Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller

by BMichaelsAuthor

  Distributed. Deniable. Secret. Undeclared.

  The Black Hawk appeared on the flat-screen monitor from the left. It slowed and hovered near Omar’s house. Soldiers emerged from both sides of the helicopter. They began to fast rope to the ground.

  Then all hell broke loose.

  Two rocket-propelled grenades struck the Black Hawk. It was an ambush. The Black Hawk began to swivel and dip. The pilots lost control. The rotors cut into the ground and snapped, as the helicopter rolled and flipped numerous times before it came to a mangled rest.

  Heavily armed Caliphate forces exited the residences near Omar’s house, to the north and south. They rushed toward the Black Hawk wreckage.

  When it was over, two Army pilots and eight of the contractors were dead. The Caliphate apprehended four contractors. General Shields was beside himself with rage. He drowned his fury with a bottle of scotch.

  *

  The next day, the Caliphate paraded the four mercenaries before TV cameras and posted videos to A-Tube. A White House spokesman claimed that, while the pilots were American, the captured and killed soldiers were Kurdish rebels.

  A few days later, the Caliphate exposed the lie when it posted a video that graphically illustrated the match between the soldier’s fingerprints, and prints they accessed from the OPM database hack. At some point in their careers, to obtain a clearance, the ex-US Special Operations warriors had trusted their government with extremely private information—including their fingerprints. Now those fingerprints betrayed them.

  The Caliphate proved to the world that the soldiers were Americans. It was a debacle for President Goodman. The press referred to the ensuing scandal as ‘Dabiq-gate.’ Every night, a new beheading video was posted to the web.

  With each execution, General Shields and Lisa were forced to relive Charlie’s death.

  Unbeknownst to the world, Omar was never in the targeted house. The Caliphate filled the home with human slaves and placed the SIM card in the dwelling. They found a Yazidi slave girl of the same height and build of Nafisa, and made her wear a wig. The email was a trap to either lure the Americans into an ambush or a drone strike. In the event of a US drone strike, the Caliphate would rush to film the attack. Then they’d post videos of the dead women and children as collateral damage carnage.

  Chapter 16 – Swarmbot Demo 1

  7:05 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, September 30, 2020 – Columbia, MD

  Suite 201, Gamification Systems’ Offices, Defense Innovations Accelerator

  Becca culled the emails in her inbox. Today was Gamification’s Demo Day for General Shields. Unlike all the other monthly demos, Becca was not invited. Just yesterday, Samantha told Becca she was ‘not needed’ for the demo. Ali would attend instead. Becca was incredibly upset. How could Samantha not trust me? The thought echoed through the canyons of her mind.

  Over the last two months, two good things happened. First, her relationship with Josh was advancing. Becca was at the point where she thought she might be in love. She admired Josh’s passion, can-do optimism, and vision for possibilities. She could overlook his obsession with AI, as long as she was a part of the obsession.

  At least for now, Josh did that. They were like hikers on an adventure. His dimples and rower’s back didn’t hurt either. She continued to work with him closely, integrating CyberAI’s AI Kernel with G-Bridge. He could be romantic, at least when he put his mind to it. Maybe he could develop an AI-romantic app to help him?

  Secondly, Gecko Insurance executed a paid pilot agreement. Samantha named Becca as Gecko’s principal contact. Becca’s job was to ensure the engagement proceeded successfully. This was the first sale for Gamification Systems. It was a big moment for everyone at the company.

  But beyond Josh and the Gecko pilot, the pressure and professional disappointment of the last few months weighed heavily on Becca. Like the drip-drip-drip of a faucet, Becca felt that Samantha was slowly cutting her out of the loop.

  She couldn’t understand why.

  Samantha told Becca to quit being paranoid. There was no effort to firewall her from projects. The CEO only wanted Becca focused on making sure the pilot with Gecko Insurance was successful, and led to the purchase of an enterprise license.

