Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2010 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

"How's this?" Marion did a twirl.

"Not too bad, you look almost respectable. Not to mention delectable. Have you got any higher heels? I forget."

"There is the other pair, you know, the ones I bought originally. You want me to wear them to work?"

"You'll be taking them off once you get to work, remember. You'll need them this evening if you're going to be trying things on, don't forget."

"I see what you mean. What about the rest of it? Do I pass scrutiny?"

Marion was wearing a pastel blouse suitable for the office, crisp but thin enough to wear comfortably in the warmer weather, with a knee-length dark grey pencil skirt and matching short jacket. Although by now she had become comfortable and familiar with the clothes she wore they still sometimes gave her the feeling that she was being packaged, ready to serve on a plate.

Trouble was, the only person she wanted to be served to was standing in front of her. The thought of being placed on display for the whole of mankind - and she thought of that word deliberately - sometimes gave her very strange feelings inside. Perhaps, she thought, it's the hormones. Please, let it be the hormones.

"You look fine to me. What underwear do you have on? Facility Regulation?"

"No, because I know that I'll need to wear something better if I'm going to go shopping with you later. I have my facility things in a sports bag along with the washing, I'll change when I get to work, and change back before we leave."

"I'm impressed. Jewellery?"

"I don't have that much. I'll just wear the timepiece and the bracelet. You're not thinking of looking for accessories this evening, surely? We won't have very much time as it is."

"Truth, but the stores on Constitution Street stay open quite late, long enough to let us do what we need to. We'll leave accessories, we can always wander through Old Town some other time and look in some of the smaller shops there."

Marion had to take special care eating her breakfast, and realised that a great deal of the care and attention women took while eating was devoted to making sure that their clothes and face stayed the way that their owner had intended them to. Fortunately, their usual breakfasts did not leave much scope for accidents, but Marion realised that she would have to be extra careful when they dined tonight. It was with some relief that she got up from the table and helped Belle tidy up before leaving.

On the tram, just as Belle had said yesterday, no-one took any notice of them. In fact, there were other women on board who were dressed in a similar fashion. Marion realised that most of them were probably regulars, and that she hadn't taken notice of what people wore for some time. Part of that was down to her recently-acquired habit of flicking her eyes at every woman who boarded or alighted to evaluate what they wore, part was the old male habit of discarding such information as irrelevant. She now realised that this was not a good policy and resolved to try and learn more from what went on around her. Perhaps she had gotten too comfortable in her new role.

"My, you two look posh today," Kristina came alongside them as they walked to the facility. "Going anywhere nice?"

"Service, Kristina," Belle said. "Yes, we're off to New Town after work to fill in some of the gaping holes in Marion's wardrobe. We'd normally do such shopping at the week-end, but we're both liable to be busy so decided to slip away one evening this week."

"Yes, it's been a while since you last took Marion shopping, hasn't it? I expect you to tell us all about it tomorrow. That reminds me, I must check my own wardrobe, there's one or two things I need, especially now the weather's warmer."

"That's partly why we're going," Belle explained. "Marion's wardrobe was bought for when she was released, when the weather was cooler. Also, you may have noticed that some of her skirts are a little tight."

Kristina gave a chuckle. "I thought that was the way she wanted them."

"Not quite as tight as they have been recently. She's putting on across the hips, and may need to go up a size. This evening will give her a chance to try some better fitting styles as well."

They were still discussing the impending shopping trip as they approached the E Deck watch station after changing. Ruth was there along with the two night shift Shepherds and Elena could be heard walking along the corridor behind them. The conversation widened to include all present and they were still talking when the trusties vanished with the used breakfast trays.

The day shift bid farewell to Donna and Carla, the night shift, and settled down to wait for the next important event of the day when the doors of the detainees' rooms would be released.

"Heard anything more about your residency problem?" Elena asked. The look on Belle and Marion's faces told her much. "What?"

"We can't really discuss it any more," Marion said heavily. "Not at this time, anyway. We had an interesting conversation yesterday evening with various parties which somewhat changed how we thought about the problem."

"Oh. If you're sure?"

"At the moment it's for the best, Elena," Belle said. "We'll tell you what we can, when we can."

The atmosphere cooled after that exchange, and they waited mostly in silence until Elena released the doors and detainees began appearing in the corridor. Talya made her way to the watch station.

"Service all. You look serious this morning, has anything happened?"

"Yes," Marion said. "I'll tell you what little I can as we walk downstairs. See you later, girls."

