Page 99 of Mastermind

“Not me.” She shakes her head. “That’s what Heywood named his computer model.”

“Jessica in Aramaic means ‘to see,’” says Wheeler. “He claims he chose the name before he knew Agent Blackwood.”

“We’re aware of Mr. Heywood’s criminal activities,” says Benjamin Elliott, taking the floor again. “We’re not here to discuss them. We’re trying to determine the viability of the computer model.”

“Then take a look at it,” I tell him. “Have it make some predictions. Test them on mice.”

“Before we can do that, we need to come to an arrangement with Heywood,” says Wheeler.

“Oh. He’s extorting you. I got it.”

Wheeler’s not having any of that. “Actually, Dr. Cray, he’s been very forthcoming with the data from his neural network model. In order to implement the full model, we’d need considerable help to get it running.”

“You seem persuaded,” I remark.

“I’d say that he has provided us with an overwhelming amount of supportive evidence. And I’ve examined the ‘angel’ cases myself. I believe he’s made a breakthrough. My question is, do you, Dr. Cray?”

“Like I said, it’s within the realm of possibility. His approach is sound, albeit illegal and unethical, but it doesn’t contradict anything I know.”

Prior to the meeting, I’d been given a two-page document outlining how Heywood built and trained his network. It was a good thumbnail sketch, but it didn’t get into specifics. I sent a copy to Hailey for her take, since she’s more knowledgeable about this than I am. Her response was, “Yes, in theory. But too vague. This looks like bullshit meant to fool investors. This is how Theranos happened,” referencing the crooked health start-up that promised to detect hundreds of diseases from one drop of blood.

“And what is your opinion of the research summary?” asks Elliott.

“If he actually used the resources he said he did, then it’s possible,” I suggest.

A man in the corner with a thin crew cut and five-o’clock shadow speaks up in a British accent. “We’ve managed to verify that part of it.”

“Using NSA and CIA computers? How did he pull that off without inside access?” I ask.

“We’re not here to get into specifics of legality,” says Elliott.

I can see that Jessica is fuming at them. I decide to say what she can’t. “It sounds to me like you’re ready to give him a free pass on being a mass murderer for this.”

“Mr. Heywood may have had a condition that impaired his judgment,” says Wheeler.

“Was it contagious?” I ask.

“Can we get back to the discussion at hand?” asks Elliott. “I’ll be forthcoming. Mr. Heywood has offered convincing proof that his system has discovered effective treatments for Kaposi’s sarcoma and myxofibrosarcoma, using off-label medications. He’s also shown that the model has the ability to create entirely new classes of pharmaceuticals with tremendous impact. Pursuing this will take a considerable effort and his cooperation.”

“His cooperation . . . ,” I echo. “Let me guess. A pardon?”

“The specifics aren’t your concern, with the exception of one matter. But first, a philosophical question: If what he says is true, what is the value of his system?”

“Something that could save millions of lives a year,” adds Wheeler.

“What sacrifice wouldn’t be justifiable?” Elliott chimes back in.

“I guess you have to ask whoever is making that sacrifice,” I explain.

“We are, Dr. Cray,” says Elliott. “Mr. Heywood’s terms are for the most part understandable. But he appears to have a grievance with you.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Heywood claims to have evidence that you’ve done unlawful network intrusions into government computers. His condition is that you be convicted for this.”

I can’t keep the smirk off my face. “The guy who was using NSA computers for his science fair project is calling me a hacker? That’s just incredible.”

“Did you show Agent Blackwood an application that tracked the device IDs of cellular phones belonging to federal agents?” asks Elliott.