As it turns out, there's no need to take one of the borrowed cars to Avatars LLC and risk Inari being seen - when Tracy calls Chaz and mentions the issue, he smiles in an avuncular fashion and tells her that he'll send around one of the VIP limos - the ones with bulletproof and more importantly mirrored windows. George and his partner salutes as they depart. "Don't worry, Mr. Edwards, we'll hold the fort."

Avatars LLC North Bend Research Facility
A sprawling campus nestled south of the Magnolia Tower, it's a mix of anonymous office buildings and parkland, with monorail tubes running between the buildings. There are several parking garages for skycars and ground traffic, but individual helipads can also be spotted at the roof of the larger buildings. A giant geodesic dome at the eastern end, up against the fortified suburb's wall, houses the fusion power plant that supplies power exclusively to the lab.

The plushly upholstered Icarus Cloud 9 sky-limo whisks them smoothly away under the control of a robot autopilot, and toward one of the many heliports on the surface of the sprawling Avatars LLC corporate research facility. There's no checkpoint, but Jason doesn't need Tracy to tell him that the limo's interior is thoroughly equipped with scanners and transponders. He can feel the electronic chatter right over his head. RIU perches on his shoulders and tilts its head as if listening as well.

VIP Limo 53 passing through checkpoint C-2. On final approach to Vanaheim rooftop. ETA, 30 seconds.

Ganglot confirms passenger manifest. Scan shows vibrosword, powered down and retracted, taser and cutting blade, stored, police sidearm, holstered. Please advise passengers of weapons policy. Escort robot en route.

The limo's robot autopilot speaks up. "We at Avatars LLC are glad to welcome you to our facilities! However, for your own safety, we must ask you to check your weapons. Besides the obvious risk of property damage, injury, and loss of life from weapon discharge, we carry out many experiments which involve highly sensitive electromagnetic fields, which may result in potential weapon malfunction. An escort robot will meet you on the rooftop. You may deposit your weapons in its internal shielded lockers, and it will accompany you throughout your visit so that at any time you wish to depart, you may retrieve your weapons."

As the limo completes its briefing, it lands softly on the roof, dust billowing up on both sides. Two humanoid security robots stand guard at the door, but the apparent escort robot is sitting next to the ramp from the helipad - a four-legged robot with a swiveling camera head mounted on a long neck. Its curved blue ladybug-like shell and lack of visible weapons make it look surprisingly harmless.

Inari looks studiously innocent, dressed in a shiny black jumpsuit. If it weren't for the transmission he'd just overheard, Jason would have no idea that she's concealing a vibrosword hilt on her person.

Cadena shakes himself out of his stupor. He'd found the interior of the limo perhaps just a little too comfortable, and dozed off on the ride over. He looks up through the holo-screen interface he'd called up to compose an e-message (but dozed off in the middle of), and dismisses it to draft storage with a sweep of his paw. He disembarks from the limo first, so as not to hold up Tracy.

Tracy hands over her taser and knife to the robot without hesitation. She's been through this before, after all. Ever since she cleaned up and put on her fresh jumpsuit though she's been fairly quiet.

"Great, emf. Hopefully it won't screw with my head, either," Jason thinks to himself from where he sits, cross-armed. "You'll have to hand over the sword you're carrying, Inari. They system knows exactly what it is and where," he remarks to the kitsune. "Not that I particularly want to give up any weapons at this point, but ... eh." he adds as he slips out of the car and hands over his sidearm.

The escort robot actually seems to beam at Tracy. Though it has no visible mouth, it cleverly manipulates the shutters that sit atop its two bulbous camera-eyes to look like eyes squinting shut in happiness. Its ladybug shell pops open to reveal a variety of lockers - two large rifle-sized lockers and four glove compartment-sized lockers on each side.

The girl uses one of the smaller glove compartment lockers, using her thumbprint for the key. Once her gear is stowed, she smiles back to the robot.

The kitsune grumps, ears flattening out. "We're trusting our protection to something that looks like it escaped from Mr. Entomology's Fantastic World of Bugs?" She fishes out the hilt of the vibrosword, however, and stows it.

"Hey, it's probably better than trusting our safety to someone like Tracy," Jason quips and stows his gun in one of the smaller compartments.

Cadena shuffles around in the heavier "bomb dog" armor he's field-testing (extra-heavy, without the sleek Avatars styling), sniffing the air, and doing his customary sweep of the surroundings. He takes a few tentative steps toward the awaiting lobby, then turns his head (a bit harder to do with the armor links shelling his neck) to look supportively to Tracy. He trots over her and noses her leg, tail wagging slowly, tongue lolling.

The escort robot clears its throat. "Allow me to introduce myself, honored visitors! Please call me Ed. I will be your guide for today. For now, I will be taking you to meet Charles Burgundy, our VP in charge of Information Technology. He's currently in the main computer room." Its shell closes up again as it trots toward the lobby, where the doors open silently before them.

Cadena quickly follows after Tracy, still looking back and forth. Security robot or not, he doesn't act terribly secure out here in the open.

"You really need a sense of humor," Jason remarks to the teenager. "And a pleasure to meet you, Ed," he adds to the robot, then follows after it.

The limo's autopilot chimes in, "Thank you for flying with me today! Just let us know when you're ready to depart and I'll be back before you know it."

The lobby of the Avatars LLC research building looks like any other office lobby of a multi-billion dollar company that they've ever been in - random fine art pieces that match the blue and gold decor, a marbled tile floor, even a smiling human receptionist who greets them by name and issues them badges. Rebecca (or so her nametag says) advises them that their meals will be comped if they want to eat at one of the Avatars LLC world-famous cafeterias, and that they can also request food be delivered, should they be too busy to go down to one. "You also have access to all facilities, excepting certain ones restricted for government and military security. Please enjoy your visit!"

"Unless I decide otherwise and visit anyway," Jason thinks as he just smiles and takes the badge. "I wish they wouldn't use every moment as a chance to hard-sell things. World famous, really?" he remarks to the others as he shakes his head.

"You guys don't want the tour, right?" Tracy asks Jason and Inari. "I know the way to the research lab."

Inari clips the badge to the collar flap of her jumpsuit. "I've only seen the place briefly, and ah, not while it was at its best." She gives Jason a sidelong look.

Jason slaps his badge on, literally. "I don't know, a tour might prove useful. It'll give me a chance to see if anything seems suspicious, like, oh, people trying to transmit things to your friend Sasha, or the like. Nothing quite like a perimeter scan, you could say. It also gives us an idea what is at hand should something bad happens ... which given our track record is likely," he notes.

