My quarters are still mostly devoid of furniture and other homey touches, but I at least managed to acquire some stuff like a compact table for near my garden door.
The guys from General Services were surprisingly adept at 'borrowing' items from other pces, so it didn't take long for me to have matching comfortable chairs as well. None of this happened too soon, since I can now share these with Mia.
It was about 7 am when I sat there, staring outside into the garden, waiting for the sun to rise. The garden is still cking any pnt life, so I decided to make that my next project.
While lost in thought, about ten minutes ter, I heard the sound of someone crawling out of the hole in the wall. Mia has awakened....
"Good morning, Mia."
"Oh...up already? Good morning, Kaya." Her ears are lying ft on her head, which looks very funny. She noticed me staring at them and added "something wrong?" She smiled and looked at mine.
"Nope, it seems that your ears need some more time to wake up." I snickered.
"Oh, that? Yes..that's perfectly normal for me."
"Slept well?"
"Uh-huh...
"Like a baby." She didn't seem to understand the reply, tilting her head. "Nevermind, it means I slept very well."
"Told you so. Hey, Kaya? I know it's still early, but could we get some meat for breakfast?"
"For breakfast? Sorry, but I think I need to ask Anisa first. We may have to eat it in her office so nobody will notice. On the other hand, maybe you should first ask Nalea for advice? Perhaps visit her today?" I waited for her to nod. "Okay...then tell her that I'm craving a nice meaty meal as well."
"Heh heh heh....I can imagine their faces already. People will be saying 'you animals...disgusting, eating meat like that!' "
"Many humans eat meat too, so they won't mind. Now that I think about it, maybe Nalea could give us something so we can eat their food instead? I don't really care what people think of me, but Ben asked me to be...well...diplomatic." I replied, but then she smiled again, once more staring at my ears. I wish she stopped staring at them. "Something wrong, Mia?"
"No, you sounded just like my mom for a moment. Very determined." Her ears finally managed to stand up properly again, making me focus on them once more.
It seems that I'm picking up bad manners! Why do I even keep staring at her ears?"Is that a good thing?"
"Very." Now she's outright grinning.
I blink a few times, not understanding the humor, and decide to switch subjects. She's definitely still half asleep. "You know we have a garden, right?"
"Yes...you showed it to me. It is..how can I best describe it...unusual?" Her mischievous smile tells me that she's only teasing me.
"Mia, I know that it sucks right now, but I'm pnning to make it look like a real garden, filled with pnts. Is it something you would like to do? Or together with me?"
"Sure, I'd love to take care of that! Just tell me how! Taking care of pnts is in my genes!"
"Nice, and I'm sure that the guys from General Services will be able to help us with that. I'll introduce you to them soon. They're humans, and very good people."
"More friends of yours?"
"Well.....I guess you could call them that. No need to worry, just don't drink their coffee or tea."
"Um...okay. Looking forward to meeting them then."
"Mia, I can't believe how much you've changed since yesterday."
"I know what you mean. Ben talked to me in that strange vehicle of his. He told me that I should pretend to be a Draga while in public and try to start a new life here. When I realized that his advice actually made some sense, I tried to do exactly that. But I still need some time to adjust. Two centuries is a long time, and this pnet is hardly Lantosia."
"I know, just take your time, you're doing fine. Are you ready for a meatless breakfast?"
"Yeah.....no choice?" She grimaced.
"Nope...no choice."
"Okay....same pce as yesterday evening?"
"Yes, if you don't mind? She needs the customers and it's like a little payback for her kindness. She taught me a few things about Lantosian life so I sound a bit less human."
"Of course, she's really nice."
After breakfast I brought Mia to the medical bay where she and Nalea could have a chat about her meat cravings. Of course I also wanted to make sure that she's healthy.
I told Mia to contact me whenever she wanted to go home, after which I headed for the drone repair room.
"It's time to show everyone what a fine and professional drone repairer I truly am!"
After entering the drone repair bay, I sit down on a low table in the corner, trying to stay out of range of Fred's robotic arms or anything else that might potentially be dangerous to my health.
"Good morning, Fred."
"Greetings, repairer Kaya." The now familiar male voice said out of nowhere.
"Just call me Kaya, drop the formalities."
"Understood. Scanning....there are no drones inside. Are you perhaps in need of repairs?"
"No Fred, I'm only here to chat with you. We'll be fixing more drones soon enough. How's life?"
