A young American computer engineer (Shane West as Max Petersen) acquires a mobile phone that receives strange text

messages. First they encourage him to miss his flight which he then learns crashed soon after takeoff. Then the messages direct him to buy a certain stock, which he then learns increases by 313%. Next, he is directed to a hotel/casino in Prague to gamble. He first wins one-hundred thousand Euro on a slot machine and then bets the entire amount on a hand of blackjack, which he wins. Both bets are made on the basis of further text messages he receives on his new phone. Max then has an altercation with a beautiful woman (Tamara Feldman) and her jealous boyfriend in the hotel corridor, where he is knocked-out and his mysterious phone is apparently scanned. Max wakes up with the woman, Kamila, smiling above him. He immediately asks her out for a drink. To further his new-found career in gambling, Max enlists the aid of a Russian cabbie/apparent e-gadget enthusiast, Yuri (Sergey Gubanov), who outfits him with a text-to-voice earpiece to wirelessly receive his anonymous and lucrative text messages. His lucky streak continues when he hits the 3 million Euro jackpot on a slot machine but is forced to run away when casino security led by John Reed (Edward Burns) attempts to detain him. This chase is ended by the intervention of FBI Agent Dave Grant (Ving Rhames) who handcuffs Max and interrogates him for information about the phone. Max is frightened, but unable to provide any information. At this point Agent Grant contacts Raymond Burke (Martin Sheen) of the NSA, who is apparently monitoring Max because he is receiving messages from an omniscient communication surveillance computer system known as Echelon. These messages have been responsible for the deaths of several Americans, most recently an IT specialist working in the Pentagon. Burke recently lost a battle to pass a bill in Congress that would allow Echelon to be upgraded by being uploaded into personal computers worldwide. Burke eventually decides that Max knows too much and must be eliminated, however, Reed and the beautiful woman from the hotel now revealed as Reed's associate come to Max's aid and spirit him away to Moscow. There Max re-connects with the techie Yuri and tries to get his help in discovering who is sending the messages. Yuri believes that the messages are coming directly from the computer itself, and that the system has achieved some kind of autonomous self-awareness. Max and Reed object to his idea, but they are forced to flee when more armed men arrive at Yuri's apartment. A Moscow car chase ensues. The chase ends with Reed outmaneuvering and eventually blowing-up the chase cars, which happen to be led by Agent Grant. Grant escapes injury, but Max seizes the moment to inflict some payback for their previous encounter. Grant asks Max to help him stop Echelon, as he has now also begun to receive threatening texts. Max then receives another text, instructing him to return to Omaha, Nebraska, where he first worked as a computer security engineer. Max, Grant and Reed all fly home on a military aircraft. Arriving in Omaha, the group finds a sealed-up, bunker-like structure with a cache of servers and a high-

end computer system that Max helped install years earlier. The property is revealed to belong to another victim of Echelon's messages, the same person whose credit card was used to send Max the phone. Max starts up the bunker's computer and is instructed via text to fire up the servers and connect them to the network. Echelon then begins downloading itself into the bunker's computers and begins a countdown to replicate itself across the world wide computer network. Agent Grant calls Burke at the NSA to inform him, but Burke is content to let the Echelon replicate itself worldwide, in the interests of US national security. Grant and Reed break ranks with Burke at this point and Burke sends back other FBI agents to detain them. Meanwhile, Max is failing to stop Echelon's replication countdown, until he takes an idea from the 1980s film WarGames. Max asks the computer what its primary purpose is and it replies to defend the US, as defined by the Constitution. Max then asks the computer to search for threats to the US Constitution, and it comes back with a plethora of articles concerning the recent attempts to secure Congressional approval to upgrade Echelon, which is characterized as a grave threat to personal freedoms. At the point when the download is complete, Echelon "learns" that it is itself the threat and executes its own shutdown. The film ends with Agent Grant and Reed sending Max and Kamila off to Paris, while Burke is subpoenaed to appear before the Senate intelligence committee. The final cryptic scene is back in Moscow, where the techie Yuri is unveiled as a Captain in the Russian Security Service. In a conversation (in Russian) with his apparent commanding officer he is commended for his actions. Yuri replies that they will soon try to start it again but, for today, they have helped the Americans to make the right decision; "I would like to believe", he adds cryptically, and at that moment turns off his mobile phone.

