Spyder Web (17 page)

‘None,’ Wu replied with a crisp bow. ‘Your work was outstanding, and our reverse-engineering efforts are proceeding satisfactorily.’

‘I’m pleased to hear that,’ Parnell replied.

‘It is in light of your work on that project that I would like to introduce my associate, Ba Xan.’ Parnell shook hands with Kang, who had created a new identity for this meeting. ‘He will be assisting me financially with the development of our products.’

After everyone had taken a seat around the black granite conference table, Parnell again turned his attention to Wu. ‘To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?’

‘Ba Xan is a longtime associate of mine with varied interests throughout Asia. He has a project with very specific requirements that I believe you can assist him with.’

Parnell basked in the glow ofWu’s compliment before turning to Kang. ‘I am certain that Zhusheng has represented us fairly before bringing you here to London.’

‘He has indeed. Wu speaks very highly of you and the services you have provided for his corporation.’ Kang shifted from pleasantries to business. ‘Recently, you acquired very detailed technical information from Moy Electronics, information that could only have come from a source within that firm. I also have a need for information that can only be acquired from within Moy Electronics. You are the only person, whom I am aware of, with access to such information.’

Parnell thought briefly about Moy Electronics and Michael Cole. ‘What do you require?’

‘Moy Electronics has developed an advanced encryption technology that increases the security of data moving among computers. My firm is involved with projects across the Pacific Rim and we must ensure that our data traffic remains secure.’

‘Why don’t you just buy this technology from Moy?’

‘It is not that simple. The technology is restricted by the United States government and may not be sold outside that country. My firm does not qualify as a legal purchaser of that technology. Therefore, we must acquire it through alternate means.’

If Ba turned out to be as high-paying a client as Wu, Parnell would be happy to do business with him. ‘It’s possible that we may be able to assist you in this matter. How long will you be staying in London?’

‘Only a few days.’

‘That should be long enough for us to make a determination. Zhusheng has informed you that our fees are nonnegotiable and final for services of this nature?’

‘Yes, and I am certain that your fees reflect the full value of your services. So that you understand how serious my request is, I am prepared to offer you one million pounds for discreet acquisition of the cipher system’s hardware design and programming.’ Kang pulled a business card bearing his alias from his wallet and wrote the name of his hotel on the back. ‘This is where I am staying while in London. Contact me when your proposal is ready, and I will draft a check for your retainer.’

Parnell’s eyes glittered, and then narrowed at the mention of such a fee. He reached over and accepted the card. ‘I look forward to doing business with you.’ Following the meeting, Parnell lay down on his leather couch, kicked his shoes off onto the floor, and phoned Roe in New York with the news. What he didn’t expect was her lukewarm response to Ba Xan’s request.

‘Alex, I don’t understand you at all. Ba simply wants a data encryption system that’s not for sale at his local shop. What’s the problem?’

‘Think about it. This guy wants encryption technology-that is, ciphering technology. We already know what kind of ciphering Moy has, and whom they made it for. This isn’t business software; this is the kind of thing my previous employer might have sent me after.’

Roe’s reference to the KGB wasn’t lost on Parnell. ‘So you think we should turn Ba down?’

‘That’s your call, but I don’t have a good feeling about this. You don’t know a thing about Ba, and I’ll bet money that some intelligence service is pulling his strings. I think you should pass. Even if Ba is legitimate, he wants forbidden fruit from the U.S. government.’ Over the phone, Roe couldn’t tell if she was making any headway with Parnell. ‘If it helps you decide, we don’t have a secure way into Moy right now, and it’s much too soon for me to do a follow-up interview.’

Parnell was silent. Roe knew he was weighing a million-pound fee against his cardinal rule of avoiding governmental espionage. ‘I think you’re right. This one is just too hot for us. Shame about the money, though.’

‘What good is a million pounds if you’re rotting in some prison for espionage and treason? It’s just not worth the risk.’

That evening, just before Kang planned to go to dinner, a courier delivered a letter from Parnell regretfully declining his request for services. A deep anger filled him, and he walked for several hours that evening, working out how he would overcome this obstacle.

Parnell started his morning with an early workout, followed by a light breakfast. Once dressed for the day, he took the stairs from his fifteenth-floor flat to his suite of offices three floors below. This was his idea of a perfect commute to work. As usual, he was the first to arrive, which allowed him some quiet time at the start of the business day. When he unlocked the door to his private office, he found Ba Xan waiting for him.

‘What are you doing in here? How did you get in?’ Parnell demanded.

‘Close the door and sit down.’ The request was delivered in a tone of voice that thinly disguised a threat. Parnell closed the door and took a seat opposite Kang.

‘Can I assume that your presence here indicates that you received my letter?’ Parnell asked sarcastically.

‘I did indeed, and I must say that I am disappointed. May I inquire what prompted you to make such a rash decision?’

‘Quite simply, I don’t want this kind of business. Normally, a referral from a long-standing client such as Wu would be received with open arms. Your request enters into an area that I have made a strict practice of avoiding.’

‘Which area are you referring to?’ Kang asked.

‘I do not traffic government secrets. I will not work for, or against, any government.’ Parnell was adamant on this point and spoke with conviction. ‘That field is filled with professionals with whom I have no desire to compete.’

‘But my request is against no country,’ Kang assured him. ‘The technology I require from Moy Electronics is no different from that which you provided Wu.’

‘There is a clear difference. The information I acquired for Wu was commercial in nature. What you have requested is for the sole use of the United States government.’ Parnell was firm and direct. ‘The information is of no real value to anyone unless they’re trying to decrypt that government’s internal communications. I don’t particularly care whom you are working for, but I will not get involved in this kind of business.’

