Involuntary Control (Gray Spear Society) (30 page)

"Bethany and Leanna, you're not going home with Norbert tonight. Nancy will be your host this time. I'm pretty sure you won't have sex with her."

The twins appeared sad but they didn't complain.

"That's all," Aaron said. "Get out of here."

Everybody but Marina left. She looked at the floor.

"You could've told me," Aaron said.

"I was hoping Norbert would confess on his own," she replied.

"I don't like secrets."

"If I recall correctly, there are a few secrets we never bothered to tell Ethel when she was the commander here. Minor transgressions. Not so minor, actually. There was that visit to your parents' house..."

He looked away. "True. Would you mind helping me manage this situation?"

"I'm already on it," she said.

"Thanks." He stood up. "All this talk about sex..."

"We have time right now." She gave him a hug and a kiss. "I love those formal, gray robes on you. They make you look so powerful. I just have to see what's underneath."

"Let's go."

Chapter Eighteen

Microcode was the lowest form of software. It was merely a list of control signals to send to individual circuits in a chip. The simplest operation, such as adding two numbers, required a series of codes. Just moving a byte from one module to another was an explicit operation. The codes were like computing atoms, so trivial they were indivisible.

Kamal had pulled 4,194,304 codes off the brain control device. He had sent the file to Bethany and Leanna with only two words in the message: "good luck."

The twins had immediately set to work despite the enormity of the challenge. Using custom software, they had assembled the computing atoms into molecules, and then into complete routines. Laboriously, they had climbed the hierarchies of syntax and semantics in search of meaning. They had turned the endless sequence of numbers into something a human had a chance of understanding.

Bethany was staring at the results of their labor. The brain control software was still very difficult to interpret. It contained mathematical concepts she had never seen before. The flow of control looped in ways that defied traditional computer science.

"This is crazy stuff."

"Yes," Leanna said. "It's making my head hurt."

"Maybe we can unroll some of this logic."

"Or run simulations."

"We don't have good sample data," Bethany said. "Random inputs won't tell us anything. Wait. Look at the third loop..."

They exchanged ideas in the form of jargon. It was terminology they had picked up over the years, but the meanings had evolved to suit their needs. One bit at a time, they started to make sense of the devious software.

A message appeared on Bethany's screen, "zero: stop."

"hck112358: why?" Bethany typed in response.

"zero: it's forbidden logic. delete it."

"hck112358: we worked so hard decoding it."

"zero: it's of no use to you. turn away before it permanently harms you."

Bethany had no reason to doubt God. He probably knew what He was talking about. She looked at Leanna, who just shrugged. Bethany deleted all the data.

"zero: well done."

"hck112358: You've talked to us a lot lately."

"zero: yes. that fact is remarkable to Me also. I didn't plan this. this kind of communication wasn't even feasible before you joined the Gray Spear Society."

"hck112358: norbert doesn't believe you talk to us."

"zero: he shouldn't believe it."

"hck112358: he prays to You every day."

"zero: very many people do."

"hck112358: why don't You help them?"

"zero: I endowed man with a creative spirit, free will, and compassion. the rest is up to him."

"hck112358: could You talk to norbert please? he called us ridiculous."

"zero: for you, I'll consider it. good bye." The chat window closed.

"Does that mean we're done?" Leanna asked out loud.

"I think so," Bethany said. "Let's find Nancy."

They left their comfortable chairs and went into the main corridor. Half the lights were off, and the air was cool. The quiet spooked Bethany a little. She knew somebody was always on duty in the security booth though, and Aaron and Marina were sleeping in their quarters. She was still safe.

Bethany and Leanna found Nancy in the machine shop. There were many kinds of drills, lathes, and saws placed against the walls, some with computer controls. Shelves held supplies for all types of jobs. A big heavy table occupied the center of the room with bright lights hanging above it. Nancy was working on a complicated electrical gadget.

She looked up and smiled. "Hi, girls."

She wore blue coveralls over a white T-shirt. Grease stains shaped like handprints marked her clothes. Her frizzy brown hair was cut short, but it still managed to stick out in odd places.

"We're ready to leave," Bethany said.

"Finally." Nancy stood up.

"What time is it?"

"Two AM."

"Oh." Bethany frowned. "I'm sorry we kept you here."

Nancy shook her head. "Don't apologize. You were working on something very important. I put the time to good use. The new air-conditioning system still has bugs." She pointed towards the gadget on the table. "When I'm done fixing that, Jack has about a thousand security upgrades for me to do. We can never be too safe."

"Sounds a little boring."

"No! I love working with my hands. It's the best job in the world. I was born to do this." Nancy headed to the door. "Come on. We all need sleep. Aaron won't postpone the morning meeting just because we're tired."

Bethany and Leanna followed her out.

* * *

Aaron sipped his coffee. His team was eating breakfast at the kitchen table. He would let them finish before starting the meeting. Being hungry wouldn't help them think.

Nancy and the twins had circles under their eyes. Clearly, they had stayed up late.
Won't be the last time,
Aaron thought.

Norbert had made eggs for the twins, and he had separated the yolks from the whites before cooking them. He had also peeled and sliced some apples. The twins had made their own toast at least, but they had thrown away several slices during the meticulous toasting process. Apparently, they couldn't eat anything with scorch marks. They drank orange juice that had been forced through a coffee filter to remove the pulp.

