The Ultimate Revenge

by Sally Fernandez

  “This is all so unbelievable. How is it possible for the Muslim Brotherhood to coexist in a democratic process such as in the West, when they do not support the separation of church and state?” Noble questioned.

  “It doesn’t equate. Also remember the Godfather said something about, ‘the purpose of economic life is to meet the social needs of people.’ From that perspective it certainly appears both the Godfather and the Financier are joined at their ideological hips; remember the Chery Automobile debacle? Now when you throw Kofi Annan and Mohamed ElBaradei into the mix—the interconnections are frightening and never-ending. But they are loose connections at best,” Max cautioned.

  “Perhaps not.” Noble believed there was one commonality. “While many of their endeavors are seemingly altruistic, the actions of these self-appointed interlocutors for a global society are at odds with their words and may prove to be destructive, especially to the U.S. Whether or not we know the true identities of Baari’s handlers, it gives the impression the Godfather was molding the social policies for Baari’s administration, while the Financier was working in the foreign policy arena to cement his supporters.”

  Max agreed. “That would help to explain why Baari helped set off the spark that propelled the Arab Spring starting with the protest in Tunisia and leading to the ousting of Qaddafi in Libya. The consequences have been deadly, as evidenced in Baari’s homeland with the subsequent brutal deaths of a U.S. ambassador and three other American citizens in Benghazi.”

  “Then the ousting of Mubarak set off another firestorm in Egypt that continued to burn throughout the Mideast and led to the horrific gassing of the Syrian people by one or both of the combatants in the civil war,” Noble interjected.

  Max took a moment to ponder the facts and then alleged, “It’s inconsistent that the instigators are pushing for a global society, which is the antithesis of the Muslim Brotherhood’s mission to create a closed society shrouded in Sharia law. As I see it, global governance does not embrace the restrictive precepts of their religious beliefs. Evidently the Brotherhood was smart enough to use the turmoil to solidify their position.”

  “In any event, these warring factions would be natural partners for Simon to carry out his mission,” Noble ventured.

  They both sat in their seats for a moment of contemplation. Then having had enough frightening thoughts for one session, Max switched the focus, “Okay, Code-breaker, talk to me.”

  Noble smiled at her obvious attempt to change the subject. “I can see we are both exhausted by the realities and their implications. Go grab us a couple cups of coffee and I’ll meet you in the conference room in a few minutes. I have a quick call to make first.”

  Noble punched in the number.

  “Hello,” Adam responded.

  “Adam, Amanda told me you were quitting the lobbying firm. I just have one question.”

  “Not now, Noble.”

  “Then when—it’s important—Adam, can you hear me?”

  “Give me a minute—I’m thinking. Tonight I’ll be at the Kennedy Center. The performance ends at ten-thirty. Meet me in the parking garage; it should be empty by eleven. I’ll be on the lower level in the reserved parking area.”

  “What about Nancy? I assume she’ll be with you.”

  “I’ll send her home in a taxi.”

  “Thanks Adam. I’ll see you this evening.”

  29

  BUSTED

  Watch the coffee, it’s hot.”

  “Thanks Max.” Noble took the cup and then reached over and hit a button on the virtual keyboard.

  “What’s with the music?”

  “It’s the clue to Simon’s code.”

  “What? It sounds like something from a horror movie.” Max sipped her coffee as she thought, Noble really needs some down time.

  “Actually, you’ve probably heard it in a number of music scores from movies like Aviator, Schindler’s List, Quartet, and Fantasia, to name a few.”

  “So this is how you’ve been spending your time.”

  “You’re listening to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor B-W-V 5-6-5.”

  “Dadada daa! The same music Simon listened to as a child and the same composer on the scorched CD.”

  “By the way, you just mimicked Beethoven. But yes, it was the same composer. Although the music on the CD was a more obscure masterpiece by Bach known as the Art of Fugue B-W-V 1-0-8-0.”

  “What’s with the B-W-V?”

  “It is Bach’s numbering system for his compositions. BWV is the German acronym for Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis. The English translation is Bach Works Catalogue.”

  “Impressive, Noble.”

  Noble smiled and then hit another button on the keyboard and the renowned Glen Gould appeared on the screen playing the opening theme to Bach’s most enigmatic work that continues to fascinate musicologists for its genius.

  Max watched as the maestro played. “Now I remember, The Art of Fugue!”

  “Bach’s music is the clue to Simon’s programming language.”

  “Okay Boss, elaborate on your brilliance. Though try to make it a light conversation. No more—Pythagorean philosophical principles—please.”

  Noble continued to sip his coffee as he listened to Max egg him on. Then he turned off the music. “Bach’s music is preferred among geniuses, primarily because Bach was obsessed with numbers and puzzles which he incorporated in his music. Simon emulated Bach in many of the games he has played with us. Interestingly, Bach fixated over two particular numbers; three and five.”

  Max was astounded. “The ordinal dates for the breaches are multiples of three and three is the first plural number in the Arabic numbering system. Simon is attacking five grids.”

  “Pythagoras…”

  “Noble, please, Simon’s code!”

