The Arcturus Man

  The office was exactly what one would expect for one of Boston’s most successful attorneys. The wood paneled office was more than spacious. It was the size of a conference room. Cherry book shelves aligned the back wall. Trophies, awards and photographs with prominent national personalities were everywhere. The art work was expensive and reflected Brett’s Princeton education. These were all high quality pieces. Even Jared was impressed.

  “So why are the police interested in you in the Russian’s death?” asked Brett, not waiting for Jared to sit down. Jared didn’t immediately answer. He sat down and took a long sip of coffee.

  “That is not why I am here. What is the status of getting my security clearance reinstated?” asked Jared.

  Brett understood that Jared was not being dismissive, but also that he didn’t want to talk about it. Brett wasn’t going to raise the Smolenskiy matter until Jared invited it. Jared didn’t seem to be concerned so Brett wasn’t concerned.

  “The Department of Hearings and Appeals—DOHA’s—recent pronouncement is final. I don’t know what to tell you other than they won’t budge. I think we should file suit, but we should also look at other options. It could take a year or two, or more, even if we file in the Eastern District Court—the “rocket docket” court. We can use your townhouse in Alexandria as the home of record,” said Brett.

  “What possible issues could DOHA have against getting my clearance back?” asked Jared. “My Latvian passport expired almost a year ago. There isn’t a rational person around who wouldn’t see that the passport isn’t an issue. I never used it. I never voted in a Latvian election. I didn’t have to swear allegiance to Latvia to get the passport. It was simply a bureaucratic matter. It was necessary to inherit my father’s farm.”

  “Jared, you have to stop looking at this process on the basis of logic. I know that’s not easy for you. The people who process security clearances are working in the ash bin of government. It is where all of the losers and marginal people who can’t be fired are assigned. The facts are this. If you didn’t come over on the Mayflower, these pinheads aren’t going to let you keep your clearance. Point two. Somebody is out to get you. I suspect its Anderson.

  “So what do you recommend I do?”

  “It was a technical infraction of the security regulations. That is what they are banking on. They don’t need to exercise judgment. In fact, they won’t exercise judgment. Bureaucrats just don’t do that. That is the way all federal governmental machinery is designed to work. Don’t think. Don’t evaluate. Just process.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” said Jared.

  “We have to go outside of official channels. We have to go political. Make a large campaign contribution to Senator Redmond’s war chest.”

  “Fine, I’ll do that but explain how they could deny my appeal if I no longer have a Latvian passport?”

  “They’re not interested in national security. They just want to screw you. They raised a new issue. The mere fact that you now own six hundred hectares of land overseas that includes very valuable timber is the new basis. The assertion is that you could be pressured to act against U.S. interests by someone threatening to take away your land.”

  “You can’t be serious. Could they really be insinuating that Latvia would act against U.S. interests? Are they that stupid? Do these DOHA pinheads know how much money I have? That a third of the parliament is made up of American Latvians? Do they even know where Latvia is?”

  “You’re missing the point.” Brett hesitated a few seconds. He couldn’t believe that he had just suggested that Jared could miss anything.

  “What is the point that I missed?”

  “Somebody is taking a personal interest in you. As I said, I assume its Anderson. There must be thousands of naturalized Americans who own property overseas. Yes, you are being singled out, but all courts allow selective law enforcement as long as the selection is random. You are not going to be able to prove that your case wasn’t random.”

  “Then what’s the plan.”

  “Make that campaign contribution and I will try to back-channel this.” “Consider it done,” said Jared. He stood up and started toward the door.

  “Hold on, Jared. You have a much larger problem. This just arrived by courier,” said Brett.

  “What is it?”

  “The Feds are trying to classify your portable weapons analyzer.”

  “You’re not serious,” said Jared.

  “They did it.”

  “I don’t even have a prototype. It’s just drawings and a bunch of scientific papers. Everything important is still in my head. Why in the world would they classify something that is not a weapon and, in fact, will detect weapons? I thought that they would want every law enforcement agency and airport on the planet to have it. This thing can even detect roadside bombs from a distance,” said Jared.

  “I don’t know. I’m just telling you what they did.”

  “Let’s conference in Hamid Mashhadi.”

  “I know he’s your patent attorney but I don’t know much else about him. How freely can we talk?”

  “Not to worry. We were together in that ridiculous baby genius program at MIT. I’ve known Hamid since we were kids.”

  “So we can trust him,” said Brett.

  “As long as you’re not a Jewish attorney. Hamid is an anti-Semite.”

  “What? Why would you have anything to do with someone like that?”

  “He is probably the best patent attorney in the country. That’s why. Moreover, I will not judge people on the basis of their politics or religion. Everyone has warts. Granted, that Hamid is not an easy guy to deal with. In fact, he can be very irritating. He only fully embraced Islam a few years ago. He chants prayers to himself all day long. As far as I’m concerned, however, his prejudices and his preferences are his own business. Are you going to have a problem with this?”

  “I can work with anyone on a professional basis,” said Brett.

