PLAYTHINGS OF THE GODS

Now say you are in the middle of a lake fishing with your friend. No one is close to you. You think it issafe to talk. Well, think again. You see, you are most likely wearing an electronic watch. In it is acrystal on a frequency of 32.678 KHz. It is much weaker that the TV set but strong enough to make afield around you and someone close to you. So, spy satellites can tune in on you and hear every wordyou say. This is basically how the ultrasonic spy system works.

X-RAY SATELLITES

In case the government also wants to watch you in your home while it is listening to you, it can targetyour house with one of its X-Ray satellites. Of course, if you live in an old house painted with leadbased paint they will have a fuzzy picture. Therefore, new laws not only outlaw lead paint but requirethe removal of any existing lead paint so they can get a clear picture. The system is very selective. Forexample, if you have a 50 story office building and you are interested in activities on the 17th. floor, youcan "tune in" that floor and exclude the rest of the building. Clearly, this technology is similar to thenew airport scanners which can be adjusted to gradually "strip off your clothes" layer by layer to see ifyou are hiding anything. The only difference with the satellites would be higher power and moreselective focusing ability.

VENDORS

Government spies who are constantly slithering around the country killing and otherwise harassinghelpless citizens use sophisticated electronic gadgets. This is not the same stuff you can go out and buyat some "spy store". This is stuff that regular people have never seen and have no idea exists.Unfortunately, gadgets brake sometimes and need service. What's a lonely spy to do - far from the homeoffice - should this happen.

Well, fortunately, the government thought of that and established a network of repair centers. Theserepair centers go by the code name "vendors". So, if your spy stuff needs fixing, you know somewherelocally you can go to get the work done. Vendors use ordinary garden variety businesses as "fronts".Flower shops are popular because no would expect anything sinister there. In this case you would walkinto the flower shop and say something like, "Hi, I am have some special trouble with my garden and Italked to Patty Petunia and she said she could help me." Obviously, there is no Patty Petunia but youhave now given the correct code word and they will let you into the back room where the technicianswork and you can get your stuff fixed or replaced or whatever it takes to get you back in shape to carryon your secret assignment.

NATIONWIDE DOUBLETHINK

Now, let's say the "vendor" in the spy fix it shoppe needs parts. Well, you need to go to a parts store.But, the parts you need are classified so the catalog is not going to have them in it. So you say, "I needsome hard to find parts and Cathy Capacitor said you might have them." Now that you have said thecorrect code word, the man behind the counter will hand you a catalog which looks like the regular