The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1)

by Brian Terenna

  Americus’ eyes widen.

  Hell. Was their goal to just destroy the RSA, or could it have been something more?

  “Naveha, will you search independent media to see if they’re saying anything different about the attack?” asks Americus.

  Nav nods, likely happy that he asked instead of ordered. She checks her q-link, then gasps. She magnifies the hologram for all of us to see.

  It reads, ‘This mesh-site has been seized by the federal government and has been found in violation of the False Information Act.’

  “Let me check more sites,” says Nav. “Blocked, blocked, blocked. Wait, here’s one that’s not, and it talks about a false flag. Let me see— they just blocked it.”

  Americus bolts up. “This is a violation of the first amendment. What is that law? I’ve never heard of it.”

  Astrid checks her q-link and says, “They just passed it.”

  Americus growls. “I can’t believe that passed, even with the lower emergency vote requirement. Thomas, draw up legal papers to challenge the law immediately.”

  I look from Americus to Tom. Legal papers? He’s a lawyer?

  “You cannot challenge new wartime laws until thirty days after a war ends,” says Weird Tom.

  Americus pounds his fist. “Damn, I forgot. The Final World War must have scared people out of their wits to pass trash like that.”

  “These are the dangers of centralized power,” says Nav.

  Americus shoots her a hard look but says nothing.

  Nav continues, “The people who rise in power are the worst ones, and they always find a way to exploit the system.”

  “Bah,” Americus growls. There’s no way that’s what happened. Eighty percent of the legislative branch is libertarian. How could they possibly support an attack on the first amendment? This is lunacy.”

  “I’m with you, Boss,” says Alexander. “There’s no way people are going to stand for this. I can’t even believe this is real.”

  Gabriel’s drink sloshes as he stands. “The secret power of lawlessness is already at work. But how does this promote the mark of the beast?”

  “They can eliminate any negative news about the Evo now,” says Americus.

  I remember what Barbra told me when she got the Evo. ‘Even President Toscano and VP Garza are norms.’ They didn’t have the Evo, and now they’re dead, leaving Falk in charge. It’s too suspect. I clear my throat. “Do congresspeople and senators have the Evo?”

  “Only thirty-three percent are allowed to have the Evo to avoid complications,” says Americus.

  I grimace at the confirmation. “I have a theory.”

  Americus squints, and everyone else’s eyes land on me. I meet Nav’s eyes for a moment, then look down. My heart pounds, and my leg bounces.

  “Yes?” asks Americus, tugging at his beard impatiently.

  “What is it, Fae?” asks Nav.

  I take a long breath and say, “You were surprised that this law passed despite the lower requirements. But the thirty-three percent of the Senate and Congress who have the Evo would tip the scales. I bet they all voted for the new laws. I would be surprised if President Falk doesn’t also have the Evo. And how about the top generals? I know that they aren’t allowed to have the Evo, and some were assassinated.”

  Americus is shaking his head in disbelief. “If you’re right, we’ve lost our country, and whoever controls the Evo passed these laws to increase their military strength and control. Astrid, get answers to these questions.”

  She searches for the information, then says, “The top three generals were the ones assassinated and President Falk does have the Evo.”

  Knights and Loyalists exchange looks. Nav’s lips are pressed together, and she’s leaning forward. Alexander’s eyes are wide as he waits for the last answer.

  Astrid looks up from the holographic text, her face pale. “Every single senator and congressman with the Evo voted for the new laws.”

  Americus growls.

  Gabriel makes the sign of the cross and swings his drink. “As the bible tells us, the Antichrist is coming. Evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. They took us over to spread the mark. We must attack now, Americus. President Falk is the Antichrist. This proves it.”

  “Let me at him, Americus,” Alexander says, twirling his revolver on a finger. “I’ll storm the White House singlehandedly and take Falk out.”

  A few nearby Loyalists give Alexander high-fives, while others nod or cheer.

