Chapter 6

Oot made the Seswillin Oot provided the endless waters Oot gave us the ultimate form in order to live in the endless waters Oot is as forgiving as the high current Oot is as fierce as the crushing depths Oot gave us a place in the eternal waters Oot provides the illumination to show us the way to the surface Oot provides the darkness of the depths for those that lose the way Oot made the Seswillin. - Oot, the tales of Blessings

Asuun finished the sprint and leapt, clearing the chasm easily. The 3m drop would not have killed him, but it would have slowed him down enough for his prey to escape. He was using the single shot pulse rifle for this encounter. It had to be cycled between shots, but it was very accurate.

Normally he would have been a lot more cautious, especially with this weapon, which was not suited to head on confrontations. But today he just couldn’t stalk to save his life...almost literally. His opponent knew his style and had been ready for his first contact. That had almost ended it, but Asuun’s good reflexes had gotten him out of the line of fire in time.

He came out of the shrubbery, his opponent 7m to his left and 12 ahead. His opponent had chosen to go with the short range advantage of a stutter pulse gun, and let fly a barrage in his direction. Unlikely to get hit, but a possibility, Asuun dropped behind a boulder. He heard the shots impact the other side, and the bushes and ground around him.

Asuun popped around one side of the boulder, his opponent had also stopped, using a fold in the ground and some shrubs for cover. As soon as Asuun stuck his head around, the enemy started spraying his location.

Asuun ducked back immediately, waited a few seconds, then just as his opponent stopped shooting, Asuun rolled out the other side of the boulder and sprawled out on the ground, lining up the sights where his prey had been camped.

The other player had not moved, Asuun could see the barrel of the stutter pulse swing in his direction, but he did not rush his shot. He let out a breath as the stutter pulse started firing again, the shots hitting the nearby boulder and punching through the leaves on the bushes around him. His rifle steadied, and he took his shot.

“Next time I will choose the terrain!” were the first thing Asuun heard once he disconnected from his sim. His opponent, security technician Velin, made it clear she was not ready to give him the victory yet.

“Not today Velin. Nice match, but I just needed to work off some frustration.”

“I heard you had picked up the murder case. I am a bit surprised you haven’t already had someone in for more extensive questioning.” Velin had been a security technician for almost as long as Asuun.

Asuun took 2 bottles of suran juice out of his bag, opened one, and offered the other to Velin. She took it from him, and after a glance at the label, opened it and took a deep drink.

“Ahhh, that is helpful after running around in the sims for an hour.” she took another deep swallow. “How did I not guess you would be a fan of suran juice though? I usually keep a container of delp on me when I am planning on using the sims, I find the sharp bite tastes better. Not normally a fan of sweet drinks.”

Asuun finished his drink and dropped the empty container in a nearby reclamation hopper. He had finished reviewing the sites of the murders the previous day, but had not been able to draw any conclusions.

When he had come in this morning, he had spent 2 hours reviewing the analysis the experts had provided on the little evidence they had uncovered, and none of it was pointing to any conclusions yet. After that, he felt he needed to do something different, to try and come at this from a different angle.

“Well, I had not planned on doing any sim time today, it is just that this case is driving me crazy and I needed to do something else...to open my mind to other options. You would not believe some of the twists this one has developed.”

“Okay, so give me what you have. Do you have any suspects?”

“No.”

“No? None? This many murders, and there are no common individuals?”

“None identified so far. No apparent connection between any of the victims has been identified.”

“No connections, so they all work in different jobs, have different friends, have different hobbies...?”

“That is all correct...no connections have been found between any of the victims yet. Except that they were all killed by someone, or someones, using a melee weapon of some kind.”

“Someones, you suspect multiple attackers?”

“Not really. But at this point, I don’t have enough evidence to dismiss any possibility. There were no signs of multiple attackers at any of the sites, but it could have been a different attacker at each one, and maybe that is the connection. I don’t expect that to be the case though, one of the twists I mentioned, makes that theory unlikely to say the least.”

