Chapter One: Twenty-Three Percent

"I request a retest," Leon said. The laughter grew louder. Harren's artificial eye narrowed. "Grounds?" "The third feedback group in the neural pod is lagging above standard tolerance." Leon pointed to a faint dark line in the wall of the pod. "Aging capacitor. Iron dust in the coolant. It lowers peripheral neural response scores." The hall went quiet for half a second. A maintenance instructor looked at the instruments, and his expression shifted. Harren only stared at Leon. "Even if the error exists, it would not turn twenty-three percent into sixty." "I know." "Then what is the point of requesting a retest?" Leon raised his head. His voice was steady. "To prove I am not leaving because I am afraid."