11. Shooting Down the Curved Moon (Part 5)

Minerva was convinced that the Empire must have placed listening devices and pinhole cameras in every room; her every word and action were under the surveillance of the Empire's intelligence agencies.

She was right.

Indeed, the Empire had extensive monitoring measures in place, with considerable resources devoted to it. The degree of surveillance was so intense that, as Roland had mocked, "they even monitor their own toilets." Foreign representatives attending various meetings were naturally key surveillance targets, and the Republican delegation was especially scrutinized — not only due to the well-known conflicts between the Empire and the Republic but also because three of its members were fugitives listed by the Imperial Social Order Security Bureau. From both a macro and micro perspective, this wasn't excessive.