Daemon

screen changed to an animated diagram of twin sets of human DNA strands, which moved as Sobol spoke.
    ‘Sexual reproduction exists solely as a means to defeat parasites. By mixing male and female genes, sex produces offspring not exactly like either the male or female – making each generationdifferent from the last, and presenting a moving target to intruders intent on compromising this system.
    ‘Even with this variation, parasites continue to pose a threat …’
    The screen changed to color film footage of native villages with truly hideous parasitic infestations; children with bulging, worm-filled bellies; malaria victims.
    ‘… and parasitism evolves and moves through any system – not just living things. The less variation there is in a system, the more readily parasites will evolve to infest it …’
    The screen showed food-borne illness outbreaks – images of fast-food restaurants. The camera panned to reveal identical restaurants running down the sides of each street, in Dallas, in Denver, in Orlando, in Phoenix …
    ‘Perfect replication is the enemy of any robust system …’
    Then images of identical rows of computers in a data center, all running the same operating system …
    ‘Lacking a central nervous system – much less a brain – the parasite is a simple system designed to compromise a very specific target host. The more uniform the host, the more effective the infestation.’
    The screen changed to a video image of a hermit crab moving along the sandy ocean bottom. The camera followed it as Sobol spoke.
    ‘But if they’re so successful, why haven’t parasites taken over the world? The answer is simple: they have. We just haven’t noticed. That’s because successful parasites don’t kill us; they become part of us, making us perform all the work to keep them alive and help them reproduce …’
    The crab scuttled toward its hole.
    ‘
Sacculina
is a parasite that infests saltwater crabs. It burrows into their flesh and extends tendrils into the crab’s bloodstream and brain. It chemically castrates the crab and becomes its new brain – controlling it like a zombie.’
    The screen then showed an image of a
Sacculina
-infestedcrab, with the bulging sack of the parasite filling its abdomen.
    ‘It compels the crab to raise the parasite’s young. It enslaves it.’
    The screen changed to a close-up computer animation. It was a double helix of DNA, with each set of genes showing clearly as rungs on the genetic ladder. The perspective moved along the length of the helix.
    ‘And so have thousands of parasites done with us. After tens of thousands of years, a parasite becomes so much a part of us that they evolve into sections of our DNA.’
    Certain sections of the DNA were highlighted, one after another.
    ‘They have so enslaved us that we believe we’re reproducing ourselves, when in reality, we’re reproducing hidden others within us. Forty percent of our genetic code consists of these useless segments of DNA – sections that serve no useful purpose to us. Nearly half the human genome is just the ghostly remnant of parasites.’
    The images of DNA dissolved back to Sobol, sitting in his armchair by the fireplace. ‘By now, you’ve figured out that my Daemon is your parasite and that you are hopelessly infected. The Daemon will sip your corporate blood, but it will not be fatal. More importantly, the Daemon will keep other parasites out of your system, strengthening your immunity and ensuring that the corporate host continues to survive.’
    The fireplace background dissolved, and Sobol now appeared on a black background. He was more serious.
    ‘But know this: my Daemon has enlisted humans within your organization. These are hijacked cells in the corporate organism. People who thirst for more power. That’s how the Daemon got in. You have no way of knowing who is responsible. My Daemon can teach almost anyone to defeat network security – especially from an existing network account. The reality is that my Daemon now controls your global ITfunction. Your business will operate as before, and no one will suspect that there is anything unusual going on – except that perhaps your systems will run better than they did when you were responsible for them.
    ‘Your natural inclination will be to resist this indignity, of course, and so you will be tempted to contact the authorities. That is your choice – although the moment my Daemon detects such contact, it will wipe your