The Origin Point: A Future Tech Cyber Novella (15 page)

"Yes I know."

"Police will be using drones as extensions
of the human force, as 'flying officers.' Anywhere a human officer
would normally, and legally, go, a drone could go too. But once the
drone expects to engage with a suspect, rights groups will want the
machine to come under manual human control. And the machines will
be armed, weaponized. If the suspect is brandishing a weapon, the
human operator can survey the entire area to ensure the safety of
civilians before attempting disarmament. And the human officer can
activate the drone’s weapons after assessing the situation as if
the officer were there live. The impact on public order will be
enormous. But you want to use this capability on a reporter
today?"

"I would love to."

"I don't think the aim of our plans is to
curb the first amendment."

"No, we want to track criminals...and
suspects."

"What would following her with a drone get
you?"

"A direct visual. A view over her immediate
activities. Winter could be at the center of these rumors, she
could be threatening our tranquil existence and we have no
proof."

"Julia, with all due respect my friend,
you're exaggerating her impact. Dallas is writing articles, not
mobilizing forces against us."

"Those articles are a force. Unfortunately
she's a good writer and people believe her musings. Look at the
civil rights groups jumping all over this. Had a single person
complained about online discrimination through the website before
she published her article?"

"Yes."

"Well they are crybabies. If you want to pay
next to nothing to sleep in a stranger's house, you had better be
prepared for the consequences. Welcome to the unregulated world.
People can't have their cake and eat it too. You want a free market
within the free market, you have to take your chances in exchange
for a good deal. Home sharing is not subject to innkeeper laws for
a reason, and everyone claims they want to operate that way, free
of government interference. Well if they're honest, they should
work out their problems free of government interference too."

"The home sharing industry is only one small
part of the story. The bigger issue with online ordering is the
potential for real hotels to pretend they have no vacancy; or
clothing stores claiming no product because they do not want to
ship to certain clientele; or delivery services pretending not to
be capable of operating in certain neighborhoods. Instead of
overtly refusing, the companies can use the software to display 'no
vacancy' or 'out of stock' or 'no delivery vans available,' and
instantly end the transaction."

"Fine, okay but we are not concerned with
the emerging social issues, our problem is Winter fueling the
flames."

"Dallas's story is not relevant. These
issues were real before she published. Any noise you hear now
belongs to the previous stories not to her work."

"I'm not buying her guiltless defense in
these reports. I want her interrogated."

"What?"

"FedSec can politely ask her as a citizen to
come in for an interview. But I want to see her response to the
questions you ask. Use our voice and body sensors to record her
subconscious behavior. I want her on the record saying whether or
not she is disseminating information about the files through her
articles, and if she has had any contact with overseas sources who
are revealing the information. If she lies now and we find the
evidence later, we've got her."

"Julia c'mon, Dallas is not a threat to
us."

"If she tells the truth and you are right.
I'll take you both out to dinner. In the meantime, set up the
interview."

"Julia, please."

"Marco, I hate to pull rank, but for GCS
issues, you take orders from me. Set up the interview and let's see
if your friend really is as innocent as you claim."

*

"Did he tell you the kinds of questions to
expect?" an enraged Apex asked a troubled Dallas by phone.

"No, he only said I am being asked to
voluntarily come in for an interview," Dallas replied, in panic.
After one of Marco's assistants at FedSec had called to request she
attend the interview, Dallas immediately called Apex for
advice.

"Hmm, you should be aware they use voice and
body sensor technology over there."

"Sensor technology? How?"

"They will look for changes in the
inflection and pitch of your voice, and signs of strain or sweat
from your body. You won't be hooked up to any machines, these are
sensors operating invisibly in the room."

"You're joking."

"No, no I'm not. FedSec is about the only
organization using the equipment. Of course they claim the
procedures are experimental, but they use all the features."

"How do you know they use sensors?"

"You don't need to know my sources."

"Okay fine. But do your sources know what I
can do to defeat this secret technology?"

"I do and it's not much. Without training on
controlling your breathing and body temperature and involuntary
movements, you will react as the questions are asked, and that's
how they'll catch you."

"I have to be able to do something."

"Can you stop the interview? Why is this
Marco guy determined to trap you?"

"I don't know."

"Did you piss him off?"

"No, we're friends."

"Some friend."

"If they catch me in a lie, can he lock me
up? He told me the files were not FedSec. But can he now claim the
files are FedSec's confidential documents, and I'm releasing the
details in violation of some law I've never heard of?"

"Yeah like I said, some friend."

"But this is crazy. I have to get out of
this interview."

"Talk to your friend. See if he has any
leeway."

"Okay and can you try...try to see if you
have any leeway?"

"Me? How?"

"Don't people in your world...aren't you
able to check..."

"What? Find some dirt on him online? A
weakness we can exploit?"

"No!"

"Aren't you thinking of those
possibilities?"

Dallas paused. "Okay, maybe a little."

Apex smirked. "Dallas, we are not the cyber
mafia. I'm not going to put a horsehead in his bed."

"I wasn't asking for—"

"But since I'm personally curious, I'll
snoop around a little bit and see if I can find useful
information."

"Oh...okay thanks, I appreciate it. But
really I was thinking about the technology. Can you do
anything...you know, technically...to change the outcome."

"Oh, that's an interesting idea."

"Is it?"

"Yes, we like to experiment too."

"You do?"

"Yes we do."

"Can I—"

"No more words, my friend."

"Okay but is there anything I should
do?"

"At this point, assume you have no option
but to get out of the interview. Work on your friend. If he is
really on your side, maybe he can prove his loyalty."

