by AJ Frazer
“Jesus Christ! Are you certain of this?”
“I am since the Il Toro plant attack.”
“What do you mean?”
“The attack you were involved in was actually a cover-up operation. It wasn’t about destroying a major polluter so much as covering tracks. You see, the Il Toro plant was being used as a kind of sandbox to test Biblical. But only in a very controlled way. Sagen was seeing how precise he could manipulate the plant’s critical control systems. Turns out, Biblical gave them the ability to either shut down the entire plant or stop a Snickers bar being dispensed from a particular vending machine.”
“What? All of that destruction just to ensure no one went looking into the plant’s computer network for a virus?” Dominic was incredulous.
“This is not something he’s downloaded from hacktivist-dot-com. Like I said, Biblical will wipe a few hundred years off mankind’s development. Victor isn’t taking any chances. He’s planning something huge.”
“Something biblical.” Dominic turned his head to look out over the pond.
“I know it sounds like science fiction, but I’ve seen the people he has working for him. I’ve seen the secret labs they’ve built. This will happen unless someone can stop him. And the police, MI6, the CIA, and any of the other government agencies can’t touch him. He’s too smart and too far ahead.”
“You know he’s blackmailed me with footage of the Il Toro operation. Making it look like I was involved?”
“Yes, I heard about that. I’m so sorry. He’s become obsessed with his public image now. Again, I think it’s all part of his plan for Biblical.”
“My point is, what can I do?”
Zhen’s eyes were pleading. “Talk to him. He’ll listen to you. No one has got as close to him as you have. He talked about you a lot leading up to your interview. He admires you, Dominic.”
“Even if I knew what to say to him, I’ve no way to reach him. You’re forgetting that, as an old journalist, I listen. I speak as little as possible. I wouldn’t know where to begin convincing that man to do anything.”
“You have to try,” she pleaded. “Otherwise, there’s nothing that will stop him.”
Dominic understood her genuine concern, but there was something that was bothering him.
“You seem to know a lot about Sagen and who he will listen to. What exactly is the nature of your relationship?”
Zhen blinked in surprise at the question. She’d clammed up last time he asked, but this time she pursed her lips then sighed. “We were together a long time ago, but it’s not like you think. I once came close to loving him, but it was fleeting. The reality was that I grew more afraid of him by the day until I realized that, while I loved Earth Ghost, I didn’t love the man.”
“So you lied when I asked you before?”
Zhen looked away bewildered. “My personal life is not the point of this meeting. I came to you because I am racking my brain as to how to save the world from an unconscionable act. The means simply can’t justify the end.” She shuffled on the bench. “Dominic, if you don’t want to help, just say so now and I’ll find another way!”
“I’m sorry. Old hacks like me can’t stop digging, I’m afraid,” he said gently. The truth was more complex: he felt something for her, something visceral.
She softened. “Look, I don’t know if you can help, I don’t even know if there’s still time, but we have to try, don’t we?”
“Yes, we do,” said Dominic, standing.
Zhen rose from the bench seat and crossed her arms.
Standing square on to her, he felt a kind of physical gravity drawing him closer to her. “I’ll do what I can, but you need to be careful.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Not if Sagen knows you’re warning me.”
“I can take care of myself,” said Zhen. Dominic didn’t doubt her for a second.
He stepped in closer. She didn’t move.
He raised his arms slightly from his sides. Hers dropped from her chest.
He leaned in, almost imperceptibly. She seemed to do the same.
They embraced. Her body relaxed into his.
Dominic felt his heart punch his ribs as he breathed in the scent of her hair, felt the warmth of her shoulders through the thin summer dress. He could have happily stayed like this all day, frozen in the summer heat beside Peg’s Pond.
It was she who finally pulled away and left without another word.
Chapter Twenty
On the drive back to the estate, Dominic called Jacs. “Do you still have the number for Ms. Hale at MI6?”
“Yes, I’ll have it saved.”
“Get it for me, please. Soon as you can. I need to speak to her urgently.”
“Is everything OK, Dom?”
“Yet to be determined. Just get me the number for now.” He hung up without a goodbye. Slouching down in the seat, he rubbed his jaw. Staring out of the window, he was oblivious to the scenery.
What the hell was going on? Was he being played yet again? Zhen seemed genuinely scared and, as mad as it seemed, something about the story added up. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but he was certain she was telling the truth. It was all very Sagen. He spent the rest of the journey thinking through the angles of how to stop Earth Ghost, but the geometry of the situation wasn’t revealing itself. Zhen said she would be in touch to arrange a way for him to meet with Sagen again. The plan was flimsy, more along the lines of a wing and a prayer than anything solid. And, even if he did get an audience with Sagen again, what the hell would he say or do to convince the man not to go ahead with this insane plan?
As he pulled into the driveway at Glenraden, he received a text message from Jacqueline with Hale’s details. He stared at his screen and wondered what the hell he would say to her. He had to tell her about the meeting with Zhen. Hale might dismiss him as the victim of an elaborate hoax, or she might tell him it was all true. Only one way to find out.
Stepping out of the car, he called her number.
“Hale,” she answered curtly.