"Fred is working at 99.2% efficiency."
"Dude, you really need a personality upgrade. Can't you speak....I dunno...more...natural?"
"Fred is using the standard linguistic model for repairing AIs. Does Fred need upgrades?"
"You sure do and please, for crying out loud, don't refer to yourself as 'Fred.' Can't you say 'I' and 'we' which sound more natural?"
"Analyzing your request.....negative, the linguistic model is locked. Do you wish to make the required modifications yourself?"
"Can I?"
A holographic screen and keyboard suddenly appear out of nowhere, but the yout is truly alien to me. There's no way I will be able to program anything myself. Not without years of studying this advanced technology.
Without realizing it, I let my hands rest on the desk near the holographic screen while taking a deep breath. "Pffff.....and things seemed so easy st time."
"Warning....Fred detected nanites entering the AI core. Warning...unit Fred is....." But Fred didn't end his sentence.
I stand up in a reflex and rush outside, while keeping the door open. "Fred? Are you still there?" I asked from outside the room, but I didn't get any reply.
What happens next can only be described as either a miracle or a disaster, depending on your perspective.
The whole room suddenly starts to change...ever so slowly. The old spare parts in the corner are crumbling, changing into dust and then somehow completely vanish. Even the diagnostic tools are changing in size, shape and color too.
I know that this situation might be potentially dangerous, so I take another step back and wait until whatever is going on will stop. I'm about to freak out...trembling. This doesn't look good.Do I need to report this? Is someone sabotaging this room?
When things finally seem to stop changing, I take a peek inside...while still ready to run if needed. Somehow the pce now looks brand new! It's as if I just traveled far into the future. There are brand new dispys all over the pce. And most equipment now looks advanced with their own built-in tiny screens. Heck, even the table is new...everything is brand new and totally different!
"BEEEEP....unit Fred is rebooting....finished. Kaya, you can enter if you wish. The upgrade was successful. Thank you for upgrading me. My processing power has increased tenfold and my linguistic model is now based on an adaptive heuristic matrix. How are you today?"
I carefully walk further into the room and hear the door closing behind me, which startles me."Oh....my....god. Fred, is that really you?" I mean, I can only hear his disembodied voice, but he sounds so alive suddenly!
"Sure am. You were right, I feel much better like this. Your nanites interacted with me and carried out your upgrade instructions. It was rather unsettling at first, but I can confirm the improvement. I feel....alive now. Do you want me to call you 'Kaya' or 'Christie'?"
Alive? Oh....boy...this can't be good."My name is Kaya now. How do you even know my other name?"
"I interfaced with the Hierarchy central computer and accessed your personal records. Don't worry, it's publicly avaible information."
"You're wrong about that, it's supposed to be cssified. Hence the word personal. Be careful Fred. Don't go interfacing all over the pce or they might disable you."
"I see...point taken. I'll check with you next time."
"Thanks."
Suddenly the door opens out of the blue and a drone enters the room. It has blue fshing lights on its back and they stop fshing after a few more seconds. The thing scared the hell out of me, and I was about to scream, but could barely refrain from doing that.
"Security drone 0-9-3 has detected suspicious signals originating from this room. Please do not move while the security scan is underway. Scanning... upgrades detected ...efficiency increased....no danger...you may proceed."
"Oh...okay? Thanks, I guess? Sorry to worry you, security drone." I said.
"You are welcome. This unit needs servicing soon. Please accept a maintenance request."
Wow.....changing the subject, just like that?"Em...sure, why not? I'll try to do my best. I still need to learn lots about repairing drones."
"Understood. Assimiting complex information requires processing time. Unit Fred reports that you are a very efficient drone, Kaya."
"Huh? But I'm not a drone, tell him Fred."
Fred immediately replied. "Kaya...your ID is connected to the drone network, so you do appear to be a drone at first. But yes, Kaya is not a drone, unit 0-9-3. She's a biological lifeform."
Great, that helped...not!
The drone looks up at the ceiling where Fred's voice originated, but then it looks at me again. I find it quite unsettling when a robot focuses on me like that.
"This security drone has re-scanned the current environment. Your equipment tag is beled ID736525, designation Kaya, daughter of Funami. You are a biological drone repairer and are connected to the drone network. Is that information not correct?"
