Damocles - Chapter 1 - The Accident

00:00:00: Heinke Digital Presents

00:00:07: Damocles

00:00:15: An audiobook podcast by Christian Heinke

00:00:19: Chapter 1

00:00:20: The Accident

00:00:27: I was crossing the footbridge on the east side of the park with Sam when she suddenly

00:00:31: stopped and pricked up her ears.

00:00:33: I looked around.

00:00:35: Except for a couple standing by the retention ponds on the level below me, Sam and I seemed

00:00:39: to be the only ones in the park this early in the morning.

00:00:43: It was located in the western part of the city of Bochum and covered about 75 acres.

00:00:48: It housed, in addition to the park, a building that was known as the Century Hall, formerly

00:00:53: used as a blower machine shop and now converted into a multi-purpose hall for events.

00:00:59: I had attended concerts there ages ago.

00:01:01: I could vaguely remember a young Scottish woman who had been in the charts for a few

00:01:05: years at that time.

00:01:07: Angie MacDonald had been her name, or something like that.

00:01:11: The couple standing at a distance, talking animatedly.

00:01:14: No, it went beyond animated conversation.

00:01:18: They were arguing.

00:01:19: The man had dark hair, olive skin, was slim and of medium build, and wore an elegant wool

00:01:25: coat over his expensive suit.

00:01:27: The woman, a tall blonde with an updo wore an old-fashioned trench coat, the style of

00:01:31: which was coming back into fashion.

00:01:34: I couldn't hear what the two were arguing about.

00:01:36: They were too far away for that.

00:01:38: I knelt down to Sam, which was harder than I would have liked.

00:01:42: The cold and damp autumn air was not good for my old bones.

00:01:46: Someone lifted her muzzle and stared up at the gray sky with low-lying clouds, then gave

00:01:50: a short bark.

00:01:52: It sounded worried, as much as a dog's bark could sound worried.

00:01:56: "What's wrong, girl?"

00:01:57: I asked her, stroking her head.

00:02:00: Then suddenly, with thundering rotors, a transport drone dropped out of the sky.

00:02:05: Its cargo consisted of a 20-foot container about the size of a small truck.

00:02:09: But it carried it for only about another three seconds, because by then there was their sound

00:02:13: of a mighty clonk as the two rear latches of the retaining clamps released.

00:02:18: The drone sank lower, like a huge bumblebee loaded too heavily as the automatic controls

00:02:23: tried to compensate for the sudden weight shift.

00:02:26: I estimated where the drone and its cargo would crash in the park and opened my mouth

00:02:30: to warn the couple at the retention ponds.

00:02:33: Both looked up, startled.

00:02:35: The man stopped as if frozen, the woman reacted immediately and started to run.

00:02:40: Before my shout could leave my throat, I heard another clonk and the front retaining clips

00:02:44: of the drone release the container.

00:02:47: In ghastly silence, it plummeted down into the depths, shattering with an eerie roar

00:02:51: at the edge of the containment basin and burying the man beneath it.

00:02:55: Circuit boards and plastic parts flew through the air for meters.

00:02:59: A few of them even crashed into the balustrade of the footbridge we were on.

00:03:03: Sam barked like crazy, jumped around and pulled on the leash.

00:03:07: The blonde stopped for a moment and stared at the spot where she herself had been standing

00:03:11: a few moments ago.

00:03:12: "Hey!"

00:03:13: I called out to her.

00:03:15: She turned her head and looked at me for a moment.

00:03:18: She really was a beautiful woman.

00:03:20: She was probably in her late 20s, as far as I could tell from this distance, with my old

00:03:24: eyes.

00:03:25: Then the woman turned again and ran off.

00:03:28: "Hey!"

00:03:29: I called after her again.

00:03:31: I activated my implant and dialed 911.

00:03:35: Emergency call center, Bochum. What kind of emergency is this?

