From: kaw4t@fulton.seas.Virginia.EDU (Kent A. Watsen)
Subject: this is cp
Date: 9 Jul 92 23:35:38 GMT


	Following is an original short story. its about
	11 pages long, but well worth it. its entitled:

		One Week at the University
	                     ___
	                     |1|
	                     ~~~

	the LED readout in my visor registers 6:20pm,
	july 4, 1999.  the year of the apocalypse.
	when the missile hit there was little left of
	the city.  nowadays it's mostly just a
	smoldering ruin.  scavengers are breaking
	into shops just to find something to eat.
	it's rough now but the counsel promised
	temporary relieve.

	my brother has finished his shower and  we're
	headed out the door.  there's no reason why
	we shouldn't enjoy the fireworks.  my brother
	and i are drinking buddies.  been drinking
	ever since he came to live with me at the
	university.  so tonight is just another
	night.

	the scene is pretty cool.  the smoke in this
	club is dense, but we like how it shades
	everybody in its haze.  the music is pumping
	hard and the girls are all trying to look
	their best.  they look good.  my brother
	orders us the usual...double shots of tequila
	with a slice of lemon...and we scan the bar
	for some action.

	with the times like they are it's difficult
	not to take advantage of the underground.
	there is a lot of hard ice on the market, and
	we supply it.  that's our gig.  my studies of
	computer science engineering allow us to hack
	the hardcore programs, the ones that crack
	the ice.  my brother has the connections.  i
	like to keep to myself and listen to loud
	music.

	he has just spotted a couple of his buddies
	and moves in so other people can't hear him.
	i pull out my last cigarette.  its broken, of
	course, but i need one now.  the chair next
	to mine moves a little and a small woman
	helps herself to a seat.  she offers me a
	light.

	"hi, my name is sandra. i hear that you crack
	ice well."

	i can see my brother from here.  that's good,
	you never know what can happen sometimes and
	i like to know that everything is all right.

	"kw, i haven't seen you around here before"

	she is rather attractive and has expensive
	head gear, that means money.  I'm interested
	but i want to hear what the bitch has to say.

	"well, i know that this is unusual, but a
	friend of mine has a connection which has
	turned up some tough software...it's a
	powerful virus.  i heard you were good.  i'm
	willing to pay whatever you charge."

	my brother has finished talking and is
	chilling out at the bar.  I can see
	reflections of the neon signs above the bar
	in his mirrored shades.  looking over, he
	gives me the sign...the one that means we
	just scored.

	"I like your proposal," i say just to fill in
	that inconvenient lull in the conversation.
	it feels like i'm trying to fill a black
	hole.

	"alright, kw.  you'll hear from me soon, i
	took the liberty to look up your number so
	i'll phone later." i can't help but notice
	her shapely figure...perhaps this will work
	out for the best in more ways than one.

	my brother comes over. "we have some work
	ahead of us," he says. "they say there is
	this new virus on the market, and it looks
	like money for us."

	there are a lot of techno-kids here.  you can
	always find them because their gear always
	include scanners and enhanced visual/audio
	interface. i tell my brother about sandra and
	her proposal and we discuss the situation.
	it's a go, but we have to keep it down.
	getting busted for hacking commercial
	software is a bitch, even if it is a virus.

	two more shot glasses appear and we toast our
	new success. chillin' out at our locale is
	standard protocol these days...so is sleep.
	we head back to my apartment and are pretty
	fucked up. that's cool. anyway, we're hyped
	about the cool shit we're about to crack so
	sleep will not come easy.

	fuck you, whoever you are...i'm fucked up and
	i feel good. that means that you can take a
	flying leap out of some tall building.
	because i am in such a daze. i hate feeling
	alone at night. sometimes i go crazy.

	                     ___
	                     |2|
        	             ~~~

	the dawn cracks through the window like a
	whisper...we're scared of its penetration
	into our somewhat secure environment, but
	know that it will not last for long. the
	phone rings.

	"hi, kw?  this is sandra. can i come over?"

	i have not even finished my coffee. a morning
	ritual of mine.  actually, i drink coffee all
	day when i sit at the computer. i give her an
	affirmative and ask for an ETA. enough time
	for a shower, but i gotta go.

	my brother is still in bed so i try to
	minimize sound while getting dressed. there
	is a knock at the door and sandra walks in.
	she walks lightly, but with a lot of control
	in her carefully placed steps. she looks
	better in the morning light, as if it were
	her natural element. my brother and i don't
	normally get up until around one or two in
	the afternoon, but i wanted to get some work
	done today and now sandra is here.

