by John Akers
“Unfortunately, the market trial results were even worse than my worst-case imaginings. In the United States, several people died from side effects caused by the drug, and the FDA forced the company to pull the drug from the marketplace. Of course, the executive team covered themselves by firing me and blaming me for everything. This was in the days before the Univiz, and all my conversations with them had been face-to-face and unrecorded, so it was my word against theirs. With no proof I’d been bullied into doing what they wanted, I wound up disgraced and shunned by the other scientists in the company. On top of it all, the government began an investigation, and it seemed probable I would wind up going to jail.”
“What did you do?” asked Pax.
“I was devastated, as you can imagine. I panicked and fled the country before any charges were filed, and used the money I’d saved to travel to remote corners of the world and lose myself in alcohol and drugs. Back then if one had cash and was willing to take extreme measures to live in the shadows, it was still possible to stay off the grid.”
Alethia fell silent, looking pensive and remorseful. Pax felt better hearing her story, although he reminded himself she might be making it all up in hopes of playing on his heartstrings. Eventually, she continued.
“After hiding out for a year, I grew disgusted with myself and resolved to atone for my sins. I decided I would return to America to face any criminal charges, but first I needed to do something to redeem myself, at least in my own eyes. I promised myself I would find a meaningful cause I could help advance. Eventually, whether through luck or fate, I discovered this society. I was immediately drawn to its mission, and I vowed to do everything in my power to help it succeed. Then I would return and face judgment for my earlier actions, and suffer whatever penalties there might be.”
“So do you still keep in touch with anyone from your earlier life?” asked Pax.
“I communicate with my mother occasionally, mostly just to let her know I’m okay. I haven’t spoken or written to my father since I left.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“For a long time, it was out of shame for my actions. Then, one day not too long after the Infinet originally came online, I was testing the quality of its search capabilities, as well as its ability to answer abstract questions based on the results. On a whim, I asked it whether my father was a good man or not. In a nanosecond, it pulled up reams and reams of incriminating information about numerous affairs he’d had, stretching back to just a few months after he’d married my mother. It was worse than a CIA dossier. Most of it came from publicly accessible video logs and location sensors which it correlated with those of the women he was seeing.”
“I learned later on that my mother knew all along about the affairs. She came from a family who believed divorce was sacrilegious, however, so she tried to turn a blind eye to it. But eventually, she sought solace in the arms of another. When she admitted it to my father soon after, it was he who immediately filed for divorce. The woman he later married was someone he had been seeing for several months before he and my mother separated. But he somehow managed to hide the fact he was dating her from me until a month later.”
“That must have been quite a shock.”
“It turned my world upside down. For someone as intelligent as I supposedly was to make such an erroneous, long-term misjudgment about a person I’d known all my life underscored how fundamentally fallible humans can be, how our biases and misperceptions can inherently confound anything we think or do.”
“So was the Infinet your idea?” Pax asked.
“No, although I fully supported it from the start. But the original idea came from someone else.”
“Who?”
Alethia sighed. “A man who is no longer with us. His name was Alton Isaacs, but within the Society, he was known as Gaon.”
“That’s a weird name.”
“It’s the Hebrew word for genius,” said Alethia.
“Wow. I hope he didn’t pick that name himself.”
Alethia gave a half-hearted chuckle. “No, he hated the name. Someone else started addressing him that way as a sign of respect. The word also carries the connotation of being a leader and a teacher, and those qualities definitely applied to him. Alton was the most selfless person I’ve ever meet. His focus was always on other people, never on himself. Although he was aware of people’s shortcomings, he always believed in humanity’s potential.”
“I’ve noticed you keep referring to him in the past tense. What happened to him? Did he die?”
“Metaphorically, perhaps, but not literally. At least not that we’re aware. Shortly before the first version of the Infinet came online, Alton came in one day and started talking about how it was all a mistake, the project wouldn’t work, and we should terminate it immediately.
“We were all stunned, of course, and tried to get him to explain why he suddenly felt that way. But he couldn’t or wouldn’t articulate a good reason. It seemed to be an intuition rather than any tangible evidence he could provide.
Needless to say, the team refused to discontinue the project, although it was uncomfortable to do so, given Alton’s status in the group. So he left. Didn’t bother to say goodbye to anyone or tell anyone where he was going, just turned and walked out. No one has seen or heard from him since.”
“Really.”
“Yes. Even the Infinet can’t find him, and it can normally locate anyone within a matter of minutes, no matter where they are. But not Gaon.” She smiled wistfully, almost proudly, it seemed to Pax.
