Antivirus (The Horde Series Book 1)

by Michael Koogler

  “Nervous?”

  “Are you kidding?” she answered, feigning shock. “I’m absolutely petrified.”

  “Well, stop worrying, will you? This is our tech. We know it works and Jon is the bomb. He’ll put on a great show.”

  “Yeah, but this is live. We’re out of the box today, Dave.”

  “We’ve done this lots of times, Kat.”

  “But never with a billion dollars in the swing,” she answered, “and never with an open gate.”

  “Would you relax?” he cut in, exasperated. “We’re fine, Kat. Everything will work out perfectly. I promise.”

  She gave him an appreciative look and then walked past him and into the hall. David Rivers, head lab technician for FutureTek, fell in behind her.

  “Are the honeypots ready?” she asked as they walked.

  “Online and infested,” he answered happily. “I put out the first one last night and the other two went online this morning. All three are showing various worm hits. Jon will have his pick of the litter.”

  “We need to make sure the virus infestations are verified by Systemtech’s people,” she cautioned.

  “Already taking care of it, Kat.”

  “Where’s Drew?”

  “Schmoozing as we speak,” Rivers replied. “You don’t think he would be doing anything else at this point, do you?”

  “Sounds like we’re about as ready as we’re going to get, David,” she answered and then pushed through a set of double doors into the largest room in the building that was home to FutureTek, the tiny technology firm that was about to become front page news all over the world.

  The room was little more than a large working lab with numerous computer work-stations around the perimeter and enough wiring and cabling to stretch several miles. In the center of the room was a large barbershop chair, its armrests bristling with unattached electrodes, wires, and finger pads. The wires led to a bulky looking machine sitting next to it that resembled several desktop PCs cobbled together into the most bizarre-looking apparatus. From that machine, additional wires snaked across a table into three separate, normal-looking computers.

  At the computer terminals, a sandy-haired young man named Alex Jordan was walking three black-suited men through a virus check using their own software. Jordan was one of FutureTek’s young wiz kids and was an absolute genius when it came to viruses and trojans and what made them tick. Kat could hear him reciting off the names of several viruses that had apparently infected the three PCs, known as honeypots for the particular configuration they used to attract the various worms and viruses that were always crawling about the internet. A fifth man, also wearing a business suit, stood nearby, nervously folding and refolding his hands as he watched.

  As Kat walked in, the anxious man, Andrew Jackson—Drew, as he was known to his employees—looked toward her. He was the president of the little tech firm and brightened immediately when he saw her. “Kat!” he exclaimed, obviously relieved to have something to occupy his time while Jordan worked. He motioned to the three business men who had all straightened and turned around. “Come and meet our distinguished guests.”

  Kat put on her best smile and extended her hand as she walked up to them. “Kat Hale, lead program designer,” she introduced herself smartly, firmly clasping the first hand extended to her.

  “Michael Monroe,” the man intoned with a smile. “Chief operations officer of Systemtech. And may I introduce you to Allen Turner, lead programmer, and Dan Hyde, our top security specialist.”

  “It’s a pleasure,” the young woman answered, flashing a brilliant smile and turning to indicate the man that had accompanied her. “This is David Rivers, FutureTek’s lead lab technician and resident technology wizard.”

  Handshakes and polite greetings were exchanged all around and then Michael Monroe spoke up, taking the conversational lead and getting right down to the business at hand. “This is some pretty amazing technology you’re dealing with, Miss Hale,” he said, giving Kat a knowing smile.

  “We believe it is, Mister Monroe,” she agreed. “In this high-tech world, we believe the only way to succeed is by breaking down the barriers and forging ahead into new frontiers.”

  “Well, you’ve certainly done that,” the man replied. “If the presentation videos we have seen are to be believed, then you are breaking ground never before seen.”

  “That’s been our goal.”

  “Break it down for me once again, Miss Hale,” he went on, just the slightest trace of condescension in his voice, as if he did not quite believe what he had heard about FutureTek’s new toy. “I understand that, to date, your testing has been done on closed systems. Is that correct?”

  “Precisely,” Kat answered, ignoring the hint of skepticism. Moving to the large machine that was the central hub of FutureTek’s new technology, she continued. “All of our testing has been done on closed systems simply for the sheer unpredictability of the internet.”

  “But the technology is not viable as a closed machine entity,” Dan Hyde broke in, his voice almost bitter with undisguised contempt. He was certainly not afraid to show it, either. “It becomes nothing more than a novelty.”

  “Agreed,” said Kat, maintaining her composure in the face of the early challenge and doing her best to ignore the man’s contempt. “But for the past two weeks, we have been conducting extended testing on linked machines, and the success has been excellent. We believe that the transition to the open world of cyberspace will be seamless.”

  “You’re taking quite a gamble then,” Monroe added. “Is it the rational approach or a touch of desperation?”

  “Maybe a little bit of both, if you don’t mind me saying,” she answered without elaborating. “But all things considered, if you’re present for the first live run through, the result is a little more genuine.”

  “Point taken,” Monroe replied with a nod.

