Becca was troubled. “You’re probably right. Josh, this is scary. You can’t give them this source code. They’re going to hack you and steal it, if they haven’t already.”
“I know. The source code repository is on this blade.” Josh pointed to the server in the rack closest to his desk. “It’s not connected to the Internet. However, I did have to take my code on the laptop to connect to the supercomputers. They could have pilfered the source code there, but I made sure I was only working on certain modules. Not everything was on my laptop at the same time. Also, I was running a software firewall. I think the bigger problem is the log files on the supercomputers. I’m sure they recorded all my activity.
“Can you erase the logs?” asked Josh, semi-hopefully. “I know you’re a great hacker.”
Becca laughed. “No. Even if I could access the log server, I’m sure they use a hashing algorithm on the logs. The minute I deleted your queries from the log, the system would recognize that the file changed, because the hash changed.
“We’ve got a little over 24 hours to get the code to a safe place, if we can find one. Then you’re going to have to destroy all these servers and laptops. It’s not enough just to break the hard drives. We’ll need to drive nails through them. Absolutely every electronic component—including your laptop keyboards and touchpads—need to be destroyed.”
“Damn. I hate to lose those DGX-1s. But why the keyboards?” asked Josh.
“In some laptops, there’s a buffer that captures data. You’re trying to hide information from the most sophisticated hacking and computer forensics organization in the world. The NSA is even better than the FBI. Our first step is to encrypt the source code. Then, we need to figure out how to get the source code out of this apartment. After that, we need to destroy your hardware.
“What about those?” asked Becca, pointing to two other flat screen monitors with open browser windows. One of the browsers displayed Wikipedia articles regarding the Temple and the Ark. The other contained the results from an Atom search of, ‘Dome of the Rock.’
“I haven’t done any coding on those computers. They’re just for research.”
“Alright,” said Becca. “But, they’re able to review everything you’ve done online. I’m going to use a vacation day tomorrow and help you. By the time you go to the board meeting, we’ll know the source code is safe. Or at least, safer.”
Becca and Josh spent the rest of the evening executing their plan. He bought a burner phone and called Jared Adler. Josh told his dad he was in trouble. It was the first time they had spoken in over two years. Surprisingly, Jared was warm. He assured Josh that he’d do anything to help. Jared sounded happy to hear Josh’s voice.
Josh also reached his attorney. The lawyer was not as encouraging as his father. “That’s not good,” said his counsel.
“How much is that deep legal insight going to cost me?” Josh asked Becca, sarcastically.
Encryption of the source code ran well into Thursday morning. No physical medium was large enough to hold all of the encrypted source code. It was too big for USBs, flash drives, or DVDs. Josh didn’t have a Blu-ray burner.
Kishore Reddy, the CTO of Adler Capital, provided Josh with an encrypted VPN connection, so that he could send the information to the company intranet. Josh told Kishore to disconnect the server from the Internet when the upload finished. Luckily, Josh had opted for the fastest broadband package available from his Internet service provider to outfit his apartment.
Josh was afraid that the source code might get corrupted in the VPN transfer, so he bought a laptop. They copied the encrypted source code over to the new computer. They wanted to take the laptop and store it in a safe deposit box. But they ran out of time.
It was Friday.
Chapter 19 – Replaced
9:00 a.m. (EDT), Friday, October 2, 2020 – Columbia, MD
Suite 602, Conference Room, Defense Innovations Accelerator
Josh sat with his hands clasped near his face. 11 months ago, this very room had been the location of his greatest personal triumph. Josh was so proud to sign the document that welcomed CyberAI into Defense Innovations Accelerator’s very first class. Josh accomplished the selection without a single conversation with his father.
Over the course of the last nine months, Josh grew to admire—even love—General Shields. He longed for his praise and acceptance. In fact, it was the quest for the General’s approval that led Josh down this path. The AI was not improving quickly enough. Now it was. Why wasn’t General Shields pleased?
Josh was sick to his stomach. If he’d eaten yesterday, he’d have vomited all over the table.
Vish Kumar was seated directly opposite him. Neither one said a word. Vish became a multi-millionaire when Graphica Intelligence was acquired. Up until two months ago, Vish was Josh’s most trusted confidant. Then, Josh began noticing Vish sucking up to the General during board meetings. Josh also discerned that Vish was saying derogatory things behind his back in the office.
General Shields and Lin Liu entered and seated themselves on Vish’s side of the table. All three of them faced Josh. The cold atmosphere in the room got even icier.
“Alright,” said the General, “let’s convene this meeting of the Board of Directors of CyberAI Defense, Inc. Josh, we’d like to inspect the deep learning source code from the past three months.”
“General, I didn’t bring the source code. As you both know, I negotiated for the right to maintain ownership of independently developed intellectual property.”
“Independent?” Vish fumed. “You used NSA supercomputers and linguists to perfect the algorithms!”
