Read Online The Pestilence by Faisal Ansari - Free Book Online Page B

anything available online. I can set any item of interest, any parameter I choose against the timeline. This one here relates to the Electrical Phenomenon last night. Each spike of activity is a substantial news event. So you can see here the first volume spike was just after 1.30 a.m. That was the rocket attack from the farm. I can click on each spike and see the data that supports it. So for the rocket launch we have twenty-eight news articles and 700 social media feeds that we can click through to read or watch each data point. Look; here is the IDF press release about the airstrike.” She called it up to show Bill.
    â€œBy looking at the peaks and troughs in the activity volume we can track the phenomena occurring through time. We can also click on the X-axis to look at things both on a global or local basis. See how the Internet activity volumes spike as the Electrical Phenomenon hits each major city. I have never seen volumes like this before. The beauty of this program is that it highlights any outliers or anomalies in the data. So if 500 people report something is red and two say it’s blue then blue reports get flagged. So it’s easy to find something out of the ordinary and I found something peculiar.” Hazel excitedly pushed her glasses up her nose. “Now watch as I change the parameter to focus on Paris. See how the timeline spikes as the Electrical Phenomenon passes over the city. Look, here the program is flagging an anomaly. As far as we know there were no reported instances of the lightning directly harming people or damaging property. We also know that the phenomenon originated from the Srour farm and occurred exclusively in the sky. It never grounded. But watch this.”
    Hazel clicked on the link and they saw a CCTV image of the Parisian skyline. It was taken from the Eiffel Tower’s west-facing webcam. “Bill, see how the Electrical Phenomenon rolls overhead but watch here, watch this area. Voilà, the lightning strikes a building in La Défense the financial district. Two strikes, the second for a much longer duration than the first. The sniffer cannot scan a video for content but can scan comments and titles and someone kindly commented on this footage. Nowhere else on Earth did this happen. The lightning only grounded here. Also, look again where the lightning strikes, not at the spire on the roof as you would expect but a window on the top floor. A simple map of the skyline shows that the building is called the Tour First. Looking up the building’s directory shows the whole of the top floor is owned by VPC Capital. Managing Partner is Victor Pierre Chaput.”
    â€œThe philanthropist?”
    â€œThe very same and I can place him in the building. Have you ever noticed that when you park in a car park you receive a ticket which automatically has your licence plate printed on it?” Bill had never noticed. Hazel continued. “Most car parks now automatically log a driver’s licence plate on entry and also track where the car was parked. It helps the forlorn motorist locate their car if they forget what floor they parked it on. So I had my sniffers mine the car park logs of the Tour First management company. Chaput’s car left the building at 1.41 a.m.”
    â€œHow do you know that it was Chaput’s car?”
    â€œThe licence plate.”
    â€œBut how do you know the plate number?”
    Hazel smiled. “I don’t. The only car that left the car park after midnight had the licence plate VPC1. Educated guess.”
    â€œOh, okay.” Bill felt stupid. “So the phenomenon somehow links Dr Fara, Samuel Srour and Victor Pierre Chaput. Why?”
    Hazel shrugged. “I don’t know.” Bill huffed his disappointment at her. Hazel ignored him, pushed her glasses into her hair and continued. “I did find the good doctor and her friend. I used the same car park technique and had my sniffers mine the databases of the