Which leaves us with a search, i said.

You got it, boss.

OK, genius, search it for what?

She flashed a smile, and started typing rapidly on a keyboard. Her programs don't have restricted access, only the files. So let's see.the data on the screens began to change as she called up various system menus. her head swivelled round like a vigilant owl as she checked the ever-changing display formats. «gotcha!» a sharply pointed fingernail tapped one of the screens. This is the one. According to the log record she was using it the day before she died.long columns of purple and green numbers fell down the screen. shannon blinked, and peered forwards eagerly. Holy shit. Boss, it's a tracer program which looks for gold.

Gold?i queried.

Davis Caldarola gave a small start. I only just caught it out of the corner of my eye. And he covered fast, turning it into a perplexed scowl. Interesting.

Yes, shannon said. It's a fairly basic routine; it just runs through the files and pulls any reference for gold.

And Penny Maowkavitz was using it to search the Cybernetics Division files? Which file has the same log-on time as the search program?

Way ahead of you, boss.the screens were running through menu displays again, too fast for the data to be anything other than a fluorescent smear.

In my own mind I was starting to assemble a theory, segments of the puzzle manoeuvring round each other, slotting together. There was a strong sense of conviction rising, buoying up my flagging confidence. Progress was coming too fast for it to be mere coincidence. Eden.

Yes, Chief Parfitt.

Tell me about the asteroid rock you digest; does it contain gold?

Yes.

And other precious metals?

Yes. Silver and platinum are also present in small quantities.

«But everything is relative,» I whispered. Eden digests over two hundred thousand of tonnes of rock each year, that's what Wallace Steinbauer told me. And had been doing so ever since it was germinated.

Davis Caldarola had turned even paler. Do you separate these precious metals out and store them in the silos in the southern endcap?i asked.

Yes.

What is the current quantity stockpiled in the silos?

I am holding one thousand seven hundred and eighty tonnes of silver; one thousand two hundred and thirty tonnes of gold, and eight hundred and ninety tonnes of platinum.

«I never knew that,» Shannon said. She had stopped typing to look at me in astonishment.

Me neither, i said. It wasn't in any briefing I received. In fact, I doubt the JKSP board even knows about it. I expect the information that Eden could extract precious metals as well as ordinary ones was hidden away in some technical appendix that nobody ever looked at, that's if Maowkavitz ever bothered to mention it at all.

Why?shannon demanded.

Well, Davis?i said heavily. Why don't you tell us?

I didn't know, he blurted.

I don't believe you, Davis. It was an extremely subtle deception; and one which must have been planned right from the very start. In other words, it was Penny Maowkavitz's idea.