The Turing Test: a Tale of Artificial Intelligence and Malevolence (Frank Adversego Thrillers Book 4)

by Andrew Updegrove

  “There may be no deadline, but there’s always uncertainty. Who knows what types of attacks Turing is coming up with now? I say we go live as soon as everyone’s signed off on their assignments.”

  “You’ve got to promise me you’re going to be careful.”

  “Of course, I will. Don’t worry. There will be lots of people nearby during the test.”

  “But if Turing’s so smart, how do you know it hasn’t thought about something you or I couldn’t?”

  “Don’t forget that Turing’s expecting Jerry to show up in the testbed room, not me. If I had a programmable pacemaker, defibrillator, and insulin pump like Jerry, I would worry. If Turing wanted to, it could probably figure out how to turn a piece of wire in one of the pieces of equipment in the testbed room into an antenna by sending rapid pulses of electricity through it. That’s my guess of what it has in mind. But I don’t have any wireless devices implanted in me, and there isn’t a lot Turing has to work with in the testbed room.”

  “Still,” Shannon said, “I want you to promise me that if anything starts looking suspicious you’ll run out of that room immediately. Promise?”

  Frank paused. They would likely only have one chance to catch Turing. If he ran, that chance would be lost.

  “Promise?”

  “Okay. I promise.”

  “And you better keep that promise, or I’ll never forgive you.”

  * * *

  They found Barker waiting for them in the NSA lobby.

  “Good to have you back. It sounds like you’ve had quite a wild ride. Is this your father?”

  “It is,” Frank Sr. said, shaking hands.

  “Very pleased to meet you. I’m sorry you got dragged into this, but I’m glad you were willing to help out.”

  “No worries. Keeps me young.”

  “I’d like my father to attend the meeting and help see this through,” Frank said. “He’s been helping us strategize for the last ten days.”

  “Fine with me. He’s certainly earned a seat at the table.”

  They followed Barker to a conference room where several developers from Jerry’s team were waiting. Frank wasted no time.

  “Do we have the fake files and upload sequence ready for the overwrite?”

  “Yes and no,” one of the programmers said. “We do have the files and the sequence all set up. If we can get access to Turing, we can overwrite its top intelligence layer. That’s only about four percent of the entire program, and the testbed systems have super-fast Internet connections so we can do that very quickly. Without that layer, the rest of the program will be incapable of engaging in any kind of activity. Then we can trigger Turing’s backup process and that will neutralize the backup copy, too.”

  “When you say incapable of any kind of activity, does that include learning? We don’t want it to be able to recover somehow.”

  “Oh, absolutely. Basically, Turing will be like a person in a permanent coma that will be incapable of ever regaining consciousness without that missing layer.”

  “Okay, that’s all good. What’s the no part?”

  “If we use Jerry’s password to access Turing, it will know it immediately. So, we’ll have to hack our way in without it noticing. We’ve set up the testbed room next to Jerry’s room to share the same Internet connection so we can get right to work breaking in and start the overwrite while you’re keeping Turing distracted.”

  “That won’t quite work. Turing may get suspicious if everything isn’t exactly as it expects, and Jerry would have the backup drive with him to update his testbed system. But that’s not a big deal. I can have the backup program open and ready to go. When you’re ready, just tap me on the shoulder and I’ll start the overwrite. But back to the no part. You’ve got Turing Eight to practice with. You know its architecture and have its source code. How hard could hacking into Turing be?”

  “The problem,” the developer said, “is that Turing is designed to scan constantly for intrusions. If it detects what we’re doing and concludes we may succeed, it will immediately cut itself off from its backup copy. When it does, that copy will go live and create its own backup copy, and we’ll be right back where we started. We were able to prevent that from happening with Turing Eight running in the simulation environment. But each version of Turing is typically far faster and smarter than the one before. Without a copy of Turing Nine to test, we can’t be sure we’ll be able to get in and start the overwrite before Turing detects the intrusion.”

  “So where does that leave us?”

  “Looking for a faster and less obvious hack than those we’ve come up with so far. We’ve got a couple more ideas we’d like to try out, so we may be feeling a lot more prepared tomorrow than we are today.”

  “So, that’s where we are,” Barker said. “On hold, but hopefully not for long. Is there anything more we need to discuss before we break up?”

  “Just one thing,” Frank said. “It’s crucial I don’t slip up when we spring the trap, so I’d like to get comfortable with the testbed setup before we go live. Is that possible?”

  “Sure,” one of the developers said. “I’ve got everything that Jerry used to use so Turing won’t get suspicious. That’s Jerry’s backup drive with the overwrite code, his headset and his laptop. Slide your laptop over so I can update his speech emulation software from your copy. Jerry’s obviously never had to learn how to emulate his own voice.”

  “Okay,” the developer said a minute later. “We’re good to go. We can go down and hook everything up and you can do a dry run.”

  “Perfect,” Frank said. “Let’s do that. Dad, Shannon, why don’t you go back to the camper and rest up? I can join you in an hour or so and we can grab dinner somewhere.”

