Digital Fortress
By: Dan Brown
Blog By: Corey Trinetti
Blog By: Corey Trinetti
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown begins with the discovery of an unbreakable algorithm by the National Security Agency. The algorithm is known simply as Digital Fortress and poses serious security threats. This means that all electronic criminal activity encoded with Digital Fortress would be undetectable to authorities such as the NSA. Enter Susan Fletcher and David Becker. Susan Fletcher a seasoned cryptographer is put on the duty of trying to decode the unbreakable code of Digital Fortress. David Becker, Susan’s boyfriend and professor at Georgetown University is sent on an unorthodox mission to Seville, Spain. His job is to retrieve all the belongings of a former and now dead NSA agent known as Ensei Tankado. Tankado the creator of this unbreakable algorithm was fired from the NSA and was believed to have made the code to expose that the NSA was breeching the privacy of people around the world. The story twists and turns between David’s struggle to stay alive while collecting every piece of Tankado’s belongings and Susan’s attempt to find out who else may be behind this incredible algorithm. Eventually after many deaths and numerous surprises the code is discovered with a joint effort between David and Susan. The unbreakable algorithm was revealed to actually be a virus which was attempting to steal the NSA’s information while posing the front of being a standard of code encryption. Fortunately the day is saved at the very end of the novel by Susan and David who manage to subdue the virus before it could steal much information from the NSA data bank.
Comments on Author's Use of Certain Elements:
The author uses diction in this novel fairly well, although sometimes he can become quite repetitive in his phrases and terminology, making his writing seem less intuitive and more robotic. The characters in this novel that seem quite convincing are David Becker, Ensei Tankado and anyone who did not work in the cryptography department. The reason people who worked in the cryptography department seemed less convincing is because they were a little short on knowledge about their field. This may have stemmed from the authors lack of research into cryptography or the author trying to simplify things for the reader. Regardless, this caused the ‘crypto’ characters to seem less convincing. The dialogue in this novel was also not incredibly convincing. Characters seemed to get mad and have extreme mood swings without even a heated conversation taking place. Characters would be discussing something as simple as directions and one would start swearing or yelling at the other. Because this book is fictional it can afford to lack the level of authenticity as non-fiction novel.
Quote Several Sentences That Appeal:
“Susan pulled in a long breath. “God help us,” she whispered.
Enigma was history’s most famous code-writing machine—the Nazis’ twelve-ton encryption beast. It had encrypted in blocks of four.”
This quote appeals to me in a strange way because the final part of the quote is completely inaccurate. It states that the ‘Nazi’s encryption beast’ weighed twelve tons (the weight of an average male elephant). What it really weighed was a mere 50kg, a much more reasonable figure.
“Without wax”
This quote appeals to me because it shows that even if you have all the knowledge in the world you may still not know how to solve everything. This quote appears many times throughout the novel including at the beginning and the end. This quote is something written on every letter from David Becker to Susan Fletcher, David would write this at the bottom of the letter after signing it. David told Susan that “without wax” was his form of a code and ever since she had been trying fruitlessly to solve the code. Even though she is one of the best cryptographers in the world she remains unable to crack this simple code and that is why this quote appeals to me.
“An algorithm that resists brute force will never become obsolete”
This quote appeals to me because it shows how difficult the job has become for the cryptographers when they have to deal with an algorithm resistant to brute force in the form of Digital Fortress. Fortunately the algorithm is not resistant to the human mind and the cryptographers including David and Susan are able to solve the clues left behind by the dead Tankado and eventually break the code.
