The Sonic Breach

by Victor Appleton

  “Doesn’t matter, though,” Jamal continued. “There’s a glitch somewhere and I can’t get it to work.”

  “Aw, man,” said Noah. “You could’ve asked me for help. It’s not like we’re keeping our code a secret.”

  Jamal waved his hand at the three of us. “Really? After all this?”

  Normally, one of the great things about the Swift Academy was the sharing of information. If someone came up with a unique string of code, he or she would happily share it with the other students. It’s how we learned to attack problems from different angles. And even though the robot battle was technically a competition, we would’ve shown our AI code to any team that was interested.

  “I’m sorry, Jamal,” I said. “We thought you were someone else.”

  We briefly explained what was going on and why we thought Jamal was the app thief. We owed him that much.

  “What are we going to do?” asked Sam. “Search the school again for another frustrated programmer?”

  Ding-ding.

  Everyone’s phones chimed at once. Along with everyone else in class, I pulled out my phone and checked the screen. The Pop Chop had another update available. A wave of approving murmurs washed over the class of students. I downloaded the update and the app restarted. Everything was working normally again.

  I shook my head. “Looks like the programmer isn’t frustrated anymore.”

  15

  The Dialect Directive

  “WHAT DO WE DO NOW?” Sam asked. “Amy’s counting on us to find this guy. Did we miss our only shot?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied.

  I was usually great at planning on the fly, instinctively overcoming obstacles as they hit. But with so much pressure on us finding the thief and clearing our friend’s name, I was drawing a blank. I didn’t see a last-minute clear path like I usually did. All I saw was the way Amy had looked in the library.

  “Do you think we can pull off another app crash?” I asked Noah, falling back on our original plan.

  “Sure, I guess. We don’t really have time to do anything else,” Noah replied. “But we won’t be able to do that if the thief changed the password.”

  “I thought you made it look like Amy scheduled the update a long time ago,” Sam said.

  “I did,” Noah replied. “I even mimicked her programming style. But if it were me, I would’ve changed the password.”

  “Yeah, but you’re paranoid,” I said.

  Noah grinned. “Being paranoid keeps you from being hacked.” Then his grin faded as he let out a big sigh. “Okay, now I have to do something extremely difficult.” He turned to Jamal. “Can I borrow your laptop real quick?”

  Jamal raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Look, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Noah pleaded.

  “We’re sorry,” I added. Sam nodded in agreement.

  Noah held up a finger. “And . . . I promise I’ll help you with your glitch.”

  Jamal shook his head and slid the laptop over to Noah. That saved us a bunch of time running back to our lockers to get one of ours.

  “Thanks,” Noah said as he pulled up the web browser and navigated to the app developer website. He found the log-in page, entered the password, and . . .

  “We’re in,” he said. “The password’s still the same!”

  “Schedule another update crash,” Sam suggested. “Maybe right before school is out.”

  “I can do that.” Noah scrolled through the code.

  Jamal leaned closer. “That’s the Pop Chop code? Nice.”

  Noah nodded. “Yeah, Amy does good work.” He stopped scrolling and pointed to a line of code. “This is where I added the glitch.”

  Jamal squinted at the screen. “I see where they fixed it. Kind of clunky. I can think of two simpler ways to solve the problem.”

  Noah chuckled. “I know, right? Not half as elegant as Amy’s work.”

  I’m a decent enough programmer, but I’ve never had the natural skill or appreciation for it like Noah. Jamal seemed to be closer to Noah’s level, the way they excitedly picked apart each line of code. I caught Sam’s gaze. She smirked and rolled her eyes.

  “So the person who hijacked the app added the pay option and the test-scanning feature?” Jamal asked.

  “Sure did,” Noah replied. “Amy just wanted a basic alert system.”

  “Go to those parts of the program,” Jamal said eagerly. “I want to see how they wrote that code.”

  Noah began to scroll down the page but then froze. “I’m such an idiot,” he said.

  “What?” Sam asked.

