Simple Genius

“About the move? Yes. I have no problem with you acting as Viggie’s guardian angel. I would just caution you not to end up dead,” he added firmly.

“Self-preservation has always been high on my list of priorities.” Sean closed his bag and set it on the floor. “You know, we never got around to talking about what it is you do here at Babbage Town.”

Champ came into the room. “I was really counting on Len to go through the details.”

“Since Len can’t do the honors, care to give me the tour? I could take a stroll to Hut Number Two with you right now.”

“So you know about Hut Number Two, do you?”

“And I’m really curious about that gadget you had, the one that will make people forget about Edison and Bell?”

“I have been known to give in to hyperbole from time to time.”

“Why don’t you let me see for myself?”

“Look, I don’t mean to be uncooperative-” Champ began.

“Then don’t be,” Sean cut in.

“There are confidences one has to keep,” Champ said loftily.

“Let me explain the situation to you, Champ. First, I’m working with Sheriff Hayes on the case and he can compel you to show me if you force me to go down that road. Second, we’ve got two dead men tied to Babbage Town. I doubt you’d like to see it go to three, especially if you happen to be the third corpse.”

“Me! You think I’m in danger?”

“I know I’m in danger, so you sure as hell must be.”

“Look, can’t this wait? I’m very busy.”

“That’s what Len Rivest told me. And look where it got him.”

Champ stiffened and then relaxed. “I don’t know; this is very awkward.”

“It’s been my experience that uncooperative people have something to hide.”

Champ’s face flushed. “I have nothing to hide.”

“Good, so you won’t mind telling me where you were between the hours of midnight and two A.M. the night Len Rivest died?”

“Is that when he was killed?”

“Just answer the question.”

“I don’t have to answer anything,” he said defiantly.

“True. Call your lawyer, clamp your mouth shut and let the FBI investigate every detail of your life back to preschool. And if the Bureau is anything, it’s thorough.”

Champ seemed to consider this for a few moments. “I couldn’t sleep so I went down to the hut to go over some test results.”

“Anyone see you?”

“Of course. There are always people working. We’re a 24/7 operation.”

“So you were there the whole time? Twelve to two A.M? And beyond? Verified by witnesses.” Come on, Champ, tell me a lie. Come on.

A sheen of perspiration rose on Champ’s forehead. “As best as I can recollect. You can’t hold me to the minute.”

“I can’t but other people can and will. Now let’s go check out your hut.”

On the way over Sean said, “Do you have a cleaning staff come in? Or do your folks do their own cleaning and laundry?”

“The maids come in daily in several shifts. About two dozen clean-ing personnel at a time.” He pointed up ahead where a woman in a white maid’s uniform was pushing a very full laundry cart down the pavement. “The laundry services are housed in part of Hut Number Three, next to the security headquarters. All the cleaning people have been vetted, wear the same uniforms and carry nontransferable IDs. Is that sufficient?”

“No, it’s not. What type of detergent do they use?”

Champ stopped walking and stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“Just kidding, Champ, just kidding.”

CHAPTER 36

HUT NUMBER TWO was far larger than Alicia’s domain. To enter by the locked door, Champ had to insert his security badge in a slot and have his fingerprint scanned by a device attached to the wall. The interior of the hut was made up of an enormous work area in the middle, with enclosed rooms around the perimeter. Through some of the open doors of these rooms, Sean could see sophisticated machinery and people working with them. On one wall hung a banner that read: “P = NP.”

Sean pointed to it. “What’s that mean?”

Champ hesitated and then said, “It’s an equation representing NP, or nondeterministic polynomial time equaling P or polynomial time. When fully realized, it’ll make E equals MC squared look like a blueprint for a set of Tinkertoys.”

“How so?”

“Polynomial time represents problems that are easy to solve, well, relatively easy. NP-complete problems represent the most difficult problems in the universe.”

“Like how to cure cancer?”

“Not exactly, although who knows what the applications might turn out to be. In fact we have a department here whose sole duty is to determine how newly minted proteins fold up into just the right shape that determines their function in the body. There are trillions of different ways they could fold, and yet most proteins fold up just the right way.”

Sean noted that the man was far more talkative and articulate when it came to areas of his expertise and he intended to press this advantage. “So if they usually get it right, why is understanding how they do it important?”

“Because they don’t always get it right. And when they don’t it can be catastrophic. Alzheimer’s and Mad Cow Disease are examples of proteins blowing the folding sequence. But what I’m really talking about are, for example, the absolute best way for a car to be manufactured, or how to manage the world’s air traffic not in one of the best ways possible, but the best way possible taking into account every conceivable factor. How to take energy from point A to anywhere else with maximum efficiency; or how to get the proverbial traveling salesman on his route in the most optimal way possible. Indeed, with just fifteen cities on his itinerary the poor salesman has more than 650 billion possibilities to consider.

“Did you know that no software in the world comes with a guarantee of being bug-free? Yet if we can solve NP problems it would be possible to send out perfect software every time. And the kicker is, the way the universe is set up, there’s every reason to believe that when you solve one NP problem, you’ve solved them all in one fell swoop. It would be the greatest discovery in history. The Nobel Prize wouldn’t come close to doing the discoverer of it justice.”

“So how come computers can’t do that now?”

“Computers are deterministic creatures, whereas, as the name states, NP problems are nondeterministic. Thus one needs a nondeterministic technology to solve them.”

“And that’s what you’re working on here?”

“Along with a way to factor huge numbers rapidly.”

“Alicia explained the concept to me. She’s attempting to find a shortcut, then nothing is secure anymore and the world as we know it stops. And stopping the world in its tracks is worthy of a Nobel Prize?”

Champ shrugged. “That’s an issue for the politicians, not us humble scientists. Alicia’s research is a long shot at best.” Champ pointed around the room. “Here is where the answer lies. We only have to find it.” He hesitated a moment and said, “Look at this.”

He eagerly led Sean over to an oval table covered in glass. Underneath the glass was a small odd-looking