Castle, preoccupied with devising a way to convince Harold Finch to stop his vigilante activities in Manhattan's central district, paid no attention to Ramsey, who seemed to be in a similar state of mental sacrifice after spending the night with Lamsey. Castle's indifference only served to irritate Ramsey, who was still caught up in the gravity of the situation.
"Uncle Rick, are you even listening to me? I'm serious. If the government realizes the full capabilities of this software, it could be just as powerful as Lamsey's 'God's Eye.' And the growth potential in its underlying code? That's an even bigger problem…"
Lamsey, unusually worried, also glanced at Castle with concern. She couldn't understand why, despite their detailed explanations of the program's potential dangers, Castle remained so unconcerned.
Looking at the two tech geniuses in front of him, Castle was struck by how intelligence alone wasn't enough to grasp every nuance of a situation. While these two were likely the most efficient hackers in the world thanks to Castle's supercomputer, they were still a bit naive.
Why wasn't Castle worried? Even after learning that the government currently held a potentially powerful program capable of mass surveillance, he remained calm.
The answer came to him moments earlier: Finch's situation was a product of the peculiarities of American governance.
Due to America's decentralized system, the federal government had no direct authority over local police departments. For example, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) could manage the FBI but had no jurisdiction over agencies like the NYPD, which fell under the New York City government. The NYPD was accountable to City Hall, not the DOJ.
Finch's software, fundamentally a big data analysis program, worked by analyzing data to predict high-risk scenarios for potential victims. While impressive in its predictive capabilities, if placed in federal hands, it would likely become a mere novelty or burden.
Here's why:
Manpower limitations: Even if the DOJ or FBI obtained the software, could they deploy enough personnel to act on its predictions? The DOJ directly oversees only a few enforcement agencies, and the FBI hardly has the manpower to dispatch agents for every potential crime the software predicts.
Fragmented jurisdiction: America's federal, state, and local law enforcement operate independently. Local police answer to their municipalities, not the federal government. With no centralized authority akin to the Ministry of Public Security in other countries, coordinating such a program across multiple agencies is nearly impossible.
If such a program existed in a centralized country with a unified police force, like the rising power across the Pacific, it could achieve its full potential. But in the U.S.? Forget it.
The decentralized nature of American law enforcement meant that even neighboring police departments, like those in New York City and New Jersey, operated independently. Expecting them to cooperate seamlessly with the federal government was laughable.
This structural divide meant Ramsey and Lamsey's fears were largely unfounded. The government's fragmented system made deploying Finch's software on a national scale a logistical nightmare.
Of course, if the program were enhanced and upgraded, it might indeed evolve into the kind of all-seeing surveillance system Ramsey and Lamsey feared. But it wasn't there yet. For now, Castle's understanding of the fragmented relationship between America's law enforcement agencies reassured him that such fears were premature.
Even if the federal government recognized the program's potential, implementing it would be riddled with obstacles:
Who would manage it? The CIA? They were in chaos after recent shakeups by President Benjamin. The NSA? It had just been scapegoated for the White House attack and was in no position to expand its powers. The FBI? If they attempted mass surveillance using Finch's program, it would likely lead to public outcry and scandal.
While American intelligence agencies had a history of illegal surveillance, they had become more cautious after the Snowden revelations. Even if they saw Finch's program as valuable, deploying it without causing a media firestorm was easier said than done.
Lamsey's anxiety stemmed from her expertise. As a big data specialist, she understood the program's potential far better than most. Her fears weren't baseless—they were rooted in her intimate knowledge of what such software could achieve.
But Lamsey's understanding of America's political landscape was less refined. She underestimated how the U.S. system's inefficiencies and rivalries would impede the program's deployment.
Watching his young assistants fret over their imagined doomsday scenarios, Castle finally decided to explain. These two were, after all, his most valuable "tools." Ramsey excelled in research, and Lamsey was indispensable for intelligence and support. They couldn't remain paralyzed by unwarranted fears.
Castle patiently broke down his reasoning. "I'm not against stopping the government from using this program. But the real issue isn't the program itself—it's Finch. He's an idealist who wants the government to embrace his software. Destroying the government's copy won't matter if Finch just rebuilds it or hands it over again."
Ramsey looked deflated. "So what do we do? If the government starts taking this seriously, things will spiral out of control!"
Castle thought for a moment before answering. "We need to talk to Finch. Make him see the gap between his ideals and reality. If we don't, not only will I fail Beckett's assignment, but we might also end up facing a bigger mess down the line."
Still, Castle wasn't entirely dismissive of Ramsey and Lamsey's concerns. Modifying the program's base code to remove its capacity for growth might be the safest solution. But that wasn't something that could be done hastily.
Even with JARVIS's near-omniscient capabilities, breaching a government server undetected would take time. Castle knew this required a long-term approach: gradual infiltration by JARVIS, ensuring no alarms were triggered, and then altering the program's code once inside.
For now, however, Castle needed to focus on a more immediate problem: convincing Finch to stop his vigilante activities in Beckett's jurisdiction.
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