by Sarah Stone
While he couldn’t pinpoint the exact shifts in the code, he knew they were there. Hayden's instincts told him that there was at least one, perhaps two government operators running routine security sweeps of the mainframe. His signature was grafted onto the desktop, which kept him hidden for the moment, though as he investigated the security features on the conventional computer he took note of several strings of code that had the hallmarks of E-Bloc meddling.
Every slinger had a unique style, but since E-Bloc was in the business of quantity over quality when it came to the hiring and training of operators, an E-Bloc hack was easy to spot for anyone who had gone up against them more than once.
Once he picked up on the handful of micro-routines that were embedded in the mainframe it wasn’t difficult for Hayden to plot them out and tag them in relief in his HUD, allowing his personal display to highlight all of the E-Bloc code. They made him think of vines that had grown up around an abandoned building, and he began to realize just how deeply E-Bloc's operation had infiltrated the local government.
While the operators of Asia Prime and Union Americana were busy seeking the source directly, when they weren't skirmishing with each other, E-Bloc had been fielding such a significantly large cadre of slingers that they'd been able to spar with the other corporate slingers while also dominating the digital infrastructure of the government itself.
Hayden had to check himself and acknowledge that inherent in the mission plans of the Union and Asia Prime was a prejudice about the local government being inconsequential to larger corporate interests.
Well, that's a score for E-Bloc, thought Hayden as he was forced to acknowledge the advantages E-Bloc had enjoyed thus far in their efforts to influence municipal systems and government networks.
While the high-end operators like Hayden and Sun were busy acting like superheroes in MassNet the E-Bloc cadre had focused on the landscape itself.
Hayden had to begrudgingly respect the approach. Being able to affect local power grids and basic services such as wi-fi and sewage was a rather effective tactic to be employed against an entrenched physical resistance movement.
E-Bloc was planning for conquest, Hayden suddenly realized, and a chill ran down his spine. The mega-corp wasn't here to lock down a power source and extract it, they were laying the foundation for a full-blown annexation.
E-Bloc has this place wrapped up, Hayden sent to Glitch across their local HUDs. When we pull the trigger expect corporate slingers to respond alongside whatever government staff are on deck.
The black heart of their corporate conquest, answered Glitch as he activated the 'ready' icon on his HUD. If the government doesn't back down we'll make this a digital ground zero, and people will turn on them the moment everything goes dark.
It happened fast, as though Lunatic 8 had been watching the whole time as Glitch had suggested, like some sort of benevolent god. How she had ghosted her way into the system without Hayden and Glitch noticing, much less the various security staffers and firewall routines, was a mystery and lent more to his estimation of the woman's prowess.
There was a flicker in the code when she took the reins, sliding through MassNet and taking possession of both Glitch and Hayden's CodeSource signatures, the cascading data in their HUDs fading to darkness and then suddenly burning twice as bright.
The resistance slingers, and Hayden thought of himself as one now, had moved through CodeSource in order to park two solid signatures inside the government mainframe. By moving through hard systems these signatures were able to function as portals for the slinger coming in through MassNet, a feat only possible because Glitch and Hayden had internal tags which served as beacons for the outside slinger.
MassNet fed off of CodeSource as its foundation, and so it would have been technologically impossible to launch a MassNet signature inside the mainframe without first embedding a CodeSource portal. Nobody Hayden had ever known would be capable of maintaining a presence in MassNet while simultaneously controlling not one, but two CodeSource signatures. Even Overdog, at the peak of his reign in the datascape, would never have been able to conduct such a symphony. It should have been impossible, and yet here it was unfolding before his very eyes.
Hayden watched from his HUD as Lunatic 8 fed thin lines of code through the two parked signatures, letting them flow slow and steady. The virus looked to him, through the limited visuals of CodeSource, like a trickle of black ink being released into a body of clear water.
Most virus programs, especially those with such devastating purposes, were complex in their design. As Hayden watched the code pour out of the signatures he was taken aback by how sleek and simple this virus was. The artistry of her programming was as achingly beautiful as it was deadly, and the slinger knew that once she activated the first phase of its routine the virus would be nearly impossible to counter.
The virus changed from being what Hayden thought of as ink in water to something more like mercury, and it began to pulse with malevolent energy as the second phase of the virus routine activated.
The program had flowed into every nook and crevice in the mainframe, like an octopus tentacle probing for fish in a coral reef, and then as it hardened it became lodged throughout the system.
No, thought Hayden as he watched with a mixture of horror and awe, not like an octopus, but more like a cancerous growth upon the beating heart of the government's digital infrastructure.
He watched as the security staffers realized they were under attack. The code shifted to reveal the presence of E-Bloc observers and Hayden could see the gentle probes being sent to investigate the hardened virus program. He could almost feel the slow sense of panic setting in and growing as they realized they couldn’t remove the virus from the system; too much poking and prodding would cause it to go off on its own.
Lunatic 8 had crafted the virus specifically to be benign until either it was breached by some manner of counter or until she activated it herself. Soon Hayden could see that the other slingers were figuring this out, and beginning to back away. In seconds the presence of the virus was common knowledge within the government networks, as Hayden was able to monitor the message traffic from the desktop rig he'd parked his signature on.
