Digital Fortress is yet another book of Dan Brown that I completed reading recently and found it as astounding and as gripping as his first book that I read (The Da Vinci Code). Dan Brown has deployed the same strategy of story telling in this book too – revelation of the suspense element in the middle of the story, concise chapters with adept narrations, limited high level-headed characters, neck-to-neck chases and fast-paced storyline, which makes our heart skip its beat at every bend of the suspense and mesmerize us into his plot, thus making us feel part of the story and elicit expressions of wide ranges from excitement, panic, wrath to sorrow for every episode in the story. The author enchants us with his strong grip of realistic imagination.
Digital Fortress is twined with NSA (National Security Agency), as the backdrop. NSA is the Secret Security organization of US Intelligence, whose existence is hardly known to the world, and which possess TRANSLTR, it’s brainchild, with the creditability of a distinguished “Code-Breaker” decrypting any complex lengthy encryptions in no matter of time, thus invading all the communication system existent in this world. All goes well for NSA until one day NSA Commander Trevor Strathmore summons Susan Fletcher, the Head Cryptologist to decode an unbreakable code, which the TRANSLTR has not broken for more than 12 hours. The fact that TRANSLTR would become a failure, which will bring down the power of NSA to ashes, if it cannot break this unbreakable code, poses a big threat to the Organization and both Strathmore and Susan had to do something quick to stop NSA’s pitfall. Hell breaks loose, when they discover that the unbreakable code has been created by NSA former employee, Ensei Tankado, who threatens to bring the NSA to an end with his code, if NSA fails to publicly announce about TRANSLTR existence to the outside world, which if done, would cause major upheaval and upsurge of public rage for NSA's invasion into human’s basic rights of privacy. The only hope for TRANSLTR is the pass-key, possessed by Tankado, which is capable of decrypting the code, but which is non-obtainable due to the Tankado’s sudden death.
Strathmore sends David Becker, the Professor of Foreign Language and the lover of Susan to fetch the pass-key from the dead man’s belonging at the time of his death in Spain. What seemed to be a simple act of collecting a dead man’s ring, turns out to be a life threatening ordeal for David when his life gets into the threat of becoming a target for an assassin who is following him closely and killing everyone he encounters.
The realization of the unbreakable code’s camouflage is revealed too late to Strathmore and Susan from preventing TRANSLTR from its devastation. What was misinterpreted, as an 'Unbreakable Code' was actually a worm, which has already entered the NSA databank to breach its security system, thus going to sanction secured communications to the outside world. Before the worm hits its target, would NSA be able to save its databank from its new unstoppable invader? With very less time in hand and unable to decode the secret message of the pass-key, which yields the password to destroy the worm, would Susan and her team succeed in their efforts is the crux of the finale in the story.
The climax is very gripping and keeps us at the edge of our seats to know the outcome. One cannot take his mind off the book even after completing it. The vitality of characters is recorded in our minds and we tend to share with them, the impact of their experience within us too, even after putting the book down.
Digital Fortress is yet another code invented by Dan Brown, when opened, leads to infectious desire of reading more of his books and disseminates a fondness for Dan Brown for his legendary technique of captivating the readers with the ever-lasting memories of his books and its characters.
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