  “I’m getting to it, but first you may find it interesting that Pythagoras considered the number three the noblest of all digits for a number of reasons I won’t bore you with, but it held the secret to Simon’s code.” Noble noticed Max was not partaking in his humor and moved the conversation along. “Bach encrypted many different hidden enigmas in his music and especially in his fugues. An example of one of his motifs was using his family name. He substituted B for B-flat and H for B-natural in German musical nomenclature, resulting in B-flat–A–C– B-natural. Then he often permutated this motif in various ways such as in inversion or in retrograde where he reversed the notes to play B-natural–C–A–B-flat. While reflecting on Bach’s permutations of his fugue it hit me—Simon used Bach’s retrograde or reverse code for his backdoor code.”

  “So he reversed the naming conventions in the failsafe code as well.”

  “Not exactly—at first, the code in the wristwatch was confusing. It did not resemble the code he has used in the past. It was a clash between a Rubik’s cube and Sudoku. However, when you told me what Simon’s mother said about Bach being his inspiration, it all came together. The code actually was the same as the backdoor code that he used to break into the various banking systems.”

  “You just said it wasn’t the same.”

  “It was the same code, but instead of reversing the wording, like Bach, Simon reversed the commands. The code would appear to be valid but would execute the opposite instruction. The only way it would be discovered is if a programmer followed the logic through thousands of lines of code.”

  “I’m confused. My head is still spinning from our earlier conversation so this is making no sense.”

  “Max, hang in there.”

  Noble explained that in Simon’s version, he changed the command for example, EndCount to mean CharCount and CharCount to mean EndCount. However, he had to distinguish his commands from the actual commands, so he added an additional letter. Therefore, when he wrote Move 1 to EnddCount he instructed the program to Move 1 to CharCount or Move 1 to CharrCount instructed the program to Move 1 to EndCount.

  “In essence he created his own source code and designed his own undetectable fail
safe code.”

  “Do I really need to know this?”

  Noble grinned and spared Max the programming lesson. “Fortunately, FERC convinced the directors at the control centers to grant me temporary access to each of their operating systems, along with providing the actual program name where the failsafe code is stored. The program name is different at each facility for security purposes.”

  “So how did Simon actually modify the main operating system’s program to execute his failsafe program? Please, just a rough outline.”

  “The only changes Simon made were to add a few lines of code to the main program. He inserted a statement that said if the date was equal to 0-8-0-2-2-0-1-7, for the month, day, and year, and the time was 0-9-0-0-0-0, for the hour, minutes, and seconds, adjusted for various time zones, then the command would go to the next line of code. That line of code would execute his failsafe program; otherwise the main program would continue to function as normal.”

  “Can I assume his failsafe program modified the original instructions from reallocating power from the other grids to shutting down the entire grid?”

  “Precisely, otherwise everything would continue to function normally until August second at nine o’clock a.m., at which time the main system would execute Simon’s failsafe program—all five grids would shut down simultaneously.”

  Max was still somewhat mystified. “If Simon created his own code, inserted his own naming convention, and edited the source code, wouldn’t he have to recompile the program?”

  Noble was impressed with the little knowledge Max had for programming. “It would be virtually impossible for Simon to recompile the code. It would have to be recompiled by a programmer actually on the premises.”

  “You mean there are more moles in each of the facilities?” Max was surprised.

  “No, I suspect Simon knew the regular maintenance schedule for each facility. He entered the backdoor shortly before the system was brought down, inserted his few lines of code, and installed his failsafe program. After the programmers made their routine changes to the operating system, they would recompile all the programs before bringing the system back online. They would have no inkling that the new code had been incorporated.”

  “That’s absolutely brilliant.”

  “I agree. The simplicity itself is ingenious. That’s our Simon.”

  “So there is no way he can now bring down the grids?” Max asked, looking for solid confirmation.

  “Thus far, I’ve removed his lines of code, his failsafe program, and his backdoor code at the Birmingham, Taylor, and Folsom facilities. If we don’t catch him first, we’ll let him go ahead and do his fancy work at the St. Paul control center and then move on to the one in Carmel. I can easily go in behind him and restore the system. He’ll be none the wiser. For the present, the threat is over, but now we have to intercept him before he escapes to Canada. He could still trigger the Mississauga blackout, which would be a repeat of the massive blackout that incapacitated much of the U.S. in 2003.”

  “Why do you think Simon set up a rigid time schedule?”

  “He knew he had to execute his plan before the Superstation goes operational or he’d be automatically locked out of the system. He also needed time between facilities to create his own failsafe program. I suspect August was as far out as he could push his plan. In his usual cunning way he chose the signing date of our Declaration of Independence.”

  “It’s ironic that Baari’s strategy was to expedite the process for firing up the Superstation and conversely for Simon it was an impediment to have the Superstation in operation.”

  Noble snickered; he appreciated the satire.

  Max joined in and then asked, “Have you heard from Burke?”

  “I spoke with him earlier. He’s setting up roadblocks on the major roads heading in to St. Paul. I also informed him that Simon would likely do his damage shortly before the operating system is brought down for repairs. He’s aware of their maintenance schedule. So let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

  “What are your plans if they capture him?”

