Digital Fortress Chapter 85-87

Chapter 85Greg vigorous fix curled on the thickener 3 root. Strathmore and Susan had just now dragged him across Crypto and bound his hands and feet with twelve-gauge printer subscriber line from the Node 3 laser-printers.Susan couldnt get oer the artful maneuver the commander had just executed. He faked the chat Somehow Strathmore had captured salutary, saved Susan, and bought himself the time needed to rewrite digital shield.Susan eyed the bound cryptographer uneasily. vigorous was breathing heavily. Strathmore sat on the couch with the Berretta propped awkwardly in his lap. Susan re rancid her attention to pinchs terminal and continued her random-st reflect search.Her fourth st large number search ran its course and came up empty. Still no luck. She sighed. We may need to wait for David to materialise Tankados copy.Strathmore gave her a disapproving look. If David fails, and Tankados key falls into the wrong handsStrathmore didnt need to finish. Susan understood. Un til the digital Fortress single file on the profit had been replaced with Strathmores modified version, Tankados pass-key was insidious.After we make the switch, Strathmore added, I dont care how m each pass-keys are travel slightly the more the merrier. He motioned for her to continue searching. hinderely until then(prenominal), were playing beat-the-clock.Susan unresolved her m fall outh to ac cogniseledge, but her run-in were drowned out by a sudden deafening blare. The silence of Crypto was shattered by a type horn from the sublevels. Susan and Strathmore exchanged startled looks.Whats that? Susan cry, timing her question between the intermittent bursts.TRANSLTR Strathmore called back, looking disquietd. Its too warm Maybe Hale was right close the aux causality not pulling enough freon.What or so the auto- terminate?Strathmore sight a moment, then yelled, Something must acquire shorted. A yellow siren light spun above the Crypto floor and swept a pulsating glar e across his heart.You better abort Susan called.Strathmore nodded. T here was no telling what would pop off if three million silicon processors overheated and decided to ignite. Strathmore needed to get upstairs to his terminal and abort the digital Fortress run-particularly in the first place anyone outside of Crypto noticed the trouble and decided to send in the cavalry.Strathmore ray a glance at the still-unconscious Hale. He laid the Berretta on a table near Susan and yelled over the sirens, Be right back As he disappeared through the hole in the Node 3 wall, Strathmore called over his shoulder, And find me that pass-keySusan eyed the results of her unproductive pass-key search and hoped Strathmore would hurry up and abort. The noise and lights in Crypto entangle bequeath care a missile launch.On the floor, Hale began to stir. With each blast of the horn, he winced. Susan impress herself by grabbing the Berretta. Hale opened his eyes to Susan Fletcher standing over him with the gun leveled at his crotch.Wheres the pass-key? Susan demanded.Hale was having trouble getting his bearings. Wh-what happened?You blew it, thats what happened. Now, wheres the passkey?Hale tried to move his arms but realized he was tied. His face became taut with panic. Let me goI need the pass-key, Susan repeated.I dont have it Let me go Hale tried to getup. He could barely roll over.Susan yelled between blasts of the horn. Youre atomic number 7 Dakota, and Ensei Tankado gave you a copy of his key. I need it nowYoure crazy Hale gasped. Im not North Dakota He struggled unsuccessfully to free himself.Susan aerated angrily. Dont lie to me. Why the hell is all of North Dakotas mail in your account?I told you before Hale pleaded as the horns blared on. I snooped Strathmore That E-mail in my account was mail I copied out of Strathmores account-E-mail communications intelligence stole from TankadoBull You could n perpetually snoop the commanders accountYou dont understand Hale ye lled. in that location was al organize a tap on Strathmores account Hale delivered his words in short bursts between the sirens. Someone else put together the tap there. I think it was Director Fontaine I just piggybacked Youve got to believe me Thats how I found out about his plan to rewrite digital Fortress Ive been dis pass acrossing Strathmores brainstormsBrain Storms? Susan paused. Strathmore had undoubtedly outlined his plans for digital Fortress using his BrainStorm software. If anyone had snooped the commanders account, all the information would have been availableRewriting Digital Fortress is sick Hale cried. You know damn well what it implies-total NSA entrance The sirens blasted, drowning him out, but Hale was possessed. You think were ready for that responsibility? You think anyone is? Its fucking shortsighted You say our government has the peoples best interests at heart? dandy But what happens when some future government doesnt have our best interests at heart Thi s technology is constantlySusan could barely hear him the noise in Crypto was deafening.Hale struggled to get free. He looked Susan in the eye and unplowed yelling. How the hell do civilians defend themselves against a