by L M Lacee
‘My cyber- hackers and I have spent months trying to find the information that is here.’ She shook her head as she said. ‘Everything in here is very important. I have been so annoyed I could not find it anywhere and I’ve had it all this time. It just slipped my mind to look at the information because I was sad.’
Melody snorted. ‘Seriously, there is no apology warranted for that. We all were sad and any one of us could have looked into what was downloaded.’
‘Not really, it is on my computer.’
Melody raised her eyebrows as she asked. ‘And your point?’
‘Because it is coded to me, so you couldn’t have opened it.’
Heather kept her laugh from escaping at Melody’s frustrated expression and Peyton’s amused gaze, she gently told her. ‘Darby, she was trying to make you feel better, it was not a literal example.’
Darby’s confusion vanished as she smiled one of her rare smiles and said. ‘Oh, I see, thank you Melody.’
‘Alright!’ Melody grinned as Peyton eyed Darby’s computer saying. ‘I bet I could crack it.’
Terrified that she may try, Darby placed her hands over her computer. Her face reflected the terror she felt at the thought of Peyton destroying or dismantling her computer to break into it.
She had been horrified when they had first moved into Peyton’s home and found dismantled bots. As well as computers in various stages of repair and other small appliances in parts and or modified. Practically every room had something that was partially dismantled on the floors or beds. Before they could use the kitchen, they had removed fourteen boxes of parts from the counters and cupboards.
The homes power and environmental systems were made from components that were not designed to be used for those functions. Although Peyton had made them work as she had with the modified house bots and communication systems. As much as Darby was appalled by what she had done, there was no escaping the fact these were all masterpieces of engineering which defied Darby’s explanation.
It had taken her three solid weeks of working ten hours a day to secure the house and repair all the equipment Peyton had dismantled. When she had asked her why she never seemed to complete a task.
Peyton had shrugged, looked confused for a minute and then explained she became bored, especially when she discovered it was not as difficult to fix as she thought it would be. This was not a logical answer or at least not for Darby. She then asked her was there a reason she had made so many new and inventive modifications to the house.
Her reply that she just wondered if it would work, also escaped Darby’s logic. Eventually, after listening to Darby ask why, again and again, every time she found something new in pieces or destroyed, or something working that should not be possible.
Melody in the voice she had used to command her soldiers ordered Darby to not ask, why again!
When Darby had asked innocently. ‘Ever?’
Melody had yelled. ‘Yes!’ Then stormed from the house.
Fascinated with the display from the normally contained General, she had not asked why again, at least not in Melody’s hearing. Darby screeched now as she pleaded with Peyton. ‘No…no…no, do not try please. It is very sensitive and as I said it is coded to me, if you try it will self-destruct!’
Peyton’s eyes gleamed as she pointed out. ‘Only if I do it wrong.’
‘Let’s say you tried and failed and leave her computer alone!’ Melody warned Peyton, who scowled but said no more.
She wasn’t the only one to hear the tone of exasperation in Melody’s voice, which meant she was going to yell if she pushed the point anymore. Darby gave Melody a grateful smile which she returned as she asked her. ‘Can you do what you want to now?’
‘Yes.’ She started tapping away on her computer very relieved, although she maintained part of her attention on Peyton just to be sure.
Heather smiled as she said. ‘Let’s get dinner ready, afterward Darby will have all the names on the list and we can compose an email and send it out. I am sure there are other things we have to put in place, if we are to leave.’
‘Done!’ Peyton and Melody agreed, leaving Darby to dive completely into her computer, notifying her people she had the new program.
Somewhere along the way the Coalition had altered all the Government’s computers. They used a type of firewall that none of Darby’s people had seen before, which prevented her cyber-hackers from breaking into their computers. This was the first copy of the program she had been able to get her hands on, now not only did she have a sample, she had the whole encrypted coded program allowing her cyber-hackers entry to any of the Coalition and Government computers. From now on there would be nothing they could hide from her and her people, happiness bubbled through her system like champagne at the thought.
Her little data bots went crazy extracting the new codes and breaking the Coalition’s encryption. New storage programs were duplicated and upgraded by her people within minutes of receiving the information. Other bytes of data were sent to differing cyber-hackers to decipher and use or disseminate as needed.
Invigorated, the hacking community came alive, Darby knew no one would be sleeping for days as they educated themselves on the new information and software.
After dinner Peyton, Darby and Heather settled down with tablets secured of course by Darby. Compiling lists and tasks, because each of them believed they were leaving Earth, and when they did, their departure would be with as much equipment and resources as possible.
Melody watched them for a while as she paced back and forth across the kitchen and finally declared. ‘We need my kind of people and equipment too?’
Darby nodded her head and handed over a tablet she had on the table beside her. ‘Everyone who has some kind of training and knowledge to get the equipment you require, is in there.’
Melody laughed, shaking her head as she walked to her chair murmuring to Peyton. ‘I should have known.’
She agreed absently. ‘Yep, army girl, you should have.’
Melody made a face at her, Peyton grinned back in reply. It was going to be a long and busy few days, for the four friends.
