The Methuselah Gene Read Online Free

Especially if you use DES or some commercially available encryption program.”   Darryl burped for emphasis.   “So who’s this girl you mentioned?”
    I handed him the photo of Cindy, asserting defensively, “She doesn’t look like a hacker to me.”
    Darryl laughed.   “I guess not.   I’ve seen her on the cover of a dozen magazines, at least.   One of those runway fashion models.   Phony as a peroxide blond dating a plastic surgeon.”
    I took the photo back, and stared at it again.   Numbly.   The face that stared up at me did seem a bit familiar now.   I felt a chill edge up my spine to radiate out to my arms.   “Holy . . .”
    â€œYeah.   Holy in-your-lap horse dooty .”   Darryl snatched the photo back, then balled and pitched it into the trash.   Finally, he sat at my Mac.   While munching greedily at the chips, he began to check a few things.   After a few belches, he concluded, “One nasty bug, for sure.   Almost as bad as your Satan bug.   Can’t recover anything on here, bud.   Backup?”
    â€œAt work.   Gone now.   These were mostly notes.   May have helped me.   Doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”
    Darryl nodded slowly.   “Mattered to your supermodel, whoever she really is.   Or he.”
    I winced at the thought, then told him about Nikki, my one- nighter .   Darryl was skeptical about her existence, except in my dreams.   But when I mentioned that she’d stolen cash from my wallet, he changed his tune.
    â€œWhat’d she look like?” he asked.
    â€œNever mind.   More importantly, I’m wondering if she did this, somehow.   That next morning I noticed that my computer had been moved slightly, like she’d tested its weight or bulk as a possible theft.   But to access it here she’d need my code, and I don’t have that written down anywhere.   Could she have hacked into it?   Downloaded encrypted files, somehow, all without my hearing anything?”
    â€œMaybe she carried it somewhere else, like to a van on the street, then returned with it.”
    â€œNo, that’s . . . that’s impossible.”
    â€œYou sure?”
    â€œI’m not even sure about the stupidity of politicians, anymore.”
    â€œWell, you’re right, it is unlikely.   She wouldn’t have risked returning with it, after setting it up as a theft.   Did you notice any blank media missing?”
    â€œNo, but what if she brought her own memory stick, along with this virus?”
    Darryl nodded slowly.   “Right.”
    I slumped into the nearest chair.   “Listen to us.   Conspiracy theories.   God, I feel like Jesse Ventura, already.”
    â€œYeah, well, maybe you deserve that, Alan.   What you got now?   Constipation?   You should take Colace or Duphalac for that.   Maybe you shoulda taken Lomotil , too, for your diarrhea of the mouth.”
    â€œStop kidding, and help me.”
    Darryl sighed.   “I think you’re beyond help, at this point.   Tell me, did this Nikki chick approach you, or you her?”
    â€œThe former.   Why?”
    â€œBad news.   And you say you were being followed?”
    â€œYeah, I was.   By a dark Toyota Land Cruiser.   I think I saw it behind us earlier, near the park, too.”
    â€œCatch a peek at the driver, by chance?”
    â€œNo.   Windows tinted.”
    â€œVirginia plates?”
    â€œWho knows.”
    â€œWell, I know why someone thought you’d wanna brag about this, like when some nice looking lady actually smiles at you.   Anyway, what else is a guy like you gonna talk about . . . marriage?   Sports?   Star Trek conventions?”
    â€œWhat’s that mean?” I said, glaring at him.
    Darryl lifted his hands defensively.   “Hey, just sayin ’ you got limited interests