The group looked at me skeptically. “Listen,” I said, “we have a virus that has infects the Patriot system and causes it to produce faulty target data, data that’s off by exactly +1.492 degrees. What if we write a second virus exactly like Al Andalus except that our version would direct the Patriot to adjust its targeting by -1.492 degrees? Wouldn’t the two of them cancel each other out?”
The software engineers began to argue among themselves, heatedly debating the idea. After twenty minutes the head of the team turned back to me. “Some of our guys think it might work, but the rest of us are doubtful. How do we know the two viruses won’t cause a bigger problem? How do we know they can co-exist at the same time? We don’t even know that we can successfully “infect” the Patriot system a second time. We won’t have time to test it properly.”
“Listen, guys,” I said, “we already know the original virus is both highly contagious and likely to be very effective. If we create a virus that’s identical to the first one except with reciprocal values inserted, it’s got to work. Besides, what other option do we have?”
There was a lot more discussion, but finally the group grudgingly conceded that creating an Al Andalus “antivirus” was the best chance we had. They set about creating the antivirus, carefully checking and rechecking to make sure that everything except the target values was absolutely identical.
While they were working, Esther grabbed my arm and looked at me with worried eyes. “Are you sure this will work, Thomas? If you’re wrong . . .”
I looked at her and suddenly I felt the same emotions I’d had back in high school when those bullies were attacking Ginny. This was what I believed in and I wasn’t going to back down. “This is the right thing to do,” I said fiercely. “I’m sure of it.”
She looked in my eyes for a moment and then said, “I believe you.”
The next few hours were a blur. Some members of the team checked and double-checked the new antivirus while others made arrangements to transmit the code to technicians on the ground in Israel. Those people, in turn, got set up to “re-infect” the Patriot systems and then test them to ensure the antivirus had “taken.”
Meanwhile, as the clock moved closer to midnight in Tel Aviv, Esther and I spent the time in seemingly endless meetings with dozens of people, all of whom were highly skeptical of our plan. Finally we wound up back in the Director’s office, where, after a long and sometimes heated debate, he looked at his counterparts in other branches of the government and said, “Unless someone else is prepared to implement another solution in the next hour, let’s stop talking and start taking action.”
It was obvious that the others weren’t satisfied, but they really had no other options. After the meeting broke up, the Director came over to Esther and me and said in a quiet voice, “I hope you know what you’re doing, for all our sakes.”
There wasn’t anything I could say, so I simply nodded and the Director seemed to accept that. He motioned to us. “Alright, then, you two have ridden this horse this far, you deserve to see it through to the end. Come with me.”
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