The Interplanetary Visit

Extra -Terrestrial Help

The pod had spent the entire morning hacking to the top levels of security in the IDS network in attempts to probe and disable the computer from within. Though it had great processing speed, it was limited by the speed of the vast network of IDS. Maintaining an entire network across planets required a lot of power, as well as a lot of computers and that meant sacrificing speed to wait for synchronization.

Moreover, security intense programs blocked the attack sequence. It was like placing a diamond in a titanium box with heavy-duty locks and putting it in a fireproof, airtight safe that would be placed in a highly-secured room with steel walls in a tightly secured building on an obscure island that was cloaked in stealth. The pod disconnected every five seconds when it failed to enter the correct password and each time it failed the password, the access code seemed to change. If within another five seconds, he was unable to enter the right code, a powerful virus backed by powerful electrical charges would surge into its circuits. IDS technology was more advanced than the pod expected. It was no wonder anyway. If having combined the entire galaxy's technology after all the years and the program was prone to hacking easily, it would an utter disgrace to the entire Milky Way.

Quickly, the pod multi-linked and directed the IDS connection to the Jupitian Mainframe which was much more advanced and more equipped to take electrical surges and viruses. After an Earth hour, a file package came to the pod from Jupiter. It was an update. Updates were frequent now. Interplanetary war was at the brink of happening and the Jupitian scientists and programmers worked around the clock. Ironically, both updates came when Ken was not around. Along with the new update came the combination of three hundred sixty-four hundred thousand, one hundred and seventy-one possible code combinations. The Jupitian mainframe upon connection with the IDS computer had narrowed down the combination codes by more than ninety-nine percent. It did not hack in as it was on Jupiter and not on Earth and doing so would get the IDS network suspicious should they trace the origin to be from Jupiter. As if it did, IDS would very soon find it very suspicious that an interplanetary satellite was being used to link up with their mainframe.

Meanwhile, Ken was forced to sit down on a wooden chair tied up in the lounge. The second tie up in a week! First by PEIDB, and then by aliens from Mars. Looking around, he noticed that the teacher's lounge was filled with office cubicles for the individual teachers. A space at the door allowed the teachers to sit and mingle with each other while having breaks or meals, and that was where he was being held. He had allowed himself to be tied. There was practically no situation a Jupitian could not handle, especially since PEIDB had failed to restrain him with much more effective restraints.

His senses tingled. The teachers were afraid and angry. Miss Katherine who appeared to be the leader questioned, "Are you a psychic?"

Ken looked at her smilingly as he saw right through the disguise.

Derek was right, she was a rather cool babe for a Martian disguise.

"In a sense—yes." Ken answered showing no sign of fear.

A young male teacher took a step forward and asked, "What do you mean, in a sense?"

"For a start, mind-reading is just one of my natural abilities. This—" The rope that held Ken went up in flames and burned away. "— happens to be another one."

The teachers stepped back. Miss Katherine mumbled under her breath, "A powerful psychic with pyrokinetic abilities."

Ken smiled and added, "With powerful ears as well, I know that you are all from Mars. However, I want to know why you're here and whether you are working for IDS or the small rebellion force."

The young male teacher stepped slightly forward but a safe distance from Ken and asked in a very heavy Russian accent, "Who are you. You are not an ordinary psychic with pyrokinetic abilities and sensitive ears. No psychic would know about Martians or be able to know so much."