tc.thebearandthedragon-第44部分

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tand　that　process　a　little　better；　so　that　we　can　do　business　more　effectively。　And　the　better　I　do　for　them；　the　more　they　will　pay　me…　and　the　more　I　can　spend　on　my　darling　Ming。〃
　〃I　see；〃　she　thought；　wrongly。
　He　bent　down　to　kiss　a　particularly　nice　spot。　Her　body　shuddered　in　just　the　right　way。　Good；　she　wasn't　resisting　the　idea；　or　at　least　wasn't　letting　it　get　in　the　way　of　this　activity；　which　was　good　for　Nomuri　in　more　than　one　way。　The　intelligence　officer　wondered　if　someday　his　conscience　would　attack　him　for　using　this　girl　in　such　a　way。　But　business；　he　told　himself；　was　business。
　〃No　one　will　know？〃
　〃No；　that　is　not　possible。〃
　〃And　it　will　not　get　me　into　trouble？〃
　With　that　question　he　rolled　over；　finding　himself　on　top。　He　held　her　face　in　both　hands。　〃Would　I　ever　do　something　to　get　Ming…chan　in　trouble？　Never！〃　he　announced；　with　a　deep　and　passionate　kiss。
　Afterward　there　was　no　talk　about　the　CD…ROM；　which　she　tucked　into　her　purse　before　leaving。　It　was　a　nice…looking　purse；　a　knockoff　of　something　Italian　that　you　could　buy　on　the　street　here；　rather　like　the　genuine　ones　in　New　York　that　〃fell　off　the　back　of　the　truck；〃　as　the　euphemism　went。
　Every　time　they　parted；　it　was　a　little　hard。　She　didn't　want　to　leave；　and　truly　he　didn't　want　her　to　depart；　but　it　was　necessary。　For　them　to　share　an　apartment　would　be　mented　upon。　Even　in　her　dreams；　Ming　couldn't　think　of　that；　actually　sleeping　at　the　apartment　of　a　foreigner；　because　she　did　have　a　security　clearance；　and　she　had　been　given　her　security　brief　by　a　bored　MSS　officer；　along　with　all　the　other　senior　secretaries；　and　she　hadn't　reported　this　contact　to　her　superiors　or　the　office　security　chief　as　she　ought　to　have　done…why？　Partly　because　she'd　forgotten　the　rules；　because　she'd　never　broken　them　or　known　someone　who　had　done　so；　and　partly　because　like　many　people　she　drew　a　line　between　her　private　life　and　her　professional　one。　That　the　two　were　not　allowed　to　be　separate　in　her　case　was　something　that　the　MSS　briefing　had　covered；　but　in　so　clumsy　a　way　as　to　have　been　disregarded　even　upon　its　delivery。　And　so　here　she　was；　not　even　knowing　where　and　what　here　was。　With　luck；　she'd　never　have　to　find　out；　Nomuri　thought；　watching　her　turn　the　corner　and　disappear　from　view。　Luck　would　help。　What　the　MSS　interrogators　did　to　young　women　in　the　Beijing　version　of　the　Lubyanka　didn't　really　bear　much　contemplation；　certainly　not　when　one　had　just　made　love　to　her　twice　in　two　hours。
　〃Good　luck；　honey；〃　Nomuri　whispered；　as　he　closed　the　door　and　headed　to　the　bathroom　for　a　shower。
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　14
　（dot）
　
　It　was　a　sleepless　night　for　Nomuri。　Would　she　do　it？　Would　she　do　what　she　was　told？　Would…she　tell　a　security　officer　about　it；　and　then　about　him？　Might　she　be　caught　with　the　CD…ROM　going　into　work　and　questioned　about　it？　If　so；　a　casual　inspection　would　show　it　to　be　a　music　CD；　Bill　Conti's　musical　score　for　Rocky…a　poorly　marked　knockoff　of　an　American　intellectual　property　that　was　quite　mon　in　the　PRC。　But　a　more　careful　examination　would　have　revealed　that　the　first…outermost…data　line　on　the　metallic　surface　told　the　puter　CD…ROM　reader　to　skip　to　a　certain　place　where　the　content　was　not　music；　but　binary　code；　and　very　efficient　binary　code　at　that。
