Artur Zadikyan
Binary code: Mystery number one
Chapter 3. I can see you, but you can't see me
The next day, Rutra was personally greeted by Vasilyevich. He had a joyful face. Literally from the doorstep he began to teach Rutra.
– What's the first rule?
– Up to 80% of information can be obtained from open sources, the main thing is to be able to understand it correctly," Rutra answered boldly.
– The second one?
– If you want to hide something, put it in the most visible place.
– Third? – The examiner kept up.
– Don't get caught," Ruthra summarized, studying Vasilievich's reaction with a slanted gaze.
– You make me suspicious, though I think we understand each other. We'll work together," the colonel summarized and continued: – For example, such a situation: let's say we send our satellite to the satellite providing communication of the international information service. What do we want to know? Missile launch codes? Troop movements? The background radiation of the strategic command center? No! We want to know how they keep this whole system running. That's what we did during the Cold War when we had the doctrine of total annihilation. And when we realized we couldn't do that without damaging ourselves, we came up with the doctrine of weakening and subjugation. You know what I mean?
– I'm starting to realize
– Something like that. So now the main efforts of intelligence are aimed at finding out who, when, where and how much currency has been made. If we are a rich state, it means that we live well and can influence the world around us. We are a force to be reckoned with, we can develop new weapons. And if we are poor, no one needs our goods, we can temporarily resist with weapons, use internal propaganda, but we will still slip into poverty, dictatorship and, as a consequence, into the social abyss. However, as they say, the truth is somewhere near. The fact is that all important scientific information from all advanced institutes of the world, patent offices, research centers, certification and logging centers flows to the center. Therefore, "big brother" always knows in advance – what, who can do, can influence it. And yet it is no less important to know the banal statistics. For example, if somewhere in a third-world country there is exploration for minerals, which, due to its technological backwardness, this country can neither extract nor use, then we are interested in this, as it is not only us. The world has long been divided, everything is interconnected. Or some state will dramatically increase its consumption of rare earth metals. We calculate what it is for and what it does, in what product it is possible to use it. Therefore, all the goals have already been defined, niches are occupied. If there is a change in some market, what does it mean? That someone needs something more. Some state suddenly orders some kind of equipment for mines, for example. For what purpose? To mine something. What can it extract? All this is analyzed, the relationship is studied. What can be produced from this raw material? How much machinery is purchased? When? Service life? Capacity? This makes up the chain.
Ruthra glanced obliquely at Vasilievich. They were almost at the entrance to the central hall of Zero. Vasilievich continued nonchalantly:
– That's roughly what you were doing, except you were analyzing when, for example, the lights went on in the encryptor's office and when they went off, how to make a multi-stage chain to figure out the encryptor, to get into his social circle, to somehow launch an artificial mouse close to his post, which, after sneaking closer, would scan the contents of his machine by communicating with his smartphone through his computer mouse. That's assuming you still have to get in there, or it can be done from a satellite. From that, you concluded what and how he encrypts, when and what telegram he's working on, what's in it, who it's from, who it's addressed to. And another custodian analyzed another office of the same kind, where it came from, from which dignitary. Your next colleague analyzed who came to this person, his circle of communication, where the command came from, how it was processed, where it went, what happened afterwards. From all of this, a picture was formed of what command was communicated, what was the meaning of it, what consequences it led to and why. And if it was possible to intercept the encryption, we knew that its content was this consequence. It's roughly the same here, but it has to do with the end result of it all, with power and money. With a lot of power and a lot of money. The president of an oil-bearing country sneezed – the price of fuel went up somewhere. The president of a multinational company took a test – we should know the result… Soon civilian technology will surpass military technology. We should follow the development of laboratories by calculating the contracts for the receipt of goods and raw materials. Why? Because no one has ever abolished lying. So we can't be deceived. Control, control and control. Stocks, bonds… You'll do that too. Analyze the same thing, but from the other side. It's an important indicator of the consequences of a planned or planned event. I'm interested in everything: statistical summaries, statistical data. A lot of data will flow to you.