“Ms. Hale, this is Dominic Elliston.”
“Mr. Elliston. How can I help you?” Hale responded impatiently.
“I thought you should know that I just had a rather intriguing and somewhat alarming meeting with Zhen Daiyu from Earth Ghost. Are you familiar with her?”
“Somewhat, yes. She was involved with Sagen, both personally and professionally I believe.”
Personally. That stung. “Yes. Well, she’s rather concerned. You see, she’s convinced that Sagen is about to unleash something called Biblical on the world.”
Silence.
“Are you still there, Ms. Hale?”
“I’m sorry, you said ‘Biblical’?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Where are you?” More command than question in her tone.
“At my home in Surrey.”
“Stay put. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Fine.” He’d expected Hale to dismiss him after a courteous retelling of what Zhen had said to him, and assurance that it was all some ridiculous fiction. Be there shortly, thought Dominic. Something was very wrong for an MI6 officer to drop what they were doing to come see him.
Barely twenty minutes later, he was surprised by the distinctive sound of a large helicopter approaching. The sound became a roar augmented by thumping rotors hacking the air as it decelerated hard above his house. He went out the kitchen toward the conservatory and saw the chopper’s wheels come into view as it made its landing. It was a huge gray AW101. An immense piece of hardware.
The noise rattled the glass in the conservatory and Dominic worried it might succumb to the deep, thumping sound waves. He stepped back from the glass, staying inside rather than be accosted by the downdraft. Hale and two men stepped from the lowered stairs. Hale was walking with her shoulders hunched and her neck pulled in against the ferocious wind from the huge rotors. She stepped up to the door of the conservatory and Dominic opened it to let
her in. The noise entered first, then the wind, and then the guests quickly after.
“That’s quite an entrance,” said Dominic.
“When needs must.” Hale ran a hand over her hair, which had been pulled back tightly, straightening the few stray strands that hadn’t survived the ordeal of getting to the house.
“This is Clarke and Neylon. They are cyber-security professionals. I want them to hear firsthand what you told me earlier on the phone.”
Clarke and Neylon were dour, pale men who looked scarcely out of their teens. Neylon dressed like a grandad in a cardigan and beige pants that looked a few sizes too big. Clarke wore more contemporary clothing but was so waif-thin he could have shopped at Baby Gap.
“Good afternoon,” said Dominic.
They nodded without saying a word.
“May we sit?” asked Hale.
“Yes, come this way.” He took them to the other side of the house to a sitting room he hardly ever used, minimizing their invasion of his personal sanctuary as much as possible. If he could keep them penned, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. The room was beautifully decorated with two enormous cream linen sofas facing each other. The couches offered a polite way to distance himself from the spooks, who looked agog as they walked in.
“Take a seat,” instructed Dominic. “Drink, anyone?”
“Water, thank you.” Hale looked around the room.
The geeks grunted for water as well. He handed them glass bottles from the small fridge concealed inside the sideboard and then took a seat in the corner of the couch occupied by Hale, with the geeks facing them on the other sofa.
He turned to Hale. “Well, I’m not sure what more I can tell you other than what I already explained on the phone.”
“Perhaps it is us who needs to brief you on the reality of the situation we appear to be facing,” she said politely.
He nodded and gestured for them to continue.
Grandad-geek, whose name he had already forgotten, began. “Sir, you mentioned a computer virus—or rather a worm—called Biblical. This is not so much a computer program as it is a weapon. A weapon of unimaginable power—”
“That’s not entirely true,” interrupted Waif-geek, speaking quickly. “It was imagined. Imagined by the US military through their DARPA division. Are you aware of DARPA? Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,” continued Waif-geek, without waiting for an answer. “Well, DARPA created an artificial intelligence hacking program—”
“Basically, a worm virus that could write itself,” interjected Grandad-geek. “An autonomous malware that, once executed, doesn’t need human programmers. Until a few years ago it was just science fiction, but it’s now, well … science. Incredible science, but very real and very, very dangerous in the wrong hands.”
“Yes.” Hale frowned. “And unfortunately, political change in the US resulted in some of the people who created the most sensitive aspects of this AI worm to––in a way––defect. They were disgruntled at the isolationist fundamentalism sweeping the country. They felt America had shirked its global leadership responsibility. So they decided that if the government couldn’t take a stronger stance on the environment, then they would. They took with them a great deal of highly classified technology. We think some of them, and one in particular, found a cadre in Earth Ghost that would allow them to continue developing their work.”
Waif-geek was getting excited now, sitting forward on the couch. “Earth Ghost has tuned the algorithm to become a sort of eco-rithm.” Both geeks snickered at this. When neither Hale nor Dominic responded, Waif-geek continued. “We believe its operational directive is to bring about pro-environmental change on a global scale.”
“So you think that this Biblical thing could be as bad as Zhen made out?”
The geeks looked at Hale, who stared down at the coffee table before looking at Dominic with what could only be described as abject fear in her eyes. “Almost certainly,” she said. “Biblical is capable of doing exactly as they say, sending us back to the dark ages in a matter of days.”
“Hours,” corrected Grandad-geek grimly.
