The place they met in was dark. They had all been alert to the need for such a meeting ever since Todd Engstrom’s TacCom transmitted no heartbeat while it still showed that it was attached to his arm. They had waited until enough data had been collected to justify a decision. Now they must decide.
The language they spoke was basic Memorite. Had a non-Memorite been listening, it would have sounded like some odd game where three people took turns making short fast hisses at each other, in a complex, quickly-orchestrated pattern.
“You have the data?” asked the first.
“Yes.” answered the second and third.
“Are we agreed on the urgency of Memorite presence at the college?” asked the first.
“Walser is there.” noted the third.
“I have information that would conclude that he will be arrested shortly as the prime suspect,” said the first.
“Has he been warned?” asked the second.
“His reaction will be more acceptable if he isn’t,” said the third.
“That will reduce the time available to send any data to him,” said the second.
“Walser is experienced, briefing him at the conclusion will suffice,” said the first.
“Then, yes we will need Memorite presence.” agreed the third.
“To replace Engstrom as well as aid in the investigation?” asked the second.
“Yes, but not necessarily the same Memorite for both tasks,” answered the first.
“We have no precedent for this type of situation,” noted the third.
“We have precedent for Memorites dying, and precedent for Memorites being attacked, the elements should suffice,” answered the second.
This was the first time any Memorite had been murdered. There had been Memorites that had died, either by accident or of natural causes, but never one murdered. There were also rare cases of Memorites being attacked. The rumors that followed Memorites occasionally brought out zealously fanatical people who perceived them as a threat.
“What is our priority?” asked the second.
“Protect Walser’s data. Solve the murder by aiding the police. Avoid damage to the reputation of the Memorite Society,” answered the first.
“Is this the Founder’s Warning?” asked the second.
They all hesitated.
“I think not, but we should be cautious,” said the first.
“Do we need a Memorite that will be cleared for Walser’s data?” asked the second.
“Not necessarily,” answered the first, “as long as they will treat it wisely.”
“Has Engstrom’s data been retrieved?” asked the third.
“Most,” replied the first, “an amount of sensitive data was stored elsewhere, our new Memorite will need to retrieve it as well.”
“But his TacCom has been cleaned?” asked the third.
“Yes,” answered the first, “the moment the data was retrieved. It has not been accessed by anyone familiar with its operations.”
“Any suggestions for who we should send?” asked the second.
“One,” replied the first, “a former protégé of mine has just returned from an archeological dig.”
“Laura Wynn?” said the third, “She is young.”
“Four years out of the Academy is not young for this assignment,” said the first.
“Agreed,” said the third.
“She has been awake ten minutes, should we give her more time?” asked the second.
“She is my protégé,” noted the first.
“Very well, I will have her notified and supplied with the necessary data, and will make the travel arrangements,” said the second.