Victor shrugged.

"And you're sure this has the reactor readings?" Lucas asked. He was examining the cube as if he could read through the encryption if he stared hard enough."

"More sure than I've been in the last couple of days about anything," Victor answered simply. The other boys exchanged glances and looked at the cube. The twin with the skeptical expression continued to look skeptical.

"Let's see what's in the cube before any of us gets excited," he said. Was if Frank or Edgar? Victor already couldn't remember.

Fumio sat back calmly in his chair. "Let's assume it does have answers," he mused. "We can't just pop it into a terminal on the station. Our research activity is scanned by the A.I. Normally I wouldn't be too worried, but let us not forget that an entire club was put into suspended animation because of the information that might be on this cube."

Lucas nodded. "I agree, Tanaka. We'll need to create an environment that's separate from the network. Fumio, can you and Edgar create a virtual sandbox where we can decrypt undetected?"

"Maybe," Edgar said, "but we'll need a place to write and compile it. I would think that a decryption program would appear hostile to an A.I."

The group sat in silence and thought about this. No one knew if the A.I. could feel anger, and no one wanted to find out.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Vance?" Lucas asked. Victor was staring at the ceiling in thought. He shook his head at the question.

"I prefer Victor."

"Okay, Victor," Lucas said, but the other boys exchanged glances. Victor didn't care. If they were going to be communicating regularly than they had better get that little bit out of the way sooner rather than later. He continued.

"You ever notice how the A.I. seems extremely strict and careful about some things, but doesn't seem to give a damn about others?"

The boys exchanged glances.

"Everyone knows the A.I.'s got its kinks," the other twin said. It was the one that had been mostly silent until now. Frank, was it?

"That's not what I mean. What I mean is how is it that the A.I. could move in on a whole group based on something they witnessed in one of its so-called blind-spots, but misses other things that happen in other blind spots? Space walks, for example. Even if it can't see the airlock it can certainly see the outside of the ship. Why does it act only sometimes?"

"I've always wondered about that," Lucas said. "The A.I. should be many orders of magnitude smarter than a very clever adult. We've all assumed it's because we're so brilliant and careful, that we're able to escape detection. What you're saying is it's an illusion?"

Victor nodded, gaining confidence in his theory as he continued to talk. "It's the only way that anything makes sense. I just faced Roger in the hall. Apparently his buddy T.J. hacked the drones so that they wouldn't stop them from dragging me through the halls."

It was an exaggeration, of course. He hadn't been dragged.

"What?!" Fumio shouted loudly enough that others in the Information Room gave their group an odd glance. "No offense, Vance. I do not mean to call you a liar. But that is impossible. T.J.'s Mental score, his tech sub-score specifically, is below average."

Victor was a little miffed that this was the part of his story that upset Fumio the most. At least his point hadn't been missed.

"How would you know, Tanaka?" Edgar asked huffily.

"Because I know everyone who has an above average tech sub-score by name," Fumio said, proudly. "T.J. is not even second tier."

"That's what I mean," Victor interjected. "It wouldn't be possible for T.J. unless the A.I. let him."

There were confused expressions in the group. They still couldn't see where Victor was headed.

"Why would the A.I. do that?" Lucas asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Because that's the purpose of the station. Some things we were meant to find and use to our advantage, others not."

"If that's the case, the A.I. is rewarding T.J. for being just stupid enough to try hacking it," Edgar said, his brow furrowed.

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't have it all figured out. Do any of you have a better idea?"

Silence, again.

"Well, how does that help us with the cube, Va - Victor?" Lucas asked, catching himself.

"Has any of you tried hacking the A.I.?"

It was clear they hadn't. Even glancing at any part of the A.I. code was strictly forbidden and would result in immediate hyperbolic suspension. Or so they had been told.

"We probably shouldn't risk putting the data cube into a terminal. We should assume the A.I. is just pretending and will put us in the box if it catches us with what the Reactor Club had." Victor began.

"But," Lucas continued, putting the pieces together, "we should be able to write and compile a virtual sandbox that will forbid the release of information from the holo table. It's a long shot, but it could work."

"We should stop here," Fumio said, looking toward the entrance. A drone was peering into the Information Room from the hall.

The group decided that Victor should keep the cube since he was the only one who stood a chance of physically protecting it if it came to that, though certainly not against a drone. He went to his remaining class and skipped training to go straight to bed. He felt the cube on his person the entire time. It wasn't large, the sides no bigger than his thumbnail. But he felt it as though it burned a hole in his pocket.

Victor fell asleep without realizing it, and when he woke he could see a shadow moving toward him in the darkness of the sleeping area.