Cadena, looking visibly more relieved upon making it into Avatars LLC property, remarks, "The cafeterias are indeed world-famous thanks to the widespread nature of the Avatars game. This is one of the few places where you can hope to find specialists in 'genuine Tasavaltian cuisine' - or, that is, the closest you can hope to get to it in the real world."

Tracy frowns, and asks, "You don't have much confidence in my mom's ability to do her job, do you?" Then she adds, "Which reminds me.. we should check on Mike and Mark and ask them if they've seen Jason Zero."

Moving holograms on the wall advertise the various shards that make up the Diadem, as if they were travel posters, describing the wonders of exotic places like the Church of Tasavalta, the hanging gardens of Asphodel, and Shipwreck, a city made of abandoned ships at the center of the sargasso.

"Having a healthy sense of skepticism keeps you alive, Tracy. No one sees the same problem in the same way," Jason points out.

Ed tilts its head as if listening. "Vice President Charles Burgundy assures me that you are not needed in the laboratory immediately," the bug-bot says cheerily. "Are you interested in touring the greater Avatars LLC research facility, or might you prefer to restrict your tour to Vanaheim itself?"

"Okay, then, let's do your bug-sweep," Tracy concedes, a bit too easily. Maybe she's starting to get paranoid too. "I'll let Chaz know we'll be wandering around like tourists for a bit."

"Thank you. I promise to not hack the posters and make them follow you, playing the hamster dance," Jason tells Tracy. "How long will the larger tour take?" he asks the bot.

"Might I inquire," Cadena inquires, somewhat nervously, with a head-ducking bow, "whether any other members of my line might be visiting the facilities today, perhaps in for a checkup? I haven't exactly made any effort to keep in touch."

"Approximately four hours! There's so much to see and do here in Avatars LLC's offices, even omitting research that would require you to sign an NDA," the robot says, 'smiling'.

"Wow, I hadn't realized there were other White Cadenas.." Tracy notes, blinking at her Cadena.

"Hm. Four hours is a rather long time. what would the Vanheim tour take?" Jason asks. "We could always take the other part of the tour after we conclude our business here."

Ed consults via radio, then advises Cadena, "No other experimental Avatar companions are presently in the office. However, should you wish to consult with one, I will make inquiries."

"Approximately 90 minutes," Ed replies to Jason. "120 minutes if you wish to have lunch in our ground floor cafeteria."

RIU rests its chin on Jason's head, trying to see over the secretary's shoulder what she's reading.

Jason pats the dragon on his shoulder. "We have two real Avatars along the way; they make of for a dozen experimental companions," he claims. "And why don't we stick to the shorter tour and grab lunch. Once we get working, who knows how long it will take."

"The cafeteria is pretty good," Tracy notes. "There's a little lounge off of it too, and the couches are comfy for napping. I slept there a lot when I was little and my parents were working late."

Cadena nods, then turns to the robot, ducking his head. "Thank you for checking for me. I have no requests at this time."

Ed beeps happily. "Well then, let's get started! We'll start from the bottom and work up, so the first thing we should visit is the elevator..." Vanaheim appears to be a cylinder in basic layout, wrapped around an interior shaft with reflectors that bounce sunlight down to the lower levels effectively doubling the number of 'window offices'. As for the 'bottom', that turns out not to be ground level after all, but the physical facilities that provide needed services like air conditioning and heating, and cooling for the massive quantum cores. Eerily blue-glowing lines that remind Jason of the Ozymandias run coolant between the cores themselves and the waste dissipation facility. "In the winter, we can spread the heat across the many office buildings here, reducing our heating bills and keeping us green. In the summer, we run cold water from the bay through these lines. Completely EPA approved!"

"I'm pretty sure they filter the seawater first," Tracy whispers to Inari. "Don't want it catching fire or something.."

Maintenance workers in blue jumpsuits and orange hard-hats nod to the visitors as they rush hither and thither. "We've got a temperature spike in sector C!" yelps one. "Boost coolant flow by 20%!"

"Do you add anything to the bay water to adjust its coefficient of heat?" Jason asks, "And filter it out afterward?" The outburst, though, makes him blink. "Why is there a temperature spike of 20 degrees? That seems ... odd. Most things tend to run in a steady-state."

"Who knows how the Cores really work?" Tracy notes with a shrug. "All sorts of weird physics things happen in them. Maybe one needed the power to create a virtual supercomputer."

The maintenance worker nearest Jason, a red-haired woman, stops to answer his question. "It's filtered before it goes in, sir. While we're adding to global warming, we're reducing ocean pollution. Management of ocean temperature's a different agency."

Nudging Jason, Tracy asks the technician, "Is there a record of when spikes have occurred in the past?"

"Ah, of course. Passing on the problem to someone else. Good corporate ethics at work," Jason agrees with a sage nod.

Something then seems to occur to Jason and his brow furrows. He eyes the red-haired woman curiously.

"It makes more sense to manage ocean temperature from a central agency," the maintenance technician argues. "As for the spikes... Well, it's been happening a while, for years, really. Every now and then, the Q-Cores start thinking really hard. Within operating parameters, but it plays hob with our thermic budgets."

The supervisor nearby adds, "If it weren't a breach of our contract, I'd love to rip one open and find out what makes it tick, but Dantech has a pretty hardcore contract against reverse engineering. Every time they come by to service the machines, we've got to clear everyone out so we won't see anything we're not meant to."

"Of course I assume you've considered the fact that since they're also running the rival game ... surely they wouldn't try to sabotage your systems, plant spy routines, or piggyback off your systems, effectively having you pay for their server costs," Jason remarks rather dryly.

Cadena keeps close to Tracy, and tries very hard not to be in the way of anyone.

The red-haired woman - Cathy, from her nametag - shrugs. "Not my concern, I just keep the heat rolling. Sir."

"Like how it's your sister's job to man the reception desk?" Jason asks the red-head.

The blue security "bug" says politely, "Hel does a complete audit of our systems after every maintenance checkup. To date, we have found absolutely no evidence of any tampering whatsoever. Are you ready to move on? Our next stop will be the Q-Cores themselves, and I'm sure you won't want to skip that!"

Cathy frowns at Jason. "Sister? Sorry, sir, gotta get back to work!" She resumes manipulating the heat flow diagram in the air before her.

The supervisor looks relieved. "Ah, the spike's going down. Okay, throttle it back, recharge the reserves when it's back to normal."

"Of course you do, Cathy," Jason remarks. To Tracy, he notes quietly, "You may not have noticed, but Cathy the tech is identical to Rebecca the receptionist. And I do mean identical. Something fishy is going on and it's not just my keen sense of fish." Louder, to the security bot, "Ah, right, lets move on. I'm sure Hel is infallible, just like he was four years ago when the universe almost imploded."

