The first complete report on the twenty-three data cores reached Aurelian the following morning, and it was both better and worse than he expected.
Eirenne had worked with Orison, Valeris, and the cooperative observers through the night to create verified copies before anyone was allowed to examine the contents in detail.
The original cores remained sealed at the neutral review site, ensuring nobody could quietly remove information and later claim it had never existed.
Aurelian approved of that arrangement.
He approved considerably less of what they had actually found.
"How much survived?" he asked.
Eirenne brought the summary onto Black Crown's main display. "Seventeen cores contain readable information. Four are badly damaged, although Meridian believes some sections can be recovered. The remaining two are currently unreadable."
"Anything useful?"
"Very."
