Subject: Heist. (Part 1)
From: ecpw2@teach.cs.keele.ac.uk (TheDoctor)
Date: 9 Jul 1996 21:28:02 GMT

Heist (C) Tim Barker, 1996, Storyline by Pete Suters.

			Loaner.
			-------

	Todd took a look at his wristwatch. It was 11:30. The virus
he had implanted in Omnicore's filespace would be winding it's way
into the operating system and installing itself in the video
buffer. He would then finally be able to tap into the city's
security cameras and consequently know about everything everywhere.

	It had been a hard week. After he'd finished coding and
testing had began he felt like he'd put enough effort in already.
He wasn't the most dedicated hacker on the scene yet he had
recently gained a certain noteriety from minor heists he'd pulled.
But this was to be the big one, the one that would go down in
history.

	It turned 12:00 and Todd decided to check on the progress
of his worm. It was catching some of the video images but its
throughput needed increasing. He could either increase the
bandwidth or give his code more processor time. He opted for the
latter. Then he sat back and let the computer do all the work.

	Todd walked over to the window and looked out over the
city. He hadn't been out much recently, just for the essentials,
and he wondered what his friends had been up to. He decided to
'phone Marcia.

	"Hi Marcia ! It's Todd. What y' up to ?"

	"Todd ! More like what have you been up to ? Nobody's seen
y' 'round for ages !" Retorted Marcia.

	"It's not been ages ! Besides, I've been busy." Todd
replied.

	"What are y' working on then cowboy ?"

	"Oh, I've been busy. That's all." Todd answered back,
defensively.

	"OK, no need to get coy with me", Marcia exclaimed.

	"Sorry, you know how it is. Can't really talk about it on
the 'phone."

	"Oh, Fuck you then" and with that Marcia slammed the
telephone down.

	Shit, she's uptight, thought Todd.

	After that Todd decided not to telephone any of his other
friends, thinking that it was easier to talk to his computer. At
least it didn't get obnoxious. He called his computer FERAL, an
acronym for Forever Enigmatic Regardless of Alligned Luminescence.
It had all made complete sense to him one night when he was wired
on the latest designer drug. He didn't do too many narcotics, just
now and then and particularly when something new came onto the
market. One day they'd invent a drug that fed you continually for
days on end with a combination of essential vitamins and nutrients
which would mean that you wouldn't have to leave your computer.
They could call it "Hacker".

	Anyway, we digress, he thought to himself and checked on
his worm again.

	Images had been stored on his optical drive. When he
displayed them he was amazed at what he saw : images of key
locations all over the city. Finance, crime, government,
corporations. All could be viewed without the slightest notion
from the subject. Todd felt like telling someone of his
achievement yet no one would understand. In his pursuit of power
he had become a loaner.


			Bourbon and Soda.
			-----------------

	Surrogotto pressed the button on his intercom.

	"Surrotto San, we have a problem."

	His monitor displayed the face of Prime Utko, his right
hand man in the corporation.

	"What is it now ?" Surrogotto enquired.

	"We have a hacker locked into our security systems,
obtaining copies of all our key video installations." Utko
replied.

	"Have you been able to trace them ?" Surrogotto asked.

	"We're working on it. One things for sure though, it's not
coming out of Tokyo, more likely North America." Utko advised.

	"Keep me informed Utko." Surrogotto demanded.

	"Yes, Surrogotto San." And with that the monitor switched
to a display of the company's logo.

	Damn hackers, thought Surrogotto, they're everywhere these
days. He remembered the days when all that hackers were interested
in was a little sabotage or they were doing it for their own
amusement. Now though they were being hired by the governments and
corporations to spy on each other. Blackmail and secret
information interchange had become commonplace. They were almost
fighting a war.

	Surrogotto went over to his drinks cabinet and poured
himself a bourbon and soda. He didn't care much for Saki and his
favourite food was prime steak, well done. He was part of the
common world culture, traditional values having been lost in the
mists of time. He let the bourbon flow through his body and
savoured the moment.



			A Chance Encounter.
			-------------------

	Things were going well with Todds virus, the images were
piling up on his drive and so far he had gone undetected. Or so he
thought. He decided to start sifting through his prize gatherings
and so began the long process of identification and
categorization. Each image was superimposed with a code
identifying it's origin. The code was easy to crack so Todd wrote a
program to sort the chaff from the wheat by pulling out the key
installations that he knew of. He was also interested in viewing
any unusual locations so he trained a neural network on common
codes then used it to put aside the images which didn't fit the
pattern. This was how he came across the Tokyo installations.

	He had began the manual work by examining images at a
sample rate of once every 30 seconds. This gave him an idea of the
events occurring at that location. If he saw something interesting
then he simply increased the sample rate until he got real-time
movement. He soon became tired of scanning assorted images so he
decided to go out and get a take-away. He deactivated his virus
but left the neural net running, he would have a look at that when
he got back.