Ed tilts its camera-head at Jason. "I have no data on that, sir. However, yes, I am programmed to affirm that Hel is in fact, infallible, within reason!"

"I know Hel and know he isn't. Never get complacent. You always double check, then triple-check the double-check, and even that won't be enough," Jason remarks, "Now, lets go see the ticking bombs of reality collapse. I mean, the cores."

As Ed conducts them up to the next floor, the one that houses the Q-Cores themselves, it adds a series of disclaimers that clarify that 'within reason' means 'given access to correct and complete information', a thorough understanding of human nature which is in fact difficulty if not impossible for an AD to achieve, and of course, barring unforeseen accidents and catastrophes which could not be predicted by current weather and climatology science. They take the stairs up - well, stairs for the humans, a ramp for the security robot. Wheelchair-friendly!

"Hel's technically female, according to mythology," Tracy notes to Jason. "And whatever you do, do not stand between the blue-green lights in the Core room."

"Female, eh? Even more fallable," Jason jokes ... and makes sure there are a few steps between him, Tracy, and Inari, for that comment.

The Q-Cores housing is a big round football-sized room with offices and maintenance supply rooms ringing the area. The Q-Cores themselves are giant slabs of black material, completely featureless except for the Dantech logo stamped at the upper right corner of each. They are anchored within polished steel clamps from which blue pipes run to the physical facilities department just underneath, and lined up row by row in a grid layout. The maintenance workers here wear white and blue jumpsuits, with hoods pulled up to prevent hair from falling out into the delicate workings.

Jason smiles sweetly to Inari. "So, how many people in here have red hair, do you think?" he asks the others, changing the topic. "And I should have asked for one of these as a reward for the events years past. Oh well."

Whatever dark thoughts Tracy may have towards Jason are well hidden, and her attention is taken up by the slabs. She eyes them with a good bit of apprehension.

Cadena leans his head sympathetically against Tracy's side at one of the brief vista stopping points.

Ed says, "And here we have one of several of Avatars's network of Q-Cores, bringing you our widely acclaimed massively multiplayer virtual reality game for twenty years. It's common for our visitors to ask which one houses Tasavalta and which one holds the Empire of Stars, but in fact, it would be more accurate to imagine that these Q-Cores represent physical laws like gravity and the conservation of energy and matter, or conditions such as love and hatred, war and peace, which underpin the virtual universe. Just a single Q-Core here has more computing power than the entire Earth did in the year 2020."

The kitsune peers suspiciously around. "Now that you mention it... I think I see Cathy's other sister... Back there." She nods toward the back of the room. "Want me to round her up for a little questioning?"

"They use ghost channels to talk," Tracy mutters, and then shivers. "I hate that term. It makes me think there are souls being caught and sucked into the machines."

"Which one is the replacement White and replacement Black," Jason asks the bot. To Inari Jason nods, "Please do. I would appreciate it." And to Tracy he adds, "Who says they don't? That is what happened to your mother four years ago..."

Ed beeps with alarm. "Sir, please restrain your pet! These Q-Cores are highly delicate instruments of technology."

"Ah, so you admit that my mother has a soul then?" Tracy replies with a smirk. "I'll tell her that."

"Of course she does, Tracy. Two, in fact. The quality varies with what shoes she wears day to day..." Jason quips.

"Sir," Cadena says, alarmed, "doesn't RIU have cybernetic components? Mere proximity may result in interference. Foreign devices aren't allowed that close to the Q-Cores."

"When Inari gets back I'm going to ask her to bite you," Tracy tells Jason. "And yeah, the Cores alter space-time or something - solid state stuff goes a bit wonky near them."

"So do I and I haven't had any issues yet," Jason points out. "RIU, come back here, the natives are getting restless," he tells the cybernetic dragon anyway. "But .... if it'll make you feel better, I'll ask him to come back."

The bug looks worried as it trots after RIU. "Sir, we are authorized to employ force to remove unauthorized persons and objects from the vicinity of the Q-Cores." Then as Jason speaks, it breathes a sigh of relief - and how it does that is a marvel of robotic emotive behavior engineering, considering it has no breath.

RIU hovers in the air barely ten feet away from a Q-Core. It turns and makes a wheedling noise at its master. But, but... Interesting object!

"Shoulder, or things might get ugly," Jason insists, then pats his shoulder. "Remind me to have the staff here program you with the ability to break rules," Jason notes to Cadena.

"No tinkering with my dog," Tracy growls. "We're here to find out if other stuff was programmed into him, remember?"

Ed beams again. "Thank you, sir! These Q-Cores represent a cornerstone of Avatars LLC's multi-trillion dollar business. Without them, we would be sunk! We thank you for exercising patience and understanding. Now, resuming our tour, on the next three floors, we have the virtual reality labs. In fact, Vice President Charles Burgundy is working in one at the moment." It appears that there's a secondary elevator shaft that serves the research floors, and a winding stairwell around them.

Still no Inari. RIU, now re-perched around Jason's shoulders, looks around but doesn't see any signs of her, or the redhaired woman she was chasing.

Cadena's body posture immediately shifts, and his ears perk up. "Will we be able to meet Vice President Burgundy?"

"We aren't leaving until Inari comes back," Jason says and starts looking about for her, himself.

Ed pauses as if consulting some registers. "Oh! Yes. We are missing a tour member. Scan in progress."

The 'tour members' see Inari in the shadow of one of the complicated-looking lab machines, with a squirming woman also in shadow. Her outline looks curiously hazy. Meanwhile, Ed says, "Ah! I have her badge on tracking. Right this way, sir." The bug heads off in the opposite direction.

So of course Jason goes in the other direction, towards the shadowy image of Inari.

Uncertain, Tracy goes with Ed, to keep it from noticing that nobody is following.

Cadena holds back, looking uncertainly between the departing security robot and the other scene.

The kitsune appears to have an arm hold on a wide-eyed red-haired computer technician who looks rather like Cathy and Rebecca. Her nametag says Monica. As Jason comes up, Inari grins toothily and releases her hand from the technician's mouth. "Okay, now you can talk, but don't scream. Who are you and who do you work for?"

Cadena looks alarmed. "Tracy! This is an emergency! Please detach my K-9 Storm Collar and my headset!"

Tracy stops in her tracks and turns around. "Okay, can you tell me why you need those removed?" she asks as she starts working on the collar.

"Mmf-- I'm Monica! Monica Schwartz! I work for Avatars!" the red-haired woman says. "Who are you and why are you manhandling me?!"

"Was it really necessary to get rough?" Jason asks on a low voice. To the woman, Monica, he says bluntly, "Look, there are two others that look exactly like you. That is, from a probability point of view, practically impossible. So drop the pretense and explain yourself."

"Proximity to Q-Cores!" Cadena barks, as he uses his polydactyl paw to rip the headset out of his ear.

