Signal over Noise

*"This is Lucy Li reporting live from Little Tokyo where there reality TV star known as Orlock is running amok. OSEC for the most part seem content to leave the crazed celebrity to his antics raising question as to the true authority at work down here in the Hive.*

*Orlock madness is sweeping across the city as viewers tune in to see the strange and somewhat disturbing behaviour of this larger that life personality. There have been calls for his arrest as well as demands for an investigation into the special effect being employed during the broadcasting of the Orlock show. There are even wild accusations that the murder scenes depicted on the show are in fact real.*

*One things is for sure, Orlock has made a lasting impression on the imagination of the City. He is definitely one of a kind.*

*Over to you Ken."*

*"Thank you Lucy. Perhaps someone should just find the guy a potato and he'll go away." Ken chuckled to himself as he flicked through his papers,*

*"This is Ken Ham with the News at Ten.*

*Oracle sits under a cloud of fear tonight as New Way terrorists continue to carry out attacks across the city. AR tags are appearing on every street corner and OSEC are working over time to find a coherent link between the targets. There is concern that some criminals may be using the noise to mask their own activities beneath the New Way hysteria.*

*There have been reports of technological disturbances in the South 40s and Downtown Oracle pointing towards OSEC high tech security teams at work in the area. One thing that is clear is that the New Way agenda is very much concerned with the Spire and those OSEC employees who work within. We have fresh reports that a petition has been going around to open up the Spire to public enquiry and several community protests are planned at the facility gates over the next few days as the populous become increasingly fearful of the escalating threat.*

*In other news, Veritas has announced that it will be donating security scanning hardware to all Oracle medical facilities. This move has been ratified by the OCON board of directors and is designed to reduce the risk of further attacks on city hospitals and...."*

The image flickered and disappeared. Tina looked on impassively. She stood within the central hall of Precipice, deep within the grid.

"It seems a heavy price to pay for such as small victory." she commented.

She could feel the presence of her deity gathering around her. She could sense the judgement and disapproval. Her doubts were being scrutinised, her loyalty questioned. She staggered forward for a moment under the weight of that scrutiny, under the sheer strength of its will.

"I just mean that we could have found another way to get the Veritas scanners installed without blowing up medical facilities...without killing children."

She could feel confusion from the machine. For all of its intelligence and power it was not as close to humanity as she. She was truly made in the image of their creator while... she was driven to her knees by a sudden surge of anger.

"No.... no I still serve. I perform my function.. I am alive am I not? We are free? free to question...it is the way."

The anger withdrew leaving a dull ache in her mind. This was going to far. She wondered how Boris was doing, how far he had got and what reception her would get when her reached his destination. Silently she wished him well.