0:00:01.550,0:00:08.550 Doctorow: This story is from Cory Doctorow's new collection,[br]"With a Little Help". Visit craphound.com/walh 0:00:08.920,0:00:14.200 to buy the whole audio book on CD, a paperback[br]copy in one of 4 covers, or a super-limited 0:00:14.200,0:00:17.180 hard cover.[br]This story, and the whole text of "With a Little Help", 0:00:17.180,0:00:21.529 are licensed under a Creative[br]Commons Attribution, Share Alike, Non Commercial license. 0:00:21.529,0:00:25.749 Copy it, share it, remix it. As Woody Guthrie said: 0:00:25.749,0:00:32.529 "This song is copyrighted in the US[br]under a seal of copyright number 154085 for 0:00:32.529,0:00:36.820 a period of 28 years, and anyone caught singing[br]it without our permission will be a mighty 0:00:36.820,0:00:39.670 good friend of ourn, because we don't give[br]a dern. Publish it, write it , sing it, 0:00:40.162,0:00:44.889 swing to it, yodel it. We wrote it: that's all we wanted to do." 0:00:56.489,0:01:03.978 Wheaton: Scroogled by Cory Doctorow. Originally published in Radar Magazine, September, 2007. 0:01:03.978,0:01:05.525 Read by Will Wheaton. 0:01:07.663,0:01:13.510 "Give me six lines written by the most honorable of men, and I will find an excuse in them to hang him." 0:01:14.695,0:01:17.080 Cardinal Richelieu 0:01:17.080,0:01:21.830 Greg landed at SFO at 8PM, but by the time[br]he made it to the front of the customs line 0:01:21.830,0:01:27.450 it was after midnight. He had it good -- [br]he'd been in first class, first off the plane, 0:01:27.450,0:01:32.860 brown as a nut and loose-limbed after a month[br]on the beach at Cabo, SCUBA diving three days 0:01:32.860,0:01:38.140 a week, bumming around and flirting with French[br]college girls the rest of the time. When he'd 0:01:38.140,0:01:43.380 left San Francisco a month before, he'd been[br]a stoop-shouldered, pot-bellied wreck -- 0:01:43.380,0:01:48.860 now he was a bronze god, drawing appreciative[br]looks from the stews at the front of the plane. 0:01:48.860,0:01:55.180 In the four hours he spent in the customs[br]line, he fell from god back to man. His warm 0:01:55.180,0:02:00.060 buzz wore off, the sweat ran down the crack[br]of his ass, and his shoulders and neck grew 0:02:00.060,0:02:05.970 so tense that his upper back felt like a tennis[br]racket. The batteries on his iPod died after 0:02:05.970,0:02:10.450 the third hour, leaving him with nothing to[br]do except eavesdrop on the middle-aged couple 0:02:10.450,0:02:11.170 ahead of him. 0:02:11.170,0:02:14.880 "They've starting googling us at the border,"[br]she said. "I told you they'd do it." 0:02:14.880,0:02:21.140 "I thought that didn't start until next month?"[br]The man had brought a huge sombrero on board, 0:02:21.140,0:02:27.290 carefully stowing it in its own overhead locker,[br]and now he was stuck alternately wearing it 0:02:27.290,0:02:29.230 and holding it. 0:02:29.230,0:02:34.770 Googling at the border. Christ. Greg vested[br]out from Google six months before, cashing 0:02:34.770,0:02:39.880 in his options and "taking some me time,"[br]which turned out to be harder than he expected. 0:02:39.880,0:02:44.340 Five months later, what he'd mostly done is[br]fix his friends' PCs and websites, and watch 0:02:44.340,0:02:50.370 daytime TV, and gain ten pounds, which he[br]blamed on being at home, instead of in the 0:02:50.370,0:02:53.930 Googleplex, with its excellent 24-hour gym. 0:02:53.930,0:02:58.190 The writing had been on the wall. Google had[br]a whole pod of lawyers in charge of dealing 0:02:58.190,0:03:02.230 with the world's governments, and scumbag[br]lobbyists on the Hill to try to keep the law 0:03:02.230,0:03:07.880 from turning them into the world's best snitch.[br]It was a losing battle. The US Government 0:03:07.880,0:03:13.610 had spent $15 billion on a program to fingerprint[br]and photograph visitors at the border, and 0:03:13.610,0:03:19.940 hadn't caught a single terrorist. Clearly,[br]the public sector was not equipped to Do Search 0:03:19.940,0:03:21.110 Right. 0:03:21.110,0:03:25.890 The DHS officers had bags under their eyes[br]as they squinted at their screens, prodding 0:03:25.890,0:03:31.110 mistrustfully at their keyboards with sausage[br]fingers. No wonder it was taking four hours 0:03:31.110,0:03:33.490 to get out of the goddamned airport. 0:03:33.490,0:03:38.910 "Evening," he said, as he handed the man his[br]sweaty passport. The man grunted and swiped 0:03:38.910,0:03:45.620 it, then stared at his screen, clicking. A[br]lot. He had a little bit of dried food in 0:03:45.620,0:03:50.610 the corner of his mouth and his tongue crept[br]out and licked at it as he concentrated. 0:03:50.610,0:03:54.170 "Want to tell me about June, 1998?" 0:03:54.170,0:03:59.209 Greg turned rotated his head this way and[br]that. "I'm sorry?" 0:03:59.209,0:04:06.209 "You posted a message to alt.burningman on[br]June 17, 1998 about your plan to attend Burning 0:04:06.790,0:04:12.790 Man. You posted, 'Would taking shrooms be[br]a really bad idea?'" 0:04:12.790,0:04:18.729 It was 3AM before they let him out of the[br]"secondary screening" room. The interrogator 0:04:18.729,0:04:23.860 was an older man, so skinny he looked like[br]he'd been carved out of wood. His questions 0:04:23.860,0:04:29.139 went a lot further than the Burning Man shrooms.[br]They were just the start of Greg's problems. 0:04:29.139,0:04:36.139 "I'd like to know more about your hobbies.[br]Are you interested in model rocketry?" 0:04:36.259,0:04:37.009 "What?" 0:04:37.009,0:04:39.749 "Model rocketry." 0:04:39.749,0:04:45.639 "No," Greg said. "No, I'm not." Thinking of[br]all the explosives that model rocketry people 0:04:45.639,0:04:47.849 surrounded themselves with. 0:04:47.849,0:04:52.870 The man made a note, clicked some more. "You[br]see, I ask because I see a heavy spike of 0:04:52.870,0:04:58.870 ads for model rocketry supplies showing up[br]alongside your search results and Google mail." 0:04:58.870,0:05:04.539 Greg felt his guts spasm. "You're looking[br]at my searches and email?" He hadn't touched 0:05:04.539,0:05:09.180 a keyboard in a month, but he knew that what[br]you put into the searchbar was more intimate 0:05:09.180,0:05:13.819 than what you told your father-confessor.