“As in?”
“As in how many. A lot of people agreed that an alien race could be out there. But it was Frank Drake who first attempted to estimate just how many there might be, realistically.”
“And he did this with an equation?”
“Kind of. More than anything, he tried to quantify an answer…using his equation.”
“And you said it’s simple?”
“Very simple. It’s really a set of questions that carry us to some reasonable conclusions. It starts with the first question: how many stars are in our Milky Way galaxy?”
Lee shrugged.
“The answer is about three hundred billion.”
Lee whistled softly.
“Yeah, it’s a big number.” Borger nodded. “Once you have that answer the next question is, how many of those three hundred billion stars have planets? Then when you have that number, the next one is how many of those planets could support life? For example, how many might have water and oxygen? Then, how many of those might actually develop life, and how many of those might be intelligent life, and then how many would develop technology that could transmit a radio signal, and finally, how long might that signal be transmitting for.” He looked at Lee who was listening intently through reddened eyes. “It might sound a little convoluted, but here’s the gist. Let’s say you only assume one in a thousand for each question––say, one in a thousand of our galaxy’s stars actually has planets around them. And then only one in a thousand of those planets can support life. Then only one in a thousand is advanced life. And so on and so on. You’re starting with such a huge number of stars that by the time you get to the end of the equation, the number of possible alien races out there is a lot bigger than you might expect.”
Lee remained quiet, eagerly waiting. When Borger didn’t continue, he finally blurted out, “So, how many?”
“Even when assuming a one in a thousand result, over and over, you’re left at the end with a number somewhere in the neighborhood of ten thousand civilizations.”
“Ten thousand?!”
Borger nodded. “Yeah. As in a one with four zeros.”
Lee blinked multiple times. “Are you serious?”
“I’m completely serious. There could be as many as ten thousand alien civilizations floating around out there in our own galaxy. Maybe more.”
At that, Lee’s eyes widened. “More than ten thousand?!”
“Maybe. Remember, we assumed that only one out of a thousand stars had planets. But nowadays, with all of the searching we’ve been doing with planets outside our own solar system, called exoplanets, we’re finding nearly all stars have planets. So, imagine what happens to our calculation when one of our answers gets changed from one in a thousand to one in ten.”
“Holy crap!”
Borger smiled at the expression on Lee’s face. “So, if Drake’s equation is even close to accurate, and there really are thousands of alien civilizations out there, do you see why it might be worthwhile to find out how many more of those have also made it to Earth?”
Lee Kenwood stared at Borger through his dark-framed glasses, pondering the question. “Well, now I can.”
“We’re discovering all kinds of things now,” continued Borger. “Everywhere. Even Sanskrit, one of the oldest human languages, talks about some strange things happening. And that’s two thousand years ago. Imagine what else has been found since then, even accidentally. I mean, what if the alien ship we found underwater was not even the first to arrive here? It certainly wasn’t the first strange thing to be found, that’s for sure. And now, with a powerful enough system like IMIS, we may be able to discover things previously missed. Not just by you and me, but all of mankind.”
Kenwood began nodding again slowly. “Or…what mankind had found and tried to keep secret.”
“Bingo. Which is the next piece.” Borger grinned approvingly. “Look, I’m a history buff, and one thing I know is that there have been a lot of wars on this planet that go back a very long time. And the one thing every victor has done was to take whatever treasures their enemy had. Whether it was Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, or the Spanish Conquistadors and the Aztecs. To the victor go the spoils. Napoleon did it. And the Nazis. Even we did. At the end of World War II, we raced the Russians to grab as much of Germany’s remaining assets as we could. In the form of both technology and people. It’s human nature.” Borger straightened in his chair and leaned forward toward Lee. “So, if these treasures or assets have been taken back and forth over all these years by different empires and governments, the question is…what do they have? And what do they know?”
“So, it’s not just about the treasures…”
“It’s about the secrets.”
Lee raised his hands and pressed them in front of his face. Even through his tired eyes, it was clear the concept had grabbed him. “You’re talking about the NSA.”
“The NSA,” Borger replied. “The government organization that collects information on everyone, and I mean everyone, in every electronic medium possible. Email, phone calls, text messages, even every digitized form of the written word. Books, lectures, letters, everything. You name it. Name any medium, any country, or any person, and they’ve tried to get it.”
“But how would they store all that? You’re talking about a tremendous amount of server space.”
“I’m guessing you don’t know about their giant data center in Utah, buried under a mountain.”
“For real?”
“For real,” he nodded. “Located nearby Bluffdale, Utah. It’s huge. I mean truly massive.”
“Geez.” Lee shook his head. “And you think we can crack some of their encrypted files?”
