Chasm Waxing: A Startup, Cyber-Thriller (46 page)

“
This is crazy,” whispered
Josh. “We’re sitting in a car that’s using the same deep learning
algorithms
to drive
autonomously
that we used to find the Ark.
The neural networks that understand language
are
architected slightly
different than the convolutional neural networks that recognize
video, but the overall approach is the same. I’m upset with myself
for not using the
driver-less
car example with General
Shields. I don’t think he
truly
understands AI.”

“
What do you mean?” asked
Becca, softly.

“
Even for technically
adept people that have programmed computers, deep learning for AI
is a leap. In the past, experts in a particular
field—
domain
experts
—would create an algorithm to
perform a specific task. Let’s say it
was identifying
heart disease from
examining MRIs. Software engineers with healthcare experience would
work with heart doctors. The cardiologists would then judge the
results and help to refine the model. The algorithm was
specifically designed to
recognize
heart disease. It may have
taken months or years to perfect. It was
specialized
for that one
task—
only
.

“
Deep learning is
an entirely different computing
paradigm
. Once the neural network
is trained for a specific
task
, deep learning algorithms are
performing better than the domain experts. How’s that going to
impact Cardiologists? Training can be accomplished in hours, days,
and weeks.”

“
That’s incredible!” said
Becca.

“
Yep. Nobody at Nucleus
programmed this car to drive. They programmed it to learn from
visual
stimuli
and then react accordingly. I didn’t program the AI to locate
the Ark. Finding the Ark was simply a by-product of teaching the AI
to comprehend written language.

“
General Shields
didn’t
understand
the difference between strong AI and programming.
I’m sure a lot of people will make that mistake. You and I are
facing the unintended consequences of
stronger
AI—we’re not in control
of what the computer learns. That threatens people. It’s going to
threaten a lot more
people
in the AI epoch that’s just dawning. And just
think what happens when the AI is as smart as us
—
and then gets
smarter
. AI is
already better at facial recognition, chess, and Asian
board game
,
“Go,” than humans. And we’re just getting started.”

“
I see what you’re saying.
But, it doesn’t excuse Shields from treating us so poorly,” said
Becca. Josh shook his head in agreement.

Becca wrote a note: ‘I
think you went overboard on this A-Car. We don’t need all these
options. We’re only going to use it until Memphis. Then, the
disinformation campaign software
kicks in
. After we return from Israel,
it goes straight to the A-Grid.’

Josh responded aloud, “Are
you kidding? With the
revenue
this car is going to
make
on
the A-Grid and our cut from the ad revenue, it’ll pay for
itself very quickly. I selected the configuration that allows for
the most ad space.”

Within 15 minutes, the
couple pulled up to Jared Adler’s estate. Jared hurried out to see
the A-Car for himself. “I knew this was going to be a big deal.
Autonomous vehicles are going to disrupt entire industries. I
can
understand
why Nucleus shares have doubled in the past year. Just think
how much profit the
ride-sharing
companies are going to
make from company-owned cars. There’s no revenue to split. And
that’s just one example.

“
Today, cars are parked
95% of the time. Imagine
a
world
in which cars
are parked
for only 50%. Or
25%. Just like the steam engine, electric grid, and Ford automobile
transformed cities; self-driving vehicles are going
to radically alter the design of a
metropolis
. 30% of the land dedicated to
parking can
be
repurposed
. There will be much less
congestion. Some years ago, I began buying parking garages in many
big cities.

“
As this autonomous
driving revolution occurs, I can convert the properties into new
buildings and high-rises that will be in prime locations. I’m also
adding to short positions
in
stocks
that have been hit hard by
driver-less vehicles, especially the car rental companies. They’ll
be the new
Blockbuster,
if they don’t fix their business model.
Blockbuster could’ve been Netflix. But they aren’t. They’re dead.”
Investors shorted stocks when they
wanted
to make money from a stock’s
decline in share price. “The only space I’m invested in more
heavily is the Boston
biotech
scene.”

“
Welcome to the AI
future,” said Josh, sardonically. “There’s going to be many winners
and many losers—
hopefully,
more winners.”

“
I wouldn’t want to be a
truck driver or delivery man for a living,” said Jared.

“
There are even broader
implications than that,” responded Becca. “AI is authoring
newspaper articles. Software based neural networks are
writing
software
.
What’s that mean for the future of my profession?”

“
I don’t think you need to
worry,” answered Josh. “If I had to guess, I’d say AI won’t
decrease the need for human written code. I think it will
increase
the need. In
the 90s, when the
object-oriented
approach to software
engineering was taking off, prognosticators said it would be the
end of writing software. Everyone would just use pre-assembled
objects. While some of that did turn to be prescient, fueling the
growth of the open source movement; object-orientation only
increased the need for software engineers.
Of course,
I could be wrong.” Josh
smiled hopefully.

Jared handed his son a
note. ‘I talked to El Jefe. The team has dug the excavation
shaft.
They’re nearly
finished
with the staging area. By the
time you get to Jerusalem, it should be
complete. And they should’ve started the main
excavation tunnel. They love the robot
excavators. Our plan is coming together.’

