The Angels of Destiny Read Online Free Page A

making eye contact. She certainly was very attractive, he thought, and he estimated her age to be about twenty-five, maybe a little older, considering the position she held. Linda Washington was actually twenty-four, the youngest PA in the building...and by far the best.
    "We now need to look at the way the data will be analyzed and that is your department, Rob."
    Back to full concentration, McPherson answered, “ It certainly is. The gathering of data is easy with modern technology; the trick, is in analyzing the useful information you get, from that data; if at all. I suspect, that over ninety-five percent of the data we will gather will be meaningless rubbish, or cosmic noise, as we call it. What I've developed is an algorithm that can filter this noise, and look for patterns. Patterns are important, because they indicate structure, and any intelligent life form will be transmitting signals that have structure. We can do this in almost realtime, so for instance, if there is someone sending out signals, and we pick them up then within days we will be able to identify them. With this algorithm and the availability of very sensitive twenty-four hour data, we are in a much stronger position than the Chinese. I must add a caveat here though, and that is, if we do identify a structured message, there is no guarantee that we will be able to understand it. The life-form that sent it may be far more advanced than we are. It ’ ll be outside of the so called Window of communication."
    Black smiled. “ Thanks for that, Rob. ”
     
    Three weeks had quickly passed and the team was working well together. Long working hours and many technical problems, though, had taken its toll on all of them. Their social lives had vanished; replaced, with long, stressful, hours resolving the difficult technical problems that just seemed endless, and Samuel Black ’ s constant reminder of the President ’ s personal interest in the project, was really beginning to irritate them.
     
    It was seven-thirty when Vicki Stark arrived for work one particular morning. She was not her normal, confident, smiling self but looked rather tired and pale from the relentless workload she ’ d endured. Things weren ’ t going to plan and she had to accept personal responsibility for the delay, a delay that affected the whole team.
    After going through the usual security, something she found more irritating each time, she finally reached her office, situated next to McPherson. It was a small room with little in the way of decoration, other than a scenic calendar on the plain cream papered wall in front of her, standard issue, computer desk, two chairs, some empty shelving and a filing cabinet to the left of the door, on top of which stood a large framed family group photograph.
    She was the first team member in, knowing that there was no time to waste in resolving the software problem that was holding up the entire project. Slowly, she lowered herself into her swivel chair and stared at the scribbled notes all over the calendar with an unusually blank expression.
    McPherson looked in through the open door of her office as he passed by. "Have you been here all night? ” he asked, and watched as she jumped in surprise.
    "Oh shit! You gave me a fright"
    McPherson had never heard her swear before, and strangely, it made her seem more approachable to him, more human. As if she had lowered her guard at last. "I ’ m sorry... It must be your nerves."
    "Don ’ t joke about my nerves," Vicki said, pleadingly.
    "Hey...come on, things can ’ t be that bad?" he said, entering her office and smelling her perfume.
    "Can ’ t they? — I know I ’ m holding up the entire project Rob, but it isn ’ t easy, and I feel exhausted with all the hours I ’ m putting in. My bloody career ’ s on the line here."
    "What if I get you a nice cup of coffee? Will that help?"
    "Yeah … That would be wonderful, thanks a lot."
    McPherson returned within a few minutes with the coffee