Quoted By:
"Live from the 57th floor of the Apex Spire, this is Mox Mimicry with breaking news on the Despango case. What you're seeing now... well, viewers, I hardly know where to begin."
Camera drone pans slowly across the office's massive window wall, the city's neon sprawl reflecting off scattered laboratory equipment. Red flickers stain the scene.
"Dr. Mariers Despango has been found deceased in what appears to be... let's just say the authorities will have questions. But that's not the story here. The story is what's missing."
The feed re-focuses on an elaborate desktop setup, holographic interfaces flickering with static, debris and shattered computing equipment strewn about.
"His triple-encrypted research station has been completely wiped. And I mean professionally wiped - we're talking military-grade data erasure. The kind that leaves digital scorch marks and stains on the carpet."
Camera sweeps to broken sample containers, their bio-hazard seals compromised by some errant thiervy.
"Personal work samples? Drugs? The man kept a small functional labratory by his station, and by my look, it contained genetic samples. The stuff he was so famous for? But chat, it's all gone. But here's where it gets weird, folks. Whoever did this left... well, let me show you."
The feed pans up to the massive media screens dominating the wall. Grand letters flicker in.
"'I RULE RED CRANES DROLL' - an anagram, maybe? A code? Or someone's idea of a calling card? The letters are written in what appears to be holographic projection display - that's Chironan Corporate Multimedia Suites for you viewers at home, they're one of our stream sponsors. I use their stuff! Each "letter" is actually thousands of microscopic data packets, but they're corrupted. Deliberately, I'd bet."
Close-up on a scattered collection of origami cranes, made from what appears to be research papers
"And these... someone took the time to fold his research notes into perfect cranes. Perfect. Each one exactly identical. That's not human work, viewers. That's machine precision."
Drone returns to the cityscape view
"Whatever happened here... this wasn't just a break-in. This was a message. For whom? That's what we need to find out! "
