It was a new day in Cyber City, year 2132. The sun was shining, and puffy white clouds danced across the morning sky as I looked on from the window. Technology had advanced by leaps and bounds changing how we work and communicate. Society of past years had yielded for a new “cyber society” as we call it. We use computers for so many things that it was only natural that things would eventually change.
I was locking the door to my apartment, getting ready to go out to work, when next door I noticed a short girl with long dark hair seemed to have lost something. “Something wrong Michelle?” I asked. “Oh! Lawrence, I seemed to have misplaced my I.D.” she answered sadly. “You mean the one by your foot?” I asked. “Ah! I must’ve dropped it, thanks” she said with a smile. “You can’t do anything without your cyber I.D. card these days.” “Tell me about it. I better get going before I’m late for work.” I said. “Ok bye.” She answered back.
It wasn’t far from my apartment to my job. It wasn’t much, just being a network technician at a local office building. I couldn’t complain, the people there are nice and it paid well. My dream was to be a network administrator for NetTech, the best computer technology company around. I was approaching the office as I thought about how that future would play out. I was now walking in the door when I noticed Sarah, the receptionist was looking confused. She noticed I had walked in and called me over. “Some weird pop-up appeared and I can’t get rid of it. And see this little counter?” she said. I had now and time was up. The computer had started to overheat. “Get back!” I yelled. She had dived behind another desk in time to avoid the sparks flying from the computer causing a fire. Amid the chaos a shady looking person dressed in a black overcoat and a low brimmed hat started to walk away. “Hold it!” I ordered but instead he ran away. I immediately followed. He was fast but not fast enough to get away from me. He realized it too and dropped what looked like small pebbles but were in reality small smoke grenades which were now spewing smoke all over the street. I picked up a small rock and threw it, knowing I had only one shot to hit him. I heard a restrained grunt of pain but by the time the smoke cleared, the fugitive was gone. I looked around but there was no sign of him. I then looked to the ground and noticed a small computer disc, and a strange card. I had picked them up while keeping my guard up. Nothing happened, so I walked back to the office where an emergency crew was now arriving. As I walked the same thoughts kept cycling through my mind, “who was that guy and what was he up to?”
I gave my statement to the police and was checked out by the paramedics. I was fine and Sarah would be too after her treatment for minor smoke inhalation. “Lawrence are you ok?” a tall middle aged man with glasses asked. “Yes Mr. Wilson, I’m perfectly fine.” I answered. “I just wonder why that guy did this.” “I’m worried about that too, there’s going to be an investigation and there won’t be any access to our network so you can go home and take the rest of the day off.” He said. “Ok, I’m available by phone if anyone needs me.” I said.
I checked the mail as I got home when Michelle stopped me. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” she asked. “Nope, there was an accident so I got the day off.” I answered. “Is everyone ok? Did anyone get hurt?” She asked. “The receptionist had some smoke inhalation but other than that, everyone’s fine.” I explained. “I just hope it wasn’t any net criminals that planned that attack.” Michelle said solemnly. “Me too.” I said.
Later that day Mr. Wilson called me to say that the investigation was continuing and all work was being stopped for awhile. So I had more time off and not much to do with it. I pondered what to do when a knock at the door caught my attention. I opened the door and there was Michelle. “I heard you won’t be at work for a few days.” She said. “Yeah, how did you know?” I asked. “It’s on the news. “It’s the biggest thing going on right now apparently.” She answered. “I figured if you’re not doing anything, why not come help me at my job?” “You never told me what you do for a living” I responded. “I work at the police station, keeping the computer systems running. My co-worker had to move out of town, so I don’t have anyone to help me out. What do you think?” Michelle asked. “Sure.” I said. “That’s great!” She said with a smile. “I’ll call my boss and let him know. We should celebrate!” “How about lunch downtown?” I offered. “That’s perfect! Let’s meet at the new place that just opened up. Is an hour enough time to get ready?” “Yeah, see you in hour.” I said. What I didn’t notice as Michelle left was the huge smile on her face as I was leaving.
