FICTION SELF-INTERVIEWS
Ari Juels: The TNB Self-InterviewCAMBRIDGE, MA 04 December 2009 |
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The protagonist in your novel Tetraktys is a cryptographer (among other things). What is cryptography?
Cryptography is about is the study of secret codes. It used to be the exclusive province of spies, diplomats, and the military. The advent of computers, though, has woven it into the fabric of our everyday lives. Cryptography today secures banking transactions, munitions, critical infrastructure, automobiles, etc., etc.—not to mention the activities of ordinary computer users. Every time a little lock appears in the corner of your web browser, as when you make an online purchase or log into your bank’s web site, cryptography is at work protecting your communications.
And why is cryptography sexy?
A colleague of mine who is a great frequenter of bars often runs into a problem when he explains that he’s a cryptographer. The invariable response is, “A photographer? Really? Can you make a living at that?” Careful honing of his skills has led him to a clever, seductive description of the cryptographer’s profession that has been stress-tested against many martinis.
“Suppose that you and I want to have a conversation,” he says, leaning confidentially toward the woman he’s chatting up. “But we’re being eavesdropped on by that person over there.” He indicates some seedy fellow nearby. (They’re conveniently abundant in drinking establishments.) “Using cryptography, you and I can talk until we develop a secret language. Amazingly, even though someone is listening to us as we invent this language, he won’t be able to understand it. Once we’ve perfected our secret language, you and I will be able to talk freely. No one else—not that eavesdropper over there—not even a person with a powerful computer, in fact—will be able to figure out what we’re saying to one other...”
I don’t know if this stratagem works. Cryptographers are too discreet to kiss and tell. But I think it’s an excellent explanation of how counterintuitive and powerful contemporary cryptography can be.
Your novel has an inscrutable title, quite frankly. What does “Tetraktys” mean, and how do you pronounce it?
Very good question. Briefly, the Tetraktys (“teh-trak’-tis”) is a mystical emblem associated with the cult of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher. Pythagoras is known mainly for his enduring service to high school geometry (via the Pythagorean Theorem), but he and his followers had a broad and profound impact on Western philosophy. For the Pythagoreans, the Tetraktys encapsulates the musical, geometric, and numerical foundations of the universe. A video here explains how.
The Tetraktys looks like this—ten circles in a pyramid:
You’ve been supporting yourself as a writer by holding down a job as Chief Scientist of RSA Labs. That must keep you pretty busy. When did you find the time to write your novel?
I don’t really recall where I found the time, to be honest. My belief is that a remarkable thing happened to me early in the process. It was 1999. I’d already committed a few years of soul-rending labor to my book, and was despairing of ever finishing. This was back in the remote days when I still wrote with a fountain pen. One evening, I had occasion to buff a little stain off my ink jar. A cloud billowed forth, and there materialized within it a genie, who granted a wish on the spot. I wished, naturally, for the thing I had been praying for every night—that I’d wake up the next morning and find the novel finished.
And lo! It happened. But the genii also whisked away seven years of my life. When I awoke, it was 2006. (The only sound advice I’m in a position to offer to younger writers: Beware of genies with twisted senses of humor.)
Is Tetraktys readable by ordinary people, or is it for nerds in ancient Greek or computer science?
Tetraktys draws on real science and classical history. Readers of the novel, though, don’t need to sweat the details; they only need to appreciate what technology does for (and to) people. The novel contains only one equation and one sentence in ancient Greek. That said, one of my hopes in writing Tetraktys was to show that popular thrillers needn’t skimp on real substance in code-breaking or ancient history.
Very briefly, what is Tetraktys about?
It’s a mystery / thriller in which it appears that someone has figured out how to break RSA, a real cryptographic algorithm that’s present in more or less every computer today. The National Security Agency suspects that the culprits may be a latter-day cult of Pythagoreans. They call on the help of Ambrose Jerusalem, a young cryptographer with a rare additional trait, a steeping in classical archaeology and history.
You’re both a technologist and a writer. So what’s your perspective on eBooks?
To my shock, I’ve become an avid reader of books on my iPhone. Some friends are appalled by the tiny screen. But as a small-time collector of antiquarian books, I come across “duodecimo” and “sextodecimo” volumes that were even smaller and more unreadable. Here’s an example:
There are drawbacks to eBooks, such as the disconnect between text and physical location—a subtle mnemonic element that is now lost. But I believe these will ultimately be restored or supplanted. The most disturbing thing about some eBooks as they exist now is the way that readers’ notes sit unencrypted on servers. Anyone with access to the right server can rifle through the private marginalia of your library.
Have you ever considered becoming a full-time writer?
No. I find that for me, and often for many people I know, turning a pleasant pastime into a profession kills the joy. Writing is still (mostly) a pleasure for me. Thankfully, as a scientist, I’ve also been blessed with a substantial administrative burden in running a lab. My pleasure in scientific research remains undiminished, because I’m unable to do nearly as much as I’d like.
This interview contains the personal opinions of the author. Its content has not been read or approved in advance by EMC and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of EMC or its RSA Division.
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