The Origin Point: A Future Tech Cyber Novella (6 page)

"There's also name and location politics.
The applications can be made to interpret where people live or the
name they give, as an indicator of ethnicity or economic
status."

"And they can proactively alter the code or
innocently make changes based on programming existing stereotypes
into common questions."

"There's nothing innocent about
stereotypes."

"Right, but the question is...in terms of
our project, do we care? The result of online discrimination will
hurt people on an individual level, but is the outcome going to be
the kind of problem that halts our other plans?"

"Technically, there is really no reason to
care, the issue is almost impossible to prove."

"As a person I care."

"But as the director of FedSec?"

Marco hesitated before unenthusiastically
replying, "No."

"Believe me as a woman I care too. I know
turning the other way is tough, Marco. But somehow we'll have to
transcend this technical functionality. We'll have to find another
road to our power and economic security."

"There is no other road. Women are already
far behind in tech employment and that's where the money is. If you
get left even further behind by male-run online companies
unrepresentatively programming your access to products, including
education by the way, you're going to completely miss out."

"But we need our project. If we do not gain
total control of our domestic security, the country could become
impossible to live in. We could have bombings and mass shootings
every day."

"Yes I know. The general idea behind our
entire plan is surveillance. If we can monitor public places, have
dynamic facial and body recognition and automatic alerts for
suspicious behavior, we can finally get ahead of the
terrorists."

"I don't think the average American is
really going to cry about the price they're paying, most of them
are already enwrapped with their mobiles. We are talking about a
population barely looking up as they go through their day. People
have no idea how often they are viewed on camera."

"I know. Indifference is one development I
have never reconciled. When did people become so complacent?"

"The 2008 recession sucked the dynamism out
of the general populace. The crushing of the American dream of home
ownership really prompted a lot of people to give up. They thought
they had done everything right, but a configuration of
indecipherable financial equations destroyed their hard work over
night. People lost all their equity, every cent they had ever
saved. Do you think they are going to turn around and start working
hard all over again? Not if they can avoid the pressure."

"Yeah I think the true social fallout from
2008 has yet to be written. But the effects are being played out in
everyday life. The rise of smartphones came just in time to provide
people with a distraction from ever making an effort again. With
the malaise, people were waiting for an opportunity when they would
not have to struggle. Now they have found one. Without a depression
or a war to recover from or an evil dictator to be afraid of,
people can settle into their docile lives without guilt. Staring at
your mobile all day is not a sign of laziness, in fact most people
would assume you were engaged with someone."

"That's the irony. Most people are not using
the smartphone to do anything smart. They are scrolling through
social media updates."

"Which means they'll barely notice when our
system comes online, and we track and store their every move."

"No, they'll walk right into."

"With their heads down." Both laughed. "But
we begin a high tech race and gender war at the same time?"

"Only with those who are paying
attention."

"The issue is indirect. You can no longer
hang a 'whites only' sign in front of your business, but you can
code the directive into your business software. Since consumer
websites are already collecting demographic data about people, as
the information becomes cross-referenced and traded, every business
will eventually know each individual's ethnicity and gender, and
react as they wish."

"A cyber Jim Crow world."

"Exactly and no one would be the wiser.
Complainers will have a hard time proving the computer rejected an
applicant or buyer because decisions are made in split-seconds with
no face-to-face interaction."

"Without transparent standards for gathering
and using personal data, you could also weed out people by
education, profession, or location."

"Right, you can have the system
automatically reject graduates of a certain college who apply for a
job. Or you can have a 'no journalists' policy at your hotel. A
person whose profession is cross-referenced as journalist will
always receive a 'there are no rooms available message' when they
try to make a reservation at a hotel."

"And a second later, I could book a room
because really the hotel is only at fifty percent occupancy."

"That's the idea."

"Yikes."

"And the possibilities go on."

"Actually given those scenarios, maybe the
outcome could also go the other way. Once these discriminatory
practices start affecting white people...and men, the media will
pay attention. Tech companies might have to think of ways to use
software to fight discrimination."

"How?"

"I don't know. But everyone will know they
can track the discrimination decisions. They will know when a woman
applicant is rejected and a man is accepted. Every company would
have statistics."

"But they could also manipulate and manually
change those numbers at any time. You would have to be able to
infiltrate the business' systems to monitor their activity
24/7."

"Well there's a job for the hackers. Besides
directly stealing consumer data like credit card numbers,
businesses will have to watch out for hackers who practice data
analysis on their decision-making information and publish those
statistics to the public."

"Yes maybe some hackers are civil rights
activists or working with them. Imagine those stories. If a
business is suspected of having coded discriminatory practices into
its software, hackers could access those systems and pull the data
before the business decides to delete or manipulate the findings.
The ability to analyze those numbers would be a game changer."

"Hackers would need to get organized if they
are going to become the champions of civil rights. Businesses would
instantly fight back, the data would be considered stolen. The
hackers would have to have documented evidence they could prove,
which would not be easy. They too could be accused of altering the
data."

"You would need cyber forensic scientists on
top of cyber forensic scientists to investigate for the
manipulation of the code."

"Absolutely."

"We are dealing with a real, but distant,
possibility. Not only are those hacker guys...mostly guys,
super-competitive, but they are also all over the world, and by
definition, independent."

"You would need one who saw this coming and
started mobilizing forces right away."

