“Good question, and as far as we know, nothing has. They’re still playing sabotage-and-run in North Africa along the front lines, but who else could do what the Machinehood did? Who has the technology? And who would risk their economy by threatening funders? Our analysts are looking into it, but they keep coming up with the al-Muwahhidun as the source.”

“I need to show you something. Do you have a tether?”

Olafson cocked an eyebrow but said nothing as he pulled one from his pocket. The wired connection would ensure the most secure transfer of Zeli’s video. She waited as he watched, gaze blanked, and then his forehead creased into a frown.

“What is this? How do you know it’s real?”

“I don’t, but it’s from a trusted on-site source. I’m protecting them—they’re a minor—but if you need the identity, I can give it to you.”

“No, keep them safe for now. God knows what the al-Muwahhidun would do if they found out. Ramírez, you realize this is the connection we need? Assuming the WAIs at headquarters don’t find evidence of it being faked, all you have to do is verify this in person, and we’re in!”

“Is that all?” She bared her teeth. “So who’s buying the empire’s tech these days? If they have integrated smart-matter, why wouldn’t they sell it?”

“The usual suspects—China, India, Russia, and the black market—are dealing with their traders. We have plenty of evidence to see that. But those governments don’t act as overtly as the Machinehood has, and the underground has never pulled a stunt like this. I’m not sure they’d have the resources.”

“Which explains why half the world believes it’s a SAI. A true sentient artificial intelligence would do everything the Machinehood has done: disappear from the feeds, build a blox-integrated body, and destroy humanity by taking away our pills.”

“It’s plausible because everyone wants it to happen, but as far as our intelligence goes, nobody has come close to quantifying sentience yet, much less building an artificial mind. We’re encouraging the general public to keep thinking along those lines, though. We don’t want to give away our suspicions.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“When we’re ready, we’ll pull you in and send you overseas. This vid is a good start, but we need hard evidence to justify sending a stronger force to penetrate the empire. Until then, be your shield team’s liaison. Play up the SAI angle to the public swarms and your fans, but be smart about it. Make it credible. Keep looking for your own answers as well. Your decision to poke at that assassin gave us good visual information. Hopefully you’ll get attacked again. Follow your instincts.”