Once they had got the bulk of the overnight messages out of the way Marion decided to pay a visit to S Deck. She had remembered that Felicia had yesterday mentioned some of the D Deck patients had been moved there. It wasn't far, just along the D Deck corridor to the back of the building and turn right. Marion couldn't understand why she hadn't been here yet, then remembered all the distractions she had managed to have so far in her job.

The detainees in here were supposed to be 'normal' types, but Sophia had said that the Deck was often used for recuperating detainees to improve before they were returned to the Deck they originally came from. She let herself into the Deck, walked along to the watch station and introduced herself to the Shepherds with her standard speech.

"I hear you have some of the overflow patients from D Deck in here," she concluded.

"Yes, that's right. After the disturbance downstairs we had to take some to free up beds over there," replied Rachel, the Senior Shepherd. "Is it those you've come to see?"

"No, I'll just work my way along, if that's all right with you. Is there anything special I ought to know before I start?"

Rachel shrugged. "A detainee is just a detainee. We try and treat them all the same."

"Well, not quite," Marion responded. "If that were so, there'd be no need for E Deck. And the disturbance downstairs was probably caused by girls from different gangs being mixed together."

"Truth. My apology, I didn't intend my remark to be taken that literally, more to indicate that we tried not to treat them differently. Will you be coming here regularly, Counsellor?"

"I will try to, but it's proving difficult at the moment. I keep getting distracted."

Marion worked her way through S Deck quite rapidly. She found that she knew most of the detainees since a large number had previously been D Deck patients. There were a few new faces and she spent a little extra time with them before walking back through D Deck to the ward. She managed half the ward before coming back to the watch station to find a puzzled Felicia with a message.

"I had a call," said Felicia with a raised eyebrow, "from a trusty? She said to tell you that a Proctor was coming in this afternoon and that you'll probably have to go to Director Khiskov's office later on to meet him."

"Ah, the trusty's my new assistant, Talya. If you need me and I'm visiting, you can leave a message with her, it's perfectly safe. In fact, I must bring her along and introduce her to you. She's an absolute whiz at administration, which is something I'm definitely not."

The Shepherds grinned, they all knew that Marion and bureaucracy didn't quite gel together.

"Oh? How did you ever wangle that, then?" Felicia asked.

"She was on E Deck with me, she helped get me exonerated. I'm not employing her out of gratitude, she has a fine legal brain and knows her way round the systems. She was a bit of a recluse up there, so I'm helping her adapt ready for release. Ask Elena about her if you want the full story."

"I'll do that, sounds intriguing."

"I'd better go and have my lunch," Marion said to the Shepherds. "I'll come back afterwards, I think I'll have time to finish up here before I have to go and meet this Proctor."

But Marion didn't have time to go back to the ward after lunch, because she received a summons from Sophia. When she got to Sophia's office, Belle was sitting waiting.

"I've just had a message from Professor Malenski," she began without preamble. "As it involves both of you, I've borrowed Belle for a few minutes so that I can see you both together."

"This is you in your capacity as our physician, isn't it, rather than Medical Director," Marion deduced as she sat down.

"Yes it is," Sophia confirmed. "I have had the final results of your DNA testing forwarded to me so that I can enlighten you both. It seems," she added, looking at her terminal for the actual wording, "that you both have clean DNA. Nothing bad, very few questionable recessives, some potentially good combinations in prospect. As far as Belle is concerned, she has more of her mother's physical characteristics, which is not unusual, but she also has some excellent attributes from her father. Of course," she said looking directly at Belle, "being a woman means that some of those traits will be expressed differently than they were in his case. You understand? You have nothing you need be ashamed of."

"Yes, Sophia," Belle replied. "I have seen some of him in myself, but I'm not him by any stretch of the imagination. I don't try to deny my ancestry, but I don't intend to be another General Marchand either."

Sophia smiled encouragement. "No, you're certainly not like him, you've turned out to be a fine balanced, sympathetic woman, a credit to the facility." Belle flushed with the praise.

Sophia turned to Marion. "As for you, of course the Professor had to dig deeper because of what the regression therapy might have done to your DNA. It seems in your case, very little at all so far as what you pass on is concerned. 'Good solid material' is what she says, with a note that almost nothing unwanted can come out of any union between your DNA and Belle's.

"With that in mind, I am instructed to notify you on Professor Malenski's behalf, and through her the Genetics Safeguarding Agency of the Department of Health, that the State desires that you bring forth children together."

