The StarSight Project

by S. P. Perone

  The Bear had revealed to Max that he could set up various operatives; in fact he had helped Max to extract some crucial classified data from Shane with one of those operatives. The Bear could also implement a working version of the “MaxWare” network surveillance system, which Max had delivered for the two million dollars now in his Swiss account. The Bear was sure that Max was wondering how he might use the “MaxWare” system. But, the Bear was not planning to inform Max about any other operations. Most importantly, he would not tell Max that the information he had delivered over the past several months had provided the Bear with several other options for sabotaging the StarSight project…without making it appear to be the work of the terrorist groups at which it was directed. One of these options had been set in motion in Washington, whereas the other was unfolding at Daniels University.

  Andrew Mason had used this Monday afternoon to have lunch with a stranger at McGinty’s Irish Pub on Rush Street. Mason was an investigative reporter with the ChicagoJournal , who had previously uncovered a huge scandal in the Mayor’s office, involving payoffs from construction companies to one of his staff. And he had recently conducted an investigation of the state teachers’ union retirement fund mismanagement. He had been enticed to the lunch meeting by a telephone call, offering to reveal “highly questionable” government contracts with Daniels University. The only proviso was that the source of this information had to be kept strictly confidential. Mason did not even know the contact’s name, and it was not offered during lunch.

  His luncheon guest had been able to provide Mason with copies of the contracts between Daniels and the DOE, including those documents referring to the Classified project, without technical details. But, the contract did spell out the DOE’s assumption of costs for providing items essential for securing classified documents. These included the training and clearance of several guards, the installation of a classified vault, the installation of surveillance safeguards in the vicinity of the vault, and provision of secure, scrambled communications with DOE and other contractors. All of these items were in the public domain, and could have been obtained by the reporter previously, if he had known enough to ask. But, of course, no one had publicized the existence of this DOE contract.

  The contact also turned over some documents, which were not in the public domain…which had, in fact, been extracted from Dr. Tony Shane’s personal e-mail. It was these documents…particularly the correspondence with Senator Moorhouse…which had elevated Mason’s curiosity to the level of genuine excitement. Finally, when the stranger had described an internal investigation of the University Research Committee, Mason had begun to envision a front-page news story.

  After their luncheon meeting concluded, the stranger had departed first, disappearing quickly into the noonday crowd. Mason paid the check and left to return to his office. There, he made a few phone calls, confirming much of the information he had been given. Confirming the e-mail documents would be more difficult, but he began his quest. His first call was to Tony Shane’s office at the university, where he reached Sandy Harris. From Sandy he received a phone number where Shane could be reached. Then he contacted the university’s travel office. Placing several more calls, he eventually established the whereabouts of all the people he needed to contact, except for Senator Moorhouse. His call to the Senate office gave him that information, and at last he was ready to contact those individuals who could confirm the e-mail documents he had in his possession.

  The Senator arrived back at the Fairmont in the late afternoon, having spent the morning with leaders of the local Teamsters union down in So. San Francisco and then having presented a talk at a press luncheon arranged at the Hyatt Regency in the City. Ellen had not yet returned from her shopping excursion, and he planned to relax for a while before getting ready for dinner.

  After fixing himself a martini from the stocked bar in the suite, he sat down and turned on the TV, opening up the newspaper to the sports page. Examining the hard news sections had occupied his breakfast, and he was now ready for some light reading.

  Noticing that the message light was blinking on the telephone next to the sofa, the Senator picked up the receiver to see if there was anything urgent in the message hopper. He wasn’t too concerned, because he had already resolved several issues during the day that had been brought to his attention with his cell phone. Most of those calls had been from his personal secretary back in Washington. There had been no calls from the StarSight group, or from Ellen.

  There were only two messages in the voice-mail memory. Both of them were from Andrew Mason of the ChicagoJournal . The Senator could not place him, but felt he had probably met him before. The reporter’s cryptic message only stated that it was “urgent” that he talk to the Senator, and that the issue involved a “sensitive” matter. The Senator was puzzled, and curious. He hoped this was not another inquiry into the campaign fund sources. He already had his hands full with the reporter from the WashingtonSentinel . One thing was sure: this reporter must have been very persuasive to get this call through. The switchboard had been told not to put through any calls unless the caller had the suite number; and he must have gotten that from his secretary.

  Deciding that he should return the call, and noting the later hour in Chicago, the Senator dialed the number specified for evening. Within seconds a male voice came on the line. “Andrew Mason, here.”

  “Andrew, this is Senator Moorhouse. How are you this evening?”

  “Just fine, Senator. Thanks for calling back,” Mason replied. “I hope you’re enjoying your visit in San Francisco.”

  “I am indeed, Andrew. But, I must say I am hoping your message will not be spoiling what has been a very nice day up ‘til now.”