“Okay, maybe that is where to look to start then. How does this ’twist’ eliminate that theory?”

Asuun paused for a minute, not really sure if he should go into too much detail about the past of this case. He had known Velin for a number of years now, he did not think she would find it too crazy. As for telling anyone, she wouldn’t be a good security tech if she had a tendency to talk about cases.

“There is some evidence that would seem to indicate that these recent murders may be related to previous ones.” Asuun stopped to check her response to this statement.

Velin had a look that clearly showed she was looking for more information or the punchline, whichever was supposed to come next. Asuun figured a little more information should get the reaction he was expecting.

“The evidence would suggest that these murders may be related to a string of murders that have been happening for the last 500 cycles. A chain of murders and murderers that has been following a path, one series after the next. The series of murders stops when the killer is caught, but they start up again within one cycle of the death of the previous murderer.”

Velin looked completely skeptical. Asuun was not surprised, frankly he would not believe it if someone tried to tell him that kind of story either.

“Okay...that is an interesting...theory. I feel compelled to point out the complete impossibility of such a thing. I figure you already know that, but I want to make sure.”

“’Those that call things impossible, are those that are sure they know everything that is possible!’” Asuun gave her a smile with the quote. “You are just echoing the same sentiments I had. I don’t blame you. It is ridiculous! The average life span is only 235 cycles, the same killer cannot have done it for 500+ cycles. Of course they didn’t, each string of murders ended with the killer being identified and incarcerated. Each time, the killings stopped once the individual was caught.”

“There is no question that the actual killer had been caught, the evidence of their guilt was more than sufficient.” Asuun paused and gave Velin a look like he had just confirmed the obvious that water was wet.

“Then, every time, no more than 1 to 2 cycles after the death of the killer...the murders started happening again. The shortest delay was 87% of a cycle from death to the first murder. The longest was 171% of a cycle. The weapon used was different, but the murders were always a single individual at a time, brutal, personal killings. There has never been an established link between the victims and the killer for ANY of the cases.”

“The killers were incarcerated for the remainder of their lives, that is true, but did you know that none of them lived to the average expected life span? Their medical records show no sign of any problem. There are no records of any genetic anomalies in them. But all of them died within 20 cycles of being incarcerated. They just died. During their incarceration, it was noted that as time went by, they showed signs symptomatic of aging, but at an incredible pace. One medical technician described it as being able to see changes day by day for one.”

“If this theory is valid, then we are looking at the 23rd version of the killer. He will only kill individuals. They may or may not be known to each other. They may or may not be known to the killer. The killings will all appear to be crimes of opportunity, meaning the victim was not being stalked or hunted by the killer. Nothing will be taken from the victims.”

Asuun finished his description and waited for Velin to respond. He had no idea what conclusions she would draw from the information, but he was open to any reasonable theory.

Velin looked like she did not want to accept what he had just said, but she could not find a way to refute it. After a minute, she activated the interface for the terminal beside her and was searching for something. Whatever she found did not give her the information she was hoping to find, based on the look on her face.

“I want to recommend you seek counselling for this crazy idea...but I can’t disprove it either. If I had to do this, and I needed a new angle, I would go back to the...beginning, as it were. The first murder that you say is the start of this string. Something had to have happened there, at that time. Why was it the first? What was the situation?”

Asuun had not thought to consider that approach. He had been so focused on finding the current killer, but if the murderers are linked, then there may just be something there that will help him identify the killer now.

Asuun gave Velin a considering look while he did a quick refresh of the oldest files the Minister had given him. What did they say about Gruth, the first killer. The address would be useless, 500 cycles out of date. Nothing in the file matches any signs of psychotic or antisocial behaviour.

On a hunch, Asuun checked for the start date on the file on Gruth. It shows the initial investigator started the file the day of the first killing, of course. There was a cursory check of his background, no indications of violence at all. Gruth’s career advocate had suggested he look for a career in the medical professions due to Gruth’s empathetic nature.