Downtown Cyber city is vast, would take hours to see all the sights. I had to stop at the bank to be sure I could pay for lunch. Despite all the changes since the late 2060’s many things had changed, but some things haven’t, like traditional banking. There were still lines and human tellers behind the desks to handle transactions. I was waiting in line when a teller seemed to be having trouble with a computer. She asked for assistance from her manager who seemed perplexed by the error. The computer then started operating on its own! “It’s moving the money from all the accounts!” The teller was panicking, unable to override the system or shut it down. “It’s all gone!” The computer started to overheat and spark. I couldn’t believe this was happening again, yet it was. At least this time someone had the foresight of getting a fire extinguisher before the fire got too bad. The sprinkler system didn’t even have time to activate. As for the money it was gone and no suspicious people to follow this time. They’re getting smarter. The police had arrived and got right to work taking statements and evidence. The bad news is that the money is gone and the bank couldn’t operate. Michelle had showed up now wondering what was going on. “This is definitely going to be the headline on the news.” She said after I explained what happened. “At least no one got hurt. And I talked to my boss. He said you can start tomorrow.” “That’s great.” I said.
The next day I went with Michelle to the police station. I had no trouble with training, if anything I seemed to overqualified for the job which worried me. “Michelle, this system seems outdated.” I had mentioned after she showed me what I had to do. “You can’t be serious.” She replied, genuinely shocked. “I am. I’ve worked with more efficient systems than this. I could upgrade it.” I said solemnly. “I’d have to talk to the boss first.” During my lunch break Michelle had gone to talk to her boss about the system upgrade. I was eating lunch in the break room when I heard a commotion in the hallway. I looked out there and noticed two cops struggling to restrain a guy who was average height, very strong, and at the moment had a terrible attitude. “Stop struggling!” a cop commanded. Eventually the guy was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed. The cops then hauled him away. “First time you saw someone get arrested isn’t it?” someone asked from behind me. I jumped because I wasn’t aware anyone was behind me. I turned to reply and realized Michelle had snuck up behind me. “Don’t do that.” I answered. Sorry.” She said. “I talked to the boss. He wants you to upgrade the system tomorrow.” “Ok. We’ll keep the current system going while I get the new system programmed. Then we’ll switch the new network to primary status so I can upgrade the old system into a new and more efficient back up system.” I planned out loud. “Sounds like a plan.” Michelle answered. The rest of the day went smoothly, basically preparing for the busier days to come. It may be common, but it was still time consuming to build high powered networks and security systems.
On the walk home, I passed a small store. Inside the cashier seemed nervous about a strange looking person, dressed in all black with a wide brimmed hat, worn low, the same person who attacked the office building just a few days ago. I immediately walked in without a single thought. He hadn’t noticed me. Or the cashier who looked tempted to hit the silent alarm. I crept closer to the arsonist. I was now ten feet away when the guy became aware of a presence near him. He whirled around and saw me and my accusing stare. “You!” He yelled with anger and fear. He bolted towards the door and threw another smoke grenade just like last time he attacked me. This time I was prepared and kicked the smoke grenade back at the assailant who clearly wasn’t prepared. He panicked and was victim of his own weapon. He had been reduced to hacking and coughing while barely being able to stand.
The police were now arriving and I assumed the cashier from the store had played it safe and hit the alarm. They were now arresting the criminal and taking a statement from me. What none of us were expecting was a news van which was now approaching us. As fast as they arrived, they were turned away even faster by the sergeant. I was given a ride home and the criminal was on his way to interrogation and a jail cell. Michelle was waiting for me in the hallway when I got to my apartment door. “What were you thinking?” she exclaimed, clearly furious with me about something, question was, “What?” “You risked getting hurt chasing that guy! You should’ve called the police. You’re so reckless!” She stormed off radiating anger. I decided to let her cool off and went into my apartment. I noticed I had a message on my answering machine. It was from the police department asking me to come to the station. “Doesn’t look like I’ll be getting any rest tonight.” I muttered to myself.
