“Cost of learning a life lesson,” He said. “Your artificial intelligence programs are clunky, but effective.”
“Thank you-”
“I wasn’t done,” He snapped. “What I need to know is: Why did you target my organization?”
“Nothing personal,” Jabal replied. “Shipping companies like yours operating outside the fringes of Core space typically deal in smuggled goods or arms. I knew you wouldn’t run to the Core for help, and the Coalition doesn’t have a cyberdefense program yet. Seemed like the perfect target.”
The old man’s face held his embedded scowl. “Could you break through the Core government’s system and steal their information?”
“Absolutely!” Jabal cheered. “Most systems utilize block-chain security, but the government still houses servers in a centralized location, making them extremely vulnerable to attack.”
“Excellent, you can start on that immediately.”
“What? But I-”
“When Red tracked you down, you were living hand to mouth like a common street rat. Are you saying you want to go back?”
“You’re willing to hire me? I don’t even know your name.”
“We only use code names,” the man replied. “You can refer to me as ‘Houston.’ The droid that brought you in is Red and the silver one here is Sol. What do you want us to call you?”
Jabal pondered for a moment. “Call me Hacker.”
“Really?” Houston replied. “That’s an incredibly stupid and cliché code name. Why in the hell would you pick that?”
“Get with the times old man! All of the computer guys are called Cyphers, Chainbreakers or Chainers now. Hacker is a throwback to the old days when programming meant something, not like today where it’s a race to build a new cryptocurrency.”
“Whatever, it’s your code name, even if it is stupid,” Houston said as he rose from his seat and turned to leave the room.
Hacker leaped to his feat and followed Houston. Down a set of stairs was a vast complex with some of the most advanced droid technology in existence. Discarded parts lay everywhere, processing chips were scattered, and wires dangled out of human-shaped metal casings.
“If you’re to be any use to me, I’m going to need you to start probing the Core’s information and defense mainframes. I want to see what we’re up against,” Houston said.
“Do you have a Chamber?” Hacker asked.
Houston turned to face him. “A what?”
“A Chamber. They’re a computer device that submerges the user into a virtual reality that utilizes the palms, fingertips and eyes as inputs. They’re the most effective computational device in existence! How can an organization like yours not have one?”
Houston chuckled. “I always called them ‘sperm coffins’ because too many boys forgot to eat while watching porn.”
“That’s not all they’re used for! They’re devices which allow us to write program chains we can barely comprehend! You of all people must understand the capability of these devices! Imagine if you could upgrade Red or Sol with nothing more than a tap of your finger!”
Houston looked over at his two droids who gazed back in blank stares.
“Kid, sometimes it’s better to do things in the real world. Get your hands dirty. Stick to reality. Less inclined to warp your mind. Do you need one of these chambers to infiltrate the Core Cyberdefense Networks?”
“I don’t need it, but it would certainly be a lot faster. Why? What’s in the CCN?”
“Have you ever heard of a little thing called the ‘Core Invasion?’” Houston said as he climbed into his speeder. The two droids piled into the back seat while Hacker raced to the front.
“You mean the ‘Unification Wars?’” Hacker asked.
“Depends on who you ask,” Houston said. “Now, let’s go get you one of those sperm coffins.”
The only sound in the speeder during the ride was the subtle whirring from the processors of the droids in the back seat. Sand lined every edge of the horizon, as if there wasn’t a single drop of water on the planet. Hacker’s attention was drawn to Houston’s mechanical limb.
“I lost it in the skirmishes that lead up to the Core Invas…er…Unification Wars,” He said. “Gouged some guy’s eyes out, but he got lucky with his knife. Stabbed me in the shoulder, tore all the ligaments and tendons out, needed to be amputated.”
“You were a soldier for the rebellion?” Hacker asked.
“They didn’t teach you shit in school, despite being what? Eighteen?”
“Nineteen.”
Houston sighed. “I got this in what we call the ‘Skirmishes.’ The skirmishes were a series of battles where the first planets began to secede. They didn’t believe they were getting a voice within the Core government, and one night, some representatives all quietly came in and signed the Articles of Secession. Next thing you know, the Core is sending armadas full of trained soldiers to put down what they saw as a peasant revolt. They didn’t count on us being armed like we were. The combination of early victories and the Core’s violent reaction drove the fringe planets into signing the Articles and creating the Coalition Government based on Centaura. Now we’re in year six of a war that has no end in sight,” He explained.
“Why do you need me to infiltrate the CCN?” Hacker asked.
“Since the War has dragged on for this long, the Core has turned to droids to fight this war for them. They want machines to spare them the casualties that the war was inflicting. Fewer deaths means higher morale for new recruits. The Coalition also wants droids, the only difference is that they don’t possess the infrastructure to produce them on a scale to wage an intergalactic war. Until the Coalition can get more foundries operating, they hire men like me to go in and steal droids to supply their war machine, pun intended.”
“What does that have to do with the CCN?”
“I’m getting to it, don’t interrupt,” Houston snapped. “The CCN keeps a registry of their mech reserves. We can use that registry as a shopping list of the droids we target, steal them, and deliver them into the Coalition’s hands.”
