The Origin Point: A Future Tech Cyber Novella

  *

  "I wish I could put a drone on her 24/7," Julia complained to Marco. "We need to know who she has been talking to." Dallas's second article about how a sharing economy website company for private room rentals was working on addressing the issue of racism in booking acceptances, had segued into an analysis about whether race and gender bias could be coded into online ordering websites. Several Internet companies had vehemently complained the suggestions in the article could not be attributed to any existing software. But civil rights groups equally protested the government needed to immediately formulate legislation to prevent the re-establishment of Jim Crow online.

  Marco turned the front-page newspaper article over in one hand while scrolling through the social media traffic displayed on his smartphone, with the other. The story was quickly blowing up in all corners with speculation as to whether Silicon Valley could implement a segregation agenda. He shook his head as he realized Dallas was challenging him to proceed on his threats. "I'm sure she was not intending this response," he said, downplaying his angry emotions.

  "Yes she was. She's trying to create a story where none exists. She's trying to force us to tell her the details behind those policy files."

  "I think she's writing about issues that are already out there. The space sharing company raised the racism issue as their problem. She did not create the idea. A couple of their executives were on some public discussion panel and brought up the difficulty based, I guess, on reported incidents."

  "Were they prompted to bring up these incidents? Maybe by the threat of the story coming out another way?"

  "I don't know. I mean, not that I know of."

  "I wonder. She managed to exploit a completely separate issue to fit into her agenda about the document she had read. She's playing us, Marco."

  "I don't agree. But what do you want to do about her actions?"

  "If our law enforcement drone protocol was in place, I'd be following her with a camera right now."

  "I think she would notice."

  "Not in the future we're planning. In our scenarios, once unmanned aerial vehicles are used everywhere, my surveillance drone would be one of hundreds in the sky. The machines would be overhead all day delivering packages, assisting emergency rescue, handling manual labor, and gathering close up and detailed information for weather and the news. The rules will be straightforward. With our technology protocols, automated drones can be flown in any public space provided the machines are automatically tracked, noiseless, broadcast a unique signature, and are equipped with sensors to detect humans, birds, buildings, trees and other objects. And commercial drones can be any shape or size. Once civilians accept daily use, having drones as operational tools in law enforcement will be routine."

  "The plan for law enforcement drones involves a lot more human rights issues."

  "Yes I know."

  "Police will be using drones as extensions of the human force, as 'flying officers.' Anywhere a human officer would normally, and legally, go, a drone could go too. But once the drone expects to engage with a suspect, rights groups will want the machine to come under manual human control. And the machines will be armed, weaponized. If the suspect is brandishing a weapon, the human operator can survey the entire area to ensure the safety of civilians before attempting disarmament. And the human officer can activate the drone’s weapons after assessing the situation as if the officer were there live. The impact on public order will be enormous. But you want to use this capability on a reporter today?"

  "I would love to."

  "I don't think the aim of our plans is to curb the first amendment."

  "No, we want to track criminals...and suspects."

  "What would following her with a drone get you?"

  "A direct visual. A view over her immediate activities. Winter could be at the center of these rumors, she could be threatening our tranquil existence and we have no proof."

  "Julia, with all due respect my friend, you're exaggerating her impact. Dallas is writing articles, not mobilizing forces against us."

  "Those articles are a force. Unfortunately she's a good writer and people believe her musings. Look at the civil rights groups jumping all over her latest piece. Had a single person complained about online discrimination through the website before she published her article?"

  "Yes."

  "Well they are crybabies. If you want to pay next to nothing to sleep in a stranger's house, you had better be prepared for the consequences. Welcome to the unregulated world. People can't have their cake and eat it too. You want a free market within the free market, you have to take your chances in exchange for a good deal. Home sharing is not subject to innkeeper laws for a reason, and everyone claims they want to operate that way, free of government interference. Well if they're honest, they should work out their problems free of government interference too."

  "The home sharing industry is only one small part of the story. The bigger issue with online ordering is the potential for real hotels to pretend they have no vacancy; or clothing stores claiming no product because they do not want to ship to certain clientele; or delivery services pretending not to be capable of operating in certain neighborhoods. Instead of overtly refusing, the companies can use the software to display 'no vacancy' or 'out of stock' or 'no delivery vans available,' and instantly end the transaction."

  "Fine, okay but we are not concerned with the emerging social issues, our problem is Winter fueling the flames."

  "Dallas's story is not relevant. These issues were real before she published. Any noise you hear now belongs to the previous stories, not to her work."

  "I'm not buying her guiltless defense in these reports. I want her interrogated."

  "What?"

  "FedSec can politely ask her as a citizen to come in for an interview. But I want to see her response to the questions you ask. Use our voice and body sensors to record her subconscious behavior. I want her on the record saying whether or not she is disseminating information about the files through her articles, and if she has had any contact with overseas sources who are revealing the information. If she lies now and we find the evidence later, we've got her."

  "Julia c'mon, Dallas is not a threat to us."

  "If she tells the truth and you are right. I'll take you both out to dinner. In the meantime, set up the interview."

  "Julia, please."

  "Marco, I hate to pull rank, but for GCS issues, you take orders from me. Set up the interview and let's see if your friend really is as innocent as you claim."