Having remembered that she has been granted security access to Goda's level, she decides to get to the bottom of the lies about her brother's death. She will confront Goda and the Architins about it, but first, she needs to find out who is behind the fake correspondence and who approved it. Ada, having bypassed all firewalls can now retrieve data from even the most confidential of files and records. Using the IP address provided by Zero, Ada traces the address back to a person named Pericia Manik, her Hive name being Alex. Her current position is as HR personnel in Level 01. Waves of questions start gushing into Ada's mind.
She is just a normal HR personnel. She must have done this under the instructions of someone else. But who?
Ada starts digging deeper into the archives for documentation of the correspondences involving Alex from the date of her brother's death. After about half an hour's time of searching, she finds what she is looking for. It is an email sent from her superior Lexis to her.
Please be informed that the following thread is the one that you will be responding to. Please be reminded that this is a highly confidential task and any act of dissemination of information regarding this task, accidentally or with purpose will be duly punished.
Although highly confidential, there isn't the slightest effort in covering up the evidence to their lies. Most probably it's because no one thought that anyone will ever try to trace what happened.
Ada then starts searching through the archives for any correspondence related to Lexis backdated to two years ago. Ada is going through the deleted emails when the sight of Goda's name puts a halt to her scrolling finger. Ada clicks the email open and she reads the message.
Please provide a person to assume the hospital's identity and continue corresponding with Ada, ghost of workstation 359. The goal of this task is to ensure she remains uninformed of her brother's death until further decision.
It was Goda, just as she suspects. The Architins probably know little to nothing about this as they hardly know of her existence until the recent Saowaluk case. Seeing the proof with her own eyes, Ada regrets ever taking up the job. She has managed to keep her brother alive for four years but not being able to see him for the last time, even when he was only in a coma is cruel enough for Ada. She hates Goda for everything. She shouldn't have went for the interview. Ada closes her eyes and rests her forehead onto her forearms as tears well up in her already swollen eyes, her memory taking her back to the time she first came into contact with the Hive.
SIX YEARS AGO
"Onesan, there is a hand delivered letter for you on the table," Hiroto Nakahara, Ada's brother calls out to her without turning away from his computer as she enters the door to their small family home. She has just come back from work as a hotel's reception trainee, despite having first class double degrees. Too many graduates and the economic downturn have ruined her dream of a comfortable life.
"Hiroto, have you taken your dinner?" Ada asks, taking her shoes off and slipping into her house slippers.
"Yup, great chicken," he replies to his sister, still hooked to his online game. Ada is getting really concerned about her teenage brother's addiction to online gaming.
"Have you done your homework?" Ada asks as she goes to the freezer and removes her packed portion of dinner and places the ceramic dish into the microwave to heat it up.
"Done," he replies to her, his face still locked onto the screen and his fingers tapping non-stop at the keyboard.
"Can you even look at me when I am talking to you?" Ada complains, starting to feel annoyed with her brother's attitude.
"Just let me finish this game and I will look at you for the rest of the night okay?" her brother replies.
Ada rolls her eyes and turns around from the microwave and grabs the gray envelope from the small square table. The envelope is sealed and over the front is her name printed in English, Fumiko Nakahara, her only name back then.
Fumiko tears the envelope open and sees a folded sheet of letter inside. She gently pulls the letter out and unfolds the crisp, heavy paper to read its contents. Everything is printed in English but it is not a problem for Fumiko as she did her major in English and computer science for her University degree.
... Congratulations, you have been selected for our DMI selection program and upon successful completion of the program, you will be offered a place in our company. Salary will be USD 200000 per annum...
Fumiko's eyes almost pops out from her sockets reading the offer. It is more than what she can make in years if she continues to receive the meager salary she earns.
She will be able to offer her brother a much better life than now. Fumiko has been left to care for her brother since they were orphaned when their parents died in a fire during her last year of University when her brother was just twelve years old. Life has since been very tough for them.
Two days later, Ada is excitedly interviewing for the DMI selection program with another ninety-nine persons at its office, a futuristic dome-shaped new facility on the grounds of a manufacturing area. She has no idea what this EVIH does but they claim to be an excellent world-class security software development company operating outside Japan.
After a series of tests which include a blood test, IQ and EQ scores, physical endurance tests and also a set of logical thinking and problem solving tests, the candidates nervously wait for the results.
Finally, a Nigerian woman with army cropped curly hair comes out into the hall to announce the results, “Thank you everybody for attending the DMI selection program. Out of ninety-nine, only seven of you made it through. Congratulations to Haruto Abe, Hitomi Endo, Aiko Iizuka, Kazuki Gomi, Fumiko Nakahara, Shinju Fujioka and Kenji Hara. You are the successful seven and please follow me. As for the rest of you whom I didn’t announce your name, thank you again for your interest in the EVIH and you can leave now.”
