Records

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

6/23/96:

I moved through one of the many back corridors in the Marble
Hall proper, skimming pasted a few doors, and ducking from
passing people. When I was deep into a section that had seen
little use, I ducked though an unmarked door, and into a
back room.

I found myself in a small room, illuminated only by the banks
of computer monitors that lined one wall. The second wall
was a mass of computer equipment. In front of the monitors
was a table covered with different input devices, from
keyboards to hollo-set. Sitting at the desk, looking at of
the screens was a single person.

Hearing me enter, the person turn in the chair, and I saw
who I expected to see. The page, 'who's name I don't know' I
though to my self.

I could see her grin a bit in the weak light, "Cutter, what
are you doing here?" She asked.

I shrugged, "I came to see if you had any information on the
DNA sample from Natarn."

She shook her head, her short hair flipping around a bit,
"No, I've scanned at least fifty databases and still
nothing."

I shrugged, "Well then, I guess that's all I need to know." I
started to turn to the door.

"Wait," she said, "I'm doing some block searches of a few
more systems, it should be a few more minutes until it I get
an answer. You can wait here if you want."

I gave a slight grin, "Sure I guess. I really don't want to
go back right now."

"Oh, why, argument with your girl friend?"

I chuckled. "Oriana and I have no romantic attachments, we
are just side kicks."

She leaned forward a bit, "What is it then?"

I shrugged, "I really don't want to say right now."

Nodding, she said, "I understand, take a seat." She waived
to a chair in the corner.

I pulled it out, and dusted it off. Then moved over to the
desk. "How did you find me?" She asked, turning back to the
screens.

"I found Thal yesterday and asked about the DNA scans, he
told me that you where taking care of it, and gave me some
directions."

She nodded, "Ok, just wanted to make sure." She said,
working on one keyboard, then another.

I glanced of the different monitors. Most had scroll
information moving faster then I could see. Then few that
didn't had text in a language I couldn't read.

"So, your the computer geek of this operation?" I asked.

She looked at me, and grinned. "My grandpa used to call me
that. You remind me so much of him."

I shrugged, "This is me."

"I know, and to answer your question, yes I am. Have been
sense I fell into this conspiracy."

I leaned forward myself, "If I may ask, how did you get into
it?"

She drooped her head a bit, the light was to low for me to
see if she was blushing, or paling, though the fur in her
ears. "Well, I'm not sure."

"It's ok, I just wanted to know more about you. Hell I don't
even know your name to tell the truth."

This caused her to look back up, and grin slightly. "Page,
my name is Page."

I grinned back, "A page named Page. Sounds like something I
would write."

She nodded, then after a pause said, "I walked into it,
literally."

I blinked, I really hadn't been expecting her to tell me.
"Oh?" I asked, looking a bit stupid.

She nodded again, slowly. "Yes, I walked around a corner and
saw a Council member giving a credit chit to someone I
wasn't able to see. That someone handed back a small package
of some kind. I turned back around, and ran right into the
council head. I blurted out what I saw, and the rest is, as
they say, entropy."

"How long ago was that?"

She though for a second, "Gods, at least a month before you
and your friend where exiled."

When she mentioned Becky, I winched.

She looked at me, then said, "her death still hurts you
doesn't it?"

I nodded, "Yes, I still think I could have prevented it if I
had used my head with I found out I was a natural."

She reached over, and placed a paw on my shoulder. "Is that
why you don't want to go back to your place?"

"Yes... No... both!" I sighed. "A couple weeks ago, when I
was on Gratin Oriana found a secret room under the house.
Well not a room, more of a cavern. It looked as if it
hadn't been used in a year, which should be right,
considering that there was a lot of Becky's stuff down
there, including a picture of me and her."

She closed her eyes a bit. "Fox, what are you thinking?"

I leaned back a bit, "Well... Through out all are travels,
Becky proved she had a mind for theory. She helped with some
of the original specs for the Matrix system, including how
to use the translator chip for input. When we where exiled,
she suggested that we could get away from it, we could run
and leave a couple of bio-drones in are place. The only
catch was giving up everything back on Earth."

"And you think that she might still be alive?"

I shook my head, "No. There was no time, we where together
from the moment exile was handed down. There was no way she
could have pulled a switch. At least I believe that, there's
this little part of my mind that is screaming that she's
still alive, and I need to go find her."

Page looked at me, her eyes open again. "Just believe that
there is a chance. That may just be enough."

I was going to reply, but was cut off as the computers
beeped, and ever scrolling screen was replaced my the same
thing. It consisted of lines of text in standard, and a
picture of a face I may never forget, Natarn.

Page turned and hit a few keys, and some screens shifted.
"This match is from the deaths database."

I nodded, "So what does it say?"

She leaned forward, and read. "According to this, he was an
agent for the Hammerheads, and died in course of duty 5
years ago, he had level red clearance, that's why he wasn't
in any of the data bases I searched. This was a long shot at
best, but there's not much new here"

"Anything else?"

She nodded, "Oh yes. It was a low risk mission, according to
this his body was recovered, and identified by someone on
scene, name unknown."

"Nothing we can work with then." I said.

"Not totally. You see, his death was faked so he could do
what he was doing. And with that high of access, there's no
way he could be found unless it was in THIS database, and it
took me nearly two weeks to get in it, meaning to everyone
else it's impossible."

I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Some how I doubted her
clam on how hard it was to crack. "So, how can that help
us?" I asked here.

She grinned. "He can't be the only one they corruption did
this to so they could have an free agent, and any other's
will be in this database."

I blinked, catching on. "So anyone who was reported dead
like that could be an agent. How long would it take you to
make up a list?"

She blanched a bit, "Long then you would think. I have to
jumped my access time so it can't be traced, and with just
patter matching, along with the fact there are over
fifteen-million entries spanning the life of Prid, and there
is no way to do a date check except on date of death, but
that will only work on a record for record basis."

"Meaning?"

She shrugged, "Yesterday, next week, next month. I don't
know."

"Ok... Well pass on what you found to the others." I stood,
"I had better get going."

She nodded, turning back to her computers, not saying
anything.

I shrugged, and left.