Rembrandt code
– …Here's my suggestion," p rossued from the lady, which brought the investigator out of his musing.
– I'm sorry, of course, – he replied, not quite understanding what the sentence was, – but I dare not detain you any longer. You will be informed of the results of the investigation.
– What? – about to another temper tantrum.
The investigator stood up, walked over to her and pointed with his hand toward the exit.
– Do you have any idea what you're offering me, e and on duty. Please come out, otherwise I will have to reassign you to another status on investigation.
– Like, that's all e what can you do? – t now she said a little pitifully .
– I'll let you know. I'll try to help," he said, stretching his words, looking at her and squinting his left eye. – And now go about your business. Or better home, have a rest… and most importantly – do not tell anyone about our dialog and about what you told me. After all, this is all based on a dialog with interfering nny … sorry, but you can be included in this category.
She opened her mouth. She wanted to object. He showed her an open palm at the level of her face, signaled "be quiet," and again pointed to the exit. The woman stood up, did not take her eyes off him, made incomprehensible movements with her lips, went to the exit, stayed at the door, looked at the investigator, got a nod from him and went out.
***
According to her confession, she was expecting a signal from the investigator for a meeting in a non- official format. However, instead of this she received a signal again from the same "madman" and paid another visit to the investigator with no less angry mood .
Almost from the doorstep she declared:
– H I would like to know why all of our family accounts have been zeroed out by your organization?
– We didn't zero out anything, we seized the accounts temporarily.
– Have you looked at my latest billing records?
Slightly miffed, Moiseyevich replied:
– No. What about them? – he said warily and began entering data on the keyboard in front of the monitor.
– So I suggest you ask," said the wife of the deceased scholar, again changing to an indignant tone. – There is no money in my accounts, that is, in my husband's accounts," she said with reproach.
– Okay, I'll ask about it. Don't be nervous, please, I understand your condition, but… – he stopped talking for a moment, ran his eyes over the monitor without looking up at the woman, and slowly continued: – I will make a request, try to find out what happened, and get back to you.
After mutual silence Moiseevich, without raising his head, looked at the lady and began to study the information in the computer again; asked just as calmly, without taking his eyes off the screen:
– Has no one come to you, asked you through other channels of communication, or inquired about anything, perhaps not even related to the situation at hand?
– Are we going to make me a patient of a psychiatric hospital now? – n unexpectedly from she reacted with such sarcastic question. – I don't have access to the accounts! But you do!
– I do not advise you to speak to an off duty officer in such a tone. At the very least, you are not assisting the investigation," said the investigator without emotion, and after a few moments of waiting, watching the change in her gaze not for the better, he summarized urgently: – D let me find out what's wrong with your accounts first, and then we'll deal with it. Don't worry, everything will be fine. Perhaps it was the banks themselves who transferred the funds to the reserve accounts to avoid fraud.
***
That same evening, the investigator was sorting through responses to requests from banks and b juro credit histories. There was no amazement on his face, although there was something to be amazed about, – all the funds that had mysteriously ended up in the anonymous offshore accounts of the accountant had just as mysteriously disappeared. The amounts that were in the accounts of a leading specialist of a closed research association, though not an oligarch, should have also aroused distress. For him, he was an ordinary student. Although… perhaps not ordinary. The professor, who was listed in the development of special services under code name Rembrandt, was the author of a method, of course, classified, the translation of signals emitted by the brain in the process of mental activity into visually understandable images. Simply put, translation of thoughts into words and pictures. The uniqueness of the method was not so much in this, as in the revolutionary technique of reverse conversion, that is, he could write text and pictures into the brain, program it.
According to a report from the banks, the accounts were transferred to an international trust account registered in the Cayman Islands. The strange thing was that all e was done on behalf of the owner of the accounts using his codes and passwords. At one should have been surprised after all. The reason for the surprise should have been the fact that the account holder had been m victims for three days already.
Chapter
4: The God Complex
The first thing I did was to pay a visit to the head of the secret laboratory at ZASLON JSC – Dr. N . I will refer to him as (there are several laboratories at the enterprise, all secret). In addition to his main activity, he also practiced psychiatry. E Naturally, my first question – where did it all start?
– It started s, – he gave a questioning look, – probably with what you know too. That's where it all started. That's why you're here, isn't it?
– And all same?
The interlocutor said lazily:
– In our secret research institute, a leading specialist engaged in the development of technology for deciphering the brain's mental signals into alphabetic signals suddenly died. To put it simply, our brain emits signals, which in light of the modern level of science is not even surprising at all. The brain is a complex device, accordingly, if less complex, i.e. all our other organs, have their own background level, then the brain, in which signaling processes take place, emits everything no weaker than the rest. Accordingly, you understand, if it is possible to read information, those very radiation signals, from a computer hard disk at a distance, then why it is impossible to decipher brain signals… It is possible, and the signals of other organs too. After all, electrocardiogram is also a reflection of signals. It is possible to read signals from any organ and decipher them into the familiar verbal form, let's say. Once upon a time, what was going on inside a person, inside organs, was a mystery and bordered on magic. Although people used to cut up animals and see what was inside.