Marion sat there overwhelmed. As she looked at Belle, she saw that her partner was similarly affected, even though both of them had been expecting this verdict from the agency. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. The major stumbling block had been passed, the future could only be brighter.

"Thank you, Sophia," she said. "It was what we anticipated, of course, but it still comes as something of a surprise, even so. There's always a nagging feeling that there's something lurking in your past that's going to come back and bite you when you least expect it. Wait a minute, you said children, not child?"

Sophia's smile got very broad. "Yes, I did. I have only known a very small number of people who have been given this permission. Belle may have as many children with you as she wishes. The authorisation is essentially unlimited."

Belle's eyes grew wide and immediately filled with tears. "Oh, Sophia," she said softly, her voice on the verge of breaking up, "I never expected anything like that. I can have..." Her voice failed completely. From viewing motherhood as something that other women did, to suddenly discovering that she could make her own family was a sudden shift in perspective she was finding difficult to adjust to. Her tears ran, and Marion swiftly rose and gathered her in her arms. The two clung together tightly, emotions unleashed, while Sophia looked on with her own expression of satisfaction. This was one of the things she liked about being a doctor, it was times like these that made her choice of career worth while.

Marion comforted Belle, her own insides buzzing with the news, but she realised after a while that something had changed. Belle pushed her away and looked at Sophia, her expression disturbed.

"Is this because he was my father? Is that why I've been given permission?"

Sophia's expression changed instantly, and her lips pursed as she considered how to explain this.

"The answer, as always, is yes and no. You've been given the permission you have because of the genes which your father and your mother gave to you, not because of the person your father was. It is true that his genes helped make him what he was, but that's not why you were approved. The Genetics Safeguarding Agency does not look at personal information when it comes to it's decisions, as you very well know. All data is anonymised so that there can be no question of bias one way or the other."

"But," Belle persisted, "I also very well know that it's possible for decisions to be amended, adjusted, changed afterwards by other bodies. Can we be sure that this isn't the case here?"

Sophia looked at Belle for so long that Belle flushed. "Professor Malenski would certainly know if any decision had been tampered with, Belle. She knows very well who you are and who your father was, and she would be very aware of any attempt to change the Agency's recommendation." Her expression softened. "I know the difficulties you've had to face because of who you are, and I understand your caution, but you can rest assured that what I have told you today is nothing more or less than the original decision of the Agency. I can also see how much this decision has affected you today. Can I get you some water, perhaps? Do you want to go and sit in the canteen with a cup of tea? I'll square it with Elena."

Belle waved a hand. "No, no, Sophia, thank you. I must offer apology for any accidental criticism of you or Professor Malenski, none was intended."

She dabbed at her eyes with a free hand. Marion released her and they sat down again, the excitement of the announcement having left both with powerful emotions racing through their veins so they were unable to relax.

"I'm not bothered by anything you've said today, Belle," Sophia said. "You're obviously had a shock, and an emotional one at that. It's part of the doctor's lot to see such things."

"Thank you, Sophia."

"What happens next?" Marion asked.

"Well, that rather depends on you two, doesn't it?" Sophia replied. "There's a lot of planning to do, and some of it will depend on your residency problem being sorted out. What?"

"Ah, that's got more complicated, Sophia, and I'm not sure how much we can tell you just yet," Marion said. "It seems we've stumbled into something big. Very big."

Sophia raised an eyebrow, but decided not to press Marion. Instead she said, "Aside from that, any pregnancy is going to result in Belle leaving the facility, do either of you realise that? I don't think you'll suffer financially, if what I know about either of you is true, but you both may wish to consider what either of you may do in the future, career-wise. And you'll have to regularise your relationship. Of course I realise that like most couples you decided to wait for childbearing permission before committing, but you have that now."

"Actually, Sophia," Marion said, "In a previous existence I committed before we applied for childbearing permission, but I know many do it the other way around these days."

Sophia started. She had forgotten that Marlon had had a relationship long before he had come to the facility, and that he had already received permission for a child with his original partner.

"Of course," she said. "Your previous partner, she died? You had permission?"

"Yes, Sophia. For just the one child, to start with. As for regularising our relationship, actually we haven't discussed it much." Marion looked at Belle, who gave a tiny nod. "That's because we wanted to get the residency sorted out first, I think."

Sophia looked thoughtful. "I'm not much of a political animal, but can you use the childbearing permission as a lever to help along your residency application? If the Genetics Safeguarding Agency says it's a good thing, that must carry some weight, surely?"