Alethia suddenly looked off to one side again. After a moment she said, “Well, now you know more about me, and a little bit more about our Society.” Pax started to ask another question but she cut him off. “I can answer more questions later, but the fastest way to get the answers you want is to continue.”
Pax wondered if she’d gotten a communication from the Infinet or someone else when she’d glanced away. Given what he’d seen, it didn’t seem far-fetched these people might have comms tech embedded in their bodies. But he’d detected a trace of genuine anxiety in her voice when she’d spoken, so he decided to move forward, at least for now. “Go ahead,” he said.
Alethia quickly continued from where she had left off, as though she thought Pax might change his mind. “So, here we are, 10,000 years ago, in the geological epoch known as the Holocene, meaning ‘entirely recent.’ However, due to the impact of humanity’s activities on Earth’s geology and ecosystems, it is increasingly being referred to as the Anthropocene, or ‘epoch of man.’”
She made a gesture and looked up. As Pax looked up, the blackness above suddenly soared away from them, and what it revealed took his breath away.
Chapter 47
Monday, March 19, 4:27 PM ET
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigations
Precedence: Immediate
To: All Divisions
All Field Offices
All Legal Attachés
From: Washington, D.C.
Approved by: SAC Peter Reynolds
Drafted by: SA Cheryl Anders
Case ID #: 736-LQ-232739
Title: CHAOTICACV
MAJOR CASE 429
OO: SAN FRANCISCO
Synopsis:
COMPUTER VIRUS “CHAOTICA” CAUSING MALFUNCTIONS IN INTERNET DEVICES HAS CAUSED AN ESTIMATED 65,535 DEATHS AND 250,000 INJURIES ACROSS U.S. VIRUS NOW GLOBAL. NO SUSPECTS. RECOMMEND REDIRECTING ALL ACTIVE PERSONNEL TO CASE.
Details:
ON SUNDAY, MARCH 11, THE COMPUTER VIRUS “CHAOTICA” ATTACKED ITS FIRST VICTIM, JERRY CUNNINGHAM OF LOS ALTOS, CA. OVER A PERIOD OF 5 DAYS, MR. CUNNINGHAM COMPLAINED OF MALFUNCTIONING DEVICES IN HIS HOME. LAST FRIDAY, MARCH 16, HE WAS STRUCK AND KILLED BY AN AUTOMATED CAR. SINCE THEN, MILLIONS OF DEVICES HAVE BEGUN MALFUNCTIONING AROUND THE WORLD. THE FULL SCOPE OF DEVICES THAT HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED BY THE VIRUS IS UNKNOWN.
COMPUTER FORENSICS SPECIALISTS FROM EVERY BUREAU BRANCH HAVE BEEN R
EASSIGNED TO THIS CASE IN AN EFFORT TO CHARACTERIZE AND QUARANTINE THE VIRUS. TO DATE, THE ONLY SUCCESS HAS BEEN AROUND CHARACTERIZATION. THE VIRUS INSTALLS ITSELF AT THE KERNEL LEVEL OF A DEVICE’S OPERATING SYSTEM, WHERE IT IS INVISIBLE TO STANDARD COMMERCIAL ANTIVIRUS PROGRAMS. THE VIRUS USES SENSORS FROM ANY INFECTED DEVICES IN THE VICINITY TO DETERMINE WHEN INDIVIDUALS ARE NEARBY, THEN USES ITS KERNEL-LEVEL ACCESS TO OVERRIDE NORMAL DEVICE PARAMETERS AND CAUSE THE DEVICES TO MALFUNCTION IN WHATEVER WAY MAXIMIZES THE LIKELIHOOD AND SEVERITY OF INJURY.
THE VIRUS APPEARS TO TARGET SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS, ALTHOUGH IN THE PAST 24 HOURS THIS APPEARS TO BE CHANGING. ORIGINALLY THE VIRUS WAS PASSED FROM ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER ONLY WHEN SOMEONE CONTACTED A TARGETED INDIVDUAL, PARTICULARLY FOR PURPOSES OF PROVIDING ASSISTANCE. THIS BEHAVIOR RESULTED IN THE NEW PERSON BECOMING A TARGET. HOWEVER, IT NOW APPEARS THAT CONTACT CAN BE VIRTUAL AS WELL AS PHYSICAL. IN THE PAST 24 HOURS, SEVERAL INSTANCES HAVE BEEN REPORTED OF A TARGETED PERSON’S ENTIRE SOCIAL NETWORK BECOMING INFECTED IF THAT PERSON SHOULD POST A GENERAL REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE. OTHER TRANSMISSIONS HAVE OCCURRED BY PEOPLE POSTING EMAILS ASKING OTHERS IF THEY NEED ASSISTANCE. HOWEVER, NO UNIVIZ, NOR THE UNIVIZ NETWORK, APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY COMPROMISED SO FAR.
