"Norm"

[austintorn@aol.com]

Too bad the bug was not a tropical cockroach. He would have just said a tiny 'ouch' and crawled on to thrive for another thousands years..

[Tarina]

A greenbug walks across the floor. Unknowing to humans this bug is fully capable of thinking and what this bug thought was. “omg are these people crazy”. Just then a stampede of Chuck Woolery fans passed stepping on and killing the green bug. What was left of this strange creature is now on two pairs of size five shoes, a size seven shoe, an old worn concrete side walk and the bar, aptly name “Stuff Happens” where all of these occupants are conversing.

Just at that moment Top Secret and Questor shouted out "Stop there, maam, sir! Please! " As the elderly woman turned her head at the commotion, Tarina said "Maam, please, do not move..." and Austin at the same time was after the size 7. it was not lost on the agents, that the tiny intelligent ET bug was now on these unsuspecting souls soles.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Tempest in a Teapot

The DIA had discovered the planning headquarters of the latest conspiracy, simply by tailing some of its members.

Top Secret was given the job of discovering the plans inside their computers, and in a way that would provide a continuing source of information. Someday, an air strike could take out this entire planning building, but only after all its operatives in the field were dead.

Their computer network was only internal; so there was no way to hack in. A member had to physically come to the building to learn or update his part. The Director had access to the total plan, continually going over it and updating it.

The building was impenetrable. Members not only had brain chip implants, but there were umpteen levels of retina scans and fingerprint identification as one progressed through the more secure levels of the building. It wasn’t like she could gouge out a chip, an eyeball, and cut off a finger off a member, for not only would this arouse suspicion, but she would look mighty silly holding up an eyeball and a finger tip at the various checkpoints. Anyway, here was also facial recognition.

The computers also had several levels of unbreakable passwords, so she couldn’t just ask some cleaning maid to take a look. Hypnotizing a member was out of the question as well, the built-in chip preventing this.

Nor could she read the computer monitor’s radio transmissions as usual from outside of the building—since they used shielding techniques, called ‘Tempest’ on the monitors and even on the building itself. In addition, the new flat panel screens used low voltage and didn’t scan images one line at a time.

She may have been able to detects the emanations from his keyboard typing, for each key emits a unique radio-wave signature when pressed, but the typing consisted of mostly navigational actions through the database, which, anyway, had been typed in many separated pieces from many planners. Plus, there was the building's emission shielding. So, she really needed to see what was in the database at the Director’s level, not his typing, which, even if some few lines were important, would end up in the database anyway.

Nor could she just look in the window somehow, for not only were the backs of the computers always facing the windows, the blinds were usually drawn, and the offices of the Director and his important Vice-Presidents were on the 6th floor. So, a fake window. washer person hanging outside their offices every day surely would not work. Besides, they even had a privacy screen wrapping around their computers to prevent even any accidental view even from off to the side. What good would it do anyway to see the backside of a computer, for it revealed nothing.

Now, was this a difficult assignment or what? No,it was easy and she didn’t even need any futuristic state of the art million dollar magical-type surveillance system. Solution next time.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Could she use the CIA satellite? No, for it couldn’t see through a building very well, and even if it could, comupter monitor screens would not be horizontal to it, but vertical.

Could she kidnap the Director? No, for he lived in the building 24-7.

Top Secret was ready. To do what—see the back of a computer? No, the front. She would get into the database whenever the Director did, for his mere looking at the secret data would give it away. Telepathy? No. Any other kind of weird emissions? Nope.

She checked out a $10,000 telescope from the DIA stockroom and rented a space on the 6th floor in the building across the street.

She didn’t even have to bribe a maid to bend a slat in the Director’s blinds, for they did not quite reach all the way across, plus sometimes he forgot to close them or left them partway.

