Chapter Ten
Day Two
IN ANOTHER ROOM, not far from where Kenneth and Savannah had slept, a cavernous door opened up before them.
A large, black pillar dominated the room from its position in the center. Energy pulsated through the pillar as it thrummed out a rhythm. Cords as wide as Kenneth's bed ran along the floor, all leading to the ebony obelisk. The resultant effect made the room look like it had several unmarked speed bumps designed into it. Four work stations, each containing a metal seat, a keyboard and screen, encircled the imposing black structure. Kenneth noted that even after the passage of so many years, the basic design of the keyboard hadn't changed. It even retained the INS key that he'd ripped out with a pair of pliers from his personal laptop.
Kenneth, Savannah and Unquill stood before a large computer screen. Unquill explained that the screen, larger than the chalkboards at school, represented access points to the planet's central computer. The computer, the only one in the world, had access points at every Temporal Constabulary station throughout the planet. There were over one hundred thousand of those, Unquill said.
The physical hard drive wasn't located in any one place. Instead, each component connected with one another so that the system as a whole only worked when their version of the internet-as Kenneth understood it-functioned properly. Since there hadn't been a malfunction in one hundred eighty-four years, Unquill felt confident about using it for their purpose.
Images came and went so fast that Kenneth could not keep up with them all. He tried focusing on several in particular, only to have them disappear out of sight before he could discover what they were.
He finally was able to discern a metal object that resembled a rickshaw, a woman sleeping on a couch, and a fluttering red bird. No matter how long he stared at the images, he couldn't see any pattern that might lead to Hinjo.
After several moments, he said, "What is all this?"
Unquill did not take his eyes off the screen. "I am searching for Hinjo, just as I have searched many times before. I entered his name into the search field, just as you saw. The computer brings up all the relevant results that might lead to his location. I have spent a total of three hundred fourteen hours in front of this screen, watching all the results. I have not yet seen anything that would provide a clue about him."
Kenneth sighed. "And you entered the same keyword into the field every time?"
"Why yes," Unquill said. "Naturally. Since the computer is constantly acquiring new data, one must repeat a search to account for new results."
"Why don't you try something like religion?" Savannah said. She looked at the floor, unable to keep her eyes upon the screen.
Unquill beamed. "Ahh, yes, I had not considered that. A different keyword. Yes, it's possible. I will try it."
A few moments passed. Kenneth frowned. He saw the images clearer this time: the metal rickshaw, the woman, the bird. He said, "Try another search. Look up, oh, I don't know, barn owl."
"I don't see what that has to do with Hinjo, but I will try it." Unquill said, resetting the search and entering the keywords.
With the third search, Kenneth saw the same procession of results. They came in the exact same order every time. "Unquill, I think your computer has a problem."
Unquill didn't say anything at first. He kept staring at the screen. At last he said, "I think you may be right. Oh dear, this is rather a bother."
"I don't understand what's going on," Savannah huffed. "It's just a lot of random stuff up there, right?"
Unquill paused for a moment, considering how best to reply. He shifted from one foot to the other. Having opted not to sit down in the chair, Unquill now gave Kenneth the impression of someone made uncomfortable by a person half his size.
"These images are anything but random. Terrible truncations, I think-well, the computer is returning the same search results for every query I enter."
"What does that mean?" Savannah asked.
Unquill massaged his right wrist with his left hand. He replied, "We can't rely on the computer. Or, at the very least, we'll have to fix the computer before we can get any information about Hinjo Junta."
Savannah said, "Can't we just hire a private eye?"
Kenneth had to keep himself from laughing.
"Eh? I don't see how a private ocular attachment could assist in this situation."
Savannah sighed. "I guess not."
Kenneth spoke up. "How long does it take to repair the computer?"
"Oh dear, oh dear, I really can't say for certain. I can't even say for certain where the problem is. It could be anywhere." Unquill paused, lost in thought.
Suddenly, he brightened.
"Indeed, it might not even be the computer that's giving us the same information over and over to us. It might be one of the access points. Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Yes, that's possible. I'll check."
Kenneth and Savannah looked at each other for a moment.
Over one hundred thousand of them.
Unquill was going to check them.
Savannah took a step back.