The Origin Point: A Future Tech Cyber Novella

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  No further articles emerged under Dallas's by-line as Julia decided to respond to her own instincts by doubling down on her efforts on behalf of the project and accelerating the implementation timetable. "We have sufficient detail to present the blueprint as is, to the current group of world political, business and law enforcement leaders," Julia said to Marco. "We are ready to move. This year, not next, we take the outline of the experiment to the President."

  Marco bristled. He had never wanted to involve the President of the United States in the project plan. With only four to eight year governance mandates, a democratically elected American leader did not have the control or influence required to ensure COSA was accepted and implemented over the long-term. "Aren't we being hasty?" Marco cautioned. "We do not need to take any details to the President so soon."

  "I've had enough of waiting to be exposed by forces we cannot control. Once the President completes his portion of the work, we will truly be on our way."

  "What exactly are we going to tell him?"

  "We say we have a functioning deal involving multiple enthusiastic participants. We are informing him of the existence of COSA, as an experiment in global surveillance. The U.S. government is not quite paying for the system. No legislation was required to pursue research in the field. We have only utilized existing resources to merge online databases from businesses and government to test for efficiencies."

  "I'm sure the legalese is paper thin."

  "You only need to worry about the law if there is someone planning to challenge your actions. COSA fits neatly into all of our administrative mandates. And the system can be reconfigured at any time to comply with government directives. The current existence of the project transcends time, all we needed to do was make sure there was a base to stand on and we have built one. The information the President will receive is simply an advisory. There's no wrongdoing if private interests create a service the government later decides to use. We are going to present the details to the President in a format highlighting the voluntary and experimental connection to government departments. He can take the data to the G8 and NATO meetings, and ensure other world leaders understand how their voluntary participation would be appreciated. Once everyone has signed on for the experiment, we can cement COSA into place and the system will be set forever."

  Although the President was expected to attend both the Group of 8 and North Atlantic Treaty Organization summits in Europe later in the year, no separate cyber security briefing had been prepared to include COSA and its experimental mandate. Instead, Julia was expecting his advisors to accept her recommendation to have the President informally announce the program to the allies, and seek global support.

  "Does the President understand the implications?"

  "His staff has to brief him. We provided all the materials, we do not need to take further action."

  "Are we expecting G8 and NATO cooperation?"

  "Yes of course, the groundwork has been completed."

  "And you're okay with all of the plans, and the current state of our...our situation."

  "If you mean your friend Dallas, some unknown hacker and the other forces challenging this project, no I'm not okay with the situation. But I've been too busy making sure we are ready to worry about their feeble attempts at sabotaging us."

  "Okay, okay...we are set. A global rollout is a fait accompli."

  "Yes, we are set. We are finally ready for the next level."