Read Online Edge of Tomorrow by Wolf Wootan - Free Book Online

for himself for
several reasons. The obvious reason was that the people he had
hired, with one exception, were specialists in relational
databases, search algorithms, and report generators. The private
reason was that he wanted to create a way to access the databases
without leaving a “foot print;” that is, a record that the access
to the database had been made. This was commonly called a “back
door” entry. Only his one System Programmer knew about this, and
the rationalization was that this was required for debugging and
maintenance. He had no devious future plans for this feature, but
he had one of his “feelings” that it might prove useful at some
later date.
    As the programs were developed and tested,
Hatch gave lectures on the types of intelligence data, their
relationships, and how the data should be presented to the various
types of analysts. It soon became obvious that he needed a couple
more programmers to handle the workload that they had defined. He
also needed a communications expert. His current staff, now very
happy and devoted to the project, recommended people they knew, so
he added to his staff. The system began to take shape. They tried
to pay special attention to areas that they knew would be expanded
or modified later. Team morale was high. Lincoln was enjoying his
knew career.
    Lincoln felt uncomfortable being called “Van”
by his staff—“Mr. Lincoln” was out of the question—so he had them
call him “Hatch,” the nickname he had used most of his life. He
called them by their first names … or nicknames if they had
one.
    He and his technical writer, Jane Forbeson,
who had been concentrating on documenting the programs, got back to
finishing off the proposal. Hatch wrote a first draft of the
section on how the new reporting system would help CIA analysts.
She polished it up for him, learning about intelligence analysis in
the process. And so it went, chapter by chapter, with technical
areas being provided by the programmers, and polished by Jane.
    By the middle of February, 1985, Hatch felt
that the system was ready for a test run with real data. He called
Gramble and told him it was time to get him a hearing with the
appropriate people in the CIA, and that he was to use his clout to
make sure a contract was given to Triple Eye. No other result would
be acceptable. Gramble said that he understood.
    On March 4, 1985, Hatch had his meeting. The
DDI was there, as well as Gramble and several department heads. He
had sent his proposal to them a week before, so they had all read
it. Hatch gave his pitch and sat down, awaiting a response. The
meeting attendees discussed things among themselves for a while,
and Hatch was just about to give Gramble the high sign to put on
the pressure, when the DDI, a long-time analyst himself, said that
he liked it, and a high-ranking Threat Assessment Analyst said it
was like manna from heaven. Gramble only had to support their
position, which sealed the deal.
    Triple Eye got a three month contract to test
and demonstrate the system using real intelligence data, furnishing
real reports for evaluation. Security of the data and the reports
had been the biggest stumbling block to inking the contract. This
had been resolved for the test phase when Hatch proposed that the
data be loaded by CIA employees, and only CIA agents would see the
printed reports. Also, they could install their own encryption
system. Any problems with reports could be discussed with Hatch,
who had retained his “spook” security clearance as part of his
retirement agreement.
    Then Hatch presented an addendum to his
proposal, which had been prepared in advance, and stated that
Triple Eye would install secure communications equipment on their
end—at Triple Eye’s expense—if the CIA would do the same on their
end. This way, no paper would be generated except at the CIA
offices. This proposed system was to be put in place at the end of
the trial period if the CIA wished to give Triple