"Increase the temperature by ten percent."
Perhaps that was the problem with totalitarian regimes. People didn't feel safe to take chances and waited for approval before making the tiniest of steps. That was why progress was painfully slow on the island and other places that were ruled with aniron fist, the reason they were lagging behind democratically run countries and operations.
Or maybe it was simply because people were less motivated to do their best when they couldn't enjoy the fruits of their efforts to their fullest extent.
The technician made the adjustment, positioned the cutting head against the glass wall, and pressed the trigger. The plasma stream hit the glass with a hiss that made everyone step back. The cutter maintained contact for thirty seconds, but when Morven pulled it away, the glass showed nothing more than a slight discoloration, a rainbow shimmer where the heat had stressed the surface.
"Shit." Morven lowered the cutter. "That was a high setting. Any hotter and we risk damaging the equipment."
Losham leaned closer to examine the mark. The glass wasn't even scored. Whatever had been used to construct this barrier was more than standard tempered glass. The surface had some kind of coating or treatment that dispersed heat faster than they could apply it.
"What about the laser?" he asked.
Gregor, who'd been monitoring readings on his tablet, shook his head. "We tried that. The beam just refracts. It's like trying to cut a mirror with light."
The corridor reeked of hot metal and ozone, and the whine of ventilation fans filled the silence that followed the latest attempt at this barrier. They'd been at it for days, and all they'd accomplished was to burn through a lot of expensive equipment.
"Lord Losham." Hakum appeared at the corridor entrance. "There's a situation requiring your attention."
Losham's jaw tightened. These 'situations' had been multiplying lately. Yesterday it had been a dispute between two senior commanders over new recruits to their units. This morning, a group of human workers had walked into a restricted area, supposedly by mistake.
His father hadn't needed to deal with such mundane nonsense day in and day out, had he? Others had done that for him.
The problem was that Losham was afraid to delegate in case others started to suspect that Navuh wasn't running things anymore.
"Can it wait?" he asked.
Hakum looked conflicted. "Commander Rashid has detained three construction workers who he claims were stealing supplies."
"Which supplies?"
"Medical equipment from the laboratory. Syringes, specifically. He suspects they needed them for their drug use."
Losham couldn't care less about some humans stealing syringes, and it wasn't something that required his attention, but letting it slide was not an option either. He had to deal with the idiots and use them to set an example so others wouldn't dare steal from the Brotherhood.
He glanced at the glass wall one more time. Whatever secrets lay beneath that sand would have to wait. "Gregor, continue with the diamond wire saw. Try cutting at the corners where the glass meets the frame."
"We'll need to fabricate special brackets to hold the wire at that angle," Gregor said. "It will take time."
"Then get started." Losham turned to follow Hakum out of the corridor.
The walk to the security office took them through the mansion's main level. Servants scattered at their approach, their eyes downcast, and their postures conveying their subservience. They feared him even though he had not given them a reason to be afraid. If anything, he was much more polite and friendly toward the staff than his father had ever been. But perhaps that was precisely why they feared him.
They didn't know what to expect.
Then again, Dave's presence made everyone uncomfortable, including Losham himself, so maybe that was the source of their fear. The enhanced soldiers who behaved like one entity created an undercurrent of paranoia that infected everyone.
"Has there been any progress made?" Hakum asked as they walked.
"The new equipment hasn't made a difference. The glass has some kind of treatment we haven't identified."
He didn't really expect his father's dim-witted assistant to offer any bright ideas on how to solve the enclosure's mystery, and he responded just to hear himself talk. Sometimes that alone helped him generate new ideas.
"Perhaps we are approaching it wrong." Hakum turned a corner, leading them down a hallway lined with surveillance monitors. "Sometimes the direct approach isn't the most effective."
Losham stopped walking. "If you have a suggestion, make it."
Hakum turned to face him, and for a moment, Losham saw something flicker across his features that was not his usual affable and slightly fearful expression. "The glass appears to be designed to resist cutting, but every material has a resonance frequency. If we can find the right frequency, we could shatter it without even touching it."
