instead turned out to be Nick, Gunther, and Elsa, come to ask his help a second time. It was two hours since Nick had first tried to get Marc's help with hacking into ESA's system at Alpha Station.
It was six hours since the incident.
Shouting and confusion in the darkness had filled the moments after Namura's aborted scream. When they restored the power shortly thereafter, she was collapsed over her smoking rig.
Instantly -summoned ESA personnel rushed into the room and swept Namura off to a medical bay while Marette ordered the rest to wait behind; they'd only be in the way. The hackers were left alone in the room, stunned into silence.
It hadn't lasted. Nearly everyone spoke at once. What happened? What went wrong? Did ESA know such a thing would occur? A lack of available answers led to a renewed silence before someone suggested they go find out, despite Marette's orders.
Marc was primarily in
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