Aaron still wasn't sure about the twins. He didn't understand how their minds worked, and that made him nervous.

After everybody had eaten, they sat in a circle.

"First," Aaron said, "let's hear a report from Bethany and Leanna. You were working on the microcode last night."

"Yes, sir," Bethany said. "We deciphered it."

"And?"

She furrowed her brow. "The software was extremely unusual but useless to us."

The expression on her face was innocent, but his gut told him there was more to the story. "You're sure?"

"Very sure, sir," Leanna said.

"Then I'm opening up the meeting," Aaron said. "I told everybody to come with specific suggestions. Let's hear them."

"White Flame Technology has a lot of lobbyists and friends in Washington," Smythe said. "We could call the Spears cell there. Maybe they could dig up some dirt for us."

"I'd rather not rely on another cell," Aaron said. "White Flame is in our territory. If we can handle this case ourselves, we will. We'll use our associates in Washington only as a last resort."

"Yes, sir."

Marina perked up. "We can spread a rumor about White Flame inventing a new mind control device," she said. "Project 708 will have to respond. They'll track the rumor back to us, and we'll be waiting for them."

Aaron nodded. "Not bad, but let's keep that idea as our backup plan. The information we collect is supposed to remain secret. We can't tell the world about mind control devices."

"I have an idea," Nancy said. "When project 708 hit the road, they probably travelled in a big caravan. I expect it was a lot of military-style vehicles. We might be able to find locals who remember the caravan and can tell us which way it went."

"That may be the best idea so far. It involves a lot of legwork, but it's discreet and doesn't break any rules."

"Thank you, sir." She grinned.

"Credit card charges," Leanna said in a cryptic tone.

Bethany looked at her and nodded excitedly.

"Explain," Aaron said.

"When people travel," Bethany said, "they have to pay for gas, restaurants, and motels. It's a specific pattern of purchases. Right now a lot of White Flame employees are exhibiting that pattern. We can figure out who they are and where they are by looking at recent credit card transactions."

"White Flame has thousands of employees. You're going to examine the statements for all of them?"

"Not us, sir. Our computers. The list of employees was part of the financial data we downloaded. We even have their social security numbers."

"That would be amazing," Aaron said. "How long will it take?"

The twin sisters spoke to each other in their private technical babble. He had no idea what they were saying.

"About eight hours, sir," Leanna said after the dialog had concluded.

"We have to write a new virus to steal this kind of bank data," Bethany explained in an apologetic tone.

"What about the analysis?" Aaron said.

"That part is easy. Credit card companies do transaction clustering all the time. We'll just use their software. We can even use their systems to make the computation go faster."

"It's that simple?"

Both girls nodded at once.

"Go!" Aaron waved his hand towards the door. "Get started. Don't let me keep you."

They hurried off.

After a moment of silence, Marina said, "Why do I suddenly feel outdated?"

"Which reminds me," Aaron said. "During the long, lonely drives to Lemonseed and back, I had plenty of time to think. Mostly, I thought about how this team needs to own a fucking helicopter so we don't have to make long, lonely drives. Marina, go buy one for us."

"Yes, sir."

He looked at his team. "That's all. This meeting is adjourned until the twins have some information for us."

Everybody went back to the breakfast table for a second helping.

* * *

Bethany and Leanna were sailing on an ocean of information. With a single keystroke, they could raise a tidal wave and send it crashing against the shores of computation. Another key would create a sucking vortex that destroyed all data. Instead of flexing their powers recklessly, they calmly watched the digital currents flow through labyrinthine nets. Catching fish in these waters was patient work.

"Bethany," a gentle, male voice said.

Bethany ignored the intrusion. She was busy.

"Bethany..."

Slowly, reluctantly, she focused her attention on the outside world. She looked up and found Norbert's round face smiling at her.

"Hi," she said.

"I'd like to talk to you, but if you're too busy now, I can come back later."

"It's OK. The program can run without us watching. Leanna! Norbert is here."

Leanna blinked a few times before turning her head. She flashed a smile when she saw Norbert.

"Can we move away from the computers?" he said. "I want your complete attention."

The space had served as a conference room before the twins had arrived. Some of the old chairs were still there. Bethany and Leanna each took one, and the seats felt awkward after reclining for hours in their wonderful workstations.

"I'm sorry I was rude to you yesterday," he said. "Calling you ridiculous was out of line. If you want to believe you receive messages from God, that's your prerogative. I shouldn't question another person's religious views."

"Don't yell at us again," Bethany said.

"I won't."

"Are you still our boyfriend?" Leanna said.

He looked at her for a moment. "Do you want me to be?"

"Yes," both girls said at once.

"Aaron and Marina don't like this relationship. They think it will cause trouble. To be honest, I can't argue with their assessment. You don't know how to deal with me, and I don't know how to deal with you. It's like we're different species."

"Why do we have to 'deal' with each other?" Bethany said. "Can't we just be together?"

"I'm not an expert, but even I know the road of love is always rocky. Disagreements are part of it."

"I never disagree with Leanna."

"You two are an exception to every rule," Norbert said.

"Are you dumping us?"

He sighed. "No, but I'm trying to be realistic about our chances. You're the math genius. What are the odds of us staying together?"