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2254-08-21 09:37:21 Aydan > then that narrows it down to...let’s see...any engineer in the academy could’ve accessed the weapon, but can they access student records to find my key? a fellow student who I’ve trained with or communicated with, they would know my key, but could they have gotten into the weapon storage vault? not many peple have easy access to both those things. someone who had clear access to both would be...Professor Arak?! well, it could be anyone, at this point...

2254-08-21 09:37:34 Zeta > and with even two people working together...you’d think something like that seems so secure yet here we are with an uncountable number of people who could’ve done this

2254-08-21 09:37:35 ÆON > I will seek answers from the æther. Every action leaves a trace.

2254-08-21 09:37:41 Aydan > thanks ÆON. you’re a good friend

“Oh by the way...” Zeta reaches into one of its many pockets and produces a small handheld device, flat and rectangular with a glass display, a primitive machine much like the one ÆON is rooted in. “I got you this from the museum like I said...”

“Oh! Thanks a lot for that!” You take the device. “It was no easy task convincing Professor Aria to let me take this one home over break, I had to profess a profound special interest in primitive tech and sign a liability contract. That’ll be one less thing to worry about.”

“This one is newer, one of the last models produced before the Collapse. It has a little better specs,” it says.

“I’m sure Æ will like having a little more room when Æ has to hide in a compressed state,” you say. “I can’t believe you could just get something like this.”

“I helped out at the museum some on my break, so I had access to the vault and a moment when nobody was looking...” it says. “These things may be rare but we kind of have a lot of them there, nobody will miss this little one.”

You approach the medical center. “I’m starting to realize why they put this in the academic block,” you say, increasing your pain suppression.

You walk into the small reception area, and up to the terminal at the far end. You connect yourself to it.

Welcome to Triage.

Candidate: Aydan [ERROR retrieving PRONOUN: buffer overflow]

Retrieving neural interface system medical data...

Your system indicates elevated levels of glutamate. You are likely experiencing acute pain. Please wait.