"An interesting idea, Sophia. I'll tell... our friends... next time we meet, see what they have to say."

"I must admit I'm getting concerned about this," Sophia replied. "If there's anything I can do, or that anyone in the facility can do to help, don't be afraid to ask. I'm not sure what anyone can do, mind, but you never know."

"Thank you, Sophia. Your support means a lot to both of us," Marion said.

"Back to the babies," Sophia said. "I'm very sorry, Marion, that you won't be able to bear your own children. Although very nearly all women assume that it is something that their bodies will do, I'm guessing that you won't ever have thought of such a thing, have you?"

"No! No, of course not, Sophia. I was brought up a normal man, remember? Men's bodies just don't do that." Marion paused for thought. "Even if I had wanted to become a woman, and been put through the correct Gender Reassignment Therapy, I wouldn't have been able to become pregnant, would I?" She shook her head. "I'll have to manage without that particular experience, thank you. Although..."

"Although?"

"Part of me is curious. It would have been nonsense before, but I am beginning to identify more and more as a female, so part of me wonders what I might be missing."

"You're almost right," Sophia said. "It's true that a male transitioned to female that way would be sterile, but the womb that results is more or less functional and there have been cases where they have implanted foetuses and brought them to term. Of course, because of your particular circumstances, that's not going to be possible. However," she smiled again, "there's no reason at all why you wouldn't be able to breastfeed your own children, take some of the load from Belle."

Both of them stared open-mouthed at Sophia. Neither of them had considered such a possibility. Marion recovered first.

"But, but, Sophia, is that even possible? I mean, I won't have been pregnant, that's what triggers breast milk, surely?"

"Oh, yes, it's possible all right. Depending on how your hormones affect you, it can trigger lactation if you're closely associated with the mother-to-be. It has even been known to affect fathers. Despite, as you may think, the lack of obvious breasts in a man, it seems that most of the mechanism is there in a reduced form and occasionally men have been known to exude breast milk once their partners have given birth. It doesn't happen that often, of course. In your case, there are ways in which your breasts can be stimulated to start production when the time is right."

"That's wonderful!" Belle said. She looked at Marion with such an expression that Marion wondered if Belle's brains had shut down at the mere mention of pregnancy. It was the raw drive that lay at the core of every woman's being, of course, and Marion drew pause at the thought of what that drive could do to her partner. Marion found that she was looking at a totally different woman, and she hoped that she could guide Belle through the months and years that were to come.

Belle continued. "It will bring us much closer together as a family, won't it? We'll both be able to have a good bond with our children from the start."

"Can we get much closer?" Marion asked. "And first, we have to have those children, and before we can do that, we have to make sure they have a stable home to be brought up in."

"Yes," Belle said, frowning. "You're right. As Sophia has said, there's a lot of planning to be done." She turned to Sophia. "Thank you, Sophia, for your incredible news. You've certainly made our day for us. I'm not sure I'm going to be very effective this afternoon, but perhaps I'd better be getting back to the Deck. Marion must have work piling up, too."

"I thought it was worth the risk," Sophia said. "In your case, I think it was justified. You only get told something like that once in your life." She pulled open a drawer and took out a blister pack of tablets. "Marion. Before you go, here are your promised blockers. Take one each evening before bed with water."

"Thank you, Sophia." Marion accepted the pack. "What about when I change to the other tablets? You know, when..."

"When Belle starts her period? Just carry on with these as usual. After all, these are to control your male side, aren't they, not your female side."

"Oh. Yes, of course." The two women stood.

"Oh, go on, get out of here!" Sophia said. "We've all got a lot of work to be getting on with. Try not to let the news get round the facility quite so fast, will you?"

Marion and Belle walked out of Sophia's office and the instant they were out of sight they went into a tight, passionate embrace. Immense torrents of emotions of kinds Marion had never before experienced overwhelmed her, and only their tight grip on one another kept them both upright. They kissed and hugged and the tears streamed down both their faces, staining their uniforms. A discreet cough brought them back to reality.

"Marion? Good news, I take it?" It was Talya, come to find out whether Marion had finished whatever she had been talking to Sophia about. The two broke apart, both reddening at being found like that in public.

"Yes, Talya, very good news. Let's all go back to the office so we can clean ourselves up a bit. Something you need me for?"

