by B. Michaels
“How do you do that?” asked Becca.
“I tell the algorithm it’s doing a good job or bad job with supervised learning. Then, I’ll turn it loose and see what it learns without my feedback. That’s called unsupervised learning. Also, I want to improve each layer of the neural network that processes the text…characters, prefixes, suffixes, grammatical relationships, word vectors, sentences—all the way to semantics, ontologies, concepts, and themes.
“There are some other things I want to tweak. I want to make it multi-modal. Then the AI could learn from text and pictures, for example. I also want to see how much the neural network creation improves with faster computers. I’m sure General Shields is going to love this, and he’ll get me some time on the NSA supercomputers.”
“I know he’ll love it,” said Becca. “Now let me try. TextWorld, display something I don’t know.”
Josh looked chagrined. “Becca, that’s not going to—”
Before Josh could finish his statement, they were immersed in a number of words and images. These included: Area 51, Aliens, Bigfoot, the Bermuda Triangle, Hillary Clinton pictured with the King of Saudi Arabia, and an old Harrison Ford picture. It was snapped from the set of the film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Becca selected the image of Indiana Jones. “My dad and I loved that movie.” She expected to see little-known movie trivia, or obscure facts about Harrison Ford.
A word cloud did appear. And there were topics that Becca expected. “Look at everything I don’t know,” huffed Becca. “And you were just about to tell me that my question wouldn’t work. I can’t believe you’d do that on Valentine’s Day.”
Josh laughed.
Upon closer examination, Becca saw a topic she didn’t anticipate—an unknown unknown. She reached out and picked the ‘Location of the Ark of the Covenant’ topic.
The Past/ Present/ Future Grid appeared.
The Ark had fascinated Becca since she watched the movie. “Dad told me that this was not just a movie mystery. This is a real historical enigma. No one knows what actually happened to the Ark. It disappeared.”
“Yeah, it was lost from history in 587 BC,” said Josh, reading from the Present column. Both of their eyes immediately gravitated to the Future column. On the far right side of the Future column stood a glistening white and gold building.
The building reminded Becca of the Acropolis, but it was more rectangular and tall. Two colossal pillars, probably three or four stories high, guarded the entrance to the building. There was a large stone structure in front of the building, surrounded by a number of courtyards.
Closer to Becca than that structure, but still in the Future column, was an A-Map of the Middle East. The map was labeled in a typical manner. It had roads, highways, the Jordan and Nile Rivers, and nation-state names. The designated countries included portions of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the northern part of Saudi Arabia. The entirety of Israel and Egypt was also portrayed.
The two ambled closer to the A-Map. “Woah,” said Becca, “is this showing us the hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant?”
“I don’t know,” replied Josh. “It’s a big area. Maybe, as I improve the algorithm and run it on faster computers, it’ll get more detailed. It’s interesting, though. And, at least you know your Cowboys are going to have a good year. Let’s get out of the Middle East. I don’t want to get run over by a camel.”
Becca laughed. “Alright, I’m hungry.”
*
Josh drove Becca to Georgetown for dinner. Georgetown was a historic neighborhood of Washington, DC. It was an extremely pleasant drive in Josh’s white, Faraday 777 GTS Convertible. Josh’s dad had bought him the car before he quit MIT. Faraday Motors was an upstart car company, based in the UK. They specialized in luxury, electric sports cars.
Josh thought it was cool that Flashcharge, another member of the Accelerator, was piloting their microwave power charging technology with Faraday. The trip was normally about 45 minutes, but Josh had a lead foot. All the Faraday’s cool apps enthralled Becca. The Faraday was truly a software defined car.
Becca asked Josh if he’d like to get on the speakerphone with her dad. They could ask him about the Ark of the Covenant. Josh agreed.
She introduced Josh as, ‘her friend.’ “Dad, what can you tell us about the Ark of the Covenant?”
“What?” asked Elisha. “It’s 8:45 on a Friday night, and you want to talk about the Bible? Have you guys been drinking?”
