The Sterile Gap
A private jet's radar data vanishes during a critical handoff. An investigation into the facility's operational logs and physical environment uncovers a web of procedural irregularities, misplaced personal documents, and conflicting maintenance records.
Initial Crime Scene
The fluorescent light hums a sterile, analog tone. The air carries the scent of antiseptic cleaner and stale coffee, layered over the ozone smell of warm electronics. Three visual markers dominate the view: a laminated table with smudged carbon copies of revised flight manifests, a wall-mounted microfiche reader with a cycling mechanical shutter, and a specific radar scope whose phosphor coating shows a faint, permanent indentation in its protective glass.
Crime Scene Environment
The lighting profile is a constant, institutional fluorescent glare. The humidity is low, the air dry and cool, carrying the faint chemical tang of laminated paper and old wool. Acoustic density is defined by the analog hum of ventilation systems, the soft click of mechanical shutters, and the distant murmur of analog electronics.
Investigation Constraints
Analog tape-based flight data recorders, hardwired radar scopes, pneumatic tube message systems, rotary-dial secure telephones, microfiche archives, basic analog computer terminals for flight plan processing, physical log books, early-model pagers, film-based surveillance cameras with timed shutters.
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