Computer security -- Fiction; Didactic fiction; Privacy, Right of -- Fiction; Records -- Access control -- Fiction
Homosoto was pleased. "You debate well, young man. It is not so
much that I care if you love America. I want, I need to know what
you do love. You see, for me, I love Japan and my family. But
much of my family was taken from me in one terrible instant, a
long time ago. They are gone, but now I have my wife, my chil-
dren and their children. I learned, that if there is nothing
else, you must have family. That must come first, Mr. Foster.
Under all conditions, family is first. All else is last. So my
allegiance shifted, away from country, to my family and my be-
liefs. I don't always agree with my government, and there are
times I will defy their will. I can assure you, that if we embark
upon this route, neither I nor you will endear ourselves to our
respective governments. Does that matter to you?"
Miles snickered. "Matter? After what they did to me? Let me
tell you something. I gave my country most of my adult life. I
could have gone to work with my family . . .my associates . . ."
"I am aware of your background Mr. Foster," Homosoto interrupted.
"I'm sure you are. But that's neither here nor there. I could
have been on easy street. Plug a few numbers and make some bucks
for the clan." The colloquialism escaped Homosoto, but he got
the gist of it. "But I said to myself, 'hey, you're good.
Fixing roulette wheels is beneath you.' I needed, I still need
the diversion, the challenge, so I figured that the Feds would
give me the edge I needed to make something of myself." Miles
was turning red around his neck.
"The NSA had the gear, the toys for me to play with, and they
promised me the world. Create, they said, lead America's tech-
nology into the 21st. century. What a pile of shit. Working at
the NSA is like running for President. You're always trying to
sell yourself, your ideas. They don't give a shit about how good
your ideas are. All they care is that you're asshole buddies
with the powers that be. To get something done there, you need a
half dozen committees with their asses greased from here to
eternity for them to say maybe. Do you know the difference
between ass kissing and having your head up your ass?"
"If I understand your crudities, I assume this is an American
joke, then, no Mr. Foster, I do not know the difference."
"Depth perception." Miles looked for a reaction to his anatomi-
cal doublette. There was none other than Homosoto's benign smile
indicating no comprehension. "OK, never mind, I'll save it. At
any rate, enough was enough. I gotta do something with my life."
Miles had said his piece.
"In other words, money is your motivation?"
"Money doesn't hurt, sure. But, I need to do what I believe.
Not that that means hurting my country, but if they don't listen
to what makes sense, maybe it's best that they meet their worst
enemy to get them off of their keesters." Miles was on a roll.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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