"Alice? Alice, are you alright?"
She struggled out of her lethargic state and found she was looking into Eric's clear, dark eyes. His brows were furrowed, and he gave her the impression that he was vaguely concerned.
"It's well after 10:00am. Is something wrong?"
Is it ever…
He was seated on the edge of her bed, staring at her, face full of worry. Alice was conscious that she must be quite a remarkable sight, still wearing the clothes from yesterday, knowing that her hair must have been sticking out in a thousand directions. She had only bothered to crawl into bed the night before, pulling up the sheets and passing out.
She pulled the covers up a little higher now and responded hesitantly.
"I'm, uh…fine. I was just exhausted, I guess. Lots of stress lately."
Her mind was still not cooperating with her completely and she found it hard to concentrate. She shook herself, trying to clear the fog around her brain.
"Um, I can be in the lab in half an hour." She hoped he would take the hint and leave.
He seemed to hesitate, but then stood up and walked slowly to the door. Right before he opened it, he looked back at her.
"Alice…I know this is difficult for you. Please understand that we are only trying to do what is best for everyone. We honestly want to help you. The more you resist…well, you are only hurting yourself. Can you imagine what the rest of the world would do to you? If anyone found out that you know the kinds of things that you know, you would be in constant danger, along with anyone close to you. People would kill for that kind of information. You can do the most good here, where you can use your talents without fear of being harmed. You will see this, in time."
Alice stared at him, amazed at how genuine he sounded. He actually believed what he was telling her.
How deluded can a person become? No matter what wonderful and wholesome intentions he believes he has, I'm still his prisoner and stripped of my free will. That makes him just as evil as anyone he imagines he is protecting me from.
But as she watched him standing near the door, obvious concern in his eyes, she also saw something else. There was a man that had been blinded by ambition and power, but somewhere within him, there was still a shred of humanity. It might be twisted and mutilated by his arrogance, buried under his desire for control…but, it was still there.
It would have been so much easier if he were still the unfeeling monster she originally thought him to be.
***
Alice was ready just as the door opened again with her daily lab escort. She looked at the faces of the guards, but they all seemed to be new faces.
They must switch out these guys regularly. Can't have anyone getting too close to me...or too comfortable.
They walked the familiar path to her lab. Alice entered the doorway and the guards shut the door behind her, leaving her to her work. She sighed and walked over one of the desks with a terminal.
I have to get out of here.
She stared at the computer screen, mind emptied of all thoughts. She toyed with the cables that lingered there, running along the backside of the desk where they dropped off to connect to the isolated network in her lab. As her mind felt the buzzing along the cords again, she stopped and held the cable up in her hand.
Is this real? Or am I making all this up? What's happening to me?
Alice had been tossing around a theory in her mind, but it still seemed too outlandish to be possible, even taking into account what already happened to her.
She decided to test the method she used the night before to see if the results were reproducible. Reaching over to the stack of papers on the desk, she arranged some in front of her so she appeared to be merely reading over files, instead of attempting something that should be impossible.
She quieted her mind, still holding the cable loosely in her right hand, and opened her thoughts to the flow of information. To her delight, it seemed to work the same as before. The feeling slowly built inside of her until she was able to make out images and readable information.
Alice wasn't sure how long she sat there. She repeated the process until it came easily to her, occasionally flipping the pages in the file in front of her to keep up the façade. When she was satisfied with her efforts, she hesitantly decided to try the other half of her other theory…
When she first experienced the effect of the cable, her mind began reeling with the possibilities. One of them had seemed more probable than the others, and Alice had dared to hope that it could be true.
If her body was somehow able to detect the data from the electric fields surrounding data transmissions, then it wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine that she could also manipulate the information that was passing through.
Her body had obviously been altered since her encounter with the frayed wires. Now, it seemed she could also absorb information merely by "sensing" data surrounding a transmission. Whatever had changed inside of her could theoretically be used to also alter information. If that was the case, she no longer needed to build anything to make her escape. She only needed to wait for the perfect moment and she could be free!
Alice had no clue how to do such a thing, but she had a few ideas. It was best to start with something simple, so there were fewer variables to affect her experiment. She found the cable that was connected to the computer in front of her. Taking it in her hand as casually as she could, she let her mind open once again.
A few moments later, she found herself viewing a virtual highway of information as it was passing through the cable in her hands. Part of her was in a state of utter disbelief at what was happening. It was as if she were living right off the pages of some science fiction novel. The other part of her felt completely at peace. It felt like this was what her mind had been designed for, like she was fulfilling some predestined purpose for her life.
Without breaking contact, she began to formulate a command to send to the computer. She decided on a simple instruction to run a program. It was the next part she was unsure of. Alice had no idea how to send information from her mind, if it was even possible. She tried to translate the command into zeros and ones, and then imagine sending that out through her hands and into the data stream.
