Page "The Shockwave Rider" Paragraph 20

* Ralph C. Hartz is the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Data Processing, and the man to whom Paul Freeman reports his progress on interrogating Nick.

However he himself serves entrenched interests in Washington D. C.

When Nick, with Paul's help, escapes with even more powerful codes than before, he is ruthlessly cast aside, not least because his superiors refuse to accept that the new codes must be disabled so soon after replacing the old ones.