Chapter 16

During Bonnie's conversation with Hak, Al had been doing a lot of thinking. He was toying with the virus program Hak had deciphered, and was thinking all of the ramifications of what the program could do if it were executed.

In the mid 21st century, almost everything was run or controlled by computers. Every personal-computer he knew of used dihedrons for permanent or semi permanent data storage. Even the large mainframes tended to use dihedrons, due to their small size and large storage capacity. The really large computers used trays of dihedrons with automatic sequencers which moved the correct crystal into and out of the reader.

This meant that nearly every computer in the United States was infected with the virus. Al started making a list of the various functions that would be shut down if the virus were activated.

- Stock-market
- Banking
- Transportation
- Manufacturing
- Retail sales
- Communications
- Hospitals

When Bonnie had completed her conversation with Hak, Al turned to her with a very worried expression on his face. "Sweetheart, now I'm really scared. This is a list of some of the things that would be shut down if these bastards send out their code word. When you think about it, there are very few computers in this country that do not use dihedrons. Nearly every one of them are also connected to a phone line by modem. Only the computers that do not use dihedrons, or that are not connected to a modem would be safe. "

Bonnie frowned and brushed the hair back from her eyes. "Wouldn't they have to call each of these computers individually though, before the virus would take effect?"

"Yes, they would. However, if they set up a computer to do it for them, it could be done relatively quickly. I figure it would take about five seconds for a computer to dial a number, wait for the connection, then send the one word message. A single computer would be able to send the message to 12 computers every minute. That would be 720 computers it could infect in an hour, or 17,280 infections in one day. As big as this thing is, they could have a hundred computers, or a thousand computers making calls. All they would have to do would be to give each computer a different list of computers to call. "

Now Bonnie looked frightened. "Oh my God! I never thought of it that way. With a hundred computers doing the calling they would be able to infect 72,000 computers in one hour. In other words, they could totally cripple the United States, in less than an hour, using the virus program alone. "

"You know, Bonnie, I'll bet they have those computers in place right now, with a default activation set for exactly 100 years after the bombing of Hiroshima. I would also bet they have a code word they could send to those computers which would activate them at any time. We have to be extremely careful here, that we don't force them into an early activation. We need to talk about your story about the congressmen before you submit it. Now, I'm afraid it might cause them to prematurely activate their virus, if they think we're getting too close to them. "

"I don't know, Al. That would go against everything I had ever been taught about being a journalist. The people of the United States have a right to know if their representatives are corrupt. I understand where you're coming from, but it just doesn't seem right to withhold that kind of information. "

"Sweetheart, we are in over our heads here. We should probably take this to the FBI or something, but if they have congressmen in their pockets, they may also have FBI agents or even the director of the FBI on their payroll. We need advice, but who can we trust to give it to us?"

"Al, I'm afraid I don't have any contacts who could help us. You know anyone we could really trust with this kind of information?"

"I'm afraid I know very few people actually, Bonnie. I don't normally hang around people with authority. I hate to say this, but the only person I can think of who might know the kind of people we need advice from, is my father. My father and I don't have a good relationship. "

"Don't you think he would put aside your differences if we told him what was going on?"

"Yes, Bonnie, I think he would. I guess I'm just being childish, not wanting to ask him for advice. I should probably drive out there this afternoon and have a talk with him. Maybe, asking for his advice, would mend some other fences as well. "

"If you go, I'm going with you. I would like to meet him, and get to know him. That is, unless you think I'm being too pushy." Bonnie giggled. "After all, I don't want to scare you off. "

Al reached for Bonnie, and drew her to him, his arms circling her lovingly. "There's not much chance of that, sweetheart. It's going to take something like finding out you are an axe murderer before I get scared off. "

They sat snuggling for a few minutes, trying to forget about the Japanese completely. It was no use though, harsh reality kept intruding on their thoughts. After a few hugs and some tender kisses they went back to their research.

Al was restless and couldn't really concentrate on what he was trying to do. Before long he gave it up completely, picked up the phone, and dialed his father's number.

The elder Mr. Green answered on the first ring. Al told him he would like to come out in a couple of hours, and he would be bringing some others with him. His father wanted to know what it was all about, but all Al would tell him was that it concerned Sam's death. Mr. Green agreed to see them, so Al immediately called Linda, and then Lt. Slavens, to see if they could meet him there. Both agreed to be there in 2 hours time.

Linda and Slavens were already at the Green residence when Al and Bonnie arrived. Evidently Mr. Green had been trying to find out what the meeting was about, but Linda and Slavens wouldn't say anything until the new couple arrived.

After they were seated on the patio and Mr. Green had brought iced tea for everyone, Al told him everything they had learned. He didn't hold back anything. He could see his father was visibly shaken by the information.

For once, Mr. Green did not question the validity of the information his son had given him. Al was surprised, and greatly pleased, that his father believed him, even when the story was as fantastic as the one he had just told.

Over the next hour, Mr. Green asked each of them many questions, wanting specific details, and explanations of some of the things he had been told. He drew them out and soon had as clear a picture as any of them about what was going on.

"So, what do you want from me?" he asked, looking at each of them in turn.

"Dad, we're in over our heads here. We know what's going on, and we can prove most of it. None of us are in and a position though to do anything about it. Bonnie here is writing an expose about the congressmen who are on the take, but we're not even sure she should release it. My concern is that it might push these people into prematurely activating their plan. We need advice, and we need someone in authority who we can contact without having to worry they might be on the take. "

Mr. Green chuckled. "You know, son, I have never hesitated to give you advice, and you have never hesitated to ignore it. Maybe I'm a little more qualified to give you advice on some aspects of this than I am on your personal life. I'd agree with you that releasing a story right now could cause these bastards to react by activating their plan. When you tell me they can shut down the stock exchange and banking, it scares the hell of me. This is something my colleagues and I have discussed for years. Our economy would be destroyed in minutes. If everything were shut down for even a day or two, it would take years for the economy to recover. We want to be able to insure they can't react before they find out we're on to them. "

Mr. Green sat quietly for several minutes, deep in thought. "I don't really know anyone who has the direct authority to help us. I do have a friend who is a criminology professor at the University who I would trust implicitly. He is a former FBI agent, and was on the detail that protected our last president. He knows a lot of people, and has a personal relationship with the former president. Would any of you mind if I invited him over and filled him in on the situation?"

Everyone agreed to invite the man over. Soon Mr. Green was on the phone talking with his friend. Al was proud to see his father was very cautious in what he said over the phone.

When the former FBI agent arrived, Mr. Green introduced him as Glen Wright. After some small talk, they were soon on a first name basis with the former agent. Al liked him immediately, and when he glanced over at Slavens, the police Lt. gave him a brief nod.

The former agent sat quietly while Al told him about everything that had happened, everything they knew, and everything they thought they knew. He didn't interrupt once until the narrative was finished.

"How much of this can you prove," he asked the four young people?

"To be honest with you, Glen, most of this information would not stand up in a court of law. A big part of it was obtained by hacking into the computer systems of some of the main companies that are involved. As evidence in court, it is worthless, but we are trying to corroborate the information through legal means. "

The former agent smiled and shook his head. "The legality of the information is not nearly as important to me at this time as is the validity of the information. From what I can see, if we took this to court, it would precipitate exactly what we are trying to prevent. "

Al was surprised the agent had understood so quickly the ramifications of the situation. "If you would be willing to stop by my place tomorrow, Mr. Wright, we can show you all the documents we currently have. By that time, we may even have some proof about the complicity of the congressmen involved."