Binary code: Mystery number one
Шрифт:
– What do they do?
– They are engaged in primary processing and analysis of information coming through the lines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, GRU, SVR. They analyze everything. Not only how, for example, the serial production of memristors will affect the computing power of data centers, but also, for example, how soon the chicks will hatch in a factory in Denmark.
– What, is that a big deal, too?
– Of course. Every situation counts. You have to do all sorts of gibberish. How will the creation of the ionistor affect the consumption of energy resources and, consequently, their procurement, extraction, production, processing, delivery? How many banks with minus balances, what is changing in bankruptcy law in Liberia, for example, how many cattle will calve, how much grain will be harvested, how tobacco is growing there, the lifespan of satellites, the prospect of using unstable elements, the consumer focus group in fifty years, and so on. Who is registered offshore, which ones, why there and not others? Transfers of finances around the world, analyzing the work of stock exchanges, the reasons why quotes change depending on the time of day and weather. Everything matters.
– I understand," Rutra interrupted. – What does Yuri Vasilyevich do?
– He is exercising temporary control. He's here temporarily and is very nostalgic for his past activities. He doesn't know much about economics. He is a fighter of the invisible front, he came to us from the SVR," explained the woman who appeared in the doorway of the office. – Hello. May I come in?
– You can.
– My name is Natalia and I am a financial data processor.
– It's a pleasure," Ruthra replied.
She smiled and said:
– We're used to everything here, especially after Yuri Vasilyevich.
– To what, exactly? – Ruthra asked.
– To the fact that real first and last names, even our own, we have almost forgotten. But one still wonders why people take those particular ones.
– I didn't just ask about Jews," Katya said and added: – Do you know what his last name is?
Ruthra looked at her questioningly.
– Zhidkov," she said.
Yuri Vasilyevich's voice was heard outside the office door.
– Not at all," he said.
The girls looked at each other and quickly left. Discipline had taken its toll. Yuri Vasilyevich's age, rank, and record spoke for themselves. Zhidkov came into Rutra's office, as if he had been standing somewhere close by.
– I went abroad under the surname of Zhemchuzhin, and when I came here, my documents were still old, so they make fun of me. I worked in Palestine and Israel for a long time, so that's why I've been there. No one trusts anyone there. And how can you trust when you're going to die every day? Everyone hides behind a Janus mask to survive. In order for you to understand what happens in such a serious organization, now we will go by departments and you will get acquainted with everyone and everything.
So began Rutra's first day of work at the new place. Basically, except for the fact that Center Zero was the coordinating center between the secret services and the intelligence agencies, he knew everything else. This was not news to him, as he was aware of the capabilities of the intelligence services.
In the modern world, cynical rationality and the most absurd chaos are intertwined in the most bizarre way. The special services of the world's strongest states can easily track all the actions and movements of a law-abiding citizen, but are unable to prevent major terrorist acts. The Large Hadron Collider has brought science closer to understanding the origin of the Universe, but at the same time domestic obscurantism has reached a level that would have been marveled at even in the Middle Ages.
All this creates the most hothouse conditions for the growth of all sorts of conspiracy theories that explain everything that happens in the world as the result of deliberate actions of malicious forces or simply insidious plans of secret groups – from sects and special services to Freemasons and demons. Conspiracy theories have not ignored high technology. You bet, because it is such a tempting way to find simple explanations for the most ambiguous and new events and phenomena!
Subconsciously, most of us seriously and not without reason suspect that all these global elites, governments and big business are manipulating technology for their own interests, in an effort to maintain and increase their power and influence over ordinary people.
One of the claims of conspiracy theory adherents is that "social networks are created and operated with the participation of intelligence agencies." This is the most popular and easily provable conspiracy theory.
Special services and law enforcement agencies really enjoy taking advantage of the information that users voluntarily post on Facebook, VKontakte and other social networks.
At the same time, the press regularly reports that the management of networks directly cooperates with secret services. Take for example the recent scandal with the management of VKontakte, which was accused of links with the FSB, the K Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the notorious "former gray cardinal" Vladislav Suchkov. It is hard to say how credible such reports are, if even without contact with the owners the special services have all the technical means to monitor social networks.
Another of their claims is: "Your laptop, TV and game console are spying on you". All electronic and radio-technical devices are capable of spying on their owners: hidden microphones and cameras, as well as schemes for transmitting encrypted signals over the Internet or into the radio air have been repeatedly discovered in them. It's no secret that laptop or smartphone cameras can be activated even without your participation and without proper signaling, so knowledgeable people make sure to cover them with opaque tape.
Some companies no longer feel the need to hide their desire to spy on their customers. For example, Comcast, Google TV, Microsoft and Verizon have applied for patents on designs for TVs and DVRs that can monitor what viewers do while using them. The plan is to track all movements, sounds, food and beverage choices, nationality, mood and other information to make ads more targeted and shows more relevant to the moment.
However, the conspiracy believers claim, "We know what it's really all about!" In today's world, it is virtually impossible to hide. All electronic devices transmit encrypted information, quite legally, in all directions. They also mark all their, i.e. your, activities with markers. Everything is equipped with special markers – even a sheet of paper from a printer, or a barrel in a weapon.
Chapter 4: The world is owned by specific individuals
The next day the training continued. Yuri Vasilyevich took Rutra around the entire center, telling and showing him where everyone was sitting and what was lying around. After a couple of hours, Rutra knew not only that only a very narrow circle of people suspected the existence of Center Zero, but also that there was only one way out of here to normal civilian (and not necessarily civilian) life.