"Yes if any of them are even aware of our
plans, his work is set, and he should be preparing a response right
now."

*

Apex repositioned her back against a tree in
a park across the street from the Horizon building, and tried her
access program again. After the fourth timeout message, she cursed
the limitations of mobile technology, and began slowly walking back
towards the shopping mall parking lot where she had left her car.
Her phone rang. Glancing at the displayed name, she stated,
"finally" as she answered.

"You shouldn't keep calling me," Carter
Harden, the founder, president and CEO of technology industry giant
Initium immediately chastised her.

"We have a problem."

"You have to deal with those problems. You
know I can't, I run a public company."

"Don't be so rude, if you want to keep
running your precious company you'll listen to me."

Carter took a deep breath. "Okay?"

"Dallas Winter."

"Who?"

"Dallas Winter, the journalist who picked up
the files."

"And?"

"I don't think she easily scares."

"Then find another way to intimidate
her."

"She knows she has a story because your
buddy Marco Manuel basically told her she had correctly guessed the
source for the files."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Carter looked
up and rolled his eyes. "How do you know?"

"She recorded the conversation and I had a
listen. I'll send the file to you. Manuel did not directly tell her
but he's also not very good at denial."

"But why would he give up the
information?"

"They're old friends and he thinks he can
control her."

"Seriously? Okay any guesses on her next
move?"

"Nothing yet, but who knows what's she's
thinking. I have not yet developed mind-reading applications."

"Too bad, you'll have to pursue her the
old-fashioned way. Be a stalker."

"Fun. And how are you going to handle your
friends?"

"I'll see if I can rein in those Washington
dopes. Like I need more complications. Stock is flat-lining, I've
got a thousand interview requests, and I have to deal with
incompetents who do not understand a straight-forward mandate to
implement the technology foundation for the next hundred
years."

"Not everyone has your cold calculating
brainpower, some people care about their friends."

"Their friends will get us killed, literally
and figuratively. If the press learns of our plans the publicity
will set us back decades."

"But my work will be done."

"No, your work will re-double. The U.S. is
going to go forward with an integrated surveillance system in one
form or another. The idea is too tempting. Imagine the ability to
not only track every single human being on earth, but also to use
the information gathered about them to provide daily life
instructions. Most people are complacent, risk-averse and
followers. The idea would work perfectly if the project were fully
rolled out. Your work will not end because you will have to stay on
top of governments and make sure the system never comes
online."

"You have to make sure too. You're the guy
with the technology they need."

"They'll never get my technology...my real
capabilities. They might not understand that right now, but I'm not
giving up my brainpower to governments."

"They still believe you're one of them?"

"Yes, of course. And believe me, a lot of
guys like me will align with them. Most guys will not be able to
resist those lucrative government contracts."

"The work goes on regardless of the
information Winter is able to uncover?"

"Absolutely. We have a duty to humankind to
prevent this project, we have to stick to our objectives."

"Okay I'll follow Winter and let you know if
I learn anything."

"Good, let's see if she can't be the
catalyst that forces FedSec to reveal its weaknesses."

*

Under conventional circumstances, Dallas
would consider two straight days of permitted direct access to
Marco Manuel to be the beginning of the apocalypse. Not only was he
willing to see her again, but he also seemed enthusiastic about her
request, as if a sudden realization had come over him. Fitfully, to
her surprise the contentment was shrouded in mystery as he insisted
on her being taken once again to his private office at Horizon.
Twenty minutes prior to arrival, Dallas was blindfolded. After
emerging from the building's underground parking structure into the
public areas, she had little time to view her surroundings. The
extreme northwest corner angle of the capital's diamond-shaped
geographic layout was a sedate neighborhood of riverfront parks
backing into Bethesda, Maryland. As Dallas looked through the
lobby's glass entryway, she latently realized the location should
have been a revelation. 'Why does FedSec have offices in a
semi-residential nature zone?' No answer would be forthcoming as
Marco's earlier friendly demeanor turned to soured concern.

"You have an emergency?" Marco abruptly
stated as she entered and sat down on the other side of his
desk.

"Yes, I think I do," Dallas responded,
defending her appearance. "I received what I can only consider to
be a threatening phone call about those files."

"What files?"

Dallas sighed. "Okay about the flash drive I
spoke to you about yesterday."

"What kind of threat?"

"The 'stay away or you'll have trouble'
kind."

Marco raised his eyebrows and asked with
genuine concern, "Any idea who threatened you?"

"A woman. Said her name was Apex."

"Apex? How original."

"She knew where I'd been meeting. Who I'd
been meeting with. The conversation was very scary."

"What do you mean 'where' you'd been
meeting?"

"She knew I had a meeting with you."

"Oh. Did you recognize her voice?"

"No."

"Did you see anyone following you?"

"No."

"Any other clues?"

"She said the files are part of a big
discussion in London, Paris, Beijing." Marco imperceptibly braced
in his chair but did not display any concern. "What do you
think?"

"You've been frightened by a crackpot."

"Who knew how to find me and private details
about my activities?"

"That's a price we pay in today's world. No
doubt you have plenty of private information already available
online."

"Hardly."

"No public pictures of you with your
friends?"

"Well sure but—"

"Posts about conferences you went to, photos
of trips you have taken."

"Work yes, someone else's pictures, but
personal no."

"Only a couple of public data points are
necessary and they've got you."