CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 2: A Captain's Journey

79 ∞ The Intercept

Shortlisted – Day 0003

Gareth watched Harlin settle on a spicy noodle dish and start scooping a portion onto a plate.

"I had to make sure we still had privacy," Harlin said without looking up. "Maat wouldn't have answered if we were being spied on through traditional means. I assumed you'd want to talk, so I had to be sure. As for your Ancilla, she's fine. Maat isn't destructive unless it's called for and authorized. In fact, I bet that right now she's using every trick in the book to block Maat."

"Yes, she is very good," Maat responded from Gareth's wall monitor. "She has just sent a request to her creators for help and assistance. I was not able to block it in time, which is surprising."

Harlin calmly dished up a serving on the second plate. "Do we need to be worried?"

"No. It was intercepted before being received."

Harlin snapped up his head, hand freezing in mid-motion. "Your doing, Maat?"

"No, Harlin."

His gaze locked with Gareth's.

"Alright, Maat. Send Ancilla's creators a compliment letter for passing our security scan. Then I'm going to ask you to grant us some privacy. Monitor us from a distance, please. When the LS request comes for you to observe us more closely, I want you to send her the entire legal code on privacy. Also, add this: 'To break a person's privacy without consent is to break that person's trust.' Sign it with my full title and name."

"Yes, Harlin. I shall depart, but if you need me, turn the lights off and on twice."

Harlin chuckled and reached for another carton of food.

Mind-boggled, Gareth finally exploded, "What the hell just happened?"

Harlin motioned for him to sit. "It confirmed something for me. Actually, a couple of things."

"Like what?"

"Like, have any bugs been installed since you left. Now, please—the food is getting cold."

Harlin picked up his plate and fork as he eyed Gareth, and Gareth sighed. He could tell he wouldn't get any answers by standing, so he sank back down onto the armchair.

Harlin pushed the other plate over to Gareth. "Try the noodles—they smell great. Now, let me answer what I can. I did need to see if this place was safe to talk in. Also, I wanted Maat to test your Ancilla system and bring her up to par if she needed it. Apparently not, or she wouldn't have succeeded getting that request out."

He put a forkful of noodles into his mouth and started chewing. Nodding, he grunted in approval and slid a fork over. Gareth picked up fork and plate, but remained silent, intending to wait Harlin out.

"You're wondering what that last part was all about," Harlin stated after swallowing. "Well, when Maat said that request had slipped past him, several things should have happened. One is the Ancilla company would have immediately requested a police presence for a possible security breach. All the while, a couple hundred techs would be gathering all the data possible.

"Second, I would've had to step in, break out my credentials, and smooth things over with them while you did the same with the police. All of this would've brought unwanted attention. But that's not what happened."

"I gathered," said Gareth through a mouthful of food and looked down at the empty fork in dull surprise. He didn't know how it had happened, but his hunger was screaming for more.

"You heard Maat. It was intercepted before it could be received. Data transmission is damn near the speed of light. So tell me, what system is designed to operate above that?" Harlin stuffed another mouthful of noodles.