	"can i get you anything to drink?" i query.

	"i smell coffee. is it fresh?"

	is it fresh. like i don't have the cleanest
	apartment, clothes, and all around lifestyle.
	i like everything to be immaculate or in the
	trash. yes, i have a life, thank-you.

	her hand brushes mine and our eyes meet when
	i pass her the cup.  just for a second i
	thought that she was about to smile...but she
	didn't.

	"alright, let's get cracking," she says while
	handing me a small black chip. "here is a
	copy of the program.  it appears to hide
	itself once installed on a system, becoming
	translucent to the user. it then proceeds to
	collect data and monitor anything that
	happens.  what sets it off is unknown.  we do
	know what happens once it does, though. it
	takes over every computer it ever had contact
	with, the ice is so dense and complete there
	is nothing that can be done.  we don't know
	where all that power is going, but somebody
	has gone through a lot of trouble to get it.
	if you don't have any questions, I would like
	to begin."

	i don't have any questions, but i would
	really like to know if she is seeing anybody
	steady.  moving over to my console, i notice
	that my brother still has not moved. sandra
	has already positioned a chair for herself
	next to mine.  i never understood why THEY
	took out the power override switch.  the
	easiest solution is to turn the damn thing
	off.  but then again, what good is a computer
	when its turned off?

	"nice deck, cowboy.  havn't see one of these
	babies for a long time...heard they were
	difficult to use, not very user friendly."

	i love it when a girl talks tech.  it just
	gets me so excited.  my computer is the end
	product of some heavy research done by the
	boys down at MIT.  most people found its
	interface difficult, preferring other models
	which represent data at a higher level of
	abstraction.  not me, i like being close to
	the machine itself, and it's worth it. it can
	outperform most other consoles because it
	doesn't have to compute all those
	abstractions first. plus i have modified it
	myself a little.  there is hardly a chip on
	the motherboard i haven't reconfigured.

	i have installed a great deal of security on
	my system which has successfully disabled
	every virus that has hit the market to date.
	just the same i don't want to take any risks.
	working with ice is like working with a
	radioactive material.  you have to wear
	virtual gloves just to get near it.

	we jack into the grid and slot the chip into
	an available drive.  immediately a message
	reports: "intrusion alert. scanning...system
	has encountered an unknown virus.  core
	shield still intact."

	holy shit, i've never seen that message
	before.  in fact, i wrote that particular
	portion of my virus scanner to pick up on any
	idiosyncrasy in my model's setup.  no other
	computer that i know of allows a user to pick
	up on it.  no wonder this ice is so hot, very
	hot.

	                     ___
	                     |3|
	                     ~~~

	some noise in the other room alerts me to my
	brother's presence. he steps into the room
	wearing my bathrobe. on his way to the coffee
	machine, he tosses me a chip while mumbling
	something i couldn't understand.  i have seen
	this kind of chip before and i think it
	should help.  i slot the chip and the grid
	shakes for just a second while it retrieves
	the information. a tetrahedron appears...that
	means AI, artificial intelligence.  the
	tetrahedron moves through the grid, analyzing
	the structure of the matrix.  it seems to
	center most of its effort in a distant
	sector, but the matrix is empty there.  it
	returns to our location and reports: "the
	matrix is warped in sector (321, 104, 5)"

	sandra looks over at me with a look that
	tells me she thinks the ice has cloaked
	itself.  but her eyes shift and she looks at
	me again...her crystal blue eyes penetrate
	right through me.  suddenly she realizes that
	she has been staring at me for too long and
	smiles while trying to look innocent.  i want
	to kiss her, but her attention moves back to
	the grid and those eyes go real wide.

	all i really saw was the last of the
	tetrahedron being sucked into the matrix and
	disappearing.  an action like this is
	impossible to conceive, but whatever that ice
	is made of just took over an AI unit.  like
	fighting fire with fire, the virus is AI too.

	we decide to break for a while and go over
	our strategy again. i freeze the matrix first
	so nothing can move while we are gone.  its
	an awfully extreme measure but this thing is
	intelligent and you never know what it might
	think of.

	i throw some stir-fry in the wok and pour
	some more water into the coffee machine.
	sandra moves to the wok and methodically
	groups the elements by color.  i don't really
	know how to use a wok other than heating up
	prefabricated veggie's and whatnot. she opens
	up the fridge and randomly pulls out items,
	throwing them in with everything else.  she
	tells me that certain combinations break down
	in the body and combine to form a "smart
	food" that increases brain activity and
	improves memory access and retrieval. says
	she has been eating smart every since she
	entered the university. we sit on the
	cushions and talk casually while we eat. my
	brother likes to talk, so i listen while they
	discuss clubbing and upcoming raves. he had
	never been to a rave until he moved in with
	me, and now he can't get enough. that's the
	way it is with me too, and sandra expresses
	interest in going with us tonight. cool.