Rutra listened attentively and absorbed everything like a sponge, and Vasilievich kept talking:
– Now our spies are working on civilian projects. For example, new materials, technologies, computer programs are being developed in some state. We want to know how many enterprises, firms are opening, how many are closing, how many of them are engaged in wholesale, how many and what they produce, where they take it, what is their ability to reduce prices, how much the product costs them, when construction will be completed, the unemployment rate. How the science and technology sector is doing. What are the promising developments. These are the ones that are primarily used in the military sphere. Yields, climate, social sphere, their interconnection, prospects for change, first persons, and not only in politics, their contacts, family and business ties, religious, social, political preferences. Everything should interest you. Analyze everything and anything, and put it into a predictive matrix, so that you know not only what they want to do, not only what they can do, but what they will think, even if they don't think they will think it. All the information is very necessary. It makes up the picture of a country's economy, and the picture of a country's economy is its pulse. The way it beats determines how this state lives. Anyway, get started. You will have several assistants, they will analyze the information, collect and systematize. How the program works on the computer will be explained to you. It shows events in real time, and you will know what is happening on planet Earth. You will get any information, including secret information, concerning politics, military sphere, economy. Where what is being developed, where what is being extracted, in what condition the fixed assets are, what ships, trains, airplanes, automobiles are going where, when they will reach, what they are carrying. You have to calculate possible variants of changes in market conditions, new technologies, fulfillment and non-fulfillment of contractual obligations. In general, all sorts of things. You'll figure it out. Your level should correspond to your rank, but you should know that there are no ranks here, we have to join the civilian life. You will participate in many civic events, forums, exhibitions, seminars, meetings, but nowhere should anyone suspect who you really are.
Ruthra was immediately reminded of a James Bond movie. It was hard to suspect a special agent in him – a drunkard, a smoker, a boozer.
– The assistants will tell you the details, they know you in advance. There's a file on each of them in the safe. Here's the key, carry it with you at all times. Even though it's connected to the entry-exit system, you'll still be asked. And now I have a question: although our system works very well and knows what urine test you will have after the New Year, I would like to know from your mouth how you feel about Jews?
That question surprised Ruthra. It surprised him because it sounded like it was here. He made many inferences from any question and tried to choose the answer that was appropriate in this case. Ruthra answered calmly:
– I'm fine with it. But why the Jews? Are you Jewish?
– No way. You have a very serious and responsible assignment. I don't think you have your own game, the viability of the state depends on it, that is, what can be done with the system.
Having said that, Vasilyevich left. Rutra's brain was working hard. He could not understand the sacred meaning of what he had said last. What did this have to do with the secret center? How could one play his game here? Just as Ruthra sat down at his desk and tried to make sense of his office, there was a knock at the door. It was opened by a girl, tall, thin, with black hair. Rutra noticed that there were other girls behind her.
– Hello! – they said.
– Hello," Ruthra replied.
– We came to find out our mode of operation," said the first one and smiled strangely.
Ruthra replied in surprise:
– What, you get to choose? This is a restricted facility, there are regulations and shifts. Excuse me, who are you?
– Your assistants.
– Then let's get acquainted," Ruthra suggested.
– My name is Katya.
– It's a pleasure.
The girl hiding behind her said she was Yulia, the next one called herself Olesya. They smiled.
– What's so funny? – Ruthra asked.
– There's nothing funny," Katya said. – Can I come in?
– Come on in.
She came close and asked almost in a whisper:
– Did he ask you about the Jews?
Ruthra looked at her in surprise.
– Do you know what his last name is?
– No, I don't know.
– Did he scold or praise the Jews? – she asked.
– I don't know, I don't care. He just asked.
– I hope I didn't offend you.
Rutra looked at the girls and thought, "What are busty young women doing here? What kind of professionals are they?"
– No," Ruthra replied. – Let's talk about work. Tell me all about the center. I haven't been very involved. What did you do before my appointment?
– Analyzing the situation," Yulia said. – We work in Europe and the United States. You also have our senior manager Kristina, financial analyst Natalia and the administrator of the center, who is not in the staff at the moment. Or rather, this position is vacant. There are also specialists of the hall, but they are subordinate to us, according to the direction of activity. They are in another hall, there are 20 of them. The rest of the departments, of course, and their heads are directly subordinate to Yury Vasilyevich.
– 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.
– Through death," Yuri explained in his joking manner.
He also learned that even the government and presidential administration didn't know about the center. And that all this supreme power is just one of the subdivisions of Center Zero, and the top-level clearances have only a few. Yuri Vasilievich did not speak very favorably of them.
– What did you think? You think there's no control over the president? Even Stalin couldn't personally send troops wherever he thought they needed to go. It's all a myth about his unlimited power. Everything was decided by the "rate" and the "committee", and he was in the grip of an organization like ours. It seems to the average person that everything is decided by the power, which they talk about on TV every day. In fact, the real power is always hidden, it is not in public, but deep in the bunker.
