The Runners: Chapter 9
Chapter 9
“Calling Iris Technology Corporation!” A computer voice announced following David’s instruction to initiate the call.
“Bonjour, Iris Technology Corp. C’est Mireille. Comment puis-je vous aider?” a young lady’s voice answered.
“Hello, this is David Chan. I’m an investigator with the UNBI Chicago Office. I was hoping to speak to someone who is in charge of the engineering department.”
“Hello, Mr. Chan!” Immediately changing to English, Mireille spoke slowly.
“May I ask what this is about?”
“I am investigating a murder case which I cannot divulge any information at this time, but, your company’s name was brought up in a meeting. I need to speak to someone there for some information—”
“I am not authorized to connect you to our internal departments on police matters. Uh, um, would you like to speak to our legal or PR department, monsieur?” Mireille cut David off, but asked courteously.
“Please direct me to legal, thank you!”
“Hold for a few seconds, please. I will find someone who is available to speak with you. Thank you!”
With that the channel went silent for a couple of minutes. Then, a thick man’s voice came on the line requesting a visual connection. David accepted and a hologram of the man appeared on top of David’s desk. A man in his late 40’s with gray hair and beard with hunter green framed glasses spoke, “Hello, Mr. Chan. My name is Cannon Blanche. I understand that you have some questions for us?”
“Yes, Mr. Blanche. I was hoping to connect to someone in engineering. Would that be possible?”
“How is it that the local law office is bypassed and an investigator from Chicago is calling on us?”
“Sir, to give you a clarification, I am a member of the UNBI. I am a special agent currently assigned to work in the Chicago Field Office. However, my jurisdiction is global. If you would like, I will provide you with my UNBI authorization.”
“Yes, I would like to have that information.” Cannon responded.
David took out his badge whose emblem provides information of his jurisdiction. He also provided his badge number on the back to Mr. Blanche. After collecting the information, Cannon decided to cooperate.
“Thank you, Mr. Chan. You seem to have the proper authorization. I will connect you to Dr. Joseph Bertrand. But, I wish to remain on the line as well, if you don’t mind?”
“Please, feel free—”
Before David could finish his agreement, Dr. Bertrand came on the line and his hologram replaced that of Cannon Blanche. A man in his early 30’s with short brown curly hair, but orderly groomed and cleanly shaven face appeared. He was wearing stylish pair of black framed glasses that added to his appearance of intelligence. He introduced himself as the director in charge of the engineering and technical support operations.
“What can I help you with today, Mr. Chan?” with fluent English, but a distinctive accent, he asked David.
“Dr. Bertrand, thank you for making yourself available. To give you a formal introduction, my name is David Chan. I am an UNBI investigator. I’m currently working on a case in Chicago and your company’s name came up in the process of my investigation. Let me first clarify that I am not instigating anyone at your company, but would like to get some information on the iris technology.”
“Sure. What questions do you have?”
“First of all, how long have you been with the company? Just to establish your knowledge about the company, nothing more…”
“I’ve been with the company for ten years. Prior to that, I was a research biologist in the school of medicine at the University of Nice.”
“Thank you, doctor. How would you describe your role at Iris Technology Corporation?”
“I am responsible for the engineering of the iris scanner and post distribution support operations. We distribute our products to law enforcement organizations, medical communities, financial institutions, and educational institutions through several channels around the world. My department is responsible for meeting the design and performance specifications for each customer, both from the physical and functional aspects.”
Satisfied with the doctor’s qualifications on this matter, David began his questions about the technology.
“Could you explain to me sir, how the scanning technology works in identifying an individual?”
“Well, our device, depending on the application or customer, varies in terms of how it is installed. But, in terms of how it works is the same throughout various applications. Essentially, the person’s iris is scanned and based on the biometric read, a unique code is generated. All devices work the same whether the reader is manufactured by us or another authorized company. That is, regardless of which manufacturer’s scanner is used, the resulting code should be identical for the same subject. This is a standard approach that was sanctioned by the UN and we use the algorithm chip that the UN provides for this purpose.”
“Could a duplicate code be generated?” David probed.
“No, that is not possible. The chip provided by the UN ensures that same algorithm is used. Without this chip the scanner will not work, just one of those technologies that are closely controlled by the UN to ensure uniqueness of the scan result.”
“So, how many manufacturing facilities are there for these chips?”
“There are only two that I’m aware of. They are very closely controlled by the UN Technology Division. One is located just outside of Paris and the other in Geneva.”
Making quick notes in his head, David continued with his questions.
“Once the iris data is scanned prior to the bio-electronic chip implantation, how does the code that you have derived from the subject iris get entered into the bio-electronic chip?”
