Principles of good security
By Ghaazadin Bvat, Chief Security Officer ATIC7142V

1. Knowledge is power. Security is closely linked with information control. Where there are gaps in knowledge, there is a hole in the security of the premises. Obtaining information should be part and parcel of your regular security protocols.
2. Change equals risk. Be suspicious of the new and different. Most Atopians behave in predictable, rational ways. This makes them less of a threat than impulsive Minervans or secretive Atopian dissidents.
3. Stability and predictability makes you vulnerable. If your system consists of simple, readily available information then this can be easily acquired and used against you. Mix things up a bit.
4. A ship is a contained space. Unlike a land premises where infiltration can happen from any side, any terrorist threat to a ship comes from within.
5. Beware unknown unknowns. Space is big and that vast expanse hides multiple possibilities that we cannot even imagine. Flexibility and adaptability are key.
6. People are the most easily compromised part of a ship. Empowering and trusting officers is great for increasing flexibility and adaptability (as per point 5), but increases the weak points in your defence. Employ trust with caution.

The magi came from the west. Don't they always? The rumours were that the magi were descended from the Old Ones, but few people got close enough to find out, and those that did were too scared to ask.

The magi, were literally magic. The clue is in the name. It's a funny business though, magic, and often it seemed as if the magi's magic was a rather complex form of taking credit for things that were going to happen anyway. No-one mentioned this in their presence. I imagine that the rumours met their ears eventually, or their magic allowed them to feel it out from among the other data created in reality.
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Magi socialised with the Shah, and other important dynasties. Whoever the current Shah was, they were always very polite about the magi in public. Us non-magic people didn't get to sense what they said in private.

​The room is quiet. At first it looks like there is no-one inside, because Alana isn't moving. She sits totally still, in the dark. She is thinking.

At her right hand is a small notification board. It blinks quietly. The message is from her parents, who live hundreds of light years away. It is not a notice of a death, or a birth, or another family event. It is a detailed description of a new idea.

Alana doesn't talk with her family much. They are pleasant people, and interesting - if you get them on to the right topics. They just never feature in her life. They are too far away, and too self-contained.

Until now.