“Cameras,” Byron said. His eyes weren’t on Kenzie, but on the video footage of the fight. Natalie crouched by the table, watching. She glanced at me over one shoulder.

“Cameras! Well, there are other ways for machines to see, and this is closer to feeling than to seeing, but I won’t get bogged down. It’s close enough, and it’s not that different from what I was experimenting with, when I was making a camera that might see Byron when Tristan is out, or vice-versus.”

“Versa.”

“Versa! Yes. So! A couple of ways I can do this. To use an analogy, I could take the camera’s flash and crank it to always-on. Other gates trying to look in would see an overexposed image and they wouldn’t have a clear picture.”

“Would the prison notice?” I asked.

“Flickering cameras and lights, maybe. Hair standing on end if you’re in the right place for long enough.”

“And would it be traceable to the source? To us?”

“After a little while. But Goddess only needs a little while to do her thing, right? So we could turn ours off just long enough to let her in and let her out, while not letting the other ones start up. That would leave the exit portal intact, which would be best for her.”

“I don’t like that it could draw attention. What other options are there?”

“Um. The way these gates work, they warm up and map out the surrounding area. It’s a slow boil and it takes time, and I think they use multiple cameras to get a clearer picture. Then they flash, pulsing, to make sure there isn’t anything new in the area, like a person walking through the space at that time. Because that would skew the signal, I think. That part of it is a kind of mapping program, but it’s instantaneous or spontaneous.”

“Can this camera be one of the multiple cameras?” I asked. “Giving the other ones wrong info?”

“It could. I think they could decipher that this one is the culprit and block it out, especially if they’re already warmed up with their mapping done. And you asked about tracing the signal—I think that would be a pretty big red alert for them, with a huge ‘we are here’ sign above us.”

“That’s a no, then.”