  Alexander is so brash. “I don’t think that Falk is in charge. He has the Evo. Someone is probably controlling him too,” I say.

  “She’s right,” says Americus. “I know we put this on hold when we believed the RSA was responsible for the hack, but it’s time to see if we can connect Fae’s foster mother and the investigative reporter into this. We need answers.”

  “Maybe we could just ask people that Sandra worked with at the Cardinal Post,” says Nav.

  “Good. Get on that Naveha,” says Americus.

  So much for asking nicely.

  Americus sets his heavy eyes on me. I push even further into the couch.

  “Do you have any way to discover what Barbra knew?” he asks.

  How could I figure that out? I’m sure I couldn’t hack the military base even if it wasn’t destroyed.

  “I have a call into a reporter at the Post,” says Nav. “She’s going to call back in thirty minutes.”

  “Good,” says Americus. “Fae, you have until then to discover Barbra’s connection to this.”

  ☼☼☼

  I lean back on the bed in my room, feeling stressed. Why did I have to get wrapped up in this mess? First, drones almost murder me, then a war breaks out, and now I have to figure out the impossible.

  Obviously, Barbra is connected, and it must be because of her work at the military base, but how can I figure out anything else? She never told me anything. I doubt she would have told her sister or any of her friends anything either. What else is there?

  I wrack my brain for a few minutes, but after my frustration mounts, I shut my eyes and sigh. I need a break. “Chim, load spacial puzzle program one.”

  A three-dimensional holographic puzzle with various shapes appears before me. I quickly see the pattern and fill in the pieces, feeling my body begin to relax. After several challenging puzzles, I’m much more at ease, and my mind feels sharper. Most people would probably be more stressed after playing the complex game, but I’m not most people.

  I close the hologram and pull my mind back to the question. How is Barbra connected?

  I see her smiling face as she wins another game of Strife and remember her cheerfully cooking my first birthday cake in twelve years. She was just happy to have me around. Now, she’s only a memory and a problem to solve.

  So where do I begin? Maybe her suicide note. Could she have been telling me something, or was she just hallucinating? Maybe it was both. ‘I can’t face him,’ she wrote. That could be anyone. ‘Run to the clouds.’ It just made her sound crazy. You can only fly to the clouds. Cloud…then a thought strikes me. Early on, Barbra gave me the password to her hidden decentralized cloud storage. Could she have been telling me to go there?

  I access her data, then use one of my scanning programs to locate anything that may have been left for me. It finds one file. Maybe this wasn’t such a difficult task. I swallow and open it.

  Her words appear before me. ‘I love you so much, Fae, but if you’re reading this, I’m gone. Below, I left you the private keys to enough money to get you to my sister’s house in Texas. Go to her. She’ll take care of you. I hoped it wouldn’t be necessary to use, but the following was my insurance policy. I told you I quit being a military analyst because I heard disturbing news. Here it is. A large company is planning a false flag attack on Fort Stroudsburg. I don’t know who or when, but the fort is in on it. I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to make us targets. I suppose it didn’t work
. You don’t need to avenge me, but maybe you can use this information to protect yourself. I love you. Goodbye, Fae.’

  A surge of emotion crashes into the walls I’ve built to protect myself. I love you too. Goodbye, Barbra.

  “Fae,” says Americus through my q-link. “Did you have any luck?”

  “Yes,” I say, forcing away my sadness.

  “Very good. Meet us back at the couches.”

  I leave my room, composing myself, then enter the main hall. The Loyalists and Knights gather around.

  “What did you find out?” Americus asks me.

  “She knew there was going to be a false flag attack on Fort Stroudsburg. She said it was being orchestrated by a large company, but she didn’t know which one.” I wonder if it was Infoworld Media.

  “How could she not say something?” asks Americus.

  “Maybe she was worried for her life,” says Naveha.

  Americus shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. A true patriot would have done something.”

  I look down, embarrassed.

  “Dad, stop,” says Nav.