"You aren't that close," Tracy says, and holds on to Cadena's armor. "You want to run over to Inari and Jason; is that it?"

"Avatars LLC personnel in danger! Conflicting priorities!" Cadena barks. "Must assist!"

"No! Sit!" Tracy says, and tries to pull Cadena's head around to look at her. "She's not in danger, they're just asking her some questions."

Cadena reflexively sits as commanded, but twitches repeatedly, biting down hard on his lower lip.

'Monica' squirms in Inari's hand, but gives in, seeing the look of certainty in Jason's eye. "I don't know what you mean about people who look like me, but maybe they came from Tesliem like I did. All I know is, the Emperor's man told me that I was needed to serve out here..." She looks in tears. "Are you here to kill me?"

"You have to trust Jason's instincts.. and triplets that aren't aware of one another are unlikely," Tracy notes. "Of course, sending a bunch of clones without altering their looks at all is pretty unlikely too, but they'll sort it out, I'm sure."

"No. But we need to know what is going on. I've been to Tesliem. Four years ago. Pirate ship Osymandias. You may have heard of it. Anyway, will you please come with us and explain what you know? Something bad is happening, that much is certain. If you cooperate, nothing will happen to you," Jason says. The last part may be more directed at Inari than Monica.

"Four years ago? That was after I-- all right, I'll come quietly. Just..." She whispers. "You aren't here because something bad happened back home, are you?"

"I wouldn't know. Come on," Jason says. "Inari, escort her, please. I think it's time to cut our tour short and find Holly and Chaz."

Ed pauses in front of the ladies' bathroom and looks around for its tour. At this distance, Tracy can just make out its eyebrow-shutters flying up in comic dismay.

"They're moving, let's head to the elevator," Tracy tells Cadena. "Ed will catch up, I'm sure."

Inari loosens her grip and 'encourages' Monica to walk along. As they leave the shadow of the bank of equipment, her haze dissipates as well.

Ed uses a foot-hand to open the ladies' bathroom and sticks its head in. From here, Cadena can faintly make out the bug calling, "Hello? Inari? Where are you?"

Cadena, in deliberate, slow motions, gets back up off his haunches, and stoops down to pick up his hastily-extracted headset in his mouth. He shakily keeps stride with Tracy.

When they approach Tracy and Cadena, Jason says, "Well, it appears Avatar's has been 'hiring' refugees from Tesliem. It appears several of the 'generic female archtype' characters were sent our by the Emperor. They didn't make sure that the ones with identical structure and skinning were placed in separate locations. Anyway, meet Monica, number 3 Tesliem resident. There may be others than the two we already know of."

Tracy finishes reattaching Cadena's headset. "So, I'm guessing the mystery power spikes are portal events, and someone or something has fixed the whole fake-matter issue?" she says.

As they regroup at the elevator to the research floors, Ed comes trotting out of the ladies' bathroom with Inari's badge in one foothand, using the other three legs to move with barely a hitch in its stride. "Ah! There you are," the bug says happily. "You seem to have left this in the bathroom, honored visitor."

Inari bats her eyelashes. "Why, thank you, Ed! You are a true gentlebot." She clips it on with one hand, her other hand holding Monica's wrist.

"Always happy to be of service," Ed declares. "Shall we go up? I've taken the liberty of summoning the elevator."

"It may be an AI deciphered the trick I did years ago and found the same approach to stabilizing it," Jason remarks dryly. "And yes, please. Time to go up."

As they go up, Ed reels off minutae about the past projects that have been developed here, such as the Ratatosk Miniature Pet Squirrel, now a best-selling product around the world. "And of course we're always working on developing new additions to the worlds of the Diadem! We prototype new shards in these labs, so if you keep your eyes out, you might be able to see hints about what's coming next." Tracy's dream job, or at least it was until all this began.

"Hah, the squirrel! I remember controlling that thing and ... heheh," Jason chuckles at an old memory. "That was a tough little bugger in the end. But alas, poor squirrely, you feel to machine guns."

In the midst of 'Minute Waltz', the elevator releases them into what looks like a typical research laboratory hallway, antiseptic white plastic paneling, plexiglass windows overlooking scientists gathered around this or that - usually holographic tanks modeling complex structures. "On your left, you'll see the neural immersion lab, where we're working on improvements to the Avatars gameplay experience. Don't worry, you won't need neural headsets like the full medical helmets we employ here - we use these so that we can better analyze changes to brain waves and neural chemistry over time. All improvements are software so they'll be fully compatible with standard consumer headsets."

"We'd like to see Mr. Burgundy now," Tracy interrupts the robot. "I have an appointment with him. Tune up on my White Cadena True Avatars Companion."

"When with the game require full brain implants instead of helmets?" Jason asks, curious.

Ed reacts with good grace to this. "Of course! We can resume your tour anytime you wish, Miss Trudeau. Right this way, then." He leads the way to the side lab where a thickly bearded blonde man on the heavy side is leaning over a holotable to inspect a sea of data, with a small Q-Core nearby. The Q-Core has been plastered with labels that read 'EVIDENCE - DO NOT ERASE' and 'FRAGILE', and at the bottom of one corner is the logo of building blocks with the words 'Programmable Matter Corporation'.

"Avatars LLC remains committed to its customers. As long as the majority of our customers prefer standard consumer-grade helmets, we will continue to support their needs," Ed claims.

"You are such a market-droid," Jason quips to Ed. His attention is elsewhere, though, on the data set the bearded man is examining as well as the be-labeled Q-Core. "That must be the system Holly blamed me for crashing," he mutters.

"Chaz!" Tracy yells, and actually gives the big man a hug from behind. "You'll never guess what we found downstairs!"

Chaz looks up from his work. "Ah, you're here! I was just trying to recover some of the data on this thing," he says to Jason and Tracy. "It's like a needle in a haystack though. Or worse - trying to find the hay in a stack of needles! And Cadena! I gather you wanted a neural checkup?"

Chaz reaches up to pat Tracy on the shoulder affectionately as she hugs. "Um... A unicorn? I always thought we should make some unicorn avatar companions."

Cadena bows, ducking his head and tucking in fore-paw. "Hello, Vice President Burgundy."

"Your corporation has a few problems, Chaz," Jason notes and thumbs towards Monica. "Such as invaders from Tesliem. The receptionist, Cathy in Cooling, and Monica in Q-Core management, are all the same female generic archetype from the game. Claims the 'Emperor' sent them here. And do you want me to take a look at that mess?" He gestures towards the stuff Chaz was looking at earlier.

"We need this one checked too," Tracy says, pointing to the redhead in Inari's care. "She says she's from Tesliem."

