Metafire

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"Yes, John, I know." The Major's voice was slightly sarcastic. Then he softened, "By the way, Jack, how has your job been? Have these guys been treating you OK?"

"Yes, but I want to be involved in finding Erisa." He continued to press the Major, no matter what he thought of him, or, perhaps, because of what he thought of him. "Do you think she is still alive?"

"I don't think there is any way to know. Our intelligence on Metafire has revealed nothing. They are not acting much worse than several other companies that the government is monitoring. We haven't seen any sign of Erisa or the policeman. We just don't know."

"Got it!" Jill held up the hard disk like a baby in her palms. It looked perfectly intact.

There was a knock on the door. Ferguson went over and let two older men in. They introduced themselves as the DEC engineers. After examining the unit they proposed to take the unit back to Marlboro Massachusetts for disassembly in a clean room environment.

"We would prefer you did that here, in Los Alamos. I'll bet we can arrange the clean room, and I'll bet you can get the necessary equipment shipped down. By the way, gentlemen, you are now guests of the U.S. Government. There will be no communication with the outside until you are finished." The Major was all business as usual. But John Ferguson also looked quite serious, now too, and part of the team.


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