It all seemed so strange to her, and she felt silly doing something so bizarre. She endured her vacillating feelings, trying not to lose focus. Alice had become so involved in trying to accomplish her strange experiment that she almost didn't hear the faint sound of the hard drive whirring on the computer next to her.
Her eyes flew open, and she stared at the computer screen, displaying a program it had just begun to run. Her hands were nowhere near the keyboard and mouse, and she knew there was no other explanation for what she was seeing.
Even though she had accepted that this was a possibility, she had never really expected it to happen. Her mouth hung open as she gawked at the screen. Everything she had thought before about her abilities now seemed silly and insignificant.
Not only was her mind transformed into a computer, complete with extensive database of information, she now had the ability to sense any kind of transmission, decode it, and even send back information in the same way. She was unstoppable.
She let out a hysterical laugh. Alice knew somewhere in the complex, there were guard sitting in front of security feeds staring at her, thinking she was must be some sort of mad scientist.
Alice didn't care one way or the other. She was too busy trying to wrap her mind around the concept that she had effectively become a modern day superhero. Her mind danced with childlike glee as she imagined herself saving the world with her incredible superpowers.
She must have been sitting there for quite some time, because the monitor in front of her powered off due to inactivity. Alice could make out a vague reflection of herself on the now darkened screen, and she realized that she really did appear to be half-mad.
I guess I better try and look normal. Wouldn't want anyone coming to get me again because they think I
went over the edge…
No matter how incredible and amazing this realization was, it was not something she could let anyone discover. No, she had to hide her abilities from those who would seek to harm her or harvest her powers for their own selfish gain.
She had the capacity to do great things, but it was going to take some time to learn how to control it. Not that she didn't have enough to worry about…
***
It had taken Garrett several hours to go through his entire collection.
He had been collecting computer viruses for the past decade. It was a strange hobby to have, and he knew most people would question his sanity for doing so.
Most people do everything they can to get rid of those things. Not me!
Garrett appreciated sophisticated coding when he saw it and he couldn't deny that most of the viruses were the work of talented, albeit misled, individuals. Some were given to him from the few people that knew of his hobby. The rest, Garrett had collected himself. He never imagined they would be used for anything practical, but he was now ecstatic that he had chosen to keep them.
After getting off the phone with Nick, he began his planning. The man Nick had followed, Tobias, gave him the perfect backdoor to infiltrate the EngineerCorp network.
Garrett knew Tobias was in charge of stealing information from other companies, just as he was stealing it from him. He backed up that data to the EngineerCorp server daily. If Garrett could somehow sneak in to his house during the backup, he could upload a virus directly onto their mainframe.
EngineerCorp would, of course, have firewalls and virus protection…but if he had enough time, he could bypass them temporarily through the connection on Tobias' computer. Tobias would have already done the hard part for him, connecting through their VPN and opening up a port on their server to upload data. All Garrett had to do was make sure his virus got the rest of the way, to the heart of EngineerCorp.
No ordinary virus would do, either. Even if they were infected, they had the means and manpower to remove a virus with ease. But if Garrett were able to combine the worst of his collection into some type of "super virus," it just might be enough to take down their network for a short time. He only hoped that by doing so, he could give Alice enough time to escape.
That was where he ran into his second problem. How could he get a message to Alice? Garrett would have been more than happy to unleash a virus on EngineerCorp solely for what they had done to him, but it would defeat his purpose if Alice were not able to use it to escape. He could target the virus into their security system, but even then, he had to find some way to warn her.
He gazed around the room, searching desperately for something to help him, when his eyes fell on the Memory Keeper. His thoughts drifted again, marveling at the finished prototype. How had Alice been able to complete such a task in the expanse of one night? She was certainly gifted…
Garrett took a break from what he was doing and slipped on the Memory Keeper.
It was like watching a movie of all his memories. Bits and pieces of his experiences flashed before his eyes as he sorted through them all. The clarity still amazed him. There were so many details that were picked up by a person's subconscious, only to be stored away, unused. He stopped on a vision of Alice, the last time that he had spoken with her. They were in her cell. Her otherwise bright face was transformed with worry and tinged with a sadness he had not noticed before.
Garrett was focused on her face, but a small, blinking light in his periphery caught his eye. He reoriented the view and focused on the source of the distraction. Zooming in, he found that it was a small security terminal next to the door. As the view got closer and closer, he could make out the numbers on the keypad and a small speaker near the corner. There was an intercom system on the terminal…
He almost jumped up with elation at the realization, but thought better of it when he noticed he was still wearing the headset. He gently removed it and placed it on the table.
It's perfect! If I can somehow find a way to identify her terminal from all of the others in the complex, then I can find a way to play a message from the one in her room.