His wraparound screen would even increase the brightness of the reflection on the viewer’s eyes; however, a not yet invented mac-truck size telescope and full computer setup would be required for this kind of eyeball reading, since eyeballs are rarely still for more than a second or two, plus the eye saccades all over the place, and the complicated deconvolution mathematical functions used by astronomical observatories to remove the blur would not be good enough this far away. So, that technology wasn’t really usuable. It only worked well on close-up photos, the DIA having used it to see the room reflected that a terrorist was speaking from. Now what?

Too bad the Director didn’t wear glasses, for then she could have focused on those, and perhaps recorded and photographed the reflections. However, they, too, might have moved around too much, with the head motions, plus the glare and the lens thickness playing many tricks, but… anyway, he wore no glasses.

Was this assignment now getting really tough? No, easy. She was just thinking out loud, already knowing the best method and remaining patient for it. More next time.

[Tarina]

Could she use the CIA satellite? No, for it couldn’t see through a building very well, and even if it could, comupter monitor screens would not be horizontal to it, but vertical.

Could she kidnap the Director? No, for he lived in the building 24-7.

Top Secret was ready. To do what—see the back of a computer? No, the front. She would get into the database whenever the Director did, for his mere looking at the secret data would give it away. Telepathy? No. Any other kind of weird emissions? Nope.

She checked out a $10,000 telescope from the DIA stockroom and rented a space on the 6th floor in the building across the street.

She didn’t even have to bribe a maid to bend a slat in the Director’s blinds, for they did not quite reach all the way across, plus sometimes he forgot to close them or left them partway.

His wraparound screen would even increase the brightness of the reflection on the viewer’s eyes; however, a not yet invented mac-truck size telescope and full computer setup would be required for this kind of eyeball reading, since eyeballs are rarely still for more than a second or two, plus the eye saccades all over the place, and the complicated deconvolution mathematical functions used by astronomical observatories to remove the blur would not be good enough this far away. So, that technology wasn’t really usuable. It only worked well on close-up photos, the DIA having used it to see the room reflected that a terrorist was speaking from. Now what?

Too bad the Director didn’t wear glasses, for then she could have focused on those, and perhaps recorded and photographed the reflections. However, they, too, might have moved around too much, with the head motions, plus the glare and the lens thickness playing many tricks, but… anyway, he wore no glasses.

Was this assignment now getting really tough? No, easy. She was just thinking out loud, already knowing the best method and remaining patient for it. More next time.

As Top secret sat diligently observing, there was a slight buzz coming towards her. Just a fly? Nope.
This was of her own design, her little missionary that could go many places that she could not. She smiled and gave a short whistle. Her little "pet" was going to go in land on the director. As she gave the pet a little tweak on his instrument panel, and gave words of encouragement.,the little fly took his leave and buzzed off through the vast maze of air ventilation shafts. It would reach the director in only a few moments.
Top Secret got into position with her mack truck sized telescope. It had taken her many nights to bring this to fruition.
This was it. The fly buzzed around the director, annoying, buzzing, in and out of his range of vision. Just then the director swatted at it. Mission accomplished! As Top secret focused, through the lenses of the fly's eyes. The "eyes" were microscopic cameras that as the director swatted at the fly, they had been knocked off of the fly as planned. With the concrete like glue, the microscopic lenses were all over the director's head. Only three had made it to a decent position, enough to see the computer screen as the Director himself did! The screen grew out of it's fuzziness to crystal clarity. They had what the neewded now. They would now know everything, and into the future as well.
Top Secret smiled, and as she carefully set up her station, all of her monitors, and equipment were made with undetectable synthetic materials. She sighed, and as she gave the signal to the General, she rose to get to an erect position. As she stood, the rings appeared. She closed her eyes, and waited for her teleportation to be completed.

[austintorn@aol.com]

The brilliant solution by Top Secret tested the feasibility of the electronic spy bug technique; however, as expected, the Director went to the rest room to wash his face, the bugs getting scrubbed off, but at least she had a good view of the men’s room for a while.