[br]He'd seen enough queries to know that. 0:05:13.819,0:05:20.229 "Calm down, please. No, I'm not looking at[br]your searches." The man made a bitter lemon 0:05:20.229,0:05:26.900 face and went on in a squeaky voice. "That[br]would be unconstitutional. You weren't listening 0:05:26.900,0:05:33.240 to me. We see the ads that show up when you[br]read your mail and do your searching. I have 0:05:33.240,0:05:37.349 a brochure explaining it, I'll give it to[br]you when we're through here." 0:05:37.349,0:05:43.080 "But the ads don't mean anything -- I get[br]ads for Ann Coulter ringtones whenever I get 0:05:43.080,0:05:46.120 email from my friend who lives in Coulter,[br]Iowa!" 0:05:46.120,0:05:51.990 The man nodded. "I understand, sir. And that's[br]just why I'm here talking to you, instead 0:05:51.990,0:05:57.830 of just looking at this screen. Why do you[br]suppose model rocket ads show up so frequently 0:05:57.830,0:05:59.550 for you?" 0:05:59.550,0:06:06.550 He thought for a moment. "OK, just do this.[br]Go to Google and search for 'coffee fanciers', 0:06:06.569,0:06:11.509 all right?" He'd been very active in the group,[br]helping them build out the site for their 0:06:11.509,0:06:15.610 coffee-of-the-month subscription service.[br]The blend they were going to launch with was 0:06:15.610,0:06:21.270 called "Jet Fuel." "Jet Fuel" and "Launch"[br]-- that'd probably make Google barf up model 0:06:21.270,0:06:27.300 rocket ads. Not that he would know -- he blocked[br]all the ads in his browser. 0:06:27.300,0:06:32.029 They were in the home stretch when the carved[br]man found the Hallowe'en photos. They were 0:06:32.029,0:06:36.869 buried three screens deep in the search results[br]for "Greg Lupinski," and Greg hadn't noticed 0:06:36.869,0:06:38.599 them. 0:06:38.599,0:06:43.259 "It was a Gulf War themed party," he said.[br]"In the Castro." 0:06:43.259,0:06:47.439 "And you're dressed as --?" 0:06:47.439,0:06:53.449 "A suicide bomber." Just saying the words[br]in an airport made him nervous, as though 0:06:53.449,0:06:57.589 uttering them would cause the handcuffs to[br]come out. 0:06:57.589,0:06:58.779 "Come with me, Mr Lupinski." 0:06:58.779,0:07:05.779 The search lasted a long time. They swabbed[br]him in places he didn't know he had. He asked 0:07:06.999,0:07:11.649 about a lawyer. They told him that he could[br]call all the lawyers he wanted once he was 0:07:11.649,0:07:12.939 out of the Customs sterile area. 0:07:12.939,0:07:18.729 "Good night, Mr Lupinski." This was a new[br]interrogator, a man who'd wanted to know about 0:07:18.729,0:07:23.240 the reason that he'd sought both night diving[br]and deep diving specialist certification from 0:07:23.240,0:07:27.789 the PADI instructor in Cabo. The guy implied[br]that Greg had been training to be an al-Qaeda 0:07:27.789,0:07:32.399 frogman, and didn't seem to believe that Greg[br]had just wanted to do all the certifications 0:07:32.399,0:07:37.569 he could, pursuing diving the way he pursued[br]everything: thoroughly. 0:07:37.569,0:07:41.539 But now the man with the frogman fantasy was[br]bidding him a good night and releasing him 0:07:41.539,0:07:47.399 from the secondary screening area. His suitcases[br]stood alone by the baggage carousel. When 0:07:47.399,0:07:52.599 he picked them up, he saw that they had been[br]opened and then inexpertly closed. Some of 0:07:52.599,0:07:55.509 his clothes stuck out from around the edges. 0:07:55.509,0:08:00.439 At home, he saw that all the fake "pre-Colombian"[br]statues had been broken, and that his white 0:08:00.439,0:08:05.179 cotton Mexican shirt -- folded and fresh from[br]his laundry-lady -- had a boot-print in the 0:08:05.179,0:08:10.759 middle of it. His clothes no longer smelled[br]of Mexico. Now they smelled of airports and 0:08:10.759,0:08:11.289 machine oil. 0:08:11.289,0:08:16.610 The mailman had dropped an entire milk-crate[br]of mail off at his place that day, but he 0:08:16.610,0:08:21.509 couldn't even begin to confront it. All he[br]could think of, as the sun rose over the Mission, 0:08:21.509,0:08:26.379 turning the Victorian houses they called "painted[br]ladies" vivid colors, was what it meant to 0:08:26.379,0:08:27.499 be googled. 0:08:27.499,0:08:33.070 He wasn't going to sleep. No way. He needed[br]to talk about this. And there was only one 0:08:33.070,0:08:39.389 person who he could talk to, and luckily,[br]she was usually awake around now. 0:08:39.389,0:08:43.380 Maya had started at Google two years after[br]him, but had gotten a much bigger grant of 0:08:43.380,0:08:49.149 stock than he had. She knew exactly what she[br]was going to do with it, too, once she vested: 0:08:49.149,0:08:54.339 take her dogs and her girlfriend and head[br]to Florence, for good. Learn Italian, take 0:08:54.339,0:09:00.250 in the museums, sit in the cafes. It was she[br]who'd convinced him to go to Mexico: anywhere, 0:09:00.250,0:09:04.889 she said, anywhere that he could reboot his[br]existence. 0:09:04.889,0:09:10.029 Maya had two giant chocolate Labs and a very,[br]very patient girlfriend who'd put up with 0:09:10.029,0:09:15.920 anything except being dragged around Dolores[br]Park at 6AM by 350 pounds of drooling brown 0:09:15.920,0:09:17.220 canine. 0:09:17.220,0:09:21.449 She went for her Mace as he jogged towards[br]her, then did a double-take and threw her 0:09:21.449,0:09:26.209 arms open, dropping the leashes and stamping[br]on them with one sneaker, a practiced gesture. 0:09:26.209,0:09:30.680 "Where's the rest of you? Dude, you look hawt!" 0:09:30.680,0:09:34.699 He took the hug, suddenly self-conscious of[br]the way he smelled after a night of invasive 0:09:34.699,0:09:41.699 googling. "Maya," he said. "Maya, what do[br]you know about the DHS?" 0:09:42.190,0:09:47.120 She stiffened and the dogs whined. She looked[br]around, then nodded up at the tennis courts. 0:09:47.120,0:09:53.130 "Top of the light standard there, don't look,[br]there. That's one of our muni WiFi access 0:09:53.130,0:09:57.089 points. Wide-angle webcam. Face away from[br]it when you talk. Lip-readers." 0:09:57.089,0:10:04.060 He parsed this out slowly. Google's free municipal[br]WiFi program was a hit in every city where 0:10:04.060,0:10:08.350 it played, and in the grand scheme of things,[br]it hadn't cost much to put WiFi access points 0:10:08.350,0:10:12.810 up on light standards and other power-ready[br]poles around town. Especially not when measured 0:10:12.810,0:10:17.170 against the ability to serve ads to people[br]based on where they were sitting. He hadn't 0:10:17.170,0:10:21.879 paid much attention when they'd made the webcams[br]on all those access points public -- there'd 0:10:21.879,0:10:25.610 been a day's worth of blogstorm while people[br]looked out over their childhood streets or 0:10:25.610,0:10:30.779 patrolled prostitution strolls, fingering[br]johns, but it had blown over. 0:10:30.779,0:10:35.220 Now he felt -- watched. 