Later in the morning, the same man who had been set to guard him the night before entered the suite with a breakfast tray. He placed it on a table by the armchair, along with a shrink-wrapped bundle.

‘Who are you?’ Ty demanded, still groggy with sleep.

‘Hibbert, Mr Driscoll.’ He nodded to the shrink-wrapped package. ‘We ran afresh change of clothes out for you earlier this morning. If they’re not right, let me know.’

‘What happened to Weil?’

The Freeholder regarded Ty with a carefully blank expression. ‘Mr Weil works on a different shift, Mr Driscoll. Enjoy your breakfast.’

Despite his misgivings, Ty ate ravenously, delighted to have the opportunity to consume real food after the limited fare of shipboard meals. When he had finished, he stood by the window and watched people passing through the city streets far below.

There were certain parallels here with the Uchidan settlements, of course; underground tunnels similarly linked most of the buildings in Unity so that, in order to go about their lives, the citizens barely needed to step outdoors for months at a time. Most of those out in the open were maintenance workers or those there by necessity. He could almost have forgotten about the intrinsic barbarism that lay just under the surface here.

When he felt ready, Ty activated the suite’s comms system, but soon found it had been crippled: getting a message of any kind out was impossible. He tried to access local news services, but all were blocked except for one dedicated to the ongoing war with the Uchidan Territories.

He got dressed and again went out into the corridor, finding Hibbert back in his seat by the elevator.

‘My comms unit doesn’t work,’ Ty explained. ‘I can’t send any messages. How the hell am I supposed to call anyone while I’m stuck in here?’

‘It’s a security issue, sir, and it might take a couple of weeks to clear up. I’m afraid you’re going to have to—’

‘A couple of weeks?’ Ty yelled, stepping up close to the other man. ‘Weil said a couple of days.’

Hibbert stood, towering over him. ‘Please, Mr Driscoll. You’re going to have to return to your r—’

Ty stepped past Hibbert and towards the elevator. Hibbert swiftly pressed something against his side, and the next thing Ty knew he was lying curled up on the floor, spasms of pain racking his entire body. He was distantly aware of Hibbert grabbing him by both feet and dragging him back into the suite.

Weil delivered Ty’s breakfast the next morning, and also his lunch and dinner. No word was said about the previous day’s incident, and Ty was far from inclined to risk being zapped a second time, or even to engage Weil in conversation. Instead he endured the silent tension until Weil stalked back out each time, closing the door behind him.