Dead end (Part 1)
25 Feb 2024Haraldsen
ISA Lord Investigator Jack Riehl stared at the screen of his personal terminal and cursed under his breath. He felt like someone had taken his heart, stomped on it, and then had proceeded to rip it into a thousand pieces and flush it down the toilet. It wasn't getting any better. The content shown on his screen was a serious problem. His friend Mike Barlow, a talented hacker whom he occasionally consulted, had sent a link to a secured storage account that contained an archive of data from the memory implants of some of the 5,000 slaves that had been delivered to the Emerald Dawn by Haraldsen's Tear of Raxxla. Riehl was not sure whether or not he believed the reality of the mind altering procedure he had just seen on screen. This wasn't simple brainwashing as described in some scientific texts but rather mind-erasing, mind-altering and mind copying technology. Apparently, a personality could be duplicated to a machine and then transmitted over hyperchannel for upload into the brain of another person. While it sounded too incredible and horrific to be true, the evidence seemed overwhelming. It wasn't clear how long and to what extent this would cause damage to the target subject, but seemingly most of the previous characteristics of the person were replaced with the new personality.
Several videos showed victims before and after the implantation. These scenes were his first real insight into the dreadful, stomach turning event that took place amidst the infinite blackness of space. In most cases, it wasn't enough to recognise who it was about. But while most were just silhouettes of blurred darkness or so indistinct that they could not be recognised, others were visible, and Riehl felt as if they still knew who they had once been, even if their pattern of behaviour had been altered. Like the figure he couldn't get out of his head: one of the videos showed a slender woman wrapped in a plastic sleeve or thin sheet of transparent rubber, moving with a grace familiar from another person in the experiment, which left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. She had a long mane of dark brown hair, which she brushed from her forehead with the same unconscious gesture as the person in question, before she looked at herself in a mirror and began to scream.
Interrupting his train of thought, Riehl's terminal chimed as he was receiving an incoming holo-communication on a special frequency he reserved solely for his most private business. Only a very few trusted associates and colleagues knew about this frequency. It was highly protected and encrypted. His lips twitched as he accepted the transmission. The shimmering hologram depicted an older man with slightly grey hair of medium size, bearing an undefined but still rather distressing expression on his features. His pale blue eyes locked on his.
"Is that really you, Jack?" the older man asked, startled. He had the feeling that what he was seeing looked more like a ghost than a person.
Jack Riehl nodded. "Yes, it really is me, Mike. How are you?"
Riehl's voice sounded rough and emotional. Mike Barlow sighed. He had just analysed the latest evidence. The story had expanded, and the shadow of a very serious offence was creeping in. And that was before he considered all the other dodgy activities surrounding Haraldsen for which there was already evidence.
"Well... let's just say things are getting complicated..." the man sighed.
"Mike, if you insist on blackmailing Haraldsen with the highly sensitive data you provided, you might be compromised as well. Have you given enough thought about this? Haraldsen is just an opportunist, she is probably not alone in something as big as this." Riehl questioned him with his gaze, "When things go south your hands will eventually become dirty and not only from dipping into bits and bytes."
The words hung heavily between them. Silence filled the air as they looked at one another. Then finally Mike spoke: "I already suspect that I have been discovered, because the entire flow of information seems to have ended rather abruptly. It seems like someone is controlling everything and everyone behind the scenes. Am I just assuming this and falsely accusing Azimuth as part of some delusional paranoia? Without the Azimuth signatures we can't confirm anything about their involvement, this could simply be another matter still in which Haraldsen is involved."
Riehl shook his head. "To me this looks very much like their technology. Could possibly be a predecessor or by-product of the ‘Nemesis failsafe‘... As it stands, there's good reason to believe that Haraldsen might have something to do with them. And it's pretty clear what a mess the consequences could be... are you really willing to follow that path? In this world of betrayal and greed, it is not uncommon that even an individual you have placed your blind trust is a con-man. To look inside HER personal computer or database with a back door trying to find a connection to Azimuth? This is madness." Riehl straightened in his seat before gazing at his friend with an apprehensive glance, “Look, you and I are supposed to be keeping low while collecting sound evidence against Haraldsen, staying out of trouble and not a step deeper into danger. The farther away we stay from Azimuth or their side projects, the safer we will be. Let's just get our hands on Haraldsen and be done with it."