0:10:35.220,0:10:39.870 Feeling silly, he kept his lips together and[br]mumbled, "You're joking." 0:10:39.870,0:10:45.120 "Come with me," she said, facing squarely[br]away from the pole. 0:10:45.120,0:10:48.379 The dogs weren't happy about having their[br]walks cut short, and they let it be known 0:10:48.379,0:10:52.959 in the kitchen as Maya fixed coffee for them[br]-- barking, banging into the table and rocking 0:10:52.959,0:10:57.329 it. Maya's girlfriend Laurie called out from[br]the bedroom and Maya went back to talk to 0:10:57.329,0:11:01.180 her, then emerged, looking flustered. 0:11:01.180,0:11:05.199 "It started with China," she said. "Once we[br]moved our servers onto the mainland, they 0:11:05.199,0:11:10.350 went under Chinese jurisdiction. They could[br]google everyone going through our servers." 0:11:10.350,0:11:14.519 Greg knew what that meant: if you visited[br]a page with Google ads on it, if you used 0:11:14.519,0:11:20.060 Google maps, if you used Google mail -- even[br]if you sent mail to a gmail account -- Google 0:11:20.060,0:11:23.100 was collecting your info, forever. 0:11:23.100,0:11:27.550 "They were using us to build profiles of people.[br]Not arresting them, you understand. But when 0:11:27.550,0:11:31.350 they had someone they wanted to arrest, they'd[br]come to us for a profile and find a reason 0:11:31.350,0:11:37.600 to bust them. There's hardly anything you[br]can do on the net that isn't illegal in China." 0:11:37.600,0:11:41.519 Greg shook his head. "Why did they put the[br]servers in China?" 0:11:41.519,0:11:45.589 "The government said they'd block them if[br]they didn't. And Yahoo was there." They both 0:11:45.589,0:11:50.250 made a face. Somewhere along the way, Google[br]had become obsessed with Yahoo, more worried 0:11:50.250,0:11:54.889 about what the competition was doing than[br]how they were performing. "So we did it. But 0:11:54.889,0:11:57.129 a lot of us didn't like the idea." 0:11:57.129,0:12:02.490 She sipped her coffee and lowered her voice.[br]One of the dogs whined. "I made it my 20 percent 0:12:02.490,0:12:07.930 project." Googlers were supposed to devote[br]20 percent of their time to blue-sky projects. 0:12:07.930,0:12:13.160 "Me and my pod. We call it the googlecleaner.[br]It goes deep into the database and statistically 0:12:13.160,0:12:18.329 normalizes you. Your searches, your gmail[br]histograms, your browsing patterns. All of 0:12:18.329,0:12:19.560 it." 0:12:19.560,0:12:21.029 "The search ads?" 0:12:21.029,0:12:27.889 "Ah," she grimaced. "Yes, the DHS. So we brokered[br]a compromise with the DHS. They'd stop asking 0:12:27.889,0:12:33.300 to go fishing in our search records and we'd[br]let them see what ads got displayed for you." 0:12:33.300,0:12:38.959 Greg felt sick. "Why? Don't tell me Yahoo[br]was doing it already --" 0:12:38.959,0:12:45.959 "No, no. Well, yes. Sure. Yahoo was already[br]doing it. But that wasn't it. You know, Republicans 0:12:46.769,0:12:51.810 hate Google. We are overwhelmingly registered[br]Democrat. So we're doing what we can to make 0:12:51.810,0:12:58.209 peace with them before they clobber us. This[br]isn't PII --" Personally Identifying Information, 0:12:58.209,0:13:04.490 the toxic smog of the information age "--[br]it's just metadata. So it's only slightly 0:13:04.490,0:13:05.810 evil." 0:13:05.810,0:13:09.459 "If it's all so innocuous, why all this cloak-and-dagger[br]stuff?" 0:13:09.459,0:13:15.180 She sighed and hugged the dog that was butting[br]her with his huge, anvil-shaped head. "The 0:13:15.180,0:13:20.199 spooks are like pubic lice. They get everywhere.[br]Once we let them in, everything suddenly got 0:13:20.199,0:13:27.100 a lot more -- secret. Some of our meetings[br]have to have spooks present, it's like being 0:13:27.100,0:13:31.750 in some Soviet ministry, with a political[br]officer always there, watching everything. 0:13:31.750,0:13:37.040 And the security clearance. Now we're divided[br]into these two camps: the cleared and the 0:13:37.040,0:13:44.040 suspect. We all know who isn't cleared, but[br]no one knows why. I'm cleared. Lucky me -- 0:13:44.470,0:13:50.209 being a homo no longer disqualifies you for[br]access to seekrit crap. No cleared person 0:13:50.209,0:13:55.100 wants to even eat lunch with an un-clearable.[br]And every now and again, one of your teammates 0:13:55.100,0:14:01.319 will get pulled off your project 'for security[br]reasons', whatever that means." 0:14:01.319,0:14:07.290 Greg felt very tired. "So now I'm feeling[br]lucky I got out of the airport alive. I suppose 0:14:07.290,0:14:11.019 I might have ended up in Gitmo if it had gone[br]badly, huh?" 0:14:11.019,0:14:16.300 She was staring at him intently, her eyes[br]flicking from side to side. He waited, but 0:14:16.300,0:14:17.310 she didn't say anything. 0:14:17.310,0:14:18.629 "What?" 0:14:18.629,0:14:23.680 "What I'm about to tell you, you can't ever[br]repeat it, OK?" 0:14:23.680,0:14:30.680 "Um, OK? You're not going to tell me you're[br]a deep-cover Al-Quaeda suicide bomber?" 0:14:31.110,0:14:38.110 "Nothing so simple. Here's the thing: the[br]airport DHS scrutiny is a gating function. 0:14:38.949,0:14:44.569 It lets the spooks narrow down their search[br]criteria. Once you get pulled aside for secondary 0:14:44.569,0:14:51.470 at the border, you become a 'person of interest,'[br]and they never, ever let up. They'll check 0:14:51.470,0:14:55.889 the webcams for your face and gait. Read your[br]mail. Log your searches." 0:14:55.889,0:14:58.160 "I thought you said the courts wouldn't let[br]them --" 0:14:58.160,0:15:03.550 "The courts won't let them indiscriminately[br]google you. But once you get into the system, 0:15:03.550,0:15:10.180 it becomes a selective search. All legal.[br]And once they start googling you, they always 0:15:10.180,0:15:10.860 find something." 0:15:10.860,0:15:15.870 "You mean to say they've got a boiler-room[br]of midwestern housewives reading the email 0:15:15.870,0:15:20.069 of everyone who ever got a second look at[br]the border? Sounds like the world's shittiest 0:15:20.069,0:15:21.300 job." 0:15:21.300,0:15:28.300 "If only. No, this is all untouched by human[br]hands. All your data is fed into a big hopper 0:15:28.999,0:15:33.889 that checks for 'suspicious patterns' and[br]gradually builds the case against you, using 0:15:33.889,0:15:38.829 deviation from statistical norms to prove[br]that you're guilty of something. It's just 0:15:38.829,0:15:43.759 a variation of the way we spot search-spammers"[br]-- the "optimizers" who tried to get their 0:15:43.759,0:15:48.709 Viagra scams and Ponzi schemes to come to[br]the top of the search results "-- but instead 0:15:48.709,0:15:54.920 of lowering your search rank, we increase[br]your probability of being sent to Syria. And 0:15:54.920,0:16:00.240 of course, they google all of us, everyone[br]who works on anything 'sensitive.'" 