  Noah groaned and then scrolled through the code some more. “I’m so stupid.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Noah shook his head as he scrolled faster and faster. “I’m the stupidest guy in the smart-person school.”

  “What?!” Sam, Jamal, and I asked.

  Noah stopped and spun toward us. “Okay, you know how I said every programmer has a unique style?”

  “Yeah?” I said.

  “Well, we know exactly what new features this person added to Amy’s app. I could have been comparing his or her specific code to different projects in the computer lab. Everyone’s coding style is like their handwriting, dude. Everyone is different and distinctive.” He turned back and scanned more lines of code. “Man, I could’ve figured out who it was by now.”

  “Well, we can stay late,” Sam suggested. “Go over all the code in the computer lab.” She glanced at me. “Tom and I don’t have the eye for it like you two, but we could help.”

  “Yeah, Mr. Davenport gave us until tomorrow . . . ,” I began. I stopped when Noah held up a finger.

  “Wait,” he said. He tapped on the screen. “I know this guy.” He smiled and stretched up both arms. “I know who it is.”

  “What?” Sam asked. “Just like that?”

  Jamal leaned forward. He pointed to a line of code on the screen. “Oh, yeah, me too.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Oh yeah.” Noah nodded. A smile stretched across his face. “I recognize his programming style. I know exactly who it is.”

  I grinned. “Then let’s schedule one last Pop Chop update.”

  16

  The Redistribution Solution

  I PULLED BACK THE JOYSTICK on the controller. The Choppa backed away and just evaded Flailing Grade’s foam ball. We weren’t all-out sparring this time. Sam wasn’t even controlling the axes. School had just let out, and the gym was mostly deserted except for a couple of students chatting in the bleachers. As before, a few fencers practiced at the other end of the gym. On our side of the gym, it was just Jamal and me controlling the robots while Sam and Noah watched.

  I made our robot charge Flailing Grade, and the round robot spun out of the way in a graceful pirouette.

  “Nice,” I said.

  “Thanks,” Jamal replied.

  Sam checked her phone. “Almost time.”

  As Flailing Grade moved closer, I backed our robot away. As a group, we shuffled along with the dancing robots, moving closer and closer to the other end of the gym.

  “Here it goes,” Noah announced, scanning his own phone. Then it chirped in his hand.

  Ding-ding.

  The mosquito ringtones echoed through the gym as the few others’ phones went off, too.

  “Halt!” called a voice from the fencers’ side.

  As we and the robots edged closer, I spotted the tall fencer lower his weapon and remove his mask. Michel Villa wore a look of disgust as he strode to the gym wall. He rummaged through a backpack and dug out his own phone. He tapped the screen and growled with frustration.

  “Someone’s not happy,” Sam murmured.

  Michel looked up and waved away the other fencers. “That is all for today. Go away now.”

  The other fencers packed up their gear and left as Michel scowled at his phone.

  “Check it,” Noah said, showing me his phone.

  As before,
the Pop Chop app announced an update was available. Noah agreed to the update and a progress bar slowly filled.

  I caught a glimpse of Michel impatiently waiting for the same bar to fill on his phone.

  Jamal and I continued to mock-spar our robots, all the while creeping closer to the fencer.

  Noah waved his phone in my direction, and I glanced over. The loading screen appeared, followed by a brand-new screen Noah and Jamal had created. Your fee has been refunded! it read. Test scanning option no longer available.

  “No, no, no!” Michel growled. He shoved his phone back into his backpack and pulled out a laptop. He slid down the wall and opened the computer.

  “Get ready for some fireworks,” Sam whispered as she followed us even closer.

  Michel typed furiously on his keyboard, paused, then typed some more. “Come on,” he grunted. “This can’t be happening!”

  Now only a few feet away, I parked our robot and lowered the controller. Sam, Noah, and Jamal joined me as I took a few more steps toward the frustrated fencer.

  “Everything all right, Michel?” I asked.

  He didn’t look up from his computer. “What?”

  “You look like you’re having some trouble there,” Sam added.