Chances are the world will never get attacked by giant robots or space aliens or monsters from beneath the sea, so we can set aside those particular fears that have been planted in our heads by the movies. But sometimes the dangers depicted in films aren?t as easily dismissed. Case in point? The new thriller Echelon Conspiracy, hitting theaters on Feb. 27 from After Dark Films and Mobicom Entertainment. In Echelon Conspiracy, mysterious cell phone messages lure an American engineer into a deadly international intrigue that reveals the frightening scope of modern electronic surveillance. Dangerous security operatives chase the engineer across the globe, while a shadowy government official pursues a nefarious agenda that threatens the stability of the entire world. Shane West (ER) takes on the high-octane role of American engineer Max Peterson, who finds himself pursued by security officer John Reed (Edward Burns, Saving Private Ryan) and CIA agent Dave Grant (Ving Rhames, Pulp Fiction) while NSA Director Raymond Burke (Martin Sheen, The West Wing) and billionaire Mueller (Jonathan Pryce, Pirates of the Caribbean) pull the strings behind the scenes. Tamara Feldman, the sultry starlet from Dirty Sexy Money, plays the dangerous and seductive Kamila. The film was directed by Greg Marcks (11:14). The film?s title comes from a real-world computer network called Echelon, and the more you learn the facts the less inclined you will be to dismiss the plot of Echelon Conspiracy as fiction. PART ONE: BACKGROUND The surveillance technology in ?Echelon Conspiracy? is very real. And very dangerous. The real-life Echelon is an information-gathering network employed by several of the world?s most powerful governments to collect and analyze millions of pieces of electronic communication every day. While many important details are top-secret, such as how much information is gathered and who ensures that privacy laws are honored, the volume of scholarship and reportage that is available proves the existence of Echelon beyond any doubt. Need proof? Check out this leaked official document (http://public.me.com/echelonmovie/report.pdf?disposition=download) from the top levels of the European Union. In technical terms, Echelon is a ?signals intelligence? SIGINT (http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/sigint/overview.htm) network: Electronic information is collected from various sources and fed into a sophisticated computer system that analyzes and distributes key data extrapolated from the information. Nations including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom participate in the Echelon program, but the big player in this mysterious game is the United States government. America?s own National Security Agency (NSA) (http://www.nsa.gov) oversees the operation of the Echelon network. Like it or not, you?re being watched. For useful overviews of Echelon, check out articles by Nicky Hager (http://jya.com/echeclon.htm), What Really Happened (http://whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/ECHELON/echelon.html), Wikipedia (http://en.wkipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON), and World Information.org (http://worldinformation.org/wio/infostructure/100437611746/100438658866). PART TWO: TECHNOLOGY According to various expert reports, the principal tools used to collect information for Echelon are ground stations with satellite downlink capabilities. It is generally believed that one of the major stations is located on the grounds of Menwith Hill (http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/rafmenwithhill.cfm), a Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, UK. A vast number of large spheres, called ?radomes? (http://www.radomes.org/), dot a rural field on the base?s physical plant. Reports suggest that information intercepted from satellite transmissions, such as e-mails and cellular phone calls, is routed through radomes such as those at Menwith Hill and fed into the SIGINT network that feeds Echelon. The network is able to analyze, sort, translate, and re-route this intercepted information. This makes the raw data

