IF YOU DO NOT COME, I WILL SHARE THE INFORMATION. IF YOU COME, AND REFUSE TO COOPERATE, I WILL SHARE THE INFORMATION.

‘Wait! Why should I trust you?’

YOU HAVE NO CHOICE.

‘No! Listen—’

I WILL BE WAITING, ALBERT.

The words imploded upon themselves and vanished in a flash of white light, leaving Albert with a clear view of the gallery of hopefuls, waiting for someone to talk to.

He felt cold all the way through. Everything seemed very still. He looked at the screen, now seemingly so peaceful and benign.

‘Log out,’ he said, his voice shaking.

He looked at the door, solid metal, with the digital display counter diligently ticking down the time left before it would slide up again. Wild thoughts of smashing his way out ran through his mind, and he shook them off, a twisted, bitter expression on his face. Of course there was no way he could possibly break through it. And, even if he did, what could he do? Flee? To begin with there was no way he would ever be able to get out of the Department till the outer doors opened. And even if he did succeed, he had nowhere to go. All he could do was sit there, until the doors opened. He looked at the display again. Almost six hours to go. Sue, whoever she was, had told him he had no choice. She was right.

All he could do was wait.

5

Albert spent his time staring alternately at the screen and the wall. After a point, he made a conscious effort not to look at the counter on the door, though he still found himself turning towards it every so often. He was looking at it now. It had been only about twenty minutes since the nightmare had begun, but it felt like years had passed. It was as if the counter was moving slower and slower, every second longer than the last, as if time itself was crawling to a halt. Maybe he was, in fact, losing track of time.

For the umpteenth time, he replayed the conversation in his mind. What was it she had said? Representation? Did that mean she was awaiting trial for something? Was that what she’d meant when she’d said she was invalidated? But then she should have been locked away somewhere, not sending him messages and taking over his screen. And even if she was somehow managing it, then why come to him, of all people?

He shook his head violently, turning to stare at the wall again. No, it was all ridiculous anyway, because the simple fact of the matter was that nobody needed legal representation. All information regarding legal proceedings was transferred directly from the data storage facilities to the justice machines. It was swift, error-free and, just like with everything else, there was no human involvement required. Everybody knew that.