"Really!" Chaz raises his eyebrows. He gives Monica a raised eyebrow, turning toward her.

"Bring up their corporate id and do a detail match on their pictures," Jason suggests. "The odds that three identical people work at the same corporation is, well ..."

Monica wilts. "Um... I never meant any harm! And truly, these have been the best years of my life, out here."

"Do you have an Imperial superior or contact you're supposed to report to, either here or in the Diadem?" Tracy asks Monica.

"If they've been here for years, then the General must have set up their identities when he was head of Security here," Tracy says to the others.

"I... It's all done through email," the woman says miserably, looking at her shoes. "But it was never anything that would harm Avatars, I swear! If anything, we were just increasing capacity, adding redundancy to the network. I would never have done anything to hurt you, Chaz!"

Jason rubs his forehead as if he was having a sudden headache. "You had better call your mother, Tracy. This is a security matter, after all," he notes.

Chaz puts one hand over his face. "So, more communication lines? That we don't officially know about?" He shakes his head, then punches the holodesk. "HEL!"

"Lines.. or nodes?" Tracy asks. "I mean, you can't trace entanglement nodes.. Oh, right!" She taps on her wrist-comp to call her mother.

The holotable data fades out to be replaced with a tall Nordic-armored woman with black hair. HEL. "I am here, Vice President," she says in a voice that seems ice crystal-sharp. "Assessing threat now. Implementing immediate response." Behind them, Ed stiffens and they hear the sharp clack of its carapace opening.

"I think mom's still taking her nap," Tracy says, as she turns to see what's happening to their security-guide-bot.

Ed looks considerably different when it's popped up two additional arms, one mounted with what looks like a Tesla rifle, the other mounted with a shield that used to be the lid for its storage compartments. "You are under cover," it drones, pointing its rifle at Monica. "Do not attempt hostile actions. Lethal force has been authorized."

"I don't think we're at any risk of her attempting hostile actions," Jason remarks and crosses his arms. He shakes his head and sighs.

"Uh, maybe we could dial the response down a bit?" Tracy suggests nervously, while stepping further away from Monica and Inari.

Monica yelps and puts her arms over her face! "Don't shoot! Don't shoot, I'm not going to do anything!"

Cadena is braced, claws out, wound up and ready to spring, not moving from his spot.

"I can't believe it is me that is saying this but ... Everyone ... calm ... down. We need to understand what is going on and what has been communicated. No one needs to be shot, mauled, or otherwise mutilated," Jason says a bit louder now.

Fishing a photo print from one of her jumpsuit pockets, Tracy shows it to the cowering Monica. "Ever seen this guy, maybe calling himself Brian?" she asks, displaying the picture of the modified Jason Zero.

HEL says, "ED-256 is now required to escort the prisoner for interrogation. In light of this, I am releasing your weapons to you and authorizing you for carry of weapons in the Avatars LLC complex for the duration of your stay here." She adds primly, "As the resident security AD for Avatars LLC, it is my job to be paranoid, Mr. Edwards."

Chaz agrees with Jason, "It's all right... I can take care of escorting Monica myself, Hel. I know her." He looks tired, and maybe heartbroken.

Monica blinks. "That's the Emperor's man," she says to Tracy, startled. "Except, he wasn't dressed like that, he had Seneschal armor."

"Did you see him here in this world, or in the other.. or even in a game world?" Tracy asks next, before Monica can be escorted away.

"Game world? He met me on Tesliem," Monica says, gradually putting her hands down and letting Chaz help her back up from where she's fallen into a heap. Ed continues to watch her distrustfully. (that blue ladybug shell isn't quite as effective in making him look harmless anymore)

"Paranoia doesn't involve pulling a mega-gauss weapon on an unarmed woman," Jason points out as he goes to retrieve his gun, "Even I don't go to immediate deadly force." He holsters his gun and sighs. "And I would suggest that you run a complete employee sweep and do a photo-skeletal structure scan on all. If any have over 98% familiarity, you may want to detain for questioning. Such commonality is not natural. And will you give me a moment to talk to Monica?"

Tracy collects her own weapons and adds to Jason's request, "You might want to focus on anyone hired during Irongrip's reign as Security Chief, HEL."

Cadena's claws clack on the floor as he moves out of the way of the vice president and his charge.

HEL nods to Jason, sounding a bit put-off to be told how to do her job. "I have already run the employee sweep for dopplegangers. I am now reviewing background information for the remaining individuals. But my first and foremost priority is to collect data on the sum total of whatever invasive actions may have been performed to compromise our security." Nevertheless, she seems willing to let Jason and Tracy have a few minutes with Monica, though not out of her sight.

"Employees are always the easiest attack vector of any company," Jason adds before approaching Monica. "I want you tel tell all of us what you have been doing, please ... and about the man in the photo. What you know of him and what he has been doing."

Monica explains, though it takes a bit as she breaks into sobs here and there, that she was a secretary in Tesliem, working in the Black Soldier project - making a better soldier through alchemically combining a brain with a powerful golem body. The man they call Brian identified himself to her as "Jason Dragonhand", and told her that she was needed to serve the Empire in a strange world. She was sent into a small, strange-looking room, where she changed into the weirdly fitting clothes they gave her, and then she waited for what seemed like hours while a red light glared down at her. Then the door opened on the other side and two security guards escorted her out to her new life.

"Great. So now I'm the evil right hand of the Emperor, eh?" Jason quips after listening to this and shakes his head. "Do you have any idea where this 'Dragonhand' is now? And I suppose the explanation makes me feel a little better, he didn't figure out my trick. Experience wins over youth once more."

"200 bits per particle," Tracy mutters. "That's what I was told. That's how much data it takes to make something real in our universe. But if Jason Zero was there.. which Tesliem was it? The one currently simulated in the game or the one that was part of the detached reality that separated from the system four years ago?"

"The General was security chief then, and he told me that there wouldn't be any questions asked about my background," Monica continues. "That all I needed to do was to settle in, get used to living here... Wait for orders. The biggest surprise of my life was when I found out that people were talking about our worlds like it was a game. I still don't understand why or how, but it has to be some kind of copy. Like a magic globe, scrying on something far away."

Monica answers Jason, "No, no I don't. He was passing through on the Ozymandias, en route to Cauchemarem, but that was years ago. He could be anywhere by now!"

"So the jerk took my ship? Oh, he's just trying to prove he's better than the original, isn't he?" Jason grumbles and runs his hands through his hair.

"I don't get it, why send secretaries?" Tracy asks, scrunching her lips together. "Why not soldiers? Fill the Security ranks with his own men and do a military takeover?"

"Too obvious, Tracy. Think about who hears all the office gossip, prints e-mails for the bosses, and so on," Jason remarks, "Secretaries. The lower rank and file always hear and know more than the supervisors suspect. They're a great attack vector."

