System Overload

Part 2: System Overload

"Was he really drained this much?"

"To the point of heart failure. His heart was starting and stopping in loops due to his pacemaker. And it was draining energy as well."

The A&M team of room 4 is standing next to the bed still left undone. Pale. Their names floating around their highlighted silhouettes. I don't know any of them. Ronand stands besides me in the entrance, tablet in hand, his smart glasses turned back on. The two displays running a continuous flow of text and diagrams.

"So we know for sure his implants are responsible for draining him like that?"

Ronand answers while following the data streams.

"The logged status reports indicate a very intense CPU activity. All the CPU. In every one of his limbs, eyes, organs, everything..."

"And according to you, that's enough to... exhaust him, that much?"

I'm eyeing them, all tired, tense. The night team MD nods.

"It would likely have been different for a younger subject, in a better physical condition. Furthermore, integral body implant is known to be way more intense, physiologically."

I squint at him.

"And then, it took only a few hours to..."

A caregiver answers, glued to a tablet as well.

"Not a few hours, sir. The CPU activity history shows that the first signs of overly high energy consumption appeared about two weeks ago."

"But... Shouldn't he have noticed something then?"

Ronand frowns at me through his screens.

"The rogue CPU usage never went above 30%. Considering the model of prosthesis, he'd only be able to notice a more intense activity."

I close my eyes, to think, to focus, to calm my own heart down as well.

"Let's summarize this. His CPU activity raced for about two weeks, which drains the entire energy capacity of his body, sending him straight to ER tonight."

Opening my eyes back up before continuing:

"However, are we sure about this issue being linked to our... to the firmware vulnerability?"

The medical team looks uneasy, turning away. Ronand darkens, answers very quickly:

"I don't see what else could be the cause, sir. The IT branch already detected signs of a malware exploit, so..."

"All right. But we have to be sure that there wasn't any... bad, fraudulent use, you know what I mean? A software glitch, something to try and unlock some restricted capacities, to get around the safety limits we set..."

Ronand squints, puzzled.

"Do you mean, like... a jailbreak, as on a smartphone? To get access to the firmware at root level?"

"Er... Yeah, something like that. To get access to every single paid application, without actually paying a dime, and..."

The MD mumbles something, clearly disapproving. I turn to him, raising my eyebrows. He pulls himself together, shakes his head.

"It's nothing, sir, I was just thinking... We're lucky that the client's attorney left with him."

The veins in my temples throb. I try to smile.

"I see. Well, I suppose that if everything was played by the book here, they wouldn't find anything to say about our service, would they?"

The doctor hesitates, grave. I insist:

"Really, if there's anything, say it."

His glance switches to Ronand. Uneasy.

"If a vulnerability in our firmware sent him to ER... That's a motive for suing us already."

I turn to Ronand too, who keeps staring at his tablet. Doesn't answer. But the look on his face does for him.