Most people think that when a system gets hacked, it works like it does in the holo-dramas. Some genius kid from the far side of the Astralnet, jacked in with a cyberterminal, riding some trippy tunnel of hypnotic graphics and visual data and shooting some contrived antagonist avatar with code-lazers.
Crypt knew the reality was far less dramatic. She was a "hacker" after all.
Dressed in maintenance overalls, cap hiding her neon blue hair, and job tablet in hand, she strode right past reception like she knew where she was going. The key to infiltrating most any privileged area was a job tablet and some confidence.
Nax followed. Crypt's constant companion. A seven foot tall bot with full AI. It didn't need confidence, just to keep quiet. The bot's tendency towards dry honesty had almost cost her the game on more than one occasion.
"Keep an eye out." Nax took up its position outside the door as Crypt entered an empty office. She quickly took in the room's careless vulnerabilities. Terminal left unlocked. She expected the internal net to be lax in security. This is how you hack a system. Take advantage of laziness. Security is inconvenient, so you leave the doors unlocked inside, where you think it's safe.
After only a few minutes, she became aware of the man watching her from the doorway. She jumped up. Looking past him, she could see Nax outside, passive like it didn't just screw up. You had one job, Nax!
"You scared the deuce out of me!" Time to cover, make her way out by inches, act like she was supposed to be there. "I was just..."
"Save it," the man put up his hand and moved to block the exit, "you've been set up." The lights came up, revealing his face.
"Max?" The hair rose on the back of her neck, "Maximilian Hammerson. Guess they didn't get all of your clones."
"Yeah, guess they missed this one," the wry smile looked out of place on his face.
"Who set me up?"
"I did. I needed to meet you without drawing attention." Max lit a synthotine stick and bit down on the butt. "I got a job for you."
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Hard Vacuum: Short Episodes In The Future
Science FictionSpace, spies, politics, and an ancient horror. A warrior king has just conquered the solar system of Gorm. Now he just has to hold onto it while the displaced actors of the previous regime scheme against him and each other for power. A computer ha...