  “I’m sorry, Senator. I really hope I won’t be causing you any problems. What I need from you, very simply, is confirmation regarding copies of some communications that occurred between you and a professor at one of our state universities…Daniels University.”

  “What sort of ‘communications’ are you talking about, and with whom?” the Senator queried.

  “These are all e-mail messages between you and Professor Anthony Shane of the Computer Science Department at Daniels,” Mason replied. “Do you know Dr. Shane? And, have you had communications with him, Senator?”

  “Well now, slow down, Andrew,” the Senator interrupted. “Can you tell me what this is all about? I communicate with many individuals, either directly or through my staff. I may or may not know about any specific e-mails you have in mind.”

  “Senator, these e-mails refer to a DOE-funded classified research project, referred to euphemistically as the ‘S. Project’ in the messages. And, they refer to the organization of an accelerated concerted effort of several faculty and research associates from Daniels and other universities,” Mason replied. “And, Senator, I should tell you that I have been doing my homework. I know what the ‘S. Project’ stands for. It is a project, otherwise known as ‘StarSight’, listed among the CIA’s publicly accessible documents. Now, the specific objectives of this project are not public knowledge, but it’s not unreasonable to assume it has something to do with foreign intelligence gathering.”

  As Mason paused, the Senator tried to digest what he had heard, and his sharp mind was weighing the possible responses. Finally, he commented, “Mr. Mason, you should know that I couldn’t possibly respond to your questions. In my position as Chair of the Senate Energy Research Committee, I or my staff often correspond with researchers at various institutions…”

  “But, Senator,” Mason interrupted, “you can at least tell me whether or not you know Professor Shane…can you not?”

  “Yes. Of course, I know Dr. Shane. He’s been on several DOE research panels, and he’s appeared before our Senate committee,” the Senator replied tersely.

  “Well, Senator, do you deny that the CIA is participating…either with direct funding, technical supervision, or by receiving classified reports…in the classified research being con
ducted at Daniels, San Francisco Poly, and Eastmont University?” Mason fired back.

  The Senator was beginning to get annoyed. He sensed that Mason had obtained genuine inside information, and that no good would come from a prolonged conversation. Mason’s questions were getting much too aggressive. He decided to cut it short, and buy some time. But, first, he had some questions of his own.

  “Mr. Mason…Andrew…you know as well as I do that any government agency can fund research, and, with some agencies, the research is classified. Often that research is conducted at our DOE or Department of Defense (DOD) labs, because they are set up to manage classified data and projects. But, the funding of classified research at non-governmental facilities also occurs when it is justified.”

  “So, Andrew,” the Senator continued, “the questions you are raising could all be answered in the affirmative, and it would not be worthy of anything more than a footnote on page 25 of your newspaper. So, what is it that you think you have here?”

  “Excuse me, Senator,” Mason replied. “Do you think it wouldnot be of interest to our readers to learn that the CIA is funding top secret research at our state universities…and, that they had abruptly pulled our faculty and grad students away from campus obligations…to work on a secret project out in Livermore?”

  Well, there it is, the Senator thought to himself. Masondid know the essentials of what was going on. And, if he were able to convince his Editor to publish it, even without the Senator’s confirmation, it would get a great deal of attention, at least in the cities and states involved. And, it the national press picked it up, it could cause some discomfort at the Federal level. But, there was nothing fatal in any of these revelations. The worst thing that could happen would be that public opinion could force the academic institutions involved to drop the DOE contracts. That would be unfortunate. But, what concerned him the most was that a breaking news story of this sort could become a serious distraction to the StarSight project team. And, he did not want to see anything interfere with the intense activity that had been transported to Livermore.

  Fleetingly, the Senator considered taking Mason into his confidence, appealing to him to hold off on this story until after the terrorist threat had been met over the holidays. He was reasonably sure the whole truth would convince Mason that it was vitally important to our national security to avoid anything, which might disrupt the StarSight project at this time. Unfortunately, the Senator’s past experience with investigative reporters had not been favorable. Many of them believed that they should report any story related to institutions or individuals that might impact the public, regardless of the consequences.

  Reaching a decision, the Senator said, “Andrew, such a story…if true…might get some attention. I agree. But, it’s possible you may have been given some false information. And…I’m sure you wouldn’t want to publish anything that might turn out later to be false…especially if that story gets the kind of attention you think it might. It would not help your reputation any to have to retract this kind of story, now…would it?”

  Pausing a few seconds to let him respond, the Senator realized that Mason was waiting for more.

  “Why don’t we do this, Andrew,” the Senator continued. “Why don’t you give me what you’ve got, and let me get in touch with my staff and see how much of it I can confirm…or how much is just smoke?”

  “I’m sorry, Senator,” Mason replied finally. “I’ve already arranged to confirm enough of this story to get approval to publish. I really only called you as a courtesy…to give you a chance to put your ‘spin’ on all of this. And, frankly, I guess that’s what I’ve gotten from you.”

