Fifty - EARTH (DIVIDED)

A third screen, which registered nothing but snow, was hooked to the company's communication network - a fully encrypted system that enabled Doug Douglas to communicate with offices all around the world. Although some of his staff had been arrested and placed in prison, the vast majority had escaped, and were back in business. Afterall, what is a company beyond the people who run it? Records? Those were duplicated and sent off-prem once every fifteen minutes. Processes? There were backups for those as well. The company had been attacked before.

So, in spite of the fact that the mutineers had cost him some money, and that Zuon Inc. had obtained some valuable intelligence, Doug Douglas was very much alive.

The blacksmith sat at the ancient desk and started to type. Not because he had to, but because he enjoyed the kinesthetic feedback.

Thousands of miles away, in the basement of an old church, words jerked across a screen. Kenny read them and grinned. It seemed that the myste