Even worse, the Director shut his window since the actual bugs of spring were flying all over and looking for lovely flowers to pollinate, but he did leave his blinds up even higher.

The mac-truck drove away so as not to arouse suspicion.

They did get a lot of info, but that was only the beginning, so Top Secret teleported back with her medium size telescope and looked some more. He chance would come soon.

She knew that someday this place might just get vaporized, if their plans were lethal enough, but, as the General hinted, then the remnants would just reform somewhere else unknown. At least DIA knew where this place was and that it was drawing evil to it like a magnet. Any and all arrivals and departures were being tracked and photographed by other DIA members, who then fed the facial images into the Apple Mac computer iphoto program, which had a facial recognition feature.

[austintorn@aol.com]

The Director had his retina scanned and entered his office…



Be seeing you—and your database, Tarina thought.

[Tarina]

Top secret sat patiently waiting the director was on his way. She knew she would get it right this time.
Ah haa! There he is, thought Top Secret. She watched as the Director moved around getting his folders, Top Secret was stamped in plain sight of Tarina. He walked to his seat and sat. Now out of the telescopes view, Top Secret patiently waited. Not much longer, though she. The door to the director's inner sanctum opened....
In walked the Director's personal office assistant, and personal aide for that matter. She walked over and spoke to the director, she gave him his morning tea. It sat steeping as she walked out. Top secret waited patiently....
Finally the Director pours himself a steaming mug. At last thought the agent. She focused in on the surface. There, Tarina sent the signal to the General, and the information started to flood into the agency's Databanks. How perfect thought Top Secret, the surface of the tea reflecting the image of the computer screen. She grinned that cheshire cat smile and contacted Questor.

[austintorn@aol.com]

SUCCESS! Questor relayed the full report, adding to it somewhat, from her personal revelations. She had looked through the telescope for a bigger and better reflection surface such as a wall clock, a white board, a wine glass, even a silver spoon. Nearly any shiny surface worked, but curved surfaces worked best, because they revealed wide swatches of the room, eliminating the need for the peeper to find a lucky and direct sweet spot wherein the reflected screen was visible.

However, the Director was not going to be drinking wine at work and there was no clock on the wall; in fact, the wall behind him was empty and was even painted black.

Top Secret kept looking around. Nothing. This was supposed to be easy. It would be. Patience, she thought.

Several minutes passed like slowly dying worms crawling in molasses in Death Valley.

A personal assistant entered the Director’s office, pouring a cup of tea for him and then placing the teapot back down, where it would likely stay or be replaced to after refills.

Top Secret focused on the on the shiny silver teapot or the tea cup, whichever was more useful at the time. Yes—there was his computer screen reflected in it. Top Secret’s camera rolled the video and and the photos clicked away as well. DIA would reverse and straighten the images.

People had to drink; a coffee mug would have worked, too, as if did when the Director worked late.

The plans of evil came rolling in, those tempests in a tea pot, day by day, via the simple use of an eye defeating all their high-tech counter-measures.

A technician back at DIA enhances
Top Secret's video/photo feed of the computer of the Director of Evil.

[Tarina]

As Top Secret sat in her 9 zillionth home away
from home she sighed and smiled into her cup of tea.
The simpleness of the last mission's solution to the
problem whirling through her mind.
Reaching for her beloved kitty cat, purrfect, her hip started to vibrate. It was her secret line linking her
to her animal sanctuary that she had started from
one stray bedraggled cat. She picked up her specially designed (Her own design) walkie-talkie that was on a frequency yet to be discovered by modern technology.
There was a problem. Tarina bounced up, disrupting Purr
rather uncerimoniously. As Tarina cursed and dashed about getting into her night-time stealth gear. As Tarina
jumped into her craft, she punched the vertical button and soared up, and another button, and she was now on her way to the west coast of Vancouver Island.
On the other side of the continent, and quite a bit
farther down the globe, Questor was in his element.