“Do you believe in the Coalition’s cause?” Hacker asked.
“Used to,” Houston replied as he held out his mechanical arm. “What I know is I’m really good at fixing and programming droids, which allows me to charge a premium to a group of people who’re in dire need of my services.”
“Have you always worked on droids?”
“No, I used to be a mathematician. You wanna see wasted talent? There’s a career path for ya. I made it work, but a more practical trade, hence fixing the droids. You’ve asked a lot of questions for today kid, no more till we get home.”
“But Master, the art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.”
“Can it Sol,” Houston snapped.
Houston landed the shuttle and met with a dealer who claimed to possess a Chamber device. He negotiated for a while, and then came back to the shuttle.
“What is the purpose of this machine?” Houston asked. “Why do we need it to infiltrate the Core Cyber Networks?”
Hacker sighed. “The device submerges the user into a virtual reality that can be altered at will. Think of it as being able to manipulate the Internet in three-dimensional space. It exposes more of the gaps that exist within the programming of a web page, a server, or a block chain.”
“Figured,” Houston said. “Just expensive as hell.”
“I could even use it to design some smart contracts for your shipping company,” Hacker said.
Houston nodded and flashed a devious grin. “It’s funny, every time the technologists create something new, they believe it’s their key to freedom, the key that will unlock their chains. In reality, all they’ve done is created a program those in power can use to oppress,” He said. “All technological advancements started out with the intent to decentralize and flatten our world. In the end, all they do is consolidate and increase power for those who can wield it.”
<
br /> “How do you figure?” Hacker asked.
“Well take the smart contracts. They were supposed to execute everything perfectly, except what people forget is they’re coded by humans. They don’t see how they’re being skimmed a little bit off the top or how he who wrote the contract has ensured that he gets the best deal.”
“Wow, hadn’t thought about it that way,” Hacker said.
“Oh, here’s the next bit: all of that database security and encryption created from multiple users instead of a single entry point? How do they compete against data miners? Especially when the data miners are all bots that can target all of the entry points at once?”
“It’s an effective tactic,” Hacker said. “My bots are really just modified data miners with some extra features I’ve refined over the years.”
“My point exactly. Take something that was designed for smarter advertising and use it to crush mainframes.” Houston grew silent as he let the thought sink in. A large droid wheeled out a Chamber device into the freighter ship, and the crew headed back to base.
The orbital-shaped computer was set up in the midst of scattered droid parts. Hacker spent days configuring his Chamber to the specifications he’d need to take on the CCN.
“There,” Hacker said.
“Good afternoon sir,” Loki said.
“Word up,” Laverna replied.
“What can we do for you Hacker?” Eris asked.
“It’s just good to have my Wrecking Crew back.”
Once he had the programs he wished to use, Hacker climbed in and was bathed in the soft blue light of code swirling around him. He manipulated and maneuvered the scripts to serve his needs until he reached the CCN. He’d probed the network a handful of times, but never to the scale Houston wanted him to. Still, Hacker was determined to come away with a registry of droid foundries within the Core.
Hacker spent hours using every trick he knew, implementing his AI programs he managed to recover since his exile from home. He was able to upload a keylogger deep within the CCN’s archives and from there, he could track everything they were doing. More importantly, he’d retrieved a registry of the foundries the Core had contracted to manufacture their droid army. He printed off his list, stormed up to Houston and shoved it into his chest.
“List of contractors manufacturing droids for the Core military.”
“That sperm coffin may have just paid for itself,” Houston replied.
“Wait, you’re doing what?” Hacker asked over the comm device.
“We’re going to infiltrate a droid foundry on a world called Solomon IV,” Houston replied.
“Hey! That’s my name,” Sol said.
“That’s a coincidence,” Red replied.
“Coincidence is the word we use when we can’t see the levers and pulleys.”
“Insightful,” Houston said. “Now’s your chance to prove yourself kid. Red, Sol and I are going to infiltrate this mech factory and we’d really appreciate coming out of it alive. I’ve left you behind to handle their security systems. You overtake, I overcome.”
“If I may sir, wouldn’t it be more beneficial if Sol or I simply plugged in and took down the mainframe ourselves?” Red asked.
“You’re smart Red, but Hacker claims to possess multiple AIs that are designed for this task,” Houston said as he landed the ship. He leaped out and tossed a pair of rifles to Red and Sol, who stacked up against the doorway.
“You ready kid?” Houston asked.
“I’m in,” Hacker said. “Door’s unlocked.”
“That was too easy,” Houston said. “Be on high alert.”
“I will, I will!” Hacker said.
A blaster bolt ripped into the doorway past the entrance as Houston and the droids approached. “Damn it!” Houston cursed as he cocked his rifle. “Told you there was something else! Kid, why didn’t you see this?”
“What?” Hacker asked as he searched the lines of code that surrounded him.
“We’re being fired upon!” Houston screamed.
“That’s impossible!” Hacker snapped. “I shut down all of the interior defenses located at that facility!”
