Out of the Shell

2 - Uneventfulness

November 24, 2404
01:50

The idea that came to my mind yesterday was mainly me just being overexcited. In hours' time, I've actually been able to come up with something that might work. If I had modified my IDM and copied it, everyone else would have the same intelligence as I did. Of course, it's just a theory for now, but it's worth a future attempt.

Kane entered my room as I finished my thought. "Where's Harper?" he asked.

I scoffed. "Why would I know? She isn't ever home."

"She borrowed my phone this morning and I need it back."

"Why did she need yours?" I asked. "What are you doing up so late, anyway?"

Kane shrugged. "Apparently someone beamed her phone from the Institute and they took it away."

My eyes went wide. "Wait, what? The Institute only takes phones that have been illegally modified to alter other's IDMs."

"I know that. Which is part of the reason why I'm asking where Harper is." He swept away at his long, blond hair which was covering his eyes. The fact that my sister is never home already brings up several red flags, and now her phone was teleported to the Institute? The Institute is a group of people who work with the government to give IDMs to people who are old enough, and they're responsible for making sure nobody tampers with other people's IDMs. I don't have to worry about copying my own. It's not against the law; it is actually recommended that people save copies of their IDM onto their phone or computer in case of a brain injury or a mental disorder that you acquire later on in your life. The process of copying is easy, you have to put on a helmet which sends brain activity to the device it is connected to. Nobody at the Institute has attempted to merge or replace someone's IDM with someone else's, because it is deemed impossible.

"I'll go look for her." I sat up from my chair and walked in the direction of the door.

Kane stopped me. "Amy, no. It's late. She'll be back soon."

I sighed and heard the front door open. Kane and I rushed to it.

"Harper!" I exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

Harper had almost the same hair like me, only hers was much longer. It was all messed up, and it looked like she had been running. She brushed her hair from her face to reveal her blue eyes and soft face. Most people think Harper and I are twins, although she's much taller and looks a lot older. "I don't think I told you," she said. "Someone hacked my IDM backup and corrupted it. My phone sent the Institute a negative signal."

"Have you tried talking to them?" I asked.

"Amy, do you really think that they would believe that someone hacked my IDM backup?"

All three of us turned our heads to face my father, who had entered the living room. "What's going on? It's two in the morning!"

Nobody spoke up except for Kane. "Nothing, Dad. We're going to bed." My dad nodded his head slowly and returned to his room. All three of us stared each other down for a long moment.

Harper caught me thinking. "What's wrong, Amy?"

It took me a moment to realize that she asked me a question. "Huh? Nothing."

"I'm... heading to bed," Kane said slowly. Everyone returned to his or her rooms. Another question now hangs around in my mind -- how did someone hack my sister's IDM backup? I decided to think about that at a later date. The same feeling of inspiration flowed inside of me. My eyes lit up as I sat down in my chair and booted up my computer.

"Let's hope this works..." I whispered. I plugged myself into my computer to copy my IDM files onto them. The transfer process began unusually quickly. It usually took a little while to get it up and running.

It was getting late, and I was getting rather tired. Resisting the urge to yawn was getting very difficult, but I knew I couldn't rest in the middle of a data transfer. It was almost complete, but something popped up on the screen that I haven't seen before. The screen read: "Error: Insufficient energy source to complete data transfer. Please try again later."

My brain probably wasn't sending enough energy due to the fact that I was tired. I ignored the message and decided to do the transfer tomorrow. I unhooked myself from the computer and immediately felt intense pains in my head. I glanced at the screen once more.

"Oh no..." I said.