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Administrative Tower


“Light Keeper.”

Seignur Veeoni produced quite a credible—and astonishing—bow to his honor.

“Researcher. Pray seat yourself.”

No offer of refreshment for this, nor any other courtesy. Ally she might be, but that melant’i did not excuse her excesses.

“I wonder when you were going to inform the light keeper that you had taken it upon yourself to awaken a sentience on this station.”

Seignur Veeoni frowned.

“It has been my goal from the first to bring station systems to original specifications. I discovered only recently that the original specifications included a secondary system to support sentience. The possibility existed that the secondary system was intact, or, in the case, had matured sufficiently to be of use to a preexisting sentience.”

She paused.

“It is true that I had no proof that sentience existed. However, if it was present, the information in the libraries would be required—and if no sentience was present—”

She shrugged, broadly.

“I had merely wasted my time.”

He said nothing. She inclined her head.

“Having reasoned my way to the point, I moved the libraries in their transfer units into the intended sentient core.”

She folded her hands on her knee, and met his eyes, apparently deeming her narration complete.

“You judged this undertaking too trivial to bring to the light keeper’s attention?”

“Trivial—no, not at all. Once the libraries were positioned, I had my proof. Catalinc Station, as the sentience names herself, thanked me for my care, and we entered a dialogue. She indicated that she had met you previously, but that you were holding yourself aloof. I therefore urged her to speak to Station Administrator Tocohl Lorlin. She stated that she would do so, as soon as she had assimilated the data that was meant to complete her knowledge base.”

“As it comes about,” Jen Sin said, “I recently recollected our acquaintance and have spoken to Station, also urging her to speak with the station administrator. She assured me, as she had done you, that she would make this a priority, so soon as she had assimilated her data.

“In the meanwhile, she has agreed to clear and certify the quarters the station will make available for those of the second wave, and I have shared certain information regarding Clan Korval and our recent history that may assist her in understanding her new ally.”

“Then, if I may, Light Keeper, you did not need me to tell you about this developing situation.”

Jen Sin eyed her.

“Just as I happened to recall my previous meeting with Station; I could as easily failed to recall it. We both are aware that my recollection is compromised.

“It is my duty to hold this station; to hold it safe for all who depend upon it. Had I not remembered my previous attempt to unite Station with her data, I might have made decisions which harmed her, and led to harming others. We are interdependent, all of us here, and I am charged with seeing that every system thrives.”

He paused.

Seignur Veeoni sat silent, hands folded upon her knee.

Jen Sin sighed silently.

“In order to fulfill my duty and my purpose,” he said, each word sharp and distinct, “I must be fully informed. Therefore, I ask: Is there anything else I should know?”

“Ah.”

Seignur Veeoni leaned back in her chair, fingers steepled in front of her mouth, hiding her frown.

“That is an excellent question, Light Keeper. It has been my habit to follow my researches, and allow you your own course, as we have just been discussing. You are the light keeper, and you must therefore make your own judgments, and form appropriate policy based upon evidence you have gathered and weighed. This is key, as we both agree. I am a researcher with a very different duty, but you allow me to see that I have failed in a basic courtesy. We are not, after all, rivals; we are colleagues.

“One researcher working alone cannot advance a field as quickly or as comprehensively as several researchers, building upon each other’s work. It is why we write papers and publish to journals. It is notable that a detail deemed by one researcher to be trivial, will be found by another to be pivotal. So! I offer you my observations, but not my conclusions. Is that acceptable?”

Gods take the woman. Jen Sin inclined his head.

“It is acceptable. What have you observed?”

“Aside Catalinc Station’s presence, which you have deduced and acted upon, I offer the observation that there is at least one known agent of the Lyre Institute currently on-station.”

Jen Sin lifted a hand.

“We expected such agents to arrive,” he said moderately. “What was your reason for failing to bring this arrival to the light keeper’s notice?”

Seignur Veeoni shrugged.

“This agent is a low-level operative—a pawn. My assumption was that Clan Korval’s representative on-station would wish to address the problem at a higher level, rather than wasting energy on those considered disposable by their masters.”

There were no words. Jen Sin moved his hand, signing her to go on.

“When I went to the recovery deck to download the data from the units there, I found that the section presets are no-camera and low-temp. Light Keeper Lorith arrived as I was working, questioning my access and techniques. I had at that moment one more download left to initiate, and, in order to soothe her suspicions, I allowed her to make the connections from the third unit to the environment prepped to receive the download.”

She paused. He inclined his head.

“Just before you called me to you, I discovered that one of the environments has failed. This is very unusual. I have not had time to research the matter more deeply.”

She closed her eyes briefly, and inclined from the waist, seated as she was.

“That is the sum of my observations to date. Is there a reporting protocol that you prefer me to use, should I notice anything else of interest?”

“Call me, come to me, or send me a message, appropriate to the urgency of the situation,” he said. “I suggest that you may wish to have Traven with you when you venture beyond your own halls. We do have persons incoming, we do not know who they are, or what their affiliations may be. It would be reasonable for the Lyre Institute to use the arrival of many persons on-station to their advantage.”

“I agree that this is an opportunity they will scarcely wish to miss.”

“And Traven?”

“M Traven is occasionally needed elsewhere,” Seignur Veeoni said. “However, I will take your suggestion under advisement.”

“Please be aware that my resources for rescue are limited. Better not to fall into peril than to require an extraction.”

“I understand,” Seignur Veeoni assured him.

Jen Sin stood.

“Thank you for your assistance. Please keep me informed in future.”

“Yes, Light Keeper.”

Seignur Veeoni rose, bowed once more to his honor, and left him.


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Framed