　The　CD…ROM　didn't　contain　a　virus　per　se；　because　a　virus　circulates　mainly　across　puter　networks；　entering　a　puter　surreptitiously　the　way　a　disease　organism　enters　a　living　host　（hence　the　term　virus）。　But　this　one　came　in　the　front　door；　and　on　being　read　by　the　CD…ROM　reader；　a　single　prompt　came　up　on　the　screen；　and　Ming；　after　a　quick　look…around　in　her　office；　moved　her　mouse　to　put　the　pointer　on　the　prompt；　clicked　the　INSTALL　mand；　and　everything　immediately　disappeared。　The　program　thus　implanted　searched　her　hard　drive　at　nearly　the　speed　of　light；　categorizing　every　file　and　setting　up　its　own　index；　then　pressing　it　into　a　small　file　that　hid　in　plain　sight；　as　it　were；　identified　by　any　disk…sorting　program　with　a　wholly　innocent　name　that　referred　to　a　function　carried　out　by　another　program　entirely。　Thus　only　a　very　careful　and　directed　search　by　a　skilled　puter　operator　could　even　detect　that　something　was　even　there。　Exactly　what　the　program　did　could　only　be　determined　by　a　one…by…zero　reading　of　the　program　itself；　something　difficult　to　acplish　at　best。　It　would　be　like　trying　to　find　what　was　wrong　with　a　single　leaf　on　a　single　tree　in　a　vast　forest　where　all　the　trees　and　all　the　leaves　looked　pretty　much　alike；　except　that　this　one　leaf　was　smaller　and　humbler　than　most。　CIA　and　NSA　could　no　longer　attract　the　best　programmers　in　America。　There　was　just　too　much　money　in　the　consumer　electronics　industry　for　government　to　pete　effectively　in　that　marketplace。　But　you　could　still　hire　them；　and　the　work　that　came　out　was　just　as　good。　And　if　you　paid　them　enough…strangely；　you　could　pay　lots　more　to　a　contractor　than　to　an　employee…they　wouldn't　talk　to　anyone　about　it。　And　besides；　they　never　really　knew　what　it　was　all　about　anyway；　did　they？
　In　this　case；　there　was　an　additional　level　of　plexity　that　went　back　over　sixty　years。　When　the　Germans　had　overrun　the　Netherlands　in　1940；　they'd　created　a　strange　situation。　In　Holland　the　Germans　had　found　both　the　most　cooperative　of　their　conquered　nations　and　the　most　fiercely　resistant。　More　Dutchmen　per　capita　had　joined　the　Germans　than　any　other　nationality…enough　to　form　their　own　SS　division；　SS　Nordland。　At　the　same　time；　the　Dutch　resistance　became　the　most　effective　in　Europe；　and　one　of　their　number　was　a　brilliant　mathematician/engineer　working　for　the　national　telephone　pany。　In　the　second　decade　of　the　twentieth　century；　the　telephone　had　reached　a　developmental　roadblock。　When　you　lifted　a　phone；　you　were　immediately　connected　with　an　operator　to　whom　you　gave　the　destination　you　were　trying　to　call；　and　she　then　physically　moved　a　plug　into　the　proper　hole。　This　system　had　been　workable　when　only　a　few　telephones　were　in　use；　but　the　appliance　had　rapidly　proved　too　useful　for　limited　applications。　The　solution　to　the　problem；　remarkably　enough；　had　e　from　a　mortician　in　the　American　South。
　Vexed　by　the　fact　that　the　local　operator　in　his　town　referred　the　bereaved　to　a　peting　undertaker；　he　had　invented　the　stepping　switch；　which　enabled　people　to　reach　their　own　phone　destinations　merely　by　turning　a　rotary　dial。　That　system　served　the　world　well；　but　also　required　the　development　of　a　whole　body　of　new　mathematical　knowledge　called　〃plexity　theory；〃　which　was　systematized　by　the　American　pany　AT&T　in　the　1930s。
