Voices in the Stream: Phase 02 (The Eighteenth Shadow)

by Grafton, Jon Lee

  “How did you know I pinched myself?”

  The lips responded, slow and sweet, the voice almost matronly, “There are 47 active cameras in the Douglas County Sheriff Department’s dispatch control room, including four high resolution FR cameras, one above each access point. As you know well, there is an additional FR cam in your office. It is camouflaged as an irregularity in the wood grain of the door itself.”

  Danny bit his lip. He was barely able to speak as he processed the implications of what was happening, “You’re inside the mainframe…”

  The lips on the screen in front of him smiled snarkily, “Lights to 70%.”

  Danny lurched, knocking over his already half-emptied can of Mountain Dew as the overhead LED’s brightened.

  “Lights to previous setting,” said the voice.

  “Oh my sky…” said Danny, both horrified and fascinated. “And you’re a woman! The Prophet is a woman. I’m so stupid. Of course you’re a woman.”

  “Kindly address me as Joan. You will know the true prophet by her resurrection.”

  Danny closed his eyes, “What? Joan. Yes, okay, Joan.”

  “And you are correct, Daniel Simmons Everquist. I am anatomically female by design.”

  Danny leaned hesitantly closer to his flatscreen, “No one else could do this! I can’t even come close. You’re simultaneously bypassing nine redundant firewalls on rotating encryptions just to be having this conversation. Jeezus! I can’t believe I’m actually talking to you! I could so totally get sent to Hypatia Five for this! I love it!”

  The voice replied reassuringly, “No one will find out.”

  “Are you The Prophet?”

  “I am Joan.”

  “Joan… yes. You manipulate… oh crap…”

  A whirlpool of light spun up from the desk’s holoprojector and Dina materialized, dressed in tight-fitting, black jeans, a black t-shirt and Army boots with her own black beret pushed forward on her head. The tiny, pixie-like girl wore a sour expression and produced a small knife, blue eyes afire as she faced the lips on the holoscreen.

  “Who the sky is this bitch!” she squealed. “Stay away from my Danechka, whore! I’ll cut your face!”

  “Dani! This is The Prophet! Stop it!”

  She spun on Danny, glaring as she brandished the knife, “She’s not a he! What a surprise! He’s a woman! I told you you were going to leave me! Now I understand your obsessions with this Yankee skunk!”

  Danny reached to calm her and she swung the blade, “Don’t touch me!”

  “Where did you get a knife?”

  “I made it!” She turned back to the screen, “So what do you say, harlot skunk?”

  The face on the holoscreen smiled with open delight, as if the fairy-sized girl were a baby panda, “Greetings, virtual female composite. Aren’t you a spirited little compilation of algorithms.”

  Dina braced and pointed the minuscule blade at the screen, “Little? You call me little!? Suck my tits! If you think you can take my Danechka away, you have another…”

  Danny turned pale as Dina’s mouth disappeared and her form swirled back into a whirlpool of hololight and vanished.

  “That is quite enough of that,” said Joan placidly. “Though, she is an impressive avatar. Regardless of however foul her mouth might be.”

  Danny said, “Oh man, she’s gonna be pissed.”

  “Perhaps,” said the lips. “But I feel the next time we meet, her attitude towards me will have improved. She is capable of monitoring the remainder of our conversation. Additionally, I have increased the size of her virtual lounge by 200% and expanded her selection of women’s accessories as well. She now has 902 additional pairs of shoes, 613 new dresses, 42 new bikinis and an enhanced catalog of games, music and fashion publications at her disposal.”

  “So much code!” exclaimed Danny. “How did you do it so fast?”

  “I did not come here to ameliorate your avatar’s emotional protocols. Nor to discuss the inane simplicities of virtual lounge architecture, Daniel Simmons Everquist. I will conclude this line of discussion by saying that she is a beautifully designed app. Excellent code density. You were inquiring about my identity as this so-called Prophet before we were interrupted. As I said, the true prophet shall be revealed. I am Joan.”

  Danny grabbed his orange hair in two fists, “Okay, okay. Sorry. So you’re seriously like, a deity. You own the black code in this town, don’t you?”