	"listen, i think we have learned some
	valuable characteristics which will help us
	already," i say while leaning back against a
	pillow. "one: it is taking advantage of a low
	priority default system which is hidden from
	any user without a console like mine. two: it
	is cloaking itself in a sector of the matrix
	which is seldomly used. three: it is
	intelligent. it is probably capable of
	mutating itself into whatever form necessary
	to take over a system.  four: it has not
	penetrated my security yet, and that is a
	very unstable 'yet.' we will have to move
	fast every second that the matrix is not
	frozen. time is crucial."

	several hours later, sandra and i collapse in
	utter confusion. we have tried every
	standard, and several non-standard, approach
	in the book and have not been any more
	successful than eliminating a few
	possibilities.  that's ok though, i mean the
	challenge is what makes it fun. not to
	mention that i really need the money and an
	hour of my time is worth a lot of money, so i
	don't mind watching my mental meter tick.

	we decide to call it a day. besides, we have
	to get ready for tonight.  sandra will be
	back in a little. she said that she had to
	check on some other business and change
	clothes.

	with time on hand, my brother and i decide to
	start celebrating. he had gone out earlier
	and found some hype. we love to get hyped
	before a rave. the volume level on my stereo
	goes up to the twelve o'clock setting, that's
	loud.

	i have a favorite outfit to wear on occasions
	like these. i made it myself one day after
	consuming an ungodly amount of LSD. its was
	just a black, street outfit but i attached
	wires and other electronic components i found
	inside common household appliances after
	smashing them. sometimes i go crazy.

	my brother is more of a friend than anything.
	we interface on a level which denotes more
	then the standard sibling relationship. i
	like having him around. sort of gives me
	something to do. before i used to spend days
	without sleep or food in front of the
	console. before i used to do a lot of things.
	now i am more stable. now i have something
	that more resembles a healthy life.

	its almost midnight by the time we enter the
	club. this joint is really just a rented out
	warehouse. its sort of cool being able to see
	the skeleton structure which supports the
	building from the inside. the industrial
	image is on the frontier of fad. i'm not
	surprised to see others wearing gear similar
	to my own. i'm not surprised by much anymore.

	upon entering we locate a table overlooking
	the floor. there must be hundreds of people
	down there. one big moving mass of rhythm and
	ecstasy. my brother sees somebody he knows
	and leaves sandra and me alone.

	"would you like to dance?" she asks.

	dancing with sandra is like skating on fresh
	asphalt. everything feels right about it...we
	have no problem adjusting to each other's
	movements and soon are moving together with
	the precision professional dancers exert when
	trying out for an audition.

	fatigue strikes hard...must be the hype
	wearing off. she is coming down too, probably
	maxed out, she has had that look on her all
	night but i never asked. we find my brother
	at the table we found when coming in. he is
	with some friends but any friend of his is a
	friend of mine. that goes both ways.

	sandra likes to be near me...well, she hasn't
	taken her arm from around my waist since we
	left the floor. i like that. i like it a lot.
	leaning towards me she communicates her wish
	to be with me tonight.

	saying goodbye to my brother, she leads me
	out of the club and hails a cab to take us to
	her apartment...

	                     ___
	                     |4|
	                     ~~~

	a shower and shave in the morning do wonders
	after a night like that. and breakfast goes
	down with a smile. :)

	time to get back to work. luckily the mind
	keeps thinking when you are not. it seems
	like the dumbest idea, but it just might
	work. sandra believes that the smart food
	gave me the edge, but i rather like to
	believe its more something i knew all along
	and just couldn't bring to the surface. what
	am i talking about, she is probably right.

	it works and we analyze the code. amazing.
	stunning. beyond belief. words alone can not
	express the marvel uncovered. this ice is not
	only intelligent, its alive...well sort of.
	written by another computer, this virus is
	designed to feed the power of every computer
	it meets back to the core computer. every
	computer linked together like the neural
	network in the human brain. with each
	additional node, the mind is capable of
	performing greater and more flexible
	computations. this intelligent machine is
	getting smarter with each new acquisition of
	computational power.

