"I have a question: Suppose today we have gathered here to better discuss the tasks of national security work for the upcoming period. Perhaps my esteemed colleagues already have quite mature views on this. If everyone cannot speak freely, it must be my fault as the new director; but if I let everyone express their opinions and organize them, it would seem I'm too self-centered, unable to reflect the wise leadership of Mr. President. Therefore, I boldly presume to relay, in a very cautious manner, Mr. President's vision of our agency's work through mere repetition and interpretation. I am but a small cog in the Federation's security work, and I join all of you in earnest dedication."
Nick shook his head up and down at the main seat above. Natasha, seated below with the guests, was yawning. She turned her head and glanced at Shiller beside her, her expression serious with slightly furrowed brows, occasionally nodding. Despite this, from the unchanged blinking frequency, one could tell that she had zoned out for quite a while.
"What is the issue of national security? First, we must discuss what 'nation' is; then we must understand what 'security' means. Among these, which is more important? Actually, the nation is... Security can also be interpreted as... If we debate the importance of both, I suppose they are equally matched... But in my view, the focus of our work is neither the nation nor security, but Mr. President. What kind of nation does Mr. President want? What kind of national security does he seek? Which does he think is more important? This is the focus of the National Security Agency's work for the upcoming period..."
Natasha's head suddenly drooped, almost hitting the table. She took a deep breath and pinched her wrist gently to keep herself from falling asleep immediately. She looked down at her watch: Nick had been speaking for two hours already.
"In summary, in Mr. President's eyes, nation and security aren't actually important. If that's the case, there's no need for us to be too concerned with nationality, nor must we emphasize Federation security, as long as we fulfill Mr. President's tasks. Don't you think so?"
Natasha finally perked up a bit. She knew Nick had been babbling up there for two hours, with the key message being the last sentence.
The issue was that the old men at the National Security Agency had already been baffled by his previous two hours of setup. When they heard him ask a question and then stop, everyone nodded and started applauding him. Even Shiller was doing the same.
Though Natasha really wanted to ask them, "Are you sure you understood what he was saying?" But to not seem out of place, she had to follow suit and clap along.
Nick nodded with satisfaction and said, "Since we've come to a consensus, the next step in our work becomes easy. For Federation security, I first set up 143 monitoring posts on Hawaii, which is isolated overseas, and 62 posts on the six-star islands of Maldives. Of course, to keep an eye on the Asia-Pacific situation at all times, there are also 14 posts on Bali. These 219 new positions are far from the Federation mainland, with significant responsibilities that must be held long-term. Naturally, the Federal Government will reimburse all expenses generated by monitoring. Those interested can sign their name on this application form; the Federation thanks you for your contribution."
Natasha rolled her eyes. Such long-term monitoring positions—all management personnel at the National Security Agency now total 219, most spending 350 days a year in Hawaii. Nick was essentially creating a publicly funded vacation post for them; even the remaining 16 days weren't needed to return. The old men happily signed their names, went back to pack their bags, and got on planes.
Nick clapped his hands with satisfaction and said, "Alright, go contact Russia's security bureau and British MI6. Don't call too many from Mossad; they're inefficient in their work. Fill the remainder of the posts with interns from your academy. If it's still not enough, find a couple of college students wanting to pad their resumes. Go ahead."
Seeing Shiller not asking any questions and turning to leave, Natasha also had no reason to stay longer and hurriedly left the room, saying after catching up to Shiller, "Do you know what he's going to do? You just left."
"Wasn't he asking for interns?"
"The problem is, are you sure interns can handle this job?"
"Didn't expect you to be quite concerned about American national security, Mrs. Romanoff."
Natasha sighed deeply and said, "Anyone in the world cares more about American national security than Nick does. He just outsourced national security tasks, and as the only person present under 70 years old, you had no objections?"
Shiller stopped walking. He pushed his bomber jacket aside with his hand, put his hand in his pocket, and extended a finger, saying, "National security is divided into external and internal security. External security relies on the military; internal security relies on the police. However, the National Security Agency isn't responsible for the military nor the police, so what do you think this department was established for?"
"Uh, isn't their job about intelligence? Like computer intrusion, surveillance?"
"Then what does the CIA do?"
Natasha was slightly stunned. She thought about it and realized the responsibilities of the National Security Agency and the CIA seem somewhat overlapping because CIA also has an intelligence department with personnel responsible for computer intrusion and surveillance. So what's the National Security Agency for then?"
"When Nick found out the president assigned him to the National Security Agency, was he not delighted?"