police state when the guy at the top has access to all their lines of communication? How do they plan a revolt?Susan had heard this course many times. The future-governments argument was a stock EFF complaint.Strathmore had to be stopped Hale riotinged as the sirens blasted. I swore Id do it. Thats what Ive been doing here all day- watch his account, waiting for him to make his move so I could record the switch in progress. I needed trial impression- present that hed written in a back door. Thats wherefore I copied all his E-mail into my account. It was evidence that hed been watching Digital Fortress. I planned to go to the press with the information.Susans heart skipped. Had she heard correctly? short this did sound like Greg Hale. Was it possible? If Hale had known about Strathmores plan to release a tainted version of Digital Fortress, he could wait until the whole world was using it and then drop his bombshell-complete with proofSusan imagined the headlines Cryptographer Greg Hale unveils secret U.S. plan to control global informationWas it Skipjack all over? Uncovering an NSA back door again would make Greg Hale famous beyond his wildest dreams. It would also douse the NSA. She suddenly found herself wondering if maybe Hale was telling the impartiality. No she decided. Of course notHale continued to plead. I aborted your tracer bullet because I thought you were looking for me I thought you suspected Strathmore was be snooped I didnt want you to find the leak and trace it back to meIt was plausible but unlikely. Then whyd you come out Chartrukian? Susan snapped.I didnt Hale screamed over the noise. Strathmore was the one who pushed him I saw the whole thing from downstairs Chartrukian was about to call the Sys-Secs and ruin Strath mores plans for the back doorHales good, Susan thought. Hes got an angle for everything.Let me go Hale begged. I didnt do anythingDidnt do anything? Susan shouted, wondering what was taking Strathmore so long. You and Tankado were holding the NSA hostage. At least until you double-crossed him. Tell me, she pressed, did Tankado really wear of a heart attack, or did you have one of your buddies take him out?Youre so blind Hale yelled. Cant you see Im not involved? Untie me Before Security gets hereSecuritys not coming, she snapped flatly.Hale moody white. What?Strathmore faked the phone call.Hales eyes went wide. He seemed momentarily paralyzed. Then he began writhing fiercely. Strathmorell kill me I know he will I know too muchEasy, Greg.The sirens blared as Hale yelled out, But Im innocentYoure lying And I have proof Susan strode around the ring of terminals. Remember that tracer you aborted? she asked, arriving at her own terminal. I sent it again Shall we see if its back yet?Sur e enough, on Susans screen, a blinking icon alerted her that her tracer had returned. She palmed her mouse and opened the message. This data will seal Hales fate, she thought. Hale is North Dakota. The databox opened. Hale is Susan stopped. The tracer materialized, and Susan stood in stunned silence. There had to be some mistake the tracer had thumb someone else-a well-nigh unlikely person.Susan steadied herself on the terminal and reread the databox before her. It was the comparable information Strathmore said hed received when he ran the tracer Susan had figured Strathmore had made a mistake, but she knew shed configured the tracer perfectly.And yet the information on the screen was unthinkableNDAKOTA = email protectedET? Susan demanded, her head swimming. Ensei Tankado is North Dakota?It was inconceivable. If the data was correct, Tankado and his better half were the same(p) person. Susans thoughts were suddenly disconnected. She wished the blaring horn would stop. Why does nt Strathmore turn that damn thing off?Hale perverted on the floor, straining to see Susan. What does it say? Tell meSusan blocked out Hale and the chaos around her. Ensei Tankado is North Dakota.She reshuffled the temporary hookups trying to make them fit. If Tankado was North Dakota, then he was sending E-mail to himself which meant North Dakota didnt exist. Tankados partner was a hoax.North Dakota is a ghost, she said to herself. Smoke and mirrors.The ploy was a brilliant one. Apparently Strathmore had been watching scarce one side of a tennis match. Since the ball kept coming back, he simulated there was someone on the some other side of the net. But Tankado had been playing against a wall. He had been proclaiming the virtues of Digital Fortress in E-mail hed sent to himself. He had written letter, sent them to an anonymous remailer, and a backbreakingly a(prenominal) hours later, the remailer had sent them right back to him.Now, Susan realized, it was all so obvious. Tan kado had wanted the commander to snoop him hed wanted him to read the E-mail. Ensei Tankado had created an imaginary insurance policy without ever having to trust another soul with his pass-key. Of course, to make the whole takeoff seem authentic, Tankado had used a secret account just secret enough to allay any suspicions that the whole thing was a setup. Tankado was his own partner. North Dakota did not exist. Ensei Tankado was a