  “How are you doing it?” This time it was Allen Turner who asked and he made no attempt to hide his amazement, which was in stark contrast to the attitude displayed by the company’s security specialist.

  “With this,” Kat answered proudly, laying a hand on the large machine. “This is the hub, as we call it. It’s not pretty, but it does the job. This is what drives the process.”

  “You must use an enormous amount of memory to pre-program counters and fixes,” Turner went on. “How do you know you can even cover it all? The maintenance uploads would have to be almost continuous.”

  Kat smiled broadly, silently grateful for the perfect question. “That’s the beauty of the system,” she explained. “We don’t require any memory at all.”

  “Impossible,” Hyde scoffed, and there was no mistaking that the man thought very little of what FutureTek was hoping to accomplish.

  “No, it’s not impossible,” she countered quickly, remaining calm. “The hub is simply the vehicle. The brains behind the machine come from whoever sits in the chair,” she finished, indicating the empty barber chair next to the table. “The driver is what makes this all work.”

  “So, you’re telling me that the person operating this system is doing so on his own memory and not simply manipulating pre-programmed memory packets?” Monroe asked, holding up a hand and cutting off his security specialist before he could disagree again.

  “Exactly,” Kat said, her smile never wavering. “This technology is only limited by the mind behind it, and the particular mind we are talking about today is Jon Sherrard. He’s been with FutureTek since its inception and he’s a crack computer expert, among other things.”

  “So memory is not an issue?”

  “No, sir,” she shook her head.

  “And you rely on the intelligence of the operator then?”

  “We do. But to be honest, we originally approached this project from the direction you initially indicated,” she explained. “The idea was to have a driver manipulate pre-determined codes and instructions to eliminate a virus. In effect, we were simply making a human copy of
an antivirus program and we quickly realized that took the intuition out of the equation and ultimately did nothing to advance or improve our ability to deal with malicious coding or damaged software.”

  “But today’s worms adapt and change to given situations,” Turner put in, understanding better than the other two where the young woman was going with her explanation.

  “Exactly,” Kat agreed. “Doing it the old way quickly brought into play the limitations of the technology. A cyberspace toolbox for our driver could be outdated and obsolete before he even made contact with a worm or a virus. So, we altered our direction, instead deciding to rely on the intelligence and ingenuity of the human mind. A computer virus may be smart, but its actions are still based on its programming. So its intelligence is limited to the finite area of its programming. A human mind, however, has no such limitations.”

  “So the person using the technology would have to be up-to-date on the latest virus info.”

  “Somewhat,” she answered, “but nothing like us having to update virus programs as we do today. You see, because the driver has the ability to think, he might find half a dozen different ways to defeat or deconstruct a virus or a worm when he’s looking directly at it. While today’s viruses are smart, they are still only so much coding, and it’s the coding that the driver repairs or manipulates.”

  “How?” the security specialist snapped.

  “Any number of different ways,” Kat said, standing him down. “The driver might be in the virus’s domain, but that also affords him the ability to easily see the coding, almost like it was a tangible object right before his eyes. He can then reform the malicious coding, simply delete it, or even rewrite or reformat the virus to act out a non-malicious result. The possibilities are endless.”

  “That is absolutely fascinating,” Michael Monroe said, allowing a broad smile to grace his handsome face. “And all this time, we were under the impression that your driver was simply maneuvering the required programs within the system. You have taken this technology to a potential that we had only briefly considered.”

  “You are impressed then?” Drew Jackson asked, beaming himself as he leaned into the conversation.

  “Indeed, we are,” Monroe answered. “But obviously, we’re here to see it first-hand. Whether we remain impressed is going to rely heavily on what we see here today.”

  “Then let’s not waste any time,” Jackson said enthusiastically. “Kat, how’s Jon?”

  “He’s in prep,” David Rivers answered for her. “He ought to be ready to go shortly.”

  “What kind of prep-work are you talking about?” Hyde asked, his perpetual scowl of suspicion still locked on his face.

  “Standard medical safeguards,” Kat explained. “As successful as we have been to date, we’re still dealing with a brand new and relatively untested field. We don’t know if there’s any long-term side effects yet, and probably won’t until after years of testing. But we’ve found that the best success is attained when the human brain is relaxed and focused. So, we put our driver under a minimum of an hour’s observation before he goes and, if he’s not sufficiently calm, we scrub the run.”

  “What about drugs?” Hyde pressed.

  “We’ve never used them, nor do we intend to and it’s certainly not something I would recommend,” Kat replied. “There are just too many unknowns. We want the driver in complete control of his mind.”

  “Understandable,” Monroe agreed. “Have you had any side effects whatsoever?”

  “Nothing really,” she answered. “Our records are open for you to check, complete with video. But outside of minor anomalies or a glitch here and there with such a new technology, it’s been pretty smooth sailing.”

  “What kind of anomalies?” Hyde asked quickly.

  “Well,” Kat said, clearing her throat. “We actually communicate directly with our driver while he’s in the machine. It’s a simple speech program that projects through the system speakers. There have been a few instances where we’ve lost communication for brief moments, but we have attributed it to simple lag spikes, nothing more. Jon has done countless closed box test runs and has never experienced any physical or mental complications of any kind.”

