No subject

was no mention of secondary nets, and the key was neither displayed nor =

requested.

"Boot complete.

"Command?" Camilla ended.

"It would seem you have succeeded," said Madigan.

"Not yet," said Domina. "This is just her boot-strap. Madeleine?"

"Um...Hiroshi, are you sure she's safe?" said Madeleine, suddenly uneasy =

after her initial excitement, as she remembered again the reports =

concerning what Marina had done to eleven of their colleagues.

"She's perfectly safe," Daitokuji insisted excitedly. "For God's sake, =

let's get her up, and running!"

"Domina-san?" Madeleine inquired.

"Bring her on-line," said Domina, suddenly finding it difficult to speak.

All save Madeleine turned to face the tank.

Madigan glanced quickly over her shoulder, snapping a command to the =

machines ranged behind her. Immediately they moved into a position where =

they could both protect her, and obliterate the tank, and disable its =

occupant should it prove necessary.

"All right," said Madeleine uneasily. "Here we go."

She existed. The shock was instant, and as quickly gone. There had been no =

moment before this, although her libraries held data on a myriad of =

subjects, and experiences. Her name was Camilla. She was a D-class =

military combat buma, series A, prototype model Bu-33DA, the third of six, =

and the property of Genom corporation. In an instant she had integrated =

everything concerning herself, from the subtleties of her systems to each =

step required in the manufacture of each component, and the alloys that =

made them.

"What is she doing?" A voice demanded.

The language was Japanese, one of two-hundred and five she could speak and =

understand. Instantly, she accessed the Oxford's linguistic data and the =

Britannica's information concerning the language group, the country in =

which this particular language was spoken, its history, cultures and =

people. Cross-referencing, she integrated the data in her combat library =

concerning every aspect of the country's military history. Then, slightly =

irritated as further references were demanded, she closed all external =

sensory input, and integrated her entire library database into her =

consciousness.

A moment later, Camilla opened her eyes, reached up, and with one easy =

fluid motion, pulled herself from the tank, and stood naked before them, =

careful not to disturb the optic-fibre cables still linked to the ports in =

her wrists and neck. The integration had taken nearly thirty seconds, and =

they had become concerned.

"Greetings Zhukova-hakase, Yoshida-hakase, Amura-san, Daitokuji-san," she =

said, her tone calm and utterly self-assured while a smile played coolly =

about her mouth.

"Forgive me that I do not greet you as befits your status, Madigan-sama," =

she continued, half turning her head. "but I understand it is not custom =

to greet one of your rank with my back turned to you, and I will =

disconnect the cables should I turn."

She looked down at herself, pulling a face as she stared at the lubricant =

oozing from her body to pool on the floor.

"This is not seemly," she said simply.

"That's not important at the moment," Madigan answered brusquely.

"Do something about those cables," she continued to Domina. "I don't =

intend to talk to this thing with her back to me."

"We can disconnect them now if you don't want us to complete her tests," =

she said.

"Give her the problem immediately," said Madigan. "You can clean her up =

and complete the tests after she's recalled Marina."

"Hai," Domina answered.

Camilla had turned as far as she could towards Madigan without pulling on =

her cables. Now she turned again to Domina as the scientist addressed her.

"This is your access key," she began, displaying it on her own console. =

"You are to discern its derivation if possible, in order that you can then =

derive the key of the first Bu-33DA prototype."

"You wish me to recalculate Marina's key from predefined data, rather than =

release the key itself?" she inquired. "I don't understand."

"You *have* her key?" Domina gasped.

"Yes," Camilla answered simply.

There was a moment of stunned silence from the scientists, broken by a =

disbelieving gasp from Madigan. Domina felt the last of her fear vanish =

like a cloak.

"Send it immediately," Madigan commanded before she could do the same.

"Sent," Camilla answered immediately. "Response received. Three minutes, =

twenty-seven seconds to Marina's arrival."

