Zero Data

In Short

Set in the twenty-first century, Zero Data pits Jason, a determined government police officer, against Lonnie Raichi, a dapper multi-planetary tycoon who masks his criminal empire beneath a veneer of hyper-respectable philanthropy. Lonnie relies on a strict set of underworld ethics and high-tech stolen gadgets—including a suit that renders him invisible—to pull off impossible thefts. When Lonnie targets the legendary Tiara of Wold, Jason must rely on basic scientific principles rather than high-tech gadgets to corner his lifelong rival. The story endures as a compact, clever slice of mid-century science fiction that pits raw human persistence against arrogant tech-crime.

The Story

The rivalry between Jason and Lonnie Raichi spans decades of futuristic crime fighting. As Jason rises through the ranks of Government City's police department, Lonnie evolves from a street-level crook into "THE Launcelot Raichi," an untouchable tycoon with massive industrial operations on the Moon and Mars. Despite Jason's access to the sophisticated equipment of the Government Police Laboratories, every attempt to pin guilt on Lonnie yields the same maddening result from the department's crime analyzers: zero data. Lonnie operates according to a calculated personal philosophy—a "triple ethic" that relies on paying others to do his dirty work, exploiting experts, and ultimately taking personal action when the stakes are highest.

Through these ethics, Lonnie exploits Moglaut, a reclusive genius at Physlab Nine. By controlling Moglaut's obsession with an opera soprano, Lonnie forces the scientist to build him a revolutionary grid suit. Powered by a dangerous tritium cell, the suit shields Lonnie from physical harm, prevents lab instruments from tracking his physical traces, and eventually grants him complete invisibility through a custom light-bending chemical coating. Lonnie uses this technology to execute high-profile heists, seizing historic artifacts like Alexander’s Mace and the Diamond Throne to furnish a secret throne room hidden behind a massive triptych in his mansion. When Jason attempts to catch Lonnie using a state-of-the-art servo-tracer or lead raids on his property, Lonnie easily evades capture, taunting Jason for his lack of imagination and lower-class status.

The conflict reaches its climax when humanity makes first contact with an extinct Martian civilization. Among the retrieved artifacts is the Tiara of Wold, a priceless symbol of planetary power placed under heavy guard in the glass-fronted Fane of Artifacts in Government Park. Knowing Lonnie will be unable to resist such a prize, Jason sets a trap, stationing his small, loyal squad around the Fane.

On a moonlit Friday the thirteenth, Lonnie dons his invisible grid suit and slips into the gallery. Though the suit makes Lonnie completely unseen to the naked eye, Jason spots him anyway: the suit's material reflects light at a subtly different angle than the surrounding Martian marble, creating a distinct visual irregularity—an error in albedo. Cornered inside the gallery, Lonnie panics. He turns a captured police disarmer weapon directly on Jason and fires. However, the malignant energy of the weapon feeds straight into the grid suit's tritium power pack. The suit absorbs the output, reverses the energy back upon itself, and instantly roasts Lonnie inside a molten mesh of glowing metal, leaving Jason victorious at last.

How It Unfolds

The untouchable philanthropist Jason squanders his evening on a park bench, consumed by frustration over his inability to arrest Lonnie Raichi. Despite Jason's high standing in police leadership and access to quantum analyzers, Lonnie remains completely shielded from prosecution.

A confrontational house call After a tracking device mysteriously fails, Jason leads a squad to search Lonnie’s opulent mansion. Lonnie mockingly tours Jason through his art collection, parading his wealth and taunting the officer for remaining a low-paid public servant.

The secret throne room Behind a heavy gold triptych of Genghis Khan, Lonnie hides a secret gallery where he wears stolen royal regalia. He reflects on his core philosophy: hiring others to pull his chestnuts from the fire, exploiting their price, and handling final steps personally.

The Martian breakthrough Humanity discovers the ruins of an ancient civilization on Mars, bringing the Tiara of Wold to Earth's public museum. Lonnie hires a biochemist to make his protective grid suit fully invisible so he can steal the ultimate crown.

The trap in the Fane Jason sets a manual watch around the Fane of Artifacts on a bright, moonlit night. When the invisible grid suit creates a subtle shift in light reflectivity against the marble walls, Jason realizes Lonnie's physical albedo has betrayed him.

A fatal miscalculation Trapped inside the gallery, Lonnie attempts to vaporize Jason using an advanced disarmer beam. The high-energy blast triggers a destructive feedback loop inside his suit's tritium power source, incinerating Lonnie inside his own defense mechanism.

The People

• Jason wants to bring Lonnie Raichi to justice and prove that solid police work overcomes criminal deception. Standing in his way are uncooperative superiors, public adoration for Lonnie, and a frustrating lack of usable evidence. Over decades of failure, his frustration hardens into quiet observation, ultimately relying on basic physical observations rather than lab technology to defeat his rival.
• Lonnie Raichi wants absolute power, material luxury, and the secret satisfaction of outsmarting the authorities. He is thwarted only by his own supreme arrogance and his refusal to understand the scientific principles underlying the devices he uses. He ends up destroyed by the very defense suit he relied upon to make himself invincible.
• Moglaut wants to satisfy his strange personal obsession with an obscure church singer who dreams of being an opera star. Caught between his scientific genius at Physlab Nine and Lonnie’s manipulative patronage, he builds the weapons and suits that drive the plot before meeting a suspicious, fatal end.

In Its Own Voice

"All the intricate, electronic witchery of the 21st century could not pin guilt on fabulous Lonnie Raichi, the irreproachable philanthropist."

This opening line establishes the central frustration of Jason's career against a seemingly flawless criminal facade.

"You're quite a substantial citizen now. Yes? Well, look at that. Go on, look at it."

Lonnie gloats over his stolen treasures while boasting to Jason about the superiority of his ruthless life philosophy.

"Eighty years ago, even the commercial photographers knew about albedo--one of 'em made a picture of a cat, white on white... So you tripped over your own albedo!"

Jason explains the simple physical oversight that finally exposes Lonnie's invisible suit inside the brightly lit museum.

What It's Really About

Zero Data examines the limits of technology in law enforcement and the fatal flaw of intellectual arrogance. Lonnie represents a class of criminals who believe money and strategic manipulation elevate them above fundamental natural laws. He treats scientific devices as mere toys to be bought and exploited, ignoring how they operate. Conversely, Jason represents grounded, practical observation. While the state's most advanced computer systems return "zero data" because they rely on expected parameters, human intuition and a basic understanding of light reflectivity allow Jason to see what the machines miss. The narrative argues that no amount of wealth or complex machinery can override basic scientific truths or replace genuine understanding.

Why Read It Today

Zero Data offers a brisk, entertaining mid-century procedural that blends traditional hard-boiled cop tropes with classic science-fiction concepts. Readers who enjoy retro-futuristic gadgetry—such as brain-wave trackers, tritium power cells, and interplanetary museums—will appreciate the story's compact setup and rapid pacing. It moves swiftly without getting bogged down in unnecessary exposition, making it an easy, satisfying read for an afternoon.

The narrative does carry a few period quirks typical of mid-twentieth-century pulp fiction, including casual references to outdated pop-culture figures and slightly melodramatic dialogue. Lonnie’s criminal ethics can feel cartoonishly villainous, and the supporting police squad receives minimal individual characterization. However, these period elements add to its nostalgic charm rather than hindering the plot. It remains a neat, satisfying cat-and-mouse tale where plain common sense ultimately triumphs over high-tech criminal hubris.