High Alert

CHAPTER 11

Stephanie came into Elizabeth's office while Nick was reviewing the President's daily intelligence brief.

"I spoke with Elizabeth's doctor," she said. "Her memory is coming back and he thinks she'll be fine. She may never remember the crash itself, but everything else should come back. Her injuries are healing but she's going to hurt for a while. He said that with luck, she'll be back soon."

"An optimist," Nick said. "I hope he's right."

He made a note on the printed pages of the brief and set it aside.

"You said you had something to show me."

"Come downstairs."

Nick followed Stephanie down the spiral staircase to the lower level. They walked past the ops center and the pool. Stephanie paused at the hermetically sealed glass doors leading into the computer room and placed her palm over a biometric scanner. The doors slid open with a quiet hiss.

"Follow me," Steph said.

She led Nick to a console in front of one of the Cray computers.

"Take a seat."

She sat down next to him and entered a sequence on her keyboard.

"This is what I wanted to show you. This is Freddie."

"A computer? You know, Steph, I've seen this before."

"Yes, but Freddie hasn't seen you. Say hello, Freddie. This is Nick."

A large camera lens over the console shifted position. Nick's face appeared on one of the monitors.

Hello, Nick.

The voice was eerie, almost human.

"Holy shit," Nick said. "It talks?"

"Not it, Nick, he. He talks. Don't hurt Freddie's feelings."

Nick looked at her, at a loss for words.

"Go on, Nick, talk to him."

"Uh, okay. Hello, Freddie."

I am happy to meet you, Nick. I have a lot of information about you in my database. I would shake hands with you but I don't have any. That is a joke.

Nick looked at Stephanie. "A computer with a sense of humor?"

"And a lot more," Stephanie said. "Freddie is the first of his kind. He is a true artificial intelligence, capable of learning at a very high rate of speed."

"Artificial intelligence? It… he thinks?"

"Yes. We can ask a question or seek information and Freddie's abilities will add a different perspective to the search. Think of him as a new member of the team, an independent mind that brings new abilities for analyzing and gathering intelligence."

"So I can ask him about the man who killed Li and he'll respond?"

"That's right. If the assassin is in any database that can be accessed by Freddie, he'll bring up the information."

"We could do that before."

"What's different is that Freddie will independently analyze the information and offer an interpretation to go with the facts."

"And you think this will be more effective."

"As I said, think of him as a member of the team. Another voice, another take on the situation. Go ahead, ask him about the assassination."

"This is weird," Nick said.

"You'll get used to it," Stephanie said. "Come on, what have you got to lose? Just look at the camera. Freddie also interprets facial expression and can respond accordingly. Talk to him as you would talk to me or Lamont or one of the others."

"Okay." Nick looked at the camera lens. "Freddie, are you aware of the assassination of the Chinese ambassador?"

One thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven Chinese ambassadors have been assassinated over the last two thousand years. Which one are you referring to?

"You have to be specific in your questions," Stephanie said. "Later, as his circuitry evolves, it will be easier. For now, give him specific particulars and he'll do the rest."

"I'm talking about ambassador Li," Nick said. "He was the current ambassador from the People's Republic. He was killed by a bomb earlier this week as he was about to meet with President Rice."

I am aware of the incident.

"The assassin was named Chun Gok. He entered the country about a month ago on a tourist visa from South Korea. I need to know more about him. What can you tell me?"

Working.

Nick started to ask Stephanie a question. "How long…"

Chun Gok, fifty-three years old. Resident of Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Wait a second. His passport says he's from Seoul, in the South."

I have compared the photograph on his passport with all pictures of male Korean nationals found in world databases. Chun Gok held the rank of major in North Korea's Security Service. His photograph appears in a group picture taken at service headquarters two years ago during a visit by Chairman Yun.

"Damn it. This changes everything," Nick said.

Please explain damn it.

"I'll explain later, Freddie," Stephanie said. "Right now we need to focus on the assassination."

As you wish, Stephanie. May I offer an opinion?

Stephanie and Nick looked at each other.

"We would be pleased to hear what you have to say, Freddie."

If a North Korean security operative killed an important Chinese official on orders from Pyongyang, that would indicate a fundamental shift in the thinking of North Korea's leader toward what has been an important ally. This is not logical. It is my conclusion that things are not what they appear to be.

"Not as they appear to be?"

It is not logical. North Korea can not long survive as a viable society without the essential aid and support China provides. Therefore, the assassination is not what it appears to be.

"You are assuming that North Korea's leader is logical," Nick said. "All indications are that he is anything but."

Chairman Yun is highly unstable but he knows that his personal survival as leader of North Korea requires keeping his army supplied and fed and his people under control. This is not possible without China's assistance. Therefore, Yun would not sanction an illogical act that would threaten that assistance. When it becomes known that a member of Yun's security services murdered the ambassador, China is likely to retaliate by limiting that assistance. Therefore, assassinating the ambassador is not logical and the assassination is not what it appears to be.

"If it's not what it appears to be, what is it?" Stephanie said.

I do not have enough information to make a definitive interpretation.

"Make a guess," Nick said. "We won't hold you to it."

By guess, do you mean make an assumption?

"Picky, isn't he?" Nick said to Stephanie. "Yes, an assumption."

An unknown party is manipulating events to produce tension on the Korean Peninsula. It is possibly related to the sinking of the USS California. Would you like my analysis?

Nick was about to say something when Stephanie interrupted.

"Freddie, that would be wonderful but it would be best to print it out so that we can study it later. Nick and I have to discuss what you've just told us."

May I listen to your discussion?

"We're going to go upstairs to talk about it. When we're done, I'll brief you on what we decide."

You said to Nick that he should treat me as part of the team. Shouldn't I be able to listen?

Stephanie turned to Nick.

"What do you think? It's easy enough for Freddie to monitor any part of the building. He'll use the existing security systems to observe and listen. It could be useful for his analysis to hear how we think about it."

"This is all a little much on short notice," Nick said. He faced the camera lens. "Give me some time to think about it, Freddie. I'm not opposed to your listening in but I need to consider how best to integrate you into the team. For now I would prefer that you do not follow our discussions."

Of course, Nick. You are the acting director.

Nick wasn't sure, but he thought he detected a note of disappointment in the computer voice. But that wasn't possible, was it?