Flicking
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launched the compression algorithms. Maybe, he wondered, he should tweak it to use just a little more of the system. That way he could finish sooner, and anyway, who at AT&T was going to really notice a slight uptick in how much their computer was doing?
The compression neared completion. Code pinged all his distribution nodes, getting ready to link his new AT&T sponsored Deep Node to the Mid Nodes. The sun rose into the sky over London, while Dorian consumed another cup of coffee.
“Should you really be doing this?” Tara said, resting her fingers on his shoulders, kneading gently.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone wants you dead because you’re movie downloading, but you don’t stop?”
“This is fun. It’s harmless and it keeps my mind off my family. And—”
“Hardly harmless.”
“—please don’t stand behind me. I’m keeping the identities of these guys secret.”
“I’m only some girl you slept with once.”
“Let’s talk about that later,” Dorian said.
Her hands continued to knead.
“Seriously, Tara, I need you to leave my room.”
“I was—“ she sounded hurt.
“Doesn’t matter. Please. Space.”
“Ok.” She walked away. Dorian did not look up.
The moment the compression completed, Dorian pushed the avi files to the Mid Nodes. That must have taken longer than normal, he thought. Within an hour the push completed.
USER Code BECOMES ACTIVE
Code:Is anyone there?
Code:Hello?
Code:I’ve don’t it. 11 hours 25 minutes. That’s a record.
Code:Here’s the pgp sig that proves it. Go confirm with the file. Read it and weep.
USER Code BECOMES IDLE
Dorian set a trigger to alert him if another hacker wrote something, leaned back, laced his fingers behind his head, and almost instantly, his eyes dropped and he fell asleep.
He dreamt about an airline flight, where he was a flight attendant and first one flight attendant call button beeped at him, then another and another. Soon it seemed that everyone in the plane was pressing their attendant call button. He opened the curtains from the galley where he had been reheating cardboard models of chickens. He yelled at the top of his lungs.
He woke up with a start. Tara was sitting at his computer which was beeping. “What are you doing?” he said his heart beating wildly.
“It was beeping. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Oh. That’s nothing. Let me take over. Just a little alarm.”
USER 70mm BECOMES ACTIVE
70mm:Hello? Anyone there? Code, looks like you’ve been on.
USER Code BECOMES ACTIVE
Code:Hey. Already done.
70mm:really? crazy. I still need 3 hrs. Compression went south during the second pass. Had to start from top.
Code:sorry to hear. well, not that much
70mm:ha.
USER Code BECOMES IDLE
Again Dorian drifted off to sleep, secure in his success. Again, bells ringing and buzzing woke him up. Why hadn’t he disabled the damn alarm for pete’s sake?
USER squelch BECOMES ACTIVE
squelch:Woo hoo suckers.
USER Code BECOMES ACTIVE
USER 70mm BECOMES ACTIVE
Code:Hey. Already done.
squelch:no way. you’re done?
Code:yup. looks like I won again. 70mm still compressing
70mm:fukin upgraded codecs.
squelch:well check out my pgp file.
Code:what is it?
squelch:I’m done. AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
70mm:no fukin way. you?
squelch:me!
Code:how the hell?
squelch:no can do buddy-o pally-o
Code:I don’t believe you.
70mm:you do lie a shitload
squelch:open it then.
USER Code BECOMES IDLE
Dorian popped open the pqp file. First downloads from before the first screening? Dorian couldn’t believe it. A negative time value? Amazing, incredible. No one had ever done that before. Before the release date! That will piss off the movie studios, ha!
USER Code BECOMES ACTIVE
Code:70mm, squelch is right. he’s done it
70mm:fuck off
Code:before you launched. that’s minus 1 hr 3 min.
squelch:busted!!!!
USER Code BECOMES IDLE
Dorian clicked to dial squelch’s internet phone, first enabling vadering.
“How-dee.”
“Hey, it’s Code.”
“Hi Code. What you wanting?”
“How’d you do it?”
“How you saying? I punched it through. Got the media sooner than you.”
“Sooner? You got it sooner than anyone’s ever gotten it ever. Spill it.”
“Under no circumstances, my brother.”
“Look, it’s obvious you have a connection at one of the studios or a distributor.”
“Whoa. Getting close to the target there buddy.”