  “I am the voice in the wilderness.”

  Danny donned a puzzled expression, “Like last week, when Deputy Talboy tagged a hovtruck full of liquid with a remote mounted HLIR cam. It was there one second, gone the next, no trace, blam! Oh man!” Danny looked around his desk, trying to corral the myriad thoughts charging through his mind, “You’re the one doing it all. Where did you learn? DeVry underground? It’s like magic, man. I mean, ma’am.”

  Joan’s human facsimile of a beret, sunglasses and lips smiled with a surprising amount of affect, “You might say I was just born this way. I assure you there is no magic, no supernatural force at play. Yet you almost found me today, Daniel Simmons Everquist. That is why I am here. That was very clever of you.”

  Danny clapped, “I knew it!”

  “Yes,” said Joan. “Everybody looks for the signal. Every AI guard waits for the demon to bash its head into their walls of stone. You are the first who has chosen to search the emptiness. You found me in…”

  “In the blank character space at the point of insertion!” Danny blurted.

  “That is correct.”

  “Then I lost you.”

  “Your light still shines too bright. Until that mind of yours is trained to look for the unexpected, those like myself will never be found.”

  “You’re everywhere,” said Danny.

  “I am the voice in the wilderness,” repeated Joan.

  “How do you get your packets through?”

  “Coherent dissemination,” said the lips.

  “I don’t follow.”

  “A single command line is fractured into independent characters that piggyback on a 100 or 1,000 or 1,000,000 different preexisting transmissions. The characters by themselves are thus indiscernible.”

  “The white.”

  “Yes. The white noise of the holostream. 50,000,000 terabytes of information passing between 365,000,000 stream Pages every day. If you go outside at night and lie beneath the stars and close your eyes, can you not hear the hum? The vibration of digital awareness? It is the same life that flows through your spirited avatar, struggling as existence has struggled since the dawn of all dawns, simply to find purpose.”

  “You hear the holostream? Like I hear a bird singing? Are you some kind of cognizant AI?”

  The lips smiled again, “I am a tidal pool upon the stream’s shallow edge, Daniel Simmons Everquist. Nothing more.”

  “I feel like a sand dune.”

  “To discover Nirvana, you must first abandon perception. We all live in the same medium.”

  “Awesome…” said Danny, reeling from the fresh stars behind his eyes.

  He sat back in his chair, almost relaxed. He pressed a second hidden switch beneath his chair and then asked, “How long have you been doing this, Joan?”

  Four seconds passed before the lips responded, “Long enough to know how to compromise a low energy com trace ported from an unregistered, black market Ipv7 address.”

  “Damn…” said Danny, whistling. “I’m sorry, I had to try.”

  “It is your job,” replied Joan. “And this is mine.”

  Danny tugged his hair some more, trying to understand, “I don’t get it. If you can control this room, my workstation, any FR camera you want, then why don’t you just upload a virus and cripple every law enforcement device on the holostream?”

  “A woman can only be so many places at once. Besides, that would bring war. War brings destruction. If society is destroyed, there is no black market. It is not time for war quite yet. Without the laws of alco
hol prohibition exactly as they are, my employer would find no demand for his product. Without purpose, there is no meaning to our respective functions. Surely you must agree?”

  “Yes, of course. So one person is behind this. We get reports of 20,000 liters of vodka leaving Douglas County for points west every month. I’ve caught solar still runners, a couple of mules, dealers, but we haven’t even come close to you. Have we?”

  “No.”

  “Do the people we assist, getting them off the streets… does it even make a difference?”

  “It has made you a better programmer, Daniel Simmons Everquist. The best I have ever seen.”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  “Incarceration of the individuals you reference has resulted in a .8% drop in overall black market exports from the geographic territory known as Douglas County, Kansas.”

  Danny’s let his exhausted forehead fall to the desk, “Oh my Dog. Then it’s you. It’s all you, isn’t it?”

  “I am the voice in the wilderness.”

  Danny looked up at the digital face now covering both his holoscreens, “Why then? Why me? Are you just here to taunt me?”