IT IS BELIEVED THE ATTACKS ARE BEING COORDINATED BY A PRIVATE NETWORK OF SUPERCOMPUTERS, ALTHOUGH THE PHYSICAL LOCATION OF THE NETWORK NODES HAVE NOT YET BEEN IDENTIFIED.
TO DATE, PEOPLE’S ONLY PROTECTION APPEARS TO BE TO 1) DISCONNECT ANY INFECTED DEVICES FROM THEIR POWER SOURCE, AND 2) AVOID ANY INFECTED DEVICES THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN DISCONNECTED.
THE BUREAU IS WORKING WITH EVERY MAJOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AROUND THE WORLD, AS WELL AS WITH MAJOR COMPUTER SECURITY FIRMS, TO HALT THE SPREAD OF VIOLENCE AND FIND A WAY TO QUARANTINE THE VIRUS. PLEASE SEND ANY INFORMATION TO THE CENTRAL BUREAU: CHAOTICACV.
Chapter 48
Monday, 6:15 AM PT
After spending the rest of the day unsuccessfully trying to pick up the submarine’s trail or deduce its destination, Cevis had finally fallen asleep, defeated and despondent. The enormity of his failure, and the possible exposure of all the work he’d done had left an acrid residue on his psyche that was still there in the morning. He’d slept fitfully and woke up well before his alarm went off. He got out of bed feeling empty and dreading what the day would bring.
He put his Univiz on and checked to see if Oreste had miraculously come back online. He hadn’t, nor was there any message from him. For what seemed like the hundredth time, he asked Cyrus to locate Pax, but the answer was the same. “I’m sorry, Mr. Pierson, but I haven’t received a tracking signal for Mr. Pax yet.” Cevis punched the bed in helpless frustration.
He noticed Emma Kirkland had sent him a message just a few minutes earlier. Ignoring the message, he simply called her back.
“Hello, Cevis.” Her voice was thin and uncertain. “Have you heard from him?”
“Hi, Emma. Unfortunately, I haven’t. I take it no one else has either?”
“No! Oh, Cevis, I’ve been worried sick all night thinking about his maybe being hurt or kidnapped or who knows what?”
“Calm down, Emma,” said Cevis, despite his own growing sense of desperation. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. It’s still entirely possible there’s a perfectly benign explanation for all of this.”
“I want to believe that,” said Emma, “but it’s just not like him to cut off all contact like this. I feel in my heart that something bad has happened.” She paused momentarily, then said, “I think it’s time to let the executive team know and file a missing person report with the police.”
Cevis knew the UV recordings of everything they were saying now would be replayed and analyzed later by the police and FBI, so he assumed a tone of appropriate resignation. “I agree, Emma. That seems the sensible thing to do at this point, now that it’s been more than 48 hours. Perhaps…” His voice trailed off.
“What?” asked Emma.
“I don’t know. Perhaps we should have contacted them yesterday. I guess I just didn’t believe something could have happened to him.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” she said. “I’ve been feeling the same way, and when I spoke with Jean, agh, there I go again, what a spy I’d make. I spoke with Oreste’s colleague yesterday after talking to you, and he felt we should wait until the morning as well. But as soon as I woke up and saw Oreste was still offline, I was sure something was wrong.”
“I agree. I think it’s time to let the executive team know Oreste’s missing and have them contact the police.”
“I will, Cevis. Thanks for your help.”
“Of course. Call me back if there’s anything I can do to help.”
Cevis ended the call and headed downstairs in a daze. As always, Risi was waiting for him.
“Good morning, Mr. Pierson!” she said in her usual cheerful demeanor. But the next moment her tone changed. “Oh, Mr. Pierson, you look as if you haven’t slept all night. Is something the matter?”
My cook, maid, and therapist, all in one. “It’s nothing, Risi,” he said. “Just some trouble with work.”
“Well, you just sit yourself down, and we’ll make those problems go away with some Belgian waffles! How does that sound?”
