"This is amazing," said Juli the next day. "There must be years' worth of research in here. Dive records, UMN traces, classified reports ... how on earth did Scientia get hold of all this?" She sat on the edge of her chair, hands perched over the keyboard.

"It's possible they've been collecting data for the last hundred years," Ziggy said from behind her, watching the screen over her shoulder. They were in Juli's office in the SOCE building. "That would give them plenty of time to assemble a comprehensive report."

Juli exhaled in a rush. "I'll say." She pulled her gaze from the screen for a moment and twisted around in her chair to look up at him. "I had no idea you and Doctus were already acquainted. She's an old friend of yours?"

"It's hard to explain," he said, and when Juli's eyes took on a glint of suspicion, he added, "Not like that."

She turned back to the screen, shaking her head. "I won't pry. The only old friend of yours I'm concerned about is the one who's currently occupying the lower recesses of the AMN." She paged through an official report with the redacted portions spliced back in. "I can see why most of this information is classified. Did you know he was involved with Yuriev and the Salvators? Thanks to their influence in Parliament, he got away with running an illegal narcotics operation for decades while the government looked the other way. No wonder they wanted to cover this up--it makes the government look like an accomplice."

"I know," he said. "They tried to shut down my department's investigation." He seemed distracted, and after a moment he said, "There was something in one of those files, a medical profile, I think--something about his ability to manipulate the UMN. That may be how he was able to construct an entire network on his own. And there's something else I noticed, when ... we encountered him on the AMN a few days ago. It seems that while his reach in the imaginary domain extends as far as the shadow network itself, his actual presence there is limited. There's still a part of his consciousness--his identity, maybe--that can only be in one part of the net at a time. That appears to be what's controlling the rest of the network."

Juli stared at him in astonishment. It was more than he usually said at one time, and she wondered if he had been working it out in his mind since he came back from the dive. "So you're saying this ... finite part of him might be his weakness."

"I'm saying it might be all that's left of his original self-image," he said. "If there are any weaknesses residing in his personality from when he was still human, we may be able to exploit them."

"I'll keep that in mind." She turned back to the screen. "So what is this Project Apocryphos you were talking about? Something from back then?"

"I don't think so. At least, I don't remember it, but that doesn't mean ...." Behind her, he moved a step closer. "Can you look it up?"

"Let me check." She entered the term into a search field and waited while the program compiled a list of results. "There are two entries on file. It's mentioned in the index for the data you retrieved from Patmos, but there's no explanation given; that part must have been erased before you copied it."

"I see. What about the other entry?" He leaned closer, and she felt the gentle pressure of his hand on her shoulder. "It's dated over a hundred years ago. That's from before we started the investigation, when he was still working with Yuriev."

Juli frowned, scrolling through the file. "I gathered that. It looks like Yuriev had him doing some kind of research--looking for specific information on the UMN." She turned again, bracing her arm against the desktop. "Do you suppose they were trying to reconstruct Lemegeton? That would put them a century ahead of my husband's research. But they must not have been very successful."

His grip on her shoulder tightened. "Do you mind if I look at this?"

"Go ahead." As she moved her chair out of the way, her connection gear signaled an incoming call. She picked it up from the desktop beside her and glanced at the screen. "That's strange," she murmured, half to herself. The chairman of the DIRE usually sent calls to her office terminal, not her personal line, which she had instructed him to use only in emergencies if she couldn't be reached elsewhere.

Ziggy glanced toward the door. "Should I step outside for a minute?"

"Don't bother." Juli turned her chair around so that he'd be out of view. "You have my permission to eavesdrop." She accepted the call. "Good morning, Chairman. In the future I'd prefer if you called--"

"Dr. ... Mizrahi ... oh, thank God ...." The chairman's hologram was blurred and shaky, his face a strained mask.

"Chairman? What's going on?"

"It's ... terrible ... I've done ... something terrible ...." he said between ragged, torn-off breaths. From behind the screen, she saw Ziggy start forward preemptively. "I called ... to warn you, before ...."

"Just calm down, chairman," said Juli, trying to reassure herself at the same time. "Now can you tell me what's going on?"

"... Betrayed you ... all of you ... heh ...." He gave a pained cough of laughter. "I bet ... you didn't know ... you've spent the past year and a half ... aiding the Federation's enemies ... did you?"

Juli pushed back her chair and stood up. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"It's ironic ... the DIRE ... it was supposed to stand for goodwill ... reconciliation ... instead ... just a front, all this time ...." The chairman broke into another spasm of laughter.

"A front? What do you mean? A front for what?" Juli risked another glance at Ziggy; his expression of mild dismay would have been equivalent to outright horror from anyone else.