"Yes, I got tipped off," almost certainly by Trish, "Proctor Julian is in the building, and currently interviewing Detainee Sutton in one of the meeting rooms on E Deck. She wanted to make sure you would be free when Director Khiskov called. Apparently," here Talya's expression grew cautious, "she also understands that I will be asked to attend as well. That woman listens at too many keyholes."

"Lead the way," Marion said. "Actually, I don't think there's a single keyhole in the building, is there?"

"Not in the building, no," amended Belle. "Cuffs have keys and keyholes though."

Back in the office Talya and Belle took seats while Marion opened the door to her treatment room. Two orderlies were filling cupboards with medical gear from crates on two trolleys, and they turned as Marion came in.

"Service, Counsellor?"

"Service. Have you any face wipes here I can swipe? We've just had an emotional five minutes with Sophia."

"Certainly, Counsellor, there are packs in that lower crate there. Why don't you take three or four packs? It's not as if we've a shortage."

"Service to you both."

Marion returned and handed a pack to Belle. They spent some time cleaning each other up and then Belle decided that she had to go back to the Deck. Marion made sure she looked respectable again and turned to her terminal once Belle had left.

"So, are you allowed to tell me what happened, then?"

"Of course, but we've been told not to broadcast it. Belle and I have been given an unlimited childbearing permit."

Talya looked as if she had been zapped with a stun wand.

"Oh, that's wonderful for you both," she said after catching her breath. The expression on her face grew vacant as she tried to relate it to her own experience. Marion waited. Eventually Talya focused on Marion and spoke.

"It's quite a shock. Oh, I don't mean that I didn't expect something of the sort between you two, but it's made me think about my own circumstances. I have occasionally wondered whether I would have made a good mother."

"You still might."

"I don't know, I'm a little on the old side now, aren't I? And the Genetics Agency isn't going to look favourably on someone who has a criminal record, especially at my age." Her expression became dreamy. "I wonder sometimes what would have happened if I had committed to Gregor and we had applied, before we got pressured by his cronies." She looked at Marion. "Gregor Balenkov, he was the man who caused me to end up here," she explained.

"Whether he was good for you or not," Marion said gently, "Some part of him triggered a favourable response in you, and you can't change that. Now I don't know much about the way that the Genetics Agency does it's business, but you appear to my eyes to have many admirable qualities that could be passed on. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible for you to apply, if you meet someone else after you're released."

Marion talked with Talya for some minutes, realising that she was in fact counselling her assistant. Talya did have a maternal instinct, but her intellectual past had caused it to become buried, and it was only Marion and Belle's activities which had caused it to come nearer to the surface.

They were discussing Marion's future when the call came from Site Security. Anticipating a long meeting, they closed down their terminals before shutting the office door and walking downstairs.

"Ah, service, Marion, Talya, come in and take a seat."

Khiskov and Julian were in the Site Security Director's meeting room and they had obviously been talking before Marion and Talya arrived. Julian nodded a greeting to Marion and looked with interest at Talya. Marion took her datapad from a pocket and looked expectantly at Khiskov.

"You'll forgive us, we have to wait until the Controller appears before we can properly begin," Khiskov said. "In the meantime the Proctor here has been asking me about your history, Talya."

Talya looked taken aback, but a smile from Julian partially soothed her.

"Yes, indeed, citizen!" he said to her. "Since we spoke originally, I became curious as to your past. It seems that apart from the single indiscretion which landed you in here, your record in the Court Service has been exemplary, and you score highly on most of the evaluations carried out during your previous employment."

"You're too kind," she responded faintly. "That doesn't alter the fact that because of my criminal record, I won't be able to make use of any of it in the future."

"Don't be too sure of that! I have learned from your Director here that the Counsellor has sounded out a placement for you when you become eligible for parole, doing charity law work. I don't say that it would be what you were doing before, but it sounds as though you could be engaged in similar work to that you're doing for the Counsellor here. What do you say to that?"

Talya looked at Marion accusingly. "You never told me that!"

"Ah, we've been busy," Marion said hurriedly. "My apology, we would have discussed it once the workload gave us time. We have plenty of time to arrange your future, after all, your parole hearing is a year away."

"I may be able to offer a juicier alternative," continued Julian with a glint in his eye. "You could come and join one of my teams."

"I can't do that, Proctor," Talya objected. "I have a record, remember?"