　Ten　years　later；　merely　by　adding　additional　digits　to　be　dialed；　the　Dutch　engineer　in　the　resistance　had　applied　plexity　theory　to　covert　operations　by　creating　theoretical　pathways　through　the　switching　gear；　thus　enabling　resistance　fighters　to　call　others　without　knowing　whom　they　called；　or　even　the　actual　telephone　numbers　they　were　calling。
　This　bit　of　electronic　skullduggery　had　first　been　noticed　by　an　officer　for　the　British　Special　Operations　Executive；　the　SOE；　and；　finding　it　very　clever　indeed；　he'd　discussed　it　over　a　beer　with　an　American　colleague　in　a　London　pub。　The　American　OSS　officer；　like　most　of　the　men　Wild　Bill　Donovan　had　chosen；　was　an　attorney　by　profession；　and　in　his　case；　a　very　thorough　one；　who　wrote　everything　down　and　forwarded　it　up　the　line。　The　report　on　the　Dutch　engineer　had　made　its　way　to　the　office　of　Colonel　William　Friedman；　then　America's　foremost　code…breaker。　Though　not　himself　a　hardware　expert；　Friedman　had　known　something　useful　when　he　saw　it；　and　he　knew　there　would　be　an　after…the…war；　during　which　his　agency…later　reborn　as　the　National　Security　Agency…would　still　be　busy　cracking　other　countries'　codes　and　ciphers　and　producing　codes　and　ciphers　itself。　The　ability　to　develop　covert　munications　links　through　a　relatively　simple　mathematical　trick　had　seemed　a　gift　from　God's　own　hand。
　In　the　1940s　and　'50s；　NSA　had　been　able　to　hire　American's　finest　mathematicians；　and　one　of　the　tasks　assigned　them　had　been　to　work　with　AT&T　to　create　a　universal　telephone　operating　system　that　could　be　used　covertly　by　American　intelligence　officers。　Back　then；　AT&T　was　the　only　real　rival　NSA　had　had　in　the　hiring　of　skilled　mathematicians；　and　beyond　that；　AT&T　had　always　been　a　prime　contractor　for　just　about　every　executive　agency　of　the　government。　By　1955；　it　was　done；　and　for　a　surprisingly　modest　fee　AT&T　provided　the　entire　world　with　a　model　for　telephone　systems　that　most　of　the　world　adopted…the　modest　cost　was　explained　by　the　desire　of　AT&T　to　make　its　systems　patible　with　every　other　country's　to　ease　international　munications。　With　the　1970s　had　e　push…button　phones；　which　directed　calls　electronically　by　frequency…controlled　codes　even　easier　for　electronic　systems　to　use；　and　infinitely　easier　to　maintain　than　the　former　electro…mechanical　stepping　switches　that　had　made　the　mortician　hugely　rich。　They　also　proved　even　easier　for　AT&T　to　rig　for　NSA。　The　operating　systems　first　given　the　world's　telephone　panies　by　AT&T's　Parsippany；　New　Jersey；　research　laboratory　had　been　upgraded　yearly　at　least；　giving　further　improvements　to　the　efficiency　of　the　world's　phone　systems…so　much　so　that　scarcely　any　telephone　system　in　the　world　didn't　use　it。　And　tucked　into　that　operating　system　were　six　lines　of　binary　code　whose　operational　concept　traced　back　to　the　Nazi　occupation　of　Holland。
　Ming　finished　the　installation　and　ejected　the　disk；　discarding　it　into　her　waste　can。　The　easy　way　to　dispose　of　secret　material　was　to　have　your　adversary　do　it；　through　the　front　door；　not　the　back　one。
　Nothing　really　happened　for　some　hours；　while　Ming　did　her　usual　office　tasks　and　Nomuri　visited　three　mercial　businesses　to　sell　his　high…powered　desktop　puters。　All　that　changed　at　7：45　P。M。
　By　this　time；　Ming　was　at　her　own　home。　Nomuri　would　get　a　night　off；　Ming　had　to　do　some　things　with　her　roommate　to　avoid　too　much　suspicion…watching　local　television；　chatting　with　her　friend；　and　thinking　about　her　lover；　while　the　whole　reason　for　the　wispy　smiles　on　her　face