"Who's to say he didn't bring soldiers?" Inari wonders, lips thinning into a snarl. "Maybe that's the deal behind Irongrip Security."

"Don't hate me, Chaz," Monica whispers. "I wanted to tell you but I never could find the right moment..."

"But... were you ever asked to do anything other than just.. your job, Monica?" Tracy asks.

HEL nods. "I am also conducting multiple interrogations at this moment, Mr. Edwards. Her story corroborates theirs. Tesliem appears to have been misused as a factory of... 'human resources'. Multiple changes to Avatars LLC equipment have been..." Her image blinks a few times.

"I wanted to also inform you to watch for an AD under the callsign HECATE. She's being used by the group Face Reality to also cause problems. It may be part of this," Jason notes. His brow arches slightly at the flickering.

"You don't need to be a soldier to employ Shadow magic," Cadena notes, sounding uneven. "I discounted it at the time, since it made no sense in context, but I witnessed obfuscating phenomena near the Q-Core consistent with certain types of Shadow magic, if one were to apply Avatars lore to the real world."

"Could they be generating a field like at the California site?" Tracy asks, looking to Inari. "Where you able to feel yourself recharging down there or anything?"

HEL responds, "Multiple changes to Avatars LLC equipment have been tracked, and their schematics were altered so they would not be flagged in an audit. The Mistletoe protocol can no longer be considered an effective safeguard at this time." She pauses grimly. "Vice President, I must now request permission to station explosive devices at major communication nodes while we detach human maintenance personnel to revert the changes in as orderly a fashion as possible without interrupting service."

Inari blinks. "Yes... It's not strong, but it's there," she says to Tracy. "I could recharge my powers here."

HEL adds, "In addition, I am now grounding all traffic in and out of the facility until our investigation is complex and I am satisfied that there are no more infiltrators in our ranks. I regret the inconvenience this may pose, visitors, but it is essential that all evidence on how our security has been compromised remain on the grounds."

"They opened a bridge to the detached space-time I bet," Tracy says, sounding excited. "Since that one is already real, sort of, then maybe the 'upgrade' trick isn't as.. difficult? And why doesn't mom answer her phone!"

"Then you might want to. I have a bad feeling things will be getting worse soon," Jason remarks, finds himself a chair, and flops into it. His fingers tap on the armrest while he thinks.

"Not at the moment. We should make sure Mike and Mark are still safe," Jason says.

Monica looks up. "I... don't know? I always get my orders through email. Like I said, it was just small stuff. Like upgrading the power busses."

"It's always a long set of numbers and letters," Monica recalls. "And it's different each time. They just always have the Imperial sigil, so I know they're official orders."

HEL gestures with one hand, and another terminal pops up a schematic view of the Avatars LLC complex, with changes highlighted in red. At the widest zoomed-out scale, tiny red dots seem to be practically everywhere but cluster most thickly around the Q-Core and nearby facilities.

"Huh, so no real proof that the Emperor is issuing them, or if it's all the work of Dragonhand," Tracy says with a sigh, and looks to Cadena. "You look like you want to ask something."

Cadena's ears flush. "Ah ... yes. My apologies, but can you tell me - aside from humans such as yourself who were sent to Earth from the Empire, were there any non-humans? Say ... Avatars?"

Jason leans in and peers at the diagram. His hand flicks in move gestures as he pans around the image, looking for diagrams within the pattern in case it is trying to construct some sort of 'magic' sigil out of the quantum nodes.

Monica furrows her brows in thought. "Avatars? They're creatures of the Light. We wouldn't even have had any in the Empire," she says with certainty. "Maybe they might have sent a Sorceress through, but if so, I never met one."

"Did you meet any woman who went by the name of Sasha Knightley? She's memorable; too much makeup, flirts wih everything, likes to kill people. Has a panther named Moonlight," Jason remarks absently.

Cadena shudders, claws flexing and clacking on the floor. "I have no further questions," he says. "I regret the needless detour."

The diagram makes more sense when Jason overlaps it with the communication map - the Mistletoe Protocol severs connections by physically ramming blades through the lines that would connect to the quantum entanglement links. But the additional lines that were added would take advantage of plain fiber-optic bundles, installed in the old days when communication still ran through land lines, and thus keep the quantum cores online. Still, that only accounts for some of the changes. What are the rest? It doesn't make sense immediately to Jason.

Chaz shakes his head. "Thank you, Monica. I guess I'll be seeing you out to HEL's tender care." He looks unhappy about it, but gives Tracy a hug. "Sorry this had to ruin your day visiting us, miss."

"I'm sorry it seems to have ruined something more personal for you Chaz," Tracy says softly.

"They've installed redundant links throughout the complex. There is no way to isolate the cores at this time," Jason tells the others as he continues to examine the diagram. "There are other changes I'm trying to make sense of. "/Kimon, initiate recording of diagram and analyse. Cross reference to all occult/Avatars patterns in the database as well as run world-general searches, please for close matches. 90% accuracy on match./" he tries to send back to his home-system.

"It's all right, you can't build a house on sand." As Chaz says this, Monica breaks into sobs, and he escorts her gently out, with Ed following them. The door slides shut behind them.

"Was I too cold? It was obvious that Chaz and that woman were ..." Jason actually asks, then shakes his head. "Never mind. I'll check the cooling system."

The cooling system has indeed been beefed up, which would only make sense if you expected the Q-Cores to generate a lot more heat. Or maybe if you installed more Q-Cores, but there doesn't actually look like room to install them in the current facility. And then there're the increased power conduits... Why add them?

"I hope he doesn't look at her like she's a thing now," Tracy murmurs, and pets Cadena for a bit to help calm herself down.

Cadena's claws finally retract, and he slumps, shivering, as he looks after the departing vice president and his charge. He checks the fit on his K-9 Storm Collar to make sure it's not falling off.

"She's not a thing," Jason notes, "And I hope I won't be proven a liar about no harm coming to her."

"Is ... is there any way to know whether it's really standard procedure for a tour of the facilities to include a visit to the Q-Core room right off from the start?" Cadena asks.

Quietly, Tracy tries contacting her mother again, this time going for office and mobile numbers, even though the office should auto-route that.

"The cooling system has been doubled, so have the power conduits. They have far more capacity than the system should need. Which makes me wonder if there's a sub-basement with more cores," Jason notes. "HEL, what is below those chambers?"

HEL's voice sounds over the speakers as well as from her avatar manifested here. "All personnel, please be advised that the Avatars LLC complex is now under quarantine. We are restricting all travel in and out until further notice. We regret the inconvenience. Please remain indoors and within your office. Do not leave your buildings without confirming your need with a security robot. If you require food, it can be delivered to your office. All personnel, please be advised..." She repeats.