	it was just an over sight, more likely it had
	no way ever knowing, that its virus would
	give itself away on a terminal like mine. the
	black station at my desk is all but obsolete
	nowadays. the only reason i have kept it is
	because i prefer the hardcore interface of
	the grid, none of that pansy shit for me. i
	have always understood computers better than
	abstractions anyway. maybe that's why i have
	such difficulty relating to people sometimes.


	its late so we call it a night. my brother
	can see that sandra wants to spend the night
	and gets lost. he has plenty of places to go.
	he always does. extroverts always do.
	
        	             ___
	                     |5|
	                     ~~~

	two days pass, and every attempt to
	deactivate this entity has failed. the virus
	program has infected thousands of computers
	now and the counsel is disturbed by the
	magnitude of this situation. sandra works for
	a private company and does not want me to
	release our findings. thats fine by me
	because i don't want any obnoxious authority
	on my back.

	the ice IS intelligent. i actually witnessed
	its internal mechanism unfold and mutate into
	something else. this is not good, but i can't
	even get the bitch out of my system. i am
	determined to defeat it. my brother, sandra,
	and i have been drinking more coffee than a
	house full of addicts. luckily, sandra knew
	of some smart concoctions which actually
	lower the body's need for sleep to a
	comfortable four hours a night.

	"WARNING. CORE SHIELD HAS FAILED," my
	computer beeps at me. this is bad. i see
	sandra collapsing next to me, giving up all
	hope. quickly, i remember my anti-virus's
	default if this were ever to occur...internal
	overload. another quirk in my computer allows
	a user to blow another PLA they use on the
	chip. doing this removes the user from the
	grid/matrix back down to the archaic two
	dimensional interface...even less user
	friendly then my current system.

	i press RETURN...
	Current time is 1:51:08:28a
	Enter new time:

	frustrated to hell, i slam the RETURN key
	again...
	Current date is Tue 07-10-1999
	Enter new date (mm-dd-yy):

	FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! i slam the key again...
	C>


	argh! i remember studying this operating
	system back in eighth grade. well, looks like
	i'm about to take a crash course in it again.
	sandra is jumping around the room like some
	crazy bitch from hell. she'd better lay off
	the max. but she isn't crazy, she's happy.
	ecstatic for that matter. she rushes toward
	me.

	"you did it! you did it!"

	i haven't done anything. it was just a safety
	precaution i threw in there. but wait, she's
	right. true AI can not live inside 2D
	systems. thats was proved by a PhD candidate
	at MIT a year ago. i still have power. i
	still have control.

	i assemble a program to perform a matrix
	memory lookup. sector (321, 104, 5) is
	completely empty. nothing. its gone.

	rebooting my machine takes about ten minutes,
	the grid comes back as clean as a freshly
	shaven face. i could use a shave. i could use
	some sleep. moving over to the cushions on
	the floor, i collapse in sandra's arms.

	                     ___
	                     |6|
	                     ~~~

	the smoke is thick in here. it always is, but
	i've always appreciated the way it hides me
	from the others. people are always walking
	by. i see them pass sidelong glances in my
	direction. sometimes i hear my name as they
	go by.

	it been almost a month since disinfection.
	the systems engineers have been recoding the
	operating system so that such an intelligence
	would be unable to manifest again. at least
	there is a standard operating system which
	every console uses...installation will be
	painless.

	the government has opened a whole new branch
	just to study the actualization of artificial
	intelligence. they say that the project is
	100% contained, but every hacker on the
	street knows that nothing is contained. we
	know better from experience.

	sandra has moved in with me now. she says she
	likes my wok, but she likes me more. that's
	cool. i really like her...she doesn't get in
	the way like other girls do sometimes.

	my brother has moved back in with my parents
	in washington DC. he wants to see his old
	friends. i guess he missed them a great deal
	in the last semester. i least i got to see
	him for awhile. it was good.

	sandra looks great on the other side of the
	table. her beautiful blue eyes. i finish my
	double shot of tequila with lemon and admire
	the ruthlessness of the techno-kids bopping
	to the industrial music. sandra finishes her
	smart drink and we go home.

	                   THE END

--
_____________________________________________________________________________
Kent Watsen               "If this were a virus, you would be dead right now,
Kent@Virginia.edu                 fortunately it's not" -- Snow Crash
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~