From: rtbrown@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Russell T. Brown)
Subject: April's Folly (Yes an actual story post from me!)
Date: Mon, 4 Apr 94 06:26:12 GMT

Hi.  This is a story idea that I had that would coincide with april fools
day.  Unfortunately, starting it at 9pm (MST) on the 1st didn't give me
much time.  Well, just make believe it's the first and go with it! ;)
Let me know what you think.
_____

				April's Folly

			     By Russell T. Brown

	April's thumb hovered above the power stud of her Fairlight
Excalibur.  She wasn't sure that she wanted to jack into c-space, at least
not today.  On April first - April Fool's Day, chaos reigned in the
matrix.  Traditionally, deckers, hackers and programmers released their
prank programs on this day.  In recent years, the practice had spread from
a small group of cyberpunks and edgerunners to include almost everyone who
used the net.  Anyone who could cobble a few lines of code together was
setting computerized time bombs that would wreak electronic havok with the
communication lines and databases of the matrix.  Some of the pranks were
harmless, some malicious, but all were set to detonate on April first.  It
was a convention that dated back to the earliest computer prankster's.
Many of the earliest computer viruses were programmed to do their damage
on special dates - Friday the 13th was another popular one, but eventually
April Fools Day grew into the worldwide mayhem that it was today.  April
had heard that some cable channel was having 24 hour coverage of the
matrix today, paying some adventurous deckers to buzz the trouble spots
and allow millions of couch potatoes to watch the action on the safety of
the tube.
	So that is why April hesitated, when she normally jacked in with
enthusiasm.  She loved running c-space, in fact that is how she earned her
living.  She worked as a freelance datacourier, running sensitive data
from place to place in the matrix and sometimes in the real world.  It was
more than just the lure of danger an the promise of an adrenaline rush
that made her contemplate running the matrix today.  If that was all it
was, April wouldn't even be thinking about it.  No, the lure was something
stronger, a real opportunity.  Normally, April's operations were strictly
legitmate, but the profit potential here was just too great.
	Rumor had it that the ice programs of certain megacorporations had
a backdoor that opened up on the day of fools.  The story went like this -
Technomaster, a legendary cowboy from the old days switched sides and sold
out to the Corps. Tech'master was more famous for the icebreakers that he
wrote than his actual decking ability.  Nerves, they said, couldn't keep
his head under pressure.  So he went over to the Corps - they wanted to
exploit his programming ability and he was tired of running.  Today, most
deckers took corp jobs on a regular basis, but back in those days things
were different.  The Megacorps controlled cyberspace almost entirely and
the were the _enemy_.  The cowboys back then thought they were freakin'
_revolutionaries_, fighting to liberate the matrix from the corps and give
it to the people.  Well, they succeeded and today most deckers were little
more than mercenaries, working for whoever bid the highest, doing anything
to pay the bills.
	Tech'master got a pretty good deal, he ended up working as an
independant security consultant.  He put his knowledge of breakers to use,
developing new and improved ice programs to protect the Corporate Data
Fortresses that he once raided.  Tech'master's crowning achivement was a
grey ice program called Freon.  Freon locked up your cybereck, freezing
you in place.  It messed with the interupt channels and fouled up the
deck's resource allocation scheme, causing it to hang and accept no new
commands.  The frozen decker couldn't even logout, all he could do was
wait for the inevitable trace program to lead the Netwatch to his
location.
	The legend also said that Tech'master never sold out _completely_,
that he left a backdoor in his masterpiece.  Supposedly, on April First,
the Freon program would accept a password and let you into whatever system
it was guarding.  April had done her home work, trying to learn all she
could about the old cowboy.  She had friend who was one of the chief
archiver's of the Cyberguild.  She had discovered, to her surprise that
the Technomaster, along with Cyber Optik, Electron Dream, Dixie Flatline,
the original Sir Silicon and a handful of others had been one of the
founders of the Guild for the Anonymous Access of Cyberspace, a.k.a. the
Cyberguild.  She had also discovered that Tech'master had a passion for
games - logic problems, brain teasers and riddles especially.  After
programming ice for the Corps for a while, Tech'master had enough capital
to indulge his passion and he founded his own game design company.  Today,
that small startup is Cyberscape Games Intl., the largest maker of VR
simulations in the world.  Cyberscape was in turn owned by Korolev I.G.
one of the megacorps that had surpassed international status and went
orbital.
	When Tech'master left the Cyberguild and went over to the other
side he left a message for the other cowboys.  "Every line has two sides;
the right and the wrong but which side is which is just a matter of
_perspective_."  A year ago, one of April's contemporaries in the
Cyberguild, the mysterious hacker known as The Phantom made the connection
that Technomaster's last message was more than just a half hearted apology
for his defection.  The Phantom discovered that 'perspective' was the
password to the Freon program.  Phantom had used the password to break
into the TWA data fortress in SoCal and issued himself a bunch of free
shuttle tickets to the orbitals, which he then sold on the black market.
Or at least that is the story Phantom gave in the Corral, when he was
selling the tickets.  April's contact in the cyberguild was there that
night, on duty running the Flatman icon.
	Even though the backdoor had been discovered, it was not common
knowledge, even in the decking community and was still used widely around
the globe.  April was pretty sure that she was one of only a few that had
discovered the secret.  So now here she was thinking of making her first
illegal run, she even had her target all picked out.  Cyberscape Games
still used Freon to protect their datafortress, even though they must know
about the chink in it's armor.  If April could get inside their system and
get her hands on a copy of one of their new simulations, selling bootleg
copies of it before they released it would be quite lucrative.  April made
her decision, her thumb depressed the power stud and she made the
transition from one world to another.
	The blue skinned Mermaid that was April's matrix icon appeared
outside the long distance satellite uplink that served this section of the
Denver Grid.  A horde of small green Gremlins clammered over the glowing
white pyramid of the uplink, tearing it up and throwing pieces of it at
each other and anyone else in the vacinity.  The Mermaid activated a
stealth program and faded from the Gremlins' limited perceptions.  This
satellite uplink was obviously unusable, no telling was effect the little
green monsters would have on the communications link - but it couldn't be
good.
	"This truly is a day of fools."  The Mermaid spun to find a
ballerina behind her, one that was about a foot tall and plated in chrome.
The Dancer looked strait at her, despite the stealth program. "Look at
this mindless destruction, it'll be weeks before it's fixed."
	"Who are you?"  asked the Mermaid.
	"Name's Chromedancer.  Look I gotta go before that uplink is
totally shot.  Ciao, baby!"  With that the Dancer pranced over to the
pyramid and disappeared as her signal was bounced off an obital comsat.
	The Mermaid that was one risk that was not worth taking.  She
punched in the address for another long distance link.  This one was a
microwave array perched atop Pike's Peak, it handled all the international
calls to the Republic of Texas.  The Mermaid appeared next to another
white pyramid, this one sans Gremlins.  She Sleazed by the ice on the link
and opened a line to the Houston Local Grid.  From there she went orbital
off a Confederate Bell comsat and landed in the Boston Grid, next to the
giant shamrock of the Celtics organization.  The Mermaid punched in the
local Boston address of Cyberscape Games and transferred locations.
	Cyberscape's matrix construct was an exact replica of the building
that housed their corporate offices, down to the last brick.  Next to the
front gate was a sign that read:

