Infected

12: ☣Encrypted☣

"ARE you guys seeing this?" Jim Kamau was saying later that evening when the first reports had started pouring in.

Derek Mbūgua and apparently his new roommate, Tamana Minajri, together with Jim, had all been doing nothing but watching the news ever since the CNN coverage from the WHO.

"First, the assassination and now unexplainable deaths happening all over the world. The hell's going on, people?" Jim said exasperatedly.

"You said whatever it is that your dad sent you in that drive could have something to do with the virus," Derek said to Tamana questioningly.

"Yeah, you think it's a cure?" asked Jim.

"Guys! I don't know anything! At least I'm not sure."

"It does kind of make a lot of sense, though," said Derek.

"What does?" asked Tamana.

"The lead scientist in the world's biggest medical facility being assassinated right before sending her daughter the cure to saving everyone."

"But why would anyone want to do that to him. He's the one with the cure, isn't he?"

"Is he, though?" came Jim.

"What?" Tamana snapped, "Are you trying to suggest that my father created a virus?"

"No," Derek cut in, "that wouldn't make any sense. COVID-19 started out in twenty-nineteen. Why would he send you the virus now when we've got a number of variants to deal with already-"

"My father did NOT and would NOT make any viruses!"

"Wait, hold on," Jim raised a hand, "we're not talking about computer viruses so how do you send a virus-vaccine-cure. . . whatever, through an email?"

"In the form of a biochemical formula," Tamana said.

"Bio-what?" asked Jim.

"Equations and. . . ugh. . .why do I even bother! I can't open the drive!"

"Let me," Derek asked for the drive which Tamana handed over, "you said it's password-protected."

"Not the drive itself but whatever it is that my dad sent me."

Derek then proceeded to one of the monitors. He connected the hard drive to the system unit.

"Okay, let's see what we have here," Derek accessed the drive and found the file Tamana was referring to as she and Jim stooped on either side to see what Derek was doing.

Derek clicked on the file and got a pass code prompt.

"It's encrypted."

"So, can you open it?" asked Tamana.

"Not without the correct cypher. No."

Jim sighed disappointedly. "Damn, your pops sent you a file with a password. That doesn't quite help anyone-"

"Unless he gave you the deciphering key," Derek offered, turning to look at Tamana on his left.

"I don't. . .I don't know," Tamana whispered, feeling all the more awful.

"Nothing else we can do?" asked Jim.

"Unless you have a deciphering key lying around somewhere, no."

"Waah. . .na vile wewe huhack masystems," added Jim, "I thought we ni expert wa hizi vitu."

"Ni nini wewe!" Derek retorted, "siuketi hapa basi tuone ka utawezana!"