“My attorney and I believe that the source code belongs to me. At this time, I choose not to give it to you,” said Josh, coolly.
General Shields was livid. “That’s bullshit. You know a judge will order you to produce the code. That’s strike one. Here’s the next pitch. And it’s going to be strike two. You told me that you were solely concentrating on cybersecurity within your deep learning code.” General Shields slid a heavy manila folder across the table.
The folder was nothing less than a dossier of everything Josh had done on a computer or cell phone over the past three months. The first pages of the file were Amazon.com and credit card receipts. Almost all of the books Josh bought were highlighted in yellow, except one technical book on deep learning. As Josh reviewed more pages, certain words were consistently underlined. This made clear what selectors the NSA was employing:
‘Ark, aka Ark of the Covenant,’
‘Temple,’
‘Dome of the Rock,’
‘Israel,’
‘Jerusalem,’
‘Jew,’
’Judaism,’
‘Bible,’
‘Archeology,’
and ‘Rebecca Roberts, aka Becca.’
Selectors were exactly what they sounded like. The NSA copied nearly every bit of data that moved through the air or wires. They stored it in massive buildings around the world. While it was impossible to view or listen to all that content, it was possible to use selectors to search the collected data retroactively. Conclusions could be derived after the fact.
Josh reviewed his book receipts, credit card statements, emails, web searches, social media activity, website history, and his cell phone metadata—mostly calls to and from Becca.
“Becca!” shouted Josh. “Why do you have to involve her?” The pit of fear in his stomach morphed into rage. Josh thought of the General as a second father. A better father. How could he do this? Next, Josh saw all of his text messages with Becca. It was obvious that Josh talked to Becca about the Ark. It was equally evident that Josh and Becca were dating.
General Shields observed Josh intently. “Yeah, no one here knew you were dating Becca—Becca who resigned from Gamification Systems yesterday. Do you know anything about that?”
Josh didn’t answer the question. Lin squirmed in her seat. Josh thought he recognized empathy in her eyes.
Then, he saw the logs from the NSA supercomputers. They detailed all his activity, including his queries of the neural network. The NSA must have generated the selectors by studying his queries.
Josh put the file down and looked at the General. Josh’s hardened glance masked deep hurt.
“Josh, you lied to me, and you lied to Vish,” said General Shields, gravely. “It’s obvious that you were engaged in something I directed you to stop. You’re not authorized to seek the location of the Ark. I told you, for the sake of your own welfare and the security of the United States, to stop work on the Ark. You disobeyed me—”
“I’m not one of your Airmen, General Shields. I’m an entrepreneur that wants to change the world with AI. We’re partners; you’re not my boss. And you don’t just turn off this type of AI. Don’t you get it? We’re approaching strong, general AI. I could have asked the AI anything. It doesn’t just learn about cybersecurity. For example, I could have asked the AI if you were having an affair. You can’t make it stop learning.
“I created the neural network. But, even as the creator, I don’t know what the AI will learn. I didn’t write a program to find the Ark. I wrote a deep learning algorithm, composed of a neural network of over 1000 layers. Digital natural selection chose each layer. The algorithm processes text. It learns. You ask the AI questions. Based on what it’s learned, it makes inferences and predictions.
“It can make predictions about cyber-events. May I remind you that the current metric has increased to 92.7% accuracy? It can make predictions about financial markets. It can make predictions about the Cowboy’s Super Bowl chances. And it can make predictions about the location of the Ark. It’s all the same neural network. It’s like trying to program your child’s thoughts. But the child has to become an adult.”
And then Josh said it.
“Did you cram thoughts into your son’s head? Did you force Charlie to be a SEAL?”
Were there not other people in the room, General Shields looked like he would have thrown punches. His square jaw tensed, ferociously. Josh could see the vein on the right side of the General’s head, pulsating. Moments past while the General struggled to maintain his poise.
No one uttered a word. Breaths spoke volumes.
“My son died in the service of his country,” Shields said slowly. “Charlie might not have agreed with everything he was asked to do, but he realized that senior leaders had a broader perspective than him. He subjugated his personal desires for something greater than himself. And Josh, that’s strike three.
“Discovery of the Ark of the Covenant has unknown geopolitical ramifications. You’re not authorized to ask this question. I told you to stop. You didn’t. You lied to Vish, Lin, and me—your lead investor. You also haven’t produced the source code requested by the CyberAI Board. For these reasons, I’d like to call a vote. This vote is to remove you from the Board, remove you from being CEO, and to terminate your employment with CyberAI.
“I vote yes,” said Shields.
“I vote yes,” said Vish.
Josh didn’t bother to vote.
General Shields continued, “Alright, you’re the new CEO, Vish.”
The words cut through Josh’s heart. CyberAI was his dream. It was the reason he left MIT. It was the cause of the rupture in his relationship with his father.
