Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears (20 page)

“
I’m Carly French, Director of Security. We’ve been contacted by several individuals that you’ve been harassing them. I’m afraid I’m going to have to escort you off the Avogadro campus immediately, pending a full investigation.”

David, Mike, and Gene all looked at each other. David’s assertion a minute ago that the computer couldn’t affect them in real life seemed to be falling apart before their eyes.

“
Ms. French, I’m Gene Keyes, in the Controls and Compliance Group,” Gene said, standing up, and walking over to shake Ms. French’s hand. “I’ve been conducting an internal investigation into possible financial fraud and other inappropriate behavior that occurred just before the end of the year. Mr. Ryan and Mr. Williams have been assisting me. We have reason to believe that Avogadro employees are being manipulated through email. It’s called social engineering. The emails provide just enough information to seem legitimate. May I ask, were you informed by email of our so-called harassment?”

“
Yes, I was informed by email. I’m well aware of what social engineering is. In any scenario where we have such serious allegations, of course I would confirm them directly with the individuals. In this case, I spoke to your manager, Mr. Keyes. Is Brett Grove your manager?”

“
Yes, he is, and he could confirm what I’m working on.”

“
What he confirmed in our phone call was that you’ve been belligerent to him, acting strangely, and that you would probably blame whatever happened on ghosts in the computer.” She shook her head sadly. “Look, I’m very sorry gentlemen. You all seem like nice folks, and I’d like to be able to just take your word for it. But the standard operating procedure in cases like this is that I escort you off campus and remove your access privileges as a precautionary measure, until a full investigation can be completed. If the facts don’t check out, you’ll have a full apology from me and my manager, and be back on campus in no time at all. Now, please let’s go without a lot of drama.”

Without any options that they could see, they allowed the security guards to escort them to the garage. Since they had carpooled in, they climbed back into the car again, and as David drove, the security guards walked alongside until the car exited the garage. Gene, sitting in the back seat, turned to see the security guards lined up across the entrance. For once Mike had no jokes to break the silence.

* * *

Arriving home with Mike and Gene in tow, David entered the silent house. Christine was at work. David went into the kitchen, grabbed some beers for everyone, and passed them around. They needed something to take the edge off their unnerving experience with Security.

David tried to call Christine on his phone, only to discover that his phone was dead. Looking at the inert plastic and metal lump in his hand, he thought about his phone. His phone was running Avogadro’s AvoOS operating system and used Avogadro’s internet data plan. It was totally dependent on Avogadro, and at the same time, Avogadro’s servers were totally aware of his phone. Where it was. What data it was sending. Whom he talked to. “My phone is dead,” he told the others in mixed surprise and relief.

“
Same here,” said Gene, looking at his.

“
Me too,” reported Mike, after checking his own phone. “It’s not surprising really given that it was all running through Avogadro. In fact, maybe we should be glad, otherwise ELOPe would have been monitoring our phone conversations.”

“
Shit...” started David. He continued to fiddle with the phone, then slammed it down on the counter. “You know, it’s not just using the phone. It’s the data on there. I had Sean’s home address in my address book, from a BBQ I was invited to, back when I was hired. We could have gone straight to his house. Now I can’t even get a boot screen.”

“
Doesn’t matter, he was traveling, right?” Mike said.

“
Look, let’s just go to his house. I remember it was in the West Hills. It’s not that big of an area. If we drive around long enough, we can find it, and maybe he’s there. Or someone is there who knows where he is.”

“
We got nothing to lose, boys. I don’t mind the beer, but I do want to get to the bottom of this,” rumbled Gene.

“
Let me drive, and you navi-guess.” Mike offered.

David nodded, tossing his keys to Mike, and they took off again.

Two hours of exploration later, which included winding roads, switch-backs, and driving in circles in Portland’s West Hills, they finally came upon Sean’s house. In the one stroke of luck they had experienced since this all started, they found someone just coming out of the house as Mike parked the car.

David walked up to the youthful woman. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Sean Leonov. Is he home?”

