The Genesis Illusion

Chapter 3

Paul followed a uniformed crew member from the bridge along several narrow corridors to a small room. A telephone sat on a desk and several file cabinets lined the wall. The small window framed the rolling sea and gray sky. Protruding from the ceiling a waterproof light cast its harsh glow on the unattractive room and its contents.

"We'll connect your call to this phone," the crew-member grumbled. What's his problem? Contrasting with his disagreeable attitude the crew member's uniform would have been appropriate for a parade or dress inspection.

"Thank you," Paul said his stomach rumbling. I wonder what is so urgent that they needed to talk to me out here. He'd been at sea for several days but still felt nauseous almost constantly. Seasickness was his curse. It started after only a couple of hours on the open ocean and ended when he stepped on solid land. Every remedy he tried had side effects and didn't stop the unending nausea. He couldn't eat much so he gradually weakened and wanted to lay in bed. The view of the rough sea through the room window added to his misery.

Paul picked up the phone receiver, "Yes, this is Paul Jacobs."

"Mr. Jacobs, you were referred to us by our Navy cryptographers in contact with the CIA," the voice on the telephone said. "They suggested you might help us decipher a coded message."

The World's Most Famous Anonymous Code Breaker

Science Technology

Paul Jacobs or the Human Computer, as other cryptographers call him, has been deciphering codes for various government agencies for over twenty years. His amazing ability to unscramble even the most intricate codes has made him a legend among the small fraternity of scientists who specialize in this obscure field. Working for the CIA and other intelligence organizations he is on call when computers fail or a quick solution is needed.

"I'll try. I need to put you on speaker so I can have my hands free to record the code. Hold on a minute." Paul found a pad and pen in the desk drawer, but didn't know how to put the telephone on speaker. He went out into the hall to see if someone could help. Nara and the crew-member that led him to the room were standing together at the end of the hall.

"Hello, Sir, do you know how to put this phone on speaker?" Paul said.

The crew member turned, looking annoyed, "I'm not sure. I, I'm a little busy here." He took a drag on his cigarette.

"I have a phone call on hold right now and I need to put the phone on speaker. Perhaps someone else?" Paul rubber-necked hoping to see someone.

Resigned, the crew-member disgustedly shuffled his mirror-like spit-polished patent leather shoes down the hall toward Paul. He brushed by Paul and picked up the phone receiver. "Hello, I will put you on speaker but if you get disconnected, call back and we'll connect you again," the crew-member said. He pushed two numbers on the digital dial pad and the speaker connected. The crew-member looked at Paul and shook his head impatiently mumbling to himself, "I'm not a God damn servant."

Boy, that guy is grumpy. Bad day I guess? "All right, I have you on speaker now, pad and pen ready."

"Okay, it's a long string of letters and symbols."

Paul carefully recorded each symbol in the long string.

frVh//kjfNS/vD3Rs6//wa4FfHwUAvbpldDbtUjdPkg=

"Looks like an AES encryption."

"You can tell that already?"

"Yes, it has the characteristics. I'll need a few minutes to study this. The encryption has a key, that is a number, that could be anything. There are also several bit levels. This message appears to be a 256 bit encryption. Discovering the key is the tough part."