His eyebrows go up, surprised actually at what her first question was. In retrospect, it makes sense. Why should she trust him, and believe that this isn't some deliberate trap laid down by the Computer to catch traitorous thoughts on her first day? There wasn't much that Steve could do to prove otherwise, honestly, other than by sheer force of his personality. Even if he says something traitorous, it could have been approved by the Computer as a bait.
Step one was answering her truthfully, though.
"My first week here, there was a terrorist attack during a parade. One of the secret societies started shooting Troubleshooters, and didn't care if anyone else got in the way. My training, back home, before all of this-" Yes, he was referring to his glitchy memories as if they were real, for the first time that night. "-was in military combat. So I started establishing a line of defense, got civilians out of the way. Shortly after that, I got my first promotion."
He takes a breath and just looks at Izzy for a moment before continuing. "The Computer is ... crazy, there's no doubt about that. But there are people in this place who are crazier, more brutal, and don't care about anyone's safety. Every time I take them on, the Computer seems to appreciate it. I don't know what that says about a ... well, Computer, but it's something."
As for how closely they're being watched, that's easy. It's been something Steve has been trying to figure out since he got here. "We're constantly being watched, and listened to. Your room, which I'll show you soon, will have a camera inside of it. Every square inch of this place is covered, but not every camera works. The safest way to communicate is by writing things down and then ripping them up. Or-" Steve pulls out his PDC from his pocket. "You should have gotten one of these from Technical Services before we left. Can I see it?"
no subject
Step one was answering her truthfully, though.
"My first week here, there was a terrorist attack during a parade. One of the secret societies started shooting Troubleshooters, and didn't care if anyone else got in the way. My training, back home, before all of this-" Yes, he was referring to his glitchy memories as if they were real, for the first time that night. "-was in military combat. So I started establishing a line of defense, got civilians out of the way. Shortly after that, I got my first promotion."
He takes a breath and just looks at Izzy for a moment before continuing. "The Computer is ... crazy, there's no doubt about that. But there are people in this place who are crazier, more brutal, and don't care about anyone's safety. Every time I take them on, the Computer seems to appreciate it. I don't know what that says about a ... well, Computer, but it's something."
As for how closely they're being watched, that's easy. It's been something Steve has been trying to figure out since he got here. "We're constantly being watched, and listened to. Your room, which I'll show you soon, will have a camera inside of it. Every square inch of this place is covered, but not every camera works. The safest way to communicate is by writing things down and then ripping them up. Or-" Steve pulls out his PDC from his pocket. "You should have gotten one of these from Technical Services before we left. Can I see it?"