The following is a transcript of proceedings conducted under seal by order of the Tomorrowland Premier’s Office, Supreme Metropolis Court 1.34A78, dated 3125.06.20. This document was not authorized for public release.
Supreme Metropolis Court 1.34A78
Private Hearing on X-S Tech ‘Contained Technical Demonstration Incident’
3125.06.20
Present
[Redacted] Greco — Senior Counsel, Tomorrowland Premier’s Office
Lex Roza — Witness. Former X-S Tech.
Technobotic Security Mechanism Series 2000 Droid (Sec)
Greco : S.M.A.R.T. bands are to be on Starship Mode for the duration of this session. Please confirm.
Sec : S.M.A.R.T. bands confirmed to be in Starship Mode. This session will not be recorded.
Greco : Citizen Roza. State your name and current occupation.
Roza : Lex Roza. I run the Clearance Control team at the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway.
Greco : And your former occupation?
Roza : X-S Tech. Field Maintenance for two rotations, then Teleportation Signal Monitor Associate for one rotation at the Convention Center.
Greco : You transferred from Field Maintenance following an unsuccessful repair on Zorkon-Beta?
Roza : Following a job on Zorkon-Beta. Everyone got out alive. I’d call that a success.
Greco : The review board used different language. Describe your role after your transfer to the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center.
Roza : I monitored signal integrity readings from a console in the auxiliary corridor just off the main theater. If anything drifted outside acceptable parameters I flagged it to the lead technician.
Greco : Were you at your console during the incident?
Roza : A signal feed had gone dark forty minutes before the demonstration. I went into the theater to check the junction panel.
Greco : You left your post.
Roza : I went to fix my post. There’s a difference.
Greco : Walk me through what you observed.
Roza : Lights down. Clench on the overhead display giving his introduction. The containment column cycling up — blue-white glow, the audience loved it. Then the transmission sequence initiated and the column filled with what looked like organized static. A tone rising in pitch. And then it resolved.
Greco : The official analysis concluded the sequence experienced a critical cascade failure. There was no successful transmission.
Roza : I know what the official analysis says.
Greco : You disagree with it.
Roza : I was standing twelve feet from that column. I watched the containment field register a successful lock. And I watched what was inside it.
Greco : What you observed was residual energy discharge from an unstable —
Roza : It was alive.
[Silence.]
Roza : I don’t know what it was or where it came from. It was large — larger than the column should have been able to hold. It was aware of the room. Aware of the people in it. For approximately four seconds, before the containment field destabilized, it was completely and undeniably there. I’ve had thirty rotations to decide whether I was wrong about what I saw. I’m not wrong.
Greco : Do you believe Chairman L.C. Clench bears criminal responsibility for the incident?
Roza : Clench built the machine. His company ran the demonstration. His face was on that screen. But he’s not the one you’re looking for.
Greco : Explain that.
Roza : When I was at the junction panel I saw the demonstration clearance code on the access terminal. The prefix wasn’t X-S Tech. Wasn’t the Convention Center either.
Greco : Authorization codes from thirty rotations ago —
Roza : I’ve worked signals and clearance systems for thirty-three rotations. The final authorization to proceed — the one that approved transmission parameters anyone who’d read the technical reports knew carried a serious risk of containment failure — came from an office that has no business signing off on an X-S Tech convention demonstration.
Greco : I’m going to advise you very carefully to consider what you’re implying.
Roza : I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you what I saw. What you do with it is your business. This whole proceeding is your business.
Greco : This session is closed. You are reminded that these proceedings are sealed by order of the Premier’s Office. Any public disclosure —
Roza : Yeah. I know.
Greco : Sec. Confirm session closure.
Sec : Session closed. S.M.A.R.T. bands may return to standard operating mode. This session was not recorded.
[Greco exits. The chamber door closes.]
Roza : Hey. You’re a Series 2000, right?
Sec : Correct.
Roza : Do you actually record everything even when you say you don’t?
[Sec’s optical sensors cycle once.]
Sec : This session was not recorded.
[Roza nods. Stands. Picks up their jacket.]
Roza : Good.
[End of transcript.]