The woman then turns to lead the three men and four women through a black door on the left of the hall. Once inside the spacious anteroom with one black door on each wall, they are each given a white shirt with a different number printed on the back, gray track bottoms and a pair of black sneakers.
“The ladies’ changing room is on your left and the men’s on your right. I will be waiting here for you,” the Nigerian woman instructs and they immediately enter into the changing rooms to change into the uniforms.
Fumiko and the three other women enter into the changing room and changes into the uniforms before placing their own clothing into the provided lockers. Once everyone is done, they exit back into the anteroom and gathering with the three men, the Nigerian woman takes them through the last door in the middle into a long, white corridor.
"There’s a door at the end of this corridor and behind that door is your dream career. This is the last test. Once all of you are behind that door I will lock you in. There is a key to the door somewhere inside that room. Your task is to escape that room in thirty minutes. The one who figures it out is our successful candidate who will walk away with a USD 20000 prize. If no one succeeds then all of you will be disqualified and no one gets the prize or the job," the woman explains as she leads them.
The woman opens the door at the end of the corridor and reveals an empty room. No furniture, just a plaster ceiling with an air vent and the door they are entering through.
Once the group has entered the room the Nigerian woman closes the door behind them without any notice and turning around, they realize that there is no knob on their side of the door. No knob, no key hole, no nothing, just a thin metal slab with four screws locking the slab dead onto the wooden door panel.
"There's nothing here. Where is the key?" the largest woman in the group says. Her name is Hitomi. She is the second tallest in the group and also rather beefy.
"She said there's a key. There must be," Haruto, a smaller man with a receding hairline and spectacles says.
Kazuki, the tallest among the group and most unfriendly person among the seven is the first to walk away from the little group and does his own
examination towards the room.
Aiko, a petite little lady with a tiny voice then suggests, "This is the final test. It must be hidden."
"Competitors talking to each other," Kenji the chubby male in the group shakes his head disapprovingly and leaves to explore the room.
"He is right," Shinju, a curly haired woman in her mid thirties says and leaves the group.
"There must be clues," Fumiko says and starts looking around.
"The numbers on our backs. Do you think they mean anything?" Haruto asks.
"Not at this moment," Aiko replies as they spread out to look for clues.
There is absolutely nothing around them and Kazuki immediately thinks of the air vent. Although the tallest, he can't reach it alone, not even by jumping.
"If you carry me onto your shoulders I will be able to reach it," Aiko offers.
"Don't even think about it," Kazuki replies flatly.
"It's your idea. You will still win but I want USD 10000 from your prize money. That's all. Without help you won't reach and if they reach it first, you loose," Aiko threatens.
"Alright," Haruto says as he kneels down to let Aiko sit onto his shoulders.
Standing back up, Aiko can reach the ceiling with her fingertips. The rest of the group watches anxiously hoping that Haruto does not find the key. Aiko tries to pull the grill off from the vent but the grill is bolted down tightly. There is no way anyone can yank it out.
"It's fixated to the ceiling. I don't think it's here," Aiko announces to everyone's relieve. .
Fumiko starts knocking her knuckles onto the walls as she listens to the echo. Seeing her do so, the rest of the group follows. Fumiko races against them to check the walls and when she is near the corner of one of the walls, her knocks return a hollow sound. Fumiko feels the wallpaper for any grooves or joints underneath and indeed there seems to be a door to a compartment. Fumiko starts to peel the wallpaper off with her fingernails drawing attention from the group.
The envious lot starts to gather around her watching her peel. Shinju smiles at her as she starts helping to peel the wallpaper with her long finger nails. Fumiko doesn't know how to respond. This is a competition after all but she seems like she is just trying to help. After struggling for a minute or two, they finally manage to tear the wallpaper off revealing a trap door. The moment the aluminum door is in view, Shinju nudges her way to stand before Fumiko.
"Hey!" Fumiko shouts at her but Shinju ignores her and pulls the trapdoor open. Behind the trapdoor in an aluminum compartment is a glass gold fish bowl filled with cream colored rice sized maggots, wriggling among each other trying to reach up and out of the fish bowl.
"This is too much. This isn't an interview. Is this some sort of reality show on TV?" Hitomi asks, shaking her hand in disgust as she cups her mouth and walks away from the group. She is giving it up.
Haruto's face starts to turn pale and green as he stares at the fish bowl. Worms are his weakness. He can already feel cold sweat forming over his palms and forehead.
Fumiko is not just about to give up. The bowl of maggots is not there for nothing. Shinju has backed off by now, not wanting to stick her hand into the bowl.
