The Gift Read Online Free PDF

overwhelming superiority compared to most countries in the world, but we still have bombing runs for weeks or months at a time before we attack with ground forces. It disorganizes and demoralizes the enemy, in addition to reducing their physical ability to fight. We do that so that we’ll lose fewer ground forces when we finally do send them in. What if this program were to be hostile and breached containment? You are the one who explained the STUXNET worm to me. I haven’t seen a nationwide replacement of our vulnerable controllers at power plants, factories, or on the grid. Have you?” Web continued without waiting for a response, “They may not need to shut down our factories and power plants to defeat us, but it sure wouldn’t hurt their cause if they mean us harm.”
    Sam paused before responding. He was losing the argument and he knew it.
    “I acknowledge Jack’s point and you are right about the advantages they could gain by damaging our infrastructure. I agree with you that a truly effective cyber attack would be devastating on a scale the world has never seen before. It’s why I do what I do. My argument is that if they possess the capabilities to launch such an attack, and your argument presupposes that they do, they don’t need our help to launch it. There are any number of easier ways to get such a payload onto not just the Internet, but also every other network that uses satellites to communicate, directly or indirectly, and that is nearly every network on Earth, including SIPRNet, NIPRNet, GPS and all telecommunications networks. They have physical access to the world’s satellites. They can disrupt, corrupt or repurpose them as they wish and we can’t stop them.
    “Oh, and let’s not forget we are unlikely to be the only team having this discussion. The Russians and Chinese will find what we’ve found, if they haven’t done so already. Other countries are probably in the game as well. If one of them executes a program they’ve decoded and it’s hostile, we’ll still suffer, but if they run it and it’s not hostile, we may not benefit. What if it’s a test? What if the program determines who the visitors will communicate with if they prove not to be hostile? There’s a downside to inaction."
    Web’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and then answered it, “What do you have Rui?” He listened for a moment then said, “I’ll be right there. I’m bringing Jack and Sam. Get Dan, Camilla and Chang and meet us in the West conference room.”
    “We’ll have to finish this conversation later. The anomalies have changed course again. Rui’s team just recalculated the projected impact sites. You may change your mind about the possibility of them being friendly, Sam.”

C HAPTER F OUR

    Rui, Chang and Camilla were in the conference room when Web arrived with Jack and Sam. Rui was connecting his laptop to the overhead projector. He glanced at Web as he entered and said, “Dan is on his way.”
    The West conference room was, unsurprisingly, a mirror image of the East. Roughly 40’x30’, it contained a table long enough to seat a dozen people comfortably, nearly twice that if no one cared about being able to move much. It was overkill for the seven of them, but it served its primary purpose. It was secure and silent.
    Dan walked in as Rui finished testing his laptop’s connection. He was carrying a small cardboard box, open at the top and filled with drinks and snacks. He set it down on the table before taking a seat, “I figured everyone has been too busy to stay hydrated and fed. This won’t make anyone’s doctor happy, but it is food, of a sort," he said in a self-deprecating tone.
    “Thanks, Dan. Good thinking," Web said, as he reached for a large bottle of water. “If you haven’t taken the time to get something to drink in a couple of hours, grab something now.” Everyone did. Dan waited until the group had taken what they wanted, then retrieved a bottle of water and a pack