"Damn the service interruption, the whole thing should be shut down right now," Jason mutters, leans forward, and holds his head in his hands.

"I wonder if your portal-sniffing powers from The Gloaming will work under the influence of the Q-Cores here, Cadena," Tracy says. "It would be good to know where any portals were located in the complex."

The schematics don't show any of the obvious and important physical connections that would be needed for a sub-basement... But nothing beats going and actually looking, of course. Schematics have been altered before.

RIU peers at the holographic display of the Avatars LLC complex... Then sticks its nose right into the display. For a moment, it appears as if a giant RIU had burrowed right through the Vanaheim building they're in. Beep!

Cadena shudders. "I don't know if that is a good idea, Master Tracy, but if you order me to, I will attempt my best. However, I must advise you, due to my threat-assessment training, that my previous concerns regarding manipulation by an AD or other entity still stand. There is an unsettling convergence here, now."

"And didn't you just explain to us how the system can't be shut down?" Tracy notes to Jason, and watches RIU's antics. "That's okay, Cadena. I'm not gonna try to shapeshift either."

Jason sits back and thinks. He checks that his gun is loaded and nods once. "I'm going down, using the stairs," he tells the others. "I'm half the cause of this problem; if they didn't have access to the clone of me, I doubt they would have gotten this far. So, time for me to put a bullet through my own head, figuratively speaking."

Blake Forrester's Q-Core, if that's who it belonged to, continues to hum quietly. The display next to it shows an endless sea of undifferentiated data. It's an effective blank slate.

"I will note," Cadena tries to explain to Tracy, though sounding uncertain of his own theories, "that out of the number of individuals that Jason detected as being genetic duplicates, we happened to zero in on the one who was personally acquainted with the Vice President. Furthermore, we headed straight there."

"Soundproofing?" Tracy suggests to Inari, and stretches. "Still no reply from mom," she says with worry in her voice. "We were coming here anyway, and Chaz always liked redheads. But.. he'd pass the receptionist every day and not notice she looked like his girlfriend? Do you think the shifts where set up to make sure they were all here at once?"

There's no one outside in the hall, except for a passing security robot - one of the humanoid models, in blue with gold armor.

"So.. it could all be a set up, specifically to get us to cause the security alert and conveniently trap ourselves here in the lockdown, I guess," Tracy suggests. "I only say that because.. I can't get through to mom! So maybe someone got her already?" She starts to look very uneasy.

The bot peers in at Jason through the window of the door. "All's clear, guv'nor," it says with a British constable accent.

"I can attempt to test interior communication links," Cadena offers, calling up his holographic e-message interface, and going into the drafts folder.

Static. Jason feels like he's wearing wool mufflers over his ears, except they're not actual physical ears.

"We're cut off," Jason confirms. "My link home is severed. We may have gone through a portal for all I know."

HEL's avatar intones, "The majority of the Empire infiltrators have been arrested and brought in for questioning. There remain approximately thirty persons at large. For your own safety, Mr. Edwards and Miss Trudeau, I recommend that you remain in this laboratory. They may be armed and dangerous."

"So are we," Jason points out. "And I'm tired of being trapped in a building and hunted. I think I would rather just be shot at this point."

Tracy scrunches her face in thought. "Yeah, that would explain the Shadow energy, the duplicates.. But how do you test that?" she asks. "And I don't remember the robots using accents. HEL, can you tell me where my mother is?"

"Your mother is resting at home, Miss Trudeau," HEL responds, ignoring Jason's sally. "She has used the recommended maximum daily dosage of stimulants and is now recuperating."

"Who controls the security robots?" Tracy asks next. "Do you do that directly, or is it one of your sub-systems?"

Cadena quickly taps on the translucent interface hovering in front of him, quickly grabbing a draft message without opening its contents, and grabbing the frequently-used-address links for Mrs. Holly Trudeau and Mr. Charles Burgundy to put into the "To:" line, and selects the option to request a "notify upon opening" receipt flag. Then he hastily taps "Send."

"Security robots are controlled by Ganglot, Gangloti, and Ganglat. I have brought additional robots online to compensate for the reduction in force caused by this unforeseen demand. In addition, I have activated communication jamming on all bands in order to prevent as-yet at large personnel from sending messages to their confederates," HEL adds. "Email screening is now in effect under the Double-B Protocol. Messages from and to suspected infiltrators will be held until further notice."

"Have any of the security systems undergone suspect maintenance?" Tracy and looks to Jason. "Send RIU on ahead? Your link to him shouldn't be affected."

Cadena blinks as he gets an in-message, reads the very short message, clicks an auto-confirm default response, then quickly dismisses the interface. "My test message got through within the building. I do not expect an immediate response from Mrs. Trudeau, since she is asleep."

Inari tries the door. "It's locked! Hey! Let us out!" She bangs on the window while the security robot continues on its round, happily ignoring her.

"I think it's best to assume right now that we are in our own reality," Tracy says, and goes over to the door to see if her thumbprint will unlock it.

"Feel like being a spy, RIU?" Jason asks, only to sigh in annoyance when the door is declared locked.

The door blinks a message on the security pad: "SECURITY LOCKDOWN. State reason for departure and a robot will be sent to escort you."

"Oh bloody hell," Jason says and runs his hand down his face as if realizing something. "Guys, we may be screwed," he remarks. "Remember when HEL flickered? Who's to say that isn't HEL now, but a different AD with a HEL overlay." He turns and marches over to HEL's display. "HECATE, if that is you, just please drop the deception now. You have us where you want us."

HEL's avatar flickers. "AD designation HECATE unknown. I'm sorry, but if there is nothing else, Mr. Edwards, my attention is needed elsewhere."

"Part of the changes were communication lines. There is now no way to know if we are dealing with authentic systems or not," Jason informs the others and rubs his forehead again. "I should have realized coming here was a mistake."

Cadena walks over somewhere where he's within Jason's line of sight, and stares up at the ventilation shaft opening for a bit.

The secondary lab is full of computers and holographic display equipment, plus heavy duty power conduits for the Q-Core - even if it's a small one, it still has big needs. Outside, signs on the wall point the way to the break room and the bathrooms. A ventilation shaft runs overhead with small vents, but at six inches in diameter, it's too small for Tracy to fit.

Jason eyes the quantum core. "Do we have a quantum probe in here?" he asks. "I want to see if we can recover any data streams by looking for reflective residue in the core's housing."

"Like a holographic imprint?" Tracy asks. "I don't even know what a quantum probe is though."

