The Actor

Chris meets Travis for lunch

Chris

Earlier that day, while Jenny had been preparing herself for her night out with Simon, Chris had received a call from Travis, suggesting lunch.

They met at the university, deciding against the Snowden Café, instead purchasing their coffee in takeout cups and making their way back out onto the garden concourse.

"How did you get on with your new friend?" In keeping with their regime of telephone security, it was not until now that Travis had broached the question.

"Which new friend would this be?"

There was something intensely gentle in Travis's face. Whenever he failed to respond, it never presented as rude. To a layperson, his slightly unhinged grin might have suggested a slowness of mind. Chris, though, had trained as a mathematician, was familiar with the quirks of the tribe. He understood that in Travis's case it was an indication of the exact opposite.

Chris relented. "We met again yesterday. I think she wants to help."

They found a place to sit where the hillside aspect provided a view out toward the city. A warm breeze was blowing from the west where the sky was piled up with cloud in a gradation of shades, from sunlit uplands down to a rain-threatening grey. The sort of sky a poet might find heavy with portent. Both of a more prosaic disposition, Chris and Travis took this as a sign they should enjoy the sun's rays while they still had them.

The scene put Chris in a reflective frame of mind. "She'll be out there somewhere, I guess. Out earning her living. Bothering the discontented, or whatever it is she does. What about you? Where's your old mate?"

"Alex? He thought it best he didn't come. You make him nervous."

Chris laughed. "I've committed no crimes."

"Of course not. But still."

They were silent for a time. To Chris, the expansiveness of the view was a faint reminder of his home in New Zealand.

Travis was the next to speak. "Remember those people we talked about the other day?"

"Your Resistance friends? The anonymous ones?"

"The hackers. They want to talk to you."

"Already?"

"I guess they agree with you. About time being short." Travis opened his bag and removed a headset, showing it to Chris, who reacted with surprise.

"What, right now?"

Travis nodded. "The more impromptu the better, far as they're concerned." The device he was holding looked like a bulky pair of sunglasses. "It's custom made with one-time EEPROM. You know what that means?"

"More of your crypto, I suspect."

"There's a group in our community who make this stuff. All this secrecy. It adds to the fun. But for the hackers it's more than just a game. It's a survival thing. You get that, don't you?"

Delivered in his terse drawl, this for Travis was a major speech. Chris responded with a respectful nod.

Travis continued. "The EEPROM works like a one-time pad. Unbreakable and erase as you go. As much security as theory can give us, over a public network. Should be a good for a quarter hour of use before the pad runs out."

Chris took the headset and put it on, leaving it balanced on his brow so that his eyes remained clear. "You not coming?"

Travis shook his head. "I'll be nearby, riding shotgun." He pulled out a phone. "The goggles are tethered to this burner. I'll just go over here to set up the call. I'll try to be far enough away that I can't overhear anything, but best you talk softly. Ready to go?"