(FORTUNE Magazine) – When the world comes to an end, they're going to call Chris Roome, 26, for tech support. He's not a soldier but vice president of engineering for Video Networks in Gaithersburg, Md., which builds multimedia command centers (translation: war rooms). Roome lists several Defense Department agencies among his clients. And--let's just say this again--he's 26. Intrigued by a national-security staffer who wasn't even born during the Vietnam war, FORTUNE quizzed Roome about high-tech warfare, Dr. Strangelove, and playing Atari on the taxpayers' dime. (And did we mention he's 26?)

Q: How old are you again?

A: I'm 26.

Q: So how does a young guy like you command authority when dealing with Army generals?

A: I spent a lot of time just learning the material, so when somebody asked me a question, I could come up with a credible answer.

Q: Are the war rooms really like what you see in WarGames or Dr. Strangelove?

A: Rotating tables and disappearing walls aren't the norm by any means. Some customers want to have the glitz, but the government doesn't want to have taxpayers come in and look at the displays and say, "Was this really necessary?"

Q: So how do you go about designing a war room?

A: The standard rooms hold ten to 50 people. We install video projectors, plasma displays, LCD panels, VCRs, DVDs, and ceiling speakers. There are microphones on the table for audio and video teleconferencing and two displays, so you can see what you look like on the camera and so you can see the people you're speaking with.

Q: Did you play a lot of videogames when you were a kid?

A: Never did. But now with the large projection systems, it's nice to hook up an old Atari 2600 every once in a while and see it on the big screen.

Q: I'll bet you have a kick-ass home theater.

A: No. I don't have cable. It's like a mechanic whose car doesn't work.

Q: Who would win in a death match, you or Condoleezza Rice?

A: I'd have to say that I'd lose that match. I think the odds are stacked against me there. She must have had some training in self-defense.

Q: Ever seen anything you weren't supposed to see, like aliens or Elvis?

A: The majority of the time, [clients] scrub the room ahead of time and take down anything that's not supposed to be seen. [But] when I was an intern, I was at a customer site fixing a wire underneath one of the desks. While I was under there, they ran a simulation, and I heard umpteen thousand people being killed. They thought it was fun not to tell me that it was just a simulation.

Q: Yipes. So are your friends impressed?

A: I leave the title at the office. It doesn't really come up in everyday conversation.

Q: What about the ladies?

A: I've never used it on the ladies.