The temperature had risen. Only a degree, according to Kaira’s datapad, but that was because the cooling system had kicked in. It wasn’t especially noisy, but the pervasive hum kept driving its way into Kaira’s thoughts.
She didn’t know how long it would be able to keep the temperature bearable. Doug had been working on hacking into the other machines for twenty-five minutes already, and he seemed no closer to breaking through.
After so long she was seriously doubting he was going to find a way through. Not just because of the time. Something had gone out of him. He was still working on the problem, but he didn’t seem to believe he was going to succeed.
A couple of minutes later his hands dropped away from his datapad, and his head sank. He shook his head.
“I can’t do it,” he sa