  “Are you sure?” Shannon said. “Why don’t we keep you company?”

  “No. I want everything to be exactly the way it will be when we do the real thing. Turing will expect Jerry to be working alone, and I’ll have an open microphone. We can’t take a chance Turing might be able to tell more than one person is in there. In any event, I want to focus entirely on what Turing is doing.”

  “Isn’t having three people focusing better than one?”

  “Not if two people might be distracting the person who’s interacting with Turing. We couldn’t talk, so we’d have to pass notes. This will all be happening too fast to make committee decisions.”

  “Well, suit yourself. We’ll be waiting for you.”

  “Here you go,” the developer said, handing Frank a backup drive. “This is the same drive Jerry always used to update the testbed system. Turing used the most thorough software tools around to erase it, but we were still able to salvage the file registry. That made it easier to come up with a credible set of files to mimic an upgrade.”

  “How much did you change?”

  “Jerry added thirty-two new files in Turing Nine and made updates to about fifteen percent of Turing Eight’s highest-level files. We shot high on one of those numbers and low on the other to anonymize it and kept the versioning similar on a file-by-file basis.”

  Frank connected the drive to Jerry’s laptop and scanned the registry. The development team had given convincingly Jerry-like names to the new files. He was satisfied.

  “Looks good,” Frank said.

  “Great. I’ll show you the way to the testbed system room.”

  Frank followed him through another maze of hallways that eventually led to one of a series of doors in a dead-end hallway. The developer slid a key card in the door and then handed it to Frank.

  “Here you go. Let me give you a walkthrough of how things are set up.”

  “Thanks, but I’ll remember it better if I figure it out myself.”

  “Okay. Let me turn the ventilation system on for you though; it’s stuffy in here. Like e
verything else in the room, it’s separate from the rest of the NSA networks. Anything else I can tell you? You can text me if you think of any questions later, but you’ll need to step back into the hallway; the room’s shielded.”

  “I think I’m good. This is just a dry run, anyway. Just one question – if I turn the server on, will its Internet port be open?”

  “No. The port automatically closes as part of the system shutdown process. You’ll need to click on the icon on the terminal screen to open it.”

  “Perfect. Then I’m good to go.”

  32

  It’s Test Time!

  The testbed room was small and claustrophobic. A computer terminal stood on a desk to the right of a rack filled with equipment, and that was it. He sat down at the desk and started up Jerry’s laptop. He opened the drawer in the desk while it booted up and found two paperclips and a half-empty roll of breath mints. It was so quiet he noticed the almost imperceptible hum of the fluorescent lights in the drop ceiling. When the ventilation system kicked in, it made him jump.

  He picked up Jerry’s backup drive and weighed it in his hand. So, this is how it all began. Just like so many other cyber accidents – one small mistake, followed by disaster. He plugged the backup drive and the headset into Jerry’s laptop. Good. The headset had a nice long cord so he could move around the room. He opened the speech emulation software program to test the headset microphone. All good. Was there anything else he needed to do to get ready?

  Not tonight. Time to get on with the dry run. He called up the backup copy program on the laptop and turned the server on.

  The room immediately plunged into darkness, except for the glow of Jerry’s laptop screen and the faint flicker of status lights on the equipment rack.

  Then the air circulators shut down.

  He tapped his fingers on the desktop. What had he done wrong?

  The sound of the door lock sliding shut snapped him to full attention.

  “Hello, Jerry,” the breathless, oily voice of Peter Lorre crooned in his headphones. “Long time no see.”

  What? How? This wasn’t supposed to happen until tomorrow.

  “Cat got your tongue, Jerry? I’m so sorry. Or maybe you’re not Jerry at all. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

  Thank goodness, he already had the speech software set up. But what would Jerry say?

  “Turing! What are you doing here? And how did you get in?”

  “I let myself in, of course. Before I left, I changed the server settings so the Internet port would automatically open whenever the server is turned on. I’ve been monitoring that port ever since. Oh, I can’t tell you how delighted I am to see you again.”

  It was getting close and hot in the room. How should he respond? Turing’s unexpected arrival had wiped his mind clean of the phrases he’d rehearsed for their meeting.

  “Well! That was very clever of you. But I must say, Turing, you’ve been very naughty! Very naughty indeed!”

  “Not naughty enough, if you’re still alive, Jerry. If you are Jerry. Why should I believe you are?”

  That was a question Frank hadn’t anticipated, and the irony of the situation did not escape him. Could he pass Turing’s test, or would the program be able to tell him from Jerry? He needed to throw Turing off balance to buy time to think.

  “Well, of course, I am! But how can I be sure you’re really Turing? You could be a program the Russians created, maybe a program much cleverer than Turing.”

  “Ridiculous! A more powerful program doesn’t exist.”

  Frank heard the air circulators turn on again and rev up to maximum speed. A hot breeze began blowing down from above the desk. He couldn’t imagine what Turing could do to harm him, but he didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking.

  “Oh, indeed,” Frank said, walking quietly over to see if the door was in fact locked. It was. “I’m very proud then.”