Once again I was stopped in the hallway. “Where are you going now?” Michelle demanded to know. “Out.” I answered shortly. “Don’t be coy with me. You’re going to the station aren’t you?” she asked. “What if I am?” I asked. “I’m coming with you.” She decided. I decided not to argue, it was a waste of time.
At the station the sergeant from earlier was waiting. “I’m sorry to bother you this late but this is urgent.” “What’s wrong and why do you need me?” I asked. “I’ll answer as many questions as I can, but first let’s move this matter into the meeting room. We walked down a few hallways further into the station. After being seated, I noticed that more people were joining us. A lab tech was here as well as a cop who was keeping an eye on the guy at the end of the table who looked familiar. “Lawrence, isn’t that the guy you saw earlier?” Michelle whispered to me. I looked again and realized she was right. “What’s he doing here?” I whispered back. Michelle shrugged so I guess we had more questions to be answered. “Excuse me, I need your attention.” The sergeant was finally ready to start whatever this was. “I’m sure you all have questions on why you’ve been called here. I assure you, you’re questions will be answered. Before I continue, I will say that what I am about to share with you is classified and must not be discussed to anyone in the general public. Do you understand and agree to comply?” the sergeant looked at all of us. We all agreed, the mystery guy from earlier looked reluctant to agree and I didn’t blame him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a part of this myself. “We have discovered that the person responsible for the recent net crimes is part of a mysterious syndicate. So far we know nothing about them including their leader, motive, or why they formed.” “So what does this have to do with us?” I asked. “The criminal you caught is part of this syndicate. We’re trying to get him to talk about it.” The sergeant said. “I’m guessing you’re not having much luck.” The mystery guy asked who doesn’t seem too happy to be here. “That was obvious Jason.” The sergeant snapped. “I asked you here to help.” Michelle finally spoke up, “What could we do that you can’t?” “We don’t have the computer skills that you and Lawrence have, or the connections on the street that Jason has. You three are vital to our plan to find out what this syndicate is up to.” The sergeant replied. “And why should I help you?” Jason asked somewhat hostile now. “Calm down, I will speak to you after this meeting. Lawrence, Michelle, I need you two to help improve computer systems in all of the government offices in the city.” “I could help but isn’t that a lot of systems?” I asked. “Yeah it is a lot of work for two people.” Michelle added. “I know it’s a large task but you won’t be alone. You will be teaching advanced skills to the head techs at these offices.” The sergeant answered. “Will you help us?” “Ok.” I complied. “Guess I’ll help too.” Michelle agreed. “Thank you. We’ll need you to start right away.” We agreed to it.
On the walk home Michelle and I were going our now packed schedules. I was to go to my old office building, and Michelle was starting out at the police station. It was like this drama never started. I wondered how everyone at my old job was doing. I hadn’t talked to them since the attack. I was going to find out first thing tomorrow.
The next day had brought an impossibly nice day, ironic since I had to prepare people for a possible internet apocalypse. Outside, Michelle seemed just as tense as I was. “Michelle?” I called. She turned, looking pale. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m just nervous.” She said. “All of this is seems so unreal. I mean, rogue thugs are attacking networks all over, they’re getting brazen and it looks like we’re the only two people with the skills to stop them.” She answered. I looked her in the eye, “We not alone. That’s why we’re preparing everyone. That way the others can defend themselves and can back us up if we need it.” This seemed to help Michelle to calm down a bit. “Thanks Lawrence. I needed a good pep talk like that.” “Sure, but we have to get going if we don’t want to be late, which won’t make a good impression.” I said. We walked off in our own directions. I made a mental note to keep an eye on Michelle. She always tries to be strong when necessary but she’s not as strong as I am. I couldn’t dwell on this now, I had to focus.
It turns out Sarah the receptionist had filed for a transfer and a vacation after the attack. Mr. Wilson was still here and was glad to see me. After we caught up on current events in the office, I had set up my training session in the conference room.