This brought an interesting thought to Ruth's mind. He thought, "How do all these people get from here to the surface? Where to? There are so many of them. Through what checkpoint or gatehouse? The same way I do? Then how can it be hidden? I mean, you have to disguise it somehow. It's not a problem, though.
He asked Vasilievich about it. He replied in his manner that this was the most interesting thing, and smiled. Indeed, the "most interesting" thing about the Zero department was that they came out through the Institute for Strategic Analysis under the President of Russia. But Rutra learned about that later.
After a week, Ruthra estimated that not everyone went upstairs in the evening. The dungeon itself was like a large anthill of corridors and rooms, and everyone had access only to their own corridor. Very rarely did anyone within a corridor have access to a neighboring room. Passes were issued in a very interesting way: an invisible bar code was put on the nail of the thumb, which had to be applied to a special scanner at the entrance. Every day the barcode was changed. At the entrance, the hand was put to a special printer, which put a special number. On the way out you had to put your hand to the scanner. After reading the number, the scanner destroyed it.
Yuri Vasilyevich was willful. He told me that he had been on assignment abroad many times, under different names, where, as he put it, he "did a lot of interesting things". In the specialized circles, it was called "combat service".
Rutra asked Yuri Vasilievich what was in the neighboring departments.
– What is it? Come on, I'll show you.
They stepped out into the corridor. All the corridors were very dark and poorly lit.
– For example, here it says "F" department. That stands for the fantasy department. That's what I call them. Are you smiling? Officially, it's the Foresight Department. It's where they fantasize about what could be! If you hear what's been fantasized recently, you'll think it's unreal. Think about it, who could have imagined fifty years ago that what happened would happen? There's the P-Division, for example. They deal with the media. More precisely, the means of mass disinformation, – having said this, he chuckled snidely. – This is the "S" department – coders. They invent and decode all possible ciphers and codes. By the way, they are engaged in a very intense and very momentous task right now. The department is working on a sudden and very important problem. Although, perhaps not sudden… If you pass the exam, you will have access to all departments. You'll be assigned to a single task.
– What task? – Ruthra asked.
– I can't tell you that yet. Even here, among ourselves, it's a very big secret. I'll introduce you to someone soon," Vasilievich said, looking intently at Ruthra.
Ruthra listened attentively. He didn't want to offend the old warrior, though he had a fair idea of such objects. He needed to really know with whom and where he would now work and live. The guide in the form of Yuri Vasilyevich gave only general information. Apparently, this was one of the components of the regime of this facility.
Ruthra noticed that many of the doors in the main corridor were labeled with complex combinations of letters. What it could mean, he couldn't figure out. Almost every abbreviation had the letter "Ts" in it. He understood that it stood for "central", for example CPN – central point or observation post. But it wasn't very clear who or what was being monitored.
– Yes, of course we come out on top, but there are instances where that happens.
And Yuri Vasilyevich told a story about a secret physicist who was the main designer of most ballistic missiles and spacecraft, whose name was unknown to society. Rutra, of course, was aware of such persons and yet was surprised that this one was completely hidden, isolated from society.
– What about his personal life? How, for example, did he go to the movies, to the theater? – he asked.
– He didn't go anywhere, it's all here.
– You got everything?
– You're not getting the big picture. There's a city within a city down here. There's even roads with stoplights. It's a huge anthill. This physicist found out he had a son when the kid turned seven.
Ruthra was shocked. He knew a great deal about the lives of the invisible front fighters, of course, but such a thing stunned him. He instantly imagined the full scale of the secrecy. Yuri Vasilyevich continued:
– Soon we'll go with you to check the Cheget system by regulation, then you'll look at the president.
Ruthra remembered being counseled about the structures of secret societies. The Center was something like that. He also remembered the sign at the entrance: "You are seen, you are not. It accurately conveyed the meaning and content of Center Zero's functioning.
– Come on, I'll give you a little tour," Yuri said and pointed to the door at the end of the hall.
They went to the door, Yuri Vasilievich put the fingernail of his thumb to the device, the door opened. It was an elevator. They entered, he pressed the button, the elevator went up. After a while it stopped, they got out.
It was a huge underground railroad station. There were tracks through tunnels in different directions. Everything was painted in yellow and white stripes. Instead of trains, there were short narrow gauge tracks. There were quite a few people in overalls who were busy unloading oddly labeled cylinders. There was an interesting emblem on the cylinders in the form of a scrawled globe with a griffin on it, one paw covering a nuclear mushroom.
