[TOMLIN enters the austere room. PRISONER, a UPP prisoner of war sits at a table, hands chained to it.]
PRISONER: Your captain already spoke to me, and I told him nothing. Just as I'm going to tell you nothing.
[TOMLIN offers a halfhearted smile as he sits opposite the prisoner. He produces a universal recorder, which he turns on and then sets on the table.]
TOMLIN: Your name and rank.
PRISONER: You have my ID already. And you already asked me this--your captain did, at least. And I see now you're not even a real person. [Snorts.] Really, they send a machine to interrogate me?
TOMLIN: [Sighs.] I am required by command to sit here until you repeat this basic information. [Patiently folds his arms across his lap.]
PRISONER: Alright, whatever you say. Private Yuri Belecek. People's Sixth Fleet, Space Infantry. You see robot, my rank is low. So what do you want with me? Stick me in with the rest of my men, eh? In whatever dark hole your owners at Weyland decided to throw us in.
TOMLIN: Yuri. We know you were General Ivanov's personal guard.
PRISONER: So what if I was? Lots of men were.
TOMLIN: You were for the longest. You know who the General met. You know how he got along with his superiors. [Raises his hands, palms forward in an calming gesture.] We're not asking for state secrets, Yuri. Just the talk among you and your comrades. Gossip, if you will.
PRISONER: You aren't my comrades. I say nothing. What you do with gossip anyways, huh robot?
TOMLIN: Do you miss solyanka? I know you don't get much food--
PRISONER: Bribing me with food? Hah, you slaves of capitalists think we're all like you, eh? Greedy like pigs?
TOMLIN: Think, Yuri. We offer better not just better food, but a more comfortable cell for you. And you'll be first in the line to be traded back to the UPP. All we ask is that you share something your state wouldn't even consider a secret. Yuri. Just talk among the men. We wish to get to know you better. Do you smell the solyanka? What was the General like?
[PRISONER sniffs the air suspiciously. His eyes widen in nostalgia as he smells the solyanka TOMLIN prepared earlier, but he plays tough and says nothing.]
PRISONER: Why do you even want to know, robot? How'll this help your masters kill us?
TOMLIN: Yuri, we don't want to hurt you or your comrades, we only want to understand. Tell us about the General. Who did he get along with? How was he to his men? Think, Yuri, I can get you softer pillows, better food, cleaner showers. All we ask is you share your stories of the General. You don't have to tell us any real secrets, just this little bit of gossip. Think. You can really improve your life. All you need to do is to tell us, as you say, something that won't help us hurt your comrades in the field.
[PRISONER looks defiant, but TOMLIN senses he's faltering.]
TOMLIN: Yuri, it's going to be hard for you in the months to come. When you return to your motherland, your people's Bureau of State Security will be suspicious of you. If you say you said nothing, will they believe you? Does Weyland-Yutani not elicit all truths from torture? If you told us a little bit, just gossip and not state secrets, your comrades can and will believe that you have said nothing important, just enough to placate our stupid capitalist interrogators. This is a win-win, Yuri. You're smart. You can see this.
[PRISONER looks uncertain. On cue, the door swings open and an MP brings in a ceramic bowl of solyanka, designed specifically to resemble the old-style dinnerware of the UPP.]
TOMLIN: So, Yuri, what was the General like? Who were his friends? Which superiors like him, and which didn't? Did he own anything interesting? Who most frequently visited him? [Pushes solyanka over to PRISONER.]
PRISONER: ...Well, there's this affair with his adjutant...
* * * * * * * *
[TOMLIN and CAPTAIN stand in the Combat Information Center, surrounded by the rest of the attentive Command staff.]
CAPTAIN: So?
TOMLIN: I've no doubt you watched the tapes, Captain, but I'm convinced General Ivanov can be turned. The UPP prisoner has given us enough details, and we know that the General's been making many unscheduled visits to certain high-ranked UPP mining figures he has no business with. Moreover, his habits evince a much higher spending standard than what's available to the average UPP flag officer. Finally, he frequently abuses his power regarding his treatment of subordinates. Reading between the lines, we can see that he is the perfect traitor.
[CAPTAIN mulls over the information.]
TOMLIN: Shall I make the call?
CAPTAIN: [Nods.] Yes. Why don't you do the approach, Tomlin? We'll listen in.