		Cyberscape Games International
	       Virtual Reality is our Specialty

	       If you know you're running one of
	  our simulations - We haven't done our job!

	The Mermaid stared at the sign for a moment, this was her last
chance to back out. Suddenly, she made her decision and transmitted the
password to the construct.  A second later the gate swung open, inviting
her into the system.  The Mermaid swished her tail and glided through the
open gate.  Once inside, the gate slammed shut behind her and a vortex
opened up below her, sucking her down like a black hole. Or, more
appropriately, like a whirlpool.  Unable to esape the vortex, the Mermaid
was sucked through it and found herself trapped inside a cube.  The walls
of the cube were made of printed circuit boards, bright green and covered
with resistors, capacitors and other electronic components.  On the wall
before her, the components began to move and shift, reforming into a face.
Blue lines of power coursed along the features, sparking and crackling,
pooling in the eyes.
	The blue electric eyes seemed to pierce her soul.  Then it spoke,
"Welcome Player, you are the first to enter the game.  Of course, I have
heard of others using the password elsewhere, but you are the first to do
it here, as I planned it."
	"Wha...who are you?"  asked the Mermaid.  Could this thing be an
AI?
	"You may call me Technix.  I design most of the games here at
Cyberscape."
	"Tech...?  As in Technomaster?  But he's dead!"
	"Most perceptive." answered Technix. "I was once the man called
Technomaster, but I am now.....more."
	"An AI?" ventured the mermaid as she examined the walls for any
route of escape.  Maybe if she kept it talking, she soul find an opening.
	"Artificial Intelligence?  No,....such creatures, if they truly
exist, are merely complex programs built up by programmers with some
God-complex.  As I said, I once was the man called Technomaster.  Before
his death, his mind was transferred to digital media.  Later, over time,
layer upon layer of programming was added until eventually I ...became.  I
am Technix, not _artificial_, but _digital_.  The term Digital
Intelligence, I think, is more appropriate."  The mosaic face stretched in
a wide grin.  "It is good you came Player, being alone here before I
concentrated too much upon the Game and did not think of such things.  We
will talk more, until others come and the Game can begin."
	The Mermaid was scared, this was starting to sound permanent.
"Look I don't wanna play any games.  I just want to leave.  I won't tell
anyone about the password.  Please, just let me go!"
	"I am sorry Player, but that is not possible.  The Game is ready
and I have need of Players such as yourself."

<End -- For now>

Copyright 3 April 1994, by Russell T. Brown
As always, comments, criticisms, questions -- feedback of any kind
welcome at: rtbrown@nyx.cs.du.edu

P.S. If you want to find out what exactly the Game is, you're going to have
to wait a while.  Next on my list is to finish my Shadow Games storyline,
but I will be doing a story concerning the Game -- eventually.

P.P.S. If anyone can think of a handle or streetname to go with April's
mermaid icon I would appriciate the help.  It be something to do with the
ocean i.e. Phantom has a grim reaper icon, Chromedancer a silver skinned
ballerina, Matrixhopper a kangaroo, etc.  The best I could come up with
was netswimmer, which is why it _didn't_ appear in the story.  Help!

Later,
Russ
--
Russell T. Brown      * Definition: Egotist. A person of low taste, more
rtbrown@nyx.cs.du.edu * interested in himself than me! -Ambrose Bierce
It's not denial. I'm just very selective about the reality I accept -Calvin
Alt.Cyberpunk.Chatsubo Character & Author Database Archiver >> That's me!