– Animals too," I jokingly quipped.
Seeing a slightly confused expression on his face, explained:
– W animals also cut up people, so people saw what they had there. As an option, not counting executions, cannibalism, accidents, consequences of wars.
– B certainly. With accordingly, against this background, the prohibition of the church , and other religious organizations, to conduct research of human entrails smells of superstition, smells of fear of violation of monopoly. After all, the religious syndicates themselves have been cutting up e how, and since the times of human sacrifice.
– I quite understand the logic of the person who was guided by the attitude to search for such a possibility. The basis of his thought. He judged, including … – I hesitated a bit, – say , here is and blood analysis – this is also a deciphering of the data of the state of the organism. It's an analysis of everything. Data of ultrasound, computer and magnetic resonance imaging and many other types of studies. Encephalogram of the brain is the first letter in this alphabet . By it doctors decipher quite a wide range of data n e only about the state of health.
– I'm pleased with our consensus. That's why I want to reveal to you advanced data. Nowadays science, not even its hypostasis hidden from the public, has reached the level where it is possible to translate brain signals into a verbal, alphanumeric video sequence. More precisely, you can decipher what's going on in your head," o n smiled, and I ironically under shaking my lips, looked at him sideways.
He, almost copying my manner, said in a low tone:
– T about what you think… little what is in your memory.
For a couple of seconds we stared into each other's eyes in silence. Without taking his hypnotic gaze away, he summarized:
– And here the specialist who was engaged in the development of these methods, who had actually and practically already achieved success, who was about to publish them, suddenly dies. Of course, this interested our security service, and the special services , which supervise our security service. Here you are.
– In the course of our investigation, we came across a very interesting situation. And it became interesting when we found out the following… As you realized, I didn't come to you for nothing, – the doctor leaned back in his chair and tuned in to listen. – Our hero was a patient of yours.
After hearing this, the doctor again returned to his previous posture: he moved closer to the table, put one hand on the table, and took his glasses with the other . However, he did not need them, at least to answer the question of the representative of the mysterious organization.
I did not change my intonation, I continued the dialog in the same way, I asked:
– Are you familiar with a character like Chulfa Stefan?
– Oh, that's who you're talking about. Yes, I had a client like that. I for myself noted his diagnosis. You see, people with a diagnosis like that don't accept it. They can become very aggressive.
– What's the diagnosis?
– I put him on theomania.
I raised my eyebrows, staring silently at the doctor. He understood the need to make a correction.
– It's a disorder where outwardly you don't notice anything special. You have to agree that a lot of can be classified as such.
– I within my specifics am a little knowledgeable about your professional terminology. Does this diagnosis suggest megalomania?
– Not exactly, though there is such a thing. It's when an individual is convinced that he is-" the doctor paused intriguingly, "God," he smiled, "or, more modestly, divinely inspired to think and act.
Said changed the expression on my face, I expressed a soundless laugh.
– And how did you determine this, by what his actions or words ? P on what criteria is identified?
– Uh-oh, you should talk to our patients.
I expressed the question again with raised eyebrows.
– No, not the ones who are treated here," the doctor reacted to such emotion, – believe me, we all have some degree of psychiatric illness. I run a private practice as well. I have a special contingent of clients coming, or rather, observed by me for preventive purposes . After all, we are all superstitious. Someone in the devil believes , someone in the house or unclean force, angels … in B oga. And understanding of this is purely individual, interpreted in their own way each . We believe in our imagination… imagined by us. And we want to convince others and the one who is not like us. T o is healthy, by the standards of psychiatry , we want to infect with our superstitions, considering them vicious, i.e. sick. But, alas, I have a lot of things I don't have to voice. You understand.
– About yes. I've encountered both godlessness and godheadedness more than once.
–Well and turnovers you have.
– See, we're in that legion, too.
– Yes- yes, but don't go to the barricades or the front lines. Just quietly smoking a cup of coffee.
I sighed.
– R assay what was bothering him.
– Now that you think of it, how about this very coffee?
– Thank you in advance.
The gray sky outside the window and the dim, matte light in the room were not conducive to conversation . Coffee, especially the aroma , which I especially appreciated in this drink, and the ritual of its consumption ( I prefer without sugar, so I always combine the drink with something sweet), like a magic elixir, transformed both the landscape outside the window and the background in the office .
– A god complex is not a clinical diagnosis.