EIGHT:
That night after combing through the information obtained from the Government's computers, the four women drafted an email and sent it to every woman on the list. Explaining why they were never destined to be chosen to leave Earth and how thankful they should be for that fact. Also, the email explained what their new life was to be at the hands of the Government and the Coalition if they remained here. Finally, the missive asked, if they, Peyton, Darby, Heather, and Melody could find a way to leave Earth safely and go to a world in another universe. Would they come with them?
By dawn the next day their emails were inundated with a single word. ‘Yes.’
A few even asked. ‘When do we leave, now would be good?’
Once Peyton and the others got over the shock of all the replies, they shifted gears and worked almost around the clock securing and making sure any woman that needed immediate help received it. Then the friends decided it would be detrimental to their cause to have all the women arrive at Runnerdale at once. So they spent time working out ways and means of communication and travel for when they alerted the women to come to Runnerdale.
Darby, at Peyton’s urging had some of her cyber people use the cloned storage programs to gather and store all of Earth’s digital world for future use. Within minutes of Darby issuing the request, her people went searching to their hearts content, retrieving as much information from computers as they could find.
They gathered data from the digital libraries and from there it escalated to whole recorded pictorials of the world’s museums and galleries. Every piece of music, old and new they could find was stored away. They also made sure to include all the recorded histories of the different cultures and their languages from before the Virus struck.
All medical disciplines and branches of the sciences were included, basically they downloaded everything they could from all the wo
rlds’ education centers.
Peyton requested Darby to have one or more of her people gather if possible, every piece of literature as well as every movie they could find. Melody who adored anything western made sure her genre of movies and music was on the list as well as all the old and new entertainment programs.
When Darby had asked why she felt this was a worthwhile endeavour. Peyton had smiled and told her she believed all the items she had listed were things people would miss once they could not just reach out and get them. But more importantly, it was so they would not forget, how absolutely inventive, creative and imaginative humans were.
Darby had nodded her agreement and then sighed, telling them that if the Data Master she had designed and built when she was a child was still operational, the collection would have been completed in minutes as they would have had to go to only one source for all the information.
Shocked at Darby’s disclosure, Peyton had stilled she was sure her heart stopped for a minute. Heather asked Darby what she meant by Data Master.
Darby had explained that as a child she had been commissioned to design and help build an A.I. Then she told them what the A.I. was capable of. Heather and Melody were spellbound by her explanation, none of them appeared to notice how quiet Peyton had become or how shallow her breathing was.
When Heather asked how it was destroyed. Darby had frowned and rubbed her cheek saying they still had no idea, the components were so broken down, that they could not even get a vid on who destroyed the complex and there was no way to have the A.I. tell them. Because it was totally gone, as though it had never existed, she shrugged and said it was still a mystery to this day.
Peyton decided right then and there to say nothing, it was not lying she reasoned, just sparing her new sister’s feelings. As no one seemed to notice her silence, she thought she had covered her shock well, contented with her decision she listened as Darby and Heather continued discussing the Data Master and what it was built for.
Unfortunately, she had forgotten the sharp-eyed Melody, who angled her body toward Peyton, shielding her from the other two women as she murmured. ‘Girl, could you look any guiltier?’
Peyton raised her eyebrows and said dismissively. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘Really, you going to go with that?’
‘Yes, and if I did do what you are suggesting, it was for a very good reason.’
Melody placed a hand over hers as she asked. ‘Did I say otherwise?’
‘No, you didn’t.’
‘Well, shut up then.’ Melody laughed as Peyton made her usual comment. ‘So rude!’
Darby looked at both women, then shrugged and went back to her computer as she thought about what she and her people were doing. Collecting all this stuff Peyton and the others wanted, she understood the need for the medical and scientific information that made total sense. Although the need for what she termed, the fluffy things which cluttered up their world baffled her.
Maybe, as she looked at Peyton walking out of the kitchen, maybe it took someone who appeared scatter-brained and confused most of the time, to understand it.
Later that night Peyton lay in bed tired and resolved, they had spent the day scouring the world for data and arranging people and equipment.
She knew her plan was right and would save lives, she smiled into the darkness, when she remembered Darby’s face, after she asked her to get her cyber- hackers to gather all the information she had listed.
Poor Darby, she could not see the logic of gathering movies or books, games and other non-informative data.
She almost laughed out loud remembering Heather explaining again, her reasoning to Darby. Who once more replied that she did not understand why this was important? Heather in exasperation had finally ordered. ‘Darby, just do it; you don’t have to understand, just make sure it’s done.’
Darby had fired back. ‘But it makes no sense, there are other valuable things we need.’
Melody had growled from behind her computer screen. ‘This is valuable, my music, movies and shows are valuable to me.’
Darby was going to contradict that statement when Heather gently told her. ‘Darby, Peyton’s reasoning is sound, she believes everyone we take with us will want to remember what we have here. The music, the art, movies and books, sometimes they are the only things that keep people from falling into depression. If these few bits of fluff as you call them, ease their lives and ease any regret they may feel in the future for leaving Earth, that has to be a good thing right? Darby you know this is a one-way trip, maybe it will be all we will ever have to remember Earth by.’
