American Detective: Starting as a Rookie Cop in an American TV Show

Chapter 1357 New Number
Mr. Finch’s problems, of course, go beyond just needing exercise.

When his good friend Nathan discovered that the "irrelevant numbers" spit out by the "machine" predicted ordinary criminal cases, he tried to convince the NSA to apply it to the field of crime prevention.

The result was a flat rejection, and the reason was very simple.

The permission to collect personal privacy information is based on the Patriot Act enacted after 911/. Of course, this is just a fig leaf, but the fig leaf also has its reason for existence.

There are some things you can do but cannot say, even if your motivation is to save innocent lives.

The NSA provides terrorism-related numbers to the CIA or FBI and does not need to answer why when preventing terrorist attacks.

Where do the numbers come from? How does the NSA confirm that these numbers are related to impending terrorist attacks?
Even if some naive agents or detectives really asked such questions, they would be rejected with a "state secret" or "you have no right to know".

But criminal cases involving ordinary people are another matter. "Crime prevention" in the usual sense refers to reducing the crime rate by improving the community environment, increasing the employment rate, and increasing monitoring of public areas.

Instead of detectives waiting in their offices, they go out to stop crimes after a piece of paper with the suspect or victim's social security number appears on their desk.

Putting aside the question of whether the crime process was terminated prematurely, the question of whether a suspect who had criminal intent but failed to carry it out is guilty is a question that can make various legal schools of thought rack their brains.

The fear that the general public feels when they learn that their privacy is fully and completely exposed to the surveillance of the judicial authorities can completely turn this country upside down.

Nathan is a pure science and engineering man, his ideas are direct and simple.

If the public doesn’t understand, then explain to them the black box principle of the “machine”. There is no “person” snooping into their privacy, and all logical judgments are running in a “black box”.

The final result will also be determined by humans, so there is no need to panic.

As for judicial issues, it is nothing more than a legislative discussion. There are also a large number of corresponding legal provisions for attempted crimes. What needs to be done is nothing more than improving these laws.

After being flatly rejected by the NSA, Nathan was tormented by the "irrelevant numbers" that the "machine" kept giving him.

Just like the "Pandora's Box" that Fincher mentioned, if the "machine" had not been invented by him, we would have known nothing about "predicting crime".

Various unfortunate crimes occur every day in newspapers and online news, and innocent victims die every day, but for ordinary people, they can only sigh and be glad that such things have not happened to them.

But for Nathan, every day he can connect these reports with the "unrelated numbers" he obtained from the "machine" a week or even more in advance.

Those bloody photos of the scene and the sad cries of the victims' families when the TV station interviewed them all seemed to torture his conscience like whips.

Nathan told Finch his idea. He knew that doing so would cause an uproar and that not everyone could understand the operating principles of the "machine".

But he still wants to give the decision to the public, and let the public decide whether to turn off the "machine".

As a person who had suffered a "beating" from reality and had to remain anonymous even when developing a "machine", Finch naturally strongly opposed his friend's approach. The two even had a fierce quarrel over this.

Finch believes that this poses a threat to the safety of both of them, because since the day the "machine" was officially put into operation, people have been trying to break through the firewall he set up, intending to spy on or even control the situation inside the black box of the "machine".

This means that there are already ambitious people eyeing the "machine", and considering the confidentiality of this project, Finch has to make the worst guess. However, he was finally persuaded by Nathan, perhaps because idealists always have a kind of infectious quality, or simply because of the cherishment of their friendship for many years.

The next day, Finch went to the dock to meet Nathan, ready to face the coming storm together with him, but a sudden explosion separated the two good friends who were smiling at each other. (Chapter 1300)
Nathan died on the spot and Finch was seriously injured. A fixator was implanted in the third to fifth cervical vertebrae. From then on, his head could only turn less than 30 degrees to the left and right, and he walked with a limp.

Given this background and experience, it is normal for Finch to still be wary of Jack and his FBI team, even though he has vaguely guessed what someone had done in the Caribbean before.

A "decent person" would not suddenly contact him in Cuba when a nuclear explosion occurred on a small island in the Caribbean and ask him to help get a business jet to Greece.

Jack did this not to make Mr. Finch feel involved, but as a very obvious hint.

Afterwards, the two had a private chat, and Jack was very frank in telling them all the information about "Decima" and what they had done in Europe and on a small island.

After hearing this, Finch was stunned for a long time, as if the door to a new world had opened before his eyes.

Jack didn't know whether the trust between the two sides deepened after this, but he knew that from that moment on, the main plot of "Person of Interest" had probably collapsed.

During the time when Reese came to the small building at the base for restorative training every day, Jack told Finch that if any new number appeared, he could contact him directly, and he would decide whether to let Reese participate in the operation depending on the severity of the situation.

So two days later, he received a call from Finch before five in the morning.

At exactly 6 o'clock in the morning, when Jack walked into the second floor of an abandoned library with two cups of coffee, the billionaire, who was known for his secretive whereabouts, was sleeping soundly on the table.

"Good morning, Mr. Finch." The sound of the coffee cup being placed on the table woke Finch up.

"Uh, good morning, Agent Tawalla." Finch took off his glasses, squinted his eyes and saw who was coming. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed from his tense state. Then he complained in a low voice.

"Do all of you FBI members not even knock on the door like you do?"

Jack shrugged and smiled back, "No, this is the CIA's style. If you don't like it next time, I can shout at the door in advance, 'FBI! Open the door!'"

"This joke is not funny at all." Finch put on his glasses, picked up a folder on the table, and stood up with difficulty holding the armrest of the chair.

Seeing his slightly painful expression, Jack gave some advice, "In fact, you can also try acupuncture like Reese did, which can at least make your daily exercise easier.

If you tend to work late at night, moderate exercise can help you stay healthy.”

Finch looked down at his almost numb right leg and smiled bitterly, "You're not talking about exercise like jogging in the park every day, are you?"

"Even inside, there are various ways to stay healthy and fit. I know a British agent who was locked up in a tiny solitary cell for more than 30 years and still looks strong and fit after he came out."

Of course, Jack was not talking about Edward Bailey, the genius nuclear physicist and engineer who was killed not long ago, but Mason who had bravely entered the Alcatraz prison with him earlier.

(End of this chapter)