flights

Riyadh> holy fucking shit… we just got fingered… straight through the ice
Cardiff> the fuck? what the fuck is happening?
##> don’t panic.
Riyadh> !fuck !fuck !fuck !fuck
##> you won’t be able to backhack me, but don’t panic – i don’t want to hurt you.
Riyadh> oh fuck! i can’t disconnect
Cardiff> i’m pulling out goddamnit
Melbourne> wait…
##> is this Riyadh?
(pause)
##> Melbourne, Cardiff…
(pause)
Riyadh> are police going to charge in here in a minute?
##> no. i’m going to release your modules. check your coding.
Cardiff> don’t goddamnit – just pull the plug! fuck the hardware!
##> the federal police haven’t been alerted, nor has anyone else. however things will be worse for you if you don’t listen to me right now.
(pause)
Cardiff> Ree?
(pause)
Cardiff> Ree?
(pause)
Cardiff> Riyadh?
Riyadh> holy shit. i can’t find the node
Cardiff> what?
Riyadh> the node for the chat-clients… the host… nothing
Melbourne> what… data-shuffle?
Riyadh> no it’s… we’re… just not there
##> i’m hosting your session now.
Melbourne> what?
##> from a plane actually. i’m running a mobile system, routing through my ice back at home.
(pause)
Melbourne> who are you?
##> i’d love to tell you, but i don’t think now is the right time.
Cardiff> then when will be the right fucking time?
##> do you want to know what is happening to you?
Riyadh> how did you find us? i mean, i know it isn’t airtight, but – i mean, i did a pretty good job
##> a better job than you think Riyadh – the federal police would never have found it.
Riyadh> so how did you?
##> i’m running a module on my system that listens for activity surrounding a specific piece of data
Melbourne> Inverse.coredata?
##> yes.
Cardiff> you lifted it from *text*? in a fucking *chatroom*?
##> yes.
(pause)
Riyadh> what is Inverse? i mean, it’s just a word – it could be anything, we could have been anyone
##> true. but i’ve been watching you since this morning. your backhack through Melbourne’s mobile phone was quite exceptional work.
Riyadh> but… i rerouted that a hundred times – scrambled the data through a million subroutines
##> and again, the federal police would never have seen it, or the average hacker either.
Cardiff> but you did
##> i’m not the federal police.
Melbourne> clearly
Cardiff> or the average hacker either – what are you, A.I.?
##> no, rest assured, i am a person – singular, but there are others.
Riyadh> other what?
##> people. like me. i’m flying out to meet with them.
Melbourne> you’re being very giving of certain information, whoever you are
(pause)
##> i’d like you to join us.
(pause)
Cardiff> pull the plug
##> do you want to know what Inverse is? why Melbourne’s phone was cracked? why i was watching you?
Riyadh> who are you?
##> have you ever wondered why there was no trace of your hacks from when you were children?
Riyadh> from when we were like, 11? yeah sure. it pissed me off. i was beginnig to think we never did it.
##> i hid them.
Melbourne> what?
##> it’s very rare that three extremely tallented coders live in such close proximity to each-other, let alone become as active as you all had.
Melbourne> you’ve known about us for that long?
Cardiff> i guess that makes you quite a bit older than us… though that much i figured anyway.
Riyadh> why would you do that?
##> i didn’t want you taken away from your homes, or your childhoods interrupted.
Cardiff> ok… that’s weird
##> believe me – being as talletned as the three of you were even back then, the federal police would never have let you stay together
##> they eventually return you to your home anyway, but you always know that living in the house across the street will be a federal agent.
Riyadh> i take it you’ve had that kind of treatment before
##> it’s worse in the country where i was born, but similar things happen where you are, the world over.
Melbourne> why did you… protect us? i mean, we’ve been fingered by the feds before, seen the inside of a cop station, a fed office
##> i didn’t want to deny you the right of a career in Data
##> i let just enough of your tallent slip by to the various governments and companies who might want to hire you – you know that’s how it works.
Cardiff> yeah i get you. but who gives a shit about that now – what about Inverse? why are you here now?
Melbourne> and why was i the only one to be triggered?
##> some of your questions i can answer now, the rest will have to wait.
##> Melbourne was triggered at random – it could have been any one of you.
##> similar things have happened to the people i’m going to meet – not all of us were triggered, but enough to reach the others.
Riyadh> so it didn’t matter who it was, the three of us would know about it
##> yes. as for why the three of you have been caught up into the Inverse file,
##> primarily it’s for one reason –
##> you are three of the very few people in the world who are able to get it.
(pause)
Melbourne> we don’t even know what it is
##> that isn’t important, only your abilities.
(pause)
Cardiff> why do i get the feeling we’re in way over our heads… and it isn’t even our fault
##> because your feelings are accurate.
Riyadh> but why us? why are you contancting us?
##> because you achieved something even i was not able to do.
(pause)
Riyadh> finger the source…
##> yes.
(pause)
Riyadh> what do we have to do?
##> i’ve created passports and airline tickets for each of you. personalities and patterns in the net as normal as any person
##> they can be printed where each of you are, and the nodes will appear that you were planning to travel, no trace of the chat session will exist.
Melbourne> travel?
##> i want you to come and see us in person.
Cardiff> or?
##> you can never touch the net again and know you’re safe.
(pause)
Riyadh> can i just go? i mean, i was the one who did the backhack…
##> that is an option, but it would be impossible for me to guarantee the safety of your friends.
(pause)
##> if we can sort this out without you, we will certainly try, however i must tell you that even i am afraid.
##> should you choose to join us, i promise that you’ll see things you would never have imagined existed.
(pause)
Riyadh> can we talk about it privately? i mean, can we all meet up first and then get back to you?
##> unfortunately no. if it were possible another way, i would give you as much time as you needed.
##> however my plane lands in an hour, and things are moving quite quickly.
##> if you don’t want to get involved, i can erase all current nodes from the net that contain data on you.
##> beyond that, i can promise you nothing.
(pause)
Melbourne> i’ll do it
(pause)
Riyadh> Mel…
Melbourne> i’ll do it
Cardiff> fuckit – i’m in
##> Riyadh?
(pause)
Riyadh> shit
Melbourne> she’s in
Riyadh> oh shit