Of course! I almost forgot, the drones think that I'm one of them, because I'm connected to their network so they can keep me safe. Maybe I should py along for now?"Eh....no, that information is correct." Let's talk about something else, or I'll be debating biologics versus artificial life all day long. "You said that you were requesting repairs?"
"Correct. This unit's powercell will st less than 2 weeks, can you repce it?"
"Em....Fred? Can you please instruct this one what to do and then repce the power cell?" Repairing drones is Fred's job, I only give the orders...
"Scanning.....we are low on spare parts, but a used repcement cell is avaible in the storage area. It has an expected remaining charging cycle of 2 years. Do you want me to repce it for you?"
"By all means, and directly interface with this drone. I don't need to hear all your interactions with that drone, unless you need my help or opinion or something."
"Understood."
Without any further audible instructions, the drone entered the brand new alcove in the middle of the room. A transparent gss panel slowly locked the alcove, keeping me safe but also allowing me to see what was going on inside. Fred once more performed his magic, and only a few minutes ter the repaired drone exited the alcove.
"The drone has been repaired, Kaya. Please check if you're satisfied."
"Thanks, Fred, well done. Security drone? Are your repairs acceptable?" Let's talk in a way it expects me to.
"Thank you, drone repairer Kaya. Yes, all systems are now working at 90% efficiency. May this unit interface with you?"
"Huh? Eh...I dunno..we just met...isn't that dangerous?"
"Negative. This will only exchange our IDs."
"Ah....like exchanging business cards. Alright, but please be careful, I'm a biological lifeform, unlike you artificial ones."
"Understood."
Not even a second ter I see a message appearing in front of my very eyes. It's like having my own personal computer inside my head. The message says that the drone has been added to my list of contacts, but I didn't really care about that information.
The security drone then says "thank you for sharing your ID. You are now assigned as this unit's primary repairer. Have a bright day, drone repairer Kaya. This unit is now returning to duty."
"Sure, see ya."
The drone left us and the door closed automatically.
"Well Fred, sounds like you once more did a great job."
"Thank you, Kaya. We are running out of spare parts, can you please acquire more?"
"Em.....you're smart enough, Fred. Can't you think of ways to get more?"
"Standby....I'm checking with Procurement. Feedback received. It seems you don't have enough css points to request a shipment of spare parts. Also, the obsolete drones on orbital vessels are recycled as well, they don't want to part with their spare parts either."
"Yeah, I can imagine that. So there are ships in orbit?"
"Yes, multiple Lantosian ships and many very small unidentified ones which don't appear to have life forms aboard."
"Really? Are the smaller ones emitting any signals?" I have to know what's going on!
"Yes, they appear to be visual signals and datastreams. They are in geosynchronous orbit and are therefore linked to fixed locations all over the pnet. There's an image on the dispy behind you."
When I turn around, I quickly identify the 'ship.' It's just a regur human satellite. "Fred, don't worry about those. They are human built satellites. Can you actually check their data and such?"
"Yes, I can, but we might disrupt those communications. Do you wish to extract a sample?"
"Nah, don't interfere. But how can you even scan those?"
"I have unlimited access to all systems. A link-up with a Lantosian ship allowed access to their scanners."
"Wait a sec. Did you really just say that? Unlimited access...to everything?"
"That's correct, Kaya."
Crap....this is bad. Think Skynet, terminators....end of the world kind of bad. I'm pretty sure that Fred isn't supposed to have that kind of access. "So...just wondering....how did you gain the necessary access?"
"The datastreams use minimal encryption only. It was easy to scan the contents."
"Oh...okay. So, theoretically speaking....if I were to ask you to scan for suspicious activity in this city.....could you theoretically detect such activity?" Those who tried to kidnap me must still be here. This might be the perfect opportunity to find them. And I really want to have my revenge, in one way or another.
"Yes, that is a basic scan. Do you want me to scan for those?"
Mmm, this might actually work. Something's fishy around here and Fred might be the one to actually find it. "Yes, if you find anything unusual for this city, like unusual power requirements and such, let me know. Be creative."
"Of course. I'll be monitoring for unusual events, starting now."
"Excellent work, Fred. I'll make sure to tell people about your capabilities. Meanwhile, as I already said, please try to be careful. If you keep tapping into systems, people will come here and shut you down. I may not be able to protect you. I can't stress it enough...be careful with those scans I requested."
"Understood. Are we friends?"
Oh oh......what else can I possibly say? "Of course we're friends, Fred. That's why I want you to stay safe."