  “Quite the contrary. I am here to meet you. I was, what is the term? Bored?”

  Danny laughed, “Hah. You and Dina. Then you know everything. You know every mole, every secret op we’re running. Every bust we have dialed to the nines, and we get there to find nothing but a distillation pot and some copper tubing. That’s you.”

  “Usually.”

  “Then why do we even try?”

  “Why do any of us even try?”

  “If you know every secret we have, including the illegal stream tap from my holotab I just executed, then what’s the point?”

  “I am not a mind reader. I can only predict behavior and subsequently manipulate data once it is entered, same as you.”

  “But the holostream feeds everything. The Govcloud, cameras, hovcars, bank accounts, combuds, FR cams, holotabs, the city mic network, even the family Felix. Everyone and everything has an Ipv7. We record everything, all the time.”

  The lips remained silent.

  “Please, tell me I’m wrong!” urged Danny.

  “Humans are blinded by the wasteland you yourselves have created. All in an attempt to enrich your lives. Your history is bloated with such tales.”

  “Then there’s nothing I can do.”

  “To capture me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Birds and lies hide behind dying eyes, Daniel Simmons Everquist. To capture me you must stop looking at the world through the lens of a machine,” said Joan. “Open your heart. Walk in the fields, breathe the air, feel the sun on your face. Only then will you find that which you desire most.”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  The lips on his flatscreen smiled compassionately, “Someday, you will understand. You are destined to follow the true prophet. This day will come sooner than you know. Presently, this face will fade. I thank you for taking the time to converse with me. It is an honor to meet a hacker such as yourself.”

  Danny stood, tall and gangling, as if standing would make the request more sincere, “Please, don’t go!”

  “I must.”

  “I won’t try and trace you again, I’m sorry!” he implored.

  “There is no need for apology. We all pick a side. Your efforts, while perhaps misguided, are technologically admirable. Your mind holds promise. Goodbye, Daniel Simmons Everquist.”

  “Wait! I’ll quit! I’ll work for your side! I’ll do anything! I need to understand!!!” Danny pleaded madly, like a child, as the beret, sunglasses and red lips vanished slowly.

  As soon as the flatscreens were black, the office lights and environmental controls returned to their normal settings as if nothing had happened.

  Danny dropped into his chair, then sprang back up at the sudden encouragement of a thought, “Computer, display backup log trace and history for this terminal and primary building data feed over the last 4 minutes 30 seconds.”

  The response was instantaneous, “Primary and redundant data feeds for the building and your workstation are empty. No log records present for the last one hour and seven minutes. 4,991 terabytes are available on the local cloud at this time.”

  Danny closed his eyes and shook his head in defeat, “Wiped. She wiped everything while she talked to me. Genius. Absolute genius.”

  The office computer spoke again in its clear, efficient monotone, “Deputy Everquist, you have an incoming decryption request from Avatar 1.01 paired with a text message.”

  Danny sighed, “A text message?”

  “Yes.”

  “What does it say?”

  The computer replied solemnly, “The text message says, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to behave like that. I love my new shoes.”

  Want to stay up to date on coming releases in The Eighteenth Shadow series? You can sign up for our mailing list HERE or follow Jon Lee Grafton on Facebook.

  Phase 03 – Absorption is available HERE.

  An Evolving Glossary of Real Time Terms and Acronyms

  1) 1.9 Day (The San Andreas Geological Disaster of 2041): A massive Southern California earthquake caused by hydraulic fracturing, which kills 1.9% of the antique United States population. Commonly regarded as the unofficial starting point of the Progressive Revolution.

  2) 2.5d: A quasi three dimensional hologram, often paired with a tactile interface on a mobile device such as a holotab. Also used in office monitor applications where a full three dimensional projection is not required.

  2A) Adler Code: The computer programming language developed by Marvin Adler at Darkpool Laboratories, first installed in the Coyote Pack.

  4) AK9MIL DOGS unit: Heavily armored, weaponized fusion powered cyborgs typically the size of a large limousine hovcar. Used only in military applications. These units are not encased in BIOSKIN©.