“Well you obviously missed something because we’re being shot at!” Houston hissed.
Hacker searched the source code. “Let me get eyes on you through the cameras.”
“Good,” Houston replied.
“Should I shut them down or would it be less suspicious to find footage from the past few hours, play that on autofeed and-”
“I don’t care!” Houston snapped. “You don’t need me to hold your hand!”
Hacker grew silent from the outburst. He tried not to take it personally and pushed it to the back of his mind. He focused his eyes on the screen to see where the source of blaster fire was coming from. It was a giant mech wheeling towards Houston and the droids.
“Large mech approaching,” Hacker said. “On wheels, canon on one side, gatling on the other. Built heavier than Sol.”
“Shit, that’s a Gladiator class unit,” Houston said. “Kid, I need that mech deactivated now!”
Hacker searched the source code for the entire complex. He found several files for defenses, but none of them contained anything about mech units being on patrol.
“C’mon kid I didn’t ask for a dark matter formula!” Houston hissed.
“I…can’t find its source code. There’s no record of this mech existing here in the foundry!”
“The kid’s losing the foundry,” Houston said.
“No I’m not! I just need help finding this fucking droid!” Hacker screamed as he activated his three AI programs.
“What is it Master Hacker?” Loki asked.
“Find that droid and shut it down,” Hacker commanded.
“Hacker,” Eris interrupted. “We’ve already tried that. The droid you pointed out was written in a language that is highly classified and we cannot find a connection with the unit.”
“That’s what I thought,” Houston said. “Sol, hunt it down.” The droid rushed to the counsel, plugged in an uplink, and then powered down.
“No! You can’t do this!” Hacker pleaded. “I can figure this out! Loki - find what language that droid has been coded in. Eris and Laverna - find out where that mech is being controlled from!”
“Sir, it appears that this droid was composed using the Kaleidoscope script,” Loki said.
Hacker gasped.
“One of the evolving scripts that mimics consciousness,” he said
“That doesn’t mean anything except that this unit has a longer battery life,” Houston replied.
“Houston, it seems the ‘Wrecking Crew’ is correct,” Sol said. “That particular Gladiator unit is not connected to this foundry’s mainframe and I’m not detecting a wireless signal of any sort. You’re going to have to defeat that unit on your own.”
“Damn it all to hell,” Houston snapped. The mech fired off several rounds of blaster fire while Houston and Red hit the ground. Red returned fire as Houston pulled an electromagnetic grenade from beneath his shawl.
“Sir, is that a…?”
“You bet Red. Best run away.”
“Appreciate the warning sir,” Red replied as he scurried off. Houston lobbed the grenade, which flew and latched onto the mech’s outstretched arm. Tendrils of electricity spread from the grenade throughout the mech’s body, but the machine still kept moving.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Houston cursed as he retreated back to Red. “EMP-proofed.”
“Oh, drat. Sorry to hear sir,” Red replied. “What should we do?”
Houston searched the room. A gleam of light reflected off of his polished arm, which captured his attention. He looked up and noticed Sol in the next room, who was still powered down.
“Red, I need you to get me something off of Sol.”
“Hacker, we’ve managed to find gaps within the code and have provided you with the credentials needed to log into the system,” Eris said.
“Pe
rfect! Now we’re Calvin Anders and I can-”
“Hey dude, I managed to find this,” Laverna said. Hacker clicked on the window and sent the file to Houston.
Houston’s comm device beeped. “Bout time you got the map of this place kid, but we’re tied up at the moment. See if there are any other threats in the building.”
Hacker expanded his view inside the foundry through the cameras. He flipped through all of the rooms only to find another hurdle in the way.
“The cameras are frozen in place!” He said.
“What?” Houston snapped.
Hacker watched in horror as his entire Chamber locked up. A security agency within the Core had isolated him and locked him out.
“We’re still flying blind. I’ve been locked out,” Hacker said. He’d never felt so useless in his life. The Chamber was closing in around him as his computer struggled to keep up beneath the onslaught unleashed by the outside coders.
“Useless,” Houston grunted under his breath.
Hacker winced as he heard the words echo through his comm.
“Here it is sir,” Red said as he handed a compact device to Houston, who was in the middle of disassembling his own arm. Houston took the device, slapped it into the joint where his forearm and wrist connected and screwed his hand back in.
“Does it even fit?” Red asked. “Perhaps not the wisest plan to integrate the parts of random droids into your own sir.”
“You’re right Red. I need to standardize my droid army. I’ll make a note,” Houston said as his fingers coiled to life. The glass disc on his wrist shined like the sun.
“It works!” Houston screamed victoriously. He willed his energy cell to power the device, and a half dome was projected from his wrist. He stepped into the fray as the mech fired relentlessly at him, but the shield absorbed all of the blaster bolts.
“Flank ‘im Red!” Houston ordered as he marched for the mech. It stumbled backwards, but continued firing, not knowing what else to do.
Red creeped along the floor like a shadow. Houston closed in on the mech’s arm and prepared to make a huge gamble. From behind Houston, Red leaped off a side wall and onto the mech’s shoulders.
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