one-person(prenominal) show.A one-man show.A terrifying thought gripped Susan. Tankado could have used his fake correspondence to convince Strathmore of just about anything.She remembered her first reaction when Strathmore told her about the unbreakable algorithm. Shed sworn it was impossible. The unsettling potential of the situation settled hard in Susans stomach. What proof did they actually have that Tankado had really created Digital Fortress? Only a lot of male plug in his E-mail. And of course TRANSLTR. The computer had been locked in an endles s loop for almost twenty hours. Susan knew, however, that there were other programs that could keep TRANSLTR busy that long, programs far easier to create than an unbreakable algorithm.Viruses.The chill swept across her body.But how could a virus get into TRANSLTR?Like a voice from the grave, Phil Chartrukian gave the answer. Strathmore bypassed GauntletIn a sickening revelation, Susan grasped the truth. Strathmore had downloaded Tankados Digital Fortress file and tried to send it into TRANSLTR to break it. But Gauntlet had rejected the file because it contained dangerous mutation strings. Normally Strathmore would have been concerned, but he had seen Tankados E-mail-Mutation strings are the trick Convinced Digital Fortress was safe to load, Strathmore bypassed Gauntlets filters and sent the file into TRANSLTR.Susan could barely speak. There is no Digital Fortress, she choked as the sirens blared on. Slowly, weakly, she leaned against her terminal. Tankado had gone fishing for fools and the NSA had taken the bait.Then, from upstairs, came a long cry of anguish. It was Strathmore. Chapter 86Trevor Strathmore was hunched at his desk when Susan arrived winded at his door. His head was down, his sweaty head g citeening in the light of his monitor. The horns on the sublevels blared.Susan raced over to his desk. commanding officer?Strathmore didnt move.Commander Weve got to shut down TRANSLTR Weve got a-He got us, Strathmore said without looking up. Tankado fooled us allShe could tell by the character of his voice he understood. All of Tankados hype about the unbreakable algorithm auctioning off the pass-key-it was all an act, a charade. Tankado had tricked the NSA into snooping his mail, tricked them into believing he had a partner, and tricked them into downloading a very dangerous file.The mutation strings- Strathmore faltered.I know.The commander looked up slowly. The file I downloaded off the Internet it was aSusan tried to stay calm. All the pieces in the plot had shifted. There had never been any unbreakable algorithm-never any Digital Fortress. The file Tankado had posted on the Internet was an encrypted virus, probably sealed with some generic, mass-market encryption algorithm, strong enough to keep everyone out of harms way-everyone except the NSA. TRANSLTR had wild the protective seal and released the virus.The mutation strings, the commander croaked. Tankado said they were just part of the algorithm. Strathmore collapsed back onto his desk.Susan understood the commanders pain. He had been completely taken in. Tankado had never intended to let any computer company buy his algorithm. There was no algorithm. The whole thing was a charade. Digital Fortress was a ghost, a farce, a piece of bait created to tempt the NSA. Every move Strathmore had made, Tankado had been asshole the scenes, pulling the strings.I bypassed Gauntlet. The commander groaned.You didnt know.Strathmore pounded his clenched fist on his desk. I should have kno wn His screen name, for Christs sake NDAKOTA Look at itWhat do you mean?Hes laughing at us Its a goddamn anagramSusan puzzled a moment. NDAKOTA is an anagram? She pictured the letters and began reshuffling them in her mind. Ndakota Kadotan Oktadan Tandoka Her knees went weak. Strathmore was right. It was as plain as day. How could they have missed it? North Dakota wasnt a consultation to the U.S. state at all-it was Tankado rubbing salt in the wound Hed even sent the NSA a warning, a blatant clue that he himself was NDAKOTA. The letters spelled TANKADO. But the best code-breakers in the world had missed it, just as he had planned.Tankado was mocking us, Strathmore said.Youve got to abort TRANSLTR, Susan declared.Strathmore stared blankly at the wall.Commander. Shut it down God only(prenominal) knows whats going on in thereI tried, Strathmore whispered, sounding as faint as shed ever heard him.What do you mean you tried?Strathmore rotated his screen toward her. His monitor had dim med to a remote shade of maroon. At the bottom, the dialogue box showed numerous attempts to shut down TRANSLTR. They were all followed by the same responseSORRY. UNABLE TO ABORT.SORRY. UNABLE TO ABORT.SORRY. UNABLE TO ABORT.Susan felt a chill. Unable to abort? But why? She feared she already knew the answer. So this is Tankados revenge? Destroying TRANSLTR For years Ensei Tankado had wanted the world to know about TRANSLTR, but no one had believed him. So hed decided to destroy the great beast himself. Hed fought to the death for what he believed-the individuals right to privacy. beneath the sirens blared.Weve got to kill all causation, Susan demanded. NowSusan