Hacker Academy

Unix's Past

It feels so long since I've been at Domain's workplace. The three monitors are there and the whole setup of electrical systems are still in place. It isn't as messy anymore. I notice a broom and dustpan in the corner. 

The blinds on the right have been pulled to reveal the dusk lights of HackCity. It's already dark, and the city lights blink like on a computer engine hardware. I walk over to observe the night sky more carefully. I sigh as I reminisce about the past.

Teleporting to Hacker Academy was an out-of-this-world experience. I still remember facing the oncoming subway train as if it were yesterday. Then coming to HackCity through the new train that ascended into Hacker Academy before a very suspicious Domain came to welcome me. How time passes.

"Have a seat," he says.

"Where?"

"Ha-ha."

"It's actually cleaner, you know. Since the last time I've been here," I say.

"Yeah, well, Unix comes over here sometimes so I try to make this place look acceptable." Domain pops open the fridge and chugs down a beer. It surprises me how he can stay sober throughout the day. He offers the beer to me but I grimace. He takes it as a no.

I bite my lips as a queasy feeling settles within me. I'm just stalling time. The walk from the mall back to Hacker Academy was awfully silent, and I was surprised the way how Domain kept his cool... it was very unlike him. I hate to confront this issue, but I know as long as I stay in Hacker Academy, the thought of her never goes away.

"So, about Unix. I know I crossed the line."

Domain sets down the beer with a little more force than necessary. "Damn right, you did, Ada." He pauses and looks out at the city. "You know she can't hack for shit, right?"

"I thought you of all people would be a little more defensive of Unix."

"I am," he says simply. "But it doesn't change the fact that she could be eliminated," there's a sharp gleam in his eyes. "You remember last time."

"Unix has become hacker number 1001," Miss Tag's voice rings clearly in my mind. "If she cannot beat our AI in 30 seconds, she will be expelled out of Hacker Academy... again."

"I'll take her place." I could hear the shaky tremble in my voice. It escaped my notice before, but I've always been terrified of Miss Tag.

"She can take my rank. I'll be 1001. Let me challenge the AI."

I let out a shaky breath. "Of course I remember. Unix is my friend too, I would do anything for her. It's just been a stressful week for me. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings."

An indecipherable mask covers Domain's feelings. "You actually opened a wound she's taken years to heal from."

He slides a plastic chair to me. He grabs his own office chair and sits in front of the window. I do the same. I don't know what will come out of Domain's mouth, but I know it'll have a deep impact on the friendship between me and Unix.

"She came to Hacker Academy for escape and revenge."

"Revenge?" I could hardly believe my ears. Seeking revenge seemed impossible for the Unix who downloads cat videos in her spare time.

"She's quite a careless girl. She told me her past when she got drunk, and in the morning when I told her I knew, she broke down. But I think it was an ease from the burden she had to bear by herself." Domain looked at me so seriously that I couldn't seem to breathe.

"She flashed."

A part of my heart shatters into pieces and slashes through my soul.

"Nude pictures. Of her. Leaked on the Internet. On the sites and everything," he said solemnly.

I ran my hands through my hair. No wonder she was so sensitive about my words, and I was such a crude human being to have blurted those insensitive words to her-

"Her family was in pieces. You can imagine the tears her mother shed, the helplessness of her father. She was devastated. She didn't dare go to school. Dark thoughts were always in her mind. They were monsters eating her soul."

In the dark night with only neon city lights reflecting this small office room, I see a watery shimmer in Domain's eyes, but I don't try to point it out. In fact, the vision of Domain becomes blurry, and I fear hot tears streaming down my face. How has she been able to look so happy and carefree despite everything she's been through? It makes me look completely cynical as a person who has become bitter from trying to make a living. Unix is much stronger than me.

He sighs. "But then she found a way out of her hell."

"She started hacking," I breathe.

Domain nods. "She thought that if she knew how to hack, she could get revenge on those hackers that leaked her photos. Turns out, she's a little rusty in hacking, and it seems like she'd rather stay in HackCity and barely make a living here than confront her fears."

He rubs the bridge of his nose. "I can't protect her from everything. I wish I could, but I can't. But I can protect her friends from hurting her."

My voice is hoarse. "I see. Thank you, Domain."

"Don't thank me." He shakes his head. "I suppose you'll apologize to her?"

I nod. "Definitely."

"Cool." 

Domain looks at the flying cars, and I can tell he is lost in his own thoughts. A murky veil settles upon him, and his eyes become dark. The reflection of the city lights disappears from his glasses and all I see is Domain. Just Domain.

That's when I realize that as laid-back and useless Domain might seem, he has his secrets too. If Unix has such a dark past as the one he just told me, Domain will have one too.

"You must've had a rough time too," I fiddle with my fingers. "You know... back up."

He laughs a little. "Shit, you sound so strange. Yes, I had a rough time back up. Careful now, you might be having dystopian syndromes if you start getting attached to HackCity. Maybe you should visit your mother and sister. It'll do you good. You've been kind of strung up, lately. I'm worried shit."

"What about you?" I look into his eyes. "What are you hiding?"

He smirks and gets up from his chair. He opens the door and a flood of fluorescent light pours in. I squint, but I can see the silhouette of the same dude with the same smirk that creeped me out when I first met him on the platform of Hacker Academy.

"That's for another time."