"The regulations, you mean? It seems I know something you don't, then. You are correct in assuming that you wouldn't be able to continue working for the Counsellor once you were released, and it wouldn't be possible for you to work for the courts again. But the regulations I operate under are somewhat different." He gave a wry smile. "If that were not true, we would be seriously understaffed. Well over half the Enforcers you see on the streets have criminal convictions, and significant numbers of them used to be gang members. Oh, yes," he added, seeing the startled look on Marion's face, "the Director and I were just talking about the little problem you had downstairs recently."

"You employ gang members?" Marion asked, and figured out the answer as Julian gave it.

"Why not? They are the citizens, after all, who know most about how such groups operate. In some parts of the city, it's the only way we can keep a proper lid on the problem. The gangs obviously object to being controlled by the State, but they tolerate ex-members who become Enforcers, and they're mostly willing to moderate their behaviour if an ex-member requests it. In fact, some gangs even take pride in the fact that their members go on to become Enforcers, referring to it as 'promotion'."

"An interesting system," Marion mused. "Given recent events, Proctor, I would like to have a talk with you some time about gang culture. If you can find time, that is."

"Of course, I'd be delighted to."

"What did you mean," Talya asked with an intent expression, "when you said I could work for you, Proctor?"

"As you're probably aware, citizen, behind each team of Proctor and Enforcers there are back-room teams doing the hard work of research and investigation. Of course, Proctors lead the investigations but we don't have time, and sometimes the specialist knowledge, to do all the work ourselves. The teams I have access to have proportionally fewer members with criminal convictions, but there are three or four I can think of straight away. If you might be interested in such work, you'd probably be welcomed with open arms."

"Proctor, I'm overwhelmed," Talya said as her eyes began to fill. "Before I entered this room I had no future ahead of me, I thought that I was on the scrap heap. Now I discover that I actually have a choice of employment when I'm let out. Words fail me."

"Well," Julian said, "after our original discussion I wondered whether you'd be good enough material. That was before I read your record."

"Take your time," Khiskov said to Talya. "You have been given two excellent opportunities to choose from, and I am sure there will be others. I have no doubt that you will do your own research in the next few months to find out if either is suitable for you. Don't forget that being accepted for either of these will go a long way to ensuring that the Parole Tribunal looks favourably on your release, as well."

While Khiskov had been speaking Controller Brand had come into the room and now she greeted them.

"Service, Donna, Marion, Talya, Proctor." She seated herself and addressed Julian. "I understand that you want to discuss the case of Detainee Sutton, and indirectly my Counsellor's case. You'd better drive the meeting, I'm just an observer here."

"Service, Controller, thank you. But the link is not indirect as you suppose. It seems that they are in fact the same case, and the situation is far more complex than any of us suspected."

The four women looked at him intently.

"Is it going to be too complex for us to understand?" Brand asked.

Julian wrinkled his face. "Actually, some of it is too complex for me to understand, but I'll try and distil it down for all of you.

"Let's start with the Counsellor's case. Some cash was withdrawn from a dispensing machine by a woman using a card which appeared to belong to the citizen who is now the Counsellor, that is, Marlon Allen Hillier. Now, once I met him, I realised that something strange was going on and took him to the station to try and get to the bottom of the mix-up. You all know what happened next, and I am truly sorry for what happened to that citizen, even though he, she, appears to be adapting to her new life with some degree of success." He smiled at Marion and she nodded acknowledgement.

"After your staff," he continued with a nod at Brand, "alerted me to the discrepancy, I re-opened the case and began to search for other possible occurrences of similar events. We found two other women and one man in similar circumstances. The man had not been convicted, the Proctor handling that case deciding that there had been some kind of systems fault - which is what I would have done in the Counsellor's case had I been given the opportunity. Exhaustive analysis by a Proctor handling one of the women's cases showed that she could not possibly be to blame and that case was shelved as well. The other woman was convicted despite her protests. Following the Counsellor's exoneration this second woman was also released. There are a small number of further cases we came across along the way, most resolved without trouble.

"As part of the clean-up I made a full report and sent it off to a clearing bureau which deals with cases that can't be completely resolved because of systems faults or other reasons. I did get back an acknowledgement that the problem no longer existed, and I thought the matter closed until I was informed about Citizen Sutton.

"I opened the case yet again and tied all the others to it, making me the lead investigator for this particular group of crimes. As part of my investigation I went back through all the case notes, and it was then that I discovered that the systems fault which allowed the crimes to take place had been fixed four years ago."

There was a collective gasp from the women as they all realised the implications. Julian continued.