00:03:39: Lenke here. Service number 10-80-93. A cargo drone has dropped its container in West Park.

00:03:45: Presumed one injured or dead from the crash.

00:03:48: Suspected cargo of the container is computer parts.

00:03:51: Copy that.

00:03:53: Implant verified.

00:03:55: GPS coordinates received.

00:03:57: Sending a rescue unit immediately.

00:03:59: Sam barked at me as if to ask, "What are you waiting for, old man?"

00:04:04: I released her leash, fearing she would rip my arm off otherwise.

00:04:08: She sprinted off, scurrying down the gangplank to the lower level where the smashed container

00:04:13: was.

00:04:14: I followed her as fast as I could.

00:04:16: By the time I reached the container, I could already hear the distant sound of the rescue

00:04:20: squad's sirens.

00:04:22: Presumably, in two or three minutes, the drone copters of the fire department and other forces

00:04:27: would land.

00:04:28: I suspected that there would be nothing I could do for the man who had been buried by

00:04:32: the container, but nowadays there was no way of knowing.

00:04:36: Many members of the military and police had artificial parts built into them which made

00:04:40: you a little tougher than ordinary people who were just flesh and blood.

00:04:44: I myself wore an artificial arm after losing my own in the explosion of a bomb.

00:04:50: The cargo container had literally burst when it hit the ground.

00:04:53: I was climbing over old-fashioned Dell desk computers that were apparently going to be

00:04:57: recycled.

00:04:59: Sam was standing near what had once been the container's hatch, barking at something.

00:05:03: "Hello?"

00:05:04: No response.

00:05:06: I stomped stiff-legged over a stack of more PCs.

00:05:09: Then I saw a trembling bloody fist rise from the rubble like the hand of a living dead.

00:05:14: I tried to grasp the hand, for it was clutching something tightly.

00:05:18: The grip loosened and the hand dropped an object.

00:05:21: Quite automatically, I caught it.

00:05:23: It was a small, flat, silver item.

00:05:26: I tossed aside some of the PC cases to get to the man.

00:05:29: His head was caved in on one side and covered in blood.

00:05:33: Unless the man was mostly artificial body parts, I guess he was beyond help.

00:05:38: To me, it seemed like a miracle that he was still conscious.

00:05:41: »Damo,« he croaked.

00:05:44: His breathing was only a whistle.

00:05:47: Probably his lungs were collapsed and full of blood.

00:05:49: "What?"

00:05:50: I asked.

00:05:51: »Damocles,« the man whispered, pointing to the silver item.

00:05:56: Then his gaze broke.

00:05:58: He was dead.

00:05:59: Sam barked briefly and then looked at me questioningly.

00:06:02: However, I didn't know what the man had wanted to tell me either.

00:06:06: A swelling roar and bright blue lights announced the imminent landing of the rescue forces.

00:06:11: I thought about it for a moment.

00:06:13: Then I put the box in my coat pocket.

00:06:15: I pulled out my ID and walked with it toward the rescue workers jumping out of a drone

00:06:20: copter.

00:06:21: One of the firefighters looked at me.

00:06:23: "I know who you are, Mr. Lenke.

00:06:25: I can read your profile."

00:06:27: He was right about that, of course.

00:06:29: In the days of implants, you no longer needed a smartphone for identification, let alone

00:06:34: a plastic badge.

00:06:36: The firefighters saw the identifier of my badge number floating above my head like a

00:06:40: speech bubble in a comic book.

00:06:42: I had turned off that feature on my implant.

00:06:45: I didn't want to know what everyone was at all times.

00:06:47: Shrugging, I pocketed my old-fashioned badge again.

00:06:51: "Old habit," I said.

00:06:53: "Man, an ancient habit.

00:06:55: How old are you?

00:06:56: Your profile doesn't show that."

00:06:58: Well, I had disabled that feature too.

00:07:01: A friend from college, Simon Haddad, had done that for me.