The government staffers were freaking out.
Lunatic 8 returned control of the signatures to Hayden and Glitch and the former Union slinger could tell that word was starting to get out to elected officials and bureaucrats outside of the IT staff.
As he began to make his exit Hayden could see the rapid ejection of E-Bloc slingers as they were forcibly booted from the system. Likely the E-Bloc slingers could overwhelm the government security staffers, but it seemed they realized that, for the time being, they were outmaneuvered, and overly antagonizing their government agents was counter-productive.
If this had been MassNet, he may have been able to see the defeated slump to their shoulders before they pulled out to regroup and see what solutions they could devise. Some of them may not have known it yet, but it would be obvious to the rest of them, to the more experienced slingers of E-Bloc, that it was a lost cause.
In a matter of minutes, the resistance had aimed a gun at the government's head and cost E-Bloc its chief ally in the struggle for the island's mysterious power source.
Such was the risk of relying so heavily upon the professional political class for whom re-election was more important than short-term influence peddling.
Sadly, thought Hayden, this resistance hack, righteous as it was, just increased the chances of E-Bloc deciding to bring tanks, but best to take the victory in front of them.
The CodeSource equivalent of a tap on the shoulder from Glitch had him pulling back, both of them backing out at once. They spent several minutes collapsing their route behind them, gently so as not to arouse any further suspicion or allow anyone to track them. They could have been more careful on the exit, but the virus had the whole of CodeSource buzzing like a hornet's nest and it was all he and Glitch could do to avoid the fr
antic sweeps and shutdowns as E-Bloc launched legions of slingers to comb the various systems.
His vision slotted back into focus and his hand found the jack at the back of his head. He detached it just as Glitch did, the other slinger giving him a smile that looked just as weary as it did joyful.
“She’s got it,” Glitch said, and then, “We’ve got it. The entire municipal grid.”
The slinger’s eyes were red from focusing on code that wasn’t really there, a common side effect, especially given that Glitch had no doubt been working non-stop many hours before Hayden arrived in the basement staging area. At his back, several of the bootleggers and resistance fighters had gathered close, watching the terminal screens.
There was no burst of cheering, but there was an uptick in chatter, the voices hopeful and rising into levels that were dangerously near loud.
“So,” one of the bootleggers said, the younger man who had nodded at Hayden when he entered. “They can’t fuck with us now, right? Or at least not with the corporations backing them.”
“Near as I can tell the government is off the board. Forced into neutrality by the virus. They’ll try to get cozy with the corporations or purge the program,” Hayden said, realizing the full magnitude of the victory as he spoke. “Lunatic 8 will melt the whole goddamn system.” He grinned wide. “And it’s an election year.”
The kid was right. The government had no choice but to play along and would have to insist to their corporate influencers that they could not interfere any longer. With the system held hostage, ignoring the warning would be inviting their own downfall. The corporate interests, even the often brutal E-Bloc, would be forced to operate without having the government on their side. It wouldn't stop the conflict, but at least those corrupt elements in the local government that had turned on their own people would no longer be able to peddle influence and play favorites against the resistance.
The atmosphere of excitement rose as everyone began to consider the far-reaching effects of this hack. Lunatic 8 had not hidden that it was her hand that crafted the virus. Her reputation was part of the inherent threat of the program, and naturally, she would be the one that would receive the blame for the disaster and the threats, despite the setup that Hayden and Glitch had managed.
Hayden knew without a shadow of a doubt that Americana would be able to connect the activity to him in some way; a slinger’s work was often like a fingerprint and no two techniques were the same to someone with a trained eye. Overdog would have him pegged with just a glance at the code replay if ever he managed to secure that from the mainframe, as it was likely that both Asia Prime and the Union would slice the government mainframe just to secure a replay.
Lunatic 8 would be classed as a terrorist for this. The perceived attack being aimed at the government, and Hayden’s name, should the connection be made, would be under the same umbrella—and the rest of the resistance with them.
There was no panic in Hayden as the thought sank in, but rather a sort of anticipation, a sense of inevitability.
Glitch ignored the chaos around them for a moment and nudged Hayden’s shoulder with his own.
“Hey,” he said. “You were even better than 8 said to expect. I assumed that being a corporate hot shot, you'd be all flash and sizzle, but you kept it cool and clean. Thought everyone had overhyped you and maybe we'd have to bury you. Would've been a shame. It’s good to have you on the team, brother.”
Una appeared in the midst of the subdued celebration, which mostly consisted of speaking in slightly louder voices and boasting about the success. There also seemed to be a great deal of planning among both the Akiaten and the bootlegger techs involving what to drink and where to drink once the sun went down. The level of camaraderie between the two groups made Hayden consider the likelihood that most, if not all, of the meager financial backing for the resistance was funded by criminal endeavors.
Una raised a brow at the various conversations ensuing around them, setting down a brown paper bag, grease showing through the bottom, on the table between the two terminals.
Glitch shook his head.