"You didn't know ... heh." The chairman closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath. His face shone with perspiration. "You'll find out ... soon enough ... the whole world will know ... thought they'd be safe ... hiding in plain sight ... but maybe ... if I confess my sins ... maybe God will forgive me ... if God even exists ... in this world ... anymore ...."

Juli almost dropped the connection gear; instead she held it closer to her face, gave it a rough shake. "You--damn it, you were on their side? Then tell me--who was responsible for the capture of the Patmos delegation? Who's aiding Ormus? Is it Nov-OS? Answer me! Chairman!"

He opened his eyes, and when he did he seemed to be staring past her, his irises blurred islands in the bloodshot white. His mouth strained around silence for a moment before the words broke through. "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no authority as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ... And the ten horns ... these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire."

The chairman's hologram sputtered and went out. Juli stared at the blank screen until the connection gear slipped from her shaking fingers and clattered to the floor; she sank back into her chair without bothering to pick it up.

As soon as the call ended, Ziggy sprinted over to her. "Juli, he was--"

"I know," she said, gripping the armrests of the chair while she waited for her heartbeat to slow down. "But the chairman--why? Do you think he was really ...."

"In league with the anti-Federation groups?" He stared at the connection gear as if he thought it might explode or catch fire. "I don't know. But if someone in the government has been aiding them, that might explain the new equipment we found in the Patmos base."

"Among the many other things it would explain." She managed to take a few deep breaths and began to feel calmer. Then she realized the implications of what the chairman had said, and smiled bitterly. "I believe I've just been linked to yet another organization with ties to Ormus. Assuming it's true what he said about the DIRE being a ... a front."

"That would make sense. Think about it. Ever since it was established, the DIRE has been the first government agency to make contact with any planetary system that's had its access to the network restored. That would give them a perfect opportunity to distribute supplies to any armed groups in the region before anyone else gets there."

"Damn it, I can't believe this." She buried her face in her hands. The world reeled around her, no longer turning on its side but spinning constantly now, too fast for her to recover her bearings. "No, I do believe it. But I don't want to, I can't--"

He touched her shoulder, but she was still on edge from the call and recoiled instinctively. "Sorry," he said, pulling his hand away. "Do you want me to get you something?"

Juli shook her head without looking up. "No, it's--"

Her connection gear signaled another call, and they both looked warily toward the floor, then back at each other.

"Are you going to--"

"I'll get it," said Juli, deciding the instant before she spoke. She bent down and picked it up, feeling a momentary flush of relief when she saw the incoming address. "Helmer."

"Dr. Mizrahi, I've got some bad news. I see you're already sitting down, so I'll skip that part. Oh--Ziggurat 8, I didn't see you there. You might want to sit down."

"No need, thanks."

"Helmer, is this about what I think it's about?" said Juli. "Because if so, it's not exactly news to me."

"Well, that depends. Are you aware that the chairman of the DIRE just issued a statement implicating himself and nine other department members in a plot against the Federation?"

"I see." Juli grimaced. "That must have been what he called to warn me about."

"He called you?"

"Don't ask. So, what crimes against humanity have I been accused of aiding and abetting this time?"

"None so far that I know of," said Helmer. "Your name wasn't on that list, so you might actually get a break this time."

"Thank you, but I wouldn't count on it."

"I wouldn't if I were you either. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of it. Be careful, Dr. Mizrahi--I have a feeling there's more going on than we know about."

"I'm almost certain of it," she said. "But thank you for the warning."

After Helmer signed off, Juli slumped against the back of her chair. "Tell me this can't get any worse," she said. Before Ziggy could reassure her, the door to her office chimed, announcing a visitor. "Who's there?"

"Federation Police, ma'am," said a man's voice on the intercom. "We'd like to ask you a few questions."

Juli swore under her breath. Louder, she said, "Just a minute." She and Ziggy exchanged worried glances, and he went over to the computer and closed the INVICTUS report, then deleted the copy of the file from the local server for good measure. Straightening, he gave her an all-clear signal. She got up to open the door, and two men and a woman in gray uniforms stepped into the office.

The highest-ranking officer introduced himself. "I'm an inspector with the Galaxy Federation Police. Regrettably, I'm here to inform you that the chairman of the Department of Interplanetary Reconciliation has just been found dead in his office, of undetermined causes. My subordinates and I traced a call from his office to your mobile address shortly before his death, and we were hoping you could provide us with some information."

"Certainly," said Juli, tight-lipped. She stepped back to invite the officers into the room, but the other man and the woman had already walked past her.

