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Chapters (83)
  1. Cover
  2. ALSO BY TOM CLANCY
  3. PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
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  83. What’s next onyour reading list?

“Keep digging, will you? And while you’re at it, I need another favor.”

“Sure.”

“Can you hack the Singapore Police Force cloud server?”

Gavin sniffed. “Okay, now you’re just being insulting. What do you need me to find?”

“I’ll let you know.”

41

As promised, Lian delivered Paul and Jack back at Dalfan by three o’clock, just in time for their appointment on the fourth floor with the head of the department, Dr. Melvin Heng.

Unlike the other two research floors, this one was nearly as quiet as a library, with no sounds other than the click of keyboards and soft whispers between computer stations. Several of the young coders wore thickly padded noise-reduction headphones, heads bobbing to unknown rhythms as they attacked their keyboards.

Dr. Heng led them to his own small office. “Coffee? Tea? Anything to drink?”

“We just ate, thank you,” Jack said, as he and Paul took their seats.

Heng took the seat at his desk, brushing his long, graying hair behind his ear. “I apologize that my floor isn’t as interesting or fun as the other two research departments. It’s almost like a funeral parlor in here, but the silence is more conducive to our efforts. How may I serve you?”

“As you know, we’re here conducting a very informal audit in order to sign off on a final document that will complete the merger contract between your company and Marin Aerospace.”

Heng smiled. “We’re very excited about the merger, especially the senior management.”

“Senior management stands to profit handsomely,” Paul said.

“The beauty of capitalism.”

Paul pushed on. “Is that why you left your research post with the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University?”

“Technically, I retired from the CQT in order to start the department here.”

“Your research specialty was quantum cryptography.”

“Precisely. That’s the reason why Dr. Fairchild hired me. Is there a problem?”

“Not at all. We’re just trying to get the big picture. Along those lines, we’ve been sample-auditing various departments and we found a few files that we believe are linked to your department,” Paul said. “Specifically, we found a file marked ‘QC,’ which I originally assumed was the abbreviation for ‘quality control,’ but your department is developing quantum cryptography, correct?”

“Exactly. We’re primarily focused on the software side of QC. Quantum algorithms, in particular.”

Jack leaned forward. “What exactly is quantum cryptography?”

“That’s a very good question, and it requires a very long and complicated answer—unfortunately, it’s mostly technical jargon. Let me see if I can put it in some perspective.” Heng leaned back in his chair. “I’m sure you’re both aware that cyberwarfare is the new battlespace that the great powers are racing into. Financial markets, transactional commerce, energy infrastructures, military forces—virtually every aspect of modern societies is controlled, maintained, or directed by networks of computers that communicate with one another and, increasingly, with other computer networks, globally.