The Illuminati (13 page)
“For the average American worker, there will be no noticeable changes. You will still be able to pay your bills and transact normal business, but any large transfer of money will be prohibited unless it is an internal transaction, such as buying a home or a car, or ordering business-related materials.
“All transfers of ten thousand dollars or more will require the approval of the Federal Reserve Board or its appointed representatives. In order to stop the black-market practices of special interest groups, all transactions from this date forward must be made by check or credit card. By Friday of this week all citizens will be required to turn in their cash and will receive an equivalent credit in their checking accounts. In a few weeks all depositors will receive a debit card that will allow them to transact business without the use of checks.
“Implementation of this system will not only stop the flow of assets from our country, it will curtail armed robberies, the sale of illegal drugs, and money laundering by the criminal element. As an additional safeguard, the debit cards will carry a personalized number and, eventually, a fingerprint image of the owner that can be traced, in the event it is lost or stolen. Remember, this is for your protection.
“We are determined to solve the economic problems of our nation. This is but the first of many steps the president has proposed to reemploy Americans and once again make this nation the most prosperous in the world.”
The tally board in the press secretary's office flashed off and then back on as the final Insta-pol survey was taken. “The score is 65 percent,” he said over the intercom to the president's office. “That's enough to call it a mandate, sir. Only 22 percent opposed, and 13 percent still undecided. Three to one. It's a go!”
Later that day Jeff Wells met with President Hunt, Cal Rutland, and Russ Siever in the Oval Office to go over the final procedures for the Data-Net System. Jeff handed a stack of papers to the president before sitting down. “Is the system ready to go, Jeff?” the president asked as he looked through the papers.
“Yes, sir. We've tested the program several times. It really turned out to be a lot simpler than we had thought, Mr. President.”
In one of his rare compliments, Cal Rutland added, “Jeff's being modest, Mr. President. The people at IBM said his program is the most innovative approach to networking they have ever seen. It is impossible to break into the codes, and it can track the world financial transactions in real-time.”
“Actually the key was the 1520's ability to correct its own errors and repair flawed circuits by patching around them. It's like . . .”
“Okay, okay. I get the picture.” It irritated Hunt that he never could grasp the rudiments of computers.
So what
, he thought.
I control the guys who make them run. That's better
.
“When will we be able to connect to the Federal Reserve System?” Russell Siever snapped as he looked at Jeff. “I want to begin as soon as possible.”
“It's already in process,” Jeff replied, a little brusquely. He didn't like Siever much, though he didn't know just why. Maybe it was the way he treated the others around himâlike they were inferior to him. With the exception of Rutland, that is, whom everyone seemed to fear.
Maybe that's it
, Jeff thought.
Maybe he hurts my pride
. But inside he knew it was something else.
He allowed his thoughts to drift back, nearly a year, to when he had first begun to piece together Data-Net.
The program required linking tens of thousands of different systems together so that any computer in the world on the system could communicate with any other computer. For the first several months the task seemed impossible, at least with the current technology.
One evening he and his assistant, Karen Eison, Dr. William Eison's daughter, had been discussing the problem. Karen was a real asset to his work. She was one of the few people, outside of Dr. Eison himself, who seemed to grasp his logic. They had met when he was working with the staff at Livermore, and she had quickly earned his respect. When Dr. Eison had suggested Karen as Jeff's lab assistant, after he had been tapped by Hunt to build the Data-Net system, he had readily agreed.
Perhaps too readily
, he later thought. He didn't have room for any emotional entanglements at this time in his life. But the relationship had developed into a thoroughly professional one. She was as competent a programmer as he had ever worked with, even if she didn't always understand his system. Actually, few people did.
Karen's plans for the relationship were quite different from Jeff's. She had been hopelessly in love with him almost from the moment they had met. She knew he was brilliant. He had to be to command the respect of her father, who was head and shoulders above most of the other scientists in the field of computer physics. She had once heard her father say to an associate, “This young man makes me look like a computer hack. He has a gift for computers like Mozart had for music. His kind only comes along every few hundred years or so.”
