One of my diversions is reading paperback novels–candy for the brain. Over the holidays, I picked up Total Control, by David Baldacci, which first was published almost 10 years ago. The story is predicated on a character employed by a company that is developing new faster computer chips and engaging in a potentially future-altering acquisition. This character disappears under suspicion of selling company secrets to a competitor. As part of his investigation, an FBI guy is given a tour of the company by its founder. The dialogue quoted here evolves from comments by the founder regarding how the Internet is about to become “boring” and “quaint,” and technology is set to change everything human beings do.
Says the founder: “All the world's knowledge, the solutions to every problem, will be one keystroke away. . . . Isn't that a thrilling vision?”
The FBI guy responds: “You tell me one guy can get all that information, and you know the first thought that pops into my head? . . . What if he's a bad guy? What if with one keystroke he wipes out all the world's knowledge? Or just screws it all up. Then what the hell do we do?”
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