InterstellarNet: Origins by Edward M. Lerner

earlier-discovered ET species, engage in e-commerce with their interstellar neighbors.
Although Aquarians are well regarded for their advanced computational algorithms, it is interesting to note that they compute mentally rather than by computer. Their chief import from humanity is industrial technology.
—Internetopedia
    When Justin’s PDA chimed to announce a company-internal call, he was in his ISI office, sorting through the backlog from his Boston trip. Over the four-day weekend, company mail servers had filed twenty voicemails and over three hundred work emails.
    The top window at that moment on his PDA screen held the abstract of a report from ISI’s atmospheric physics department. They were responding to his forwarding of a recently received Aquarian parallel-processing technique. His referral message the week before had speculated that the ET method might be adaptable to weather forecasting. From their initial results, the computational efficiencies made practical by the Aquarian algorithm would let ISI extend their predictions by as much as a day. That would be a huge advantage in marketing forecasts to agribusinesses, fishing fleets, spacecraft launchers, power companies, and commodities speculators.
    The PDA chimed again. This time, Justin glanced at the caller ID. The incoming call was from Arlen Crawford, ISI’s VP of Contracts—who also happened to be Justin’s boss. ISI employed only one xenotechnomist, and Justin had to report to someone. They often went weeks without speaking. They went far longer without face-to-face meetings, since Arlen’s office was at ISI headquarters in Scotland.
    Justin looked puzzled. “Call accepted.”
    “Justin? Are you by yourself?”
    “Hello, Arlen. Yes, I’m in my office and alone. Why do you ask?”
    “Would you mind closing the door?”
    Looking more puzzled, Justin complied. “What can I do for you?”
    “I have to ask about something that’s rather irregular.”
    Justin said nothing.
    “Well, there’s no graceful way to bring this up, so I’ll just get right to it. Justin, the Security Department has informed me you have been in contact with our TSC rivals.”
    “Oh?”
    “I’m told that it was on your short leave of absence. Late last night, actually.”
    Justin frowned. “It sounds like I’ve been under surveillance. Why is that, Arlen?”
    “Nothing of the sort. I’m told the security people use artificial intelligences to monitor traffic on the corporate networks. They’d like to know why you contacted TSC last night.”
    “It was a personal matter, Arlen. There’s no cause for Security to be concerned.”
    “But they are concerned.”
    Justin’s jaw clenched. “How does it happen that the company sees my private email, composed at home using my personal digital assistant, and sent over the public network?”
    At a loss for words, Arlen glanced off-camera.
    Amateurs, Michael thought. Of course he had a lot more skin in the game than this middle-management drone. He walked around Arlen’s desk into camera view. “As I’m sure you know, Dr. Matthews, to transmit even personal messages requires accessing a ’net directory. Your PDA is apparently set to query an ISI directory server for address lookups.”
    Matthews glared. “And you are?”
    “Michael Zhang. Corporate security.”
    “So you would have me believe that Security monitors every name lookup to see if any employee is in contact with another company?”
    “Yes.”
    Matthews shook his head. “I don’t accept that. Ignoring innocent ’net surfing, I know of a dozen joint ventures between the two companies. Each such project is a reason for ISI employees to have regular contacts with TSC.”
    Michael shrugged. “Dr. Matthews, your beliefs are of very little interest to me. That we did notice your message should, however, be important to you. Think about that.
    “I will expect your prompt explanation as to why that message was sent.”
    Michael’s finger stabbed down to