Computer security -- Fiction; Didactic fiction; Privacy, Right of -- Fiction; Records -- Access control -- Fiction
To get to the elevator to the 66th floor, a security check was
performed, including a complete but unobtrusive electronic scan
of the entire person and his belongings. To all appearances, the
procedure was no more than airport security. However to the
initiate or the suspect, it was evident from the accuracy with
which the guards targeted specific contraband on a person or in
his belongings that they knew more than they were telling. The
OSO guards had the girth of Sumo wrestlers, and considering their
sheer mass, they received little hassle. Very few deemed it
prudent to cross them.
The lobby for all of its grandeur, ceilings of nearly 700 feet,
was a fairly austere experience. But, the elevator to the 66th
floor altered that image at once. It was this glass walled
elevator, the size of a small office, with appropriately comfort-
able furnishings, that Miles Foster rode. From the comfort of
the living room setting in the elevator, he enjoyed a panorama of
the atrium as it disappeared beneath him. He looked at the
forest and imagined what astronauts saw when they catapulted into
orbit. The executive elevator was much slower than the others.
Either the residents in the penthouse relished the solitude and
view or they had motion sickness. Nonetheless, it was most
impressive.
"Ah, Mister Foster! Welcome to OSO. Please to step this way."
Miles Foster was expected at the terminus of the lift which
opened into an obscenely large waiting room that contained a
variety of severe and obviously uncomfortable furniture. Aha!
Miles, thought. That's exactly what this is. Another art gal-
lery, albeit a private one for the eyes of his host and no one
else. White walls, white ceilings, polished parquet floors, track
lighting, recessed lights, indirect lights. Miles noticed that
the room as pure as the driven snow didn't have any windows. He
didn't recognize much of the art, but given his host, it must
have represented a sizable investment.
Miles was ushered across the vast floor to a set of handsomely
carved, too tall wooden doors with almost garish gold hardware.
His slight Japanese host barely tapped on the door, almost inau-
dibly. He paused and stood at attention as he blurted an obedient
"Hai!"
The aide opened both doors from the middle, and in deference to
Mr. Foster, moved to one side to let the visitor be suitably
impressed. Homosoto's office was a total contrast to his gal-
lery. Miles first reaction was astonishment. It was slightly
dizzying. The ceiling slanted to a height of over 25 feet at the
outer walls, which were floor to ceiling glass. The immense room
provided not only a spectacular view of Tokyo and 50 miles be-
yond, but lent one the feeling of being outside.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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