Free The God Equation and Other Stories by Michael A.R. Co Page B

name, and loaded the video. He flipped the screen around and showed it to the Defense Secretary. “Millions of people own a cellphone, and most models today have a built-in browser. I can recharge mine with my car battery. A blackout now would only empower criminals, rebels, terrorists, and foreign governments.”
    The Defense Secretary looked convinced and so did the President.
    “There ’ s more.” Jon tapped a few more links. “We don ’ t know how it does this, but Ogle displays highly personal data on every individual account. There are a total of sixty-four parameters. Full name, aliases, e-mail addresses, date of birth, weight, height, current location in longitude and latitude, all liquid assets in local currency, the names of your children, the names of those that you ’ ve killed or ordered killed in or out of the line of duty, the peop le you ’ ve had intercourse with… "
    “That ’ s enough, Jon,” said the President. “Please put that away.”
    But before Jon could log out, he noticed that someone else was viewing him: kittycutie15. He switched off his phone and tucked it away.
    Rubbing her temples, the President said, “Is there anything Ogle can ’ t do?”
    “Ogle cannot read minds,” Jon replied. “And it can only track the living. Each video is literally a live feed.”
    The air-con ’ s hum switched to a low drone like a car changing gears.
    At last the President said, “What would you do?” It took Jon a few seconds to realize the question was still directed at him. He looked at the Undersecretary for guidance and got a blank stare, and the men in the shadows remained in the shadows.
    “I ’ m not asking you to formulate policy, Jon. I ’ m asking for your personal opinion. What would you do?”
    The air-con ’ s drone seemed deafening. Then he found the courage to speak his mind.
    “ Ogle gives users absolute access to anyone in the planet, and can search for people within a radius of ten meters to one kilometer from the original subject. I can enter your name, location, association, race or religion. Ogle will find you. I can even upload your scanned fingerprint. Ogle will find you. Therefore, I would choose my words and actions carefully from now on. I won ’ t do anything illegal or embarrassing and I ’ d tell everyone to do the same. I ’ d beef up my security detail. And as a public servant, I wouldn ’ t worry about being watched by the people I serve. I would not be a coward in a brave new world.”
    “Good God,” someone said.
    “ Not God, ” said the National Security Adviser. “Big Brother.” His shadow didn ’ t fidget as much as the others.
    “ Little brothers, ” said Jon, “and sisters. Over six billion of them. Otherwise, aliens from outer space.” The Undersecretary shot him a warning glance: don ’ t get cocky, not today.
    “ What I meant, ” Jon quickly recovered , turning back to the President, “ is that it ’ s highly likely everyone on this planet has an Ogle account. Ogle keeps a history, a list, of persons that have viewed through your eyes, logging the date and time, with an instant link back to that person. Conversely, it also keeps a history of your own viewing habits. Like the videos, both lists cannot be deleted. I can watch what you see, just as you can see what I watch. It ’ s a double-edged sword. But rest assured Madam President, I have not used Ogle on you or anyone in this room during my initial investigation.” In truth, Jon had used it on certain government officials, including the Undersecretary, but thought it prudent to lie.
    “Yet here you are, saying we should allow others to spy on us,” said the President.
    “I ’ d spy on them in return,” Jon said. “I ’ d ‘ Ogle ’ those who ’ ve ‘ Ogled ’ me and find out who threw the first stone.” He shivered and wished someone would turn off the air-con. But maybe he was just appalled by his own suggestion.
     
    * * *
    “This is appalling,” Alexis