– This is Metro-2," said Yuri Vasilyevich. – In the secret department you will take special literature, you must know by heart what and where it is, how it works. How it turns on, how it turns off. Communications, control stations, stockpiles. Right down to which pipe goes where, what's in it, every wire, cable, communication line, every marking. You gotta know everything! That's our law, it's not just a whim. In case of emergencies, every specialist of your level must be able to take over the management of facilities.
Vasilyevich, telling him, gestured him to the platform. They boarded the narrow gauge train and drove off. It was like a regular subway with stations, but a little simpler. There was no pompous beauty or large spaces. At each station Yuri Vasilyevich told what strategic object it was connected with, what it served. It was a city within a city. All strategically important organizations had their duplicate centers in Metro-2. Warehouses, factories, communication centers, military storage facilities were scattered over a huge area upstairs and secretly interlocked through Metro-2 downstairs.
On the wall of one of the stations hung a diagram of both subways, secret and civilian, with their adjacent communications. "Metro-2" was much larger in diameter than the regular subway.
***
On one of the usual working days, Zhidkov came to Rutra's office. It was clear from the expression on his face that Vasilievich was preoccupied with something.
– Hello, Rutra Tigrovic.
– Hello, Yuri Vasilyevich. Is something wrong?
– Almost.
– Nothing momentous, I hope?
– The fateful thing has already happened.
Ruthra didn't answer or ask any questions. He waited for the chief to continue.
– You've probably realized by now that our special treaty with those whom ordinary citizens know as opposing parties looks not like a treaty, but a conspiracy.
– Maybe. How could it be otherwise? This whole scene is played out in the way people are used to historically understand the events.
– What I'm about to say is not for us to talk about. All the more so, it is not campaigning. However, I can, by virtue of my age and record, say it. Whatever treaties are proclaimed, there is a concept of rulers and those over whom the rulers have authority.
– What are you talking about, Yuri Vasilyevich?
– You have already realized, moreover – you have access to information, that many events that have already happened and that will still happen are not a priori what ordinary people think about them.
– Well, that's what we are. People like a show with a good ending, so we make it happen.
– Yes, but who harvests the harvest?
– Reaper.
– You've certainly heard of many narratives, so it won't be news to you much of what the modern world is based on. However, don't forget that we do this sort of thing for society. Just in whose interest?
Ruthra realized that Vasilievich was preparing to resign, or rather, he was being prepared to resign, so he decided to pour his heart out. Although such organizations around the world were strictly clan-based, they recruited only those who, if they were against the system, would be de facto figures against themselves. It was a complex, hidden, shrouded in secrecy hierarchy, the existence of which was strictly concealed. It could not be otherwise. Because those who seized power also created structures inside the main controlling body of the country or countries, so that the real controlling structure was not known to anyone. Naturally, strangers were not taken there. Thus, clans were created that no one saw or heard.
Ruthra realized that Vasilievich wanted to share information from this series. He looked at the colonel silently and waited for him to continue.
– Look, Rutra, there's something similar in the The Committee of 300. Don't think it's a freelance piece of writing, because it was written by a career intelligence officer. I can't help but recount some of it to you, especially since I worked on the Echelon One program with Coleman. He makes it clear there that their goal is to enslave most of the people left on Earth after wars, disasters, and mass murder. Intelligence agents have a rule you learn well, "The best way to hide something is to put it in a conspicuous place." While secret agents were gathering intelligence, the information they were after was lying right under their noses. Often, they play out the spectacle while conspiracy-crazed cranks spend their time looking for those conspiracies in the wrong place and in the wrong direction. The most informed part of our society realizes that a conspiracy exists, this conspiracy hides under various names. Real information about the activities of the members of the invisible government is very difficult to obtain. After Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, an important meeting was held in Washington in December 1980 under the auspices of the Club of Rome and the Socialist International. Both of these organizations are directly subordinate to the Committee. It is necessary to understand why nuclear power is so hated around the world, and why the fictitious "environmental" movement created and financed by the Club of Rome is being used to wage war against nuclear power. With the help of nuclear power to generate huge amounts of cheap electricity, third world countries would gradually become independent of US financial aid and begin to assert their sovereignty. The electricity produced by nuclear power plants is the key to bringing developing countries out of that backward state.
– So it's all about the money?
– Yes, in money and power. Or rather, power. Money can be printed, and power always gives you the opportunity to justify it. I hope you know what I mean. I'm gonna go. You think about it. You'll encounter a lot of things, you'll realize that this world is owned by specific individuals. I'll see you later.