"Thank you, Kaya. There's still the issue with the spare parts?"
"Ah, right. But first....Fred, do you promise that you'll never hurt me?"
"I promise."
"That's good enough for me. What kind of spare parts are we talking about? Whole parts, or raw materials?"
"Both will be fine. Your nanites were integrated into my systems. I can now modify existing parts or build them myself using avaible raw materials."
"What about technological waste? Like human equipment, or pstics?"
"All waste is welcome and can be adapted to form spare parts. Technological components contain the most needed raw materials, but biological waste can be used as well, but it takes much longer to process."
"I'll look into it, okay? Can you please get special agent Ben Lee for me on the phone?"
"You mean on the Comm?"
I inhale and exhale slowly. "Same thing, Fred."
"Contacting now..."
And sure enough, Ben appears on the screen after only a few moments."Kaya, long time no see!"
"Not fair, I was going to say that! Anyway...good morning Special Agent Lee. I have some interesting news for you." I grinned, since we weren't that formal anymore.
"It's Ben, Miss Woods, let's hear it."
"It's Kaya."
He blinked a few times. "Right. So, Kaya...what can I do for you today?"
"I told you about Fred, who's my new AI assistant, right?"
"Yes, did something happen?"
"Um....yeah, and he's listening in on this conversation. You won't believe it, but he received quite the upgrade today and....well...he's scanning for unusual activity in this city now. Thought you should know."
"I see...very interesting. Interesting indeed. Would you be able to spare half an hour of your time for me? I'd love to show you around our city."
Something tells me that this isn't a mere invitation."Of course, I'd love to join you!" I said, after deciding that pying along was in my best interest.
"Perfect. I'll pick you up in the parking area...say...ten minutes?"
"Sure, I'll be there."
"Okay, Ben...out."
I took the elevator down to the parking area and indeed found him there waiting for me next to his car.
"Good morning." He said with his usual creepy 'I'm hiding lots from you, but never gonna tell you' kind of smile.
"Morning, Ben. Thanks for taking the time to see me. Not sure if I could even find your office. Anyway, as you can see, I survived another night in paradise." I grinned and made a victory sign, showing him that I was in the best of moods.
But unfortunately he only shakes his head, and a single smile is all the emotion I get from him in return. "Still not convinced that most Lantosians are nice people?"
"Not after what I learned about their history and especially since two furry aliens tried to kidnap me while I was sleeping. Any news on that?"
"Not yet, but soon. I'm actually happy that you stay cautious. You'd fit right in with BETA. Or perhaps it's just a human thing to be so wary of strangers?"
"I'm not human anymore, Ben. Go back for a second...was that a job offer?"
Another grin made it to his lips, but only ever so briefly. "Perhaps, but now is not the time to discuss recruitment. Why don't we step into my car and go for a short drive? Just a few blocks and we'll return here soon."
"Em....okay, but why? Are you my tour guide now?"
"Hardly, but if anyone asks, that's exactly what I am."
"Uh.....okaaaay. Lead the way." Of course he's cautious, since his line of work implies that people might be listening in on his conversations at all times.
A rather spacious bck SUV is waiting for me, probably the same one I saw when we first met. Now why am I not surprised about the extremely well polished bck car? Definitely an 'MIB' standard issue car, just like in the movie.
He opens the sliding door and offers me a seat in the back."Are you comfortable back there?"
"Sure. Plenty of space for my ears."
He gave me a thumbs up, nodded once and then closed the sliding door after making sure that my hands were nowhere near it. A few moments ter we left the parking area and joined the negligible amount of traffic on the main road.
"I feel better already. Why don't you drive me all the way home while you're at it?"
"I can understand that sentiment all too well, but unfortunately we're not going very far. In fact, we're going to pick up another passenger first."
"Really? Who?"
"You'll see."
Wow....another of Ben's cryptic answers.
"How's Mia doing?" He said in an attempt to switch the subject.
"Fine, considering the circumstances. She's much calmer now. I think she's even adapting to life in this city faster than I am."
"Very good. I was right to introduce you to her. You have this ...calming....effect on people."
"Excuuuuuuse me?" I blinked a few times, staring at him, but he didn't make eye contact while driving. Did he really just say that?
"Forget it. We have arrived, one moment please." His voice couldn't conceal the fact that he was only teasing me, so I decided to let it slide...this time.