After he had
read
the note,
Josh smiled
excitedly
and handed it off to Becca.

In reply, Becca wrote: ‘That’s
awesome! The Professor arrives at Ben Gurion Airport next Saturday
night. On Tuesday, January 5, we fly from Mexico City to
Amman.’

Jared reached to shake Josh’s hand.
Then, the Adler men tightly embraced one another.

“
Josh, I’m proud of you.
Be careful. I love you.”

“
I love you too, Dad,”
said Josh, with a lump in his throat. “Thank you for helping
us.”

Jared then hugged Becca. “You be safe.
I’m looking forward to celebrating your wedding in the summer.” He
winked at her.

Josh welcomed the relief of tension.
They all giggled.

Five minutes later, Becca
and Josh were on their way to Jerusalem; by way of Memphis,
Brownsville, Matamoros, Mexico City, Amman, and
Eliat. Hopefully, all of this travel would be
accomplished without
raising General
Shields’ suspicions.

*

Eight hours into their journey, Becca
gazed at a napping Josh.

She enjoyed the holidays
with Josh. Becca experienced her first Hanukkah. And Josh
celebrated his first Christmas.
He may be
the one,
she thought.

The stress of being in charge of
strict operational security for the last three months wore on her.
Josh and Jared were both very headstrong, and a challenge to
corral. All it took was one slip up, and the plan would be
over—before it ever began.

Josh opened his eyes and
looked at Becca with
bleary
eyes. “Now, that’s the best way to wake up from
a
siesta
,” he
said, with a sleepy smile. “Once you get used to not having to
steer, it changes everything.” Josh wrote: ‘I was dreaming about
the Ark. What do you think it will be like to find it?’

Becca replied: ‘I’m sure
it will be exciting, but I haven’t let myself think about that
moment. I
think about
everything else—hiding from the NSA, crossing
into Mexico, the disinformation campaign, flying to Jordan,
making it
through the
border
crossing at Eilat, sneaking into Jerusalem,
the
dig
,
etc., etc., etc.! But, I haven’t
really
envisioned finding the
Ark.’

Josh said, “I guess that’s
why we’re a good
couple.
I dream…you do.”

“
Hmm,” replied Becca,
precociously. “Is that all? By the way, your Spanish accent
is
no
bueno
.
It’s
‘SEE-
esta
,’ not
‘SCI-
esta
.’”

6:45 a.m. (EST), Saturday, January 2,
2021 – Memphis, Tennessee

Elisha Robert’s
House

Zero-day
was upon them. Becca and Josh were fleeing the
country and executing their detailed cover story. Becca movingly
said goodbye to her father. Elisha was surprisingly sturdy. He
continued to remain steadfast that God would protect the couple. He
also couldn’t stop talking excitedly about the growth in his church
attendance. It had nearly tripled. “Hurry up and find that Ark! I
need the Professor back here as soon as possible to teach the New
Believer’s Sunday School Class.”

Earlier in the morning, they took
steps to disguise their identities. Over the holiday, Josh had
grown a stubbly beard. Today, he shaved his head. Becca went even
further.

“
I’ve never pictured you
as a blonde.
I'm so used
to your ponytail; I love the long hair! And you
look
sooooo
good in those skin-tight, workout pants. What a hot Canadian
you are,
eh
?”

Becca laughed. “Are you
saying I don’t look good in denim? I got this outfit so I could run
faster than you. NSA police will
definitely
catch you first, Mr. Clean.
Besides, Lululemon’s yoga pants are discount lipo. That’s why women
buy them.”

The couple placed
their
smartphones
in the A-Car’s charging cradles. The plan
called
for the A-Car
to reach L.A. in about six weeks. It was to stop
and sight-see
a number of
times during the trip. The car was
programmed
to
drive to the nearest SuperNight Motel each evening. Becca’s
disinformation software made use of the AI’s API to create texts
and emails during the
journey. The
messages would
incorporate current events,
local weather, and text exchanges to enhance their
realism.

Once in L.A., the A-Car was to visit
Hollywood landmarks, take in a Rams game, then meander south to San
Diego. After San Diego, the getaway algorithm had Becca and Josh
taking Pacific Coast Highway up the entire coast of California,
through Oregon, and on into Washington.

Becca’s
primary
goal for
the cover story was to buy time
to
depart the country without incident
. She
wanted to delay—for as long as
possible—
the knowledge that they’d left
the States. She hoped that after nearly three months of
surveillance, the NSA was growing weary. Hopefully, the analysts
were either disinterested or
sloppy—
or both.

Based on the timing of the
excavation, Becca could adjust the pace of the
self-driving
car. If
the
dig
indeed took six months, she felt their chances of detection
were nearly 100%. No one could predict
exactly
what General Shields would
do if he discovered their escape. Becca planned some bread crumbs
she hoped would convince the General that they’d left the country
to
elope,
if he figured out they were gone. She doubted he would buy
it.

Becca said a prayer. Then,
she pressed the enter button on her laptop. The Python code
deployed in their private cloud
executed
its
main
method. The disinformation
software launched. Off motored the empty, self-driving
A-Car.