The faint sound of conversation carried all the way to the bunks, though the words were ravaged beyond recognition by the Orbital’s creaking seams and ventilating breaths. If he focused his processors, Vin reckoned he could isolate and amplify their voices – but while he was curious about the examination, doing so might be considered be rude. Besides, he had more important things to do.

So he laid down and closed his eyes.

The physical world faded away. When trying to process large quantities of information, it only got in the way. Too much distraction. The meat brain’s throughput was limited, even with integrated amplifiers and targeted stimuli; if it was to have any chance of keeping up with the bits and qubits at full throttle, it needed to [i]focus[/i].

A web stretched out around him, crawling along the pathways of OSF’s local network and mapping its informational topography as it expanded outwards. Hands were shaken, accesses were granted and denied as dictated by his limited certs, and data from a dozen sources flowed like rivers into the sea of his databanks.

Almost all of it related to Derelict itself; Origin’s security wasn’t so lax they’d let him in anywhere. Expedition journals, observations, measurements, research articles: it all filtered through his consciousness faster than he could think. Every data point, every process leading up to every conclusion stored and available with but a thought. He could recite it all word for word if he wanted to, but he barely actually [i]understood[/i] any of it. Knowledge without comprehension. The brain wasn’t designed to think like a computer, yet here his was, mutilated and stuffed with electronics and trying to process information like one. 

Still, the trade-off was worth it. The data was there. Understanding could come in time, as knowledge trickled down from the digital mind.

The available data was, of course, mostly stuff already publicly available. Nominally, at least; the paywalls were too tall for most people to climb. And the juiciest findings were no doubt kept closely guarded by the corps that funded them. Why spill the beans to your competitors, after all?

His focus shifted, and the mission brief filled his consciousness. It was, well, brief. The [i]whats[/i] pertained only to their specific instructions: go deep and figure out what happened to the missing expedition. The [i]whos[/i were limited to the immediate team and their job descriptions, with D’Agenais at the top. It said nothing about who [i]he[/i] reported to. 

The [i]why[/i] remained unanswered.

Vin could guess, of course – it wasn’t exactly subtle. Origin was no doubt hoping to get more out of this than a post-mortem. The expedition had sent a message saying they’d found a way through. If true, that was worth far more to Origin than a few sacks of meat. Doubly so if they could get their foot in the door before anyone else. What they’d find in there was anyone’s guess, but it was going to be a [i]big[/i] deal. A handful of lives out of a few hundred billion was a cheap price to pay.

Of course, that applied to their own group as well. A bunch of nobodies, handpicked from the washed-up refuse of Maasym Orbital. Save that Marrow-Geist princess who’d enjoy the safety of the station while the rest were thrown into Derelict’s maw. They were so few and so replaceable; if they failed, Origin could just dredge up another band of disposables. 

Perhaps they already had, and this expedition was only one of many.

Something about it just didn’t feel [i]right[/i]. Origin had sent three Apocalypses, for Void’s sake. They obviously took Derelict seriously.

So why entrust it to [i]them[/i]?

Perhaps the real expedition was sitting out the first few rounds in their cozy battleships, eagerly awaiting intel from the sacrificial pawns. Then once they had enough data, they’d swoop in and push the pawns to the wayside.

For now, that was just speculation. D’Agenais might know more. Perhaps he was just a pawn too, but at least he’d be reporting to someone higher up. Vin might be able to glean something from him.

He’d have to leave that rabbit hole for another time – at this one he had a job to do. He wanted to make all the preparations he could to improve the odds of living through just one dive. The inventory came with user manuals and training sims for all their equipment: he loaded them up and got to work, time flying by as he learned what he could.