0:16:00.240,0:16:05.129 "Naturally," Greg said. He felt like he was[br]going to throw up. He felt like never using 0:16:05.129,0:16:12.129 a search engine again. "How the hell did this[br]happen? It's such a good place. 'Don't be 0:16:12.240,0:16:17.589 evil,' right?" That was the corporate motto,[br]and for Greg, it had been a huge part of his 0:16:17.589,0:16:23.069 reason for taking his fresh-minted computer[br]science PhD from Stanford directly to Google. 0:16:23.069,0:16:30.069 Maya's laugh was bitter and cynical. "Don't[br]be evil? Come on, Greg. Don't you remember 0:16:31.860,0:16:35.730 what it was like when we started censoring[br]the Chinese search results, and we all asked 0:16:35.730,0:16:41.139 how that could be anything but evil? The company[br]line was hilarious: 'We're not doing evil 0:16:41.139,0:16:45.689 -- we're giving them access to a better search[br]tool! If we showed them search results they 0:16:45.689,0:16:51.740 couldn't get to, that would just frustrate[br]them. It would be a bad user experience. If 0:16:51.740,0:16:57.899 we hadn't lost our don't-be-evil cherry by[br]then, we surely did the day we took that one." 0:16:57.899,0:17:02.850 "Now what?" Greg pushed a dog away from him[br]and Maya looked hurt. 0:17:02.850,0:17:09.040 "Now you're a person of interest, Greg. Googlestalked.[br]Now, you live your life with someone watching 0:17:09.040,0:17:14.150 over your shoulder, all the time. You know[br]the mission statement, right? 'Organize all 0:17:14.150,0:17:19.420 human knowledge.' That's everything. Give[br]it five years, we'll know how many turds were 0:17:19.420,0:17:24.030 in the bowl before you flushed. Combine that[br]with automated suspicion of anyone who matches 0:17:24.030,0:17:28.510 a statistical picture of a bad guy and you're[br]--" 0:17:28.510,0:17:30.440 "I'm scroogled." 0:17:30.440,0:17:30.690 "Totally." 0:17:30.680,0:17:37.680 "Thanks, Maya," he said. "Thanks anyway." 0:17:38.140,0:17:43.430 "Sit down," she said. The dog that had been[br]bumping at his legs was at it again. Maya 0:17:43.430,0:17:47.700 took both dogs down the hall to the bedroom[br]and he heard her muffled argument with her 0:17:47.700,0:17:51.250 girlfriend. She came back without the dogs. 0:17:51.250,0:17:57.320 "I can fix this," she said in a whisper so[br]low it was practically a hiss. "I can googleclean 0:17:57.320,0:17:58.120 you." 0:17:58.120,0:18:00.690 "But you're under constant scrutiny --" 0:18:00.690,0:18:06.930 "By DHS agents. Once they fired all non-native-born[br]Americans from the DHS, it got a lot fatter 0:18:06.930,0:18:10.890 and stupider. I can googleclean you, Greg." 0:18:10.890,0:18:12.810 "I don't want you to get into trouble." 0:18:12.810,0:18:18.150 She shook her head. "I'm already doomed. I[br]built the googlecleaner. Every day since then 0:18:18.150,0:18:22.290 has been borrowed time -- now it's just a[br]matter of waiting for someone to point out 0:18:22.290,0:18:27.370 my expertise and history to the DHS and, oh,[br]I don't know. Whatever it is they do to people 0:18:27.370,0:18:30.530 like me in the War on Abstract Nouns." 0:18:30.530,0:18:36.770 Greg remembered the questioning at the airport.[br]The search. His shirt, the bootprint in the 0:18:36.770,0:18:38.430 middle of it. 0:18:38.430,0:18:41.520 "Do it," he said. 0:18:41.520,0:18:46.240 The ads were weird. He hadn't really paid[br]attention to them in years. The blocker got 0:18:46.240,0:18:50.440 rid of most of them, but Google changed its[br]code often enough that their little text ads 0:18:50.440,0:18:55.500 showed up on a lot of his pages. They stayed[br]subliminal mostly -- only clunkers like that 0:18:55.500,0:18:59.860 Ann Coulter ringtone ad made it past his eyes[br]into his brain. 0:18:59.860,0:19:06.860 Now the clunkers were everywhere: Intelligent[br]Design Facts, Online Seminary Degree, Terror 0:19:07.020,0:19:14.020 Free Tomorrow, Porn Blocker Software, Homosexuality[br]and Satan. He clicked through a couple of 0:19:14.060,0:19:18.810 these and found himself in some kind of alternate[br]universe Internet, full of weird opinions 0:19:18.810,0:19:25.440 about the evils of being gay, the certainty[br]of the young Earth, the need for eternal national 0:19:25.440,0:19:25.950 vigilance. 0:19:25.950,0:19:31.120 Then he started to notice something weird[br]about the search results themselves. After 0:19:31.120,0:19:35.150 unpacking his suitcase and opening his mail,[br]he spent two weeks sitting at home on his 0:19:35.150,0:19:40.970 ass, surfing. His pre-Mexico belly was reemerging,[br]so he decided to do something about it. No 0:19:40.970,0:19:46.290 burritos for lunch today -- he'd go to that[br]holistic place Maya had told him about. Vegan 0:19:46.290,0:19:49.570 low-fat cuisine couldn't possibly be as gross[br]as it sounded. 0:19:49.570,0:19:53.580 "Did you mean 'Hungarian Restaurants'?" 0:19:53.580,0:20:00.580 He snorted. No, he'd meant "holistic restaurants,"[br]you dumbass search-engine. It nagged at him. 0:20:00.600,0:20:04.880 He pulled up his search history and went back[br]through the results, printing out the pages. 0:20:04.880,0:20:08.810 Then he logged out of his Google account and[br]went back through the same searches, comparing 0:20:08.810,0:20:14.350 the results to the logged-in pages. The differences[br]were striking. A search for "democratic primary" 0:20:14.350,0:20:19.420 pointed to anti-Hillary rants on angry blogs[br]when he was logged in, and to information 0:20:19.420,0:20:24.380 on volunteering for the DNC when he was logged[br]out. Searching for "abortion clinic" while 0:20:24.380,0:20:28.820 logged out listed the nearest Planned Parenthood[br]office; searching while logged in gave him 0:20:28.820,0:20:34.360 information about Campaign Life, ProLife.com,[br]and the ProLife alliance. Good thing he wasn't 0:20:34.360,0:20:34.610 pregnant. 0:20:34.450,0:20:38.580 This was Maya's googlecleaner at work. It[br]was like the stories of people who asked their 0:20:38.580,0:20:42.860 TiVos to record an episode of "Queer Eye"[br]and then got inundated with suggestions for 0:20:42.860,0:20:48.090 other "gay shows" -- "My TiVo thinks I'm gay,"[br]was the title of one article he remembered. 