Control

That Un-Believably Great Technical College In Cambridge, Massachusetts

I have come here many times to see my friend Ben Mason. The heritage of great discoveries and developments in the school halls and laboratories is too many to count.

They are harder to count once Ben and I meet at The Muddy Charles for our favorite: Domestic Cheap Draft Beer.

Ben is excited about the camera he and his team tore down, reviewed, and reassembled. The team determined each component's full capabilities and then wrote an extensive report on its existing use and potential uses.

Ben started, "We have a little gem here."

"Okay, the role of a video camera is well known; you got that, Allston; it's ancient technology, but this baby is on another plane for sure."

"Some of it was a real challenge for the team, but we did a pretty good job figuring out the chips, where they came from, and the functions of each one."

"A few headscratchers are left, but we will figure it out."

​He said, "Do you want the capabilities or the origins of it first?"

​"I want another beer before we start the review. Christ, Ben, it's almost noon."

Ben laughed, and a waitress brought over two turkey club sandwiches and a pitcher of lager.

​Ben took a long sip and we clinked glasses like we always do. 

"This thing is amazing for a few reasons, one being how much punch they put into such a small form."

"It's a camera first with powerful zoom capabilities. "Then there is the two-way audio." Whoever monitors it can hear through it and speak back in real-time. "These elements have become standard, but it gets better."

"The video processing can be switched to infrared, standard, and a short directed x-ray pulse." 

The standard video processing keeps the camera at the level of a trail camera; the infrared gives the viewer night vision, and the short, directed X-ray beam looks through clothes and identifies things being carried under a coat or whatever.   

"Again, there are no new tricks here except for the size and the camera's ability to transmit and receive in real-time by satellite without being attached to a dish."

"The tube in which the unit is contained acts as a dish and a solar charger." We think there is some nano technology involved with that.

"I guess that wherever this was placed, it had to have any overhangs or tree branches cleared to allow the carrier signals to hit the tube unless there is something funky and new I don't know about." 

Ben can be long-winded about things he loves, but I am listening and thinking about where this camera was placed. I think the overhead around that tree was cut back a bit, and it stood alone, like the tree where Eve first saw a camera.

​I said to Ben, "Eve thought we should do a porno in front of the camera when she spotted it."

Ben thought about this a second and said, "That would have been awesome, except you'd be in it." "I don't need to see that."

"Okay, on to the likely origin of this," Ben said.

"The components for the unit were split between these countries." The lenses and autofocus capabilities are German, and the audio processing is American. Most of the chips came from Taiwan, with a few special processors from the U.S."  

"What are special processors?" I asked

"These are components developed in the U.S. that are not supposed to be sold to anyone else. They are used in the military, space programs, submarines, underwater acoustic signal processing, etc."

"Is the camera American? I asked.

"No, the rest of the processors in the camera  are from China."

"It's filled with their version of special processors."

Ben went on, "This camera came from China." 

"Holy Moly, that says a lot, Ben."

"So where did you get this?"

"I will tell you soon, but I must keep my mouth quiet right now."

"Ben, do you still have a cozy relationship with DARPA?" (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)

"I do," He says

"Can you hand over the camera and your report to them without tying me to it?"

"It'll cost you a dozen of Eve's Blueberry Muffins."

"Hey, I'm a Patriot; we have a deal."

"Swing by the Cardinal before you get home. They will be there."

We killed the beer and the club sandwiches.

TEXT ALLSTON: Damn, you looked good this morning. I didn't want to let you leave. TEXT EVE: How many muffins, Allston? TEXT ALLSTON: 12 for Ben; he'll swing by later. TEXT ALLSTON: Heart Emoji

I waited for a text back, but it didn't happen. She must be baking.

Stratham New Hampshire

I guess this is friend day for me. After seeing Ben, I swung by the house and picked up my pal Tango. We started up the highway to see Ron Strier. He's got something he wants to talk about.

I hope Sophie is okay and still staying at Ron's House. I'm enjoying a cup of road coffee from, you know where, and Tango is swallowing doughnut holes, whole. He loves the jelly ones.

If you love your dog, you can develop a psychic bond with it. For instance, Tango told me he wanted to hear Johnnie Rivers sing Secret Agent Man. That dog has excellent taste, so I obliged him.

​I pull up to the town police station, and we go inside.

What a relaxing good gig for Ron this is, and I'm glad that things are beginning to settle down after a period of murders, a suicide, the FBI, state politicians, and more assorted bullshit than a sampler from that Candy Company, my ex-wife ridiculed when I gave her a box for our anniversary.

Eve and I would be wrestling for the turtles in the box. The two are refreshingly different.

Ron "The Man" Strier was sitting behind his desk.

"Oooh rah," I said, and he tossed one back at me.

"What's up?" I asked

"I've got something interesting I'd like to tell you."

He then discussed his parking lot experience with the Asians, noting that they looked like trained professionals passing something along.

He then told me how he got made in the parking lot.

"Ron, I know you're good at things like that. They must have been trained and checked the lot."

"It was still a little embarrassing."

We thought of things and wondered how little Stratham had become a hotbed of International intrigue.

Somewhere on The Coast In New England

Eve came home in a mood today. I was home, sitting at the table, eating some chips with salsa. She came in and patted Tango; then she went into the bathroom. She came out without anything, walked over to me, and took my hand. I started to say, "What?" and she said, "Don't say another word." 

Eve has inner strength, and now I know physical strength as well. She pushed me down hard and pulled my clothes off, never looking away. She looked at every inch of me and kept returning to my eyes. I had only ever seen her like this once before, and it was the night we met.

I promise you that the story of that night is worth hearing about.

I tried to speak again, but that was off the menu. The only thing that was on the menu was me.

This is better than a heart emoji.