The New World

Inner Circle

Mens went back up to his hotel room and slumped into an armchair. At 6 a.m. there was no point in going back to bed. The migraine that had been nagging at him since Pugachev's catastrophic introspection was now aggravated by light flushes of dizziness. He also felt like crying. Perhaps this was accentuated by the mixture of metamescaline and paranetine that Clara had injected him with. Could Pugachev have given me some kind of disease, he thought. In certain dangerous cases, a suspect's introspection was carried out through a special terminal, a limbic processor that simulated thought exchanges, so as to be protected from any contamination. He now regretted not having used this procedure. He got up from the armchair to make himself a strong coffee and swallowed some medicine to combat his headaches.

He couldn't get Clara out of his mind. She was so different from anyone else he'd met since Nerys's death. Was it serious to see her again? She was so special. And besides, it probably wasn't wise since she belonged to the rebellion. In the end, nothing had happened between the two of them apart from this relationship, which was as delightful (but he felt disgusted at the same time) as it was virtual. How could he have done such a thing? Even in his dreams, as far back as he could remember, he had no memory of such fantasies. After all, he'd always been rather little interested in sex. A good believer, molded by a strict, religious upbringing.

A scorching fifteen-minute shower shook him out of his reverie. He realized the horror these rebels inspired in him since the assassination of Nerys, whose killers had never been found. Perhaps this was his chance to bring back some great catches...

Thinking of the Eagle Knight, who seemed to be a leader since he had offered to join them, he remembered having seen this avatar during Jan Pugachev's introspection. Was it just a coincidence that Pugachev's mental wreck had been triggered just after the appearance of this being? No, outside intervention was impossible: Pugachev was in a mental isolation cell and no one could have contact with him.

He received a message in direct thought. It was from his boss: "meeting at 9 a.m. in my office about the Pugachev incident." This brought him back to reality: after all, what was the point? This girl must have been toying with him. The stories she told were rebel propaganda.

In the grip of all sorts of contradictory thoughts, he dressed quickly and set off for the railway station to take the first available seat.

At the station, he decided to send Clara a message from a Net station to preserve his anonymity. The message, which he wanted to be innocuous enough to avoid surveillance, simply read: "Please let me know how you're doing." He signed Tekken and sent the message.

Arrived in Arcangel, he went straight to the Wamash. At 9 a.m. he entered the office of his superior, Rez Erin. Around the meeting table sat Erin, Bryant and a dark-haired, pale-skinned man unknown to him. Erin made the introductions, then began without delay:

"We're here because of yesterday's incident, the Pugachev case. Lieutenant Nasseri, from the Internal Affairs, is in charge of the investigation that's about to get underway to find out what happened."

"I've already started examining the recordings of yesterday's interrogation", said Nasseri, who was casting an incisive glance at the others. Apparently, everything seems ok. Now I need the recording of your introspection", he added, turning to Mens.

"No problem, I'll give it to you right away, it's in my office", replied Mens. "Do you have any leads?"

"For the moment, none. Did either of you notice anything unusual yesterday, before or during the interrogation?"

Bryant and Mens looked at each other.

"No, nothing special", replied Bryant. Pugachev seemed very nervous.