The professor's voice distracted me from my thoughts. " With lava God," I thought, for they were inspired by the dim view outside the window.
– It's not in the DSM," the doctor continued as he approached a table with a coffee maker and two cups on a tray with a handle. – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," he explained the professional acronym. – H e likes to distract the staff because of an unprofessional request," he said, placing the tray on the table.
– God complex? – I inquired about the term.
– Yes, that's what we call him," the doctor expressed a chuckle. – H e is a narcissistic disorder, which is often confused with it.
– Uh-oh, you think I'm good at this. Somewhere something just clicked – and that's it.
The doctor was understandingly silent in response, pouring coffee into cups .
– It manifests itself in people who tend to consider their opinion to be the only correct one," the psychiatry specialist began to explain the symptoms . – In addition, not noticing their mistakes or justifying them . This is such a complex of behavioral problems and experiences. As a rule, such patients are irritated by criticism of themselves. They are also characterized by inflated self-esteem .
I remained silent. I was becoming more and more interested in the practice of the person to whom my investigation had led me. He, having caught the silent "signal," complemented :
– People with theomania have difficulty recognizing or accepting another person's experience.
I've learned the professional terminology.
– As a rule, they are not interested in anyone, they do not like to listen to others, only if it is for their benefit: they are often self-absorbed. And, as usual, this whole complex leads to gaslighting.
The doctor paused for a second, looked intently at me, handed me a coffee and said:
–E then a facet of this complex in which the client denies anyone's reality . Not everyone, of course .
– Customer ? – from curving my lips , said I.
– It's a professional syndrome. It's like they say, "You can't go wrong with anyone.
– And what was it about our client? – a little louder and more cheerfully I asked, signaling an interest purely in the client's case.
– You know, he surprised me right away. He didn't have any special manifestations, but…" Dr. was a little quiet, lowering his voice before doing so.
– What?" I lowered my tone and asked almost warily.
– Everything revolved around one task or problem. He never really defined what it was for him. He kept asking me to explain how his consciousness would react if he suddenly became younger.
– Both- on. What do you mean?
– Here. All the time. I try to hint to him about his complex, and he only shows interest around this topic.
– Paid?
– I told you, I'm in private practice. You want to charge me with using government property?
– God forbid. That's not our department.
We smiled.
– Paid… more and more.
– So what did he want? You must have explained all e to him right away.
– All e, not all e. He asked me to outline his new life. After my question, " h what do you want to change?" he surprised me quite a bit. He started squirming in his chair, looking around, examining the office, noticing my curiosity, expressed partly by repeating his gaze. I began to involuntarily look for the object of his interest, because he even looked under the table, which was quite unseemly. The symptoms were manifesting themselves. Behavior characteristic of people with persecution mania. I only had to test him for megalomania, – the doctor paused again , – he didn't wait long, he said, that he could become the manager of our institute. I smiled a little at this, to which I received: " D what is there institute , I can become…" He didn't finish, started drilling the badge on my robe with his gaze. Then he got up and left. And that was it. When I asked him " what did you want?" he looked around, lingered in the doorway a bit, thanked me and left. Anyway, the symptoms were just pouring out of him, pardon such jargon . I didn't go looking for him.
– Yeah, that's a bit of a bummer. And here I am waiting for a reliable thread in the maze he created…
– So, why don't you tell me about this maze?
– In the course of the investigation, consultants and participants in the case in general, even unwittingly, become aware of some of the information in the case, despite the secrecy of the investigation. I can tell you, – I added thoughtfully, which sounded somewhat fatal . – You only have to sign a non-disclosure agreement… and you become a person of interest in the case.
– You've surprised me once again. I have been on the case for a long time without even knowing about your investigation. Isn't that right?
I looked at the interlocutor , expressing goodwill with a slight smile, slightly raising my shoulders and slightly spreading my hands, while opening my palms. The gesture and facial expressions made it clear – there was no way without it.
– In the foreign intelligence material a certain type, through whom information from your regime enterprise was transmitted or leaked, we don't know exactly yet, is listed under this data.
– Hmm. And what did he report? who's his accomplice here?
– I can't tell you what he said. I can only give you a general idea… – I was quiet for a moment, thinking about what I could tell him without compromising security, because he, like everyone else, was still a suspect . – My materials are related to the work of your suddenly deceased employee, which makes the event doubly suspicious.
– Uh, I said something's not right. I'll do my best.
Chapter 5: Hello brain
…The next person I met with about the issues I was interested in was the head of the cyber security service of ZASLON JSC. In my file cabinet, I identified him as "Mr. citizen A ntivirus". A man of medium height, about fifty years old, he looked like Charlie Chaplin, the image known from his famous movies.