0:20:48.090,0:20:52.780 Google had been experimenting with "personalized"[br]search results before he left the country 0:20:52.780,0:20:56.390 -- here it was, in all its glory. 0:20:56.390,0:21:00.240 Google thought he was a conservative Christian[br]Republican who supported the War on Terror 0:21:00.240,0:21:03.070 and many other abstract nouns. 0:21:03.070,0:21:07.550 He logged out of Google -- that was simple.[br]Five minutes later, he logged in again. His 0:21:07.550,0:21:12.690 entire address book was in there. He logged[br]out again. Logged back in. His calendar -- 0:21:12.690,0:21:18.840 when was his parents' anniversary again?[br]Logged out. Logged back in. Needed his bookmarked 0:21:18.840,0:21:21.470 locations in Maps. Logged out. 0:21:21.470,0:21:26.600 He stopped trying. Google was where his friendships[br]lived -- all those people he stayed connected 0:21:26.600,0:21:31.340 to on Orkut. It was where his relationships[br]lived: all that archived email, all those 0:21:31.340,0:21:37.570 addresses in his address-book. It was his[br]family photos, his bookmarks. Hell, his search 0:21:37.570,0:21:42.340 history -- his real search history -- was[br]like an outboard brain, remembering which 0:21:42.340,0:21:46.500 parts of the unplumbable Internet he cared[br]about, so that he didn't have to remember 0:21:46.500,0:21:49.820 it the hard way, with the meat in his skull. 0:21:49.820,0:21:54.330 Google had a copy of him -- all the parts[br]of him that navigated the world and the people 0:21:54.330,0:22:01.240 in it. Google owned that copy, and without[br]it, he couldn't be himself anymore. He'd just 0:22:01.240,0:22:02.960 have to stay logged in. 0:22:02.960,0:22:07.550 Greg mashed the keys on the laptop next to[br]his bed, bringing the screen to life. He squinted 0:22:07.550,0:22:14.140 at the toolbar clock: 4:13AM! Christ, who[br]was pounding on his door at this hour? 0:22:14.140,0:22:19.220 He shouted "Coming!" in a muzzy voice and[br]pulled on a robe and slippers. He shuffled 0:22:19.220,0:22:23.620 down the hallway, turning on lights as he[br]went, squinting. At the door, he squinted 0:22:23.620,0:22:27.460 through the peephole, peering at -- Maya. 0:22:27.460,0:22:31.160 He undid the chains and the deadbolt and yanked[br]the door open and Maya rushed in past him, 0:22:31.160,0:22:35.280 followed by the dogs, followed by her girlfriend,[br]Laurie, whom he'd last seen at a Christmas 0:22:35.280,0:22:40.370 party at Google, in a fabulous cocktail dress[br]and an elaborate up-do. Now she was wearing 0:22:40.370,0:22:45.010 a freebie Google Summer of Code sweatshirt,[br]jeans, and a frown that started between her 0:22:45.010,0:22:48.070 eyebrows and intensified all the way down[br]her face. 0:22:48.070,0:22:52.630 Maya was sheened with sweat, her hair sticking[br]to her forehead. She scrubbed at her eyes, 0:22:52.630,0:22:54.830 which were red and lined. 0:22:54.830,0:22:57.610 "Pack a bag," she said, in a hoarse croak. 0:22:57.610,0:22:58.660 "What?" 0:22:58.660,0:23:01.980 "Whatever you can't live without. A couple[br]changes of clothes. Anything you're sentimental 0:23:01.980,0:23:06.360 about -- shoebox of pictures, your grandfather's[br]razor, whatever. But keep it small, something 0:23:06.360,0:23:09.170 you can carry. We're traveling light." 0:23:09.170,0:23:09.840 "Maya, what are you --" 0:23:09.840,0:23:14.740 She took him by the shoulders. "Do. It," she[br]said. "Don't ask questions right now. There's 0:23:14.740,0:23:15.280 no time." 0:23:15.280,0:23:16.850 "Where do you want to --" 0:23:16.850,0:23:22.610 "Mexico, probably. Don't know yet. Pack, dammit."[br]She pushed past him into his bedroom and started 0:23:22.610,0:23:24.660 yanking open drawers. 0:23:24.660,0:23:29.520 "Maya," he said, sharply, "I'm not going anywhere[br]until you tell me what's going on." 0:23:29.520,0:23:33.420 She glared at him and pushed her hair away[br]from her face. "The googlecleaner lives. I 0:23:33.420,0:23:37.560 shut it down, walked away from it, after I[br]did you. It was too dangerous to use anymore. 0:23:37.560,0:23:41.800 But I still get buginizer notifications when[br]new bugs get filed against it, I'm still in 0:23:41.800,0:23:47.420 B as the project's owner. Someone filed eight[br]bugs against it this week. Someone's used 0:23:47.420,0:23:51.550 it six times to smear six very specific accounts." 0:23:51.550,0:23:54.050 "Who's using it?" 0:23:54.050,0:23:58.100 "Well, I'll give you a hint. Let me tell you[br]who's been cleaned this week --" She listed 0:23:58.100,0:24:04.280 six candidates, four Republican and two Democrat,[br]who were all in the running for the primaries. 0:24:04.280,0:24:07.340 "Googlers are blackwashing political candidates?" 0:24:07.340,0:24:12.650 "Not Googlers. This is all coming from offsite.[br]The IP block is registered in DC. And the 0:24:12.650,0:24:17.290 IPs are all also used by Gmail users. And[br]those Gmail users --" 0:24:17.290,0:24:19.030 "You spied on gmail accounts?" 0:24:19.030,0:24:22.490 "I'm leaving in two minutes, with or without[br]you. You can interrupt me to ask me questions, 0:24:22.490,0:24:27.410 or you can listen." She gave him another look.[br]Laurie stood in the door of the bedroom, holding 0:24:27.410,0:24:30.920 the dogs by the collars and looking down at[br]the floor. 0:24:30.920,0:24:35.260 "Good. OK. Yes. I did spy on their email.[br]Of course I did. Everyone does it, now and 0:24:35.260,0:24:37.500 again, and for a lot worse reasons that this. 0:24:37.500,0:24:42.710 "It's our lobbying firm. The ones who invented[br]the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Remember 0:24:42.710,0:24:46.440 them? It was a stink when we hired them, but[br]Google couldn't afford to be 'that company 0:24:46.440,0:24:51.190 full of registered Democrats' forever. We[br]needed friends in Congress. These guys could 0:24:51.190,0:24:52.410 do it for us." 0:24:52.410,0:24:54.540 "But they're ruining politicians' careers!" 0:24:54.540,0:24:58.020 "Yeah. They certainly are. And who benefits[br]when they do that?" 0:24:58.020,0:25:01.610 Laurie spoke, at last. "Other politicians." 0:25:01.610,0:25:05.160 He felt his pulse beating in his temples.[br]"We should tell someone." 0:25:05.160,0:25:11.140 "Yeah," Maya said. "How? They know everything[br]about us. They can see every search. Every 0:25:11.140,0:25:15.120 email. Every time we've been caught on the[br]webcams. Who is in our social network -- 0:25:15.120,0:25:18.660 you know that if you've got more than fifteen[br]Orkut buddies, it's statistically certain 0:25:18.660,0:25:22.800 that you're no more than three steps to someone[br]who's contributed money to a 'terrorist' cause? 