The female officer pointed at Ziggy, then turned to Juli with an uncertain look, as if wondering which of them to address. "Your, uh-- He'll have to wait outside."

"He can understand you perfectly well, you know," said Juli, a dangerous edge in her voice. "Sorry, Jan."

In silence he followed the two lower-ranking officers out to the anteroom, making eye contact with Juli one last time before the door closed between them.

"Relax," said the inspector when he and Juli were alone, "and have a seat, if you'd like. As of now, we have no reason to suspect you of any direct involvement in the chairman's death. I'd just like to ask you a few questions, since you were apparently the last person to speak to him. Did you happen to notice anything unusual about his behavior?"

She remained standing. "I'm not sure I know what you mean by unusual, officer. But his speech and conduct were extremely erratic. If you want my professional opinion--" She stopped. After an awkward moment of silence, the inspector's AMN phone rang a second time.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment." He retrieved the phone from his belt, glanced at the screen, frowned. When he looked back at her, the lines of anxiety had deepened around his eyes. "My apologies, ma'am. I've been instructed to take you into custody."

"What?" She backed into the edge of the desktop. "With all due respect, sir, what is the meaning of this?"

Before the inspector could answer, the office door slid open again behind him. Startled, he turned, and Ziggy's fist caught him in the jaw and sent him sprawling forward, the AMN phone clattering out of his hand.

Ziggy stared at the prone figure, then unclenched his fist and swiveled his left hand experimentally. "Sorry," he muttered, and Juli couldn't tell whether he was apologizing to her or to the officer.

"Jan, what did you--" She gripped the edge of the desk, gaping at Ziggy as if he'd lost his mind. "That's a Federation Police officer! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I know. They got here too quickly. This must have been planned out. It's too much like what happened the first time."

"The first time?"

"I'll tell you about it later. In the meantime, we should find a way out of here." Stepping around the unconscious officer, he looked back toward the doorway into the adjacent room. "I had to knock the others out too. I tried to go easy on them, but I don't know how much time we'll have before they recover."

"Wonderful," said Juli. "Now that we're fugitives from the law, I suppose you have a plan to get us out of here and into hiding?"

"Ah ... no, sorry. I didn't get that far yet." His face had gone a paler shade than usual and his voice sounded strained; it was the closest she had ever come to seeing him panic since MOMO's analysis on Second Miltia three years ago. "Just give me a minute." On the floor near his feet, the officer groaned and lay still.

"No need." Juli grabbed her connection gear and dialed the address of the last call. "Helmer, listen, we're in trouble--"

"I was afraid of that. Are you still in your office?"

"Yes, for the moment, but we don't plan on staying much longer. You wouldn't happen to have any agents planted in the Federation Police, would you?"

"Not in the capital, I'm afraid."

Juli swore under her breath; so much for her plan.

"Don't panic yet. I'll try to get in touch with Captain Roman. I believe she has some contacts in the local military. If you can get outside, they might be able to help you from there. I'll have her call you as soon as I hear from her."

Juli took a deep breath, fighting back the tremors in her voice. "Thank you, Helmer."

Ziggy had gone over to the window. "It looks like they've surrounded the building." It wasn't fair, Juli thought, that he could manage to sound calm regardless of what he was saying.

"The Federation Police?" She joined him at the window; from here she could just make out the GFPD insignia on the cars and AMWS units that lined the boulevard around the office complex. "Then we'll have to take the emergency stairs down to the parking garage. But you'll have to change first."

This time it was his turn to stare at her in disbelief. "What?"

Juli pointed to the inspector. "His uniform. It's just a precaution in case we're spotted on the way out."

He hesitated, then removed the officer's jacket and pulled it on over his armored vest. "I'm not sure this is going to work."

"They still use your type in law enforcement, don't they?" She walked over to her desk and began clearing out her files, backing up the data onto her connection gear before she deleted them from her office computer. "Besides, I'm the one they're looking for, not you. As long as they think I'm in your custody .... Well, if we can get downstairs without getting caught, we won't have to worry about that."

He was still straightening the officer's jacket when Juli stepped back from the desk. It was too tight across the chest and shoulders, and too short in the arms, but it was convincing enough from the waist up; he hadn't bothered to attempt covering his legs.

Before he could protest, she raked her fingers through his hair so that the shorter locks in front fell to either side of his forehead. "There. Now even I don't recognize you." She bit her lip to stifle a nervous laugh. "Sorry, that was a joke. That uniform looks good on you," she lied. "Does it bring back memories?"

"A little." He blinked through the stray bangs falling across his eyes, then gave a shrug that looked like a concealed shudder. "Let's go before they wake up."

Juli pocketed her connection gear, and they started for the door.