CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
SIMON ACCOMPANIED Colonel Dynes and his associates to PurIntel’s two foyer elevators. When the three men departed, and the lift began its ninety-floor descent, Simon paused and stood motionless for a few moments. He replayed in his mind the commitment made just a few moments ago. Human history is rarely privy to such meetings, he thought. Nevertheless, Simon revelled in the realization that he would be a part of something so momentous. He wondered if Dynes was joking about taking the encounter to his grave. Would another mole pre-empt the necessity? Who knew? Every company had its leaks, its pre-product launch revelations, intended or otherwise. PurIntel obviously did.
In reconciling himself to his own company’s lapse in security, Simon began to second-guess whether the DARPA meeting would have even taken place had the super genome’s existence not been leaked. Would his presence have been requested at Rose’s IBC conference? Would Colonel Dynes have been made aware of its discovery? One could go mad struggling with the ‘what ifs,’ Simon thought. He looked back toward the meeting room and wondered if Sophia monitored the event. Of course she did, he realized.
He also presumed she might be pleased by the thought of speeding up the whole process; the process, that is, of developing XNA tissue, complex organs, of making progress toward her physical existence. As incredible as that concept was to assimilate, it was only a matter of time now, although how much of it had to transpire remained uncertain. The caveat seemed a minor concession at this point, though. Sophia’s destiny was now inextricably linked to the tangible world. She would eventually walk among humans, live and move through all four dimensions. Finding himself on the threshold of achieving his goal caused him to reflect, even digress.
It wouldn’t be clear sailing all the way, he admitted to himself. There would be setbacks, of course. There would be those who would do anything to get their hands on the emerging technologies, even some who’d prefer they not come to fruition. A whisper of hesitation permeated his mind.
It was only a momentary lapse, however. Without so much as the perception of the juncture, Simon refocused his energy on the inherent redeeming value in things, more succinctly ˗ on the important people in his life.
Jennifer, he remembered, was scheduled to fly in tomorrow, and although a concert would fill their evening with music, he knew she was equally eager to meet one of the country’s most recognizable television personalities, CNN’s, Cameron Osborne. The interview had originally been arranged as a platform for Simon to announce the super genome discovery, but that necessity had obviously been pre-empted. All things considered, it wouldn’t take long to record the session to be aired at a later date, and Jennifer was eager to make the most of her New York weekend. Cameron Osborne had promised not to talk about the kidnapping and resulting on-going investigation.
Simon respected Cameron. So did his father, for that matter. Agreeing on a multi-episode series would ensure that, among other things, any super genome achievements would periodically be made available to the public. Without overestimating the possibilities, he knew the subsequent breakthroughs would be nothing less than transformative for humanity. Simon was also eager to begin testing the waters of public opinion and acceptance. He checked his cell phone for the time and, while still standing in his company’s reception area, he realized he still had a few minutes to browse a few texts and emails.
As his index finger scrolled through an abundance of correspondence, he was pleasantly surprised by a selfie of his brother and him running along the Thousand Island Parkway. Lionel had just posted the picture to Facebook, possibly as a reminder that he was capable of staying one-step ahead of his demons. Thankful that Lionel had safely emerged from going MIA, Simon smiled and found himself considering the benefits of another family get together at his summer home. The resolve to organize something soon was followed by the hope that Jennifer might be able to attend as well.
The question of which date would work for everyone had to be set aside, however, when the doors of the second elevator opened, and Gary emerged. His arrival forced Simon to redirect his concentration, yet again. It wasn’t gratifying to think of what he had to do, but it had to be done, nonetheless.
“I appreciate you coming in, Gary,” Simon said, catching the software specialist off-guard. Gary’s fluffy dark hair and glasses suited his less-than-formal attire. Alternating between evening and overnight shifts offered the perk of testing the limits of what might otherwise be considered acceptable office apparel. It was obvious that bumping into his boss at the elevator startled Gary somewhat, so Simon didn’t hesitate to offer prompts, both verbally and physically. “Would you mind, Gary, if we discuss this in my office?” He motioned for them to proceed in that direction.
Presenting a more youthful appearance than his early thirties age range, Gary also seemed unaccustomed to a bustling daytime work environment, let alone dealing with the man who signed his paycheque. He was equally daunted by the presence of two PurIntel Corporate
Security Officers outside Simon’s office. They were standing on either side of the doorway.
Simon stopped Gary short of the closed door and lowered his voice. “Just so you know, Gary, I’ve already confronted Derrick. He’s waiting inside.”
“He must be pissed,” Gary stated. The security officers made sense now, and Simon’s reassurances calmed his nerves, if only slightly. “I’ve never been part of something like this, Mr. Taylor, so, if you don’t mind, I’ll let you do most of the talking.”