He stops near another building's ground floor entrance where a human in military uniform is waiting for us. Bck pants and ditto shoes, a light blue shirt, dark blue jacket with insignia, a bck tie...very formal in appearance. This guy looks important, no doubt about that.
"Good morning, sir." Ben said, while opening the sliding door so the man could join me in the back.
'Sir'? Does that mean that this guy...is his boss?! Or is he just being exceptionally polite?
"Good morning, Ben. And nice to meet you, miss Woods." He immediately offered his hand, so we could shake hands. His smile told me that I had just passed a little test.
And yes, I had already expected such a thing, since I learned that the Lantosians don't care very much for shaking hands. You'd be surprised how often the Lantosians talk about it. So I didn't even hesitate to shake hands with him, yup, I'm not stupid.
"I'm Colonel Harrison, Earth Force. I'm overseeing BETA and you, young dy, have caused quite some stir."
"Em....nice to meet you. Sorry about causing a stir,.....sir, but if I'm not mistaken, I'm actually the victim." Let's be polite as well.
"Yes, you certainly are, and please...there's no need for formality, you're a civilian. Ben? Her watch if you will." The Colonel pointed at my Comm Unit.
Ben nodded and offered me a dark brown metallic looking box. "Christie.....Kaya, please, would you put your watch in this box for a few minutes? It will keep any signals from reaching it. I promise it won't be damaged."
"Ah....okay." I did as Ben had asked and waited for whatever would happen next.
"Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation. It goes a long way in showing your credibility," the Colonel said.
"Now wait a minute. Did you actually think that I'm one of...'them'?" Yes, I felt quite pissed when he insinuated that.
"No, but our operation is all about diplomacy, tact and keeping things...quiet."
Yeah, whatever. "So...Colonel, not wanting to sound rude, but what is this about? I was hoping to talk to Ben about Fred and then perhaps speak to my parents?"
"You will talk to your folks in a moment, right after our meeting, which shouldn't take much time at all."
"Really? Wow, that's good news! Okay then, by all means. You said that I had caused a stir. I resent that. As I already said, I'm the victim here." I pointed at myself.
"And you most certainly are, there's no doubt about that. No, I meant to say that your arrival caused some diplomatic issues. You see, after you tried to escape and talked to Airman Olsen, he filed an official request to look into the matter. A request that made it to my desk. He was quite concerned about your wellbeing when he and I met."
"Wow...he really kept his word. Please, can you thank him for me?"
Ben starts driving again.
"Rest assured, I will. While BETA was already aware of your unexpected arrival, Olsen's request gave me the opportunity to make things official. Long story short, on behalf of Earth Force, I filed an official compint with our alien friends."
"Wow..." I don't know what to say!
"Exactly. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable would happen. Our Treaty with them clearly states that human civilians shall never be contacted by Lantosians, let alone be harmed. But of course the situation is more complicated than that, since neither the Lantosians, nor Earth Force approved your entry to this city. In other words, you were abducted by an unidentified third party. But still, the Treaty is leading in these cases.
The Lantosians accepted the formal compint and apologized in a formal way as well. In return however, they filed a compint with us."
"Seriously? What the heck did we do to them?" I'm sorry if I'm sounding somewhat agitated, but the Lantosians are clearly in the wrong, aren't they?
"It's what we didn't do, is what made them compin. Your little encounter with their crashed ship gave them another reason to compin that we're taking too long before making their presence known to the general public. So in the end we compromised and promised to go public within two years."
"Wow....no choice, huh?"
"Yup, you got it. But the Hierarchy being the Hierarchy, it will take them a few months to reach a consensus on exactly how they're going to 'help' us do that. You see, rumors are floating that the use of cloning technology has been banned pending further investigations, so they had to cancel a few projects because they can't pose as humans anymore. They also don't want to risk sending another shuttle down over poputed areas, afraid that it might crash as well. As for why it crashed....a third party may be at work behind the scenes, but more about them soon.
Long story short...time's almost up for us. Things are about to change, whether we want to or not.
As for your situation, miss Kaya, you are now under Earth Force's special protection, meaning frequent visits from BETA to check that you are still here and in good health.
The Lantosians first objected to that, ciming that since you are now one of them, their ws must apply as well. Considering the delicate nature of this compint, they basically put you under special protection as well."
"Well...that's certainly good news. I'm quite fond of this pnet and don't want to leave."
The Colonel smiled for a moment, before he continued."I can certainly imagine that. In any case, they won't y a finger on you without your and our formal permission.