  Jared leaned forward and started to punch in Hamid’s cell phone number but then cancelled the call. He entered Hamid’s direct office number in Washington. Someone picked up the call on the second ring.

  “2019,” Hamid answered.

  “Everything is chemistry, Hamid,” said Jared. Brett smiled. Everyone knew Jared’s mantras.

  “Jared, I am so glad you phoned. I was about to call your cell.”

  “I’m putting you on speaker. I am here with Brett Koutsanoudis, my legal counsel. We’re in Boston. You can say anything you would say to me.”

  “Good morning, Hamid, I’m Brett.”

  “Is this is a secure line?” asked Hamid.

  “It’s as secure as yours is. Don’t worry about that. Say what you have to say,” said Jared.

  “FedEx just dropped off the documents earlier this morning that you are no doubt calling about. I just finished reading them.”

  “And?” asked Jared.

  “They have classified your invention. In essence, the government owns it now. You will be receiving a compensation offer in a few months,” said Hamid.

  “Can they really do that?” asked Jared. He already knew all this but he never wanted to throw a damper on Hamid’s enthusiasm. It would stifle his creativity and, more importantly, there was always a chance that he would learn something new.

  “They’ve done it,” said Hamid.

  Brett chimed in. “Yes, they have the legal authority to do that if it involves national security and the interesting part is that the government doesn’t have to prove that it is a national security issue. The reasons are also classified. All that is required is that they make the assertion.”

  “What is their basis for classifying my patent? Surely they have to provide some kind of explanation,” said Jared. Again, Jared already had the answers to his questions. He didn’t want to kill the dialogue.

  “The claim is that Iran or other states that sponsor terrorism could reverse engineer the device and discover ways to avoid detection. The doc
uments you provided made the claim that this device would have virtually no false alarms. You also stated that it can detect any dangerous substance from liquid explosives to chemical and biological agents. They are taking the statements literally. The argument is that if your detector works as promised, screeners at airports would rely on it so much that they will let down their guard and miss contraband that exploits weaknesses in the device.”

  “What is the legal basis, Hamid?” asked Brett.

  “You may not believe this, but they hang it on the Invention Secrecy Act of 1951. There were more than 9,000 secrecy orders in effect last year. It is administered by the PTO, but any federal or military agency can be asked to review a patent and to make a claim. There are also a number of Executive Orders that implement variations. Brett, look up 35 USC 181,” said Hamid.

  “PTO?” Brett was scribbling notes on his legal pad.

  “The Patent and Trademark Office…sorry,” said Hamid.

  “I guess I knew that but with so many government acronyms, you can never be sure you’re talking about the same one.

  Jared was pissed. “More Obama big government crap! I can’t believe that he was re-elected—the most corrupt and deceitful president in American history. It simply proves how ignorant the American electorate has become.”

  “What are our options?” asked Brett. Jared remained silent. It was obvious that he was getting angry.

  “There are no options right now. In fact, there are more complications in this matter and it could get really nasty.”

  “What complications?” asked Brett.

  “I heard from friends at the PTO that some spook outfit tried to build Jared’s machine. It wouldn’t work and they discovered that he left out some vital information that would make it work. They are convinced that this device will work as promised but they can’t figure out what is missing. You have their best people stumped, Jared. They are super pissed off.”

  “Glad to hear it. Yes, I did leave some vital parts out. I never put them on paper as a personal security measure,” said Jared.

  “Do you mean to say that the government has done this almost six thousand times and I never heard about this program?” said Brett.

  “Hardly anyone knows about it,” said Hamid.

  “What do I need to do to protect myself, Hamid?” asked Jared.

  “There isn’t much you can do. You’re going to hear from them in the next few months. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that they try to compel you to provide the missing information,” said Hamid.

  Jared took his cell phone out of his vest pocket and punched in a phone number.

  “I know what I need to do. I need to hide some assets,” said Jared.

  “Jared, you can’t be saying stuff like that in front of me,” said Brett.

  “Strike that from the record counselor,” said Jared.

  Brett smiled. He and Hamid could hear the rings from Jared’s phone. They sounded strange. It was a long distance call.

  “Guten tag, Dieter,” said Jared.

  “Is that Steinmeier?” asked Hamid.

  “Yes.”

  “…..I’m fine. How have you been?...And Claudia?....that’s great to hear. Listen, I need a favor. If you remember our discussions last week, I would like you to move my assets into Ginger’s account. Just leave enough for my operating costs and maybe a little to spare…..Great!.....talk to you later…let me know when it’s done.”

  “Dieter Steinmeier? Who is that Jared?” asked Brett.

  “Dieter is another wiz kid from the MIT program that Hamid and I were in. He is in Zurich right now. He handles all of my financial matters. He has an office in Manhattan near Water Street where he actually spends most of his time.”

  “Jared, you really have to keep me better informed. We have been working together for several years and yet I evidently know very little about these people,” said Brett.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “Should I know who Ginger is?” asked Brett.

  “I also don’t recognize that name, Jared,” said Hamid.

