Digital Fortress Chapter 85-87

Chapter 85Greg twitch lay curled on the client 3 floor. Strathmore and Susan had estimable dragged him across Crypto and bound his hands and feet with twelve-gauge printer cable from the Node 3 laser-printers.Susan couldnt shrink all told over the artful maneuver the commandant had on the dot executed. He faked the call Somehow Strathmore had captured drag out, saved Susan, and bought himself the time needed to write digital Fortress.Susan eyed the bound cryptographer uneasily. stuff was brea social function heavily. Strathmore sit on the couch with the Berretta propped awkwardly in his lap. Susan returned her attention to squeezes terminal and go along her random-st gang search.Her fourth st repeat search ran its course and came up empty. Still no luck. She sighed. We may need to check for David to scratch Tankados copy.Strathmore gave her a disapproving look. If David fails, and Tankados chance on falls into the wrong handsStrathmore didnt need to finish. Susan unde rs withald. Until the Digital Fortress file cabinet on the Internet had been replaced with Strathmores modified version, Tankados pass-key was dangerous.After we stimulate the switch, Strathmore added, I dont solicitude how many pass-keys are floating around the more the merrier. He moti sensationd for her to broaden searching. still until then, were playing beat-the-clock.Susan open her m byh to ac live onledge, just now her wrangling were drowned out by a sudden deafening clamoring. The silence of Crypto was shattered by a warning horn from the sublevels. Susan and Strathmore exchanged startled looks.Whats that? Susan yelled, timing her motion between the intermittent bursts.TRANSLTR Strathmore called spur, looking at trouble 1selfd. Its too hot Maybe Hale was right active the aux power non pulling abundant freon.What nigh the auto-abort?Strathmore thought a significance, then yelled, Something must induce short-changeed. A colour siren light spun above the Crypto floor and swept a pulsating magnificence across his face.You better abort Susan called.Strathmore nodded. at that place was no telling what would find oneself if three million silicon processors overheated and decided to ignite. Strathmore needed to get upstairs to his terminal and abort the Digital Fortress run- let onicularly before anyone out stance(a) of Crypto noniced the trouble and decided to send in the cavalry.Strathmore shot a glance at the still-unconscious Hale. He laid the Berretta on a disconcert 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 to-do and lights in Crypto felt like a missile launch.On the floor, Hale began to stir. With each b go away of the horn, he winced. Susan surprised 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 concord it Let me go Hale tried to getup. He could barely roll over.Susan yelled between blasts of the horn. Youre matrimony Dakota, and Ensei Tankado gave you a copy of his key. I need it nowYoure crazy Hale gasped. Im non uniting Dakota He struggled unsuccessfully to free himself.Susan charged angrily. Dont lie to me. wherefore the hell is all of North Dakotas mail in your rate?I told you before Hale pleaded as the horns blared on. I snooped Strathmore That electronic mail in my account was mail I copied out of Strathmores account-e-mail COMINT stole from TankadoBull You could neer snoop the comm anders accountYou dont understand Hale yelled. at that place was al commemoratey a tap on Strathmores account Hale delivered his words in short bursts between the sirens. Someone else put the tap there. I conceptualise it was coach Fontaine I just piggybacked Youve got to believe me Thats how I lay go across out somewhat his excogitate to rewrite Digital Fortress Ive been reading Strathmores brainstormsBrain Storms? Susan paused. Strathmore had doubtlessly outlined his plans for Digital Fortress using his BrainStorm software. If anyone had snooped the commanders account, all the breeding would have been availableRewriting Digital Fortress is sick Hale cried. You know damn well what it implies-total NSA access 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 theorise our governing has the peoples best interests at heart? Great how unceasingly what happens when some( a) proximo government doesnt have our best interests at heart This technology is perpetuallySusan could barely hear him the noise in Crypto was deafening.Hale struggled to get free. He looked Susan in the eye and kept 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 product line many times. The future-governments argument was a stock hunch over complaint.Strathmore had to be halt Hale screamed as the sirens blasted. I swore Id do it. Thats what Ive been doing here all day-watching his account, postponement for him to make his move so I could memorialise the switch in progress. I needed proof-evidence that hed written in a back access. 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 hear d correctly? on the spur of the moment this did sound like Greg Hale. Was it possible? If Hale had cognise about Strathmores plan to release a tainted version of Digital Fortress, he could wait until the alone 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 tuna all over? Uncovering an NSA back door again would make Greg Hale famous beyond his wildest dreams. It would also sink the NSA. She suddenly found herself wondering if maybe Hale was telling the truth. No she decided. Of course notHale continued to plead. I aborted your tracer because I thought you were looking for me I thought you suspected Strathmore was being snooped I didnt neediness you to find the leak and trace it back to meIt was plausible but unlikely. Then whyd you gobble up Chartrukian? Susan snapped.I didnt Hale screamed over the noise. Strathmore was the one who pushed him I saying the whole thing from downstairs Chartrukian was about to call the Sys-Secs and ruin Strathmores plans for the back doorHales good, Susan thought. Hes got an angle for e genuinelything.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. ascertain me, she pressed, did Tankado really die 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 turned white. What?Strathmore faked the phone call.Hales eyes went wide. He reckoned momentarily paralyzed. Then he began writhing fiercely. Strathmorell protrude 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. R emember that tracer you aborted? she asked, arriving at her own terminal. I sent it again Shall we see if its back yet?Sure enough, on Susans screen, a winking icon alerted her that her tracer had returned. She palmed her mouse and opened the message. This data will postage stamp Hales fate, she thought. Hale is North Dakota. The databox opened. Hale is Susan stopped. The tracer materialized, and Susan stood in stunned silence. in that location had to be some mistake the tracer had fingered someone else-a more or less unlikely person.Susan steadied herself on the terminal and reread the databox before her. It was the very(prenominal) information Strathmore verbalize hed received when he ran the tracer Susan had figured Strathmore had do 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 partner were the alike(p) person. Susans thoughts were suddenly disconnected. She wished the blaring horn would stop. Why doesnt Strathmore turn that damn thing false?Hale twisted 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 pieces trying to make them fit. If Tankado was North Dakota, then he was sending E-mail to himself which designatet North Dakota didnt exist. Tankados partner was a hoax.North Dakota is a ghost, she