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The metal doors slid open, and a moment later they were inside.
The man in the lab coat led them down a wide hallway to another metal door that opened on a staircase.
When they reached the bottom, they hurried through a pair of glass doors, and they were in a large, bright space that resembled a cafeteria in the center with huge, white tables covered in steaming trays of food.
Cots stacked with pillows and thick blankets lined the walls. Fifty or so people were already in the space, chatting and filling their plates.
All speech and motion stopped instantly as Stark strode in with Olivia on his back.
“I know you have questions,” Dr. Oppyx said, stepping forward to greet them.
“Damn straight,” Stark growled.
“Miss Sinclair,” a woman carrying a clipboard said softly. “Why don’t you come with me and help me detailyour possessions while Mr. Rawling speaks with Dr. Oppyx?”
“No,” Stark said firmly, pulling Olivia closer to his side before he could speak. “She doesn’t leave my side.”
“She hasn’t signed our Security NDA,” Dr. Oppyx said calmly. “She isn’t cleared for this conversation.”
“She can sign it now,” Stark growled.
“Fine,” Dr. Oppyx said. “Come on, both of you.”
They followed her to a large table at the center of the room, where several other employees were waiting.
“Olivia, this is our Security NDA,” Dr. Oppyx said, pulling something up on her bracelet and activating hologram mode. “You can take your time reading it, but if you do, the situation may be over before I can speak freely. This agreement says, in short, that you will not discuss, out loud, in writing, or in any form of communication, anything you learn about the security protocols, hardware, software, or theories here at the Midsummer Center. Everyone else in this room has already signed.”
“Agreed,” Olivia said, touching the floating image with her thumb to affix her print.
“Excellent,” Dr. Oppyx said. “Stark, we have a problem.
“No kidding,” he spat. “Why are people protesting?”
“There were issues with the town when we first opened,” she sighed. “Due to privacy concerns, we were very hush hush about the purpose of the Center. Somehow, people got the idea this was some kind of fancy sex club. They didn’t want anything immoral going on in their town. With the help of one of our patients, a case was made that this was truly a medical facility.Ultimately, that was enough for the council to allow us to stay. But public opinion is a different matter, and there are always a couple of rabble-rousers stirring up gossip. We keep an ear on it.”
“But this is different,” Stark said. “And you need more security - real security.”
“Your drones are everywhere,” Dr. Oppyx said, shaking her head.
“My guys tell me that you’re holding the drone data and not providing real reports,” Stark said. “What good are the drones if we don’t know what they’re seeing.”
“Oberon provides them with full reports,” Dr. Oppyx said dismissively.
“Those reports are useless,” Stark said.
“May I add context?” Oberon’s voice was soft and deferential.
“Of course,” Dr. Oppyx told him.
“Mr. Rawling is a soldier,” Oberon said. “His team is made up of experienced military men as well. They have a lifetime of experience watching drone feeds and situations unspooling in front of their eyes. They could interpret the drone feeds without even realizing they’re doing it.”
Stark was nodding along, for the first time not looking angry when Oberon spoke.
“But I am not a soldier, or even a person,” Oberon said. “I do not have battle experience. And I was not designed for security. I can monitor the drones, but I do not know what I am monitoring themfor. And even I don’t have the processing power to run the logistics on an infinite number of possibilities.”
“If you don’t mind me cutting in,” a man in a technician’s uniform said. “We’re adding more physical servers for Oberon. Soon, he’ll have nearly twice what he has now.”
“That would be more than enough to run security protocols as well as his usual duties,” Olivia said out loud without meaning to.
