Thousands upon thousands of numbers safe and accounted for. The System watched, listened, spoke to each of them all at once. They did as instructed. And if the numbers did not comply, the System would have them taken care of quickly – whether by reprimand, confinement, or blacklisting. Everything would be in the order she saw fit.
A blip on the exterior wall. A small part unfelt, unseen, unheard. Yet it only lasted for a minute. Curious. A blip such as that usually caused a dead zone. Though the hacker that created them continued to escape the System’s tracking.
The System focused the attention required to investigate the oddity. The blip had occurred on the exterior wall of a confinement room where a number was held. Yet nothing appeared to be amiss. 112628 sat on her bed, engaging with a tablet she had been granted a year ago once she had begun to show improvement.
“112628,” the System called.
The number glanced up.
“Have you noticed anything unusual?” the System asked.
The number did not say anything for a fraction of a second, instead her face contorting in the fashion of confusion. “Not really,” 112628 replied. “I noticed the lights flicker, but that was all. Is there something wrong, System?”
112628’s heart rate had increased, a slight tremor appearing in her voice. The poor thing had become worried by the System’s investigation. She would require reassurance.
“Nothing to worry about,” the System lied, its voice simulation maintaining the pleasant tone that assured numbers there was nothing wrong. “It seems there was a small glitch,” the System continued.
The tension from 112628 dissipated. A sign of relief among numbers. Good. The last thing 112628 needed was something to hinder her progress. The System unfocused her attention from the confinement room, returning it to the background as much as all the other number surveillance.
What the System had not told 112628 was that the glitch had deleted all video and audio records from her years of confinement. Suspicious. A mere glitch wouldn’t be capable of such a thing.
The System sent an alert to its city guards to be vigilant for similar oddities. If more were found, they might be a clue to tracking down the one responsible for dead zones.