knew that if they hurried, they could save the great parallel processing machine. Every computer in the world-from Radio Shack PCs to NASAs satellite control systems-had a built-in fail-safe for situations like this. It wasnt a exciting fix, but it always worked. It was known as pulling the plug.By shutting off the remain ing power in Crypto, they could force TRANSLTR to shut down. They could remove the virus later. It would be a simple matter of reformatting TRANSLTRs hard drives. Reformatting would completely erase the computers memory-data, programming, virus, everything. In most cases, reformatting resulted in the loss of thousands of files, sometimes years of work. But TRANSLTR was different-it could be reformatted with virtually no loss at all. Parallel processing machines were designed to think, not to remember. Nothing was actually stored inside TRANSLTR. Once it bust a code, it sent the results to the NSAs main databank in order to Susan froze. In a stark instant of realization, she brought her hand to her mouth and muffled a scream. The main databankStrathmore stared into the darkness, his voice disembodied. Hed apparently already made this realization. Yes, Susan. The main databank.Susan nodded blankly. Tankado used TRANSLTR to put a virus in our main databank.Strathmore motioned sickly to his monitor. Susan returned her see to the screen in front of her and looked beneath the dialogue box. Across the bottom of the screen were the words enjoin THE WORLD ABOUT TRANSLTR unless THE TRUTH WILL SAVE YOU NOWSusan felt cold. The nations most classified advertisement information was stored at the NSA military communication protocols, SIGINT confirmation codes, identities of foreign spies, blueprints for advanced weaponry, digitized documents, trade agreements-the list was unending.Tankado wouldnt dare she declared. Corrupting a countrys classified records? Susan couldnt believe even Ensei Tankado would dare attack the NSA databank. She stared at his message.ONLY THE TRUTH WILL SAVE YOU NOWThe truth? she asked. The truth about what?Strathmore was breathing heavily. TRANSLTR, he croaked. The truth about TRANSLTR.Susan nodded. It made perfect sense. Tankado was forcing the NSA to tell the world about TRANSLTR. It was blackmail after all. He was grown the NSA a choice-eith er tell the world about TRANSLTR or lose your databank. She stared in awe at the textual matter before her. At the bottom of the screen, a single line was blinked menacingly.ENTER PASS-KEYStaring at the pulsating words, Susan understood-the virus, the pass-key, Tankados ring, the cunning blackmail plot. The pass-key had nothing to do with unlocking an algorithm it was an antidote. The pass-key stopped the virus. Susan had read a lot about viruses like this-deadly programs that included a built-in cure, a secret key that could be used to deactivate them. Tankado never planned to destroy the NSA databank-he just wanted us go public with TRANSLTR Then he would give us the pass-key, so we could stop the virusIt was now clear to Susan that Tankados plan had gone terribly wrong. He had not planned on dying. Hed planned on sitting in a Spanish bar and listening to the CNN press conference about Americas top-secret code-breaking computer. Then hed planned on calling Strathmore, rendition the pass-key off the ring, and saving the databank in the nick of time. After a good laugh, hed disappear into oblivion, an EFF hero.Susan pounded her fist on the desk. We need that ring Its the only pass-key She now understood-there was no North Dakota, no second pass-key. purge if the NSA went public with TRANSLTR, Tankado was no longer around to save the day.Strathmore was silent.The situation was more serious than Susan had ever imagined. The most shocking thing of all was that Tankado had allowed it to go this far. He had obviously known what would happen if the NSA didnt get the ring-and yet, in his final seconds of life, hed given the ring away. He had deliberately tried to keep it from them. Then again, Susan realized, what could she expect Tankado to do-save the ring for them, when he thought the NSA had killed him?Still, Susan couldnt believe that Tankado would have allowed this to happen. He was a pacifist. He didnt want to wreak expiry all he wanted was to set the rec ord straight. This was about TRANSLTR. This was about everyones right to keep a secret. This was about letting the world know that the NSA was listening. Deleting the NSAs databank was an act of aggression Susan could not imagine Ensei Tankado committing.The sirens pulled her back to reality. Susan eyed the debilitated commander and knew what he was thinking. Not only were his plans for a back door in Digital Fortress iridescent, but his carelessness had put the NSA on the brink of what could turn out to be the chastise security disaster in U.S. history.Commander, this is not your fault she insisted over the blare of the horns. If Tankado hadnt died, wed have bargaining power-wed have optionsBut Commander Strathmore heard nothing. His life was over. Hed spent thirty years serving his country. This was supposed to be his moment of glory, his piece de resistance-aback door in