Song Cheng accepted the documents, nodding solemnly. He didn’t say anything.

“In a moment, Bai Bing will arrive with the superstring computer. You should tell him that you’re about to inform your superiors of the digital mirror software. The central officials, after considering the matter from all directions, will use it conservatively to begin with. He should therefore make sure the software doesn’t leak to the public beforehand. That would pose serious dangers and adverse effects. Therefore, you will have him delete all the backup copies, whether online or elsewhere, that he made to protect himself. As for the initialization parameters, if he told them to anyone else, have him make a list of names. He trusts you. He’ll do as you say. You must make sure all the backups are gone.”

“We already plan to,” said Song Cheng.

“Then,” the Senior Official looked Song Cheng in the eye, “kill him, and destroy his superstring computer. At this point, you can hardly think I’m plotting for my own sake.”

Once Song Cheng recovered from his surprise, he shook his head, smiling.

The Senior Official smiled, too. “Very well, I’ve said everything I have to say. Whatever happens next has nothing to do with me. The mirror has recorded these words of mine; perhaps one day, in the distant future, someone will listen.”

The Senior Official waved away Song Cheng, then leaned against the back of the chair. He exhaled, slowly, subsumed in a sense of relief and release.

*

After Song Cheng left, the clock struck six. Bai Bing entered the office on the dot, carrying the briefcase that contained the digital mirror of history and reality.

The Senior Official invited him to sit. Looking at the superstring computer resting on the table, he said, “Young man, I have something to ask of you: May I see my own life in the digital mirror?”

“Of course you can, no problem!” Bai Bing said, opening the briefcase and booting up the computer. He opened the digital mirror software, then set the time to the present and the location to the office. The two occupants appeared in real time on the screen. Bai Bing selected the Senior Official, right-clicked, and activated the tracking capability.

The image onscreen began to change rapidly, so rapidly that the whole image window filled with a blur. But the Senior Official, as the subject of the search, remained in the middle of the screen the entire time, steady like the center of the world. He was flickering rapidly, too, but the figure was discernibly becoming younger. “This is a reverse chronology tracking search. The image recognition software can’t use your current form to identify younger versions of you, so it has to track you step by step through your age-related changes to find the beginning.”