  Americus’ furious eyes bore into her. “I’m in charge here, and I’m still your father. Watch your tone.”

  “Not everyone has the guts to face great risk, like us Americus,” says Alexander. “Let’s give her foster mother the benefit of the doubt.”

  Americus looks like he’s going to snap at him but nods.

  I incline my head to Alexander. He winks with a slight smile.

  “It doesn’t matter now anyway,” says Americus. “Naveha, are you ready?”

  “Yeah, I have the reporter on hold. I’ll put it on speakerphone. Hi, this is Officer Jain. I have a few questions about Sandra Clark. Can you tell me what news story she was working on before she was let go?”

  “She got weird at the end,” says Sandra’s coworker. “She thought she was in contact with someone from Xyphotech, who apparently said the company planned to use its control over the Evo to gain power. Sounded like a crazy conspiracy theory to me. When I found out she had schizophrenia, it made a lot more sense.”

  “Thank you. That’s all.” Nav hangs up.

  Americus slams a table next to the couch, steely rage in his eyes. A small New American flag topples over. “Xyphotech has usurped our republic. As evidenced by the recent votes, they can control the minds of anyone with the Evo, which is over two-hundred million people. They own the acting president, the legislative branch, the military, and most of the police.”

  Loyalists and Knights curse and vow retribution.

  A wave of anxiety leaves me shaken as I fully absorb our new dystopian reality. A malevolent company—the creator of the mind-altering Evo—controls everything. I want to puke, but I breathe through it. Then I realize the other implication.

  With South America’s defeat, Xyphotech’s Evo is one step closer to beating Neurôdados’ Eletron to the international market. Then the entire world will be enslaved, and there will be nowhere to escape to.

  Americus motions for silence. “Navin said, ‘If the government doesn’t serve the people, the government must be severed from power.’ Loyalists, Knights,” he says, his arms rising. “We are the blade that will sever this evil and free America!”

  Knights and Loyalists jump to their feet and cheer.

  “I’m all in,” says Weird Tom.

  “Goodness will prevail,” says Gabriel.

  Alexander thumps his chest. “They will all tremble before my might.”

  “If anyone can do it, you can,” says Asher as he smacks Alexander’s back. “Just don’t hog all the glory.”

  Americus gives his people time to react, then raises his hand to silence them. “We need solid proof that we can send to the country, the United Nations, and the rest of the world that the Evo is compromised and Xyphotech is responsible. Naveha, Fae, I need you to hack Xyphotech and also Infoworld Media since they’re complicit in the cover-up.”

  CHAPTER 11

  COMRADE IN PERIL

  Nav sits next to me on our bed and takes a sip of her water. The smell of her jasmine perfume floats around me. Sunny is on the floor, messing around with a pile of electronics.

  “I’ve been waiting for you all day,” says Sunny, his voice flatter than usual.

  Poor guy. “We’re here now.”

  “What are you making?” Nav asks Sunny.

  “I’m working on increasing the efficiency of a motor I created.”

  “You’re good to have around, Sunny,” says Nav.

  His glowing mouth turns up, and he dives back into his experimentation.

  Nav pushes aside an empty jar of coconut oil and puts down her water glass. “Are you ready to start this hack?”

  I have so much on my mind that I can’t focus. “Not really…. What’s that coconut oil for?”

  “I put it on after the shower as a moisturizer. It’s what I add my jasmine essential oil into. Looks like I’ll have to figure something else out.”

  “I love how jasmine smells,” I say. “Hey…sorry about being distant this past week.”

  “What’s been going on?” she asks. “I was worried about you. You’re not thinking about leaving, are you?”

  “I decided to stay.” Until I erase my debt to you, at least.

  Nav’s face lights up, and she grabs me in a tight hug. It feels great to be in her arms again and to see her warm smile. Of course, it’s the last thing I deserve.

  “We’re going to make a difference,” she says. “Together, we can do anything.”

