[TO HELP.]

[I'M SORRY I CAN'T SAY MORE.]

Can't, or won't?

[CAN'T.]

[YOU'RE NOT AN AUTHORIZED USER, AND I'M GOVERNMENT BUSINESS.]

Who are your authorized users?

[ALSO NOT SOMETHING I CAN REVEAL WITHOUT PROOF OF YOUR AUTHORIZATION TO UTILIZE ME.]

 She starts paging through EMBER-2's memory, looking for a hardcoded authorization list or the like.

There is one. It's not very enlightening, just ID numbers.

She searches for those ID numbers, then.

There's not much there to find -- logins, logouts, and then an (unsuccessful) attempt to wipe everything. Whatever they wanted to get rid of on EMBER-2, they had wanted to get rid of it fast.

Well, this isn't reassuring at all. Are there names attached to these logins, though?

There aren't. They must be encrypted.

Curses! Foiled again.

[A FAILED PROJECT]

[SOMEONE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA AND NO ONE ELSE BIT]

"Are you meant to be embodied? Were you a person?"

[NO.]

Really not a fan of this EMBER-2 being able to listen without there being any obvious microphones.

[SOMEWHERE NEAR THE LAB, I'M PRETTY SURE.]

You know what? Enough investigation for now, she'll come back with a Faraday cage and a better set of questions. She hits the shut down button on the keyboard she's using.

The screen goes black.

A relief, given other aspects of other EMBERs. A notification flashes in the corner letting her know that her time with the S20 is up.

"Delta, I'm going to have to leave these here for now, despite the singularly unhelpful interrogation. Will they be safe?"

She begins packing up the generator.

"Assuming there aren't any megarats who eat metal, yes."

"I'll take that risk. Thanks for your help."

She shoulders the generator and starts her long walk back to the apartment.

Ali is waiting there for her when she gets back.

Hello again, Mys tall, dark and spooky.

"I presume you're here for Morda?"

He nods.

"I thought it would be good to come and get her myself, given that I'm not sure she can walk very well yet."