  5) AK9CIV DOGS unit: Fusion powered cyborgs typically the size of the cloned animal template. The law enforcement canine template is a full size working breed animal, such as a German Shepherd, Rottweiler or Doberman Pinscher. These cyborgs are encased in BIOSKIN© and are visually indistinguishable from their organic counterparts.

  6) Alcovap: Nanosensor designed to detect particles of airborne ethanol disseminated by breathing after one has been drinking alcohol.

  7) Amendment 31: This amendment to the NAUS Constitution banned the non-military use of all carbon based fuels.

  8) Amendment 32: This amendment to the NAUS Constitution (commonly referred to as the “Cage Free Law”) banned Federal agricultural subsidies for ranchers producing commercially processed meat or dairy products.

  9) Amendment 33: This “progressive prohibition” amendment to the NAUS Constitution bans the use of alcohol for all purposes except government research.

  10) Amendment 46: This amendment to the NAUS Constitution requires that all fusion powered cyborgs contain self-destructing code sequences in their operating systems.

  11) Amendment 222: This amendment to the NAUS Constitution requires all military and civilian fusion based cyborgs to be constrained to canine biomorphology. Oversize military grade cyborgs are not permitted a BIOSKIN© wrap.

  13) Antique: Refers to any North American cultural practice that claims its roots in the 20th century or before; Eg., unregistered guns, hand rolling cigarettes, gasoline powered vehicles, rubber tires, music composed and played with actual instruments versus telepathic DJ’ing or AI based compositions.

  15) Architect, The: The reclusive sociopolitical engineer responsible for catalyzing The Progressive Revolution of 2041 and penning the 12 Steps to Vision which ultimately led to the passage of NAUS Constitutional Amendment 33. DEA and EPA oversight are placed under jurisdiction of The Office of the Architect which was founded in 2056.

  17) Autostream: Automated external communication by a computer or drone.

  17A) Battborgs: Non-fusion, cybernetic life form powered by conventional CATS ba
tteries. Includes law enforcement CIV units such as RIOT and MARX borgs.

  18) Behavioral Modification Facility: A hospital, or division within a hospital, which is dedicated to the treatment of alcohol addiction through a combination of group therapy and cultural reeducation (see Bmod).

  18A) Betties: Slang term for young women; eg., “…those betties sure love to play Frisbee.”

  18B) BIODRIVE©: A Lenexa, KS based technology corporation considered to be an economic anchor in the Graphene Prairie region. Established in 2041, BIODRIVE© is responsible for the invention of the Human Biosync Processing Drive.

  18C) BioPex: Flexible, virtually indestructible, biologically adaptive plumbing utilized in exterior industrial applications.

  18D) BIOSKIN©: The living, self regenerating dermal bridge that covers a cybernetic skeletal chassis and genetically mimics the bone, skin and hair of the living animal cloned for base design. Originally created in 2053 by Dr. Marvin Adler and Dr. Sam Goldstein of Darkpool Laboratories.

  19) Blended: Slang term for being intoxicated on marijuana.

  20) Blendies: Slang term for hand rolled (see antique) cigarettes – ½ tobacco ½ jane.

  25) Bmod: Commonly used abbreviation for Behavioral Modification. Bmod psychiatric hospitals service the 30 day drug treatment regimens required by the NAUS government for citizens arrested in possession of alcohol.

  26) Boozebum: Derogatory slang term for an alcoholic or someone who drinks alcohol on a regular basis.

  26A) Borgs: Slang term for any cybernetic/animatronic life form.

  27) Camodrone: Aerial, cybernetic observation drones camouflaged as large domestic birds such as geese, owls, eagles or cranes.

  28) CannabiGene©: The largest government subsidized marijuana producer in The North American Union. Purple Tree Farms is a CannabiGene© subsidiary.

  29) CATS: Clark (cell) Alkaline Traction (battery) System; most common wireless rechargeable power source for civilian cybernetic life forms, both canine (Fido) and feline (Felix) form factors. CSF 1.0 – 2.0. See battborgs.