Chapter 10 : Emergency Security Clearance
The room he was standing on indicated its location as 4-I-B. With no sign of any hijackers, he headed directly along the ship. He bounded across the roofs in huge strides, leaping the gaps between the passageways with ease. In no time he reached slice 18. He now had to head back along the direction of the curve to reach the red quadrant. Simple. He caught sight of the location panel stating 18-I-R. The jail covered one whole quadrant and slice, and had just one exit. Zak related this view from above to what he had seen during Herbet’s tour.
He checked for any kind of opening or vent that would allow him to see or get inside the jail. But there was none, it was completely sealed. Computer access was required. Stepping off the roof caused him to drift to the floor, and he touched the wall to activate a login. To his surprise and relief, he found that the Observational Security Clearance given to him by Geremi was still active.
Using the CCTV, he brought up the view within the jail. The default view pointed towards the prisoners. The area behind the bars was far too small to accommodate them comfortably. Most were sitting on the floor, and even those on the benches were sat rather too cosily together. But they were calm, and some were engaged in conversation, suggesting a relaxed regime.
He panned the view around. There were two guards, Zahedi and Saltzmann, sitting by the table at the opposite end of the room. They were also chatting away. He wondered if he could hear them.
He found the Microphone page. There were dozens of microphones positioned all round the walls, and the system highlighted their location over the CCTV image. He could select any collection of them, so he picked out a group next to the table.
‘He said he couldn’t come out for another two weeks,’ said Zahedi. ‘I said I’ve got water collecting on the kitchen floor, it can’t go anywhere.’
‘These people can treat you how they like,’ said Saltzmann, ‘there’s only five of them in the city.’