  Michel slammed his laptop shut and slid it aside. “No. Everything is fine.” He grabbed his foil and got to his feet. He assumed a fencing stance and began to practice some moves.

  “I don’t know, Tom,” Noah said. “It looked as if he’s having log-in issues, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “It did look like that.”

  Michel froze. “What do you know of this?”

  “Well,” said Noah, “because I’m the one who changed the password. And not just by one digit this time.”

  “Don’t forget deleting his programming and returning all the money he collected,” Jamal added.

  “Oh yeah,” agreed Sam. “That, too.”

  Michel’s face twisted in anger. “You did this?!” He stepped forward and aimed his foil in our direction.

  We each took a step back.

  “Okay, maybe we shouldn’t confront the guy holding the sword,” Noah suggested.

  “Foil,” Sam, Jamal, and I corrected him.

  Noah had a point. Even though fencing foils had a rubber guard on their tips, fencers wore protective masks for a reason.

  “You stole the app from Amy,” Sam said fearlessly. “We just took it back.”

  “Amy,” he sneered. “She asks for training but has to stop all the time.” He pointed to his laptop. “All the time on the computer. Then I saw what she was working on and I realized she was sitting on a gold mine and did not know it. It is not my fault she was too stupid to realize it.”

  “Stupid?!” Sam asked, lunging forward. “She got suspended because of you!” Noah and I each grabbed an arm and held her back.

  “Yes, stupid.” He aimed his foil at us once more. “Now, here’s what is to happen. You give me the password and then mind your own business.”

  “No, here’s what’s going to happen,” I said. “You’re going to tell Mr. Davenport what you did and clear Amy’s name.”

  “Why would I do this thing?” Michel scoffed.

  “Because we’re going to tell him anyway?” Sam snarked.

  “Yeah, it might be better for you if you admitted it yourself,” Noah added.

  Michel laughed. “Fine. Go and tell him. I will deny everything. If you deleted my programming, then you deleted your evidence. I bet you did not think of that, did you?”

  We glanced at each other.

  He waved us away. “Now go back to fighting with your silly robots and leave me alone.”

  “Well, we weren’t really fighting these robots,” I explained. “Otherwise they might have damaged my phone attached to the front there.” I pointed to my phone zip-tied to one of the front axes. “You know, the one that’s been recording us this whole time?” I smiled.

  Michel raised his foil and pointed it directly at my face. “Delete that right now!”

  I toggled the joystick and our robot backed away. Michel took a step closer and I pressed a button on the controller. The Choppa spun 180 degrees before speeding toward the exit.

  “Give me that!” Michel lunged forward and snatched the controller from my hand. He jerked at the joysticks and mashed buttons, but the robot kept moving away.

  “Oh, that’s my onboard AI,” Noah explained. “It’s overridden the manual controls and is running a special escape route I programmed.”

  “Get to za Choppa!” our robot said as it zipped out the door and disappeared down the hallway.

  I nodded to Noah. “Nice touch.”

  “Why, thank you,” he replied.

  “No!” Michel shouted as he sprinted after it.

  The four of us took off after him.

  We ran out of the gym and raced down the hallway. The few lingering students backed toward the walls as we trailed Michel and the robot.

  The Choppa wasn’t built for speed, but it already had a good head start on the fencer. By the time Michel closed the gap, our robot had turned a corner and darted toward the front office. It shot past Ms. Lane’s desk and disappeared through Mr. Davenport’s open doorway.

  Michel skidded to a stop and we piled up behind him.

  “Get to za Choppa!” our robot sounded from the office. “Get to za Choppa!”

  “Hey!” cried Mr. Davenport’s voice. “What is this?!” He stomped out of the room. “Ms. Lane, what in the world . . . ?” He froze when he saw us.

  “Mr. Davenport,” I said, stepping forward. I rested a hand on Michel’s shoulder. “Mr. Villa here has something he’d like to tell you.”

  17

  The Popularity Singularity

  WHAM!