“After getting the iris information, the coded data is entered into the bio-electronic storage device which are engineered and embedded with the host’s biological tissues. Other relevant data is entered that also uniquely identifies the host. Then, the chip is implanted and it biologically attaches to the host’s local tissues. Only one device per person is allowed to be manufactured unless malfunction occurs which could happen in the first three weeks of the implantation, if at all. That is about the extent that I know about the procedure. If you need more information, Dr. Joseph Eisenberg at the University of London would be a good person to talk to. He is a renowned authority in this field and a consultant to the UNSC.”
“Thank you for the name, doctor. I will certainly get in touch with Dr. Eisenberg if necessary. With respect to your scanners, how often do your scanners come back as defects, doctor?”
“It is rare. The devices that we send out to the medical communities rarely get reported as having any defects after deployment. Some financial and law enforcement organizations come back with reports of not functioning properly. However, they are also in negligible quantity. One common issue that we address is with respect to long range scanners that are deployed to the law enforcement entities. But, it is due to the angle at which the scanning occurs at long distance. As a result we deployed additional scanners to cover blind sides or reads at certain trajectories that have not been anticipated in the original deployments. That usually takes care of the complaints.”
“Thank you for that information. With respect to the medical community, have you received customer incidences where a scanner would come back with negative or duplicate identifications after having successful iris reads?”
“Never duplicates, but negatives, yes. It’s usually due to the damage to the cornea. Functionally, nothing has ever been found to be defective on the readers. They usually resort to the data implanted in the bio-electronic chip for positive identification purpose.” Dr. Bertrand answered, feeling a bit tired with the interview. Sensing this, David decided to hurry up with the next question and decided that a little bit of disclosure of Lahey’s case was warranted.
“Sir, I currently have a case in Chicago, where a man’s body was found with no bio-electronic chip and the decomposition of the body made positively identifying the victim an impossible task at this time. Is there anything that can be done to improve his identification process?”
“Hmm…, it’s a long shot. But, if there exists an UUHD video or image of the person prior to his death, we could try to reconstruct his identification, provided that we have a clear view of his iris in the image files.”
Hearing this, David became stoked and felt that this interview session won’t be a total loss after all as he continued,
“Is security surveillance video good enough quality for this purpose?”
“Most security firms do use extremely good quality videos. So, I would assume there may be a chance that it can be done. But, again, it is not a 100% sure thing.” Dr. Bertrand responded passively leaving a room for possible failure in David’s pursuit.
“I am in the process of obtaining the video images from a local security firm here. I would like to have them sent to you and ask for your cooperation and assistance, if it is alright with your company, in the efforts to ID this person and all the individuals who had access to the building within 1 hour of his murder—”
“Could you hold, please…?” Dr. Bertrand placed David on hold. His hologram disappeared and after what seemed to be a long minute of excruciating silence for David, Dr. Bertrand came back.
“I just consulted with Mr. Blanche in the legal department and he is OK with helping your investigation. What Mr. Blanche is asking is—”
“Please send us an official correspondence with this regard and I will assure you that you will have our full cooperation in your endeavor. Again, as Dr. Bertrand pointed out, it will be a time consuming process and there is a possibility that a positive ID may not be made. Please be aware of that occurring as well.” Cannon Blanche suddenly appearing behind Dr. Bertrand’s hologram and with a full, indifferent legal tone, instructed David.
“Yes, sir, I am made aware of that and I understand. And you will have an official correspondence from my department in the next couple of days.” David responded quickly.
“How long would the analysis take Dr. Bertrand, once you receive the video?”
“It will take three full days to truly analyze the videos to see if there is enough to recreate the iris structure. So, give me 1 to 2 weeks time period after I receive the files.”
“Thank you, doctor. You have been most helpful. Also, to you Mr. Blanche! This conversation has been very educational. But, also productive and I hope that we can provide enough data for you to weigh in on the identification of this victim. I will check back with you in the next 2 weeks time after supplying you with the video. Good evening, I mean good morning, doctor and Mr. Blanche!”
“Good bye Mr. Chan!” Dr. Bertrand replied before disconnecting the call.
‘Click, click’ the voice channels dropped and the holograms disappeared. David bit his lips and pumped his fists in a down hammer motion. He spun his chair around as he sat in it thrilled that he may get somewhere. Now facing the window, David entered few notes on his tablet then with urgency, called the Chicago Security Firm.
“Hello, Chicago Security. This is Bill Jackson. How may I help you?”
“Mr. Jackson, this is investigator David Chan. I’m calling about the surveillance video…”