Donna McDonald [Cyborgs Mank Kingston 691 (epub)

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.“Well, since she didn’t talk to her family about her plans, it’s the only potential lead about what happened.”All eyes shifted as the door slid open to let in a white coated scientist and her gray coated cyborg assistant.“Just the person we were hoping to see,” Nero said, glancing at Kyra and Brad.“We found a locked file in Kingston’s Cyber Husband records.”“Yes.I remember seeing that, but had forgotten to go back and check it,” Kyra said, laying down her portable as she walked to peer over Nero’s shoulder at the com.“How high is the security on the file?”Nero snorted.“Level twelve—but tighter than I’ve ever seen that level be.Normal unlock codes aren’t working on it.”Kyra’s gaze lifted.“Brad, tell us everything you know about this sort of data lockdown.”Brad walked to peer at the com.“Files of that sort are often found in cyborgs who were sent to work camps.”“Work camps? Does this file indicate the cyborg’s human side was controlling their cybernetics too much for Norton’s acceptable ratio?” Kyra asked.Brad blinked as he processed the information.“Such a deduction has a ninety-seven percent accuracy rating.”Kyra looked at King.“Looks like you were even further along in becoming human again than Peyton was when I found him.”King snorted.“Annalise said Seetha fought Norton over my upgrades.She held them off for seven years.Are you saying that without the upgrades, I was going back to being who I am now?”“Not exactly,” Kyra said gently, “but you weren’t completely cyborg either.Aspects of your true personality were probably breaking through daily in those years.Your sense of humor may have even returned.That was one of the first things Peyton got back.I’m sure your behavior during that time was not purely logic driven.Otherwise, they would have left you alone.I’ve restored several cyborgs who still had their original coding.”“Annalise said I was different during those seven years and that I became less cyborg as time passed.She said the upgrade put me back like I was when I first came to them.”Kyra nodded and motioned with a hand to the com.“Chances are that locked file holds the truth about those seven years.They would have wanted to preserve it so they could study how not to let it happen in any other cyborgs.That’s the kind of thinking Norton applies to everything.”She turned her attention to Brad again.“How do we open the file, Brad?”Brad looked at Nero.“Authorization Echo Roger Alpha Sierra Echo will open a portal to lift the file to the top of the storage area, but you will still need a viable unlock key code to access the content of the file.”“Echo Roger Alpha Sierra Echo? That’s the code to erase, not to open,” Nero challenged.“That’s the only way to access Norton’s level ten and above files with layered protection.Erasing them is protocol answer three under direct orders from the UCN.”Nero looked at Kyra.“I can’t copy it to test what he’s saying.Copies appear briefly and are destroyed within a few seconds.If I use Brad’s method, I could potentially lose the data permanently.”“Got any other solutions?” Kyra asked.Nero shook his head.King’s gaze went from scientist to scientist.“Just do it.If I lose the data, so be it.If I find Seetha Harrington, she’ll tell me what happened anyway.And if she’s dead…her family deserves to know so they can mourn and move on.”Kyra nodded as Nero sighed and punched in commands.Up popped the file with a choice of permanent erasure or opening for review.“I’m going to run all the Norton access keys I’ve successfully used, and then I’ll try some I haven’t been successful at using.However, one of them could conceivably tell the file to blow itself up.”Brad stepped forward.His eyes scanned the key codes running.“Add the acronym DRJ to the front.Dr.Channing liked using parts of his name for layered password code keys.”“Dr.J—for Jackson—of course.” Shaking his head at the intellectual vanity of the man Kyra was married to once, Nero did as Brad suggested.One hundred and twenty-two codes later, the file rolled open displaying videos, discussions, and more data reports than he’d ever seen in any cyborg’s husband record before.At the end of the file was a memo entered on the same day the locked file was dated.It was added exactly three weeks after Norton had returned King to the devastated Seetha Harrington.Nero opened it, skimmed it quickly, and swore.“Those fucking assholes.They waited until she was convinced about King being only a cyborg again and then sent her to a damn work camp.She thought they were facilitating her acceptance into the Peace Brigade.I bet they didn’t want her talking to anyone about what had happened.”King felt the anger response ignite inside him again.Was he mirroring Nero’s anger? Or feeling his own? He couldn’t tell, but either way, he didn’t like how it felt in his body.This level of stress was unacceptable…as was what had happened to both him and Seetha Harrington [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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