“No, not for at least another 20 minutes,” chuckled Becca. “Seriously Dad, Josh was showing me something related to a project he’s working on. And the Ark of the Covenant came up. Neither one of us knows too much about it. I know you do.”
“Alright,” said Elisha. “The Ark is first mentioned in Exodus, the second book of the Hebrew Bible after Genesis. Just about a year after the Exodus—you know, the parting of the Red Sea and all; God told Moses to build a gold-plated, rectangular box, made of acacia wood. He commanded the exact dimensions, something like four and one-half feet long, by two and one-half feet high, by two and one-half feet wide.
“The lid of the Ark was also to be covered with pure gold. Additionally, this lid was to include two large golden statues of cherubim angels, hammered from pure gold. God called this golden top of the Ark, the Mercy Seat. The Bible says that God’s presence—His glory—would dwell on the Mercy Seat, between the cherubim. God told Moses to place the Ten Commandments into the Ark.
“On the outside of the Ark, in the four corners, were placed four hooks. Through these hooks, two long poles could be inserted. Selected individuals from the tribe of Levi carried the Ark by holding the poles. You never wanted to touch the Ark directly.
“The Ark was to travel with the Hebrews. It signified that God was present with His people. God also directed Moses to build the Tabernacle and to put the Ark in its most prominent room—the Holy of Holies. For its day, the Tabernacle was a sophisticated tent. It could be torn down and set up quickly, as the Israelites traveled in the desert. 500 years later Solomon built the first Temple. Solomon was King David’s favored son. God said He didn’t want to dwell in a movable tent anymore. He wanted a permanent house.”
“That must have been the temple we saw in TextWorld?” asked Josh.
“But it was in the Future column?” said Becca.
“What?” asked Elisha.
“Never mind Dad. Keep going.”
“Just like in the Tabernacle, the Ark was housed the holiest place in the Temple, behind a curtain.”
“What do people think happened to the Ark?” asked Becca.
“Of course, no human alive knows for sure. The Ark disappeared from the Bible after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon’s Temple in 587 BC. Many people say Nebuchadnezzar demolished it in the siege. Other people think that he took it to Babylon—present day Iraq. Persia conquered Babylon. Persia is present day Iran. So, some people say it’s there.
“Others think that brave Israelites, like Jeremiah, went in before the destruction of the Temple and hid the Ark. Maybe he buried it in a desert cave or underneath the Temple. There’s also a very persistent story about the Ark being in Ethiopia.
“Since the science of archeology started in the late 1800’s, archeologists have searched for the Ark. If you think the greatest artifacts ever discovered were the Rosetta Stone, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Pompeii, or Tutankhamun; unearthing the Ark is far bigger than all of those combined. But the most significant ramifications would be geopolitical.”
“What do you mean?” asked Josh.
“I don’t exactly know for sure. I think the majority of people would be happy to put the Ark in a museum. But there would be a significant segment of Conservative and Orthodox Jews who would want to re-build their Temple, and restart their sacrificial system. The problem is that the Dome of the Rock—the third most holy site in Islam—sits on the place they’d want to erect their Temple. To t
his day, Jews call that place the, ‘Temple Mount.’
“A lot of Christians would support the construction as well. So it could potentially be very destabilizing to a region that is already very unstable. The Temple and the Dome couldn’t exist on the same piece of land. I imagine the US government and Israeli government would be upset about the discovery of the Ark. It could cause World War III, if not handled properly.”
Becca, Josh, and Elisha chatted for a few minutes more before saying their goodbyes. Josh drove past Georgetown University on Canal Street and arrived in Georgetown. The picturesque Potomac River was off to their right.
They got a table on the patio of Fiola Mare, an upscale seafood restaurant overlooking the river. Josh had made a reservation. The evening was stunning. Becca and Josh sat next to each other, breathing it all in.
The Key Bridge was to their right. Directly facing them were the many high-rise offices of Arlington, Virginia. Josh recognized the building where he tried to pitch In-Q-Tel, before General Shields selected him for the Accelerator. Further up the river, to their left, was the Watergate building and the Kennedy Center.
