Inside Out. Maria Snyder V.
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Название: Inside Out
Автор: Maria Snyder V.
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Научная фантастика
isbn: 9781408929148
isbn:
I concentrated on Broken Man’s statement about getting no help from the upper families. It fit—uppers wouldn’t risk themselves and their cushy life for a bunch of scrubs. Although, I couldn’t help thinking about Riley in his hideout on level four.
His family names seemed important to him—a source of pride. How did he feel about the Travas controlling our world? Maybe Riley and a few uppers would like to see life altered? I grimaced. Sappy bull. I was getting soft, letting hope grow a centimeter. Snip. Snip. I mentally cut it back.
“If the computer works, all I need to do is retrieve your disks and you can access them? Right?” I asked.
Broken Man bit his lip and said nothing.
“What’s wrong? I thought you have a gap in your mouth for the port.”
“I have the gap.” He paused. “Problem is…I don’t have my teeth.”
“What?”
“They’re not real teeth. We just call them that. They’re needed to access the internal computer network. They’re designed so the Pop Cops can keep track of who is in the network and restrict access to the computer system by pulling an upper’s port.”
I sank to the floor. Rubbing my face in my hands, I said, “Now you tell me.”
7
NOTHING MORE I COULD DO.THE END.THE POP COPS
had Broken Man’s port. Without his port, he couldn’t access his disks and the information. No information meant no proof or disproof of Gateway’s existence.
“Lieutenant Commander Karla has my port,” Broken Man said.
I stared at him. Was he serious? “You want me to ask her for it back?”
“Think, Trella. She doesn’t know about the disks. Pulling my teeth is standard procedure. She would have sent it to computer ops to check what I’ve been accessing in the system, and they would have returned it with their report.” Sudden understanding lit his gray eyes. “The report! I should have known. A few of the files I’d viewed probably made Karla suspicious and she set a trap in my room. If only I heard about you before she rigged my quarters.”
His comment reminded me of how I had gotten involved. Cog knew I couldn’t resist a challenge. “If Cog hadn’t told you about me, we wouldn’t be here now.”
He shook his head. “Your reputation as Queen of the Pipes intrigued me first.”
“Yeah, but Cog was the only person who knows what I’m really capable of. And he’s too quick to trust, he falls for any line and is too eager to get involved.”
“The opposite of you?”
“Of course. I’m not the one getting my hopes dashed every time a new prophet arrives.”
“Yet here you are.”
In trouble with no solution in sight. “A moment of weakness and an excellent lesson on what not to do in the future. Provided I even have a future.”
“From what I’ve seen in the lower levels, do you really want to live the rest of your life in these conditions?” he asked.
The standard scrub reply was to shrug and say there was nothing I could do about it or to regurgitate the Pop Cop line about a better afterlife. But I had the opportunity to actually prove or disprove the theory about Gateway and Outside. If I wanted to risk my life. Was being alive enough for me? Could I really walk away without trying?
Broken Man could see the answer in my eyes. “Karla’s office is on level four, Sector—”
“A. I know. It’s the only area I avoid.” Last thing I needed was for the Pop Cops to catch me in an air duct above their offices and holding cells. I enjoyed a challenge, but I wasn’t crazy. And I limited my time spent in the Gap above four to trips to my box.
Contemplating the theft of his port from the lieutenant commander, I crossed over from rational to insane. “Do you know what type of security measures are installed in her office?”
“The door’s always locked, but I’m guessing you’re not going to use it.” He smiled. “Probably the usual motion sensors.”
LC Karla knew someone had used the pipes to get the disks. Would she rig the air ducts above her office with sensors? Broken Man had said she was smart, so I assumed she had. But did she know about the Gap above the ductwork? I needed to do a reconnaissance mission to her office. It would require a great deal of planning.
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