But what had immediately attracted her was who Jeff really was. He was shy and sensitive, but he would stand up to anyone who challenged his work, including her father. Best of all, he accepted her for her abilities, not because of who her father was. Most of the men who had courted her were awed by the renowned Dr. Eison and were seeking his approval through her. As a result, she totally rejected them.
For the first time she was the pursuer, but Jeff seemed oblivious to her real feelings. No matter how many times she maneuvered the situation so they could be alone together, he never discussed anything but work.
He was gifted; there was no doubt about that. Even though she had a master's degree in mathematics, she could barely understand some of his equations. His solution to the networking problems was nothing less than genius. She had believed from the beginning that what he was trying to do was impossible. Without telling Jeff, she had discussed the concept with her father who said, “We are probably a decade away from the technology that would make this feasible, Karen. And thank God for that. I'm not at all sure we have the wisdom to handle such potential power. The ability to number and monitor every person in the world is the ability to place the power to rule the world in the wrong hands.”
Although she never said so, she was also secretly thankful that Data-Net seemed beyond their technology. The events of the past several years had shaken her confidence in man's basic good nature, including those in the country she loved.
With the full force and power of the government behind him, Jeff had been able to get teams of IBM and Cray engineers working together on the project. Within four months they had built a working model and within six months Jeff's program was being debugged.
Although there were still some rough edges to be worked out, in little more than one year the largest, fastest computer system in the world was online and processing data from several thousand businesses through the central banks. Soon, the financial transactions of virtually all the stores, fast-food restaurants, banks, and businesses in the country would be routed through a single point: Data-Net. Literally every transaction in America could be monitored and recorded. All that was missing was the elimination of all cash transactions, which President Hunt had accomplished skillfully. In a move approved by the vast majority of Americans, a new, cash-less economy was ushered in.
Jeff snapped back to the president as Russell Siever was asking for the second time, “Well, is the system ready or not?”
“It's ready,” Jeff replied, still feeling uneasy inside. “Or it will be in the next week or so.”
“Good, it won't be long now before we put the system online,” the president said. “Jeff, I want you to stay on top of the problems. We have been in contact with members of the European Community and they have agreed to use the system. Are you sure we can handle it?”
“Yes, sir,” Jeff responded. His mind was still preoccupied by something that kept nagging in his subconscious.
What is it?
he wondered. He shrugged it off and continued, “I have worked closely with Dr. Thornton on the E.C. data processing system. He's really excited about being able to operate on a common currency exchange. It will greatly facilitate business between the U.S. and Europe.”
“What about the Asian market group, Russ?” the president asked his economic advisor.
“The Japanese are still fuming about the announcement. They say they'll fight the system as long as the U.S. holds their assets.”
“They'll come around,” Cal Rutland stated coldly. “It just takes the right motivation.”
Jeff glanced at the presidential aide and saw just the slightest curl of his lip. Whether it was the beginning of a smile or a snarl, he couldn't really tell. Based on past behavior, he suspected it was a snarl. Before he could say anything, the president stood up, indicating their meeting was at an end.
Two days after the meeting with Jeff Wells on the implementation of Data-Net, Russell Siever was meeting with Cal Rutland to discuss what appeared to be a shift in the Supreme Court's decision on Siever's pet project: the Fair Tax Bill. Siever had personally drafted the bill for the administration. It was his contribution to the anti-Christian campaign. He was livid when he stormed into Rutland's office.
“I heard from our contact on Justice Bowman's staff that he may oppose the Fair Tax Bill. Have you heard anything?”
“It looks certain,” Rutland said in a calm voice. “But only if he is still on the Court.”
Siever stopped for a moment, then replied, “Bowman's not about to quit. And he looks like he could live to be a hundred.”
“Perhaps his health is not as good as it appears. In fact, he may already have a terminal condition.”
Siever paled measurably. “We can't just take out a Supreme Court justice. The public outcry would bring us all down!”
“We can do anything that is required. Remember that!” Rutland responded coldly. “This is not a game. We will need control of the Court to implement Phase Two.”