Heart of Glass (short story)

Heart of Glass was the fourth story in the Bernice Summerfield anthology Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Dead Men Diaries. It was written by Daniel O'Mahony.

Plot
Benny is sent to the Exhalation by Braxiatel to negotiate archaeological access to the Ganesh system with COMBINE. She meets with the CEO, known as the Lady, and the security consultant, Ui Tereshkova, who seems to be attracted to her and later warns her not to go back to her room. At night, Benny has strange dreams about a glass automaton and is awoken by a sharp pain in her shoulder. She sees Tereshkova in her room, having smashed the empath globe in the room.

In the morning, Benny realises that COMBINE took some of her DNA and confronts the Lady, who has chosen to give the Braxiatel Collection access to the Ganesh system as she requested. The Lady tells her only that it was part of the exchange and dismisses her, after which Benny finds Tereshkova in her room and learns that she uses a genetic mask to keep COMBINE from taking any of her own DNA. She explains that COMBINE will not do anything with her DNA but that they might sell it on and that they had read her diary. Benny is angry, having had everything that she brought with her stolen by the corporation.

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * The Lady
 * Ui Tereshkova

Continuity
to be added