Cadena tries staring for a while longer, but then looks askance and sees that Jason and Tracy seem to be very busy right now, so he gets back up and trots around the room, resuming his scan for useful resources and possible threats, occasionally peeking out into the hall, listening for signs of life, etc.

Though Jason hasn't actually worked with one before, he's read about quantum probes in Scientific World Weekly. So what looks like a bit of modern art done up with a technological veneer to Tracy and Cadena and Inari, is recognizable as a quantum probe to Jason - and in fact the Q-Core is mounted so that all he would have to do is swing it down and power it up. There's only one catch... The observer principle ensures that the minute he begins probing it, the data begins to change, so he will metaphorically have to ride it like a surfer on a wave, until it hits the sands.

Inari glances over at Jason and his newest toy, then reaches down and scratches under the pacing dog's chin. "Don't tell me, that's a giant high-powered laser and you're going to use it to burn the door lock out, right, Jason?"

"Well, if you want to try and pick the lock, go for it. Cadena, if you have any thoughts, please speak them. I'm going to try and see if there is anything worthwhile on this core. Just having a core might be helpful," Jason suggests. He returns to a wheeled chair and plops back into it, then kick-rolls himself over to the cube. As he pulls it down, he says, "No, it's a quantum probe. I'm going to try and extract any remaining data off the surface casing of the core here. It might be useful, it might not. It might even kill me. Who knows?"

"That's a good question. It was erased on purpose, so something might be useful," Jason says.

"If we don't watch, then you wouldn't be dead until someone looks at you," Tracy quips, then gets out her G-Tool knife and opens the tool compartment. She reconfigures the tool a bit, so that she can use it to try and pry off the lock housing.

Cadena, who has stopped his pacing, looks to be deep in thought. "By the way, I owe an apology to you, Mr. Edwards, and you, Inari. I did not understand what was going on in the Q-Core room, and I was so on edge with the RIU proximity incident that I was in error in my assessment of the situation. My tiered directives were in conflict, and I did not behave rationally."

The security panel flickers and then dies as it's disconnected from the underlying circuitry. Underneath, Tracy sees a standard electronic lock. A few months ago, she would have been completely confused by the maze of wires. Now, it just takes a few minutes for her to trace the wires and see which ones she needs to short together to open it. Of course the minute she pops the door, it'll be quite visible to HEL and her security robots.

Inari frowns. "All right. Anything I can do to help?" she asks, coming over to rest her hands on Jason's shoulders as she examines the Q-Core.

"Okay, I can open the door if we need it," Tracy says. "But I can't block HEL from noticing when I do."

"None is required. I am aware that you are programmed to protect Avatar's property and employees over anyone else. If your programming deems me a threat you must neutralize, well," Jason says and shrugs, "Just don't expect me to go down easily." Inari's question requires more thought. "I'm ... hm. Well, if things start going badly it may help to just shut off the power to the probe and the core. It might save my brain from being fried. Otherwise ... just stay close? It's ... calming. RIU, I'll probably need your help here in recording and digging through the wave that's going to come."

Inari looks over at Cadena puzzledly. "Did you do something back then? I was a little busy with Monica."

"All right, I'm here," Inari assures Jason, squeezing his hand. "Just point out the power switch to me."

"I kept him from running after you, so no reason for you to have noticed," Tracy says, sitting on the floor with her back to the door.

Cadena starts to answer Inari, but closes his mouth again, as she's obviously occupied. He settles down and conjures up his e-message interface again, tapping and swiping at the translucent holo-panel.

The security robot comes back the other way, whistling. Yes. It's definitely whistling 'God Save The Queen'.

"The switch will be heavy, since this requires a lot of power to run. It'll be at the end of the power conduit cables there," Jason explains and points to the cables as they snake off into the lab. "There should be a cut-off here, it would be dangerous to have it elsewhere. And oh, I've never actually done this ... so I'm going to wing it. I hope I remember everything the magazine said about these things," he adds as he reaches up and turns on the probe. "Scan local frequencies, locate communication channel for probe, link," he instructs his implant.

The interface for the implant appears before Jason in his mind. Through it, he can see the same data sea that's being displayed right now, quiescent, not a ripple to be seen.

"Bah. Indirect observation, then," Jason thinks. He starts fiddling with the probe, trying to make it actively scan the area next to the cube ... and rely on indirect interference from the cube itself to help locate the data.

Cadena continues to tap and swipe away at his e-message interface, occasionally glancing up at the window, or flicking his ears when any unusual noises occur.

The increased scan gives Jason a reasonable baseline, allowing him to overlay it as a differences map, where he can then expand them to create spikes, ridges, and valleys. He gets the funny feeling that he's looking at... Ghost data.

Hugging her knees, Tracy watches Jason work. She chews on her lower lip nervously, then tries to contact Chaz on her wrist-comp.

As the probe continues to sift through the data, it shivers, and for a few horrifying seconds it seems as if uncertainty might ripple through the entire thing and cause it to destroy itself... But then Jason manages to get it to stabilize. Wait-- there. That looks like simulation data!

Jason immediately turns on the record to recover the simulation data before it disperses. "Eureka, there is still lingering data..." he mutters absently due to his concentration.

It takes painstaking work, but eventually Jason arrives at a low-rez simulation snapshot. It's nothing that can be brought back to life, but enough to give a holographic view of the underlying simulation.

"How much?" Tracy asks, pulling out her chipware-wallet. "I've got some blank v-chips.."

The resurrected city takes shape slowly on the table, layer by layer, built up from wires and lines, then shapes and walls of light, until Test North Bend appears once more. It looks just like when Jason and Randall and Holly were there, years ago... Except that the place where they went through the gate in the park has become a giant Gothic cathedral of black stone. And the buildings all around have been rigged with long vanes that look disturbingly similar to the ones now being built worldwide by the Zeus Weather Management Project.

Cadena dismisses his e-message interface, and gets up to trot over to Tracy's side as he gazes curiously at the holo-display on the table.

"That doesn't look good," Tracy notes. "Is there a timestamp on any of those modifications? I mean.. was all this still running for four years until just recently?"

Inari shivers. "Did we do that?" she says, fixing her eyes on the cathedral. "Doesn't look a thing like the package."

"Well, Miss Arcadia won't be happy. That's isn't the simulation data for Arcadia. That also explains why it was wiped. It appears someone was using the disconnected core to build a new reality, separate from all the others," Jason remarks as he sits back and stares at the images. "I have no idea when it was created, there isn't enough left to tell you that; this is just the most recent. Its most worrying aspect to me are the vanes. Those are identical to the Zeus system. I think someone plans bringing a new reality in again. And it isn't a pleasant one. Great. I finally reunite with friends and people I care about, just in time to watch it all be destroyed."

"Well.. at least.. we know where to look next?" Tracy asks, looking a bit scared and lost.