There was no mention of any follow up investigation digging any deeper into Gruth’s background. They had a pattern, kind of, for how long it took from the death of one killer to lead to the next. Had no one considered applying that window to an examination of Gruth’s background?

After having his AI run a quick query against all the files, there are no notes indicating so on any of the reports. That is a place to start. He needed to get access to the reports from the Emergency Services Department for half to 1.5 cycles...better make that 2 cycles, prior to the first murder. Check every incident that technician Gruth was involved in; check any activities he participated in during that time.

Asuun realized he was being rude to Velin.

“Sorry for the silence, I think your suggestion is going to be very helpful, thank you. I don’t know what I will find, but it is an angle that none of the other investigator’s seemed to have given any amount of time to.”

“Glad I could be helpful. Let me know if you need any more assistance. I still think you might not be completely sane, but if this is even remotely possible, I would really like to know what you find out. Good luck.”

Asuun had his AI check for access restrictions to the archives for the Emergency Services Department. Of course they had a pad in their offices. By the time he had appeared, his AI had managed to pull the requirements for accessing the archives from that department. Asuun had his AI submit a request for access, citing relevance to an ongoing investigation.

The initial investigator had been thorough and Asuun already had Gruth’s personal logs, correspondence, and public interactions. Asuun had his AI run an analysis of all discernible patterns in any correspondence and personal logs for Gruth, from the oldest logs they had records for. Asuun defined for his AI, that he wanted to know when there were shifts in emotional tones in his entries, if there was a timing to the entries, and how did that change over time.

By going back as far as the records allowed, Asuun was hoping that he would be able to establish some kind of baseline that could be used to identify when Gruth went crazy. The AI had identified 4 possible instances that met the criteria Asuun had defined.

The first instance was identified before he took the career training that would move him into the Emergency Services Department. From what Asuun could tell, his AI had found a pattern, but it was many cycles before any of the killings started. The entries around this time seem to be more about a female he was spending time with. Maybe his first serious relationship?

Asuun had the AI give that a low priority and set it aside.

The second instance was identified at a time shortly after he had started with the Department. The AI did identify that the log entries and personal communications were certainly somber and serious, differing significantly from the established profile.

References in some of the log entries indicated an event at the Department as the source cause. Asuun cross-referenced with Gruth’s daily log at the department and found that he had to deal with an accidental death that day. It certainly left a long term impression.

Asuun was sure this was not a likely cause and had the AI group this one with the first.

The third instance was identified after Gruth had been working for several cycles. The identified change was a trend toward serious but happy communications. Everything from his personal logs, communications, even the logs he filed for his work, all showed this same change in pattern.

There was nothing that Asuun could find that would account for this deviation. He had the AI assign that instance with a higher priority. Still nothing there hinted at a Sel encountering insanity.

The fourth instance was...unusual. The AI was not sure how to classify the change, but there was definitely one present. About a quarter cycle before the first murder, Gruth’s log entries started showing confusion, some blank spots in his memory he could not account for. Nothing serious as each was only for a couple minutes at a time.

Gruth did go see a medical specialist about it. The specialist’s report did not find any sign of physical or mental issue with Gruth and recommended a general course of balanced nutrition. He recommended he look to take some time off from his work when he could.

The logs didn’t show any other distinctive patterns up to the point he was incarcerated. Asuun started with the initial log entry that mentions missing memory and had the AI run a search against all activities Gruth had been a part of, work and personal, for about a quarter cycle prior to that time and up to when the first murder was discovered.

One thing stood out. Gruth had been the medical technician assigned to the Security section for the Reconnaissance and Research Department. On this day he had been called out to deal with the sudden death of a research subject.

Asuun was surprised to find that there was no other information on the event. When he tried accessing the files from the main archive under the Emergency Services Department he received a polite statement indicating those files were restricted.

As he was wondering what to do about that, he received a notification for an incoming connection request. He accepted the request and found himself connected to the Reconnaissance and Research Department.

“Hello, I have been made aware of an attempt by you to access restricted files. What is your reason for wanting access to those files?”