*

An hour later, Apex scrolled through a fact
file she had created from trolling through the data gathered at
Horizon. 'What makes you so suspicious Julia Davenport?' she
thought as she read details on Julia's connections to GCS. 'You are
the actual mastermind behind GCS and COSA, and you have stunned us
all with your efficiency.' Apex was impressed. She had not
considered the Secretary of State to be among the elite who were
formulating the implementation of COSA, until Carter told her about
the advances she had made. Julia's position conveniently supported
all the goals of the project's sponsors. At its core, COSA would be
used to track down terrorists, especially across borders. Plus an
entire globe under surveillance through a seamless system any
global law enforcement agency could access would significantly aid
every country's anti-terrorism fight.

Apex considered the implications of her
finding. If the driving force behind the rapid implementation of
COSA was Julia Davenport, then Apex's newly formed cyber defense
team needed to stop her to slow the project down. Or even more
lucrative, if they could get rid of her, cut off the head of the
snake, the planned project rollout might be halted in its tracks.
Apex weighed the possibilities. 'What would it take to remove the
Secretary of State from her position and from GCS?'

Davenport's record was extraordinary. As a
former Foreign Service officer, she had verifiable credibility
among the rank and file, and as a former CEO who ran a successful
business her leadership skills were rarely questioned. More
striking, she had carved a global network of diplomats,
policymakers, business leaders and financial investors who could
open every door of influence. If Davenport suddenly disappeared,
people would notice, and they would be concerned. The last thing
Apex's group needed was attention drawn to physical activities in
the real world challenging law enforcement's actions online.

Considering only the range of her previously
analyzed options, Apex settled on calling Carter. Having returned
to their San Francisco home, she was surprised to have rarely seen
him since her arrival two nights earlier. Carter had disappeared
into the challenges of his corporation. But Apex, after checking in
with her top business lieutenants, retreated to her home office to
pry through the Horizon files.

"Hey, I've only got a second," Carter said
upon answering her call.

"I thought you wanted me home," Julia
chastised him.

"I know, I know. The place has suddenly
blown up. What do you need? I've really only got a second."

"I need to ask you about Julia Davenport.
How possible would it be to replace her at State?"

"Completely impossible. She has the longest
tentacles in Washington. She would basically know your plans before
you even finalized the details. If you think that's an idea, forget
it."

"My plans? Do you literally mean that?"

"Yeah, she has tech skills, don't
underestimate her. She technically knows the type of security she
has built on her home and office systems, and she was instrumental
in moving the sensor technology to a broader rollout."

"Okay she's an untouchable superwoman."

"Pretty much. Why are you asking about her
anyway?"

"I was just looking for a way to slow things
down."

"I am telling you this project cannot be
slowed down. Davenport made sure all steps are moving forward at
rapid speed."

"I'm still looking at other options."

"Well stop looking and focus on the
technology as we agreed!"

"Okay, okay, chill out."

"I gotta go, focus all right, focus."

"Yeah, yeah..." Apex quickly disconnected
and returned to the files. 'Davenport has to have a weakness,' she
immediately thought, while ignoring Carter's warning. 'Our best
chance is to uncover a shortcoming.' As she had done an hour
earlier for facts about Marco Manuel, Apex sent out a '411' request
for information text to independent technologists all over the
world, asking if anyone had unpublished details about the life of
Julia Davenport.

*

Shaking her head in disgust, Julia
disconnected her call and contacted Marco. "You're not going to
believe this," she said when he answered.

"What?" Marco asked.

"Someone is trying to find dirt on us."

"What! Who?"

"You want me to guess?"

"Don't say Dallas."

"Who else would be targeting us right
now?"

"You're the Secretary of State and I'm the
Director of FedSec. The list of potential people who could be
targeting us is longer than the employee lists for our collective
departments."

"Sure but that kind of targeting is a
continuous stream of nonsense we vet every day. This latest search
is much more sophisticated."

"Sophisticated? How?"

"Let's say I have a friend who does a little
work behind the world scenes. This friend tells me a highly
respected hacker has put out a call for dirt about us. There was no
specific reason given for the request but this is the same hacker
who apparently has been encouraging people to 'fight the power,' on
the issue of online privacy."

"They are all talking about privacy."

"What did I just say? There's a connection
to be made."

"A completely tenuous connection. What could
they find?"

"I told you, I don't care. The issue is
Winter and her agenda. You better be prepared for her interview.
She says or does one thing to reveal her true intention to release
those files and you have her arrested."

"Don't jump to conclusions. We'll wait and
see how the interview goes."

"Be prepared, Marco. If there is any
evidence, I want her gone. Do you understand?"

Marco sighed. "Yes all right, I
understand."

*

An escort arrived to pick up Dallas for her
interview at FedSec. This time she was taken to the organization's
main office building near the National Mall. She walked in, eyes
open to her surroundings and was directly taken to a room,
windowless on three sides, with one way glass on the fourth. The
bare furniture consisted of a table, four chairs and a video
camera. One of Marco's assistants greeted her and provided
instructions before offering her a seat to wait. Several minutes
later, another FedSec agent appeared. This one introduced himself
as her interrogator, he would be asking the questions.

Dallas expressed no surprise that Marco was
not directly interviewing her. With such formal proceedings,
allegations of conflict of interest would be rife. Besides she
assumed he stood on the other side of the glass, perhaps with a few
other high-ranking officials who would be listening to her
answers.

Sitting up straight and concentrating on a
spot on her interviewer's face, Dallas listened to each question,
waited a minute to compose her answer and stated a clear and direct
response.