The 22nd Secret (109 page)

J
i
m
l
ook
e
d down
a
nd
c
o
v
e
r
e
d his fa
c
e
with h
i
s h
a
nd
s
. He
sta
r
ted sobbi
n
g
u
n
c
ontroll
a
b
l
y
a
nd the
e
nt
i
re room turn
e
d
a
w
a
y
.
The
a
ir
w
a
s pri
c
k
l
y
with
t
he
a
w
k
w
a
rd
n
e
s
s of a
g
ro
w
n man
c
r
y
i
n
g
in
f
r
ont of oth
e
r
g
r
own m
e
n.
D
a
vid said s
o
mething
a
bout a
r
e
c
e
ss
b
e
fo
r
e
J
im
c
ont
i
nu
e
d.

“
I
ca
n
’t
e
x
plain i
t
,”
he
snif
f
led.
“
I
do
n
’t know
wh
a
t could h
a
ve
possess
e
d
m
e
to do
t
his.
I
’m so
e
mba
r
r
a
ssed
.
”
A
f
t
e
r sta
r
i
n
g
in
t
o the
g
r
o
und
a
nd wiping
his
e
y
e
s for
e
ndless m
i
nut
e
s,
J
im looked up
a
t Tom.
“
I
lo
v
e
d h
e
r
a
nd s
h
e
loved m
e
.
W
e
just
w
a
nted to be
le
f
t
a
lone.”
J
im
c
ov
e
r
e
d his f
ac
e
a
g
a
in and b
r
o
k
e
down
a
s the
r
e
a
l
iz
a
t
i
on that
P
a
ula h
a
d us
e
d him
a
nd l
i
e
d to h
i
m be
g
a
n sink
i
ng
in.
S
he
n
e
v
e
r int
e
nd
e
d to r
e
turn to
hi
m
. N
o
ne
of
w
h
a
t he
r
e
mem
b
e
red
a
bout
P
a
ula h
a
d b
ee
n re
a
l. Ev
e
r
y
th
i
n
g
she
h
a
d done
a
nd
s
a
id had
b
ee
n a
l
i
e
. T
h
e
y
w
e
re
a
ll
li
e
s me
a
nt to manipulate
a
nd use
him
to comm
i
t
t
r
e
a
son.
S
o why
c
ould
h
e
not stop he
a
r
i
ng
h
e
r l
a
st words, r
e
v
e
r
b
e
r
a
t
i
n
g
in his he
a
d.
No matter what
happ
e
n
s
, al
w
a
y
s, alwa
y
s, fo
r
eve
r re
me
m
b
e
r I lo
v
e
y
ou.

Tom sta
re
d
a
t Mitch
e
ll
w
i
t
h pi
t
y
.
H
e
w
a
n
t
e
d to
t
e
ll
him
he
und
e
rstood. He
w
a
nted to tell him
he
h
a
d
e
x
p
e
ri
e
n
ce
d
P
a
m’s pow
e
r
s
.
I
t
w
a
s a
p
p
a
r
e
nt
t
o Tom
that
P
a
m had done
one
s
e
rious number
on hi
m
. Tom kn
e
w
e
x
ac
t
l
y
w
h
a
t
possess
e
d
J
i
m
t
o
c
om
m
it
tr
ea
son.
F
inal
l
y
, t
h
e
e
v
e
nts of the l
a
st f
e
w d
a
y
s
w
e
r
e
c
l
ea
r to Tom. He
stood
a
w
kw
a
rd
l
y
b
e
f
o
re
r
e
lenti
n
g
.

“
I
th
i
nk that
’
s prob
a
b
l
y
a
ll
I
’ll n
e
e
d
, Mr. Mit
c
h
e
l
l
.
I
a
ppr
e
c
iate
y
our
c
oop
er
a
t
i
on.”

J
i
m
l
ook
e
d up
a
s Tom
a
nd D
a
vid rose
to
l
ea
v
e the
room.