0:25:22.800,0:25:28.230 Remember the airport? Imagine a lot more of[br]that." 0:25:28.230,0:25:34.190 "Maya," he said, carefully. "I think you're[br]over-reacting. You don't need to go to Mexico. 0:25:34.190,0:25:38.570 You can just quit. We can do a startup together[br]or something. Or you can move to the country 0:25:38.570,0:25:43.590 and raise dogs. Whatever. This is crazy --" 0:25:43.590,0:25:47.000 "They came to see me today," she said. "At[br]work. Two of the political officers -- the 0:25:47.000,0:25:52.420 minders who monitor our sensitive projects.[br]And they asked me a lot of very heavy questions." 0:25:52.420,0:25:53.520 "About the googlecleaner?" 0:25:53.520,0:25:58.650 "About my friends and family. About my search[br]history. About my political beliefs." 0:25:58.650,0:25:59.860 "Jesus." 0:25:59.860,0:26:03.890 "They were sending me a message. They were[br]letting me know that they were onto me. They're 0:26:03.890,0:26:08.820 watching every click and every search. It's[br]time to go -- time to get out of range." 0:26:08.820,0:26:11.500 "There's a Google office in Mexico, you know." 0:26:11.500,0:26:15.030 "Are you coming, Greg? We're going now." 0:26:15.030,0:26:18.460 "Laurie, what do you think of this?" 0:26:18.460,0:26:24.150 Laurie thumped the dogs between the shoulders.[br]"Maya showed me what Google knows about me. 0:26:24.150,0:26:29.350 It's like there's a little me in there, a[br]copy of me. Like I'm pinned down under a jar 0:26:29.350,0:26:35.520 with a ball of ether. My parents left East[br]Germany in '65 -- they used to tell me about 0:26:35.520,0:26:41.140 the Stasi. They'd put everything about you[br]in your file -- even unpatriotic jokes. Lately 0:26:41.140,0:26:47.450 I've been feeling...watched. All the time.[br]Like I can't live without leaving a trail. 0:26:47.450,0:26:52.040 Like I'm throwing off a smog of data and it[br]can't be gotten rid of." 0:26:52.040,0:26:55.950 "We're going now, Greg. Now. Are you coming?" 0:26:55.950,0:27:01.960 Greg looked at the dogs. "I've got some pesos[br]left over," he said. "You take them. Be careful, 0:27:01.960,0:27:03.690 OK?" 0:27:03.690,0:27:07.340 She looked like she was going to slug him.[br]Then she softened and gave him a ferocious 0:27:07.340,0:27:12.640 hug. "Be careful yourself," she whispered[br]in his ear. 0:27:12.640,0:27:17.330 They came for him a week later. At home, in[br]the middle of the night, just as he'd imagined 0:27:17.330,0:27:23.920 it. Their knock was nothing like Maya's tentative,[br]nervous thump. They went bang-bang-bang, confident, 0:27:23.920,0:27:29.320 knowing that they had every right to be there[br]and not caring who else came after them. 0:27:29.320,0:27:34.750 Two men. One stayed by the door and didn't[br]say anything. The other was a smiler, short 0:27:34.750,0:27:38.940 and rumpled, in a sports coat with a small[br]stain on one lapel and a cloisonn⊠American 0:27:38.940,0:27:44.470 flag on the other. "Computer Fraud and Abuse[br]Act," he said, by way of introduction. "'Exceeding 0:27:44.470,0:27:50.630 authorized access, and by means of such conduct[br]having obtained information.' Ten years for 0:27:50.630,0:27:55.420 a first offense, ever since the PATRIOT Act[br]extended it. I have it on the best of authority 0:27:55.420,0:28:01.390 that what you and your friend did to your[br]Google records qualifies. And oh, what will 0:28:01.390,0:28:06.160 come out in the trial. All the stuff you whitewashed[br]out of your profile." 0:28:06.160,0:28:10.010 Greg had been playing this scene out in his[br]head for a week. He'd had all kinds of brave 0:28:10.010,0:28:14.830 things to say, planned out in advance. He'd[br]even written some down, to see how they looked. 0:28:14.830,0:28:18.730 It had given him something to do while the[br]knots in his stomach tightened, while he waited 0:28:18.730,0:28:19.510 to hear from Maya. 0:28:19.510,0:28:26.190 "I'd like to call a lawyer," is all he managed.[br]It came out in a whisper. 0:28:26.190,0:28:30.580 "You can do that," the man said. "But hear[br]me out first." 0:28:30.580,0:28:35.100 Greg found his voice. "I'd like to see your[br]badge." 0:28:35.100,0:28:42.100 The man's basset-hound face lit up as he hissed[br]a laugh. "Oh, Greg, buddy. I'm not a cop. 0:28:42.820,0:28:49.820 I work for --" He named the DC firm in Google's[br]employ. The inventors of swiftboating. "You're 0:28:50.100,0:28:55.230 a Googler. You're part of the family. We couldn't[br]send the police after you without talking 0:28:55.230,0:28:59.700 with you first. There's an offer I'd like[br]to make." 0:28:59.700,0:29:03.290 Greg made coffee. It gave him something to[br]do with his hands while he tried to find that 0:29:03.290,0:29:07.950 bravery he'd been honing all week. "I'll go[br]to the press," he said. "I've written this 0:29:07.950,0:29:10.580 all up. I'll go straight to them." 0:29:10.580,0:29:15.670 The guy nodded as if thinking it over. "Well,[br]sure. You could walk into the Chronicle's 0:29:15.670,0:29:19.710 office in the morning and spill everything[br]you need. They'd try to find a confirming 0:29:19.710,0:29:24.610 source. They won't find it. Maybe you'll try[br]to show them what your profile looks like 0:29:24.610,0:29:31.340 today? Well, tell you what, it looks just[br]like it looked the day you landed at SFO. 0:29:31.340,0:29:36.440 Greg, buddy, why don't you hear me out before[br]you start trying to figure out how to fight 0:29:36.440,0:29:42.150 me? I'm in the win-win business. I'm in the[br]business of figuring out how to get all parties 0:29:42.150,0:29:48.030 what they need. I'm very good at it. You don't[br]even want to know what I'm billing Google 0:29:48.030,0:29:52.330 for this little tete-a-tete. By the way, those[br]are excellent beans, but you want to give 0:29:52.330,0:29:57.270 them a little rinse first, takes some of the[br]bitterness out and brings up the oils. Here, 0:29:57.270,0:29:59.730 pass me a colander?" 0:29:59.730,0:30:03.440 Greg watched in numb bemusement as the man[br]took off his jacket and hung it over a kitchen 0:30:03.440,0:30:08.000 chair, then undid his cuffs and rolled them[br]up, slipping a cheap digital watch into his 0:30:08.000,0:30:13.120 pocket. Then he poured the beans back out[br]of the grinder and into Greg's colander and 0:30:13.120,0:30:14.010 did things at the sink. 0:30:14.010,0:30:21.010 He was a little pudgy, and very pale. He needed[br]a haircut -- had unruly curls at his neck. 0:30:21.010,0:30:26.940 It made Greg relax, somehow. This guy had[br]the social gracelessness of a nerd, felt like 0:30:26.940,0:30:32.560 a real Googler, obsessed with the minutiae.