00:07:05: I felt old enough myself every day.

00:07:08: I didn't need to keep trumpeting that to the world.

00:07:11: "67," I said.

00:07:13: "Hey, three years.

00:07:14: Then you've made it, pal."

00:07:16: The fireman remarked with a grin.

00:07:19: He was an estimated 30 years younger than I, probably born in 2007.

00:07:24: I clutched the silver box in my coat pocket.

00:07:26: Actually, I had intended to hand it to the first rescue worker I met.

00:07:31: But I had my doubts about this youngster.

00:07:33: I forced myself to smile wryly.

00:07:35: "It's not the years.

00:07:37: It's the mileage."

00:07:38: "And what about him?"

00:07:40: I asked, pointing to the man lying on the ground.

00:07:43: "Don't you see that?

00:07:44: He's already dead.

00:07:46: No pulse."

00:07:47: The firefighter replied, "I only have the standard model."

00:07:50: "I guess that's all the force is paying for, huh?"

00:07:53: I nodded.

00:07:55: The firefighter nodded as well.

00:07:56: "Are you in charge of the investigation?"

00:07:59: I shook my head.

00:08:00: "That's what the KDD colleagues are doing.

00:08:03: I'm with the CID."

00:08:05: "Alrighty then.

00:08:07: Let us do our job and step aside."

00:08:09: I nodded.

00:08:10: In my capacity as a witness, I was really just getting in the way of my colleagues.

00:08:15: The man pointed to Sam.

00:08:17: "Is that yours?" he asked.

00:08:19: "She.

00:08:20: And yes, she's mine."

00:08:22: "A real beauty.

00:08:24: Doesn't fit your type."

00:08:25: I gave the fireman a look.

00:08:27: "Come on, Sam."

00:08:32: I sat down on one of the benches by the retention pond and watched the carp fishes.

00:08:37: Sam lay at my feet, dozing.

00:08:40: After about twenty minutes, I saw another dronecopter from the main station land on

00:08:44: the lower level lawn.

00:08:46: Out of it climbed Hubert Syska.

00:08:48: He was with the KDD and presumably the investigator in charge.

00:08:52: In his hand he carried an aluminum thermal mug.

00:08:55: Syska was in his late 30s and saw himself as a gift to the ladies, but above all to

00:09:00: the Bokom police.

00:09:01: In other words, Syska was a hormone-driven moron.

00:09:05: But for some inexplicable reason he always got along brilliantly with his superiors.

00:09:10: That's why he had already surpassed me in rank at his age.

00:09:13: Syska talked to the guys from the fire department for a moment, took a quick look at the dumpster,

00:09:18: and then came over to me and sat down on the bench next to me along with his thermos.

00:09:23: He gestured to the battlefield behind us with a nod of his head.

00:09:27: "Some shit, huh?" he remarked.

00:09:29: "You could say that."

00:09:31: "You got something?"

00:09:33: Syska asked.

00:09:34: I hesitated.

00:09:36: With my robotic hand, I still clutched the silver box in my coat pocket.

00:09:40: I looked at him.

00:09:42: Syska laughed and patted me on the shoulder.

00:09:44: "Did you really wait to make your statement?"

00:09:46: "Well, that's the drill," I replied.

00:09:50: "Relax, Lenke."

00:09:52: Syska grinned and pointed his finger at the gray sky.

00:09:55: "Big Brother has recorded everything and already analyzed the data.

00:09:59: The report is as good as done."

00:10:01: "Don't you want to add my testimony?"

00:10:04: "No need.

00:10:05: What did you saw that the satellites didn't?"

00:10:07: "And what about the woman?"

00:10:09: I asked.

00:10:11: Syska took a sip from his thermal mug.

00:10:13: "What woman?"

00:10:14: I pointed in the direction of the dead man.

00:10:17: Just before the container buried him, the man was arguing with a woman.

00:10:21: She was much closer than I was.

