ALTERNATIVE

65.Tribulation

Char got to work as soon as the crowd moved away from the computer. She connected her android to the system. Shimmer helped her to get access to the Annals & Archives. She crept into the database and slowly transferred it to a TES (Transferable Energy Store) matrix. She detached the matrix from the original database. Then she had to get into the Main Transmission Center and cease the control. As Char had expected it was well protected by codes. But to Char's great consternation and concern the codes were generative. If once the code gets wrong, the user had to solve about hundred cryptograms to move on. A mistake in solving any of those will cause another multiplication. That will trap the user [gatecrasher] in the nuisance. If the user tries to get out of the system, the alarms will ring and the interloper can be caught red-handed. That mean the code should be easy to decode. But what could be the code. Char could not take chances, surely not this time. She had to figure out some other way.

But clearly there was no other way. She sat there, staring at the screen. Her hands were in a dilemma. Should she take the risk? Of course, not. She cannot possibly endanger the life of about a hundred people who trust her with their lives. A wrong move and all what they had sacrificed will go fruitless. But, if she does not take this chance the result will be the worst. She could only hope for something that will make everything alright.

If death is the result then it is suitable to die for the cause than live a life holed up. This is the chance and there is no way that she does not make the most of it. She took a deep breath and got to the process of decoding. The excellence she acquired in calculus helped her to acquire the code. Yet the code wasn't clear. She decided to take the chance. She entered the code into the space given for log in code. With a loud beep, another window popped up showing:

Initial Log In Attempt: Failed.

M _ TrC CONTrolS AcCesS: DENied.

System SOS 1.4.9.5.O8OP*DC Protection: Activated.

User has to solve 98.6 puzzles to get to the next Log In Attempt.

SoRRy FoR the inconvenience.

Keep on. Thank you.

"What will I do now?" Char sighed aloud. Suddenly a rush of heat enveloped her. What she feared the most has happened to her and she has no escape. She was stuck now. They were all going to give up the ghost before time...