Heist.
© Tim Barker 2000
Loaner.
Todd
took a look at his wristwatch. It was 11.30. The virus he had implanted in
Omnicore’s filespace would be winding its way into the operating system and
installing itself in the video buffer. He would then finally be able to tap
into the city’s security cameras and consequently know about everything
everywhere.
It had been a hard week. After he'd finished coding and
testing had begun he felt like he'd put enough effort in already. He wasn't the
most dedicated hacker on the scene yet he had recently gained a certain
notoriety from minor heists he'd pulled. But this was to be the big one, the
one that would go down in history.
It turned 12:00 and Todd decided to check on
the progress of his worm. It was catching some of the video images but its
throughput needed increasing. He could either increase the bandwidth or give
his code more processor time. He opted for the latter. Then he sat back and let
the computer do all the work.
Todd walked over to the window and looked out over the
city. He hadn't been out much recently, just for the essentials, and he
wondered what his friends had been up to. He decided to 'phone Marcia.
"Hi Marcia! It's Todd. What y' up to ?"
"Todd ! More like what have you been up to ?
Nobody's seen y' 'round for ages !" retorted Marcia.
"It's not been ages! Besides, I've been busy."
Todd replied.
"What are y' working on then cowboy ?"
"Oh, I've been busy. That's all." Todd answered
back, defensively.
"OK, no need to get coy with me", Marcia
exclaimed.
"Sorry, you know how it is. Can't really talk about
it on the 'phone."
"Oh, Fuck you then" and with that Marcia slammed
the telephone down.
Shit, she's uptight, thought Todd.
After that Todd decided not to telephone any of his other
friends, thinking that it was easier to talk to his computer. At least it
didn't get obnoxious. He called his computer FERAL, an acronym for Forever
Enigmatic Regardless of Aligned Luminescence. It had all made complete sense to
him one night when he was wired on the latest designer drug. He didn't do too
many narcotics, just now and then and particularly when something new came onto
the market. One day they'd invent a drug that fed you continually for days on
end with a combination of essential vitamins and nutrients which would mean
that you wouldn't have to leave your computer. They could call it
"Hacker".
Anyway, we digress, he thought to himself and checked on
his worm again.
Images had been stored on his optical drive. When he
displayed them he was amazed at what he saw : images of key locations all over
the city. Finance, crime, government, corporations. All could be viewed without
the slightest notion from the subject. Todd felt like telling someone of his
achievement yet no one would understand. In his pursuit of power he had become
a loaner.
Bourbon and Soda
Surrogotto pressed the button on his intercom.
"Surrogotto San, we have a problem."
His monitor displayed the face of Prime Utko, his right
hand man in the corporation.
"What is it now ?" Surrogotto enquired.
"We have a hacker locked into our security systems,
obtaining copies of all our key video installations." Utko replied.
"Have you been able to trace them ?" Surrogotto
asked.
"We're working on it. One thing’s for sure though,
it's not coming out of Tokyo, more likely North America." Utko advised.
"Keep me informed Utko." Surrogotto demanded.
"Yes, Surrogotto San." And with that the
monitor switched to a display of the company’s logo.
Damn hackers, thought Surrogotto, they're everywhere
these days. He remembered the days when all that hackers were interested in was
a little sabotage or they were doing it for their own amusement. Now, though,
they were being hired by the governments and corporations to spy on each other.
Blackmail and secret information interchange had become commonplace. They were
almost fighting a war.
Surrogotto went over to his drink’s cabinet and poured
himself a bourbon and soda. He didn't care much for Saki and his favourite food
was prime steak, well done. He was a part of the common world culture,
traditional values having been lost in the mists of time. He let the bourbon
flow through his body and savoured the moment.
Chance Encounter
Things
were going well with Todd’s virus, the images were piling up on his drive and
so far he had gone undetected. Or so he thought. He decided to start sifting
through his prize gatherings and so began the long process of identification
and categorisation. Each image was superimposed with a code identifying its
origin. The code was easy to crack so Todd wrote a program to sort the chaff
from the wheat by pulling out the key installations that he knew of. He was
also interested in viewing any unusual locations so he trained a neural network
on common codes then used it to put aside the images which didn't fit the
pattern. This was how he came across the Tokyo installations.
He had began the manual work by examining images at a
sample rate of once every 30 seconds. This gave him an idea of the events
occurring at that location. If he saw something interesting then he simply
increased the sample rate until he got real-time movement. He soon became tired
of scanning assorted images so he decided to go out and get a take away. He
deactivated his virus but left the neural net running, he would have a look at
that when he got back.
