The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order Read Online Free PDF

produces them. But it doesn’t work that way in practice. Quality
varies inversely with scale. The more you make, the more impurities creep in —
human error, if not plain entropy. The less you make, the fewer the impurities.
Unless you’re incompetent, in which case I wouldn’t expect the chip to work
anyway.”
    “So if
a chip were manufactured illegally,” Hashi put in, “you would expect it to be
purer than ours.”
    Lane
nodded without breaking stride. “ This chip came from Anodyne Systems. It’s
indistinguishable from the chips in our most recent consignment, which we
picked up and brought here six days ago.”
    “In
other words,” he concluded for her, “we have a traitor on our hands.”
    She
corrected him. “A traitor or a black market. Or simple bribery. Here or in
Anodyne Systems.”
    “Quite
right. Thank you.” He beamed his appreciation. Meticulousness was a rare and
treasurable quality. “A traitor, a black market, or bribery. Here or over
there.” After a moment, he added, “It fits, you know.”
    She
paused in her pacing long enough to look momentarily breakable. “Fits?”
    “It’s
consistent,” he explained casually, “with the fact that our kaze arrived on the
shuttle from Suka Bator. He had already been cleared by GCES Security. That
detail enabled him to succeed here. If he had come from any other port, the
estimable Min Donner’s people would have scrutinised him more closely — and
then he might not have been allowed to pass.”
    Lane
had resumed moving. “But I still don’t see—”
    “It is
quite simple,” Hashi replied without impatience. He enjoyed his own
explanations. “Min Donner’s people were not negligent. They had reason to rely
on GCES Security. Routine precautions around Suka Bator are as stringent as
ours at the best of times. And at present, so soon after a similar attack on
Captain Sixten Vertigus in his own office, those precautions were at their
tightest. Surely no threat would be allowed to pass. Our kaze would have
presented little danger if he had not already been verified — in a sense,
legitimised — by GCES Security.
    “But
how was that legitimacy achieved? Was GCES Security negligent? Under these
circumstances, I think not. Therefore our kaze’s various credentials must have
been impeccable.”
    The
smoking tech couldn’t keep silent. “All right, I get it. Whoever sent the kaze
didn’t just have access to our SOD-CMOS chips. He also had access to GCES
Security codes, not to mention ours. So he must be GCES personnel. Or UMCP.”
    “Or
UMC,” Hashi added. “They own Anodyne Systems.”
    “Or
UMC,” she agreed.
    “But we
can dismiss the GCES,” he continued. “Unlike the United Mining Companies and
the United Mining Companies Police, our illustrious Council has no access to
Anodyne Systems.
    “Conversely,
of course, the Dragon in his den holds enough votes to obtain whatever he
desires from the GCES.”
    Lane
considered this for a moment, then nodded through a gust of smoke. When Hashi
didn’t go on, she asked, “So where does that leave us?”
    “My
dear Lane” — he spread his hands — “it leaves us precisely where we are. You
have gleaned a certain fact. Each fact is a step, and enough steps make a road.
We are one step farther along our road.
    “I am
eager to see if you will be able to provide us with another fact, or perhaps
two.”
    She
didn’t hesitate. “I’m on it,” she announced brusquely as she turned for the
door.
    “I am
sure you are,” Hashi said to her departing back. “Thank you.”
    For a
useful distraction, he added while the door closed. And for some intriguing
possibilities.
    Sitting
nearly motionless at his desk, he considered them.
    If the
list of suspects in Godsen’s premature effacement included only those men and
women directly or indirectly involved in the manufacture and transshipment of
SOD-CMOS chips, that was daunting enough. The prospect became actively
appalling if the list were