"My idea," interjects Miles from his chair. "And no joke, sir. As far as we knew, we might all have been about to die sometime in the next hour. It was my understanding that the highest priority was the recovery of the Great Key. The receivers got the Key but no lock - valueless gibberish, without the gene banks to go with it. One way or another, we assured you would be able to recover it, even after our deaths, regardless of any measures Kety might take. The upload was only canceled after Benin charged in and arrested everyone. Live or die, the job gets done—that's the best kind of strategy, in my opinion."

"Hm," Fletchir repeats. He glances at Nadina, then Linyabel. "Is this true?"