“Oh no, you eat that somewhere else, you’ll get the sauce all over the terminals, basics, Una, come on," said the slinger with an exasperated smile.
“I would have thought victory would loosen the stick in your ass,” she replied smoothly, but moved the bag to a nearby table anyway, nodding for Hayden to join her. He did, surprised to see only one container of food in the bag.
“I ate on the way,” Una said at his questioning look, her words casual as the smile she gave him, though there seemed to be something lying in wait underneath. Defensive, as though she expected him to question her about it, though the thought, until then anyway, couldn’t have been further from his mind.
Hayden ate quickly, wolfing down the greasy street fare with gusto, as it was nearing midday and he hadn’t eaten since the previous night, before he and Nibiru headed out.
It was strange to think that not even a full day had passed since he’d left the HQ and met Lunatic 8 in the datascape. It seemed a week at least, perhaps because of all the time he’d spent second-guessing himself beforehand. He was hoping a full stomach would help with the fatigue that was slowly setting in now that the hack had wound down and he was feeling the effects of the night before.
Sometimes a rush of calories helped, but even halfway through with the plate of food he was shoveling down, he couldn’t shake the growing headache that increased with each blink and the feeling that the world was sliding sideways.
Dammit, that's what it was, he'd fallen off the meditation wagon and started popping balance pills like they were candy. Even just the short time he'd been away from the Union withdrawal was kicking in, and given that this was his first and only full-scale corporate defection, he hadn't thought to pack any extra. The recurring thought of the bottle of equilibrium sitting on his night table felt like a mockery at this point.
He knew equilibrium drugs were laughably expensive outside of corporations, miles out of the pay-grade of anyone else, but he asked Glitch anyway, figuring that if anyone would know, it was him.
“Some of the slingers use that knock off black market stuff,” the man answered. “A few of our soldiers have connections, but I’m pretty sure we’re dry right now. The corporations are squeezing us from every angle and you know as well as I do that messing with our slinger's recovery time gives the corporate slingers more time to run the table without opposition.”
“When we do have them, they go to 8, more often than not. She needs them most,” Una added, "The others make do with coffee, naps, and meditation."
Hayden’s face must have shown slight disappointment because the next thing Glitch did was leave the computer and walk toward the back of the room.
“There’s a tea I drink that helps. Was about to make myself a mug, if you’re up for some.”
Rubbing away the headache between his eyes, Hayden replied, “I’ll try anything once.”
“My kind of slinger,” Glitch said with a theatrical wink, causing Una to give the slightest of chuckles.
As she rested one arm on the table in front of her, Hayden noticed a bit of blood caught under one of her nails and wondered idly if she’d gotten into trouble with soldiers from one corporation or another on her way. He was working out a way to ask her without sounding intrusive when the basement door eased its way open.
It was the slowness of the action that made everyone turn, as thus far everyone had walked in with no hesitation once admitted by the guard. The yawning creek and the slowly growing shadow were enough to have even the most dedicated workers looking up from their jobs. The youngest of the crew, the bootlegger who’d been the most talkative of the lot, called out, “Pike? You fucking with us?”
The guard’s body erupted from the pool of shadow, soaring several feet through the air before it hit the floor in front of the doorway, spasming with twitches as his body was fried by the current of the dart that had stuck in his
muscle.
There was a shimmering in the air that disrupted the shadows.
Hayden's heart thundered in his chest as he stared into the shimmering darkness, his mind numbed by the certainty that his old friend had finally been sent to kill him. Making a dramatic entrance was definitely her style, and the slinger found that all he could do was hope she'd make it quick.
The room exploded with movement all at once. Una's powerful grip bore down on Hayden as she dragged him from the table, though he was already half-standing on his own, a forceful reminder of the incredible strength hidden inside her small frame.
She was pushing him towards what appeared to be a rear exit with one hand, the other already filled with a semi-automatic pistol that she used to fire two swift rounds at the unidentified assailant.
Glitch fell in behind them, the water he’d set up to boil on a small stove overturning as he went.
Hayden knocked over a stack of plexi-crates, barely getting his hand up to push them out of his way before being bodily shoved through the pile and onwards by Una. Impossibly, the handful of resistance fighters in the room were running past Hayden, in the other direction, towards the furious firefight that raged just steps behind them.
There was a scream behind them, the sound of electricity crackling, and another body seizing on the ground.
Laine had told him about the lightning rounds that Hirohito attempted to use against her, and Hayden dared to pause and look behind him. One of the Akiaten slingers was on his back in the middle of the room, his muscles frozen tight by the electrical current roaring through his flesh. and There was smoke and a sickening sizzling sound coming from the dual jacks in the back of his head as the augments were fried by the assassin's bullet.
He saw the bootleggers and techs flip over the metal work tables, all of their projects and tools clattering to the floor as the tables were turned into hasty cover. The shimmering figure slid through the entrance, flowing over Pike's body like a ghost, the muzzle flash of a weapon arcing out ahead of it as it moved. Two bootleggers went down as conventional rounds tore into them, and one Akiaten doubled over, though Hayden knew that alone wouldn't be enough to put the fighter down for good.