"Jack, as much as I understand your point of view, I think you're wrong. Even if we keep our distance, we are not exempt from what follows, especially when it comes to Haraldsen's selfish actions backfiring. Don't think this will be easy." Mike rubbed his face tiredly, and there were heavy, dark circles under his eyes that suggested he hadn't slept well for days, "All my recent attempts to dig deeper into her data have ended with it being blocked and encrypted or removed completely. As far as I can tell she's acting as some sort of business-front or intermediary for an undefined other entity. That entity could very well be Azimuth - something the ISA should probably want to investigate in the context of illegal slave trading. Do you see why I can't leave this alone?" There was a slight hint of agitation in the way the question was phrased, as if the response might not be enough or unsatisfactory.
ISA Lord Investigator Riehl arched an eyebrow, staring intently at the older man for a long while. "Let's recap: what we have truly discovered here are two possibilities: either she is performing human testing using illegal technology, or she's profiting in other ways. She may be the epitome of evil and deserves everything she will have coming her way, but I'm afraid you digging deeper into this could jeopardise everything and unleash forces that are too powerful even for the system authorities we have at our disposal for arresting her."
Mike shrugged. "From everything I managed to extract from my hack, Haraldsen is responsible for this. The evidence at hand suggests that these experiments took place on her carrier and that the unlawful sale of the Imperial slaves to the Emerald Dawn was an additional side business of hers. Apparently, in her greed she couldn't resist a random, favourable opportunity, and that's how she ultimately came to our attention. Regardless of whether they were directly involved, this puts Azimuth in a rather dangerous position, as there seems proof now for the existence of a technology of theirs which is illegal in the extreme."
"At some point they're surely going to notice your tinkering. It won't take long before they find out what's behind your interference, if they aren't already suspecting ISA activities and just waiting for an opportunity to clean up the whole mess." Riehl warned.
"That would explain why Haraldsen wants me dead instead of just going with the blackmail," Mike concluded dryly.
"I doubt your life was worth much to begin with." Riehl laughed grimly, looking down at his hands. "She's after you because she doesn't want to find herself in the limelight. For those who she answers to this would mean trouble. And if that should be Azimuth... you know how such companies operate."
Mike Barlow just stared silently into the distance, a look of quiet reflection settling upon his features. "'I'd reckon the greatest crimes were always committed without emotion; callous and thoughtless of the repercussions, perpetrated by people such as the one Haraldsen became. For me, there is nothing that would justify such actions but you're referring to their intent to suppress information and leave no witnesses, I suspect. Which indeed is something the company is notorious for."
"And none of us want to die." Riehl blinked, his gaze riveted on him. "You risk exposing us both, in an attempt to... what?"
"If nothing is done now, whatever happens, those involved will be protected as usual, leaving nobody to suffer the consequences," the older man hissed vehemently and straightened, a severe expression falling over his features.
"Is it not enough to capture Haraldsen without provoking any further escalation? Can’t we just finish her business?" Riehl tried again.
"It will take months to verify the veracity of the information on those files, this is not guaranteed to work, or fast," Mike stated. "Considering her past deeds and the success rate in solving any cases involving Azimuth blackmail is my only way in. All other options lead to dead ends sooner or later. At least it seems she is quite interested in the data I acquired..." Mike said.
"Mike, even if your methods could lead to positive results," Riehl concluded firmly, "I can only hope that the worst can be avoided. You can count on my support to uncover the truth about that slave deal and their origins. But you’ve to realise that there could be much more at stake here. As to the question whether the local system authorities will support us when a heavy weight like Azimuth gets involved, your guess is as good as mine."
"Of course." Mike cleared his throat, as if suddenly uncomfortable. His expression was strangely evasive, and not at all forthcoming. "I understand, Riehl," he assured him, offering a vague nod, as he continued studying him thoughtfully. "Now, unless there is another topic to discuss..."
"No." Riehl nodded his acknowledgment at Barlow before terminating the communication.
When the hologram faded, Riehl remained lost in thought for a few minutes longer, reflecting on their conversation and all the events he had seen on video. His eyes flickered with recognition as he replayed some of the videos again, noticing something he had not seen before.
"Interesting," he mumbled under his breath as he tapped a few keys, accessing the database and typing a brief inquiry. He leaned forward, looking closely as information and text data scrolled by rapidly on the screen in front of him. He frowned, clicking and re-sorting the information on the screen as he was reading, his lips pressed tightly together in displeasure, then sat back in his seat and shook his head.
"This is not good." He sighed and leaned forward again, continuing his search. Some time later, he frowned again, but this time with a grimace of disgust and disbelief, as the screen before him was replaced with a message showing the words, "ACCESS DENIED."
Looks like he hit a dead end, for now.
Hope you enjoyed the read. English is not my native language, so please be lenient regarding mistakes and the time it takes to continue the story