Downloading the video to the computer, he replayed the scene on the screen in front of him. He zoomed in and scrutinized the terminal in Alice's room for anything helpful. Along one side of it, in tiny black lettering, he spotted a fifteen-digit ID number.
If only everything could be so easy! Alice, you've done it again!
When he was convinced he could find nothing else useful from the memory, he sat back and reviewed the information he had collected.
Tobias backed up his computer to the EngineerCorp mainframe each morning shortly after 6:30am, right before his shower. Garrett would have less than fifteen minutes to break into the house, upload the virus, and hack into their security system to send his message to Alice.
Never mind the fact that he had never broken into anyone's house before, created a computer virus, or used said virus to take down a company that was the technological backbone of the world…
It doesn't matter what I know. I have to try. I can't let her down.
***
Garrett stayed up late each night, working diligently on his plan. He could only work within the safety of his lab, not wanting to risk being caught during the day while he was at work. If the surveillance team even began to suspect his activity, they would make sure he never got anywhere near Tobias, or anyone else.
Calling in another favor, Garrett contacted one of his longtime hacker friends to create the virus. The man was especially skilled in understanding malware, providing the perfect candidate.
He was eager to help and didn't ask too many questions. In his line of work, he couldn't afford to be meddlesome. In exchange, Garrett offered him a copy of his virus collection. His friend may have been a hacker, but Garrett knew him well enough to know that he wasn't malicious. He just appreciated good coding when he saw it, and had a talent for exposing vulnerabilities in software.
Regardless of the security that Engineer Corp possessed, having a virus like that unleashed directly on their servers would require a considerable amount of time to recover. Garrett would target their security, although he was sure it would branch off from there to their other systems.
As for breaking into Tobias' house, Garrett turned to technology once again. He went into the attic, digging through the piles of dusty boxes, stacked up to the rafters. There was an electronic pick gun in some of Gabriel's old things. He wasn't sure why he kept any of it, probably naively hoping at one time that Gabriel would come back.
Now, I know that will never happen.
Garrett was glad he kept it, regardless of the reason. Having the pick gun gave an otherwise unskilled person the ability to pick any lock.
Which means, even I should be able to use it.
The only problem he saw was that the process generally made a lot of noise. He muffled the sound by wrapping the gun in several sheets of thick cloth, securing the layers with duct tape. Garrett hoped it would be enough. He took the time to practice on a few spare locks until he felt confident.
There was no way Garrett could practice hacking into the mainframe, so he would have to hope he was able to do what he needed when the time came. While he couldn't compete with Alice's skills, he was not without his own resources.
Two other matters remained. How he would get out of his house without being seen, and how he would get to his destination.
There were cameras on the perimeter of his house, with visibility from all sides. Garrett found them when he hacked into the video surveillance system. They covered all the exits on the first floor, including the windows.
It occurred to him after much exploring, that the windows on the second floor weren't being watched. One window, in particular, overlooked a short section of roof, leading up to an ancient tree that grew on his neighbor's property.
If I can make it onto that tree, I can climb over into their yard. The branches would provide ample co
verage, and once I'm past the fence, I can get to the street unseen.
After I get to my storage unit, I could use the car there. The unit is a little over a mile away, so it's definitely manageable.
Garrett rented a storage unit in town, mostly filled with junk he no longer needed, but was reluctant to get rid of.
Inside, there was a fully restored, black, 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. It had belonged to his father. It was his pride and joy, and he cringed at the thought of using it for such a task. If it had been up to him alone, he would have gotten rid of the car long ago because it reminded him of memories he would rather forget.
I have no choice now. My sedan is being watched, and I can't take a taxi, because there can't be any witnesses.
I'll have to wait until morning, and time will be of the essence.
I can do this.
Garrett spent his remaining time meticulously laying out all of his supplies, making sure everything was ready. He had to be completely prepared; there was no room for error.
***
It was a restless night. He only slept a few hours between his worried thoughts. So much hinged on what happened that morning. It would essentially decide how he spent the rest of his life.
Garrett got up before his alarm went off and dressed in the quiet stillness of the morning. He bypassed his normal morning rituals, not wanting to draw any attention to his activity. He chose subdued, dark clothing with a baseball cap, hoping he would not be so easily spotted.
He knew it was probably unnecessary, but he arranged the pillows on his bed in the shape of a sleeping form, covering it up to appear as if he were still there to anyone who might come looking for him.
Checking over his bags one last time, Garrett verified that he packed everything. He nervously slipped on his gloves, pulled the bag over his shoulders, and stealthily crept upstairs.
Garrett entered the room nearest to the overhanging oak tree. Slinking to the window, he peered out cautiously to ensure that the path was clear. It was still dark outside, but he couldn't see any sign of activity. He quietly unlocked the window, and pulled up on the base, but it would not budge.
Mind Trace Page 25