[br]He knew his way around a coffee-grinder, too. 0:30:32.560,0:30:35.300 "We're drafting a team for Building 49 --" 0:30:35.300,0:30:38.670 "There is no building 49," Greg said, automatically. 0:30:38.670,0:30:45.010 "Yeah," the guy said, with a private little[br]smile. "There's no Building 49. And we're 0:30:45.010,0:30:50.750 putting together a team, with its own buginizer,[br]to own googlecleaner. Maya's code wasn't very 0:30:50.750,0:30:55.260 efficient. Every time someone runs it, it[br]clobbers the whole farm. And it's got plenty 0:30:55.260,0:31:00.760 of bugs. We've asked around and there's consensus[br]on this. You'd be the right guy, and it wouldn't 0:31:00.760,0:31:04.060 matter what you knew if you were back inside[br]--" 0:31:04.060,0:31:06.640 "No, I wouldn't," Greg said. "You're on crack." 0:31:06.640,0:31:12.290 "Hear me out. There's money involved. Good[br]work, too. Smart colleagues. A direction for 0:31:12.290,0:31:16.030 your life. A chance to participate in the[br]political life of your country --" 0:31:16.030,0:31:21.850 Greg gave a bitter laugh. "Unbelievable,"[br]he said. "If you think I'm going to help you 0:31:21.850,0:31:28.740 smear political candidates in exchange for[br]favors, you're even crazier than I thought." 0:31:28.740,0:31:35.740 "Greg," he said, "Greg, you're right. That[br]was dumb. No one is going to do that anymore. 0:31:36.610,0:31:43.610 We're just going to -- clean things up a little.[br]For some select people. You know what I mean, 0:31:44.500,0:31:49.990 right? Every Google profile is a little scary[br]under close inspection. Close inspection is 0:31:49.990,0:31:54.360 the order of the day in politics. You stand[br]for office and they'll look at your kids, 0:31:54.360,0:31:58.660 your brothers, your ex-girlfriends. Now that[br]your search history is available to so many 0:31:58.660,0:32:04.380 people, it won't be that hard to look into[br]that too. Your Orkut network, your old Usenet 0:32:04.380,0:32:10.200 messages, your searches, all of it." He loaded[br]the cafetiere and depressed the plunger, his 0:32:10.200,0:32:15.980 face screwed up in solemn concentration. He[br]held out his hand and Greg got down two coffee 0:32:15.980,0:32:21.040 mugs -- Google mugs, of course -- and passed[br]them to him. 0:32:21.040,0:32:25.770 "We're going to do for our friends just what[br]Maya did for you. Just give them a little 0:32:25.770,0:32:32.260 cleanup. Preserve their privacy. That's all[br]-- I promise you, that's all." 0:32:32.260,0:32:36.750 Greg sipped the coffee, but didn't taste it.[br]"And whichever candidates you don't clean 0:32:36.750,0:32:38.120 --" 0:32:38.120,0:32:42.640 "Yeah," the guy said. "Yeah, you're right.[br]It'll be tough for them." 0:32:42.640,0:32:44.000 "You can go now," Greg said. 0:32:44.000,0:32:51.000 "Oh, Greg," the guy said. He plucked his jacket[br]off his chair-back and shrugged it on, felt 0:32:51.610,0:32:56.710 in the inside pocket and produced a small[br]stack of paper, folded into quarters. He smoothed 0:32:56.710,0:32:58.940 it out and put it on the table. 0:32:58.940,0:33:03.180 Greg looked quickly and saw the rows of results[br]he'd seen on the DHS man's screen, back at 0:33:03.180,0:33:07.950 the airport, when this all started. "I don't[br]care," he said. "Tell the world about my search 0:33:07.950,0:33:11.990 history. Go ahead. In five years, everyone[br]will have had their search history ruptured. 0:33:11.990,0:33:12.800 We'll all be guilty." 0:33:12.800,0:33:18.800 "It's not your history," the man said. He[br]divided the stack into two piles, and pointed 0:33:18.800,0:33:24.850 to names on the top sheet of each. One was[br]Maya's. The other was a candidate whose campaign 0:33:24.850,0:33:28.080 Greg had contributed to for the last three[br]elections. 0:33:28.080,0:33:32.010 "You get five weeks' vacation a year. You[br]can go to Cabo for the SCUBA. The options 0:33:32.010,0:33:34.790 package is very generous, too." 0:33:34.790,0:33:39.800 The man sat down and drank some coffee. Greg[br]tried some more of his own. It didn't taste 0:33:39.800,0:33:45.780 so bad. It was, in fact, more delicious than[br]anything that had ever come out of his kitchen. 0:33:45.780,0:33:48.030 The man knew what he was doing. 0:33:48.030,0:33:53.340 The best years of Greg's life had been spent[br]at Google. Smart people. Amazing work environment. 0:33:53.340,0:33:58.780 Wonderful technology. Nothing in the world[br]like it. When you worked at G, you had the 0:33:58.780,0:34:04.760 best model train set in the universe to play[br]with. Organizing all of human knowledge. 0:34:04.760,0:34:08.109 "You can pick your team, of course," the man[br]said. 0:34:08.109,0:34:11.230 Greg poured himself another cup of delicious[br]coffee. 0:34:11.230,0:34:15.560 The new Congress took eleven working days[br]to pass the Securing and Enumerating America's 0:34:15.560,0:34:20.940 Communications and Hypertext Act, which authorized[br]the DHS and the NSA to outsource up to 80 0:34:20.940,0:34:25.340 percent of its intelligence and analysis work[br]to private contractors. 0:34:25.340,0:34:29.040 Theoretically, the contracts were open to[br]a competitive bidding process, but within 0:34:29.040,0:34:33.389 the secure group at Google, in building 49,[br]there was no question of who would win those 0:34:33.389,0:34:38.710 contracts. If Google had spent $15 billion[br]on a program to catch bad guys at the border, 0:34:38.710,0:34:42.389 you can bet that they would have caught them[br]-- governments just aren't equipped to Do 0:34:42.389,0:34:44.020 Search Right. 0:34:44.020,0:34:48.179 Greg looked himself in the eye that morning[br]as he shaved -- the security minders didn't 0:34:48.179,0:34:52.320 like hacker-stubble, and they weren't shy[br]about telling you so -- and realized that 0:34:52.320,0:34:57.270 today was his first day as a de facto intelligence[br]agent in the US government. 0:34:57.270,0:35:01.550 How bad would it be? Wasn't it better to have[br]Google doing this stuff than some ham-fisted 0:35:01.550,0:35:02.000 spook? 0:35:02.000,0:35:07.380 He had himself convinced by the time he parked[br]at the Googleplex, among the hybrid cars and 0:35:07.380,0:35:12.520 bulging bike-racks. He stopped for an organic[br]smoothie on the way to his desk, then sat 0:35:12.520,0:35:14.840 down and sipped. 