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APPROACHING ZERO

In an interview in a Bulgarian newspaper, Vesko was asked about the rumours. ‘Can you give me the name of Dark Avenger?’ the reporter queried.

‘No.’

‘Is it possibly you?’

‘I have been asked similar questions both in the West and in the Soviet Union. But it is not true.’

Despite the rumours, Vesko isn’t the Dark Avenger – but he does provide the oxygen of publicity for the Bulgarian virus writer. It suits them both: for Vesko, the Dark Avenger provides the raw material for his reports; for the Dark Avenger, Vesko’s watchfulness ensures his own reputation as the demonic scourge of computers.

The two young men – the hunter and the outlaw – are locked in an unfriendly embrace. The relationship between the two is one of mutual distrust, which neither attempts to disguise. It is the classic relationship between a cop and his adversary: hatred, tinged with a measure of respect.

On several occasions, Vesko says, he has tried to smoke out the virus writer. Once Vesko announced that he had carefully analyzed two viruses attributed to the Dark Avenger: the Number of the Beast and Eddie. He said that, in his view, they could not possibly be the work of the same writer. One was clever, the work of a professional, the other sloppy, the work of an amateur. Furthermore, he said that he intended to present his evidence at a lecture that would be held in Sofia. He guessed that the Dark Avenger would appear, if only to hear what Vesko had to say about his programs.

The meeting was well attended, particularly for a cold Friday night in early December. Vesko presented his evidence. Number of the Beast, he said, was obviously written by an extremely skilled specialist whose style contrasted in every way with the poor quality of Eddie. He watched the audience during his presentation, Vesko says, looking for someone who might be the Dark Avenger; during the questions and discussion afterwards he listened for anyone defending the programming of Eddie. He saw and heard nothing that gave him any clues.

But two days after the lecture he received a letter from the Dark Avenger. According to the letter, the virus writer had attended the

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