  “I have the company jet standing by. Within an hour, I can be at any one of the locations. I’m not going to miss the moment. I’ll need you to manage things here.”

  “Not a problem. But let’s hope it ends there.”

  30

  THE SOURCE UNLOADS

  Noble walked toward the shadowy figure leaning against the column between two parking spaces. “Adam,” he whispered. Adam stepped out into the dimly lit parking garage and responded in a deep throat, “What’s so important?”

  “Is this the reason you’re leaving the firm? Noble handed him a cocktail napkin. A line was scratched through the words Agenda 21 and scribbled below was a name. “Why is he a threat?”

  “It’s not him; it’s all the defenders of the Covenant, the jazzed-up version of Agenda 21.”

  “I’m not sure I understand.”

  Adam kept his voice quiet and low as he explained, “The Kyoto Protocol and the climate exchanges have been cap-and-trade impediments to my clients. The government’s policies continue to kill coal and natural gas production that make up close to seventy percent of our energy resources. So I started to delve into the issue in an effort to save the fossil fuel industry by questioning global warming.”

  Noble interrupted and asked for clarification. “Pardon me; you believe those policies only made our country more dependent on foreign energy resources?”

  “Yes, they are killing our industry. The cynic I am, I almost believe the turmoil in the Middle East was calculated to drive up the cost of oil. The crux of the problem is that the urgency for renewable energy lacks a viable infrastructure. I’m all for renewable energy, but it can’t happen overnight, yet those pushing for green energy want it yesterday. It has to evolve slowly over time.”

  “So your contention is that the environmentalists are purposely pushing global warming as a means to justify the presumed urgent need for renewable energy?”

  “Yes! Even my former boss at the DOE stated, ‘I’m not interested in debating what is not debatable,’ stopping the conversation on global warming in its tracks.” Adam took a moment to collect his thoughts before furthering his argument. “To my point, Germany tried the same approach shutting down their nuclear power reactors and dismantling coal-fired plants to encourage renewable energy. As a result, Germany has coined a new term, energy poverty. In 2013, it was reported that their energy costs had spiked over thirty percent in a five-year period, having risen during their rapid transition. Renewable energy sources lack the technology for long-term energy storage—when the winds don’t blow—and the sun doesn’t shine.”

  “Are you suggesting energy poverty can be expected in our future?”

  “Unless we slow down and take a more methodical approach—yes.” Adam carried on, but parsed his words carefully. “Aside from increasing our energy dependency and increasing our energy costs, it will decrease jobs. The Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency said she did not want to talk about jobs anymore as she wrote new job killing regulations.”

  “Excuse me, but won’t the jobs be simply replaced with green energy jobs?”

  “Renewable energy projects are basically capital projects requiring large amounts of capital and labor up front. Once the facility is up and running, however, it will require less labor to manage. There will be no light bulbs to replace,” Adam jibed. “On the other side of the spectrum, the oil and natural gas alone supports over nine million jobs, contributing to more than one trillion dollars to the United States’ G-D-P per year, as pointed out by Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina. Renewable energy won’t be able to make up the difference.”

  “I was under the impression that there was an energy boom in 2012?”

  “Granted, according to CERA, the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the oil and natural gas production contributed two-hundred-and-eighty-three billion dollars to the G-D-P. This was all due to the revolutionary t
echnology resulting from hydraulic fracturing, referred to as fracking. Nevertheless, the administration continues to place bans on fracking and stricter environmental regulation to block other avenues of new sources of oil and gas production. The Keystone pipeline was a glaring example. Jobs became less important and the push for renewable energy became the driving force. Appallingly, the key players pushing the renewable energy agenda profit from their investments in green energy at every turn.”

  Noble, somewhat dubious, invoked, “Investors are in the game to make money.”

  Adam hesitated and then opined, “But they profit from keeping the global warming argument robust, when there are considerable amounts of scientific evidence to the contrary. So I ask you, which dishonesty is worse? Pushing a false premise or profiting?”

  Noble displayed a feeble grin and assumed Adam was not looking for an answer, but he certainly had a question. “I understand the issues you tackled for your clients, but I’m unclear as to why you fear the opposing forces enough to bow out of the game and leave your firm.”

  “As I said before, when I started to delve into the global warming issue, I found myself digging deeper and deeper. That is when I exposed what I believe to be the global warming camouflage for global governance.” Adam stressed.

  “Are you suggesting that is the crux of the matter?”

  “I hold that it is the primary impetus for the redistribution of global resources for the sake of what is described as sustainability.” Adam took a breather and then said, “Deep down in the inferno—I also discovered a host of powerful people pushing the Covenant—a clan of mumpsimus souls. That’s when I realized I had lost the battle.”

  “How can you walk away? It appears you’ve made tremendous headway.”

  “My clients have picked up the cause to protect their own interests. I am through tussling with the government. However, the DOE thinks I am fueling the fire, so the threats have continued even though I have backed away. I’ve clearly been targeted. It isn’t worth it anymore.”