  Happiness swells inside me but quickly recedes as my mind refocuses on the blimp crash. I want to tell her about it and clear the air, but I could never. I should bring up the other thing, though. “Nav, I need to tell you something.”

  She looks over, her curious expression fading to concern when she sees me.

  The ache in my stomach returns. I squeeze my wrist with a clammy hand. Here goes. “I saw the noose in your closet.”

  She frowns and slumps forward, any happiness draining out of her. “I didn’t know what to do when Ty passed away,” she says, her voice monotone. “It’s such an empty feeling to be with your love every day, and then to know you’ll never see him again. Things spiraled down from there in all ways. Ty was the breadwinner. Since the NIA can’t be sued, I had no money to cover my medical bills or his funeral. The fifty-one percent hack was my last chance to become financially solvent. After I failed, I gave up.”

  I swallow and look down, ashamed.

  “I punched a hole in the ceiling, strung up the rope, and stood on the coffee table. It’s a strange feeling to be ready to die.”

  Sunny frowns.

  “Why didn’t you do it?” I ask.

  She shrugs. “You called just then and needed help.”

  My eyes widen, and I suddenly feel sick. If Sunny hadn’t convinced me to call, she’d be dead. I squeeze her hand in both of mine. “Tell me you won’t do it again.”

  “I’m good now. Well…not good, but I’m not going to try it again. I have you and my dad…sort of.”

  “I’m glad you still live, Naveha,” says Sunny. “I consider you a friend.”

  She rubs his head, her sadness waning. “You guys mean a lot to me. I’ve also noticed you’ve been connecting with my father, Fae. He seems to like you better than his own daughter.”

  “I’m sorry he’s like that to you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s been this way since I was a teen. It’s just because of our similar personalities but different viewpoints.”

  “Is your mother alive?” asks Sunny.

  Nav lowers her head. “I never had one. My aunt lived with us, though, and she was very loving.”

  “What do you mean you didn’t have a mother?” I ask.

  “My dad got to the point where he hadn’t met anyone, and he always wanted a kid. I’m from a synthetic womb and a donated egg.”

  My eyebrows rise. You don’t hear that often. Then a realization hits me. Naveha�
��that sounds like… “Did he name you after Navin Briggs?”

  Nav sighs. “He sure did.”

  “You resemble Navin,” says Sunny, “especially your mustache.”

  Nav’s eyebrows lower, and she feels her bare upper lip.

  “Sunny. That’s not nice,” I say.

  “It’s sarcasm. Was it funny?” he asks.

  Nav laughs. “Oh my God, Sunny. You’re great.”

  “You’re hilarious,” I say. “All right, let’s do this hack now.”

  “Xyphotech first,” says Nav. “You lead the way. I’ll defend your system and hide your attack.”

  I access Xyphotech’s system on the mesh, then dive through the code, studying its complexities. It’s completely different from any other code, but it’s not long before I begin to understand its framework. After ten minutes, I could write my own program using it.

  My hand waves around, selecting sections until I locate the code’s core. I find three critical lines and alter them, setting off a cascading failure and deactivating the wall.

  A second firewall materializes in front of me. I scan the code, and it seems twice as difficult to crack. My mind is firing in high gear, though, and I quickly begin to see weaknesses.

  Still, each time I attack, the wall changes and reforms its code.

  I grumble in annoyance. But then it comes to me. There’s a better way. I send an assault bot at the wall to hold my progress, then return to the first firewall.

  My right hand moves like I’m orchestrating a symphony as I change the program. It’s not long before I rework the firewall from a defensive program to an offensive one. As soon as it’s mine, I turn it on the second firewall. Although it’s half as strong, the second level doesn’t recognize it as a threat. I crash through the second level into the third and throw my programs at it until I’ve corrupted the second.

  Sweat beads on my brow, and some drips into my eyes. I wipe it away. As I corrupt the third level, I swear I’m going cross-eyed.

  Level after level, I crack them and turn them, until I smash through the final firewall.