The woman looked a little startled at being approached on the street. “No, he’s not home right now. Can I take a message?”

David pulled out his Avogadro ID badge, which thankfully had not been confiscated by security. “I’m a coworker of Sean’s at Avogadro. We have a major emergency on a project, and we urgently need to talk to Sean.”

“
I’m a friend. I’m house sitting while Sean is away. He’s in Brooklyn, visiting his family.”

“
Do you have any contact information for Sean?”

“
I’m sorry, but I’m really not supposed to give any information out. Sean was adamant about that. Don’t you have his contact information at Avogadro?”

“
Yes, of course. It’s just...” David stalled, not sure of what to say.

“
It’s just that time is of the essence,” Mike put in, “and the matter is so sensitive that we can’t contact him by phone. Or email.” He paused, then added, “We have to talk to him in person.” Mike frowned at himself. It did all sound a little odd, even coming out of his own mouth.

At this, she started to look a little suspiciously at them, and started to back away. “I’m sorry, if it really is urgent and an official Avogadro matter, I know they have his contact information there. Please contact his office, they’ll know what to do.”

Still keeping her eyes on the group, she walked back into the house. “Goodbye,” she called from the door.

“
Shit, that wasn’t very productive.” Mike complained when they got back into the car.

“
The hell it wasn’t. We know he is in Brooklyn,” Gene growled.

“
What good does that do?” Mike asked, focused on the road.

“
Brooklyn has the largest immigrant population of Russians outside of Russia. If Sean went to Brooklyn, he’s almost certainly in the Brighton Beach neighborhood. He’s probably visiting his Russian parents. The Russian community is very tight-nit. On the ground, we could find them in no time.”

Mike and David turned to stare at Gene.

“
What? I was a private detective before I joined Avogadro. I can find people. The old fashioned way. Without computers.”

“
Let’s go to New York,” David concluded.

Chapter 12

* * *

* * *

“
Thanks for driving us,” Mike said from the back seat.

“
No problem,” Christine said, behind the wheel of her Passat. “What’s your plan when you get there?”

“
Gene’s sure he can find Sean in a city of ten million people using no computers or telephones,” David said, still sounding unconvinced.

“
It’s not ten million people,” Gene explained again, exasperated. “Sean’s parents are older Russian immigrants. That makes it highly likely that they live in or know people who live in Brighton Beach. There’s seventy-thousand people that live in Brighton Beach, and only about half that many households.”

“
So you’re going to talk to thirty-five thousand people?”

“
No. Look, kid, this is basic math. Sean Leonov is the wealthiest Russian in the world, and hence will be a well known name in Russian families. If someone has met or knows anything about Sean’s parents, they’ll remember. If you use Dunbar’s number, and estimate that each person knows about one hundred and fifty people, in a population of seventy-thousand people that means that the odds are in my favor that the first person I talk to will either know Sean Leonov’s parents or know someone who does.”

“
Oh.” David became quiet, pondering the math.

Christine laughed. David was brilliant, but it was fun to see someone outsmart him.

* * *

David said a hurried goodbye to Christine, while Mike and Gene waited. She looked worried, and David pushed a lock of hair out of her face.

“
Be careful,” she said, hugging herself.

“
Don’t worry, hon, we’ll be fine.”

“
I wish I could call you.”

“
You know we can’t. We just can’t take any chances of being tracked.”

“
I know. Just go.”

They kissed quickly, then David grabbed his suitcase and walked toward the terminal. He looked backwards once, and saw Christine watching him with a sad face. David took a deep breath and rejoined Mike and Gene.

Even though they couldn’t imagine how ELOPe could track passenger flight information or credit card transactions, they talked it over the day before, and decided to err on the side of caution. They flew into Washington, D.C.’s Dulles airport, figuring that a flight into Dulles could not easily be connected to their real destination of Brooklyn, NY. Gene had wanted to take the even more drastic measure of driving across the country, but David and Mike convinced him that they didn’t have the time to waste.