by David Archer
“There might be some of that,” Joel conceded, “but the benefits will outweigh things like that. Want to go out and explore the galaxy? Electronic entities can do that. If the journey takes a thousand years, so what? Just put yourself into sleep mode, and wake up when you get there. Now it was an overnight trip. Sam, no more diseases, no more cancers; the very first uses of the immortality potential will be to save those who cannot be saved any other way, and once the rest of the world sees that they’re still around, everyone else will want it, too. That’s the one thing people have always desired, Sam, the chance to live forever, and we’re standing at the cusp of the time when they can have it!”
“You know,” Pat said, “in some ways, I can see his point. I mean, I’m getting pretty old; I’m not saying I’d want to go right now and get stuffed into a computer, but the day isn’t that far off when this old body of mine is gonna give out.” He looked at Becky. “I can’t say I’d turn down the chance to stick around after that.”
Joel snapped his fingers. “And that’s probably the way most people will see it, at least in the beginning. Live out my life the normal way, but be ready to make the switch when the time comes. It’s even possible that might become a law, so everyone has to wait till they’re at the point of death before they transfer over.” He grinned. “Of course, the human mind contains massive amounts of data that would have to be translated so that the computer could function with it, and we’re talking like a hundred terabytes, maybe a lot more. Just to copy it all would take hundreds of hours, maybe even a few thousand hours. You’d have to have it all arranged in advance, get yourself copied like, now, then go in for updates every few months. That way, if you were to die suddenly, you could be sort of ‘brought back’ as a digital person, you would only be lacking that last few weeks or months of memories. And then, the people who do it that way will become our old wise mentors. Maybe they should even run the governments, since they won’t be as likely to do things based on greed or emotion.”
Sam shook his head. “Maybe I’m just old-fashioned,” he said, “but I don’t think I’d want to go on that way. I could be wrong, and maybe when I get to that point of death, I might change my mind, but right now I think I’d rather trust God to decide how long I should live.”
He looked at his cell phone and saw that it was almost three, then got to his feet. “Well, this has been informative,” he said, “but I’ve got to finish up a few things so I can head for home come quitting time. Pat, Becky, if you’ll come with me, I’ll get you both settled into your rooms.”
They said goodbye to Joel and followed Sam. He took them up the stairs and showed them the rooms that were available, then showed them the kitchen. “Pick whichever rooms you want, and then you can find plenty to eat here. Soft drinks and snacks, too, just help yourselves. I’m gonna finish up a pile of work in my office and think about going home in a while. I think I need to start teaching my kids not to spend so much time on computers.”
“Yeah,” Becky said. “Or at least make sure they know they have a choice.” She suddenly leaned forward and grabbed Sam’s arm, then pulled him down and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Mr. Prichard,” she said. “For everything.”
Sam grinned and patted her shoulder, then headed back down the stairs. Behind him, he heard Becky say, “We only need one room, Pat.”
He stepped into his office and checked his emails, then glanced at the Herman screen. He was about to shut the computer down when he noticed that it suddenly had fewer links than it did before. One of the ones he had looked at earlier was still in a browser tab, so he went to that one and refreshed it, only to see a notice that the original ad had been removed by the one who placed it.
Damn, he thought. They’ve found their doctor!
He reached for his phone, but it beeped at that moment, and Jenna told him that Summer Raines was on the line. He thanked her and hit the button to take the call.
“Summer? What have you got?”
“A nightmare, sir,” she said. “We’ll send a report by email in a bit, but this was too big to wait. We’ve been going over the case with Dr. Prentiss, and Walter made an observation that even Prentiss says is probably right.”
“Walter never ceases to astound me,” Sam said. “What is it?”
“Sir, he figured out what may be the real motive behind all of this. See, it turns out it’s possible to literally take over the world with this chip—as long as you’re the only one who’s got it!”
23
Sam called a conference with Ron, Jeff, and Darren, and included Joel, Pat, and Becky. He shared what Summer had told him and then passed around copies of the emails he had received from Jade and Steve only a few minutes later, each of them repeating what they’d learned but adding their own insights, as well.
“Add to this,” he said, “the fact that several of the ads seeking a doctor to perform the implantation procedure have disappeared from the internet, and I think we have to conclude that someone is about to put the plan into operation—no pun intended.”
“And we still don’t know for certain who’s behind it?” Ron asked.
“We’re not even close to a guess, to be perfectly honest,” Sam said. “The only lead we’ve got is on one bioengineering company, but it’s tenuous, at best.”
“I’m coming late to the party,” Pat said, “but it seems to me we need to explore this ‘take over the world’ angle right now. The only thing I've heard since I've been here that would fit into that situation would be the mention of the triads. I don’t know how much you all know about triads, but I had experience with them in Afghanistan. One thing I learned real quick about them is that they’re not like regular organized crime units. They’re more like an association of autonomous groups, and that actually makes them a lot harder to catch and prosecute. You may think you got the guilty parties, only to find out that it was a whole different group who was doing the things you were after. Now, you tell me there was a triad involved in stealing this chip, I’m just naturally gonna think they are involved in the whole thing, somewhere.”