Becca was glad that it wasn’t humid—somewhat rare for DC this late in the summer. But she knew August would be here tomorrow. Josh ordered a Grey Goose vodka, mixed with sugar-free Red Bull. Becca drank a lemon-drop martini. Both welcomed the release, as the alcohol began to enter their bloodstream.
“I guess I should’ve asked you if you liked seafood,” said Josh, sheepishly.
“Oh, I love it,” she fibbed.
“You’re not a very good liar. Do you want to go someplace else?”
“No way. I’m going to get a fillet and salad.”
Josh ordered lobster ravioli and a side of fried shrimp. They both wanted two more drinks. “How about a Moscow Mule?”
“Yum, perfect.”
The frosty Moscow Mule cups arrived. The couple clanked their copper mugs, with a blueish patina.
“Here’s to our future,” said Josh.
“Are you thinking about the Future column?” Becca smiled.
After dinner, the couple strolled past the bars, shops, and other restaurants on M Street. Josh reached for Becca’s hand, then twirled her in like a ballerina—closer to him. Both of their hearts were pounding.
Josh leaned in, and placed his lips on hers.
There were plenty of revelers in the street this evening, although not as many as when Georgetown was in fall semester. Josh and Becca played a game of darts in one bar. Becca won. As evening fast approached morning, Josh drove Becca back to her apartment.
With the Faraday’s top-of-the-line Bang & Olufesn’s audio system blaring, Josh and Becca karaoked all the way to Columbia. It was as if they’d never not known each other.
Josh walked Becca to her front door and kissed her goodnight.
*
Josh was smitten. He’d never felt this way. He’d never experienced the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He could imagine Becca as the one. She had all the qualities he was looking for. Smart. Beautiful. Funny. He came back to smart…really smart.
Josh was thankful his Faraday had auto-pilot. He couldn’t concentrate on driving.
Chapter 14 – Sunday Meetings
11:45 a.m. (EDT), Sunday, August 2, 2020 – Columbia, MD
Second-Floor, Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, Defense Innovations Accelerator
General Shields hunched around a beat up wooden conference table in the second-floor SCIF. The SCIF was composed of three connected rooms, including the meeting room. In addition to the table, there was a secure telephone, a whiteboard, and an in-ceiling mounted projector.
The General called for a series of rare Sunday meetings. He wanted to spur integration of Gamification Systems’ software with other firms. The first session was wrapping up.
“In summary,” said the General, “you guys have made a lot of progress in getting Fog of War to work in GAMESPACE. You think in the next four to six weeks; you’ll have it completely integrated.”
During the previous 45 minutes, the General listened to presentations detailing the steps Gamification and Velocity Games Studios were taking to enable Gamification to use Fog of War as a game within GAMESPACE.
Fog of War was an open world game. Open world video games allowed players to explore anywhere on the game map, as opposed to linear games, which forced the action to progress within a scripted storyline.
The General began the meeting by reminding everyone that the discussion would be conducted at TS//FOGGY. FOGGY was a special compartment that the General created to contain information regarding the Velocity and Gamification integration. In reaction to the highly publicized leaks of classified information, one of the DoD’s responses was to create more classified compartments.
“Yes, that’s right,” said Saul Abrams. “Fog of War uses the Unreal Engine, just like Castle Gecko. We’re going to be able to reuse a lot of our code.”
“You mean Castle Chevaliers,” interjected Samantha.
General Shields looked to Velocity’s Co-Founder. “What say you John, do you agree with Saul?”
John Vincent nodded his head in agreement. John was tall, rugged, and rich. “Yep,” he said, with a heavy Australian accent. “G-Bridge is deadly. I wouldn’t have thought it possible to do what they are doing. It’s a totally dardy piece of software. On our end, all we have to do is make Saul aware of how Fog of War works in the abstract.”
“What’d you say?” asked the General.
“Let me translate for you,” said Lin, with a sparkle in her eye. “I speak Australian. He says he likes it.”