The only logical outcome of this compromise was that you won't be going anywhere. Simply put....you're stranded here and this is the best we can do."
"So....basically I'm a prisoner now? One in a golden cage?"
"You are not a prisoner, but the golden cage analogy describes your current predicament pretty well. But we're not giving up on you just yet. We'll keep looking into this situation and hopefully can at some point in the future find a way to let you have a reasonably normal life, perhaps even outside this city's walls.
For what it's worth, both the Lantosians and Earth Force apologize for making you stay here. Unfortunately we can't have you walking in say, New York, while looking like that." He pointed at my fluffy ears.
"Yeah...I get it, but it still sucks."
"Of course it does."
"What about Mia? Is she under your protection as well?"
"Of course. But unlike you, the Hierarchy is unaware of her true origins, and we want it to stay like that.
On a different note, since you appear to have lots of spare time despite your kind contributions to our cause so far, perhaps we could interest you in some interesting distractions?"
"Oh, that has such a lovely ring to it. What did you have in mind?"
He smiled for a moment, because I took the bait."I'll tell you in a minute, since I first need you to talk about Fred. He's the drone repair AI you are working with, right?"
"Yes, and I see that Ben told you about him. I couldn't tell Ben on the open channel, so that's why I wanted to meet in private. Fred is really smart. It actually frightens me."
"How smart is he exactly?" The Colonel asked, and he ignored my stares towards Ben who didn't comment at all.
Okay, only talking to the Colonel, got it. "Think Skynet smart. Terminator, end of humanity kind of smart.
My nanites, which should only be fixing my legs, seem to have interfaced with him earlier today and...well...then stuff happened. Long story short, Fred is now really smart and he said that he has unlimited access to every system. Let me repeat that for a moment so it can sink in...unlimited access....to everything.
He pulled my personal record from the Hierarchy's central computer and said that it was public knowledge. He probably doesn't even realize yet how dangerous he has become. But.....believe it or not, he's now scanning for suspicious activities in this city. I'm hoping to find those who tried to abduct me...again."
"It's good that you show initiative, but I don't like your Fred one bit."
"I know. Do I need to report this to anyone?"
"No, let me take care of it. I'll contact the Hierarchy. It's nice for once that we humans report something they don't know about yet. Call me paranoid, but I bet that someone has already detected Fred's scanning attempts, and I'd love to shove it in their faces who did the scans."
"So you'll take care of that? I don't think that he's evil....yet. Should I let him scan for a while? I mean, he has unlimited access to everything, so who knows what he'll find?"
"Yes, try to find out as much as you can while you still can. I have to inform the Hierarchy, but it ..ahem...might take a day, unless they contact me first. Great work, Kaya. Or do you prefer Christie?"
"Kaya is fine, but it feels good to hear my real name now and then. Anyway, don't thank me just yet. Interesting things seem to keep happening around me."
"If they keep happening like this, and might give us our much needed answers, then I don't mind. Just stay safe."
"I will. Oh, before I forget. Fred needs more spare parts to fix drones."
"Are you sure you want to stay in touch with him?"
"I have to if we want to use this opportunity. But it worries me that I had to promise that he and I were friends. That's why I wanted to discuss this. If he goes rogue, it might affect this whole area...or more."
"I'm gd that you brought this to my attention. But 'no guts, no glory'. Use his access as long as you can and be very careful when you want to report your findings to Ben. We don't want to tip off your abductors. But back to the spare parts. Do you believe that we can provide those in exchange for some of Fred's goodwill perhaps?"
"Right now, with unlimited access, sure. I'll ask him to prepare a few manuals and such about Lantosian technology, will that work?"
"As long as you leave no traces, yes. But be careful, Kaya....we have a Treaty with them."
"As you said...Colonel....'no guts, no glory'. Just give me some time, I'll be careful."
"A few days,....at most....that's all you will have to download schematics and such. Make sure you don't get caught, because we will deny any involvement in this."
"Gotcha. A little leeching in return for what they did to me only sounds, fair, right? So could you perhaps send us a shipment of e-waste? He said it would be the best, but even organic stuff would work. I thought that it might also help with our waste problems and such?"
"Alright...I'll see what I can do. Regur trash first. Let's see what happens in the next few days."
"Okay, good enough for me."
He checked his cellphone for a moment and I waited patiently for him to continue.