Fumiko reaches her hand towards the bowl but instead of dipping it into the maggots, she carries the bowl into her hands, and aiming it to an empty wall she throws it, smashing the thin glass bowl to pieces. Shattered all over the floor are pieces of glass and maggots and a screwdriver. Haruto's immediate response is to throw up, his half-digested breakfast of tuna sandwich splattering on the floor in a gooey mess.
Aiko is the closest to it and she races towards the screwdriver and grabs it, followed by Kenji, trying to pull it from her hands both squashing the maggots underneath their sneakers.
Kenji wins in strength and manages to pull it out from Aiko's hands but is stopped by Fumiko, barring the door behind her. "I found that. It belongs to me," Fumiko protests, determined not to let others take credit of her effort.
"There are no cameras inside here. You can't proof anything," Kenji answers.
"They are my witness," she points out at the rest of the group.
"If I open this door, I will share the USD 20000 with anyone who is on my side. Who wants to side her voice out now," Kenji announces to the group with the screwdriver in his hands.
"I will tell them the truth," Hitomi voices out.
"I have four other witnesses to testify on my behalf. You just lost," Kenji smiles a sinister smile at Fumiko and shoves her aside.
He undoes the screws on the metal plate and upon removal of the plate there is a digital lock. They will have to key in the password to unlock the door.
"What??" Kenji shouts as he throws the screwdriver onto the floor. He is not the winner yet.
"You are smart. Figure it out. Don't let that idiot win," Hitomi says to Fumiko who shoots her a skeptical stare, "Don't look at me. I'm not participating anymore. This company gives me the creeps."
Fumiko starts looking at the group of people looming over the digital lock and she immediately has a hunch.
The numbers on our backs: 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 0 Those must be the code! But there are seven of us. Seven numbers. Most digital locks uses a four number combination. Which four? With seven numbers, there can be millions of combinations. The hint must be in the numbers itself.
Fumiko is not the only one who knows that the numbers on their backs are the answer. They all rush to enter random codes made from the seven numbers but door just won't unlock. Fumiko stands back with Hitomi watching the crowd, trying to solve the riddle.
There are four women and three men. The four women have the numbers 1, 3, 5, 8. The men has 4, 9 and 0. Most of the women have the odd numbers while most of the men even. That leaves out 8 and 9. Assuming these are the two of the numbers, she still needs to figure out another two numbers.
Fumiko looks at her watch. Two more minutes. She has to come up with the answer in two minutes or she will be disqualified with the rest of the group.
Maybe if I just total the numbers? That will give 8 and 4. The leaves me 4, 8, 8, 9.
Fumiko rushes forward and pushes others aside to key in her combination 4-8-8-9. Access denied. 4-8-9-8. Access denied. 9-8-8-4. Access denied.
Suddenly someone pushes her so hard she falls onto the floor beside her. Fumiko looks up to see Aiko entering 8-8-4-9. Luckily access is still denied. Aiko is trying to steal her idea.
Fumiko gets up and pushes Aiko so hard she hits the floor with a loud thud. Without waiting, Fumiko enters her last combination 8-4-8-9 and the door snaps open just in time before.
The door swings open and standing behind the door waiting is the same Nigerian woman. She smiles at them before congratulating Fumiko, "Congratulations Ms. Fumiko Nakahara, you are our selected candidate."
"Ms. Fumiko, please follow me and for the rest of you, we thank you very much for your interest and participation. You can all go back to the changing room to change back into your own clothes," the Nigerian woman politely announces and turns to lead Fumiko away.
In a fully white room with only a long rectangular white table and two chairs at each end, a white man sits waiting for EVIH's new recruit.
Fumiko enters the room and the Nigerian woman closes the door after her. The clean-shaven white man has a hard, square face, pointed bushy eyebrows sitting over cold blue eyes, a crooked hawk nose, pale and pink lips putting together a very disciplined and fierce look. Like a military man, he is more than well toned. His blonde hair is cropped military style and he wears a white round neck T-shirt tucked into his neatly ironed black khakis.
Fumiko bows to the man and waits for his instructions.
"Have a seat," the man speaks with a strong Russian accent.
Fumiko takes a seat on the white chair opposite of the Russian man and wonders why a physical trainer here is.
"My name is Goda. Upon recruitment, you will be under my direct supervision. EVIH is an international conglomerate but no one knows about us. Strange isn't
it?" Goda starts saying.
Fumiko can only nod in agreement.
"The reason is because we are a privately owned company providing top secret special intelligence support and we work in line with many governments and private institutions. We are a high revenue company with zero public profile. That is the reason you had to undergo the scrutinizing selection program you went through just now," Goda explains in his deep and steady voice and waits for any questions from Fumiko.
"Your work here will be highly confidential and highly rewarding. But no one, not even your family must know anything about your work here with us as that can bring danger to them. You will be employed under the cover of a Japanese translator working for a British company in India. You will be based in our base in India," Goda further explains.
Randomers Page 27