00:10:24: Syska shook his head.

00:10:25: "There was no woman in the satellite records.

00:10:28: You must have been mistaken."

00:10:30: I looked at him, puzzled.

00:10:32: For a moment I thought he was pulling my leg.

00:10:34: But then I read in his face that he was serious.

00:10:37: "Syska, listen."

00:10:39: I began.

00:10:40: He shook his head.

00:10:42: "Nope.

00:10:43: No need.

00:10:44: I've got everything KDD's artificial intelligence needs for the report."

00:10:48: He stood up.

00:10:50: Then he paused for a moment.

00:10:51: "One more thing.

00:10:53: In the satellite recording, it looks like the guy reached out and then said something

00:10:57: to you.

00:10:58: What was that?"

00:10:59: »Damocles.

00:11:01: The poor bastard said the word Damocles.«

00:11:03: I'm sorry, Syska, but I didn't got that.

00:11:07: Sounded like a rattle to me.

00:11:08: My ears aren't the best anymore, I'm afraid.

00:11:11: I shrugged apologetically.

00:11:14: Syska shrugged his shoulders now, too.

00:11:16: "Don't be sorry, Lenke.

00:11:18: Just makes my job easier."

00:11:20: He tapped his fingers against an imaginary hat brim.

00:11:23: "See you around."

00:11:25: I nodded at him in farewell.

00:11:27: "See ya."

00:11:28: I sat there for a few more minutes, then headed home with Sam.

00:11:32: As I did, I clutched the silver box tightly.

00:11:35: I didn't dare pull it out to examine it.

00:11:38: In this decade, not only the walls had ears, but the sky had eyes.

00:11:42: It was strange, however, that the silver item had not been visible in the satellite recording

00:11:47: of the accident.

00:11:48: For the modern technology of the police, this inconspicuous-appearing silver item had been

00:11:53: invisible.

00:11:54: And it must have been the same with the less inconspicuous, tall blonde with the updo.

00:11:59: I had the feeling that there was more to this tragic accident of a cargo drone than an investigator

00:12:04: of Syska's caliber was able or willing to imagine.

00:12:08: And then there was the word that the dying man had whispered to me.

00:12:11: Damocles.

00:12:13: That had been some Greek from ancient mythology who hadn't liked having a sword dangling

00:12:16: from a horsehair above his head.

00:12:19: I glanced at my old-fashioned Apple Watch.

00:12:22: Of course, I could have the time superimposed on my field of vision by implant, but I was

00:12:26: old-fashioned about that, too.

00:12:29: Augmented reality had always remained suspicious to me.

00:12:32: It was just half past eight, so my shift wouldn't start for another couple of hours.

00:12:37: So instead of going home, Sam and I hopped on the 306 monorail to the main train station

00:12:43: and then changed to the U35, which took us to the university campus in a few minutes.

00:12:59: The university library was one of the central buildings on campus, along with the auditorium.

00:13:05: The building had ceased to operate as a stock library a few years ago, as most of the books

00:13:09: had been scanned and digitally processed and were now available on the internet.

00:13:14: Simon, along with a handful of remaining colleagues, worked in the archive, which was located on

00:13:19: the upper floors of the building not far from his office.

00:13:22: There, the last existing book copies were located, which were gradually digitized.

00:13:28: As more and more students at the Ruhr-University were studying with the help of their implants,

00:13:32: The vacated lower floors had been converted into offices for university employees.

00:13:37: Other floors served as virtual labs where students and professors worked on experiments

00:13:42: or augmented reality projects, depending on the faculty.

00:13:46: Simon's job description as a graduate librarian was now one of those threatened with extinction.

00:13:52: More was being read than ever before in human history.

00:13:55: However, thanks to implant technology, the texts floated in space in front of the reader's

00:14:00: field of vision or were read aloud by a pleasant voice.

00:14:04: The spacious office was a maze of book stacks.