“The new stuff? No. But the old stuff…absolutely.” Borger glanced at the computer screen to see the IMIS software still loading. “Cryptography goes back a long way. The first documented ciphers were used by the Egyptians, then later by the Assyrians, and pretty much every civilization since. Of course, everyone knows about the Enigma machines used by the Nazis, but once encryption became computerized, things really got interesting. The first computerized encryption algorithm was developed in the ’70s by IBM. It was called Lucifer and was comprised of 64 bits, translating plain text strings into binary. More secure forms of encryption weren’t conceived of until the 1990s. And just like any technology, these early versions were rife with problems and vulnerabilities for cracking them. Believe it or not, a group of mathematics and computer-engineering students at the University of Toronto just cracked a much more advanced encryption cipher using something called quadratic curves. Numeric sentences like Fibonacci’s sequence and a bunch of others. But it’s the hardware they used to crack it that you might find more interesting. A supercomputer,” Borger replied, “called Watson.”
“Watson?! Are you serious?!”
“As a heart attack. You used to work for IBM, didn’t you?”
“Yes! I was on the team that wrote code for some of their original Deep Blue instructions!” In the middle of his excitement, Lee Kenwood suddenly stopped, considering something. “But that’s way beyond what IMIS can do. She doesn’t have that kind of horsepower.”
“I know,” the older Borger nodded. “We’re going to need a bigger system.”
“How much of the NSA’s data do you think is vulnerable?”
“A lot. There have been several recent leaks from within the NSA, from analysts claiming that there’s just way too much data to go through. And there are not that many versions of encryption out there. So, for each one we crack, everything encrypted with that particular version becomes vulnerable–”
Kenwood finished the sentence. “And readable.”
“That’s right. And with all those exabytes of data, how many secrets do you think the government could be hiding? Some that they’re not even aware of?”
2
Andrew Hayes, the Director of the CIA, gazed down over the grounds. Over five stories below, the green grass and neatly trimmed
hedges extended out along each side of the building’s entrance. Through the window, the afternoon sun shone brightly against his peppered hair, while dark eyes and olive skin reflected a mixture of Latin and European ancestry. But his physical demeanor was anything but readable as he stood with arms behind his back, listening to the man seated nearby.
John Ambrose, the CIA’s Deputy Director, was sitting before Hayes’s huge mahogany desk. The large office had been decorated with several pieces of Italian Gothic art and paintings, matching Hayes and his rather somber personality.
Reading from several sheets of paper in his hands, the deputy continued. “And it’s not just Miller. Your friend Langford appears to be part of it too.”
The term “friend” was a reflection of Ambrose’s dry sense of humor. They both knew Admiral James Langford was anything but a friend, especially to Hayes, but the CIA Director barely batted an eye at the joke. Instead, he merely continued listening.
“It seems there are quite a few things they haven’t shared with anyone else, including the president. Not the least of which is the team they have quietly assembled. Consisting of both military and civilians. Miller and Langford are funding it from a variety of sources. Using small amounts and generic budget descriptions to keep most people from noticing.”
Hayes did not appear the least bit surprised. He already knew about Miller and Langford’s secret team. “Have you been able to break into any of their satellite phones?”
“Not yet. But there’s a lot we can still determine from the rest of the information we’ve gathered.”
“Such as?”
“Such as those plants the Chinese found in Guyana. Or should I say what else they found.”
Hayes turned, his eyebrow rising curiously.
“They’ve referred multiple times to something one of them calls The Ark, which we believe is code. Possibly something of historical or archeological significance.”
“Or maybe they’re trying to throw us off.”
“Possible, but doubtful. The team displays no suspicions that their communications have been compromised. At least not yet.”
Hayes mulled it over. His subordinate’s phrasing reminded him of the British team who eventually broke the German’s Enigma machine during World War II––the device used to send communications to Hitler’s forces. The British team was led by a mathematician named Turing. But what was most notable to Hayes was not the cracking of the code itself, as miraculous as that was. It was what happened after the code was broken.
The simple truth was that the broken code was only good if the enemy continued to use it. Or more specifically, as long as the enemy did not change it, thus causing the entire effort to begin again. No, what was most remarkable to Hayes was how well the British hid their secret. How well they kept the Nazis confident their communications were still secure and continued using the same cipher. Only then were the Allies able to use the Nazis’ own secrets against them.
But it came at a terrible cost. Had the British or the Americans appeared to suddenly gain too much advantage in the war, the enemy would surely have suspected their code was compromised and switched to a new cipher. So the Allies had to keep the Germans believing that their coded messages were secure, which meant they had to continue losing battles. They had to continue to lose, intentionally, sacrificing both British and American lives, if only to keep the ruse alive. Including civilian bombings.
Scores of their own lost to further leverage the Nazis’ code and ever so slowly turn the tide in their favor.
It was a tactic at which the American government had become increasingly deft, especially the CIA. Breaking the enemy, without letting them know they had been broken.
And to Director Hayes, the enemy was anyone who got in their way of doing what needed to be done. What they had to do, for the good of the country. Without being hounded by a politicized Congress hell-bent on knowing things they didn’t need to know.
