Digital Fortress

"What about aux power!" Midge demanded. "If a generator blew, why is there no aux power?"

"I don't know. Maybe Strathmore's got TRANSLTR running and aux power is tapped out."

"So why doesn't he abort? Maybe it's a virus. You said something earlier about a virus."

"Damn it, Midge!" Jabba exploded. "I told you, there's no virus in Crypto! Stop being so damned paranoid!"

There was a long silence on the line.

"Aw, shit, Midge," Jabba apologized. "Let me explain." His voice was tight. "First of all, we've got Gauntlet-no virus could possibly get through. Second, if there's a power failure, it's hardware-related-viruses don't kill power, they attack software and data. Whatever's going on in Crypto, it's not a virus."

Silence.

"Midge? You there?"

Midge's response was icy. "Jabba, I have a job to do. I don't expect to be yelled at for doing it. When I call to ask why a multi billion-dollar facility is in the dark, I expect a professional response."

"Yes, ma'am."

"A simple yes or no will suffice. Is it possible the problem in Crypto is virus-related?"

"Midge… I told you-"

"Yes or no. Could TRANSLTR have a virus?"

Jabba sighed. "No, Midge. It's totally impossible."

"Thank you."

He forced a chuckle and tried to lighten the mood. "Unless you think Strathmore wrote one himself and bypassed my filters."

There was a stunned silence. When Midge spoke, her voice had an eerie edge. "Strathmore can bypass Gauntlet?"

Jabba sighed. "It was a joke, Midge." But he knew it was too late.

Chapter 62

The Commander and Susan stood beside the closed trapdoor and debated what to do next.

"We've got Phil Chartrukian dead down there," Strathmore argued. "If we call for help, Crypto will turn into a circus."

"So what do you propose we do?" Susan demanded, wanting only to leave.

Strathmore thought a moment. "Don't ask me how it happened," he said, glancing down at the locked trapdoor, "but it looks like we've inadvertently located and neutralized North Dakota." He shook his head in disbelief. "Damn lucky break if you ask me." He still seemed stunned by the idea that Hale was involved in Tankado's plan. "My guess is that Hale's got the pass-key hidden in his terminal somewhere-maybe he's got a copy at home. Either way, he's trapped."

"So why not call building security and let them cart him away?"

"Not yet," Strathmore said, "if the Sys-Secs uncover stats of this endless TRANSLTR run, we've got a whole new set of problems. I want all traces of Digital Fortress deleted before we open the doors."

Susan nodded reluctantly. It was a good plan. When Security finally pulled Hale from the sublevels and charged him with Chartrukian's death, he probably would threaten to tell the world about Digital Fortress. But the proof would be erased-Strathmore could play dumb. An endless run? An unbreakable algorithm? But that's absurd! Hasn't Hale heard of the Bergofsky Principle?

"Here's what we need to do." Strathmore coolly outlined his plan. "We erase all of Hale's correspondence with Tankado. We erase all records of my bypassing Gauntlet, all of Chartrukian's Sys-Sec analysis, the Run-Monitor records, everything. Digital Fortress disappears. It was never here. We bury Hale's key and pray to God David finds Tankado's copy."

David, Susan thought. She forced him from her mind. She needed to stay focused on the matter at hand.

"I'll handle the Sys-Sec lab," Strathmore said. "Run-Monitor stats, mutation activity stats, the works. You handle Node 3. Delete all of Hale's E-mail. Any records of correspondence with Tankado, anything that mentions Digital Fortress."

"Okay," Susan replied, focusing. "I'll erase Hale's whole drive. Reformat everything."

"No!" Strathmore's response was stern. "Don't do that. Hale most likely has a copy of the pass-key in there. I want it."

Susan gaped in shock. "You want the pass-key? I thought the whole point was to destroy the pass-keys!"

"It is. But I want a copy. I want to crack open this damn file and have a look at Tankado's program."

Susan shared Strathmore's curiosity, but instinct told her unlocking the Digital Fortress algorithm was not wise, regardless of how interesting it would be. Right now, the deadly program was locked safely in its encrypted vault-totally harmless. As soon as he decrypted it…. "Commander, wouldn't we be better off just to-"

"I want the key," he replied.

Susan had to admit, ever since hearing about Digital Fortress, she'd felt a certain academic curiosity to know how Tankado had managed to write it. Its mere existence contradicted the most fundamental rules of cryptography. Susan eyed the commander. "You'll delete the algorithm immediately after we see it?"

"Without a trace."