Part 104 (2/2)
”Without computers, many of lifes' simple pleasures and conven- iences would disappear Cable television Movies like Star Wars Special effects by coine life without theleRemember dial phones? No coe America is the bread and butter of the et the Post Office and other shi+ppers Without computers Federal Express would be no better than the Honest-We'll-Be-Here-Too Company”
”Oh, and yes,” Pierre said draet rid of the microwave ovens, the VCR's and video cameras I think I've made my point”
”I wish you would, Mr Tre,” Senator Rickfield caustically interjected ”What is the point?” Rickfield wason Pierre Troubleaux He was too popular
”Thank you, Senator, I aary treatment was an appropriate slap in Rickfield's face
”Please continue” The Senator had difficulty saying the word 'please'
”Yes sir So, the prognostications o by the likes of Steve Jobs, that computers would alter the e play, work and think have been completely fulfilled Now, if we look at those years, we see a multi-billion dollar industry that has made extraordinary promises to the world of business Computer- ize they say! Modernize! Get with the times! Make your opera- tion efficient! Stay ahead of the coht
”With a projected life cycle of between only three and five years, technology progresses that fast, once computerized, forev- er computerized To keep up with the coes requires upgrading to subsequent generations of computers The computer salespeople told us to run our businesses on computers, send out Social Security checks by computer, replace typewriters ord processors and bank at horowth during the early 1980's, soot Soot, that people were putting their trust in these ave theuilty
”Very siest GNP in the world on a system of inter-connected comput- ers We have placed the wealths of our nations, the backbone of the fabric of our way of life, we have placed our trust in com- puters that do not warrant that trust It is incredible to me that major financial institutions do not protect their computer assets as well as they protect their cash on hand
”I find it unbelievable that the computers responsible in part for the defense of this country appear to have more open doors than a thousand churches on Sunday It is inco principles of this nation, has been ignored during the information revolution The massive data bases that contain vast amounts of personal data on us all have been amply shown to be not worthy of trust All it takes is a horease and you, or I, or he,” Pierre pointed at various people seated around the rooe anybody's life history What happens if the coination that we have not attey to protect the lifeblood of our society That, ladies and gentlemen is a crime We spend 3 trillion on weapons in one decade, yet we do not have the foresight to protect our computers? It is a criainst coress who passes laws and then refuses to fund their enactly idiotic Pardon lass as the tension in the hearing room thickened
”We live the paradox of si required to trust therace Maybe dGraph more than most Permit me to explain my involvement” The electricity in the room crackled and the novice CNN producer instructed the caruff accented voice elongated the sylla- bles as he shouted from the balcony in the rear A thousands eyes jerked to the source of the sound up above Troubleaux hied dark un in his direction Scott saw the weapon and wondered which politician was the target Who was too pro-Israel this week? He iht of Rickfield No, he didn't have a commitment either way He only rode the wave of popular sentiet of a madman's suicide attack It had to be suicide, there was no escape
Scott'sthat first tenth of a second, not the endless minutes he later remembered
In the next split second, Scott realized, et The would-be victih the cavernous charab an exclusive, he thought He fell into Pierre as the second shot exploded Scott painfully caught the edge of the chair with his shoulder while pushi+ng Pierre over sideways They crumpled into a heap on the floor when the third shot fired
Scott glanced up at the turbannedwords to an invisible entity skyward The din from the panic in the roo the pistol, the assailant began to take aile free frole of Pierre's liled to extricate hied Scott cringed, awaiting the worst but instead heard the bullet ricochet off a metal object above him
Scott's adrenal relief was punctuated by a loud and heavy sigh
He noticed that the assailant's shooting ar Capital policeman who violently threw himself at the turbanned e of the balcony The police twenty feet below His target was hurtled over the edge and landed prone on tooden chairs which collapsed under the force The shooting stopped
Scott groaned froan to pull away from Pierre Then he noticed the blood A lot of blood
He looked down at himself to see that his white pullover shi+rt, the one with Mickey Mouse instead of an alligator over the breast pocket, ith red As was his jacket His left hand had been on the floor, in a pool of blood that was oozing out of the back of Pierre's head Scott tried to consciously control his physical revulsion to the body beneath hiitate
Then Pierre's body moved His chest heaved heavily and Scott pulled himself away completely Pierre had been hit with at least two bullets, one exiting fro away a piece of skull exposing the brain Grue- some
”He's alive! Get a doctor!” Scott shouted He lifted himself up to see over the tables The mad shuffle to the exits continued
No one seemed to pay attention
”Hey! Is there a doctor in the house?”
Scott looked down at Pierre and touched the veins in his neck
They were pulsing, but not with all of life's vigor ”Hey,”
Scott said quietly, ”you're gonna be all right We got a doctor co in there” Scott lied, but 40 years of rah” Scott heard Pierre gurgle