Kang seemed unmoved by Parnell’s protests.’I appreciate your position but I would like to make something very clear to you. On several occasions, you have provided illegally obtained technology to Wu Zhusheng for use by his electronics firm. Some of that information was offered to the government of the People’s Republic of China in exchange for considerations to Wu and his family. If you do not agree to obtain the technology that I require, the authorities in London will learn the true nature of your business dealings with Wu. I can assure you that Wu Zhusheng has kept meticulous records of his transactions with your firm.’

Kang reached inside his pocket and pulled out Parnell’s letter and held it for a moment before sliding it across the table. ‘Your refusal is unacceptable. Since money has failed to persuade, perhaps the future of everything you’ve built here will.’

Parnell rose and began pacing. He thought best on his feet and needed to project a sense of control over the situation.

‘You’re wielding quite a stick against me. Therefore, I must insist that I be appropriately compensated for my efforts. I’ll make an attempt to secure the cipher technology from Moy Electronics. I will not seek to obtain it from any other source, especially the American government. For this attempt,’ Parnell continued to define the terms of the deal, ‘you will pay me five hundred thousand pounds. This is a tremendous risk that I’m being forced to undertake, a risk that deserves its own reward. You will transfer that amount to my offshore accounts now, and another half a million pounds later, if I am able to deliver the ciphers. These are my terms for taking this assignment, and they are not negotiable; either accept them or leave. If you insist on pressing me into service for anything less, I will fold up my business and expose your operation to Her Majesty’s government in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The Americans will, of course, be informed of your interest in their ciphers by the British government, making any future attempts even more difficult.’

Parnell had made a daring play and hoped that his gamble would pay off. Ba Xan would either call Parnell’s bluff and agree to these terms or he would decide that dealing with Parnell was too much trouble and walk out. Parnell preferred the latter option and hoped that his uninvited guest would also find it the more palatable of the two.

‘I agree to your terms. I will authorize transfer of the first half of your fee this afternoon.’ Kang then handed Parnell a business card with a phone number written on the back. ‘Contact me at this number when you are ready to turn over the cipher information. I expect to hear from you soon.’

After Ba departed, Parnell sat behind his desk, looking out the window at the Thames and thinking about the predicament he now found himself in. Everything he’d worked for was now at risk; everything depended on how he dealt with this man’s request.

‘Ian old boy,’ he said to himself, ‘I think it’s time we began moving to safer ground.’

March 1

Kilkenny watched as a graphic depiction of his program’s performance unfolded on the computer screen before him. Every computer in existence was composed of two essential items, the physical hardware of the machine and the program, or operating system, which told the hardware how to function. Inside the MARC Cray supercomputer, the operating-system program that would one day earn him a doctorate battled to tame a computer simulation of Kelsey Newton’s revolutionary optoelectronic processor. The data showed his program to be stable and capable of managing the intricate flow of information within Newton’s radical design. Unfortunately, a simulation was all Nolan had to work with.

Kelsey had spent over two years designing her optical processor. Ten months of that time had been spent building this simulation, modeling in the computer how she believed her optical processor would behave. If her design worked, it would show chip manufacturers a way around the dead end that current computer processor designs were approaching. To date, each new generation of computer processor had been faster than the one that preceded it. This feat had been accomplished by increasing the number of circuits on the chip and decreasing the space between each of the circuits. As electronic circuits continued to get closer, the processors got faster and generated more heat, and heat destroys computer chips. If the current rate of circuit miniaturization continued, within two generations the cooling fans in personal computers would have to be replaced with refrigeration systems.

Kelsey’s design avoided this problem entirely by replacing electrical circuits (standard electronics) with optical circuits (optoelectronics). Instead of electrons racing about on a flat two-dimensional freeway of transistors, beams of light fired by an array of millions of tiny semiconductor lasers would pulse with information within a three-dimensional space. The same technology allowing a CD player to read information from a disc would provide the framework for computer designs more powerful than any machine in existence.

At this point, though, this entire experiment was still all theory, and it would continue to be theory until the prototype of the optical processor was up and running in the lab next door.

Kelsey, who was on sabbatical from her teaching duties at the university this term, had spent the last six weeks at a chip-fabrication facility, overseeing the creation of her processor. The materials and methods required to build her processor pushed conventional production techniques to their limits. Then again, Kelsey Newton never did anything the easy way.

The phone by Nolan’s workstation rang, calling him away from the colorful image cycling on the screen. ‘This is Nolan Kilkenny.’

‘Nolan, we’ve done it!’ Kelsey shouted back at him excitedly. ‘We got the impurities out of the polymer!’

In the simplest terms, the processor inside a computer was nothing more than a vast collection of switches. Each switch was either on or off. The more switches, or circuits, a processor had, the more complex the information it could handle. The core of Kelsey’s design rested on the use of a polymer, a chemically complex transparent plastic, to remember what position the processor’s switches were in. The polymer was a storage vessel that Kelsey called ‘a holographic memory.’ What made this greenish lump of transparent plastic valuable was that its molecular structure reacted when hit by various frequencies, or intensities, of laser light. In Kelsey’s design, if two beams of blue laser light intersected at any point within the polymer, that spot would react. This reaction was, in a sense, like turning a switch on. Different combinations of blue and red laser light on that same spot could either read the position of the switch or change the position of the switch. For this holographic memory to work reliably, the material had to be optically clear and free from any contamination or defects that would interfere with the laser beams. In eliminating the impurities in the polymer, Kelsey’s processor could now be built.

‘Fantastic! How soon before you can build the laser array?’

‘It’s in production as we speak. They’re going to fabricate five test units for us and, at a hundred grand a piece, we better not break any of them. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow with the prototypes.’