00:14:07: Sam ran ahead, relying entirely on her nose.

00:14:10: I myself had to pass through this maze first, until I finally met my old friend at its center

00:14:15: as well.

00:14:17: Simon referred to himself as a Jewish Arab or an Arab Jew, depending on his mood.

00:14:22: For me he was one of my last good friends who was still alive.

00:14:26: He was currently squatting in front of Vincent, the stout scanning robot with whom Simon had

00:14:30: worked closely for the last few years.

00:14:33: Sam sat obediently next to it and waited for Simon to greet them, but he was completely

00:14:38: occupied with the robot in front of him.

00:14:41: Simon was the kind of person who was better at dealing with things like books and equipment

00:14:45: than with living creatures.

00:14:47: His relationship with Vincent was particularly close.

00:14:50: The mismatched pair, the lanky old man and the squat roundish robot shared something

00:14:55: of a love-hate relationship.

00:14:57: Vincent had opened the lid of his head.

00:14:59: On the exposed glass scanning surface lay an old book bound in dark leather.

00:15:04: With today's terahertz radiation scanning technology, it was no longer necessary to

00:15:09: open the individual pages of a book to scan it.

00:15:12: Placing the book on the robot's head was enough for Vincent to digitally capture the

00:15:16: book in seconds.

00:15:17: I already captured this book three years ago, Vincent explained with a bored tone.

00:15:22: "Possibly.

00:15:23: But certainly not this edition."

00:15:25: "This edition is identical to the 2024 edition already captured."

00:15:29: "Just do it Vincent."

00:15:31: Simon pleaded, rolling his eyes.

00:15:32: "Why should I?"

00:15:34: "Because that's your fucking job, you tin bucket."

00:15:37: He grumbled.

00:15:38: "My job is to capture all the documents in the library collection, recapturing texts

00:15:43: that have already been scanned adds unnecessary work."

00:15:46: The robot paused.

00:15:47: "Hello Chief Inspector Lenke, perhaps you can distract your friend a little, so that

00:15:52: I can continue my work undisturbed."

00:15:53: "Good God, I long for the days when a scanner didn't talk back."

00:15:57: "I'm sorry to hear that," Vincent remarked.

00:16:01: Simon sighed, removed the book from the glass surface, and replaced it with a stack of other

00:16:05: books.

00:16:06: "Here.

00:16:07: Enjoy it, you tin bucket."

00:16:08: "Thank you very much," Vincent said.

00:16:12: Simon finally turned to Sam, who greeted him with a wagging tail.

00:16:15: "Hello, my girl.

00:16:17: Are you still hanging out with that looser?" he asked, then winked at me.

00:16:21: "Hello Joseph, what brings you to this haven of knowledge and madness so early in the day?

00:16:26: Do we have a dinner date today? No. It's way too early for that."

00:16:30: I shook my head. "Nothing like that. I want you to look at something."

00:16:35: I took the silver box out of the pocket of my coat and put it on the desk in front of Simon.

00:16:39: He took a look at the box. "What's this?"

00:16:42: He asked. "I was hoping you could tell me. A dying man in the West Park put this box in my hand.

00:16:48: The strange thing is, there was no record of it on the satellite's records.

00:16:53: "A dying man?" asked Simon. I nodded. He had a drone cargo container fall on his head.

00:16:59: Simon raised his eyebrows. "A cargo drone losing its cargo so easily?

00:17:04: That's more than unlikely. Such incidents are extremely rare."

00:17:07: And yet it did happen. I was a witness. So was an unknown woman. But there is no trace of her

00:17:13: in the satellite's records either. At least according to Syska's testimony.

00:17:18: "A woman, you say?" Simon scratched his temple. "It's not so easy to erase people or objects from

00:17:24: records. Especially not records with the technical standard of government agencies like police

00:17:29: satellites." Simon pointed to the box. "Did you show Syska this thing?" "Why would I show him

00:17:35: something that officially doesn't exist?" Simon nodded and looked at the Kenmore closely. "True."

