Chapter Three: Gatekeepers in the City

Lin scanned the console. The authorization belonged to Elena Voss, his former mentor in Europe and director of Surveyor Seven. "Impossible," he said. Chen gave a humorless laugh. "The most dangerous faith among scientists is the belief that discovery itself is innocent." Nine minutes remained. Su accessed the terminal and tried to revoke the commands. The satellites were authenticating one another through the obsolete Kuafu protocol. Only its author, Lin Yue, could cancel the sequence. Or Lin, carrying the retinal key. An iris verification window opened. Swift sent a message in the corner of the display: VERIFY. YOU WILL RECEIVE MASTER CONTROL. Chen lunged. "Don't look!"