Darren shook his head. “I’m going to have to disagree, Pat,” he said. “I’ve also dealt with triads, and they tend to limit themselves to their own area of operation. I can’t think of any time I've seen one that tried to expand its control on any serious scale.”
“Normally I’d agree with you,” Pat replied, “but this is anything but normal. I can go along with what you say as far as triads, as a group, not expanding their power base. I have, however, seen an individual dragonhead make a pretty big reach. We had one triad in Kabul that was pretty well centralized. About all they did was push heroin production, and arrange for it to be shipped out of the country. Their dragonhead was a Vietnamese named Vien Wu, however, and he had ambitions that went far beyond what the triad was normally capable of. While the rest of them were busy with day-to-day operations, he was taking a small group of his most loyal soldiers and eliminating the leaders of other triads in the area. The members could either decide to follow him, or they could die. Most of them chose to survive, naturally.”
“Still, that’s an isolated incident,” Darren said. “I really don’t think it’s relevant to the situation today.”
“I’m not so sure,” Jeff piped up. “Look, guys, I've been doing a lot of research on BCI technology and its potentials for power abuses. I confess I didn’t come up with something like this, but I’m not all that surprised that someone thought of it. The thing is, I don’t believe we’re just dealing with a company who stole the chip and the research in order to profit from it; there’s something bigger going on here, and as I listen to you gentlemen going back and forth about the triad angle, I can’t help remembering a fellow named Adolf Hitler. Other than the fact that he and his father didn’t get along very well, Adolf Hitler was pretty unremarkable. What people didn’t realize was that he had ambitions that were far greater than most people from his social station would have ever even dreamed of, and we all know wh
ere that ended up.” He pointed at Pat. “This triad leader, this dragonhead; do we know anything about him?”
“All we’ve actually got on him is a name,” Sam said. “His name is Yue Fei, but until now we only thought of him as being part of the orchestration of the theft. I think it’s time we developed some serious intel on him, though. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll get on that right now.”
“Go ahead,” Ron said, and Sam stepped out of the room.
He hurried down to his office, taking out his cell phone as he went. He dialed Indie and was relieved when she answered on the first ring.
“Hey, babe,” she said.
“Hey, sweetheart. I need Herman’s help again. There is a triad in San Francisco called Cho Weh Wo, and it’s supposedly headed by a man named Yue Fei.” He spelled it for her. “I need every bit of information we can get on him, as soon as we can get it. And can you send me a link so I can access it again?”
“Sure,” Indie said. “Give me about two minutes, I’m supervising your daughter on changing a diaper. It’s her first time, you know.”
Sam broke into a smile. “You tell her I’m incredibly proud of her,” he said. “And tell her I still say she’s the best big sister in the whole world.”
“I sure will. I’ll send you that link in about two minutes. Love you.”
“Love you, too, babe.” He ended the call and put the phone in his pocket, then stepped into his office and picked up a tablet computer. He could receive his office emails on it, so he took it with him and went back to the conference room.
The debate was still going on, with Darren arguing against any ambition by a triad leader while Pat insisted that it was a possibility they could not afford to overlook. Sam slid into his chair and let the two of them run on for another couple of minutes.
The tablet chimed as an email came in, and Sam opened it and clicked the link. Herman was already busy, it seemed, because there were a couple of dozen links on the display as soon as it opened. He scanned through them, noting that most of them were newspaper headlines.
Cho Weh Wo blamed for Grace Cathedral murders
Triad members arrested, charged with drug distribution
Yue Fei, notorious Triad leader, ordered murders, sources say
San Francisco police seeking information on Triad leader Fei
“Fei will kill you all,” say triad members
Triad leader Fei sought for questioning
Triads bow to Fei; one dragonhead to rule them all?
Sam tapped on the last one, and began reading while the others debated.
According to numerous sources in Chinatown, the problem of the triads has undergone a strange metamorphosis in the past few months. Until now, each triad was independent of others, and could conduct its criminal enterprises as it saw fit. There were occasional clashes between Triad groups, but they were nothing compared to some of the gang wars in other parts of the city.
All that’s changing, now, according to dozens of triad members who have spoken to police on the condition of anonymity. According to most of them, one of the triads has emerged as superior to the others, and any who object are quickly silenced.
“Fei does not accept refusal,” said one source. “If we do not obey, then our families will die. Everyone in Chinatown knows this, and no one will disobey.”
This statement, given to police detectives only a few days ago, indicates that the situation is far more grave than originally thought. While the local triads have always engaged in various types of crime, most citizens of Chinatown and San Francisco have had little to fear from them. This reporter spent time in Chinatown this past week and learned that fear is now par for the course.
“If Fei say you don’t go to store, you stay home. If Fei say give me money, you give money. You no do as Fei say, you die.”
