“That was one of them.”
“Okay, who’s they, as in the owners of Babbage Town? No one down here seems anxious to tell me or they don’t know. Both of which I find remarkable.”
“Afraid I can’t help you there.”
“Has the FBI talked to you?”
She said, “Yes. A man named Michael Ventris. Humorless and efficient.”
“Good to know. What’s your take on Champ Pollion? Let me guess, he was first in his class at MIT.”
“No, he actually was second in his class at the Indian Institute of Technology, a school many in the field consider even more prestigious.”
“He also seems very nervous about what happened to Monk.”
“He’s a scientist. What does he know about violent death and murder investigations? I saw enough blood in Iraq to last a thousand years, but even I’ve been unsettled by what happened to Monk. At least in Iraq you knew who was trying to kill you. Here you don’t.”
“So you think Monk was murdered?”
“I don’t know. That’s what’s so unsettling.”
“He was found at the CIA?”
“Right. But if the CIA had anything to do with his death do you think they would have conveniently left his body there? I mean they could’ve just dumped him in the York River.”
“So what’s your role in Babbage Town? I can tell you’re not simply one of the rank and file.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Your house is bigger than the other bungalows.”
“I run a department here. Champ lives on the opposite side of the mansion, near Hut Number One.”
“And what do they do in Hut Number One?”
“That’s actually my department. Champ runs Hut Number Two. The one with the water silo.”
“And you won’t tell me what you do?”
Alicia said, “It’s nothing terribly exciting. We factor numbers. Very large numbers or at least we try to. It’s quite a difficult proposition. We’re hunting for something that many people in the field are convinced doesn’t exist. A mathematical shortcut.”
Sean looked skeptical. “A mathematical shortcut? That justifies armed guards and expensive digs?”
“It does if accomplishing it can stop the world dead in its tracks. And we’re not alone. IBM, Microsoft, NSA, Stanford University, Oxford and countries like France, Japan, China, India, Russia, they’re all engaged in similar activities. Maybe even some criminal organizations. They’d definitely have incentive to do it.”
“I’m not sure I’d want to be in a competition with NSA.”
“Maybe that’s the real reason we need armed guards. To protect us from them.”
“So all of Babbage Town is devoted to this factoring stuff?”
“Oh, no, that’s just me and my little operation in Hut Number One. And to tell the truth, I feel a bit like the unfortunate stepsister. Clearly my work is only seen as a backup in case Champ’s research doesn’t pan out. But the payoff could be enormous.”
“For stopping the world dead in its tracks?” Sean said, repeating her words. “How does that make sense?”
“Some inventions, like the light bulb or antibiotics, help mankind. Other inventions, like nuclear weapons, have the potential to end the human race. But people still come up with them. And other people still buy them.”
“Why do I feel like Alice toppling through the looking glass?”