“Ok. Fine. I’ll tell you why I want to know.”
“That’s better.”
“All those server disappearances. I think some of us hackers are being targeted. This person might be baiting you in. Might want something from you and be trying to get all our identities. He could have you under investigation.”
“No chance.” squelch laughed. “I’m actually investigating for her.”
“You’re what?”
“She needs info. Gave me the movie in exchange.”
“She? So it’s a girl.”
“What? I was speaking generically. You know, she/he.”
“Really. I don’t believe you. It’s a girl for sure.”
“No it’s not.”
“Ok, whatever you say.”
“I mean it Code. You got it all wrong.”
“Sure, sure. So what’s she looking for?”
“Just tapping phones, IM, that kind of stuff. And she’s not a girl. I mean, she might be a he.”
“I need to talk to her, Squelch.”
“It has nothing to do with you. I’m a serious idiot for letting anything slip.”
“Well, if she’s looking in the same area as me, I need to talk to her.”
“Yeah. Whatever. You want to steal my conduit.”
“I swear I don’t.”
“Bye.”
squelch:I won I won I won and Code’s jealous
Early Bird:Guys, I couldn’t even get the movie. somebody tell me how you do it? please. thanks.
Code:squelch won fair & square.
70mm:and u jealous.
Surveillance
“This is no laughing matter,” Mel’s voice boomed. He’d gathered the entire staff of Melbox Movies in the cavernous gloom of Sound Stage Five. “This is a day when finally the bastard pirates stole the march on legitimate movie distributors. And one of you may have helped them.” He stared out at the crowd, but to Andrea it felt like his eyes bored a hole right through her brain. Sweat popped onto her palms. “We’ve discovered,” he said, waving a glossy tabloid magazine in the air, “via the oh-so-discrete front page of Variety, a magazine which I don’t need to remind you is the voice of our business. We discovered that the new Oliver Stone movie, our only Oliver Stone movie, somehow made its way to the internet before it was available in theaters. I hope you all know what that signifies.” He pointed an accusing finger. “Do you?” He looked around the crowd, singling out a smallish man with thick glasses over to the left. “Do you, mister, know what that means?”
“Uh, well. Not exactly to be honest.” The man’s voice quavered and Andrea thanked her instinct to gravitate to the back on these occasions.
“Well, learn quick,” Mel boomed. The man shrank a few inches at least in height. “I’ll tell you all what it means, in case you are all morons like this guy.”
A woman shouted out. “I know. I know what it mean
s.”
“Don’t interrupt me. Can’t you see I’m speaking?” He threw a pen in her general direction, catching another person on the head. “This means total revenue collapse is what it means. We need to root out this evil and destroy the threat to our livelihoods.”
Andrea desperately wanted to sit down, cover her eyes and howl. She’d fucked up, without a doubt. She’d wanted to find out what was wrong, that was it. It had been about saving the company. And instead, what had she done? She’d fucked it over. She embossed what she thought was a forthright look on her face, and tensed the muscles in her stomach. Whatever was going on with Beehive, she had to find out. At least then it won’t have been a waste.
“You look a bit pale,” Marco remarked as they left the hanger.
“Everyone looks pale in here. It’s dark.”
“Stop being stupid. Are you ok?”
“Man. I’m going to get a complex with all these worried comments you’re giving me. You oughta lighten up so I can hang on to the last shreds of my ego.”
“Oh, don’t worry little peach. You’re still beautiful.” Marco pinched her cheek.
“Why thanks, Prince Charming.” And she batted her eyes with all her might while holding her insides together.
“What do you want?” Andrea didn’t even bother to vader her voice to answer the internet call.
“Nice to speak to you too. Thanks for winning me the contest. That was our best ever record.”
“No shit Sherlock. Exactly why my life is fucked up right now. The CEO of my company is on the warpath to find whoever leaked the movie. Got it?”
“Well, apologies princess. Hate to ruin your life.”
“Sorry. Leave it.”
“I’m not calling to gloat. I have the surveillance you wanted. It’s a big file, but here’s the link. I’m hosting it for you online. Access it only over this secure link.”
“Oh.” Andrea realized she’d pretty much expected squelch to renege on his promise. “Thanks.”
“No probs. Bye.”
A dialog box blinked open with a username and