It was the sole responsibility of Hayes, one now made extraordinarily more difficult thanks to Defense Secretary Miller and Joint Chiefs Admiral Langford. They were the two who convinced the president to force Hayes to do the unthinkable. Damn near destroying the very heart of the Central Intelligence Agency by recalling every top and mid-level operative out of Central Asia, their actions unleashed the worst political chaos the agency and the country had ever seen.
Suddenly dozens of CIA missions were exposed, of which many departments in the government were never even aware. Secret missions, secretly funded, with objectives only accountable to those inside the CIA itself. Not only had Miller and Langford unleashed the greatest political firestorm in intelligence history, but they had also exposed the very underbelly of the world’s most important government spy agency and forced Hayes himself directly into the spotlight.
And as soon as he and his agency were thrust into the light for the world to scrutinize, the leaks began. Internally and anonymously funneled through channels like the New York Times and WikiLeaks, many dirty secrets of the CIA had quickly become public knowledge. Things like their missions, their political influence over other countries, even their techniques for hacking millions of smart devices on the internet, both foreign and domestic. All without any legal oversight or authorization. No warrant. No probable cause. Just sheer unadulterated snooping. All condemned, as far as Hayes was concerned, by a public too naïve or too stupid to understand how necessary it truly was.
Yes, Andrew Hayes now had more problems than he could handle. All due primarily to one particular individual with whom he had a deep and personal score to settle. No matter what it took. He would carefully gather every piece of information possible, and when he finally had what he needed, he would wait––patiently and silently, just as the British did with their Enigma secret. No matter how long it took, or what it did to the agency, Andrew Hayes would wait…until the time was right.
Hayes finally blinked and spoke to his deputy. “Who exactly is on this secret team of Langford’s?”
Ambrose quickly moved to another piece of paper. “There are several, with varying levels of involvement. John Clay and Steve Caesare, both Navy ex-SEALs now serving under the department’s investigative arm. They report directly to Langford, even after his move to chairman. Which we find odd.”
Hayes nodded slightly. He was familiar with both Clay and Caesare.
“There’s also Will Borger, a technical expert from the same Electronics & Signaling team and a civilian. He was apparently hired directly by Langford several years ago when one of their systems was hacked from the outside. Borger was part of the consulting team called in to help isolate and contain the breach.”
“He was hired by Langford himself?”
“Correct. Which we believe may be another link to more that Langford may be hiding.”
Hayes had a glint appear briefly in his eyes, but he said nothing.
“These three appear to be very tight and comprise the core of the team. It also looks like they operated in concert to free the alien at NAS JAX––followed by clandestine missions in South America and China. Including the murder of a former Brazilian intelligence officer.”
“Murder?”
“We believe so,” replied Ambrose.
A grin formed on his lips, and Hayes almost asked if Ambrose was sure, but it didn’t matter. Tying Langford’s men to that crime would be child’s play. “Go on.”
“The other civilians involved include marine biologists Alison Shaw and Chris Ramirez. Both are involved in their dolphin translation project, along with a Lee Kenwood, their project’s lead computer programmer. Another researcher by the name of DeeAnn Draper is also on the team––an expert in primate research and one with a somewhat checkered past.”
“How checkered?”
“She has traveled extensively in and out of third world countries and has been associated with several questionable organizations. Some of these are foundations which we suspect may be covers for illegal activity.”
; Hayes nodded and let the grin return briefly. “What else?”
“There also appear to be some military officers involved from Captain Rudolph Emerson’s ship Pathfinder, including Emerson himself, who has received encrypted messages directly from Langford, outside of normal channels.”
At this, his eyes narrowed again. “So ol’ Rudy Emerson is mixed up in this too.”
Ambrose nodded. “It was his ship that just captured the Russian tycoon Dimo Belov after the attack near Trinidad. A man with deep pockets and deeper ties to the Russian Defence Ministry.”
“Where is he now?”
Ambrose looked up at him. “As far as we know…still onboard.”
Hayes shook his head. “Where Langford and Miller can keep him quiet, no doubt.”
“You think they’re in with him?”
“God, I hope so.”
Ambrose responded by smiling. Connecting dots was their specialty. Even if there were no actual dots to connect. “They may also have connections in Rwanda. One of their passport photos just showed up in Kigali.”
“Kigali?”
“Yes,” Ambrose nodded. “Steve Caesare. His face got matched in one of our systems off a falsified passport. We traced the other two traveling with him and found they matched Clay and the Draper woman.”
“What the hell were they in Rwanda for?”
“We don’t know yet. But Langford’s man Caesare seems to have a sense of humor.”
“What do you mean?”
“The name on his fake passport was Kern L. Sanders.”
Hayes promptly turned around. “And no one caught that?”
“Are you kidding? Next to some of those Rwandan names?”
Hayes remained silent for a long moment before turning back to the window. “Let him laugh it up. Let them all enjoy it. We’ll see how funny they find this in the end.”
Mosaic (Breakthrough Book 5) Page 2