Natasha thought for a moment and then nodded, saying, "Yes, he seemed quite pleased. Is it better here than S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Of course it's much better." Shiller continued walking forward and said, "The American National Security Agency has always been known as the most mysterious department, even the acronym NSA is jokingly referred to as 'No Such Agency.'"
"Is that a good thing?"
"Certainly. No one knows what you're doing, so you can do nothing at all." Shiller said, "External pressure too great? Go find the military; if internal riots occur, go find the police; didn't monitor important information? That's CIA's fault; if enforcement isn't strong enough, blame the FBI. The NSA should be renamed 'Everyone except the nation is very safe' agency."
Natasha suddenly realized and said, "No wonder Nick is so happy; it's the exact opposite of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Everyone knows S.H.I.E.L.D. handles safety, so whenever there's insecurity, they all go to S.H.I.E.L.D.: international conflicts find S.H.I.E.L.D. to mediate, internal riots find S.H.I.E.L.D. to back up, intelligence leaks find S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate, superhero civil wars find S.H.I.E.L.D. to manage. Nick is busy to death daily. But if there's not much for the National Security Agency to do, what about the budget?"
"That makes it easier. He doesn't even need to find work for himself, he can just misappropriate funds. Because this department is so secretive, Congress doesn't know what they're doing, and naturally can't question where the funds are going. Nick doesn't need to do much of anything, just transfer the money directly."
"Oh, so that's why he figured out how to send all those original managers to Hawaii, so no one would know when he misappropriates funds. So the President placed Nick here just to first consume that part of the budget."
"But that's not all it is." Shiller shook his head and said, "Because this department is too secretive, no one knows what it's actually doing, so when it asks you to cooperate, can you refuse?"
Natasha opened her mouth and said, "Why can't we? For example, if it asks us for interns, we could refuse."
"Then you'd be threatening national security." Shiller looked at her and said, "As long as its name is still the National Security Agency, any uncooperative behavior will be seen as a threat to the security of the Federation. If you want to do that, I won't stop you."
"I see." Natasha said, pressing her chin with her finger, "Because no one knows how they're maintaining national security, they don't actually have to do anything; but also, because no one knows how they're maintaining national security, when they want something, no one can refuse."
"Exactly." Shiller said, "It asked the two of us for interns, we better give them quickly. What if it's actually through hiring interns that they maintain national security? If the two of us don't cooperate, anything that happens afterward will be the FBI's and CIA's responsibility."
"Alright then." Natasha sighed and said, "Dismissing the Americans and recruiting a heap of British and Russian people must also be a necessary measure to maintain national security."
"If he says it is, then it is. Who made him the director of the National Security Agency? The only one who can hold him accountable is the President, and they're on the same team. And judging from the President's focus on him, he wants to take down the President on Capitol Hill and replace him with himself, and the President would agree."
The two parted ways at the intersection. Shiller returned to the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Inside the headquarters, everything was solemn, at least in the offices Shiller passed by, no one dared to idle around. These agents have recently figured out what kind of person Shiller is, and nobody wants to upset him.
"Go get the tech department people." Shiller said to his assistant, "How's that electronic firewall I asked them to build before?"
The tech department people quickly brought a stack of data and said, "The firewall is basically completed, but this thing can only fend off ordinary hackers. If there was really a powerful electronic life, it definitely wouldn't hold up."
"Of course. Go build 40 more."
"What?"
"Go build 40 more of these firewalls."
"But, why do we need so many? Is it to construct a differentiated program and conduct exhaustion method experiments to stall electronic life?"
"That explanation works, let's use that as the reason."
"And the budget..."
"Report it truthfully," Shiller said, "It's tumultuous times now, for the security of the Federation, Mr. President will approve."
"Alright." The tech department head said, "To better maintain the security of the Federation, we'll expedite the development. About the overtime pay..."
"Pay it truthfully, add two high-end coffee machines, and provide unlimited donuts. Go on."
After the tech head left, the assistant glanced outside and then said, "Congress won't approve of 40 firewalls, right?"
Shiller didn't answer, he just picked up the phone, dialed a number on the dedicated line, and then said to the other side, "How's it going? Barbara, the dirt I asked you to gather on the Congressmen, to what extent have you collected? Found quite a bit on everyone?"
"I know you're shocked, but don't be. Find a way to send their dirt to their respective email addresses and ensure they absolutely can't find any information on you. Exactly, like that electronic life."
Shiller hung up the phone and then looked up at the assistant, "Organize a comprehensive introspection and internal audit. If anyone asks why, say it's because the former director's neglect of information security may have led to a widespread information leak, including the investigation files of certain important figures."