This Day All Gods Die Read Free

screaming red security lock didn't prevent anyone else from looking at electronic files or using communications linkups; but it blocked changes of any kind to those files, or to any transmission logs and records. At the same time it warned DA that changes had been attempted, and traced the codes and routing of the attempt backward.
    He was morally certain that the Dragon's HO techs could disable or deactivate a Red Priority security lock, no matter how loudly it screamed. At the same time he was quite sure that this would not be done, first, because Holt Fasner would hardly imagine that crucial records were in any danger of ex-posure, second, because Holt would believe that any embarrassment which might arise from his files could be quashed through Warden Dios, and third, because as a matter of policy the Dragon liked to preserve an illusion of openness and honesty. Rather than resistance Hashi expected passive acceptance: another illusion.
    An illusion which would reveal itself as murderous fury against Hashi himself when the UMC CEO determined that Hashi no longer represented a threat.
    This prospect didn't trouble Hashi. He could say with considerable accuracy that he did not fear the Dragon in any ordinary sense. The possibility of intellectual inadequacy gave him far more distress than a merely physical threat.
    When his security locks were in place, he used his authority under the provisions of Red Priority to compile the most complete dossiers which Data Storage, joined by microwave downlinks to GCES Security and Anodyne Systems, could provide on both Nathan Alt and Clay Imposs.
    Warden's summons found him just as he was finishing.
    More than an hour since the shuttle had docked: several hours since the kaze's blast. Apparently Warden hadn't been taken by surprise to any meaningful extent.
    That was good and bad; better and worse. The delay had allowed Hashi to complete his immediate research. On the other hand, a longer delay might have given Lane time to produce the results Hashi craved.
    Despite the plain urgency of the summons—
    and the ne-
    cessity of obedience—
    Hashi took the time to call her.
    Her voice over the intercom was brusque and focused; deep in concentration. "Make it quick. I'm busy."
    Hashi couldn't restrain himself: his personal imp of perversity made him say, "Too busy to talk to me? Lane, I'm crushed."

    She let out a sigh that sounded like smoke. "If you want me to work fast, I have to be careful. If you want me to work faster than the speed of light, I have to be more careful than God."
    He relented. "I understand perfectly." Above all he valued Lane for her meticulousness. "Nevertheless I must appear before Warden Dios in a matter of moments. The time is apt for results. He will certainly desire results from me."
    "Then let's not waste each other's time. Here's what I have so far.
    "The id tag and clearance badge were easy." She didn't need to organize her thoughts. Hashi suspected that she permitted herself no disorganized thoughts. "They're legit. I mean Clay Imposs is—
    or maybe was—
    a real GCES security
    guard with a good record. He's been with them for years. The tag and badge say they're his. But the body isn't.
    "You were right, it's Nathan Alt. Gene scan matches exactly.
    "So how did he get through his own Security?" She asked Hashi's next question for him. "Right after that first kaze attacked Captain Vertigus, GCES Security started using retinal scans to confirm id. That should have stopped Alt cold.
    "The answer is, this is a new id tag. Made for the job. It says it identifies Clay Imposs, but the retinal signature and the rest of the physical id belong to Alt."
    "Is that possible?" Hashi inquired. He knew it was.
    "Sure. It worked because the physical id was generated by the same code engine that drove Imposs' clearances. Everything looked legit on the surface. GCES Security didn't know they had to run a full playback from the SOD-CMOS chips and compare it to Imposs' original