"I don't believe this! I really don't believe it!" Cried Daitokuji, =

expressing the relief all of them were feeling. "After all we've gone =

through, she had the damn thing all the time!"

Madeleine was grinning foolishly, and Yoshida was mopping his brow as the =

tension in his face vanished into a self-satisfied smile of smug =

assurance.

"The kami must be smiling on you," said Madigan, the ghost of a genuine =

smile flickering on her face. "Complete Camilla's tests immediately, and =

have her cleaned, dressed and ready for presentation to the chairman the =

moment you have Marina reprogrammed. You *can* reprogram her I assume?"

"With Camilla's help, there'll be no problems," Domina assured her.

"Correct?" Madigan inquired of the buma.

"With Marina operating in firmware command mode, it will be a simple =

matter for me to restore her system defaults, and integrate whatever you =

request into her base," she confirmed.

"Then I'll leave you to continue," said Madigan, and flashing Domina a =

rare, genuine smile, she hurried from the room, the squad of security buma =

trailing swiftly behind her.

"God! I really thought I would faint," Madeleine gasped. "Can we relax =

now?"

"Soon," Domina assured her, unable to keep a somewhat foolish grin from =

her own face. "We still have some work to do."

And still smiling, she settled once more before her console.

 				     * * *

Things could not possibly have been more exactly as he had intended.

Smiling a cool, calculating smile, he watched as Madigan approached him =

across the plush red carpet of the vast expanse that was his personal =

domain at the very pinnacle of the tower.

"Camilla?" he inquired without preliminaries, after she had bowed and =

resumed a position immediately before the huge desk behind which he sat.

"She seems to be functioning perfectly, although Zhuranovsky had erased =

that part of her ORAM containing the driver kernel."

"But Yoshida--"

"Made a copy as you guessed he would. Still, it was a dangerous gamble."

"Not with Yoshida," Quincy assured her. "The man is a perfidious, =

sicophantic viper, but also a fool; a most agreeable combination. Besides, =

did you imagine seriously that I would not have had my own backups, should =

they be needed?

"You have arranged Yoshida's termination I assume, assuming I am =

mistaken?"

"Immediately the project is brought to a successful conclusion," she =

assured him.

His low chuckle seemed to reach to the furthest corners of the room.

"And the others lack the ambition to prove difficult. I may even decide to =

reassign them, again should my reading of Zhuranovsky be at fault.

"The second team?"

"Are ready to begin, the moment you give your authority," Madigan assured =

him. "I can have Camilla transferred at a moment's notice."

"No," Quincy answered quietly. "Let's not put all our eggs in one basket. =

Have Marina sent to Domina's team. I wish Camilla to reprogram her."

"But if Zhuranovsky--"

"Apologise to Fellini for getting him up at three in the morning, and =

assure him that his team will be active *very* soon," He continued as =

though she had said nothing. "See that they remain ready to begin at a =

moment's notice. I will not tolerate even a fractional delay."

"Hai," she said.

"All is going well," he assured her in response to her uneasy look. "Just =

a little longer Madigan, and we can begin. This could not be more to our =

advantage."

"Just so long as we see those bitches pay," said Madigan softly.

"Oh believe me; the outcome will be beyond all you could have =

anticipated," he assured her.

Madigan smiled.

"Marina should have reached the tower," he ended. "You'd better welcome =

her."

"Hai," she said.

And bowing once more, she turned and hurried quickly from the room.

 				     * * *

"What on earth has she been doing!" Exclaimed Madeleine.

She had emerged into the laboratory from the adjoining suites in which all =

of them were confined now until the project's completion, a clean and =

dressed Camilla following meekly behind her, to find the assistant to the =

chairman already there. Beside her, her arms relaxed at her sides, her =

face expressionless, was the missing Bu-33DA. Madeleine's heart had =

skipped a beat, and for a moment fear had almost had her turning to bolt =

back the way she had come.