“Hello to you. I am Security Technician Asuun, and I am currently working on an investigation which has lead me to these files. What reason does the Reconnaissance and Research Department have for making them restricted?”

“I am sorry Security Technician Asuun, I am not free to provide that information. If you need access to the file, I recommend you make a formal request through the department to be given access.”

“I am working a multiple murder investigation that is time sensitive. I really don’t have time for delays that could quite literally get someone killed. Is there no way to get clearance immediately?”

The look on the Reconnaissance and Research representatives face was interesting, he was not sure if Asuun was telling the truth or not. It occurred to Asuun that the datapacket that the Minister gave him access to, may contain something for this as well.

Asuun had his AI check the package that the Minister gave them access to, and had it check for any clearance keys or certificates. The AI confirmed that there were some present.

“One second please, I have some clearance certificates already, please check if any of these are valid for those files.” Asuun had his AI transmit the highest ranking certificate he had from the package.

Asuun could tell when the representative checked the certificate. His expression changed immediately, obviously surprised by this.

“Oh well, this seems to be more than adequate. I apologize for the delays. I will link access to the file with the certificate. You should have access almost immediately. If you need anything else from the Reconnaissance and Research Department, please contact me directly. Have a nice day.”

The file stated that a subject from a new pre-light civilization had died due to an accidental awakening while it was being moved to storage. At the first sign of problem, they had called for a medical technician. Gruth had been on the team that took the call.

The subject had shown signs of awakening during the transfer to storage, they called for a medical technician to try drugs to keep the subject sedated. The team arrived, and was testing the composition of the subject’s primary bodily fluid, when the subject awoke from the stasis.

Apparently Gruth tried applying a general anesthetic, based off their initial analysis. Unfortunately the subject died within a couple minutes. The team tried what they could, but it is noted in the event log that they just did not have enough information on the physiology of the subject to be effective in resuscitating it.

The final notes for this case clear the team of any mistakes, and log it as an unfortunate accident. There is a note to check the stasis gear for malfunction.

Asuun contacted the representative at the Reconnaissance and Research Department.

“Yes, how may I assist you Security Technician?”

“I need some information about a reconnaissance mission that occurred about 500 cycles ago, the file I requested access to has a note that the stasis gear needed to be checked for malfunction, and I am just wondering what the findings were.”

Asuun watched the representative do a search...search again...

“Yes, I found the request you mention. The equipment was reported to have failed during routine operation. The file indicates that a complete diagnostic was performed and the system passed with no discernible issues.”

“Thank you, I appreciate the help. Just curious, but I notice the report does not identify the race of the subject.”

“The race self-identifies as ’Human’.”

“Human, I have never heard of them before, and this was all over 500 cycles ago.”

Asuun had his AI do a search on the race, it came back after a minute with no data.

“Why can’t I get any information on them?”

“Give me just a minute please.” Asuun watches the representative search a few times, until he finds something.

“The official file on this event was disabled and removed from the general archive. It was not marked for deletion, just moved to an isolated storage location.” the representative searched again. “Ah, the whole file is scheduled to be moved to an active node tomorrow. The node is currently active, receiving data.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that the node has been activated and attached to the links, but is not currently accessible. I can see that it is being identified as a new archive, identified as ’Human’. It is scheduled to be generally accessible tomorrow.”

Asuun was a little confused. He didn’t see how this was relevant to his investigation, but he was trained to follow all leads. So, better for his AI to have this covered in case he needed to reference it.

“Why is this suddenly going active tomorrow?”

“Ah...let me check. Okay...a Reconnaissance mission has just returned with data from the Human homeworld. That is what is being added to the archive, the physical material will be added in the next couple of days.”

“How many missions have there been to the Human homeworld, in the intervening cycles?”

“None, this is the first in the 500+ cycles since the last one.”

“Is this mission coming back with another subject?” Asuun asked.

The technician paused in replying, Asuun could see he was checking something.

“Yes, there is one Human aboard.”

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