extrapolated from the intercepted information available on an incredibly fast basis, perhaps even in real time. If prevailing theories are true, Echelon functions as a sifter through which much of the world?s electronic information passes. Trivial data is stored for later review while potentially important data (as identified through keywords and other ?red flag? sorting mechanisms) is delivered immediately to participating intelligence agencies. Think of this as the surveillance community?s answer to Google Alerts. The exact number and locations of the ground stations have not been disclosed. Also unknown to the general public is the specific technology employed at ground stations. So while the existence of Echelon is a certainty, the nature of the system?s inner workings remains a tantalizing mystery. For in-depth analysis of this subject, read these articles by Major A. Andronov (http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/sigint/androart.htm), Duncan Campbell (http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/6/6929/1.html, http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/ic2000/ic2000.htm), the staff of CNET (http://news.cnet.com/NSA-eavsedropping-How-it-might-work/2100-1028_3-6035910.html), and NSA Watch (http://www.nsawatch.org/echelonfaq.html). PART THREE: MYSTERY It?s a knee-jerk reaction to use the word ?conspiracy? as the first half of the phrase ?conspiracy theory.? But unlike many mysteries that vex those suspicious of government, Echelon is real. We may never know the truth about JFK?s assassination or Area 51, but the facts about Echelon are only partially hidden. Observers concur on the basics, as proven by the ?smoking gun? of the aforementioned European Union report. Echelon is a huge information-gathering network utilized by several major international powers, and it is administrated by the United States. But what remains to be discovered? For one, there?s the name of the program. Is it Echelon or is it ?ECHELON,? and do the letters form an acronym? If so, what words to the letters represent? This puzzler is inconsequential, however, when compared with the much bigger enigma . . . How far can Echelon reach into our lives? In Echelon Conspiracy, the filmmakers argue that a system this sophisticated would allow users to hack into every security camera in the world. Is this capability real or a flight of artistic fancy? When you realize what Echelon can already do, is tapping into security cameras really that much of a leap? World governments have a vested interest in acquiring as much information as possible, so if a tool like Echelon could let them spy on people in nearly every public space in the world (as well as plenty of private spaces), wouldn?t those governments use such a tool? In this case, truth may be a lot scarier than fiction. For explorations of these provocative topics, check out articles by Peter Goodspeed (http://www.fire.net.nz/echelon.htm) and the staff of Wired (http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/1999/10/32039, http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2000/01/33891). PART FOUR: DANGER The explosion of digital technology and the aftermath of 9/11 made old debates about the use of surveillance techniques more complicated than ever before. World governments and other organizations have tools at their disposal that would have been unimaginable to previous generations. The controversy that arose over President George W. Bush?s use of a ?warrantless wiretapping? program proves how deeply feelings go when the subject is the possible violation of citizens? privacy rights. But even a discussion of the ethical implications of domestic spying only hints at the scope of a discussion involving Echelon. By using sophisticated SIGINT technology and grabbing electronic communications that traverse the entire globe, the Echelon network gives participating nations access to information from anywhere in the world while skirting the outer reaches of international law. Therefore the questions that Echelon Conspiracy asks are not only provocative but

important. In an era of international terrorism, do nations? rights to safety trump citizens? rights to privacy? Can one nation or even a group of nations be trusted to administrate a tool that allows spies to intercept millions of e-mails, phone calls, and other transmissions? And most frightening of all . . . What happens if someone with a nefarious agenda gets control of Echelon? For investigations of these crucial issues, read these articles from American Thinker (http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/01/under_clinton_ny_times_called.html), BNET (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BNO/is_2000_Sept/ai_64769669), CNET (http://news.cnet.com/Bush_allies_defend_NSA_surveillance/2100-1028_3-6030518.html?tag-mncol, http://news.cnet.com/Just-how-extensive-is-NSAs-spy-program/2100-1028_3-6006326.html?tag=mncol), Democracy Now (http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/14/james_bamford_the_shadow_factory_the), and Video Surveillance Guide (http://www.video-surveillance-guide.com/3034-echelon-surveillance-system.htm).

Echelon is one of those novels that is quite fun while you're reading it and then instantly forgotten once you've finished. It's not bad for what it is - all high-octane, densely plotted stuff packed with boat chases, shootouts, conspiracy and subterfuge for those who like that sort of thing. The problem is, there isn't enough here to make the novel stand out on its own two feet as something unique. It's all very Neuromancer crossed with James Bond without being as good as either. In fact, Conviser's depictions of 'the flow' aren't nearly as convincing as Gibson's portrayal of a digital world and that was written well over twenty years ago before such things as the internet even existed! You would think that a novel filled with this much action would make me care about what's going on to the main characters, but unfortunately beyond all the explosions and fight scenes there is very little at the heart of this book. A lack of core characters makes it obvious away who the real bad guy is. And a lack of subtext and moral questioning about the implications of Laing's actions leaves the book feeling flat and bland. Personally, I think a much better novel could have been achieved if Conviser had spent more time going into the implications of what he shows us. For example, what's it like coming back from the dead? Was there an afterlife? If not, how does that affect someone's take on life? Laing's attitude of constantly going around like a man with a death wish just seems wrong considering he's already died once. As said, this isn't a bad book. It's a solid example of its genre, well paced and with consistent writing. But more than anything else, it just didn't excite me very much. To be blunt, I found it hard at times to care about what was happening and quickly got bored while reading it despite the rate at which I was turning those pages. That, more than anything else, is the biggest criticism I can level against this book.