Chapter 15

Not being an adept ‘computer hacker,’ Solomon was very excited. The success he had expected soon had just come to fruition.

Not wanting to alert the authorities to what he was doing, Solomon had exercised extreme caution in his search. At first he had used different computers – in his home, at the Institute, at various research libraries and labs to which he had special access – for no more than a couple of hours at a time. He had then made a connection with a wide variety of remote servers to do his search. He had no idea if such things were monitored, but didn’t want to take any chances. After two years of painstakingly careful research, he believed he had tracked down two of the Revos members Barnaby Smith had alluded to in his letter.

He couldn’t believe the Security Force had made such a slip in creating their TotalVid ‘program’ for his ancestor’s benefit. Either it was incredible arrogance on their part, or lack of much foresight ... or both. They must have used the names for authenticity, or just from convenience, never suspecting Barnaby Smith would communicate those names to him. Well, they obviously made mistakes, and it was up to him to take advantage.

The letter had specifically mentioned three names: Wafer, Technos Thanatopolus, and Katherine Dagoo. Not knowing if Wafer was a first or a last name, he had done a search for both. In the entire Western hemisphere, he came up blank. He switched to Technos Thanatopolus and then to Katherine Dagoo, and also came up blank. Solomon realized Barnaby had probably written the names phonetically, having only heard them from the Security Force officer, not seen them written down. Solomon spent many patient months going through every possible spelling he could think of. Not having any success, he then tried the European Regions, and also came up blank on the first two names. However, he found a Katherine Genevieve Dague in the Mediterranean Region and a Madeliene Katherine Dague in the Germanic-Franco Region. The first was a seventeen-year old student in Advanced Training, the second a seventy-year old retired Level 43 Library Services Technician. As neither was likely to be associated with such a group, he pressed on. Although the male names seemed more likely to be in one of the European Regions than elsewhere, Solomon still tried the rest of the world, and still found nothing. After nearly two years, he was feeling very frustrated – and then elated.

Within the Court system records, he found a Teknos Phillipe Thanatopolous, a Level 40 TotalVid Technician, also in the Mediterranean Region. The man was twenty-six years old, and had appeared before the Court for disobedience to a superior. He had been fined ten thousand credits, a huge sum for someone of his Level, and one seemingly way out of line for the charge. No details of the trial could be found, although Solomon had thought all of the information would be public.

Solomon continued the search for different spellings of ‘Wafer,’ but found nothing. He broadened his investigation of Thanatopolous, learning more about the man than he had ever wanted to know about anyone. The only relevant facts he could discover were that Thanatopolous had twice been passed over for advancement, although he seemed to have an excellent record for technical proficiency. The man evidently did not get along with his superiors, and had several marks in his proficiency rating for ‘lack of cooperation’, although no details were given. One interesting item noted in his records was the frequent company of a friend who was also considered a ‘social malcontent’, a Level 16 Computer Programmer named Waymond Antonius Sampras. Interestingly, Sampras had also made a Court appearance, this one for unlawful access of classified data. Again, no details were supplied. This sounded suspiciously to Solomon as ‘computer hacking,’ which Barnaby’s letter had accused this ‘Wafer’ person of doing.

As he narrowed down his search geographically, Solomon had also paid careful attention to people and events occurring in the area that could be relevant to his work. He discovered a small subsidiary of the Mediterranean Zaibatsu that was doing some pretty advanced work in microwave technology. From their humble beginnings in the 19th Century, microwaves had advanced remarkably as a means of signal detection and conveyance. With some degree of truth, Solomon told the Director he wanted to visit the small company to see what work they were doing that might be helpful in perfecting his acquisition signals. Within two weeks of deciding he had a specific address to visit in his quest to find the Revos, Solomon was on a rocket shuttle to Greece.

When he finally stood outside of the doorway, Solomon took a deep breath. So far, he had done nothing to get him into any real trouble, or that would lead him down the path of revolution. He hesitated only a few seconds longer and then pressed the recognition plate. There was no response.

Solomon almost laughed in relief. He turned to go, and then his logic took over. Irritated at his cowardice, Solomon turned and forced himself to perform a rude act: he physically knocked on the door. Solomon knew the man’s habits far too well to actually believe he might not be at home. The second time he knocked he was rewarded by an angry baritone voice vibrating the communicator.

“What d’you want?”

The ridiculousness of the situation gave Solomon a courage he would probably not have normally felt. “A few words with you, Citizen.”

“You’ve had a few. Now leave.”

“Teknos Phillipe Thanatopolous, I’m sure you didn’t recognize my display, but I assure you I’m a friend. I’ve traveled a very long way to speak with you. May I please have just a few moments of your time?”

“What about?”

“About mutual interests.”

“Oh, right, right. I’m sure I got a lot in common with some Level 3 scientist. Why don’t you tell me what they are?”

“I don’t think we should discuss them so publicly,” Solomon shouted with some exasperation. He couldn’t believe he was having a shouting match with a man three times his size who kept himself locked behind his apartment door, as if he had something to fear from Solomon. “Would you please let me in so we can have a little privacy?”

“I got no mutual interests with you. Now go away.”

“Alright, we’ll do it publicly. Shall we start with Wafer?”

There was a dead silence for long moments. Suddenly the door slid open. Solomon stepped inside.

The man towered over him, and seemed quite menacing. Somehow, perhaps after all he had been through, or perhaps because of Barnaby’s words of reassurance from long ago, Solomon felt more at ease than he had in some time. This man was destined to become his friend.

“Speak quickly, Citizen, ‘cause I have little patience.”

Solomon smiled, seeing the fear and uncertainty behind the large man’s bluster. Without knowing why, he was certain he had found the right person.

“I assure you I am indeed a friend,” he said soothingly. “May we please just sit a while? I have a very long story to tell you, and we may as well be comfortable.”

“It’s ... It’s...”

“Unbelievable?”

“Right, right. No. It’s more than unbelievable,” the big man grumbled. “It’s preposterous.”

“Yes, perhaps that’s true. And I’m afraid I have very little proof to offer you.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that. Anyhow, maybe I’ll believe you.”

“You might! Why?”

“Because of who you are. Because of your story. And because we need a miracle.”

“Okay, that’s interesting. Why don’t you take them in order, and we can discuss them?”

“There ain’t no doubt about your identification, right? Even if the Zaibatsu had concocted this identity for you, I just can’t see you as some deep cover Security Force spy. No offense.”