00:17:40: He knew all too well of my dislike for my colleague. "But…" Simon pointed out. "Aren't

00:17:46: Aren't you misappropriating evidence?

00:17:48: I was once led to believe by an old friend that as a police officer you had to respect

00:17:52: the law.

00:17:53: I rolled my eyes and ignored this objection.

00:17:56: What does the term Damocles mean to you, I asked.

00:17:59: He knew I was noting his objection but ignoring it for the moment.

00:18:03: He cocked his head.

00:18:04: What do you think of that?

00:18:06: Well, Damocles, according to legend, was probably a protege of the tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse.

00:18:12: As I recall, that was in the first half of the fourth century.

00:18:15: I think one is not sure if the tyrant was Dionysios I or II.

00:18:19: In any case, this said Damocles was envious of Dionysius.

00:18:23: The tyrant was rich and powerful.

00:18:25: He flattered the tyrants.

00:18:27: In other words, Damocles was an ass-kisser.

00:18:30: Dionysius therefore decided to show Damocles the dangers of wealth and power by means of

00:18:34: a prank.

00:18:36: Dionysius invited Damocles to a banquet and allowed him to sit at the royal table himself.

00:18:41: What Damocles did not know, however, was that Dionysius had previously had a large sword

00:18:45: hung above Damocles' seat, held up by nothing more than a horsehair.

00:18:49: The feast began.

00:18:50: But when Damocles finally noticed the sword above his head, Damocles could no longer bring

00:18:54: down a bite.

00:18:56: He asked to be allowed to leave the place.

00:18:58: He preferred to live safely in freedom and renounce his privileges.

00:19:02: Damocles had learned that wealth and power must be paid for at the price of danger.

00:19:06: Simon looked at me.

00:19:08: And what does this imperialist legend have to do with this thing here?

00:19:11: I don't know.

00:19:12: That was the last thing the man in the park said.

00:19:15: It seemed very important to him, along with this silver box.

00:19:19: Simon shook his head.

00:19:20: "Well, it doesn't mean anything to me."

00:19:22: He turned his head.

00:19:23: "Hey, Vincent.

00:19:25: Get your tinnis over here."

00:19:27: Vincent rolled up.

00:19:28: "The more polite one is, the more polite he treats the lower."

00:19:32: Simon lifted his brows.

00:19:33: "Ludwig Börne, I guess," I remarked.

00:19:36: "That is correct."

00:19:37: "What are you trying to tell us?" asked Simon.

00:19:40: "Just a thought."

00:19:42: Vincent paused.

00:19:43: "What can I be of service with?"

00:19:44: I gave Simon a hint that I didn't want Vincent to approach.

00:19:48: "Stop," I commanded.

00:19:50: Vincent stopped.

00:19:51: "What is it?" asked Simon.

00:19:53: "I don't want him listening in," I said.

00:19:56: Simon looked to the silver box.

00:19:58: "I see.

00:19:59: Vincent, I'd like to talk to Bob."

00:20:02: He turned back to Vincent.

00:20:04: Vincent hesitated for a moment.

00:20:06: Then he said.

00:20:07: As you wish.

00:20:08: I almost thought I heard a grinding noise in Vincent's metallic guts.

00:20:12: Then the robot continued speaking in a softer, higher pitched voice.

00:20:16: My name is Bob.

00:20:17: How may I be of service?

00:20:19: I looked at Simon.

00:20:21: This is Bob, he explained.

00:20:23: Bob is a separate, secured partition of Vincent's personality.

00:20:26: I set it up in case an old friend I know wants to investigate things that aren't quite pristine,

00:20:31: if you'll pardon that old-fashioned expression.

00:20:33: Well, thank you, Simon.

00:20:36: That makes me feel much better."

