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communications,
from the time they found the drive."
    "And?"
    "Nothing. He's not talking to anyone. He's
okay."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Positive."
    "I hope so. You realize we are in the best
situation we could ever be in for the plans we want to execute. Our
timing for this project is serendipitously beautiful. The complete
dysfunction of Washington politics has been a blessing for the
entire scope of our objectives since day one. We could not have
asked for a more perfect point in history for launching our work,
but with this reporter...we are facing a disruption."
    "Dallas will not be a disruption."
    "Obtaining formal bi-partisan approval for
our project would have been impossible. No one in Congress is
approving major projects on the record. Legislators want to avoid
demonstrating cooperation with the other party. Informally we can
do as we please, no one is watching. The two parties do not speak
to each other. Every member of Congress is looking to secure an
individual future regardless of the impact a lack of action is
having on the country, which means we can select the most effective
operators to open doors where needed. Money is running wild while
there is no tax reform or campaign financing controls, and no
targeted spending on important initiatives. We can take bits and
pieces from various sources and no one notices. The gap between the
federal bureaucracy and elected officials could not be wider,
leaving us a great yawning hole to manage to our benefit. We can
send instructions to a federal civil servant and receive instant
results because, with a lack of leadership, those poor people do
not know any better. If we actually had to manage with a
hard-working, committed functioning government, we would never have
been able to implement our project."
    "Yes the circumstances are perfect."
    "And you want to destroy our convenient
alignment of inept behavior for your friend?"
    Marco stared at her. "No, of course not. If
Dallas chooses to speculate on the origin of the documents, the
story cannot be corroborated. No government department or agency is
officially implementing the project. As you said, the current lack
of cooperation in government means most of the contributors to the
research had no idea why they were asked the questions they were
asked about cyber security or the intention of the information
gathering."
    "But every government department and agency
will be unofficially made to accept implementation of the project,
if they want to or not. And only about two dozen people around the
world know why. And those people are expected to keep the secret
for the rest of their lives. Your reporter is not committed to our
secret, but she has our information."
    "Yes I know. But she's contained. She does
not know the context for the information. Tell me your real
concern."
    "I want a comprehensive idea of where we are
on each subject area. If she starts talking, we need to be able to
deflect attention away from activities in the real world that are
preparation for our activities in the...future world."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Well let's take the discrimination file.
Can she learn about our future plans from activities we are
conducting in the real world?"
    "On that topic, no. Race and gender politics
are rising to a crescendo we have not seen since the '60s and '70s.
Back then there was no expectation of equality, people were
protesting for basic rights. But at this point, expectations are
sky high and so are the disappointments."
    "Don't remind me."
    "Hey you're a woman Secretary of State."
    "One high profile cabinet post. Where's the
woman Treasury Secretary or Secretary of Defense? The Senate should
be a minimum of 51 women, and the Supreme Court a minimum of five
woman justices."
    "Okay, okay, you can't have everything."
    "We are the majority, more than fifty
percent of the population, and we have no power."
    "Right."
    "And don't get me started on ethnicity.
Sixty million Hispanics in America and you barely have a place