Executive

…59

Before starting the computer, the man looked around for a third time, just to make sure. No one was there yet; it was too early in the day. He started the self-guidance configuration application, and then flipped through the various screens. The graphical user interface was designed to allow humans to control all the parameters for the self-guided drone flight. A flight plan included landmarks, targets, and coordinates of interest for both combat and recon missions, and well-defined safety collars.

A safety collar was a restriction imposed by the system to prevent the drones from launching missiles on their own, without prior target confirmation from a human operator. The drone would find the target, based on geo-coordinates, or a combination between preloaded imagery and a set perimeter. If a target was identified while the drone was flying above the set perimeter, the drone could even lock the missile targeting system on the identified target, but not launch the missile until the human operator manually confirmed each and every launch.

The man flipped through screen views until he reached the screen labeled Target Imagery. He read through the configuration and review options available on the screen. Load, Review, Restrict, Prioritize, Remove. He spent a little bit of time reviewing the existing target imagery. Most everyone from the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list was preloaded. Osama Bin Laden, although confirmed dead, was included on the list, together with his adjutants. In addition, there were known vehicles of terrorists and strategic landmarks and military equipment belonging to hostile forces of countries currently at war with the United States.

"Uh-uh," he muttered, content with what he was seeing.

He removed a USB flash drive from his pocket and connected it to the computer. Then he clicked the Load New Images option on the Target Imagery configuration screen.

One by one, the images stored on the drive were opened, allowing the man to confirm the load of each one.

A front view of a silver Toyota 4Runner, showing the car license plate.

A detailed view of the California license plate.

A head shot of an attractive young woman.

A rear view of the same silver Toyota, showing the rear license plate.

A full body image of the same woman, approaching the parked silver Toyota in NanoLance's parking lot.

All selected images loaded correctly, and the confirmation screen disappeared, leaving the user to move on to configuration.

Satisfied, the man clicked on the Distribution screen tab. Under Distribution, he had three options: General (all flight plans), Single (create new flight plan), and Test (field test and simulator). Without any hesitation, he clicked General (all flight plans). His choice ensured that the target imagery he had loaded would become a part of every active drone's target search.

Then he moved on to the Restrict screen. This was the collar management screen. Again three options, reflecting three different levels of security: Do Not Target, Do Not Lock on Target, Do Not Launch. These options clearly specified which actions were not to be taken without ground control input. The default setting was for all three options to be checked. Ideally, the drones would not be allowed to get a lock, release a missile, or even set a target without a human's confirmation. The man unchecked all three boxes, removing all restrictions requiring human input. The self-guided software now allowed any drone to target, lock, and launch missiles at will, on any of the targets reflected in the images he had just loaded.

The next screen was Prioritize. He checked the box labeled Very High, this being the highest level of priority available.

The man reviewed all his settings in a hurry, looking over his shoulder every minute or so. It was getting late, but he was almost done. He clicked on Save and Exit. The system prompted him for the access username and password required to save any changes in the self-guiding software. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket, and started inputting the data in the required fields.

Username: DSheppard

Clearance: Top Secret / L1

Password: EJgF236jhg@k34g5

When he finished entering the sixteen-character password, he clicked Confirm. The screen returned an acceptance message and an option button labeled Distribute. He clicked it, watched a status bar for a few seconds, and then saw the message he was waiting for: Field Distribution Complete. Satisfied, he removed his flash drive, turned off the PC, and left hurriedly.