  “What about with the linked machines?” Hyde continued to press.

  “No anomalies,” she answered easily. “Jon is healthy and exhibits no side-effects from the disassociation, other than a short period of re-adjustment after ending a session and returning to his body. But that’s normal.”

  “So when do we get to see him in action?” Monroe asked with a broad smile. “I am truly excited to see your demonstration.” Apparently he did not share his security specialist’s cynicism.

  “Right now,” a new voice answered and all heads turned toward the door as Jon Sherrard entered the room.

  Chapter 4

  FutureTek Headquarters, Helena, Montana: Jon was a tall, rangy man with tousled black hair and warm brown eyes. He was flanked by a woman who was quite obviously a physician, complete with clipboard and stethoscope draped around her neck. He stuck out his hand as he strode forward and clasped Michael Monroe’s hand firmly. “Jon Sherrard,” he greeted.

  “Michael Monroe,” answered the COO of Systemtech who then introduced his two employees.

  “A pleasure to meet everybody,” Sherrard said easily, “and this here is our good doctor, Diane Faust.”

  Faust merely nodded with the introduction, her look unemotional.

  “You ready for this, Jon?” Jackson asked, looking at the man with more than hopeful eyes.

  “As long as Doc has me cleared, I’m all set,” he answered.

  “He’s cleared,” Faust said softly, offering her clipboard to Monroe. “You may look at his vitals if you wish.”

  The head of Systemtech took it, scanned it quickly, and then shrugged and handed it back to the physician. “Looks fine to me,” he said with a smile, hardly caring what the numbers said. He just wanted to see if the technology he was getting ready to spend a billion dollars on was going to be the next frontier for mankind.

  “Then let’s get started,” Jackson said, rubbing his hands together.

  Jon Sherrard seated himself in the central chair and leaned back and relaxed as Rivers and Faust began attaching electrodes to his arms, temples, and forehead.

  As they worked, Monroe asked with extreme interest, looking directly at Sherrard, “What’s it like?”

  “It’s a trip,” Jon said with a smile. “Out-of-body about covers things, I suppose.”

  “What do you see when you’re in there?”

  “That’s hard to explain, sir. I can’t actually see, since I don’t take my eyes into the machine with me. But I can sort of feel the images in my brain and somehow know what the coding is, kind of like a dream. It’s a weird sensation and it took me a few times to get used to it. Now, it’s just a walk in the park.”

  “How about when you come out?” Hyde asked.

  “It’s kind of like coming off a pretty wild amusement park ride,” he answered. “It’s pretty disorienting at first, but it passes quickly.”

  “What about when you’re in the machine?” Monroe pressed. “Are you aware of physical sensations in reality?”

  “We’ve actually run several tests on that,” Kat stepped in. “As far as we can ascertain, when Jon’s conscience is in the machine, there is no response to physical stimulus. His vital signs are monitored the entire time and there has never been a problem. Heart, respiration, etc. all continue normally.”

  “Have you tried external stimulation?”

  “Yes, we have,” she answered. “From temperature sensations to actual pin pricks, yet there has been no physical response to any of it. Jon can feel nothing.”

  “Is that true, Mister Sherrard?” Monroe asked.

  “Spot on, sir. We’ve tried a lot of different things. Even had my wife come in one time and kiss me and try…er…other things,” he stammered, suddenly embarrassed.

  “And you w
eren’t aware of anything?”

  “No, sir.”

  “So his conscious has truly left his body, then,” Monroe said, turning to address Jackson. “That is most extraordinary. You do realize there are some wonderful medical possibilities here as well? Imagine the opportunities in dealing with coma patients or someone with Alzheimer’s. You have here a technology that could allow a patient to leave their damaged brain and converse with their doctors or family members. The potential is off the charts!”

  “It has crossed our minds,” Drew laughed a little too loudly.

  “Well, then,” said Monroe, clapping his hands together. “I think you have answered all of our questions for now, so let’s see your demonstration. Let’s see what Systemtech is considering buying,” he finished with a hint of mischievousness.

  “You are satisfied with the test bed then?” Kat asked, nodding her head toward the three machines.

  “We are,” Hyde said curtly, sounding almost disappointed that he didn’t find any trickery. “All three systems check out.”

  “Jon?” Kat asked, turning to the seated man.

  “I’m ready to go,” he answered easily, flexing his fingers before placing them on the armrest keypads. As soon as he did, Rivers immediately looped small pieces of Velcro over them, securing them in place.

  “What are the pads for?” Allen Turner asked, peering closer.

  “This is what I use to initiate contact with the hub,” Jon answered the question. “There is some mechanical manipulation involved to get me inside. It’s almost like opening a gate. Once I’m in, the keypads are not used again during the session.”

  “What is the concept used to initiate mental contact with the hub?”

  “To put it in the simplest terms, the hub reads his alpha waves through the electrodes,” Kat explained. “He uses his hands to input some specific program commands to open the gate and then his conscience is able to slip right in, like any other electrical current. That’s how it works in layman’s terms, anyway. Full technical disclosure will happen upon completion of the business transaction,” she said with a sly smile.