  The Choppa’s ax head hammered onto the outer shell of the opposing robot.

  “Good one, Sam!” I shouted over the roar of the cheering audience.

  “Thanks!” She made a quick adjustment to her safety goggles before returning to her controller.

  “Evasive maneuver delta,” Noah ordered.

  I pressed a button on my controller and Noah’s AI kicked in. Our robot backed away two feet before whipping around in a U-turn. Once the maneuver was complete, the AI released control. Noah pulled back on his joystick and the robot backed toward the enemy. Sam controlled the rear ax and it came down toward the other robot. Unfortunately, the yellow robot scooted clear of the attack. The opposing AI took over in its own evasive maneuver.

  The audience groaned at the near miss. The other robot spun around, gathering momentum for its flail.

  That’s right. Our first bout in Mrs. Scott’s big robot battle had us up against our old sparring partner: Flailing Grade. This time, however, our plastic ax heads were replaced with our blunt metal ax-shaped hammers, and Flailing Grade sported a metal ball. It was robot clobbering time!

  A small arena had been built atop the gym floor for the contest. Clear plastic panels protected the operators as well as the audience in the bleachers. Our team controlled our robot from one side while Jamal’s team stood on the other.

  “This is amazing!” Amy shouted over the crowd. Our friend got a ringside seat right next to us. It was great to see her smiling again.

  After Michel Villa’s reluctant confession to Mr. Davenport, Amy’s suspension was lifted. Michel was suspended in her place, awaiting a full investigation. Things didn’t look good for him, though. Our principal seemed just as upset once he heard that Villa had hacked a fellow student’s program. If I had to guess, Michel would be heading back to France very soon.

  “Yo, Amy! What’s up?” Kevin Ryan asked as he walked past with his crew. The rest of his team waved to her as they brought their robot to the staging area.

  Amy looked down and gave a quick wave. She had trouble getting used to her new popularity. See, it didn’t take long for it to get around school that Amy was behind the Pop Chop app in the first place. All that and making the fencing team? S
he was a bigger hero than Anya Latke. Even though her last update had deleted the app from everyone’s phones, the Swift Academy students were grateful for her help against the pop quizzes.

  Unfortunately, there was a rumor circulating that I was the one who talked Mr. Davenport into giving up his pop quiz program. I tried my best to dispel that rumor (even if it was sort of true), but I think Noah was feeding the flames as quickly as I put them out. He got no end of joy watching my fumbling reactions when other students asked me to get them more vegan options on the lunch menu or similar requests. Now I’d have to work twice as hard to be seen as just a regular student, even if my name was on the school.

  Luckily, with the pop quizzes gone, we were able to spend more time on the Choppa. And we made quite a few upgrades.

  “You with us, Tom?” Noah asked. “Let’s stop that momentum!”

  “You sure?” I asked. “Will the shielding take the hit?”

  “It will,” confirmed Sam. “You watch. The crumple zones will work.”

  “Nothing like a full-blown field test,” I said, diverting power to the main motor.

  Noah sped our robot forward, heading straight toward our spinning opponent. At the last second, he veered it to the left in a sideswipe. The tiny wrecking ball slammed into the side of the Choppa, denting its right panel. Noah rotated the robot toward Flailing Grade. The Choppa’s motherboard was undamaged; we still had complete control.

  “Told you,” Sam said.

  “Let’s flip some burgers,” Noah announced.

  He rammed the robot at Flailing Grade before it could get up to speed. Once the ax heads slipped under the other robot, I adjusted the power levels. Now it was Sam’s turn. She hit a switch and both axes shot up. Flailing Grade caught air and tumbled overhead.

  “Beta! Beta!” Noah shouted.

  I pressed the button for evasive maneuver beta. The power levels adjusted automatically as the AI kicked in. Our robot shot forward, zipping under the flipping robot. When it was clear, our robot skidded to a stop and spun around like a car from The Fast and the Furious. Flailing Grade slammed to the ground, bouncing onto its back.

  The audience erupted in response to our fancy move.