On his way out Todd locked his door and activated the
trip switch which would trigger a small explosive device within his computer
when anyone tried to break in. Such precautions were necessary in his line of
work.
Todd decided to simply get a sandwich from the local
7-11. He opted for a meat substitute, not that he was a vegetarian or anything,
he had few morals, just that it was cheaper than the real thing. Meat had
become so expensive recently because of the unavailability of land that he
could seldom afford it. What with the new genetically engineered soya products
on the market with improved texture and taste he couldn't tell the difference
anymore anyway.
Todd devoured the sandwich as he walked back to his
apartment, through the nameless faces of the city’s inhabitants. As he walked
images appeared before his eyes of the installations he had been spying on.
"Shit, I've been at it too long", he said to himself.
A passing stranger looked at him as he spoke but quickly
looked away.
Probably thinks I'm psychotic, he thought as he caught
their glance.
He walked into the foyer of his building and entered the
lift. It smelt of urine and graffiti adorned the walls. Todd pressed the code
for his floor on the lift’s keypad then slumped down, squatting in the far
corner.
As the lift reached the second floor it stopped, the
doors swung open and a couple walked in. She was dressed in a short artificial
leather skirt with stilettos on her feet and a tight blouse bursting at the
seams with a plentiful bosom. He wore a top of the range Chinese business suit
with Italian designer shoes.
"This lift going down ?" The man asked in an
indistinguishable accent.
Todd just shook his head.
"You mute or something boy ?" The man asked of
Todd.
"Oh leave him be sugar." The woman said in a
broad Texas accent.
"OK, honey, whatever you say." The man replied.
Todd figured the couple to be a prostitute and her
client. The man probably had a well paid job somewhere in the world and she was
living off him like a parasite. He was just the sort of person that Todd was
out to get. She was, quite simply, a victim like himself.
When the lift reached Todd’s floor he embarked leaving
the couple to their sordid relationship.
As he entered his apartment, after first deactivating his
booby trap, Todd felt suddenly tired so instead of taking a stimulant he
decided to get some sleep. He lay down on his sofa and dreamt of prostitutes
running the world.
Project Hiroshima
On
waking Todd took a shower and donned some fresh clothes then had a coffee and
cigarette. He didn't smoke much these days, not since it had been made illegal
but the nicotine rush gave him a jolt back into the real world which he duly
needed as he hadn't had much sleep. He decided to look at the neural net
output.
After about an hour of examining the footage and finding
nothing of interest he came across images of Japanese business people sitting
around a table in an apparent meeting room. That's odd, Todd thought, what are
all those Japanese doing in the city ? He decided to investigate. He examined
the code at the bottom of his monitor and set a simple search program in
operation to track down similar installations. He was amazed to find that there
were a host of the Japanese images and even worked out that it was a
corporation by using imaging software to zoom in on one of the employees lapel
badges. He then extracted this image and used it to search an on-line database
in order to gain the corporation’s name and key locations. It was as he had
guessed, he was looking in on Tokyo.
Todd went back to the images of the meeting room and
increased the volume.
"Project Hiroshima is almost reaching completion
Surrogotto San", said one of the businessmen to another.
"Very well, when will the AI be activated Utko
?" Surrogotto enquired.
"Tomorrow at noon if all goes according to plan
Surrogotto San".
"Very well, meeting adjourned until noon tomorrow
then. Good day gentlemen." commanded the man known as Surrogotto.
Shit, what's "Project Hiroshima" Todd thought
and what's this Japanese footage doing in Omnicores filespace ? I'm onto
something here, he figured. Todd hurriedly forwarded the images to 12 noon the
next day. The same people appeared to be present including Surrogotto and Utko,
the two who had spoken before.
"Project Hiroshima is now completed Surrogotto San.
We can now enable the AI to become a sentient being and have full control over
our countries nuclear capability." Declared Utko.
Hah, a defence project, thought Todd, this could mean big
bucks for me if I play it right. He watched the rest of the footage which
consisted of a presentation to the main design team then finally, after much
deliberation, the people in Tokyo were ready to initiate the AI.
"This is it Surrogotto San. At last we will be able
to predict when the world is going to war and be the first ones to launch our
nuclear attack." Utko said.
"Yes, thanks to our ingenious scientists here the
Japanese people can be assured of the first strike whenever war looks likely.