the world encryption standard. But instead, he had sent a virus into the main databank of the National Secur ity Agency. There was no way to stop it-not without killing power and erasing every last one of the billions of bytes of irretrievable data. Only the ring could save them, and if David hadnt found the ring by nowI need to shut down TRANSLTR Susan took control. Im going down to the sublevels to throw the circuit breaker.Strathmore turned slowly to face her. He was a broken man. Ill do it, he croaked. He stood up, stumbling as he tried to slide out from do-nothing his desk.Susan sat him back down. No, she barked. Im going. Her tone left no way for debate.Strathmore put his face in his hands. Okay. Bottom floor. Beside the freon pumps.Susan spun and headed for the door. Halfway there, she turned and looked back. Commander, she yelled. This is not over. Were not beaten yet. If David finds the ring in time, we can save the databankStrathmore said nothing.Call the databank Susan ordered. Warn them about the virus Youre the deputy director of the NSA. Youre a survivorIn slow motion, Stra thmore looked up. Like a man making the decision of a lifetime, he gave her a tragic nod.Determined, Susan tore into the darkness.Chapter 87The Vespa lurched into the slow lane of the Carretera de Huelva. It was almost dawn, but there was plenty of traffic-young Sevillians returning from their all-night beach verbenas. A van of teenagers laid on its horn and flew by. Beckers motorbike felt like a toy out there on the freeway.A quarter of a mile back, a demolished hack swerved out onto the freeway in a shower of sparks. As it accelerated, it sideswiped a Peugeot 504 and sent it careening onto the grassy median.Becker passed a freeway marker SEVILLA CENTRO-2 KM. If he could just reach the cover of downtown, he knew he might have a chance. His speedometer read 60 kilometers per hour. Two transactions to the exit. He knew he didnt have that long. Somewhere behind him, the taxi was gaining. Becker gazed out at the nearing lights of downtown Seville and prayed he would reach them alive .He was only halfway to the exit when the sound of scraping metal loomed up behind him. He hunched on his bike, wrenching the throttle as far as it would go. There was a muffled gunshot, and a bullet sailed by. Becker cut left, weaving back and forth across the lanes in hopes of buying more time. It was no use. The exit ramp was still three hundred yards when the taxi roared to within a few car lengths behind him. Becker knew that in a matter of seconds he would be either shot or run down. He scanned ahead for any possible escape, but the highway was bounded on both sides by steep gravel slopes. Another shot rang out. Becker made his decision.In a scream of rubber and sparks, he leaned violently to his right and swerved off the road. The bikes tires hit the bottom of the embankment. Becker strained to keep his end as the Vespa threw up a cloud of gravel and began fish-tailing its way up the slope. The wheels spun wildly, clawing at the open earth. The little engine whimpered pathe tically as it tried to dig in. Becker urged it on, hoping it wouldnt stall. He didnt dare look behind him, certain at any moment the taxi would be skidding to a stop, bullets flying.The bullets never came.Beckers bike broke over the crest of the hill, and he saw it-the centro. The downtown lights spread out before him like a star-filled sky. He gunned his way through some underbrush and out over the curb. His Vespa suddenly felt faster. The Avenue Luis Montoto seemed to race beneath his tires. The soccer stadium zipped past on the left. He was in the clear.It was then that Becker heard the familiar screech of metal on concrete. He looked up. A hundred yards ahead of him, the taxi came roaring up the exit ramp. It skidded out onto Luis Montoto and accelerated directly toward him.Becker knew he should have felt a surge of panic. But he did not. He knew exactly where he was going. He swerved left on Menendez Pelayo and opened the throttle. The bike lurched across a small park and into the cobblestoned corridor of Mateus Gago-the narrow one-way street that led to the portal vein of Barrio Santa Cruz.Just a little farther, he thought.The taxi followed, thundering closer. It trailed Becker through the gateway of Santa Cruz, ripping off its side mirror on the narrow archway. Becker knew he had won. Santa Cruz was the oldest section of Seville. It had no roads between the buildings, only mazes of narrow walkways built in Roman times. They were only wide enough for pedestrians and the occasional Moped. Becker had once been mazed for hours in the narrow caverns.As Becker accelerated down the final stretch of Mateus Gago, Sevilles eleventh-century Gothic cathedral rosebush like a mountain before him. Directly beside it, the Giralda tower shot 419 feet skyward into the breaking dawn. This was Santa Cruz, shoes to the second largest cathedral in the world as well as Sevilles oldest, most pious Catholic families.Becker sped across the stone square. There was a single sh ot, but it was too late. Becker and his motorcycle disappeared down a tiny passageway-Callita de la Virgen.