  “You’re working on the most important project for the whole company. You’re essential to Gamification Systems,” Samantha told her.

  Becca wasn’t buying it.

  The VP of Sales, Lou Skaist, arrived for an early web presentation and greeted Becca. “Aren’t you going to Demo Day this morning?”

  Becca looked at Lou. Big tears welled up in her eyes. “No,” she replied, trying to hide her face. She ran to the bathroom. On her way to the ladies room, through the tears, Becca saw Saul Abrams and a number of young servicemen. They represented all branches of the military; Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy. Saul led the servicemen into the second-floor SCIF.

  This had become so familiar over the last two months. She had no idea what Ali, Saul, or Samantha were doing. She felt like a second-class citizen. She couldn’t fathom the reason for the slights. How could Samantha not trust me?

  Granted, Gamification was funded by the NSA. Becca expected some skullduggery and compartmentalization. But she held a TS/SCI clearance, just like Ali and Saul. After gathering herself, Becca lumbered back into Gamification. She walked into Ali’s office, the site of so many laughs in the past. Becca wasn’t sure what she was looking for. She just hoped to make sense of the situation.

  She spied numerous technical manuals from Swarmbot, semi-hidden under file folders. They were scattered all over Ali’s desk.

  *

  Samantha, Ali, and the Swarmbot team congregated outside the sixth-floor SCIF. The Swarmbot executives wore elaborate backpacks. They were constructed from a material Samantha had never encountered. The packs were ready for rugged hiking. General Shields and Lin Liu joined the SWARM team.

  “Good morning,” said the General brusquely.

  Samantha felt the pressure of the last six weeks. Since the Dabiq fiasco, General Shields was mercilessly focused and humorless. He was furious with POTUS and the CIA. More than ever, Samantha felt that the General’s sole purpose in life was to annihilate the Caliphate.

  For her part, despite her continued efforts, she failed to talk Shields into allowing Becca to work on either FOGGY or SWARM. She knew Becca was upset. Samantha was disappointed. She never expected an investor to be able to dictate personnel decisions. Sleeping with him only complicated matters. It was no longer an escape. It was a prison. She felt caged and manipulated.

  After everyone removed and stowed their cell phones, General Shields moved to unlock the SCIF door. Ken Sazuki of Swarmbot said, “General, you know we have the Swarmbots and tablets in the in the backpack, right?”

  The General replied curtly, “Yes, of course. That’s why we’re here. Bring them in.”

  Once inside the SCIF, Shields moved past the conference room. He stopped at the north door. The General extended his palm on the scanner. An interactive voice response unit asked him his name. Then, he entered a code on the keypad. The north door opened.

  Everyone walked into a voluminous, half-moon shaped room. It reminded Samantha of an amphitheater. They followed Shields down the steps, passing rows and rows of analyst workstations, housed on semi-circular desks.

  This was a high-tech war room. None of the equipment was powered. All eyes were drawn to the curved, 50-foot-high video wall. The situation room also contained numerous flat-screen monitors and television sets. Digital clocks flashed the time in Berlin, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Tehran, and Kabul. Like the NSOC, a blue hue tinted the room.

  “With a great deal of pride, I’m pleased to present to you…the SWARM Operations Center,” said the General, theatrically. “The SWARM Op Center will be command central for Project SWARM, once we get started.”

  After allowing everyone an opportunity to absorb the moment, the General continued to walk the perimeter of the op center, at the bottom of th
e video wall. He opened a door to lead everyone into another room.

  “And this is the Maze,” said Lin, in a spirit of triumph.

  The room was one-third the size of a football field. General Shields led the SWARM team up a small set of stairs onto a metal viewing platform. The platform overlooked the Maze. It resembled something you’d stand on to watch a middle school football game. Aside from the portion of the room containing the viewing platform, the Swarmbot labyrinth filled the entirety of the room. The plywood walls were only knee-high. Most of the Maze was white, although sections had different landscapes painted on them.

