…44
"A few days have passed since tragedy hit, when a bus, carrying thirty-three passengers plus the driver, and a car with two more unsuspecting victims, were abruptly stopped by a collision with a military drone. Twenty lives were lost on Highway 98 near Gulf Breeze, Florida, last Friday; sixteen more victims are fighting for their lives at nearby hospitals. And yet, despite the staggering dimensions of this tragedy, today there are more questions than answers."
A short pause in Stephanie Wainwright's report, and the camera zoomed out and engulfed the entire scene of the incident. Reminding the viewer more of a war zone, the blocked highway was still covered with dried blood, debris, spilled motor oil, flame-suppressing fluids, along with smoke stains and ash from the fire that had engulfed the vehicles following the collision with the drone.
The camera refocused on Stephanie.
"What we do know is that the drone was coming in for landing at Mackenzie Air Field, just across the highway. The UAV was coming from the south, moving over the Gulf waters, and was supposed to cross the highway at a safe altitude, then descend and land safely at the air base. Mackenzie is an Air Force base; the death drone also belonged to the Air Force. However, the Air Force is yet to provide the public with details into its inquiry. So far, the military has only shared a press statement with the media, expressing its commitment to investigate this incident in detail and examine all causes that led to this tragedy."
Another pause in the voiceover, the camera showing the panoramic view of the air base behind the highway to the north.
"The question the Air Force will need to answer is this: Was it a pilot error? Or did the drone malfunction somehow? For those of you who might be surprised at the questions I have just mentioned, yes, these drones have pilots, but not onboard the actual aircraft.
"The drones were developed to reduce the cost of military aircraft and the associated loss of equipment, when an aircraft is shot down in enemy land. They were designed to preserve the lives and freedom of our pilots, keeping them safe and out of harm's way, during aerial reconnaissance or combat missions. Therefore, these drones are being flown with the assistance of remotely located pilots, who operate the drones just as they operate any traditional aircraft. Many countries in the world have increased the use of drones, instead of traditional crewed aircraft, like the one you see taking off behind me from Mackenzie Air Field."
The roar of a military jet taking off forced Stephanie to stop talking. When the roar of the jet died down, she continued.
"The use of drones, the array of applications for unmanned aircraft has increased exponentially in the past few years. From highly experimental in the 1990s, now we are seeing unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, serving a wide variety of purposes, mostly with military applications, but also some civilian purposes. A cheaper, more expendable, more fuel-efficient alternative to the traditional fighter jet, these drones are equally capable of recon missions and launching missiles on predetermined targets.
"But are they safe enough? Over time, we have seen a couple of drone-related incidents, causing loss of lives. In April, there was a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, where a Canadian unit reportedly came under attack from a drone wearing American markings. Four Canadian lives were lost; more soldiers were wounded. So far, no official finding was released in this case.
"Another incident took place in a hot zone in the Middle East, but even less information was made public about it. This incident was only reported in the local media, which blamed a drone for the loss of several civilian lives somewhere in Iraq, near the small city of Karbala. The Air Force, which had a presence there at the time, refused to comment on the alleged incident, calling it unconfirmed."
A short, dramatic pause, then Stephanie continued.
"This time, disaster hit us right here, at home, where we all should feel safe and protected. The Air Force will not have a choice. It must provide us with official findings about this incident, and, hopefully, stringent safety measures must be imposed, so we can all feel safe again within the boundaries of our homeland. While the vigil in our hearts continues for those struck down here last Friday, we pray for the well-being of those still fighting for their lives.
"Reporting live from the scene of the drone incident near Gulf Breeze, Florida, this is Stephanie Wainwright, with News of the Hour."
…45
Alex breathed in the refreshing fumes of steaming coffee coming from her mug, deeply enjoying the wonderful aroma of Brazilian dark roast.
She opened her laptop, the cloned one, to see if any interesting emails had accumulated overnight. The screen came alive immediately, going straight to the login screen, meaning the evening before she had just slammed the lid, instead of shutting it down properly. She put in her password. In front of her bewildered eyes, the screen displayed a message: printer installation complete. She verified in a hurry: yes, two printers had been installed on her laptop, one laser and one color inkjet.
Oh, my God, she thought, leaning back against her chair, thinking of possible implications. First, she concluded, Louie is one hell of a hacker. Her password was long, complex, unpredictable, not a dictionary word, and included numbers, letters, and special characters — an exclamation mark and a number sign. But had he seen anything? She checked for signs of anything out of the ordinary, checking folder access time logs, not really sure how else to gauge if he had noticed anything unusual. He could have checked the settings of the keystroke logger; he could have seen that the data was being saved, but not transmitted, unlike the rest of the company-issued computers. He could have noticed her archive of cloned emails from a number of key players in NanoLance's leadership.
She checked the email archive's last date and time of access and breathed with ease; it showed an access time stamp prior to her conversation with Louie, the conversation during which she had so naïvely invited him to hack into her machine. Let's assume everything is all right, but watch for signs of otherwise, she concluded, getting ready for her staff meeting.
All her direct reports were waiting in the conference room, ready for the weekly staff meeting. Bob Foster, the infrastructure manager, his kind eyes having a secretive smile hiding in them. Lisa Murphy, apparently a decorative doll, but with the sharp wits of a junior PhD in physics, was blatantly smiling ear to ear. Alan Walden, whose permanent worry had succumbed in favor of a more relaxed expression. And, of course, Louie, whose face was reflecting the playfully innocent look of a nine year old whose bicycle is in the middle of the driveway, while he's telling everyone he didn't leave it there.
"Good morning, everyone," Alex said, and then sat down. She looked again at everyone around the table and decided to grab this bull by its horns.
"By the looks of it," she continued, "you are all aware of Louie's exceptional hacking abilities."