“
W
a
i
t
,”
J
im
said. “
W
a
s
s
he
rea
l
l
y
a
s
c
ientist de
f
ec
t
i
ng
to
t
he
Chinese
with
g
ov
e
rnm
e
nt s
ec
r
e
ts?
I
s that r
e
a
l
l
y
w
h
o she
w
a
s
?
”

Tom kn
e
w the
r
e
a
l
t
ruth
wa
s more
than som
e
th
i
n
g
J
im
c
ould handl
e
.

“
I
’m so
r
r
y
,
J
i
m
.”
He p
a
u
sed
a
nd tho
u
g
ht.
“
I
to
l
d
y
ou
I
would
n
’t be
a
ble to
a
nsw
e
r
a
n
y
of
y
o
ur
q
u
e
st
i
ons.”

Chapter Eight

Beijing

November 18th - Beijing, The People's Republic of China

After giving herself so completely to Jim, Pam found maintaining the pretense of her relationship with Ben exceedingly difficult. For the first time in her life, she was unable to do to herself what she so easily did to others. As much as she tried to suppress it, the battle between what she had to do as Patty Lawrence and what she needed as Pam Koller raged out of control. Patty’s life in China was like living within a play on a stage, with the ever-present Chinese security as the audience. Every moment was carefully choreographed, not only to disguise Patty’s true purpose in China but also to maintain Ben’s romantic interest in her. Discovery that either was a deception would bring the curtain down on Pam’s performance.

Worse yet, her intimacy with Ben was a complete farce. After being so close to Jim, she was unable to channel her predatory approach to sex. Making love with Ben made her feel like a slut. She was unfaithful and no longer worthy of Jim. There was no pleasure in having sex with Ben. It was mechanical and purposeful. Ben still found Patty irresistible and Patty was able to maintain the illusion she still was madly in love with him. The only thing that made it possible for Pam to carry on was the dedication she had to her task. Pam found that if she focused on the result of her efforts, she could negotiate through the intensity of the danger that permeated every moment of her life.

Eventually, their life together in China settled into a routine. The Chinese government provided them a modest one-bedroom apartment within walking distance of the People’s Republic of China’s Institute of Science. Pam was surprised by the quality of the equipment available to them. She had nothing better at Los Alamos. Ben was surprised by Patty’s intellect, which quickly allowed her to gain a rudimentary command of Mandarin Chinese. It was well into January of the next year that their work together on the Level 21 technology began in earnest.

By February, Ben was beginning to understand the complicated interfaces, developed by Patty over the last four years at Los Alamos that allowed access to the Level 21 technology. Theoretically, Level 21 was amazingly simple. All matter was made up of atoms and these atoms had electrons moving about their nuclei. The secret discovered by Dr. Woolum and his two associates was that during the development of the first computer microprocessors, a predictable pattern of these atomic particles was produced in all silicon-based processor chips, even up to today’s most advanced processors. If software could be developed that would use these predicable patterns as its code, an almost invisible, impossible to defeat, stealth technology could be developed. That technology could override the normal function of the processor with new instructions embedded in the molecules of the processor itself from manufacture. Until Patty’s work, the most advanced application of this technology was to send signals to the microprocessors of incoming missiles that would disrupt the normal guidance systems and, hopefully, cause a self-destruct order within the normal missile software.

March saw Ben master the theories behind Level 21 and begin to learn how Patty had taken the technology one step beyond what anyone else had accomplished. She had developed the ability to not only harness these predictable patterns, but also, by using the patterns of one atom in parity with the patterns of two others, actually create code within the atoms of certain matter. Patty created the interface between these
tryks
, as she called them, and more conventional software allowing instructions to be sent and output received. The processing speed was instantaneous and the storage capacity almost limitless. Although crude by standards of just five years from ago, it was the first time Level 21 could actually be used in a predictable, useful environment. Starting with the basic interfaces Patty had brought with her, they worked together for the next four months on developing a Level 21 override. A program that once released would prevent access to the
tryks
used by this program or their underlying atoms used by the American anti missile systems. It was virtually a Level 21 virus shield. The time had come for Ben to demonstrate his accomplishments to the Chinese scientific and military establishment, to cleanse the Chinese missile program of the Level 21 infection, and take his place at the top of the Chinese scientific society.