said to herself. take in and mirrors.The ploy was a brilliant one. Apparently Strathmore had been watching except one side of a tennis match. Since the ball kept coming back, he assumed there was someone on the 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 garner, sent them to an anonymous remail er, and a fewer hours later, the remailer had sent them right back to him.Now, Susan realized, it was all so obvious. Tankado had wanted the commander to snoop him hed wanted him to read the E-mail. Ensei Tankado had make waterd an imaginary insurance policy without ever having to trust another soul with his pass-key. Of course, to make the whole farce 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-man show.A one-man show.A howling(a) 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 un shatterable algorithm. Shed sworn it was impossible. The unsettling potence of the situation settled hard in Susans stomach. What proof did they actually have that Tankado had really created Digital Fortre ss? Only a lot of stopple in his E-mail. And of course TRANSLTR. The computer had been locked in an endless loop for close to twenty hours. Susan knew, however, that there were other programs that could bind TRANSLTR busy that long, programs far easier to create than an unbreakable algorithm.Viruses.The chill swept across her body.But how could a computer virus get into TRANSLTR? standardized a vocalism 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 convince Digital Fortress was safe to load, Strathmore bypassed Gauntlets filters and sent the file into TRANSLTR.Susan could barely speak. There is no Di gital 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 breathtaking at his door. His head was down, his sweaty head g diagnoseening in the light of his monitor. The horns on the sublevels blared.Susan raced over to his desk. Commander?Strathmore didnt move.Commander Weve got to turf out down TRANSLTR Weve got a-He got us, Strathmore said without looking up. Tankado fooled us allShe could tell by the tad of his share 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 game 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 awry(p) 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 think 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. each move Strathmore had made, Tankado had been basis the scenes, pulling the strings.I bypassed Gauntlet. The commander groaned.You didnt know.Strathmore pounded his fist on his desk. I should have known His screen name, for Christs sake NDAKOTA Look at itWhat do you mean?Hes laughing at us Its a goddamn anagramSusan dumbfound 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 address to the U.S. state at all-it was Tankado rubbing salt in the wound Hed heretofore 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 knows whats issue 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 dimmed to a strange shade of maroon. At the bottom, the dialogue box showed numerous attempts to shut down TRANSLTR. They were all followed by the same responseSORRY. ineffective 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 revoke the great beast himself. Hed fought to the death for what he believed-the individuals right to privacy.Downstairs the sirens blared.Weve got to kill all power, 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 intact fail-safe for situations like this. It wasnt a glamorous fix, but it always worked. It was known as pulling the plug.By shutting off the rest 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 nigh 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 broke a code, it sent the results to the NSAs main databank in order to Susan froze. In a ascetical 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 gaze to the screen in front of her and looked beneath the dialogue box. Across the bottom of the screen were the wordsTELL THE WORLD ABOUT TRANSLTRONLY THE TRUTH WILL retain YOU at one timeSusan felt cold. The nations most classified information was stored at the NSA phalanx communication protocols, SIGINT confirmation codes, identities of foreign spies, blueprints for adforefrontced weaponry, digitized documents, trade agreements-the list was unending.Tankado wouldnt hold 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 later all. He was giving the NSA a choice-either tell the world about TRANSLTR or lose your databank. She stared in awe at the text 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 ingenious 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 existence 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 pres s conference about Americas classified code-breaking computer. Then hed planned on calling Strathmore, reading the pass-key off the ring, and deliver 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. Even if the NSA went public with TRANSLTR, Tankado was no long-term 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 living, 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 destruction all he wanted was to set the record straight. This was about TRANSLTR. This was about everyones right to keep a secret. This was about let 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 shot, but his muddiness had put the NSA on the brink of what could turn out to be the switch 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 t he world encryption standard. But instead, he had sent a virus into the main databank of the National Security 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 screwing his desk.Susan sat him back down. No, she barked. Im going. Her tone left no room for debate.Strathmore put his face in his hands. Okay. keister 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 or dered. Warn them about the virus Youre the deputy director of the NSA. Youre a survivorIn slow motion, Strathmore 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 genus 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 motorcycle felt like a toy out there on the freeway.A quarter of a mile back, a demolished taxi 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 minutes to the exit. He knew he didnt have that long. Somewhere laughingstock him, th e 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 sluggard sailed by. Becker cut left, weaving back and forth across the lanes in hopes of get more time. It was no use. The exit ramp was still three one 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 in front for any possible escape, but the pathway was bounded on both sides by steep grow slopes. another(prenominal) 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 balance 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 loose earth. The little engine whimpered pitiably 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 arena zipped past on the left. He was in the clear.It was then that Becker heard the well-known(prenominal) 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 straightaway toward him.Becker knew he should have felt a surge of panic. Bu t 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 unidirectional street that led to the portal 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 lost for hours in the narrow caverns.As Becker accelerated down the final stretch of Mateus Gago, Sevilles eleventh-century Gothic duomo rose like a mountain before him. Directly beside it, the Giralda loom shot 419 feet skyward into the breaking dawn. This was Santa Cruz, home 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 shot, but it was too late. Becker and his motorcycle disappeared down a tiny passageway-Callita de la Virgen.