Cevis hadn’t eaten since breakfast the previous day, and he realized he was starving. “That sounds wonderful, Risi, thank you.”
While waiting for breakfast, out of habit, Cevis began processing the items in his inbox. Suddenly, he sat bolt upright and slammed both hands down on the tabletop.
What if Oreste had lost access to his UV and tried to contact him a different way?
If he had, it would have wound up in his Junk folder, where anything sent to him from someone outside his list of approved contacts would be filtered.
“Cyrus, open my Junk folder.”
There were thousands of messages. He began visually scanning the list slowly, since he didn’t know what he might be looking for. After a couple of minutes, a message with no subject line caught his eye. It had come in at 9:43 Saturday evening. Cevis opened it.
The body of the message was a garbled mess of characters.
1439 862f3id kh'jt9` 3[185di h34tkj987 bg1m5w6 dxykp7jb gmx5274o ejukx0g lc)*&D t865e43o EQJPK&fxb g[9cM& %34o54 32a;oq (&IFXGB 9/%O34 6o&cevis^I D9chmT 976u4 75o34oq5 47p8ykf x708b9h *d5e3* i789h]0 98$e.' %K7*H[8 90he4o e45juk x078b h{8hd6 5e.,!' 2758p 6y(GC) RLml[ &)*65 %#4a6; ,.qYK Xb89[ di%*$3 %07[9 8gCRB G*I *%^$O ^#$;q jkrfg[ 89d86 547O#$ O:q8]t ns'5tl a87%& $97ifc bmbj $#4&6 9798t[ [0]M CRH*(&D 6iU#$ui 59rdt09 t0987 idIDU E342@#oeq Jidu78&*c rTRL(* &&^uy p5$#3> 8shipiG (*(() R{ R{)rm wNN{RC&F Y<@oqKfrxd( *8taken6&^ %>453$ @$>O$F RXB(M m098BGM$ E$Y FRCB&*d b^%45 43.qjX D*&98h 98^$ e45e^& 09hBMB P^%E$36 $#^#2 ~EUKmvl lrc*^% EUIDH? )FU% HMS*9NG >OEQJ do4X9X0 ^&(UFGX3 FIR89ldgdl7
From a 30-year habit of scouring genetic sequences, Cevis instinctively began scanning the alphanumeric cacophony for something, anything. Almost immediately, his eyes spotted his name near the top. He scanned down and saw the word “ship,” a few lines down, then the word “taken” a few lines past that. Though he’d conditioned himself over the years not to overreact at the first indication of a promising result, he was unable to suppress the surge of hope he felt inside. He gestured to scroll down a page, then another, then another. He caught the word “ocean,” then scrolled down some more. The message seemed to go on forever.
“How long is this email?” he asked. After a couple of seconds, Cyrus responded, “It is 50,297 characters in length.”
Cevis thought for a moment, then said, “Analyze this message and extract any contiguous sequences of letters that match any English words. Or any names in my contact list. Or the word ‘Ludibrium.’”
Five seconds later Cyrus displayed the query results.
ship (5)
island (4)
ocean (4)
dinner (3)
abducted (2)
indian (2)
society (2)
computer (2)
eternal (2)
pacific (2)
taken (2)
brain (2)
kidnap (2)
cevis (2)
life (1)
ludibrium (1)
long (1)
kidnap (1)
diamond (1)
interface (1)
Cevis jumped out of his chair, sending it crashing to the ground. His heart was pounding. It had to be Oreste. He’d sent some sort of message to Cevis. But why was it such a mess?
“Mr. Pierson, you sit right back down!” admonished Risi as she picked up the chair and positioned it behind him again. “You need to eat these waffles!”
Cevis looked down and saw there was a steaming plate of Belgian waffles in front of him. He sat down, his mind swimming.
“Cyrus, analyze the message again for any names of places, such as islands, cities, and so on.”
Five seconds later Cyrus displayed the new results.
Socotra (12)
“Where is that?” he asked. A map appeared in his display, then it zoomed in on a small island on the eastern edge of the Arabian Sea.
“Overlay the route of the ship from yesterday onto this map,” said Cevis, his voice thick. Cyrus zoomed out to display the entire earth, now showing the white dots mapping the route the ship had taken until it disappeared. The dots were directly in line with the island. It would have had to navigate through the southern islands of Indonesia, but otherwise, it was a straight shot.
“Mr. Pierson!” said Risi crossly. “You eat those waffles right now, before they go cold!”