"Now we come to the area I have trouble following, but I'm assured by those within the relevant team that such things are possible. It seems that a routine software upgrade four years ago threw up this problem, that a duplicate ID would be thrown up on the registration of a death of a citizen. That is, of any citizen, any death. Naturally this was spotted immediately and a fix rushed out. It seems that the fix was tampered with in transit, as it were, in such a way that an unscrupulous person with the correct knowledge could turn this feature off and on at will, and also restricting the conditions under which it would occur, presumably to help prevent disclosure. It was also arranged to cover it's own tracks when it was used this way."

He furrowed his brow. "I didn't think things like that were possible, until Citizen Makrova here enlightened me. So, in essence, a person or persons unknown deliberately created a way for the system to issue duplicate - or almost duplicate - identities for unknown reasons. We've managed to figure out that most of the cases like the Counsellor's happened at a single office when the feature was presumably switched on and then forgotten, to be discovered by a clerk who worked there, one Petra Rosenberg. She worked the system, but didn't fully understand how to cover her tracks, and so eventually she was caught. What happened to the person who switched the feature in that office on, we don't know. They may have been convicted of another crime and be inside a Containment Facility somewhere, they may have died or left the country, we just don't know."

"You do realise the implications of what you've just told us?" Brand asked Julian tensely.

Julian nodded, his expression grim. "Oh yes, and I'm far from happy about it. The story gets stranger with the emergence of Citizen Sutton, however. As I mentioned when we previously spoke, Citizen Rosenberg couldn't have been involved in Citizen Sutton's case, as she was being arrested at about the time Sutton's crime was supposed to have taken place. Citizen Sutton," he explained, "lives and works in a residential school near Cross Farm, way over on the western edge of the city. Because the crime took place near to where Sutton lives, Rosenberg couldn't possibly have been involved. Sutton, we discovered, had recently registered the death of her mother at her local office."

"Yes, she told me that," Marion confirmed. "That's how we recognised that this was the same crime. So, is this the person who used the office where Citizen Rosenberg worked," Marion asked, "or another member of the same criminal enterprise?"

"We have no way of knowing at the moment. As for Citizen Sutton, I've checked her story via interview earlier and I'm satisfied that she is as innocent as you were, Counsellor. Of course, we have to go through the whole exoneration process, but she should be released as soon as it can be arranged. Controller?"

Brand nodded. "Yes, I'll have her status changed. She might as well stay where she is until release, I don't think there's any point moving her to another Deck for what might be only three or four days. Best keep her away from any bad influences, I think."

"I notice that Citizen Sutton is not present today," Marion observed. "I guess you have reasons for not inviting her to this meeting."

Julian nodded. "Indeed, yes. You and your assistant are safe, as you both know almost as much about this case as I do. The Controller is involved in the exoneration process, and Director Khiskov of course is in charge of security. It's security which is the present problem, and I don't mind admitting it's given me some sleepless nights since I worked out what was happening.

"We have to face the fact that for around four years, a person or persons unknown has been able to exploit the system to provide themselves with false ID cards without anyone being aware of the fact. Including State Security, I might add. Because of the implications I am going to have to turn the whole mess over to them. I'll still be able to trawl through the case files looking for other innocents caught in the net, but only State Security has the resources to analyse four years of transaction records to try and figure out what's really happening."

Khiskov pulled a face. "That's all we want, State Security tramping all over the building. But I understand your reasoning, Proctor. We'll co-operate as best as we can, naturally."

Julian shrugged. "I don't think they'll come here, Director. What's more likely to happen is that they will ask anyone with a specific connection to the case to travel to their own offices to be interviewed. That probably means the Counsellor, and maybe yourself or the Controller."

While they were digesting these unpalatable facts a woman knocked on the door and opened it.

"Director, Controller, the tea trolley is here. Would you and your guests like some refreshments?"

"Certainly," Khiskov replied, "send her in."

Drinks were served and a plate of cakes and biscuits placed in the middle of the table. Everyone waited for the tea trusty to withdraw before continuing the conversation.

"Proctor," Talya began, "we noticed that the same woman appeared on the videos of the Counsellor's case and Citizen Sutton's. Did you find out how that was done?"

"We made some progress, but there are still questions. We examined the two clips for some time before realising that they were in fact the same footage. Our best guess is that whoever was operating from the office Sutton used discovered that we were arresting Rosenberg, and hastily replaced the footage with an existing clip to cover their own tracks. The intention may have been to persuade us that the problem only existed at the office where Rosenberg worked, and that she should be blamed for everything. Needless to say, by the time we got round to investigating the Cross Farm office, there was nothing to be found. Not that we could find anyway, State Security may do better."