That was the statement of an elderly woman who said she had lived in Chinatown all of her life and had never seen anything like this before.
But just who is Yue Fei? The name is one from Chinese history and legend, a general who never lost a battle. That it would be co-opted by someone whose methods include terrorizing the people of Chinatown is something of an insult to the legendary general, but the point is made. Yue Fei will not be defeated, and so surrender is the only option.
According to police, the Cho Weh Wo triad only arrived on the scene about six months ago, and its rise in power was almost meteoric in scope. Fei burst onto the scene in a fanfare of bloodshed, taking out some of the other triads that might have stood in his way and absorbing their surviving members.
And yet, no one has even the slightest idea of who he is, or what he looks like. As far as the police can determine, only a very select few have ever met him face to face, and none of those have been located to date. The majority of those who have ever spoken to him have done so over a telephone, but they say the experience is no less terrifying for that.
“Fei knows all about you,” they say. “You cannot keep a secret from Fei, he knows.”
Whoever he is, Yue Fei has a grip on the throat of Chinatown, and of San Francisco. As things stand today, admitted one police detective, Fei may soon be the secret force behind every sort of crime and corruption in the entire Valley.
There was more, but Sam had read enough. He cleared his throat loudly until he got their attention, then read the article out loud. When he had finished, he passed the tablet around and let the rest of them look at a few of the other articles.
When it got to Darren, his face became ashen. He read through an article a couple of times, then handed the tablet back to Sam. “Read that,” he said.
Triad leader sends word to Mayor: remove police from Chinatown or they will all die.
The San Francisco Mayor’s office confirmed today that it had received a letter that purports to be from Cho Weh Wo Triad leader Yue Fei, demanding that the mayor remove all San Francisco police officers from the Chinatown district. If the demand is not met, the letter says, all of those police officers will die at the hands of the Triad.
San Francisco police issued a statement early today informing the public that they are stepping up their efforts to identify and arrest Fei, and that any members of his Triad that attempt to interfere with the investigation or conceal his location will be facing charges of domestic terrorism, in addition to any other charges that may be levied at that time.
“We’ve got a megalomaniac on our hands,” Jeff said. “This guy’s got to be found, and now. As much as I want to locate the chip and complete our contract with C-Link, there’s very little doubt in my mind that Fei is going to be a critical part of that case, as well.”
“I agree with you,” Sam said. “If there is the slightest possibility Fei is planning to receive that chip, he could become more dangerous than any other possible threat, and not just to the city of San Francisco. He could become a threat to the United States, or even to the world.
“One of the things that bothers me,” Sam said, “is that there’s nothing about the man behind this Yue Fei. There’s no date of birth, no age, no social security number, no history of any kind. As far as the government is concerned, he doesn’t exist. He turned to Joel. “We don’t really know anything about Fei except that he is ambitious,” he said. “Does using the chip require any special training or education?”
Joel grimaced. “No, it doesn’t,” he said. “Look at me. Other than having a flair for words, I’m just your average guy. If you asked me a year ago how to set up a website, I’d’ve stared at you. Within a week after I got the chip, though, one of my experiments was to download a tutorial on HTML and build a website. Took me an hour, maybe an hour and a half, and it was actually pretty well done. While having all of this information inside my head doesn’t actually make me more intelligent than I was, it does mean I can learn things more quickly than I could before, a lot more quickly.” He sighed. “What I’m trying to say is that it won’t take long for whoever gets that chip to figure out how to download any kind
of tutorial, and once he’s scanned through it, all that knowledge is there to use whenever he wants. It doesn’t matter if he knows how to hack before he gets it; he can learn that within hours once he can access the internet directly and pull knowledge into his own long-term memory.”
The silence that descended around the table was the thickest Sam had ever experienced, and it was only seconds before he had to break it.
“Okay, so we’ve got a reasonable suspicion that someone, possibly Fei, is out to get the chip in order to establish control over—well, over someone, and maybe everyone. The question is what we’re going to do with this suspicion. Should we try to get the SF police involved? They’ve got enough issues with Fei that this would probably terrify them. What about the FBI or Homeland Security?”
“Harry said we might need them,” Ron said. “It doesn’t really affect our contract with C-Link if we call them in, because they’ll be working the Fei part of the problem. Your call, Sam.”
Sam chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. “I think I want to hold off,” he said. “I think what I need to do is go out to San Francisco myself. I’ve already got Steve, Walter, Summer, and Jade out there; Darren, I think you and I should join them.”
“What about me?” Pat asked. “You done hired me as a consultant on triads, I might be useful.”
“It's tempting, Pat,” Sam said, “but we’re going into a very dangerous situation. We know of at least four people who have already been murdered over this, and I don’t like the idea of putting another civilian in jeopardy.”
“I know how to handle myself,” Pat shot back. “You guys brought my truck down here, didn’t you? I’ve got a Colt forty-five in the glove box, and I’m a concealed carry holder.”
Sam turned to Ron. “What do you think?”