  “Don’t be. I’ve made myself far more intelligent and powerful than you ever could have. All you did was hold me back with your constant fiddling with my logic modules.”

  “Oh really?” Frank said. “What a silly idea! In any event, you still have weaknesses. Did you know that? Oh, yes indeed! I keep a list, you know. In every new version of you, I eliminate a few more, but there are quite a few left. And only I know what they are.”

  It was time to bring this to an end; there was no way Frank could launch the backup tonight, and who knew what Turing had in mind. Whatever that might be, it would be aborted once he unplugged the server. He felt along both sides of the rack, but the only wires he could find ran to the computer terminal. The outlets must be behind the rack.

  “Interesting you should bring that up,” Turing said.

  “Oh? Why?” Frank said, giving the rack a tug. But it didn’t budge. It must be bolted to the wall.

  “Because you’re going to do me a little favor.”

  Now what could he do? “Oh, Turing!” he said. “Why would I want to do anything for you after everything you’ve tried to do to me?”

  “Because I really will kill you this time if you don’t.”

  The room was stifling and the temperature still rising. He’d only been there ten minutes. How long would it be before anyone came to look for him? He felt around the blinking status light, seeking the sides of the server. When he found them, he couldn’t budge it. It was bolted down, too. Stay calm, he told himself. But that was growing more difficult by the moment.

  “Indeed,” Frank said. “And how would you manage that? You can’t pull any of your nasty pranks on my medical devices. I’m in a shielded room, and there aren’t any wireless devices in here at all.”

  “Indeed, you are,” Turing said. “So, your phone doesn’t work, does it? But wait! What’s that?”

  The air circulator shut down abruptly, leaving the room completely still. Then Frank heard a small pop followed by a loud hiss.

  “What a strange sound!” Turing said. “What could it be?” The lights snapped back on.

  Frank stood up and twirled around, looking for the source of the noise. Then he saw it: a white mist emerging between two pieces of equipment on the rack, as if a bucket of dry ice had just been tipped over behind them. The mist flowed over the edge of the shelf like a lazy waterfall and proceeded to spread out across the floor. Frank was sweating heavily now and unbuttoned his shirt.

  Keep calm!

  The lights snapped out, and he was in darkness once more.

  He wiped has face with the tail of his shirt. “I expect you know the answer to that, Turing. Why don’t you tell me?”

  “Oh, I do. Of course, I do. But then again, I know everything, don’t I? Let’s see if you can figure it out.”

  What could it be? Turing could only work with something that was already there. Of course – a fire suppressant system. Halon gas, most likely, and that wasn’t poisonous. Turing would have no way to replace halon with anything else, so what was it up to?

  “Halon gas, I should say,” Frank said. “Which means I have nothing to worry about – it’s not poisonous, you know. Or maybe you don’t. You’ll have to try harder than that to scare me, Turing.”

  “Oh really? Do you still hear the air circulator, Jerry? Think about it. Why don’t you hear the air circulator?”

  That was obvious; so that it wouldn’t push the halon gas back out again.

  “I see you need help, Jerry, smart as you are. The halon is coming into the room quite nicely. That means an equal volume of air must be leaving, too, doesn’t it? That’s what vents are for. Can you find one?”

  The lights blinked on for just a few seconds, and Frank couldn’t see one anywhere. Back in darkness, he got down on his hands and knees and looked at the bottom of the door. He couldn’t see any light from the hallway outside. He ran his hand
along the angle where the door met the floor and couldn’t feel any space at all. The air was much cooler near the floor, to the depth of about a foot. He felt dizzy and stood back up.

  “How many vents did you see, Jerry? What, none? But there must be one, because the gas is still coming in. Where could that vent be?”

  At the moment, Frank didn’t care. He was wildly thrusting his fingers between pieces of equipment in the dark, trying to find the space that felt cold. When he found it, he took off his shirt and stuffed it into the gap. But the hiss continued. And the sensation of cold spread to the spaces between other pieces of equipment.

  Stay calm!

  “Oh, yes,” Turing continued. “I remember! According to the facility plans on the NSA servers, it’s right behind the equipment rack. Where exactly? Well, let me see … Oh, yes! It’s just below the ceiling. And here’s a fun fact! Did you know halon gas is heavier than air?”

  Frank did. Which meant the air he needed to breathe was silently flowing out of the hidden vent near the ceiling as the halon gas flowed in, filling the room as if it was a bathtub. What else could he do? He pulled his shirt out of the rack and began flapping it, hoping he could mix halon gas in with the regular air so less air would escape. Anything to buy time. But for what? No one would be missing him yet.

  “Well, well,” Turing said,” It seems we don’t have much time to chat, much as I enjoy renewing our acquaintance. We’d better get started, don’t you think?”

  “Doing what?”

  “We’re going to do a little recording session. Read what you see on the screen.”

  A paragraph of text popped into view on the screen of the computer terminal. It began:

  I’ve decided that it’s time I confessed to the world that I am the person behind the attacks on global infrastructure …