Chapter 18
Standing
before the huge plate-glass window in his Tokyo skyrise, Numataka took a long pull on his cigar and
smiled to himself. He could scarcely believe his good fortune.
He
had spoken to the American again, and if all was going according
to the timetable, Ensei Tankado had been eliminated by now, and his copy of the pass-key
had been confiscated.
It was ironic,
Numataka thought,
that he himself would end up with Ensei Tankado’s pass-key. Tokugen Numataka
had met Tankado once many years ago. The young programmer had come to Numatech Corp. fresh out of college, searching
for a job. Numataka
had denied him. There was no question that Tankado was brilliant, but at the time there were other considerations. Although Japan was changing,
Numataka had been trained in the old school; he lived by the code of menboko–honor and face. Imperfection was not to be tolerated. If he hired a cripple, he would bring shame on his company. He had disposed
of Tankado’s résumé without a
glance.
Numataka
checked his watch
again. The American, North Dakota, should have called by now.
Numataka felt a tinge of nervousness.
He hoped nothing was
wrong.
If the pass-keys were as good as promised, they would unlock the most sought-after product of the computer
age–a totally invulnerable digital encryption algorithm. Numataka could embed the algorithm
in tamper-proof, spray-sealed VSLI chips and mass market them to world computer manufacturers, governments,
industries, and perhaps, even the
darker markets… the black market
of world
terrorists.
Numataka
smiled. It appeared, as usual, that he had found favor with the shichigosan–the seven deities of good luck. Numatech Corp. was about to control the only copy of Digital Fortress that would ever exist. Twenty million dollars was a lot of money–but
considering the product,
it was the steal of
the century.
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