	On his way out Todd locked his door and activated the trip
switch which would trigger a small explosive device within his
computer when anyone tried to break in. Such precautions were
necessary in his line of work.

	Todd decided to simply get a sandwich from the local 7-11.
He opted for a meat substitute, not that he was a vegetarian or
anything, he had few morals, just that it was cheaper than the
real thing. Meat had become so expensive recently because of the
unavailability of land that he could seldom afford it. What with
the new genetically engineered soya products on the market with
improved texture and taste he couldn't tell the difference anymore
anyway.

	Todd devoured the sandwich as he walked back to his
apartment, through the nameless faces of the city's inhabitants. As
he walked images appeared before his eyes of the installations he
had been spying on. "Shit, I've been at it too long", he said to
himself.

	A passing stranger looked at him as he spoke but quickly
looked away.
	
	Probably thinks I'm psychotic, he thought as he caught
their glance.

	He walked into the foyer of his building and entered the
lift. It smelt of urine and grafitti adorned the walls. Todd
pressed the code for his floor on the lift's keypad then slumped
down, squatting in the far corner.

	As the lift reached the second floor it stopped, the doors
swung open and a couple walked in. She was dressed in a short
artificial leather skirt with stilletoes on her feet and a tight
blouse bursting at the seams with a plentiful bosom. He wore a top
of the range Chinese business suit with Italian designer shoes.

	"This lift going down ?" The man asked in an
indistinguishable accent.

	Todd just shook his head.

	"You mute or something boy ?" The man asked of Todd.

	"Oh leave him be sugar." The woman said in a broad Texas
accent.

	"OK, honey, whatever you say." The man replied.

	Todd figured the couple to be a prostitute and her client.
The man probably had a well paid job somewhere in the world and
she was living off him like a parasite. He was just the sort of
person that Todd was out to get. She was, quite simply, a victim
like himself.

	When the lift reached Todd's floor he embarked leaving the
couple to their sordid relationship.

	As he entered his apartment, after first deactivating his
booby trap, Todd felt suddenly tired so instead of taking a
stimulant he decided to get some sleep. He lay down on his sofa
and dreamt of prostitutes running the world.

[Please see seperate article for part 2]


Subject: Heist. (Part 2)
From: ecpw2@teach.cs.keele.ac.uk (TheDoctor)
Date: 9 Jul 1996 21:30:57 GMT

Heist. Part2 (C) Tim Barker, 1996. Storyline by Pete Suters.

			Project Hiroshima.
			------------------

	On waking Todd took a shower and donned some fresh clothes
then had a coffee and cigarette. He didn't smoke much these days,
not since it had been made illegal but the nicotine rush gave him
a jolt back into the real world which he duly needed as he hadn't
had much sleep. He decided to look at the neural net output.

	After about an hour of examining the footage and finding
nothing of interest he came across images of Japanese business
people sitting around a table in an apparent meeting room. That's
odd, Todd thought, what are all those Japanese doing in the city ?
He decided to investigate. He examined the code at the bottom of
his monitor and set a simple search program in operation to track
down similar installations. He was amazed to find that there were
a host of the Japanese images and even worked out that it was a
corporation by using imaging software to zoom in on one of the
employees lapel badges. He then extracted this image and used it
to search an on-line database in order to gain the corporations
name and key locations. It was as he had guessed, he was looking
in on Tokyo.

	Todd went back to the images of the meeting room and
increased the volume.

	"Project Hiroshima is almost reaching completion Surrogotto
San", said one of the businessmen to another.

	"Very well, when will the AI be activated Utko ?"
Surrogotto enquired.

	"Tomorrow at noon if all goes according to plan Surrogotto
San."

	"Very well, meeting adjourned until noon tomorrow then.
Good day gentlemen." Commanded the man known as Surrogotto.

	Shit, what's "Project Hiroshima" Todd thought and what's
this Japanese footage doing in Omnicore's filespace ? I'm onto
something here, he figured. Todd hurriedly forwarded the images to
12 noon the next day. The same people appeared to be present
including Surrogotto and Utko, the two who had spoken before.

	"Project Hiroshima is now completed Surrogotto San. We can
now enable the AI to become a sentient being and have full control
over our countries nuclear capability." Declared Utko.

	Hah, a defence project, thought Todd, this could mean big
bucks for me if I play it right. He watched the rest of the
footage which consisted of a presentation to the main design team
then finally, after much deliberation, the people in Tokyo were
ready to initiate the AI.

	"This is it Surrogotto San. At last we will be able to
predict when the world is going to war and be the first ones to
launch our nuclear attack." Utko said.