00:20:37: "So, Bob," said Simon to the robot, placing the silver box on the glass surface on top

00:20:43: of the robot's head.

00:20:45: "What can you tell me about this silver box?"

00:20:47: The robot was silent as he examined the object.

00:20:50: "This silver box is a very old object."

00:20:53: "How old?" asked Simon.

00:20:56: Bob hesitated, as if the robot was aware of the implications of his words.

00:21:00: "Considering the workmanship of the material, an estimated 4,600 years."

00:21:05: "There you have it, Joseph, that thing is a valuable antique."

00:21:08: "There's more."

00:21:10: Bob continued.

00:21:11: "However, the box's great age is at odds with the state-of-the-art transmitter technology

00:21:16: it contains.

00:21:17: This silver box appears to be a type of amplifier for certain frequency ranges used in commercially

00:21:22: available brain implants to utilize network services.

00:21:26: Apparently, it can be used to unlock numerous new and, to me, unknown functions in brain

00:21:32: implants."

00:21:33: any explanation as to how and why such technology was installed in such an old silver box?

00:21:38: No I can't give a reasonable explanation for that based on the data available to me.

00:21:43: Thank you, Bob.

00:21:45: You're welcome, Master.

00:21:46: I raised my eyebrows. Master? I looked at Simon.

00:21:51: If the tin bucket has been given a new personality by me,

00:21:54: at least it one that respects me as opposed to his actual one.

00:21:57: Simon took the silver box from the glass surface of the robot head and handed it to me.

00:22:02: "So this thing is?" "It is, in my opinion, a talisman of some sort," Simon said. "A what?"

00:22:08: "A magic item. Something that transforms the properties of something mundane into something

00:22:13: special." "But this is a technical object. How is it supposed to have magical abilities?"

00:22:19: "It basically just depends on perspective. How did Arthur C. Clarke put it? 'Any sufficiently

00:22:24: advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'" "And how does it work?"

00:22:29: I haven't the faintest idea. But if Bob's analysis is correct,

00:22:33: then this thing accomplishes something that is basically considered utterly impossible, right?

00:22:38: Exactly! I wasn't aware that you could upgrade a standard implant in this way.

00:22:42: You can, of course, upgrade the firmware in a brain implant from time to time. That makes the

00:22:47: implant safe from external attack. But this thing here apparently completely remodels your implant

00:22:52: without extensive brain surgery. So this thing must be pretty damn sophisticated, and therefore

00:22:58: pretty damn valuable. Valuable enough to kill someone for? Are you kidding? This thing is

00:23:03: certainly worth millions. Maybe more. I gave a surprised whistle. Could someone who could

00:23:09: build something like this possibly also make a cargo drone lose its load in exactly the right

00:23:14: place at exactly the right time? That possibility exists. And that possibility honestly scares the

00:23:20: shit out of me. I think it would be very sensible for you to swallow your pride and turn this item

00:23:25: over to Syska as soon as possible. Let this schmuck deal with it.

00:23:28: As I stepped back out of the library building with Sam, I stood indecisive for a moment.

00:23:38: Was Simon right? Should I just hand the silver box over to Syska? I would get in trouble,

00:23:45: of course. Stealing a piece of evidence from a crime scene was no petty offense.

00:23:50: On the other hand, there was no investigation into a crime.

00:23:53: The whole thing had been a tragic accident, but of course Syska was only investigating in the

00:23:59: direction of an accident because he knew nothing about the existence of the silver box. What had

00:24:04: Simon said? The box, and especially the technology inside it, could be worth millions. But why was

00:24:10: there nothing of it or the blonde woman on the satellite records? At least, Syska said that,

00:24:16: I myself had not yet seen the records. My mind was made up. I would look at the records first,

00:24:22: and then decide whether to give the silver box to Syska. Something about this whole thing seemed

00:24:27: very odd to me. At this point, I just didn't know how odd.

00:24:32: (dramatic music)