It is surely a great day for our nation." Surrogotto orated.
"Begin the program, let the AI live."
Surrogotto commanded.
One of the scientists operated a computer neatly set into
the table then spoke.
"It is begun Surrogotto San." The scientist
said.
They all clapped.
Christ, thought Todd, an AI in charge of their nuclear
program. Todd decided to 'phone Surrogotto in the Japanese corporation and tell
him of Omnicore’s snooping. He left his room, activated the trip and headed to
the nearest pay phone.
On arrival at the pay phone Todd telephoned international
directory enquires and acquired the Tokyo corporations number.
"Hello, Sakamoto Corporation, how can I help you
?"
"Could I speak with Surrogotto San please ?"
Todd asked politely.
"Please hold the line." The operator advised.
There was a pause where Todd heard traditional Japanese music then someone
spoke.
"Surrogotto."
"Hello, Mr. Surrogotto. I have some important
information for you..." Todd said.
"Who is this ?" Enquired Surrogotto.
"My name's not important. Just hear me out. It's
about the Hiroshima project." Todd thought that that would gain his
interest.
"What is the Hiroshima project ?" Surrogotto
asked.
"Now, don't play games with me Surrogotto. I know
all about the project and the AI you've built."
"You seem to know an awful lot Sir. How did you get
your information ?" Surrogotto demanded.
"Well, I came across some digital camera images on a
corporations filespace over here." Todd ventured.
"And which corporation would that be, may I ask
?" Surrogotto asked.
"Before I tell you that I want 10 million dollars
deposited in a Swiss bank account in my name." Todd demanded.
"And what do I get in return ?"
"I'll give you the name of the perpetrator and I'll
delete those images from their filespace." Todd said confidently.
"Very well. Give me your Email address and I'll
contact you when I get authorisation." Surrogotto declared.
Todd promptly gave Surrogotto his Email address then hung
up. That night he went out to party and tell all of his friends about his
imminent wealth.
Big Bucks
The
next morning Todd awoke with an awful hangover. He had been to several bars
then finally onto a club where he'd met Marcia. They ended up making love in
Todds apartment late into the night then she had left early in the morning,
eager to get some sleep in the sanctuary of her own home.
Todd went straight to his computer to see if there was a
message from Surrogotto. There it was, it read :
"Dear
Sir,
I
have gained authorisation to transfer
10
million U.S. dollars to your account.
Please
supply your bank account details.
We
will credit your account with 5 million
up
front and the other 5 million will
be
given to you when we are sure that the
offending
material is erased.
I
eagerly await your reply.
Yours,
Surrogotto."
Great, thought Todd, they've taken the bait. Todd Emailed
Surrogotto with his bank account details then went out to do some shopping. He
visited all of the trendiest designer stores, spending his last remaining money
on the latest fashions, even purchasing a new outfit for Marcia, then went to
the bank to check on the status of his account.
And there it was, 5 million bucks credited to his
account. All his with 5 million more to come when he had finished his work. He
returned home a happy man.
Epilogue
On
his way home in the taxi Todd kept thinking of his future life until the driver
spoke.
"Is someone after you dude ? 'Cause I think we're
being followed." Said the driver.
"Not so far as I know, try to lose them and I'll
give you a big fat tip." Todd urged the driver.
"OK, you're the boss."
The driver put his foot down and took a detour down side
streets and alleyways until he thought he had shaken the tail then made his way
to Todd’s apartment.
Todd gave the driver a tip, as promised, and walked
through the door of the lobby to be greeted by the same man and woman he had
seen in the lift together with uniformed police officers.
"Hold it right there mister, we want a word with
you." Said the woman who was now dressed in a pinstriped business suit.
"FBI", said the man, "you're under arrest
for stealing information from a government owned corporation and conspiracy to
defraud an ally of the U.S.A."
Shit, thought Todd, standing there with both hands full
of expensive designer clothes, looking as guilty as hell.
The FBI agents and the police officers led Todd up to his
apartment and asked him to open the door so that they could begin a search.
Todd obliged and keyed in his code then remembered the trip switch. Did he set
it before he left ?
The FBI woman pushed the door open then dived to the
floor along with her colleagues as a small explosion emanated from within.
"Shit, what was that ?" Asked one of the
uniformed officers.
Todd went to court but was never sentenced due to a lack
of evidence. The five million dollars went undetected and Todd retired a rich
man.