  Samantha could see one area of the Maze that resembled a desert. Another depicted a forest floor. The Maze contained rocks and other barriers, like blocks of wood and half-sized logs. Two, large lights were attached to the far wall. They directly faced the viewing platform. One was red; the other was green. The red light was illuminated.

  Ken Sazuki, Hideki Sato, and Chris Fischer removed their backpacks. They walked to various spots in the Maze. The team pulled out translucent orbs. Each orb was the size of a softball. Ken, although socially awkward, was the showman of the group. He lifted a Swarmbot high over his head and said, “Ladies and gentlemen of Defense Innovations Accelerator, I give you the fourth generation Swarmbot.”

  Everyone clapped. Samantha counted 11 of the spheroid robots. Actually, upon closer examination of each orb, two were bigger than the others. The outliers were about the size of a little kid’s soccer ball, the kind that five-year-olds use to fit the kick of their tiny feet.

  Samantha eyed the orb closest to her. Its construction was of a composition that was entirely foreign; it looked like foggy glass or opaque crystal. General Shields asked Samantha if she’d ever seen a Swarmbot.

  “No. Ali has—he went to the Swarmbot lab many times, but I’ve never seen them. They don’t look like much.”

  As Ken, Hideki, and Chris were walking back up the stairs of the reviewing stand; Hideki overheard Samantha. “You know, that’s the problem. We can’t figure out why were not billionaires right now. Swarmbots are a key to the future of warfare. But no one in the DoD will buy them. I’ve had a General tell me, ‘What the hell are those? We don’t need any robot balls—I’ve got all the balls I need.’”

  Knowing she’d struck a nerve, Samantha apologized.

  “Take heart boys,” said the General. “Since I first saw them at the 24th, your Swarmbots have gotten better every year. Generals can be some of the most unimaginative buffoons you’ll ever come across. They get paid to not make mistakes. Taking a chance is akin to career suicide. Then, when they retire, they won’t land as lucrative of a consulting job.

  “The first unarmed drones flew in Viet Nam. The Air Force laughed at them for nearly 40 years. Why would anyone want a pilotless aircraft? Drones could have played an enormous role in the 1991 invasion of Iraq. Surely, if deployed in 1991, the drones would have been quickly armed.

  “But no! Why would you need a drone, when you had cruise missiles? Those were the same cruise missiles we used in our numerous attempts to kill Bin Laden. They failed every time. Then came 9/11. Finally, ten years after they could have been deployed, armed drones saw action. Imagine if a drone had killed Osama during the Clinton Administration. No imagination leads to unnecessary deaths!

  “Boys, you’ve stuck with your dreams. Your tenacity is a huge reason the Accelerator invested in you. I can see Swarmbots changing the face of warfare, especially wars against terrorism and counter-insurgency.”

  Ken gave an appreciative nod to the General. He removed a tablet from his backpack. “We’re ready when you are.”

  General Shields reached for a green button on the platform.

  *

  Since 7:30, Saul had been briefing the 11 junior members of US CYBERCOM. They worked at CYBERCOM headquarters on the Fort. All of them were young hackers, who should excel at video games. The all-male group consisted of four Airmen, three Sailors, three Soldiers, and a Marine.

  Saul began the briefing by reminding the men that this discussion was classified at TOP SECRET//FOGGY. Saul told the servicemen that they were testers for a new video game. The video game was fielded to teach SOCOM close quarters combat techniques.

  The Marine asked why the NSA was interested in video games for SOCOM. Saul told the Marine that he wasn’t at liberty to disclose that information. Saul explained that too many questions, beyond the game mechanics, would trigger their replacement. He reminded them that there were plenty of DoD personnel that would love to be paid to test virtual reality video games.

  The Gamers put on the VR Headsets, equipped with neural controllers from Prosthetic Thought. This made the headset look more like a helmet, than oversized goggles. The Prosthetic Thought controllers were supposed to scan the brainwaves of the Gamers, and translate their brain patterns into motion and action in the game. This allowed for a much more realistic VR experience, as Gamers wouldn’t have to move as much to influence their VR characters.

