Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 14

When Alex and I arrived at the juvenile detention center, police cars were everywhere, their sirens blaring.

"This isn't good," I said.

"Wait here," said Alex. He parked and went to talk to the officer closest to the entrance. He pulled out his private investigator badge and the officer examined it closely. They talked for a few minutes, then Alex pointed at me, and the cop covered his eyes to get a look. He spoke into his walkie-talkie for a minute. They shook hands, and Alex came back to his Camaro.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Taye escaped."

"What?"

"You heard me."

He turned on the engine and put his hand on the clutch. I put my hand on it to keep him from shifting into reverse.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Leaving. What do you think I'm doing?"

"Can't we get in and try to find out where he's going?"

Alex laughed a deep belly laugh as though this was the funniest thing he'd heard in years.

"I'll drop you off at your hotel and maybe the police will want to talk to you. Or maybe they won't. Maybe you fly back to wherever you're from, or maybe you stay. Our little Hardy Boys expedition is over."

"We can't give up now. I'm sure they'll catch the kid soon, and we'll be able to talk to him then."

"Look, lady, we're done. The kid's just escalated an already precarious situation. Whatever you and I think of him, there's no way any truth comes out now. Innocent people don't run. That's what the cops think, anyway. And once they make up their mind about something, they'll do just about anything to prove their case. I've seen this play out a thousand times."

I sat there and took this in. It made sense. But Alex didn't have all the information yet. He wasn't making an informed decision. I still didn't trust him, but then again, I didn't really trust anyone anymore, so why should I hold that against him?

"I haven't told you everything yet," I said.

Alex paused.

"Then I guess we're even."

This time, I was the one to hesitate.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You first," he said.

This was going nowhere, and I wasn't keen to keep going around in circles.

"Taye created a computer program that can understand—and I think even write—computer code. It's an application running on the system I created, Ancien—the biggest supercomputer on earth."

Alex looked at me expectantly.

"And?"

"What do you mean 'and'? This changes everything."

His blank stare pissed me off.

"You're going to have to dumb it down to a two-bit nail for me."

"Look, computer programmers have been writing code that then writes more code since the beginning. One of the first computer programming languages was Lisp. Lisp was created in the fifties and even then the line between code and data was blurred."

"You're losing me."

"The problem is, when humans write code that writes more code—also called meta-programming—it can only write as much code as a human can imagine. It's more of a shortcut for a lazy programmer than a more intelligent piece of code. It's not like the computer actually knows what the human intended."

Alex nodded slowly.

"Taye's application allows the computer itself to understand the intention behind any piece of code. If the programmer were trying to write code that would log you into your email, Taye's program would know what the programmer was trying to do and suggest an even better implementation."

Alex smiled. It looked like he was finally getting it.

"So, it's like the computer is starting to understand itself?"

"Yes. Which is incredible. If a computer could improve its own code, it would be able to make technological breakthroughs at incredible speeds. Even a crappy programmer with an idea for an app could just start describing the idea, and the computer would build the application itself. There would even be medical breakthroughs. This could speed up cancer research by decades. The possibilities are endless."

"But how is this all connected to the increase in the death rate?" asked Alex.

"I have no idea."

"That's why he did what he did at the stock exchange?"

"Yes, exactly."

"How many people are dying?"

"Five million."

I gasped, choking on my own saliva.

"That can't be right," I said.

"He says that it's not just any single cause of death, either. Every cause of death has increased proportionally."

"That makes no sense."

Just then, someone knocked on the passenger-side window. I turned to see a cop. My mouth went dry, and I felt like I'd just been pulled over. The cop mimed for me to get out of the car.

I asked Alex, "What do I do?"

He shrugged. "Roll down the window."

I did so.

"Hello, officer," I said cautiously. "Is there a problem?"

"Are you Luna Valencia?"

"Yes."

"Get out of the vehicle, ma'am."

I hated being called ma'am.

"What's the problem?"

"Get out of the car. Now." The urgency in his voice worried me. I looked over at Alex, who shrugged again.

"Ma'am, I need you to step out of the vehicle." He hit the top of the car.

I opened the door, and immediately he grabbed my arm and pushed me against the cold metal door. Searing pain soared up my arm.

"You have the right to remain silent." He continued Mirandizing me, but Alex burst out of the door and demanded, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Sir, please remain in the vehicle."

"Just tell me what she's being accused of, will ya?"

"Obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting a fugitive."