Free Less Than Human by Maxine McArthur Page B

detective opened her mouth, shut it again, and filed out with the others. Ishihara had no illusions as to who was
     now in charge of the investigation—any “interest” shown by Prefectural Office meant they took over—but at least he’d kept
     control of the scene.
    “The Silver Angels,” began Inspector Funo, as they all finished shuffling into their shoes and flattened themselves against
     the wall to let the morgue stretcher-bearers past, “are a group of well-off, mostly talented young people. The oldest we know
     is twenty-five, although we think the leader is older.”
    “Who’s the leader?” said Beppu. “And why haven’t we heard of them?”
    Inspector Funo raised a neatly plucked eyebrow at the rudeness. She looked like someone had puked on her shiny black shoes.
    “The leader,” she said slowly and precisely, “calls himself Adam.”
    Oh great, thought Ishihara. The Christian groups are the most confusing. “I never heard of him,” he said. “What does he preach?”
    Funo tightened her lips, then relented. “We don’t have a lot of information. The group’s very close-knit. What we do have
     is inferred, mainly from Net chat rooms. Our experts sift through material, and they’ve found postings that fit the group’s
     profile. But we can’t be sure the people who post messages are group members.”
    “And?” prompted Ishihara.
    “It’s a typical New Millennium group—predict the end of the world through cataclysmic event, personal cleansing through meditation,
     value of natural healing, rejection of consumerism …” She made them all sound like exotic diseases. “They want to use technology
     to achieve some posthuman state. The group is atypical because they don’t have a legal existence and they don’t solicit funds.
     We don’t know where they get their money.”
    “So they haven’t made any actual threats,” said Ishihara, “But you’re worried because if they do, they may have some capability
     of carrying them out?”
    Funo hesitated. “That’s right. And today’s deaths indicate that whatever they’re doing isn’t safe. Our priority at the moment
     is to find Adam’s real identity. You have not yet been informed of the group’s details because we haven’t decided whether
     they are to be treated as a cult and therefore fall within the jurisdiction of Religious Affairs, or whether they are a terrorist
     group and, therefore, will be handled by Home Defense.”
    “Terrorist?” said Ishihara. He knew he looked as dumbfounded as Beppu and Kusatsu. How could those flimsy, gaudy bodies be
     terrorists?
    Inspector Funo paused as the stretcher-bearers maneuvered out the door and past them. Two bodies to a stretcher.
    “Unfortunately the details may only be released on a need-to-know basis.” She sounded cheerful for the first time. “Therefore,
     Prefectural Office will be taking over this investigation. We will, as usual, require liaison officers to be appointed from
     the local station and will require an incident room to be set aside there. My men will arrive shortly.”
    She bobbed her head. “I’m sure we’ll work well together.”
    Ishihara wasn’t sure at all. He consoled himself with the thought that in police manga, the young female detective is almost
     always rescued at the end by her more experienced male colleague.

E leanor left her apartment on Monday morning puffy-eyed and irritable. In the old days she’d have blamed her disturbed night
     on the heat, but the Betta nights were cool and comfortable. Must be the unfinished business with that welder and the prospect
     of a long day’s work ahead, getting Sam ready for the budget committee display.
    There weren’t many people in the corridors at six-thirty. Masao hadn’t even grunted in his sleep when she said she was leaving
     early. Simulated morning light streamed through the corridors, and cheerful music played just at the level of hearing. The
     ubiquitous cleanbots were still gathered in