“Yep, Darl, I do like it,” Vincent replied. He looked at Lin from head to toe, making love to her with his smoky eyes. Lin blushed. Samantha made a face.
“Outstanding,” said the General. He looked at his calendar. “So, by the week of September 14, you think you’ll be done?”
Samantha, John, and Saul collectively assented.
“Very well,” said the General, standing up from the table. “John I want to thank you for making the early morning trip from Bethesda on a Sunday.”
John nodded and replied, “Sure, General, ta.”
“Alright, this meeting is adjourned.”
“Our next meeting is in 10 minutes,” said Lin. “It’s in the sixth-floor SCIF.”
“How do I get an invite,” asked John. Lin stammered.
Samantha exited the conference room as quickly as possible. John and Lin’s flirting was on her last nerve. She peered through the doorway, directly across the small corridor. The long, rectangular room contained a row of 12 high-performance gaming PCs. It was the biggest room in the SCIF. Each workstation had its own VR gear. External VR Cameras and sensors lined its walls. Samantha could tell that the PCs and VR equipment were high-end.
She proceeded down the small corridor to the entry room. Two desks, housing much older computers, sat in the far left corner of the room. Affixed to the computer monitors were placards that read, ‘JWICS’ and ‘SIPRNet.’ The machines were powered off.
JWICS and SIPRNet were separate computer networks maintained by the DoD. To use a JWICS terminal, the user needed to possess a TOP SECRET clearance. Only documents marked TOP SECRET were available on JWICS. Accessing a SIPRNet system required a SECRET clearance. The NIPRNet was the DoD’s non-classified network. The theory was that the separation of networks and the compartmentalization hierarchy protected the nation’s secrets. The networks were not allowed to talk to one another.
The entry room also held a large file cabinet that looked like a safe. The file cabinet was approved to store TS//FOGGY documents. Samantha opened the metal door to exit the SCIF. The door was thick and sturdy. The entire SCIF reminded Samantha of a bank vault.
She walked across the second-floor hallway, and entered Gamification Systems. Samantha saw Ali Asir prog
ramming at his desk.
“Hi, Ali.” Samantha poked her head into his office. “Thanks for coming in on a Sunday.”
Ali returned the greeting and asked, “What’s this meeting about? I thought Friday’s Gecko Insurance demo went without a hitch?”
“It did. The demo looked terrific. I feel confident about our presentation next week. The meeting that begins in five minutes, concerns a classified project that the General is going to read us into. We’re gathering in the sixth-floor SCIF. I think Saul is already up there.”
“Hmm, I’ve not had any meetings in that SCIF before?” said Ali. “What about Becca?”
“She’s not going to be read into this program. Not yet, at least. I’m working to change that. By the way, I’ve never been in the sixth-floor SCIF either. But I can tell you, the second-floor SCIF isn’t that impressive.”
*
Samantha, Ali, and Saul chatted outside the locked SCIF door. Soon, Shields and Lin arrived from his office down the hallway.
Samantha glared at Lin. She didn’t think anything was going on between the General and Lin, but she didn’t know for sure. General Shields was cheating on his wife. Samantha didn’t like being the other woman, but Lisa was so mean to her husband. And Samantha was stressed. The relationship was an escape. Now, there were consequences. She didn’t want to say anything about Lin or be too pushy about Becca. She couldn’t rock the boat now; she needed the Gecko Insurance deal to close.
Lin made sure everyone rid themselves of any cell phone and electronic gadgets, storing the items outside the SCIF. They could be placed in either lockers or cubby holes. Shields left his phone in a cubby hole. Lin unlocked the SCIF door. Everyone had to sign-in, using pencil and paper to record their entry and exit. The anteroom of the sixth-floor SCIF was similar in appearance to the second-floor SCIF, complete with its SIPRNet and JWICS drops and a safe. Aside from this entry room, the configuration was much different. There were two locked doors, on the north and west sides of the anteroom. The locks looked sophisticated to Samantha.