	"Yes, thanks to our ingenious scientists here the Japanese
people can be assured of the first strike whenever war looks
likely. It is surely a great day for our nation." Surrogotto
orated.

	"Begin the program, let the AI live." Surrogotto commanded.

	One of the scientists operated a computer neatly set into
the table then spoke.

	"It is begun Surrogotto San." The scientist said.

	They all clapped.

	Christ, thought Todd, an AI in charge of their nuclear
program. Todd decided to 'phone Surrogotto in the Japanese
corporation and tell him of Omnicores snooping. He left his room,
activated the trip and headed to the nearest pay 'phone.

	On arrival at the pay phone Todd telephoned international
directory enquiries and acquired the Tokyo corporations number.

	"Hello, Sakamoto Corporation, how can I help you ?"

	"Could I speak with Surrogotto San please ?" Todd asked
politely.

	"Please hold the line." The operator advised. There was a
pause where Todd heard traditional Japanese music then someone
spoke.

	"Surrogotto."

	"Hello, Mr. Surrogotto. I have some important information
for you..." Todd said.

	"Who is this ?" Enquired Surrogotto.

	"My name's not important. Just hear me out. It's about the
Hiroshima project." Todd thought that that would gain his
interest.

	"What is the Hiroshima project ?" Surrogotto asked.

	"Now don't play games with me Surrogtto. I know all about
the project and the AI you've built."

	"You seem to know an awful lot Sir. How did you get your
information ?" Surrogotto demanded.

	"Well, I came across some digital camera images on a
corporations filespace over here." Todd ventured.

	"And which corporation would that be, may I ask ?"
Surrogotto asked.
	
	"Before I tell you that I want 10 million dollars deposited
in a Swiss bank account in my name." Todd demanded.

	"And what do I get in return ?"

	"I'll give you the name of the perpetrator and I'll delete
those images from their filespace." Todd said confidently.

	"Very well. Give me your Email address and I'll contact you
when I get authorization." Surrogotto declared.

	Todd promptly gave Surrogotto his Email address then hung
up. That night he went out to party and tell all of his friends
about his imminent wealth.

			Big Bucks.
			----------

	The next morning Todd awaoke with an awful hangover. He had
been to several bars then finally onto a club where he'd met
Marcia. They ended up making love in Todds apartment late into the
night then she had left early in the morning, eager to get some
sleep in the sanctuary of her own home.

	Todd went straight to his computer to see if there was a
message from Surrogotto. There it was, it read :

	"Dear Sir,
		I have gained authorization to transfer
		10 million U.S. dollars to your account.
		Please supply your bank account details.
		We will credit your account with 5 million
		up front and the other 5 million will
		be given to you when we are sure that the
		offending material is erased.
		I eagerly await your reply.
		
		Yours,
			Surrogotto."

	Great, thought Todd, they've taken the bait. Todd Emailed
Surrogotto with his bank account detials then went out to do some
shopping. He visited all of the trendiest designer stores,
spending his last remaining money on the latest fashions, even
purchasing a new outfit for Marcia, then went to the bank to check
on the status of his account.

	And there it was, 5 million bucks credited to his account.
All his with 5 million more to come when he had finished his work.
He returned home a happy man.




			Epilogue.
			---------

	On his way home in the taxi Todd kept thinking of his
future life until the driver spoke.

	"Is someone after you dude ? 'Cause I think we're being
followed." Said the driver.

	"Not so far as I know, try to lose them and I'll give you a
big fat tip." Todd urged the driver.

	"OK, you're the boss."

	The driver put his foot down and took a detour down
side-streets and alleyways until he thought he had shaken the tail
then made his way to Todds apartment.

	Todd gave the driver a tip, as promised, and walked through
the door of the lobby to be greeted by the same man and woman he
had seen in the lift together with uniformed police officers.

	"Hold it right there Mister, we wnat a word with you." Said
the woman who was now dressed in a pin-striped business suit.

	"FBI, said the man, "You're under arrest for stealing
information from a government owned corporation and conspiracy to
blackmail an ally of th U.S.A."

	Shit, Todd thought, standing there with both hands full of
expensive designer clothes, looking as guilty as hell.

	The FBI agents and the police officers led Todd up to his
apartment and asked him to open the door so that they could begin
a search. Todd obliged and keyed in his code then remembered the
trip switch. Did he set it before he left ?

	The FBI woman pushed the door open then dived to the floor
along with her colleagues as a small explosion emanated from within.

	"Shit, what was that ?" Asked one of the unifromed
officers.

	Todd went to court but was never sentenced due to lack of
evidence. The 5 million dollars went undetected and Todd retired a
rich man.

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Please let me know what you thought of my story, all comments appreciated.