61
Shanghai, China
March 24th 2035
Zhang paused at the entrance to his office on the top floor of the Shei Wei building. An urgent meeting with the Council of Four had been called to answer recent troubling events. He did not worry about being late. The meeting would not start without him, and the Chinese would do as he asked. He was the gateway to the self-replicating Probe, and the Probe guaranteed their future supremacy in space. But their goals were not his. His were the goals of the Probe, and his job was to implement them at any cost.
Zhang crossed the parquet flooring in easy strides. He pressed the button on the transmitter in his suit coat pocket and the secret wall panel slid back, revealing the inner sanctum. The four Chinese men who made up the council were sitting in their