Darby had shrugged not really agreeing but not disagreeing anymore and then she nodded assuring them both. ‘I don’t understand it the way you seem to or Peyton does, but I will have my people find it all.’
‘Well, that is all we can ask of you.’ Heather told her with a smile.
NINE:
One of Darby’s tasks over the next few days was to compile information she had on the Jenersar Warriors. Shocked at what she discovered, she asked Heather and a few selected scientists to assemble a laboratory in one of the houses so they could run simulations from her data.
The morning before the day of the meeting and after many hours of combing through all the information and doing their tests. She and Heather presented their combined report and their conclusions to Peyton and Melody, who were just as stunned as they were.
Although Melody was more disappointed and angry than she was shocked, at the decisions of those in power. Peyton was just as angry as Melody, but truthfully she was quietly pleased. She now had the final piece needed as a bargaining chip to help convince the Commander to agree to her plan.
Later that same day, Peyton stood outside Darby’s bedroom and danced from foot to foot. She really did not want to do this, but she could see no other way around it. She just knew there would be questions to answer, so many damn questions.
Sighing deeply, then plastering a smile on her face she walked into Darby’s bedroom. The same room she had called her own when her grandparents were alive. ‘Hi!’
Darby looked up from her computer. ‘Hello.’
The sudden appearance of Peyton in her room gave her pause for thought, causing her to frown. Peyton never intruded in their private space, she had said when they moved in, that their rooms were theirs. No one entered a bedroom unless invited, so for her to ignore that policy meant something was worrying her. Darby watched her pace the room for a minute then growled. ‘Sit.’
Peyton nodded and took the chair beside her desk. ‘So hi!’
‘And hi, to you again. What can I do for you?’
‘Well!’ She flipped a flash-drive between her fingers as Darby’s finely shaped eyebrows rose, along with her suspicions. ‘Peyton?’
‘I can shield my computer transmissions.’
Darby nodded, she knew this and did not approve of the technology, it was clumsy and external, her system was better. ‘I know I saw the scanner, it is inventive and a little scary.’
‘Yeah… yeah.’ Peyton quickly said, hoping to avoid another lecture on safety as she mentally sang, blah… blah… blah!
Darby informed her. ‘I know you are singing blah, blah… blah, in your head.’
Peyton frowned as she asked. ‘Did Melody tell you that? Because I can tell you what she does.’
Darby grinned internally as she growled. ‘Peyton, spit it out!’
‘See, right there that is just rude!’
Sighing gustily Darby asked. ‘Peyton, why must you do this, just ask?’
‘Because…’
‘Yes… yes, we know you hate asking, everyone knows!’
Peyton snapped. ‘Fine!’ Darby was right, she really did hate asking but still there was no need to be rude about it. ‘So, as I was saying, I can shield my computer but I have to make a screen call to some people. Now if they are still alive, they are clever and very deceptive and I have to assume they have every toy there is out
there, legal and black market to trace the call. I am fairly sure they belong to an organization that can track anyone, anywhere. My security will not be enough. I was hoping you could help me.’
Confused Darby asked. ‘You don’t trust them, yet you have to talk to them. Why?’
‘Yes, I do, because it is the right thing to do. If all goes well with the Warriors, we will leave Earth. I can’t have this on my conscience. I have to reach out to them.’
‘But if they are as dangerous as you say and untrustworthy…’
‘Did I say that?’
‘It was implied, I am guessing you intend to ask them to come with us. Peyton, do we really want to take people like that?’
Peyton flipped the flash-drive over in her fingers as she quietly said. ‘I don’t know Darby, maybe not. I just feel I should do this.’
‘Okay, fine.’ Darby reached out and closed her hand over the one that held the flash-drive. ‘I can make it so they think you are calling from the moon, they will never trace you.’
‘Thanks Darby.’ She placed the drive on her desk and stood as Darby asked. ‘When do you want to call them?’
Peyton rubbed her face. ‘Whenever you think it is the safest time for you.’
Darby tapped on her computer, then muttered. ‘Ten tonight.’
‘Thanks Darby, I would scan the drive. I don’t trust that their contact details are the only thing on there.’
She snorted, then said. ‘As if I wouldn’t, you just said they were scum bags.’
‘I never said that and stop watching Melody’s vids.’
‘It was yours.’
‘Oh! Okay, bye.’
Darby looked up from her computer just as Peyton reached out to open the door and asked. ‘Are you telling Melody and Heather, because this could affect them as well?’
Peyton turned and scowled at Darby, who gave her an innocent look in return. ‘Well, I am now!’
‘Good, shut the door on your way out, please.’
‘Fine!’
Peyton stomped from the room and only just stopped herself from slamming the door. As she made her way down the hallway, she growled and mentally ranted about how she had to go and find Melody and Heather now. Then listen to them ask the same questions Darby had, so she could give the same stupid answers. Like she was supposed to know why she had to talk to these people. Darby was right, it made no sense.