The former CyberAI CEO stared at the table. He struggled to process the betrayal. And he was angry. “Gentlemen, I do regret lying to you. But, who are you General Shields to deny an entire race the right to see a relic from their ancient heritage? I don’t even know if the AI is accurate. You’re claiming US sovereignty over a piece of history that belongs to the Jewish people. God never gave you that right.”
Josh could hardly believe that word came from his mouth. He parents didn’t practice Judaism. But, Josh was becoming interested in God. And, Josh was becoming thoroughly disappointed in man.
“God, really?” replied the General. “Here’s the truth, son. If you continue to search for the Ark, the United States will designate you as a terrorist. I’ve already added Becca and you to the TSA No-Fly-List. I’ll know if you guys attempt to leave the country. I’ve got a warrant from the FISA Court for all the information in the folder. A physical search is being executed right now upon your apartment in North Laurel. We’re going to recover our source code. We’ll carefully monitor everything you do, until you quit searching for something that imperils the lives of so many.
“Now, if you abandon your pursuit of the Ark, and give us the copies of the source code in your possession; Vish and I will try to make sure that your equity position stays roughly the same. Otherwise, you can expect to be diluted.
“Security will escort you to your office to pack your things. Then, they’ll walk you to your car. I’m going to meet with Becca now. Good day, Josh. Be careful.”
Two NSA police officers led Josh out of the sixth-floor conference room. One of the officers carried an assault rifle. Josh frantically reached for his phone in an attempt to warn Becca. The phone was useless. Someone was jamming the signal.
*
“Becca, I want to thank you for meeting so quickly. It’s my understanding that you’ve given your two weeks’ notice to Gamification?” asked the General.
“Yes, sir,” replied Becca.
“Becca, you’re a very talented software engineer. May I ask why you’re leaving?”
“I’m just not happy here anymore. I’d like to move on.”
The General pressed, “Becca, I know you might not understand everything we do here at the Accelerator, but we’re trying to make America safe—”
“General Shields, you’re building robots to kill people. You have human beings in GAMESPACE that are executing other human beings in REALSPACE; only they think they are playing a game. Are you going to pay your hitmen in Bitcoin?”
“Becca, Swarmbots are ISR platforms. They don’t kill.”
“Save it General. You picked Fog of War for a reason. I don’t want to be a part of it. I understand that despicable men beheaded your son. I’m sorry. I’m sure you think America isn’t doing enough. But, breaking laws so you can seek your revenge is not the answer. That won’t get your son back.”
The General’s face went flush red.
Lin inserted herself into the conversation. “Becca, do you have someone you love?”
“Yes.”
Lin continued, “Now imagine your significant other is in Syria. He’s been assigned a kill or capture mission for a high-ranking member of the Caliphate. Think about him hard. He’s all decked out in special operator’s gear. He’s scared. His adrenaline is pumping. Then, he’s given the order. He blows the door off its hinges and rushes into a dark room.
“If we owned the technology to not put your loved one in danger; wouldn’t it be immoral not to use it? Think of how many lives drones have saved. Swarmbots are just a logical extension of remotely piloted aircraft.”
Becca examined Lin. Then the General. “Listen, I understand what you are saying. I just don’t want to work for a company that does these things. I want to make. I want to create. I don’t want to destroy life for a living. I’m not in the military. And on the topic of drones, you know better than I, that we’re not always killing the right people.
“When you scratch one Caliphate member from your kills list, you add 10 more. Your kill lists don’t ever decrease. They only get bigger. Look, I don’t know the answer. I do know that this is something I don’t want to be associated with. And, I think our country should have a national conversation about this. Do we want to be a country that assigns robots to kill people?”
General Shields spoke in measured tones. “Becca, when you’re young, things look black and white. As you gain experience, I can assure you that the entire world is just gray. You’re right about the drone program. We are killing too many innocents. I think we need to reign drones in. That’s why Swarmbots are so important. They will target one person, and one person only. That’s very different
than aiming a Hellfire at a SIM card.
“Not only that, but the nation cannot continue to send its men and women to fight an enemy that grows larger every day. Our national debt is over $25 trillion, well over 100% of our Gross Domestic Product. Historically, that’s when bond defaults occur. We can’t afford to fight terrorists all over the world with human soldiers—not if we want to remain a prosperous nation. Compared to American lives, Swarmbots are cheap. They’ll get less expensive as we expand the program. It’s a type of war that allows us to scale with an asymmetric enemy.”
Becca remained stone-faced. “General, what happens when they get robots?”
General Shields looked at Becca dismissively. “Rebecca Roberts, I appreciate your work. You did a good job with Gecko Insurance. Your castle was a real work of art. Your trebuchets were exquisite. I need to remind you that everything we just discussed is TOP SECRET.”
Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller Page 17