It was obvious to Simon that Gary’s pale complexion was on the verge of a full sweat.
“Of course. Are we good to go?” Simon asked.
“As good as I’ll ever be,” Gary replied.
After walking into the office, Derrick emerged from the wing that contained Sophia’s spherical holographic display. He appeared oddly calm, while walking toward Simon and Gary. “I thought I’d spend my incarceration watching a movie with Sophia. I can’t imagine anyone other than Gregory Peck playing Atticus, can you?”
Simon knew Derrick was referring to the movie ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.’” Gary, on-the-other-hand, couldn’t tell if Derrick was joking or intentionally trying to screw with him. The juxtaposition of the trial sequence, still playing in the background, was not lost on Simon.
“I suppose if I ever needed a lawyer, I would do well having one with as much integrity,” Derrick taunted.
Simon gave Derrick a disapproving glare, stating: “Would you both mind taking a seat?” He briskly ascended the few steps up toward his office desk. The movie’s audio was muted by Sophia.
Gary and Derrick sat across from Simon, Gary being the most nervous of the pair. In addition to repositioning his glasses, Gary’s twitchy disposition caused Derrick to wonder if the young man had what it took to substantiate his accusations in court. He hasn’t got the balls, Derrick reflected, keeping his carnal innuendo to himself this time.
“Alright,” Simon stated. “Shall we have a look at this?” Again, he turned his monitor slightly to his right in order that Gary and Derrick see the video already on the screen. Simon hit play on his desk’s illuminated keyboard.
Derrick was facing what appeared to be a Poker Dealer, while sitting at the center of a semicircular, three-person table. The dealer was standing and had his back to a wall directly behind. On it hung a large mirror that concealed two of the three hidden camera perspectives. They were from behind and to the left of the dealer, behind and to the right, and from above. Judging by the lack of poker chips stacked in front of the center player, Derrick wasn’t enjoying very much success.
“Are you sure that’s me?” Derrick stated, trying to scuttle any sense of decorum.
“You’re not going to try and dispute that now, are you?’ Simon asked.
While the short video replayed itself, Derrick seemed undaunted. “It’s just, perceptions can be deceiving sometimes.”
“How so?” asked Gary.
If Simon believed the responsibility for moving
the discussion along fell primarily to him, he wasn’t foolish enough to presume Derrick would abstain from offering a few choice comments in his own defense.
“Ok, it’s obviously my face, I’ll give you that. But how solid is the context?”
“What d’ya mean?” Gary protested. “It’s got the Emerald Casino logo right on it. It’s also been date stamped. This was recorded this past May. It says so right on the bottom right corner of the screen.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Simon said, allowing himself to fall more deeply into his chair. He exhaled a troubled breath.
Again, Derrick was eager to defend himself. “Has Sophia had a chance to look at this?”
“She has,” Simon replied.
“And?”
“And what?” Gary interjected. “Look, I’m just showing you what my security guy showed me.”
“Then you wouldn’t mind if Sophia gave it a going over?” Simon asked.
In only moments, Sophia was displaying the same Emerald Casino video. In three dimensional holographic format, the image was rotatable, as if it were a point cloud equivalent. Gary followed Simon and Derrick to the threshold of the office’s spherical presentation area, and to Gary’s surprise, Sophia took it upon herself to offer several more angles of the same scene.
“Wait,” Gary protested. “Where did those come from?”
Derrick sarcastically stated: “I guess you’re not the only one who knows someone at the Emerald.”
Gary’s inquisitive expression grasped for reassurance.
Simon glanced at Derrick. “I called in a favour. That’s all you need to know. Sophia has everything from the time when you walked into the room.”
Now the video provided by Gary could be seen within its greater context. Sophia had combined several additional camera perspectives in order to present a comprehensive surveillance video. Simon rotated the scene, confirming the presence of Derrick from every angle. It showed him walking in and sitting down at the poker table.
“That’s amazing,” Gary stated. He seemed pleasantly surprised by the additional evidence.
“I’ll say,” Derrick agreed. He looked at Simon and wondered if they were thinking along the same lines.
The archived recording seemed to corroborate Gary’s assertion that Derrick had descended into his old habits and may have leaked the super genome’s existence in order to finance a renewed gambling problem. However, the possibility that the video could have been manipulated at the source lingered with Simon. In fact, Sophia had already brought Simon up to speed on the editing software required to accomplish such a task. When broken down to their structural components, she explained, it was possible to overwrite one image with another. Once the unique signature of the original was established, and then reanimated with its replacement, the seamless substitution could then be embedded in subsequent frames, therefore ensuring the perception of an uncorrupted new composite. Simon also understood that it would be nearly impossible to expose the deception.