  Each Gamer also held two wireless controllers. They were for backup, in case the thought controllers failed. The Prosthetic Thought equipment was still erratic. Saul was interested to see how everything would come together in GAMESPACE and REALSPACE.

  Gamification Systems’ Chief Architect gave the team time to practice moving around. This Fog of War version was not tied to the Swarmbots in REALSPACE. After 20 minutes, the team looked good. Saul could watch the Gamers’ point of view on the flat screens attached to the SCIF’s wall.

  “Alright,” said Saul. “When the green light goes on, all of you have a very simple task. Guide your VR avatar through the Maze. Exit the other side. Walk in a single-file line.”

  Saul was a bit nervous. The last two months were a whirlwind. He’d lost ten pounds and not slept for more than three hours. How else was he supposed to respond when General Shields told him that the fate of the nation was riding on his technical skills?

  Only Saul and Samantha knew the full scope of the task. Saul was in charge of integrating Fog of War and the Swarmbots, with G-Bridge. Ali assisted Saul by working the Swarmbot side, in REALSPACE. But Ali didn’t know what was on the other end in GAMESPACE. Saul knew Ali’s first assumption was that GAMESPACE was Castle Chevaliers. But over time, the light seemed to click. Ali kept mentioning meeting Velocity Studios’ key management.

  Saul felt sorry for Becca. He couldn’t figure out why Samantha had not read her into FOGGY or SWARM. Saul thought Samantha was underutilizing Becca. He really could have used her help. She was very bright and determined.

  “Gentlemen, are you ready?” yelled Saul.

  *

  General Shields depressed the green button. “Here we go.”

  Immediately, the red light in the distance flipped off, and the green light flashed on. A swipe of Ken Sazuki’s tablet animated the Swarmbots. The spheroid drones looked alive.

  They rolled slowly across the room, from right to left. In a single-file line, they headed towards the Maze exit, on the far left side of the room. The first thing Samantha noticed was the deathly silence of the Swarmbots. Even when they nudged a rock or log, there was no sound. “This is like watching TV with no volume. How are they so quiet?” she asked, in disbelief.

  The second thing that struck her was the Swarmbot’s tremendous agility. They could start, stop, and rotate on a dime. In an instant, they could move in any one of 360 directions. Each Swarmbot moved methodically and independently. Yet, as they wheeled towards the end of the Maze, they seemed to communicate with one another. “They’re like a colony of ants, working for their queen,” exclaimed Samantha.

  “I’ve been called worse things than a queen,” laughed the General.

  It was the first smile Samantha had seen on General Shields’ face in weeks. Within two minutes, all the Swarmbots completed the Maze. They assembled at the exit.

  “How fast do they go?” asked Samantha.

  Ken looked at the General inquisitively. The General slightly shook
his head no. “I can’t disclose that precisely. I can tell you that they’d outrun you.”

  “I don’t know, Ken. I’m pretty fast, even in heels.” Ken lost himself for a second as he gawked at Samantha’s toned legs. Lin wasn’t the only one who could work it, thought Samantha. Of course, Ken wasn’t tall, dark, or Australian.

  “It’s as if each one is looking at me. It’s eerie,” said Lin.

  General Shields chuckled. “I don’t want them looking at you. I want them to look straight into the eyes of Abu Mosulaydi.”

  The Swarmbot executives were all smiles, even though the demonstration seemed incredibly simple to them. All Ken knew was that someone was remotely controlling the Swarmbots. Ken wasn’t read into FOGGY; he didn’t know anything about GAMESPACE.

  Over the past five years, Swarmbot’s CEO had seen this sight many times. First, was the wild excitement and promises. This was followed by the disappointment of unanswered calls and unreturned emails. The sales cycle for Swarmbot in the DoD and IC was brutal. If it weren't for the law enforcement market, Swarmbot would have gone bankrupt.