  “Nor should you. She’s an artificial intelligence computer animation I’ve been working on for some time now. I think it’s better for both of you not to know any more than the name. OK?” said Jared.

  “Fine,” said Brett.

  “No problem,” said Hamid. “If that’s it, I’ll sign off.”

  “Thanks for the help. Please work with Brett, especially if I’m not around.”

  “Nice talking to you, Hamid,” said Brett.

  “Yea! Bye guys.” Hamid hung up.

  “It is difficult for me to accept that the government can take someone’s patent like that,” said Jared.

  “You know as well as I do that the American public is totally apathetic about big government, but they love social justice and getting free stuff. Obama likes big, big government to make as many people as possible dependent on him. Hell, most people don’t read newspapers or watch the news. Very few people believe in Jeffersonian government like you do, Jared,” said Brett.

  “It is critical that I understand this if we are going to come up with an effective strategy. How can it be that the smart people allow the stupid ones to have so much power? I don’t get it,” said Jared.

  “Obama may be a lot of things, but he’s not stupid. He went to Harvard Law School. Granted that’s not as impressive as Princeton, but its still a big deal,” said Brett chuckling.

  “That just shows that erudition and intelligence are not synonimous,” said Jared. “Let me give you a real world example of the challenge. Do you recall Ruby Ridge?”

  “Yes, what about it?” Asked Brett.

  “In 1992, under the Clinton White House, an FBI sniper shot Randy Weaver’s wife at Ruby Ridge as she was standing in a doorway with her baby in her arms. There was no legitimate basis for lethal force, except in hindsight of course, and certainly no justification for killing Weaver’s wife and endangering their child. Weaver was accused of a comparatively minor and technical gun law violation, manufacturing a sawed-off shotgun and only after a protracted period where the government’s undercover informants repeatedly hounded Weaver to do it. It was pure entrapment since he initially refused to do it.”

  “There was no meaningful punishment for the feds involved. In fact some involved were later promoted. You’ve already heard my diatribe about Waco. Again, it happened under Clinton’s governance. As soon as the U.S. Marshals and FBI heard that there were children in the compound, they should have left. It doesn’t matter who started the fire. They should have simply left. They could have picked up Koresh in town by just waiting for him and it would have cost pennies to the dollar. All those children didn’t have to burn to death,” said Jared. “The institution of government, any government, has no conscience and never feels remorse. Perhaps individuals feel some degree of guilt or at least responsibility, but not government—any government.”

  Jared went on. He was on a roll.

  “Or how about toilets? Toilets are a microcosm of supreme Clintonian political thinking. Could you have ever imagined that the federal government would have the audacity to passing laws about the kind of toilet people were allowed to own. What happened to state’s rights? Clinton wanted to show that he cared about the environment and water conservation so he pushed Congress to pass laws to restrict how much water a crapper could use to flush. He knew full well that people would end up flushing twice and even three times, using more water than before. But the average Joe is indifferent and uneducated and it would seem to them that Clinton was concerned about the environment,” said Jared.

  “I swear you sound like a crackpot, Jared.”

  “That is exactly the point.”

  “You’re not trying to imply that average people are stupid, are you?” asked Brett.

  “Not stupid, per se! They are ignorant—meaning they lack knowledge. There is an ocean separating intelligence and education…vis-à-vis Obama. The average person is educ
ated to some degree but for the most part our educational system doesn’t teach anyone how to think. They are taught to memorize, not analyze. Moreover, the average person ISN’T very intelligent. They are merely functionally intelligent. They are clever, not smart. Most have little interest in learning. Just look at how few people read books. Native intelligence is held to a relatively tiny minority. Functional intelligence is spread across the masses.”

  “And stupid people end up in government because they can’t hack it in the private sector,” said Brett. “I know. I know. I’ve heard it all before.”

  “What I am getting around to saying is that Senator Redmond is not going to cross that line in the sand. He IS very intelligent and his understanding of these concepts is acute. No one could rise to his stature in government without that perception. He is not going to help me,” said Jared.

  “But DOHA’s decision is outrageous. Surely that is obvious,” said Brett.

  “Killing Randy Weaver’s wife was outrageous. Allowing dozens of children to burn to death in Waco was outrageous, but both the government and the population at large were almost unanimously indifferent. Indifference trumps hate. Over time, indifference is far more powerful,” said Jared.

  “Yes, I know all this,” said Brett. “Very interesting, but let’s get back to DOHA,” said Brett. “I appreciate the civics lesson but we are getting off track. Again, how does this all relate to your problem?”

  “I’m getting to that. Aside from Jefferson, Clinton is without a doubt that most intelligent president ever to serve in the White House. If that is true, why would he have condoned these various fuck ups? The answers are simple.”

  Jared’s cell phone rang.

  “Sorry! I thought I shut it off.”

  Brett loved these intellectual debates with Jared. The call was irritating.

  “Hi Jenny,” said Jared.

  “Jared, I can’t find Krissy. She didn’t show up last night and she wasn’t in her hotel room all night.”