Here I must make one more one small digression in order to remind you once again what level of technology is in your use and what the intelligence services may have in relation to it. As an example, I will cite the already known to you story with present to the U.S. Ambassador . And story is as follows: on August 4, 1945, a delegation of Soviet pioneers presented U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman with a gift – a wooden image of the Great Seal of the United States. The ambassador hung the gift on the wall in his office at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, not realizing that an endovibrator was built inside.
With the help of an endovibrator, Soviet secret services bugged the residence of the US ambassador – "Spaso House" – located in a historic mansion in Moscow for seven years. During this time, four ambassadors were replaced, the interior of the office was changed more than once, but the wooden Great Seal invariably remained the main decoration.
The endovibrator was discovered by accident in 1951 when a radio operator at the British Embassy, which is located in Moscow 700 meters from the U.S. Embassy, scanning the airwaves, heard English-speaking speech. Engineer Don Bailey, sent to check, was unable to find the "bug," suspecting that the Soviet secret services had turned off the device at that point. The endovibrator was finally discovered only in 1952, when the room was checked once again during the change of ambassador.
Ask me why I'm mentioning this. T of the level of technology that I have had to work with, and sometimes be a tester, part developer, is of such a high order that will cause you to distrust . For example, you have a cell phone, but you don't know all of its functions. I often use it as an example, because it is always with you, even more – it has become a part of your body ( accordingly, its micro version, implanted in your body and integrated into your nervous and cognitive system, will be welcomed; in other words, for many employees of ZASLON JSC it is already a necessary attribute of life and work). It entered our life very quickly. Imagine, even before your eyes the changes in the capabilities of technology are so rapid that some would have seemed to you a fantasy even years twenty years ago. What is there twenty, you do not have time to study the existing technologies, and not secret, civilian, as others appear. E if you as a child were told about the possibilities of your cell phone, because with it you can do what was once the dream of spies, just fantastic technology, – you would count … yes no, you would not, the time period matters. … you would not believe, and many of the programs capabilities would not understand . For example, a person who was born at the time of the birth of mobile communication and lived about a hundred years, not that would have s seemed fantastic in his childhood possibilities of technology to his old age, no, he simply, as I said, would not understand what we are talking about. And the rate of such transformations – changes in the capability of technology – will increase algebraically. Now I hope it will be easier for you to imagine the near future, when your mobile with all the technical tricks that are and will be become the size of a small pea, will be implanted directly into your brain, and it will begin to be powered by your body heat.
It is e surprising, of course, that it is possible to spy on people with the help of a cell phone . The remote activation of cameras and microphones is no surprise to anyone. And it is done almost officially, almost all the time. You even notice the strange appearance of advertising offers, not set in the search for services and goods, but just mentioned in the conversation. In you talk on the cell phone about something, and then you have contextual advertising on this topic. Even when the smartphone is off, it sends a signal to its base station. Many people try to change their address, their online data, with this stay anonymous. Now imagine yourself not on this side of the network, but inside it. In all your actions, whether it is sending emails, calls, searching for information, geolocation and so on, – all e is as if connected by a thread, which is seen by the programs that provide these opportunities. Accordingly, those on the other side of the network, who have access to the servers that connect all your locations to each other, see these connections and actions. And it's not a secret. Therefore, it is impossible to hide.
Why am I saying the truths that are already practically for everyone? B you have certainly heard this statement : B og knows your every thought and thought. Have you heard it? Now materialize B og. E that statement has taken on a different meaning, hasn't it? Here- here. If you are not schizophrenic, if you believe in B yep, then you must believe in peculiar system administrators in images of angels and cherubs of such a server as your brain. Now let's imagine these "system administrators" in the reality of our world as people who have the ability to read your mind. Difficult? Improbable? Go back a couple lines higher in and read about the belief in the possibilities of technology. After all, back then it was amazing and fantastic, but now what I said ( again, it matters what time you are reading these lines; in oz perhaps already access to human thoughts has become commonplace), is not only not new, but already old . In the general context of the narrative – I am talking about the everyday life of my activity, and in particular – about the process around the activity of our main character.
Many politicians nowadays, business people or just paranoid people try not to use cell phones: they are afraid of surveillance . However, they still use communication – with a regular phone or through their couriers. And couriers, of course, have cell phones, which they use to give out orders coming from their boss. Inside, that is, on the other side of you, inside the server, let's say , this whole spectacle is seen role by role. You may not use a cell phone, but they see the buzzing around your "hive" those who periodically contact your employees, controlled organizations, and just family and friends. They do not see you, although can turn on the cameras on the devices of your employees, your couriers, trusted persons and use them to listen directly conversation with you, see you including, as well as all e what is going on around . You may not use the Internet, but if you are not a hermit and have some activity, – they all e still see the consequences of your contacts, actions.