"Hungry for Success" by English Professionals. EPISODE 18 : As clear as mud - part 3

Henry explains but can't answer all the questions

Transcript

HUNGRY FOR SUCCESS : Episode 18

“As clear as mud part 3”

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No Macrosoft takeover

Libby Jones is not Libby Jones

“But how?” said Tim

“Elementary, my dear Watson” said Henry. “Have you heard of Deepfake?  I won’t get too technical but, it’s relatively new technology which allows you to modify a video to basically make it look like somebody is saying whatever you want them to say. It’s actually quite simple - even a child could do it, or so they say. Here the quality didn’t have to be too hot and, in fact if you look closely, you can see that that person claiming to be Libby seems to be slightly different from the rest of the people - as if she was filmed on another camera and then the two videos combined to make it seem like just one scene. 

What you and James saw was a video of a meeting last year with Roboworld. It was modified a little using deepfake -  to remove Susie Flemming ‘s face and words and replace them with somebody else’s face and their words - the mysterious Libby Jones - her words obviously tailored to make you think that the recording you were watching was actually a  live video call on the subject of the LIghtning Systems takeover. 

They were banking on the fact that you would be a little overawed by the apparent presence of Sebastian Walker and wouldn’t try and engage him in conversation. You also did the call on your laptop - guaranteeing that the video and sound quality wouldn’t be up to much. They knew this. If you remember, very soon the call switched to a close up of LIbby Jones and you couldn’t see anybody else. That way Libby could speak to you freely. You only saw the other participants for about a couple of minutes at the beginning. They just introduced themselves and then the camera switched to Ms Jones until the end”.

Derek broke the silence. 

“So I have to ask, boss, who is LIbby Jones and what’s her game? Why go to all this trouble - just to fool James and Tim?”

“That’s a very good question Derek.Unfortunately I don’t have the answer. And that is where you guys come in. I need you to be my eyes and ears and to do a bit of digging”,

“What about James?”  asked Tim

“Leave James out of it for now”, said Henry sadly.

The three of them stared at the old man. 

“I don’t know whether James is part of this yet”, he reluctantly admitted, “in reality I don’t even know what it is”

“So as far as the Macrosoft takeover is concerned, everything is still business as usual. You guys need to play along as if you think it’s for real. That includes in front of James.”

The four of them sat in silence - the only sound - birds chirping in the trees around them. 

One thought came into Tim’s mind. “Only a loser would fall for a fake video conference call”

For the second time that week he realised that there was only one person he wanted to talk to.

COMMENTARY

Henry replies to Tim’s question as to how the conference call could have been fake with “Elementary, my dear Watson”. This phrase originates from the Sherlock Holmes books by the English author, Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes usually says something similar when explaining how he solved a crime to his amazed assistant, Watson. As in many languages, in English we often use well-known quotations and other  cultural references like this. 

When explaining Deepfake technology Henry says that it is so simple “even a child could do it”. We use this phrase to emphasise that something is in fact incredibly easy - literally easy enough for a child to do.  The quality of the final video didn’t have to be too hot -  “hot” in this context signifies good or high quality and is often used in a negative way.

For example : my Excel skills are not too hot, I’m afraid

Meaning I’m not good with Microsoft Excel.

The fraudsters, whoever they are, were “banking on the fact” or relying on the fact that the video quality on Tim’s laptop “wouldn’t be up to much” - basically not very good.

For example - his presentation wasn’t up to much. Most people left before the end. 

Derek wants to know what’s going on and so he asks, referring to Libby Jones, “what’s her game”?  Literally, which game is she playing - what is her objective?  The people who faked the video are going to a lot of trouble - meaning making a lot of effort. Trouble in this context represents the hard work being put in.

Henry doesn’’t yet know the answers to all of the questions that the others have. In response he says “that’s where you guys come in”. He means that it’s going to be Tim, Derek, and Sue’s responsibility to find out the answers - this is the point where they join in the investigation.

He then uses a strange-sounding phrase asking the three of them to “be his eyes and ears”. He is not present in the LIghtning offices and not able to personally look for information. So they will have to look and listen on his behalf - literally be his eyes and ears. He wants them to “do some digging” - meaning find information which may not be readily available - so it has to be uncovered. “Digging” implies that it might be hidden - like pirate treasure buried under the ground.

Henry is unsure whether James is involved in some way in the fraud. It must be hard for him to accept that perhaps his own son can’t be trusted. He tells the others “it’s still business as usual”. We use this phrase to say that everything must continue as before even though some important events are impacting normal life. 

For example- I know that it’s difficult to concentrate given the boss’ illness but, if he were here,  I’m sure he would say “it’s business as usual”.

The three colleagues need to “play along” - literally pretend that everything is normal and carry on acting as if the takeover is real. 

Tim is once again feeling insecure. He starts to think that perhaps he is a loser - not successful and never will be. Guess who he wants to talk to. 

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