“Surely you and the US have a plan to combat this thing?” Dominic tried to laugh off this haunting revelation.
“The US have denied all knowledge of its existence,” said Hale. “Which makes it even more terrifying, because they’re trying to distance themselves from the inevitable fallout. Our cyber-security teams are playing catch-up, but the chances of them creating any functional defense against Biblical in time are virtually nil.”
Waif-geek continued. “The fact is, we have no idea how to combat an AI autonomous worm virus. Certainly not on the scale of Biblical.”
“Well, sounds like you lot have your hands full,” said Dominic.
“Zhen Daiyu said you might be able to convince Sagen not to execute the program. As ridiculous as it seems, you may be our only chance to stop this thing,” Hale said gravely.
Dominic exhaled deeply. “You lot are incredible. You have to be kidding me, right? Your strategy is to hope I can talk Sagen down?”
“Right now, Dominic, hope is our only strategy. All other methods are being exhausted, but the chances of success at this stage are slim at best.”
Dominic shook his head slowly. “Right, no pressure then.”
“We just wanted you to know the stakes. To know what we’re dealing with,” said Hale. “If Biblical is executed, its payload could be the destruction of every critical infrastructure system in the developed world. Nuclear power plants will melt down, telecommunications will cease, water supplies will be stopped, gas, power, fuel refineries, banking, transportation … you name it, all of it will be taken down. Life will be irrevocably changed. Lawlessness will quickly ensue. Economies will be decimated. Societies will be torn apart and people will die. A lot of people.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jagged Edge’s headquarters were quiet when Dominic entered early the next morning. Only a few of the night-shift editorial and tech people were left, winding down their work from the night before. The twenty-four-hour news cycle fed the media machine that in turn fed the public’s insatiable hunger for other people’s sorrow, disaster, turmoil, and fear. For most people, news was a form of entertainment—just another neuro-chemical reward. Every time someone opened a news app a tiny hit of dopamine was released that triggered the reward centers of the brain. No wonder everyone was so addicted to their devices; they were hooked on the dopamine—like junkies to ice. Dominic used to feel driven by the social importance of news, of great investigative journalism, but now he saw it for what it was: a social addiction. Not an addiction to the worthiness of a universal awareness, but to a neurotransmitter chemical that controlled the sensation of reward.
Entering his office, he left the lights off and strode to his desk. The ambient sunlight from the enormous windows that lined his office created a soft hue that suited his state of mind. Sitting down, he pulled out his phone and sent Ray a message.
He was surprised Ray wasn’t already in the office. He was the stereotypical leader—first one in, last one out.
A minute later his phone vibrated gently with Ray’s response. He was on his way and would be there in ten minutes. Dominic contemplated what to tell him. He had considered telling him nothing at all. The fewer people who knew about Biblical the better. But he needed to tell someone; he needed to talk about the situation, test the scenarios, sort out the angles from the tangles. Under this kind of pressure, mistakes and lapses in judgment would be easy. He needed Ray to know about Biblical to help him navigate his way through this mess.
Ray tapped lightly on the door before entering. He was dressed similarly to Dominic except that everything was black and two sizes larger. “Morning. Haven’t seen you in this early for years.”
Dominic ignored the levity. “Take a seat, I need to share something with you.”
Ray sat, an expression of curiosity on his face. “Go on then.”
Dominic leaned back in his ch
air. “Before I do, I need your assurance that you will say nothing to anyone else about what I am going to tell you. I mean it, no one. Not Ruth, not your kids, not friends, and certainly no one here. No. One. Not a soul.”
Ray looked over at Dominic, his head tilted slightly. “So, keep it quiet then?”
“I’m serious. What I am about to tell you could lead to enormous human suffering. So I am taking you at your word like never before.”
“I get it, Dom. You have my word,” said Ray earnestly.
“I had a visit from Zhen Daiyu the other day—”
“Oh, I’m fucking sure you did,” spurted Ray. “You sly old bastard.” He looked relieved.
“Nothing like that, I’m afraid. She came to tell me that the world is essentially on the brink of total and utter disaster the like of which no one has seen or even dreamed of.”
Ray shifted in his seat and shook his head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Zhen said that Sagen is about to press the send button on some sort of computer virus–– sorry, worm, called Biblical that will literally wipe out every important computer network in the Western world. Everything that we take for granted will be no more.”
“You think she’s serious? Sounds like a load of science fantasy dreamed up in some hippy herbal Earth Ghost seance. Maybe Sagen passed the bong around once too often!”
Dominic snorted. “Perhaps. But, unfortunately, I think she’s telling the truth and so does MI6.”
Ray’s face went blank, and he sat forward. “You’re telling me MI-fucking-6 think this is a legitimate threat? That Sagen could actually do this?”
“Seems to be the case. They knew all about it. Apparently it’s an autonomous AI technology that essentially codes and recodes itself. It was originally created by DARPA and now Sagen has got hold of it.”
“Jee-sus!” said Ray, throwing himself back into his chair.
Dominic raised his eyebrows in agreement.
Ray put his hand to his temple. “So the world’s just getting a handle on dealing with biological viruses and now we’ve got computer viruses to contend with!”