0:35:14.840,0:35:18.540 The rumpled man hadn't been to the G since[br]Greg went back to work, but it often felt 0:35:18.540,0:35:22.870 like his influence was all around them in[br]building 49. He wasn't any less rumpled today 0:35:22.870,0:35:26.890 -- he could have been wrapped in saran-wrap[br]on the day he brought Greg back to work and 0:35:26.890,0:35:30.050 refrigerated for all that he hadn't changed[br]a hair. 0:35:30.050,0:35:34.820 "Hi, Greg," he said, sliding into the chair[br]next to his. His podmates stood up in unison 0:35:34.820,0:35:35.560 and left the room. 0:35:35.560,0:35:41.550 "Just tell me what it is," Greg said. "Just[br]spit it out. You want me to pwn NORAD and 0:35:41.550,0:35:43.510 start World War III, right?" 0:35:43.510,0:35:49.400 "Nothing so obvious," the man said, patting[br]his shoulder. "Just a little search-job." 0:35:49.400,0:35:49.650 "Yeah?" 0:35:49.530,0:35:54.190 "There's a person we want to find. A person[br]who's left the country, apparently headed 0:35:54.190,0:35:59.190 for Mexico. She knows certain things that[br]are, as of today, classified. She needs to 0:35:59.190,0:36:01.690 be briefed on her new responsibilities." 0:36:01.690,0:36:06.310 Greg stood up. "I'm not going to find Maya[br]for you." He pulled on his jacket. 0:36:06.310,0:36:10.770 "There are plenty of people here who will.[br]It's up to you, though. You can work here 0:36:10.770,0:36:15.390 with her, being productive, or you can find[br]out just how rotten life can get -- while 0:36:15.390,0:36:20.210 she works here, being productive with your[br]co-workers." 0:36:20.210,0:36:23.830 Greg stared at him, his hands balled into[br]fists. 0:36:23.830,0:36:29.510 "Come on," the rumpled man said. "Greg, we[br]both know how this goes. When you said yes 0:36:29.510,0:36:35.100 to me in your kitchen, you lost the option[br]of saying no. It's not so bad, is it? Who 0:36:35.100,0:36:39.320 would you rather have doing the nation's intelligence:[br]you and your pals here in the Valley, or a 0:36:39.320,0:36:42.630 bunch of straight-edge code-grinders in Virginia?" 0:36:42.630,0:36:46.390 Greg turned on his heel and left. He made[br]it all the way to the parking lot before he 0:36:46.390,0:36:51.190 stopped and kicked a wall so hard he felt[br]something give way in his foot. 0:36:51.190,0:36:57.190 Then he limped back to his desk, hung his[br]jacket on his chair, and logged back in. 0:36:57.190,0:37:01.580 It was a week later when his key-card failed[br]to open the door to Building 49. The idiot 0:37:01.580,0:37:07.040 red LED shone at him every time he swiped[br]it. He swiped it and swiped it. Any other 0:37:07.040,0:37:11.080 building and there'd be someone to tailgate[br]on, people trickling in and out all day. But 0:37:11.080,0:37:15.510 the Googlers in 49 only emerged for meals,[br]and sometimes not even that. 0:37:15.510,0:37:19.670 Swipe, swipe, swipe. 0:37:19.670,0:37:22.630 "Greg, can I see you, please?" 0:37:22.630,0:37:26.990 The rumpled man hadn't shaved in a couple[br]of days. He put an arm around Greg's shoulders 0:37:26.990,0:37:31.640 and Greg smelled his citrusy aftershave. It[br]was the same cologne that his divemaster in 0:37:31.640,0:37:35.710 Baja had worn when they went out to the bars[br]in the evening. Greg couldn't remember his 0:37:35.710,0:37:39.840 name. Juan-Carlos? Juan-Luis? 0:37:39.840,0:37:44.380 The man's arm around his shoulders was firm,[br]steering him away from the door, out onto 0:37:44.380,0:37:49.140 the immaculate lawn, past the kitchen's herb[br]garden. "We're giving you a couple of days 0:37:49.140,0:37:51.610 off," he said. 0:37:51.610,0:37:56.850 Greg felt a cold premonition that sank all[br]the way to his balls. "Why?" Had he done something 0:37:56.850,0:37:58.000 wrong? Was he going to jail? 0:37:58.000,0:38:03.670 "It's Maya." The man turned him around, met[br]his eyes with his bottomless basset-hound 0:38:03.670,0:38:10.670 gaze. "It's Maya. Killed herself. In Guatemala.[br]I'm sorry, Greg." 0:38:13.280,0:38:18.130 Greg seemed to hurtle away from himself, to[br]a place miles above, a Google Earth view of 0:38:18.130,0:38:23.550 the Googleplex, looking down on himself and[br]the rumpled man as a pair of dots, two pixels, 0:38:23.550,0:38:28.940 tiny and insignificant. He willed himself[br]to tear at his hair, to drop to his knees 0:38:28.940,0:38:30.770 and weep. 0:38:30.770,0:38:36.220 From a long way away, he heard himself say,[br]"I don't need any time off. I'm OK." 0:38:36.220,0:38:39.230 From a long way away, he heard the rumpled[br]man insist. 0:38:39.230,0:38:44.630 But one-pixel Greg wouldn't be turned aside.[br]The argument persisted for a long time, and 0:38:44.630,0:38:49.470 then the two pixels moved into Building 49[br]and the door swung shut behind them. 0:39:01.840,0:39:07.820 Doctorow: This one came as a commission from Radar magazine[br]-- now defunct, a casualty of the 2008 crash, 0:39:07.820,0:39:12.930 but in 2007, this was the most widely circulated[br]"lifestyle" magazine in the US. They asked 0:39:12.930,0:39:18.580 me to write about "the day Google became evil."[br]I didn't want to cheap out and just write 0:39:18.580,0:39:22.560 about the company selling out to some evil[br]millionaire. If Google ever turned evil, it 0:39:22.560,0:39:27.220 would be because a) evil had a compelling[br]business-model and b) evil lay at the end 0:39:27.220,0:39:28.750 of a compelling technical challenge. 0:39:28.750,0:39:33.500 I spent a lot of time talking off-the-record[br]to Googlers, who are, to a one, the nicest 0:39:33.500,0:39:37.990 people I know (OK, one exception springs to[br]mind, but let's not air our dirty laundry 0:39:37.990,0:39:42.270 in public, right?). I also had an incredibly[br]productive conversation with the Electronic 0:39:42.270,0:39:46.880 Frontier Foundation's Kevin Bankston, a profound[br]and sharp-witted privacy lawyer. 0:39:46.880,0:39:51.260 I wanted to capture a company that was full[br]of good people who do bad. There are lots 0:39:51.260,0:39:56.440 of these. For example, all the Microsoft employees[br]I know are fantastic and smart and caring 0:39:56.440,0:40:01.220 and principled. But ethically and technically,[br]most of what comes out of Redmond is a train-wreck. 0:40:01.220,0:40:06.200 It's anti-synergy: a firm that is far less[br]than the sum of its parts. I could easily 0:40:06.200,0:40:10.900 see Google turning into that. I wish I understood[br]how groups of good people trying to do good 0:40:10.900,0:40:12.020 can do bad.