The Origin Point: A Future Tech Cyber Novella

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  After convincing the President, Julia traveled with him to work on selling the experiment to multi-lateral organizations, while Marco took the project details to global law enforcement agencies. Beginning with his domestic colleagues who had been co-opted into COSA, but did not know the full extent of the project's implementation, he followed Julia's script and example to obtain broad consensus for an experiment which, they all assumed, had no further agenda. All law enforcement agencies were fiercely engaged in developing cyber defense solutions for presentation to governments for approval. None were particularly concerned about experimental R&D usurping their detailed, and legislated, work. As Marco ran the project details through each agency, he received indifferent feedback and limited engagement. In the range of known and unknown security organizations operating across borders, he found no objection from those interested in joining the global experiment.

  After a meeting with British Intelligence, he called Julia. "No conflicts, no concerns," he told her of the British response to COSA.

  "Has anyone read the details?" Julia asked.

  "No. They're espousing one of those, 'we're busy putting buckets on the floor to catch the rain and have no time to fix the roof full of holes,' excuses."

  "Short-term vision?"

  "Exactly."

  "Even with our international colleagues we are operating at the right moment in history."

  "Yes as I go through these global meetings I realize the winds are blowing in our favor. No country has world-defying leadership. We have a strength and courage vacuum, that's why terrorists are going for destruction with impunity. They do not see the galvanizing of global forces prepared to destroy them. But when we talk about COSA, everyone is ready for exactly this type of response."

  "Because we can't find the terrorists. But COSA will."

  "Maybe we could find them if we had the people. But the discontent is everywhere Julia, like dust. All of the global law enforcement agencies know they must be able to answer questions about cyber security. They prepare their people and the work to meet the challenge as a technology issue. But our plan is different, we are not only looking at protecting computer systems. Our version of cyber security includes using cyber to ensure security. We're investing for the long-term in a comprehensive system, but our counterparts do not have the vision or the money to pursue that option. At the same time, there is an extraordinary amount of money available in the world. Taxes are generally low in most developed countries or tax loopholes are high. Real assets of value like real estate, artwork and jewelry are increasing in price at a rate consistently exceeding inflation. China is only part of the story, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, there is new wealth everywhere. And we have access to these growing financial funds. Someone can afford to buy at those prices, and those people can afford to invest in their own cyber infrastructure. In a way, I cannot believe our luck to have this project success at this point in history."

  "We have worked very hard to get to this point. Luck is opportunity meeting preparation, my friend. Do not discount our individual efforts."

  "No, no of course not. But we have this unprecedented world situation of feckless non-cooperation in Washington, inert global capitals, multi-billion dollar wealth funds..."

  "Don't forget the media. True investigative journalism is dead. The media companies are giant conglomerates focused on a bottom-line aimed at generating advertising dollars by capturing eyeballs. I would bet the average reporter is some social-media-addicted college kid who has no idea of the role of a traditional newspaper journalist to go out and research and investigate, and to provide readers with uncovered insight into vital stories."

  "They certainly write that way."

  "The news media has reacted to social media in exactly the opposite fashion one would have expected from traditional journalists. They follow social media around for stories, instead of going out and finding and making news with their own curiosity."

  "Sad."

  "Yes it is. Your friend Dallas could have been a journalist from another era but even she was intimidated into dropping the story. Back in the day, she would have taken a risk to make sure the public was informed."

  "In her defense, we made the story impossible to find. She would have looked like a fool if she tried to write about a grand conspiracy to take everyone's personal data."

  "But she would have been right."

  "Except no one would have known until after she was dead."

  "No one will ever know even after we're all dead."

  "You think this story will never leak out."

  "What's to leak? A recording of this conversation?"

  "No, not today, but only because we assume our technology is superior to the plans and ideas of those who will seek to bring this system down."

  "Who?"

  "You know, the hackers."

  "The hackers do not have a cohesive idea of our plans."

  "But as the project is rolled out, as the system becomes public information one day, the hackers will realize what has happened and take their revenge."

  "They'll be too late."

  "With technology, you cannot be too late if you have the brainpower and time to push further ahead."

  "We'll have to keep them from pushing ahead."

  "How will we prevent an inevitable quest to attack us?"

  "By staying on top of the information they think they have."

  "Planting deceptive stories?"

  "Maybe."

  "Or a completely deceptive system?"

  "Possibly."

  "You're going to camouflage COSA?"

  "Of course. The system cannot be an open website one logs in to. We have to make sure the connections are untraceable, tied behind other systems and locked through inaccessible doors."

  "But eventually the project will encompass all of those other systems and other doors."

  "Yes but at that point, the whole world will be connected through their smartphones and every other electronic device in their house and workplace. At that point, people will be so dependent on the functionality one will not be able to sabotage the software or servers because of the potential to destroy whole swathes of society like airports, schools and hospitals. Once everyone around the world is on COSA, the hackers will have no scope for attacking. They would shut themselves down too, lose electricity, water, even contact with each other. Mutually assured destruction is still a deterrent."

  "Yes okay, but only if they have no insight today, as we want to believe."

  "If they have any information, the details will not be enough to stop us. On that I am completely certain."