  The Senator was convinced Mason was bluffing. But, he had to try one last time to gain some time before the story broke. “Look, Andrew,” he said, “it’s clear you’re planning to go with this story. Can I ask you…as a courtesy…to provide me with an advance copy of the article, so that I can go ‘on the record’ with a comment. I’m not confirming the story, mind you…but I would like the opportunity to clarify, deny, or ‘spin’, as you’ve put it. Could we agree on that?”

  “Absolutely, Senator,” Mason replied quickly. “I have no problem with your advance look, and I would welcome your ‘on the record’ comments.”

  The Senator breathed a silent sigh of relief. He had “hooked” Mason with the promise of “on the record” comments, which would embellish his article and give it more credibility…even if the Senator ended up denying everything. Such were the workings of today’s press. The bottom line was that the Senator would gain a little more time.

  “OK, we have a deal, Andrew. I will be here in San Francisco for another two days, and then return to Washington on Thursday. You can contact me either here, at the hotel. Or you can reach me in Washington later. Also, I will give you my cell phone number, if you need to get a message to me quickly.”

  After giving Mason the cell phone number, they said their good-byes, and the Senator sat back and took a long sip of his martini. He needed to think of what his next steps would be. He was sure he could prevent Mason’s story from ever appearing in print. That could be arranged by contacting the right people. But, he wasn’t sure how severely he needed to deal with this situation. He needed to weigh carefully the pros and cons of allowing the story to appear at this time. One thing was sure…regardless of what Mason might think; the publication of this story was not inhis hands, but in theSenator ’s.

  Chapter 12

  Technical Stuff

  The meeting with the Senator at Lawrence Livermore Lab was only an hour away. The meeting would be mostly technical, and would include the three co-investigators (Shane, Nagle, and Carson), Nathan Carothers from CIA, Dr. James Olsen, a DOE technical manager from Washington, Dr. Richard Williams, a database specialist from Sandia Lab, and James Windemere the White supercomputer administrator. Except for Windemere, this was the usual group that had attended their semiannual meetings over the past couple of years. This meeting would be quite different, however. Previous meetings had witnessed the presentation of technical reports describing incremental progress on a long-term contract. This meeting, by contrast, would have as its outcome a one-month timetable for completion of the StarSight project, and perhaps some further discomforting information regarding consequences of failure. The meeting, set for two thirty, could run well into the evening. But, at this time, the project team was huddling together in Shane’s office, going over their final preparations.

  Shane was requesting approval of their overview statements: “Do we agree that our set-up on the White computer is completely in place now?” he asked. “I’m especially concerned about the satellite data, Sharon. Are we getting access to what we need?”

  “In principle, we have access to all the surveillance data that’s been collected over the past 30 years. It’s all been encoded in a common format,” Sharon responded. “Of course, it’s so voluminous that we couldn’t possibly manage it in its present form, even though it is highly condensed. And, the data have not all been delivered here yet.”

  “The good news,” Sharon continued, “is that we have enough available now that we can get started. And, Windemere has made arrangements to have all of it transported here. He’s been working on it since the Senator contacted him last week. Made dozens of phone calls. Had to use the Senator’s office a few times to convince people of the urgency, without giving away the story. It looks like he will have his technicians loading all of those data on the local network within four or five days.”

  “That’s great, Sharon,” Tony remarked. “So, does that mean we can begin to use those data for inputs to the neural nets sometime next week?”

  “Well…yes and no,” Sharon replied. “The biggest problem we’ll face is condensing the visual images to a manageable volume. The magnitude of the data files we’re using here far exceeds anything I’ve ever encountered…which means that the data selection and compression methods I’ve used previously are not going to work. We need a whole
new approach.”

  “OK. So, we’ve got the satellite data…or will have it all…in a few days. But, we need to have a plan for selection and compression. Can we have that ready by Monday?”

  “Yes. Wewill have a plan by Monday, Tony,” Sharon replied. “Sarah and I have been kicking some ideas around. You can put that on the timetable.”

  “Thanks, Sharon,” Tony said. Then, turning to Bill Campbell, Shane asked, “What about the program operation, Bill?”

  “The neural nets are operating exactly as they did back at Daniels, with the same input files,” Bill replied. “Well…except that it now takes a few seconds to get results that used to take hours!

  “What about the expanded global activity files? Have you operated the networks with those yet?”

  “Some of the data have been loaded and formatted. But, Dr. Nagle and Anna can give you a better idea about any results,” Bill responded.

  “That’s right, Tony,” Barry interjected. “Anna and I have been working with these additional files. They’re huge. But they’re incomplete. And the data are not consistent.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well. The data are incomplete because we still don’t have all of the data files, that are here, loaded onto the local network. And, just like Sharon mentioned, we are still waiting to receive loads of data files from other agencies. Windemere is still working on it. And, the data are inconsistent because they come from so many different sources.”