Metafire

Metafire was a regular subscriber to USA Today. The text was freely available through Metafire stamp permissions and the standard allowance that publicly broadcast text could go through to Metafire uncensored. Ferguson was also a subscriber. The next morning, Ferguson had ordered coffee in his motel room and was perusing the Internet on his laptop. He checked USA Today for headlines and then the digital index. He saw the term, "Metafire." He double clicked on it and saw the headline, "Who is Metafire Systems, Inc.?" Within a few seconds he made a telephone contact through his web browser to the situation room at the White House.

"Did you see the article in USA Today?"

"Yes sir, we have it."

"Why didn't you call me!"

"We just saw it, sir. We have called Major Henderson. We have also alerted the President."

"Shut down all communications, all communications, with Metafire. There is to be nothing in or out."

"Yes sir. Immediately." The Captain in charge was a young man, about thirty. He immediately issued orders to shut off all communications in and out of the Metafire corporate systems and the Metafire colony. Jack, who was the only one awake on Bluebird, received a copy of the shutdown order within seconds of the digital traffic shutoff. Traffic continued to be routed to his screen, but it was halted there. He wondered what happened, but it seemed like such a good idea to shut these guys down, that he didn't think it was important enough to wake anybody.