It seemed to him that the only way that any such sabotage could be carried out was by someone with unrestricted access to a transfer stage; someone able to come and go across the multiverse any time they pleased. But according to Bramnik, none of the Authority’s civilian staff was allowed near a stage unless they were going somewhere. And all the rig technicians are strictly vetted by Major Howes, who, as you know, recently took charge of the military detachment at the compound.

Bramnik went on to tell me that, apart from himself, the rig technicians and a very few other high-ranking individuals, the transfer coordinates for the various alternates are kept a closely guarded secret. Despite this, he wanted somebody he trusted to take a look around the Howler alternate and see if there was any evidence that would contradict the official investigation. And he knew I had prior experience on that alternate; I’d helped Rozalia and Winifred collect their data on the Howlers, after all.

So by prior arrangement I sneaked out late one night while you were still asleep and found Bramnik waiting for me at the main transfer stage. Nobody else was around; just me and him. Bramnik himself worked the control rig and sent me over. I was to return at a prearranged time when he would, again, be the only one around.

I’ll cut a long story short, Chloe. While I was over on that alternate, I found hard evidence that someone had set a trap for Bramnik and the rest of our party. Someone had programmed a couple of the robots to gather up brushwood and anything else that might burn and dumped it in the mouth of a nearby Howler den, before setting it on fire and smoking them out in the middle of the day. I found one of the robots stuck in a ditch where it had fallen, and raided its memory for the evidence.

Bramnik was particular that I should retrieve anything I could from the site of the evacuation, and that made me wonder if he’d lost something valuable. But by the time I had a look around, the whole place had been swept clean – as if someone had beaten me there.

When I got back to the island and told him what I’d found, Bramnik turned kind of grey, as if he’d aged a couple of decades there and then. He told me he’d be in touch soon; he was going to have to go back to his home alternate for a couple of weeks, and in the meantime I should try and find out anything else I could.