Bianca shook Morgan’s hand, then Kiddrick’s before greeting Harper. Despite being introduced as an admiral, the white-haired man wore a suit rather than a uniform. His hand almost swallowed hers in a brief but steely grip. Unlike Kiddrick with his silly moustache, he didn’t need to try to be intimidating. Even though he was well into his sixties, he was still over six feet tall and clearly did far more exercise than the occasional round of tennis or golf. He had the hard, no-nonsense air of someone used to being obeyed immediately at all times, and who would not hesitate to take sanctions against anyone failing to fall into line.
‘Dr Childs,’ said Harper, voice as curt as she had imagined. ‘Take a seat.’ She did so, the men following suit. ‘Since you’re a Brit, I don’t expect you to know what my position as DNI entails. It means I’m in overall charge of USIC, the US intelligence community — CIA, NSA, FBI, Homeland Security, a dozen other agencies — and that I report directly to the President of the United States.’ He gave Tony an irate glare. ‘It also means that my time is extremely important.’
Tony looked uncomfortable, but met Harper’s gaze. ‘Sorry, sir.’
‘So, I’ll keep this brief. I know that you just spoke to Dr Albion, and that he asked you to help us by temporarily taking his place on this project.’
‘Yes, that’s right. But he didn’t tell me what the project actually was.’
His flinty stare warned her that he neither anticipated nor appreciated being interrupted. ‘Well, I’ll give you the précis. The Persona Project is a black-budget operation run by STS. The technology it has developed allows the memories of one person to be read, recorded and downloaded into the brain of another.’
It took Bianca a moment to process the statement, and when she did, it produced a short, disbelieving laugh. ‘What? Oh, come on. That’s not possible.’
If Harper disliked being interrupted, his displeasure at being contradicted was even greater. ‘Dr Childs,’ he said, interlocking his fingers and putting both hands on the table with an audible thud, ‘not only is it possible, it is being used to protect the security of the United States — and its allies — right now. The results it has obtained are valuable enough that Dr Albion’s injury denies us the use of an important intelligence-gathering asset. And that is something I am not prepared to allow.
‘Dr Albion says you are the only person capable of continuing in his role. Without information to the contrary, I have no choice but to believe that.’ He gave Morgan and Kiddrick momentary glances, Bianca realising that he was waiting — even hoping — for either man to provide such information. But neither replied. ‘That being the case, I will do whatever it takes to make this happen. I’ll start by offering a carrot: we’ll pay you whatever you want, within reason, to take over from Dr Albion until he’s fit enough to return to duty.’
Bianca was taken aback by the bluntness of the offer. ‘Ah, that’s very… generous. But I’ve got responsibilities back in England — my company’s in the middle of making a major deal, and I’m a key part of it. If I walk out on them, even if it’s only for a month or two, it could affect the deal, cost my friends their jobs—’
‘I know about the deal,’ Harper interrupted. He slid a sheet of paper from a folder. ‘You know what else could affect it? Thymirase being denied approval by the Food and Drug Administration for sale or use in the United States. I guessed from your file,’ he tapped the page, ‘that the carrot wouldn’t do much for you, since money isn’t your motivation.’
‘Wait — how did you get a file on me?’ Bianca demanded.
But Harper continued, his words rolling over hers like a juggernaut. ‘So here’s the stick. If you don’t agree to help us, your investors will be officially informed, within the hour, that the FDA will never grant approval for Thymirase. Without access to the US market, no drug company will ever buy the rights or fund further research. Your company’s deal will be dead in the water.’
Bianca was so outraged she struggled to speak. ‘You — you can’t do that! That’s blackmail, that’s illegal. You can’t do that!’
‘Yes I can,’ was his cold reply. ‘In this business, if you have no choice, you have to make sure the other guy has even less. Right now, if we want the Persona Project to continue — and we do — we have no choice but to bring you aboard.’
‘And I have no choice but to be press-ganged?’
‘That’s about the size of it.’ He pushed the paper back into the folder. ‘I’m not happy about it either. Under normal circumstances, a foreign national, even from a close ally, would never have been allowed near STS. Especially not one with your political leanings. But we need you. And we’re going to get you. I take it we have your agreement?’
Bianca shook with fury, made all the more intense by the humiliation of being rendered helpless. She had no doubts whatsoever that Harper would carry out his threat; if he did so, she would return to England to find that Thymirase was dead, taking the entire company down with it. The careers of fifteen people would be wrecked, and the two years she had spent working on the drug wasted.
As Harper had said: no choice.
‘Do we have your agreement?’ Harper repeated, more forcefully. She nodded, unable to speak. ‘Good. Martin, you deal with the specifics. Dr Kiddrick can explain the technical side. In the meantime, I have a meeting at the White House.’ He collected his documents and placed them in a briefcase before leaving without a further word.
Morgan looked apologetic. ‘Ah… sorry, Dr Childs. I didn’t realise the Admiral was going to be quite so…’
‘Unpleasant?’ she almost spat.
‘Hard-headed. But we can talk money — and I’ll arrange accommodation, a car…’
‘Whatever.’ She clenched her fists under the table, trying to stop them from trembling. ‘Well, I’m in, you’ve got me — you might as well tell me all your secrets now. Since I’m apparently the only person in the world who can help you use them.’
‘Apparently, indeed,’ said Kiddrick. His nasal accent, allied with his suddenly condescending manner — which had manifested the moment Harper left the room — did nothing to endear him to Bianca. He picked up a remote control and used it to switch on the big screen. ‘I’ll give you the basics for now, since I’m guessing you’re not in the mood for a detailed lecture.’
‘You guessed right,’ she replied, scathing.
A slide appeared on the screen, the logo of the Special Technology Section — an elaborate circular seal with a circle of stars enclosing circuit patterns forming a stylised American eagle — overlaid with text. THE PERSONA PROJECT: A PRESENTATION BY DR NATHANIEL KIDDRICK, JR. Kiddrick’s name, she noticed even in her angry state, was larger than the other words.
‘Persona, in this instance,’ Kiddrick began, clearly enjoying the sound of his own voice before a captive audience, ‘has a triple meaning. It’s the code name for this STS project, of course, but the obvious meaning also applies — the persona of a human being. Their character, personality, memories, all the things that make them an individual—’
‘Dr Kiddrick,’ Morgan cut in. ‘I think Dr Childs is well aware of that definition of the word.’
Kiddrick’s already wide eyes bugged even further to deliver an irate glare, but he composed himself, skipping forward in some mental script. ‘The third definition, though, is an acronym. PERSONA — Portable Electroencephalographic Recording and Stimulation of Neural Activity.’ He clicked the remote, the text on the screen replaced by an illustration of a piece of technology resembling a laptop. ‘This is the PERSONA device. It is, in essence, a memory recorder. Designed by myself,’ he added with pride.