Jael hurried to his work station. His mind so whirled that he walked right by the scanner room door without noticing it. He had to turn around and walk back to it. Was he losing his mind? His palm print opened the door.
Multiple keypads, monitors, and two high-backed chairs crowded the small control room. Jael waved to the man he replaced and was ignored as the tech left hurriedly. Shrugging, Jael sat down and muttered his name. The date appeared on a screen. The year 2150 blinked as the computer's scanner verified his neuro-ID. His name scrolled over the date, and humming, the top bank of indicators powered-up. He glanced around and then typed in several orders. This was not something he wanted to be caught doing.
An auxiliary screen to his side filled with columns of numbers. The Residence security chief had ordered Jael to stop collecting the scanner data and erase what he had. Jael had quit, copied what he had, and then destroyed the copy. The original, he buried. Glancing behind him again, Jael checked the security of the data set. The indicator noted no entries other than his own. No trouble there.
He exited from the data set, buried it, and switched on the scanner's self-test function. Anyone passing through the scanner's exit chamber would be tested. Abnormal neuro-ID readings would lock the exit door, sound the second alarm, and bring forth guards with trank shooters. Finished with the set-up, he settled into his captain's chair.
Thirty minutes later, he jumped at the first warning chime. He switched on the vid and tensed as he saw a man in a guard uniform. Had they found out about Keerie?
Rubbing his neck, he watched the man go into the Residence. The door closed. The guard could have just been running late on his shift. Jael stared at the bank of indicators. He thought of Keerie's request, leaned forward to turn off the cam, and then stopped. He wanted to see. In fact, he wanted to see Keerie's father. He programmed in an alarm that would tell him if anyone else monitored the cam feed. At the moment no one was. They never did, but if anyone did, he'd be alerted and could turn it off again. He turned it on and off all the time. Nothing different there. Satisfied, he leaned back in the chair and squeezed his eyes shut.
Hours passed. Each time the exit chime rang, he tensed, waiting for the second ring. It never came. The stress wore on him. His eyelids sagged.
He started at the sound of the chime. Someone was going out. The scanner read green. He sighed in quick relief then snapped to attention, staring at the image on the vid.
The old man's face, though greyish and drawn up in pain, had small, familiar features. He looked like Keerie. Jael stared at the readouts. Frantically he punched self-test. The lines went down and then up to green. The scanner worked.
He jammed the button again. Still green -- the subject tested sane. Jael reached toward the override alarm, then stopped. He had made a promise. More than that, if the man was sane, he shouldn't be locked in the Residence. The scanner thought him sane. The exit door opened.
Jael clutched the arms of his chair, fighting the desire to push override, and stay out of this madness. Drops of sweat dripped into his eyes and stung. His whole world was shattering around him. The old man went through the doorway.
A warning bell chimed. Jael spun the chair around looking for the source and froze as he saw the program he'd put in lighting up on the screen. Someone monitored the camera. The door into the transport-out area snapped shut. Jael rubbed his eyes. Had he betrayed Keerie? The gate chamber stood empty on the screen. Could the person who had suddenly monitored the camera have seen anything? No, too late, couldn't have seen anything, Jael told himself.
He felt numb, his body too heavy to move. What had he gotten himself into? He was just an average guy, no secret agent. All he wanted was to go home, eat, and join the wave -- no -- he wanted to be with Keerie. Keerie was what had happened to him. The afternoon passed. The first alarm sounded each time staff entered and exited. All seemed normal. Jael powered off the cam. He sprawled into his chair and thought of her. Her plans must have been aborted. The man couldn't have been her father. No alarm had gone off in the chamber. What other explanation was there? He wanted to believe that. Somehow there had to be some other logical explanation. Had to be.
