The Past, Rewired

[Soban]

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Mac Donagan, for once, resisted the urge to gulp down his drink the instant it arrived. This wasn’t exactly his usual field of research, but he was the only one around who could prep the mainframe for such a specialized task. He decided he might as well savor these last moments of peace before plunging into the unknown—especially given that dealings with Ingenuus rarely came with any semblance of good times. A small sip of his hot, sweet beverage helped steady his nerves.

“Interested, are ye? Aye, well…we’ll see. I’d have obliged for any technology—long as it wasnae Nomads or Ingenuus.”

He took another mouthful of hot tea, hoping to wash away the lingering memories of past experiences. Ingenuus had become renowned for their discoveries, though less so for how they came by them.

“Maybe this time, we’ll stumble on somethin’ truly worth our while. But tae be honest, I doubt it—it’ll likely be the nth remake of…”

He paused, realizing he might be sharing too much in such a public place. Finishing off the last of his drink, Donagan relished its warmth one final time.

“We’d best head somewhere more private before I run me mouth further. I’ve set the mainframe up in a secure lab, cut off entirely from the Neural Net. All the data we need was uploaded afore we shut down the external link. Only the PDA can access it, an’ only at close range. It’s in the annex—Block D, Level 3.”

With that, he waited politely for his companion to finish his own drink, slipping the datapad back into the depths of his suit’s many pockets.