There was a silence as they all drank, and then Brand spoke.

"Thank you, Proctor, for informing us of this strange case. It perhaps is as well that some good comes out of it, because it will result in the release of an innocent citizen. I don't even want to think about what else it might mean."

"No, me neither, Controller. This is way out of my league."

"You said before," Marion asked slowly, "that you were going to turn the case over to State Security. Have you done that yet, may I ask?"

Julian raised an eyebrow. "No, not yet. I wanted to come here and interview Sutton first. You have a suggestion?"

"Yes." Marion was beginning to wish she'd never asked, but she had started, so... "If I might ask you to delay handing the case over for a day or two," she said. "It might be better."

"Better? How?"

"Ah, I have some information I can't divulge," she said, her cheeks getting hot. "Not about your case, though. About, um, I really shouldn't say."

"You interest me, Counsellor. You aren't giving me a lot to go on."

"Ah, I'm not sure that anything is actually going to happen, but if it does, your case may get temporarily lost." Marion decided that she had to say something, even if it lead to a potential security leak. "Tomorrow afternoon, there will be a meeting of the full Guardian Council." She caught Julian's gaze. "I have reason to believe that it might not be a peaceful meeting."

The look on Julian's face told her that that was the last thing he had expected her to come out with.

"Please," Marion continued, taking in all the others, "I'm just guessing, and I wouldn't want what I've just said to go beyond this room in case I'm wrong. But if I'm right, the same would apply."

"You amaze me, Counsellor," Julian said. "But I think I understand what you're getting at. You think there might be a, um, 'change of management', let us say, and that anything I send might get lost in the confusion?"

"Exactly, Proctor."

"I shan't ask what your source is, but thinking a little, you live in the Enclave now, don't you? Easy to get a hint of something if you're near the decision makers. Very well, it won't harm to sit on this one a day or two, in fact there's a little more research we can do in the meantime. Thank you for the tip, Counsellor."

The Controller looked at Marion askance, but Khiskov had a small smile on her face. Marion thought, she knows part of the story, but she doesn't know what happened last night. Would her smile be bigger or smaller if she knew?

The meeting broke up shortly afterwards. The Proctor took his leave, Talya walked back to the office with Marion.

"It's never dull around you, is it?" Talya said as they reached the office.

"Most of it's not my doing," Marion protested.

"I don't mind," she replied. "I think you've done more for my state of mind than almost anybody else could have, and it's all positive, even if I do look like a rabbit in the headlights sometimes. It's just the sort of varied activity I think I needed to get me out of my rut. What was I thinking of, stuck in that room for years! I had the whole thing totally wrong, didn't I?"

"Just glad to help," Marion said modestly.

"And thank you very much for thinking about my future, too. That was a kind thing to do. And I never imagined that I could go and work for a Proctor! When I was younger, that's what I wanted to be, walking the streets and righting wrongs. I couldn't do that because I'm physically not able to, but a chance to work behind the scenes for someone like that is not something I'd pass over willingly." She smiled at Marion. "I shall take time and think on all these matters. Thank you again."

"Not at all, Talya. Now, have you got enough to do before you have to go back to the Deck? I want to go and give Sutton the good news."

"Please go! I can amuse myself for an hour or so here."

Jeanette Sutton was overjoyed to find that she would be cleared very shortly. Marion told her that the Controller had said three or four days, and then realised that the High Justiciars would be at the Guardian Council meeting, so amended that time to a week or so. After leaving Sutton Marion walked through to E Deck, arriving just as the trusties appeared with the evening meal trolleys.

"Well!" Elena said, "What a day you've had!"

"You have no idea," Marion replied. "Absolutely no idea."

"I'm glad you've come," Elena added with a sidelong glance at Belle. "All afternoon she's just sat there with that daft look on her face. Mind you, I don't blame her, given what she was told today. You also have our warmest congratulations."

"Thank you kindly, all of you."

"Shopping with Belle down town, then?"

"Yes. I wondered -"

"Yes, of course, you two can get off a little early. For now, though, let's make sure the right food gets in the right slots."

Going down in the lift to change, Belle said, "Something happen in your meeting?"

"Oh, yes, indeed. But we can't talk about it till we get home. Understand?"

"Is this going to affect our shopping trip?"

"Not in the slightest. In fact, I think I'm quite looking forward to it."

Belle gave her a sidelong glance. Marion liking shopping? Whatever next?