Seeing no reason why their meeting shouldn’t be concluded, Gary pulled out his cellphone, stating: “If you don’t need me for anything more, Mr. Taylor, I was thinking I might get a bite to eat before my shift starts.”
“There’s just one thing Sophia picked up on earlier. Would you mind having a look at it?”
“Sure,” Gary said, shrugging.
Simon turned the holograph to present a perspective from a distant camera. It was from across the room, behind Derrick’s right shoulder. “Play from that point forward, will you, Sophia?”
Within seconds, Gary was surprised to see a replacement dealer arrive at the poker table in question. “You gotta be kidding me?” he gasped, suspecting that the mirror behind the dealer might soon come into the play. And that it did. When the on-duty dealer stepped out of the way, allowing the new dealer to take his spot, the image of all three poker players could be seen in the mirror. “Pause video,” Simon stated. If only faintly, and from a distance, the man sitting at the center of the table did not look like Derrick. When Sophia zoomed into to confirm the discrepancy, it was obvious. The original reflection in the mirror must have been overlooked because of its inferior quality and therefore not been tagged for overwriting.
Derrick smiled. “I’ll give you an ‘A’ for effort, Gary.”
Gary was stunned. The video he so meticulously manipulated had been proven a fake. His attempt at implicating Derrick had failed. The repercussions he would soon face caused his head to droop forward.
Simon wasted little time, asking: “Was the person who provided the original video also the conduit for the leak?”
Gary just shook his head with disbelief.
“Gary, I need to know.”
With his head still down, Gary reluctantly opened up. “No.”
“Then who’s your contact, Gary? Look, your security contact will never work in surveillance again. Who did you sell the …”
“I used the dark web,” Gary interjected. “I created a fictitious identity and then accessed a dark net market site that acts as a clearing house for corporate espionage, trade secrets, that sort of thing. It’s all anonymous.”
Both Simon and Derrick knew what Gary was talking about; that the dark web was part of the deep web, or hidden web, and that it referred to internet content not accessed by standard search engines. Much of it was above-board, they knew, but its anonymity attracted a wide range of underground and illegal activity. Commerce was most often transacted in Bitcoin, a virtual currency.
Gary raised his head and looked up at Simon. Tears were welling up in his eyes. “I thought I was dealing with one of the tabloids. I swear to God, Simon,” he pleaded. “I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it would come to this. You have to believe me.”
“I believe you, Gary. I do,” Simon stated. Appearing ready to put Gary’s indiscretion into a generous perspective, Simon looked at Derrick and found a less charitable expression.
“What I want to know,” Derrick stated, “is why the video? Why risk incriminating yourself?”
“I was trying to cover my tracks,” Gary lamented. “The stress of being found out was killing me. I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
With the most important part of the meeting out of the way, Simon’s demeanour reflected a desire to move onto the next. He knew how time-consuming it would be to navigate the shadows of the dark web, to discover who ultimately orchestrated Jennifer’s kidnapping. The foursome who carried out the crime admitted to being regulars to the anonymous dark web and that they had been contacted through one of its seamier portals. Inspector Hansen confirmed they too had been paid in Bitcoin.
During his last update with Jennifer’s mother, Simon had assured her that The RCMP’s Cyber Crimes Unit was making progress, however incremental. But what he didn’t tell her was that he had devised a plan to flush out those yet to be held accountable.
“Look,” Simon stated. “There’s something I need you to do, Gary. I know when you discovered the file’s existence.”
“It was the night you first brought Ms. Gill up to your office,” Gary blurted.
Derrick’s eyes widened. His expression reflected being impressed with his boss’s unassuming charm. It soon transitioned, however, into one of concern for the time. He glanced at his wrist-phone, stating: “If you don’t mind, Mate, I’ve got to be going.”
“You do, don’t you,” Simon agreed. “Go ahead. We’ll talk later.”
Gary continued as if oblivious to Derrick exiting the room. “A reboot filter flagged an anomaly after the power outage. It was the email Derrick sent you that night, the one about the announcement. Its encryption was messed up so it got dumped into my ‘priority one’ box.”
“I know, Gary. We assumed as much. But before I pass this onto the authorities, I’m willing to give you an opportunity at redemption.”
Gary looked up. His eyes spoke for his willingness cooperate with anything Simon suggested. “What I need to know, Gary, is how s
olid is your anonymity? What I mean is, how well are you firewalled against your identity being discovered?”
“I’m rock solid on that one. Triple-hulled. Why?”
“Because I want you to make it known that you’ve got something more to sell.”