by Al K. Line
The owners had obviously taken this as an opportunity to really spend some considerable cash on the place — in for a penny, in for a pound — and had extended the new foundations down to over two meters. They built a whole new basement, then turned it into a giant swimming pool, roughly twenty meters in length. The large basement room ran the entire length of the house and combined the pool, showers and a sauna, plus a jacuzzi room for good measure. Raw exposed shuttering was left 'as is' giving the walls a solid yet interesting texture that was stunning to behold when Kyle flipped the switch and the numerous ceiling lights, designed to look like a starry sky, and the blue underwater lights came on, illuminating the whole room.
"Wowee, how cool is that?" exclaimed Ven, itching to get in the showers then take a swim she hoped would wash away the terrors of the last few days. She could get used to a place like this. But somehow she knew that they would never get to stay still for very long in the foreseeable future, if they lived long at all.
"Look at the lovely pool Tomas, isn't it nice?" Ven asked the sleepy little guy. "Do you want to come and have a shower with Mummy and then have a nice little sleep?"
Baby Tomas gurgled happily, making cute noises and wriggling about in her arms.
They all explored the underground world a little more closely. It really was an incredible place. The large shower stall had room enough for two to shower comfortably. There were toweled robes as well as a number of swimming costumes, presumably for the owners as well as for guests.
Mike and Kyle left the women to it, agreeing that they could shower first and generally have some fun while they went and relaxed up above for a while.
The sisters spent little time (none) arguing, and in no time at all they were getting properly clean. Even Bos Bos ran around excitedly, although he refused to get under the shower, having had one just a few months ago he was certainly in no need of another clean so soon. Tomas wasn't too happy just being rained upon in such a manner, up until now only ever having had baths from his mom and dad. But he quickly seemed to get used to it, gurgling with delight as the warm water rinsed his little body clean.
Cassie finished long before Ven, found a costume and was straight into the pool. She did love water. The temperature was just right. Being heated by an underground heat pump it maintained an even temperature at all times of the year, with no costs involved apart from the initial digging and the running of a small pump, on twenty-four seven. The same heat source took care of the heating for the rest of the property too, the system being the best there was, and very efficient.
Ven and Tomas stayed in the shower for what seemed like a lifetime. Ven felt herself rejuvenating, her head clearing. The last few days had contained so much death and so much guilt, it all felt like a dream to her still. There had to be an explanation for what had happened, she just wished she could be sure that it wasn't all her fault.
What was the best case scenario she could wish for anyway? That something had gone wrong and only the main botnet activation had been her fault? And not the actual infection that was currently decimating the planet? She stayed under the shower until her and her precious baby, the most important thing in her life, were shiny pink and clean from top to bottom. Then she grabbed a bikini and robe, came out to the pool, and took Tomas up to the guys to watch while she joined her sister for a swim.
Back downstairs and robe off Ven sank to the bottom of the pool, letting the warm water entomb her and wash her even cleaner. Rising, she felt some of the weight lift from her shoulders, and a realization dawned that whatever had happened she knew for sure that the subliminal message packet delivered to the world could not send you to the depths of hell as it had done. Heck, she had watched it herself and it had the desired effect, she found it almost impossible not to log into her Bitcoin account, and that was when she knew that she had been coerced by the video. So there was a clear understanding now that there were debts to be settled. Someone somewhere was responsible for the nightmare that had become the lives of those left living, and the hell that was the reality for the millions upon millions of infected around the globe.
Her resolve firmed. With a sense of being re-born through the water she made a promise to herself, she would have vengeance. Her hacker name would finally become more than a childish moniker.
After their swim they both dressed. Ven brought Tomas down to the basement and was able to feed him in their new safe haven. Feeling more relaxed allowed the milk to flow freely. The little guy was happy to be back at the warm bosom of his mother. Ven felt a renewed closeness to the little guy through the bonding ritual. She thought of Paul and tears began to flow, making the little one squirm, his meal interrupted.
"I'm sorry Tomas, Mommy did a very bad thing and Daddy is not here any longer. It's me and you against the world kiddo, but we have friends you know, who would have ever thought that?"
Tomas didn't say much, just carried on feeding.
Ven herself was still surprised if she looked back on her friendship with Kyle, they were not the most likely of friends after all. Her with obsessions about expensive clothes and everything always being 'just so'. Kyle with his grungy look and zero interest in most material goods. But he had a good heart, and she loved him dearly. It also seemed like her and Cassie were finally grown up enough to get along well, and her guy seemed nice, if a little intense.
"Mumuma," gurgled Tomas, who had lifted his head while Ven was far away, lost in her own thoughts.
"What's that? You trying to say Mommy? Are you, are you trying to say hello to your mom?" Ven was sure he was beginning to try to talk already, she just knew that he would be slightly 'special' just like she was.
Her parents had always insisted that by the time she was four months old she could say a few words, and the first one she spoke were 'Dada' at just about Tomas' age. It was one of those family stories that got repeated so often you never knew if it was true or if her parents had just convinced themselves it was.
"Who's a clever boy? It's you isn't it, my precious Tomas, who's going to grow up to be just as clever as Mommy but a lot wiser." She was now well aware of the difference, her actions with the botnet left her in no doubt that with intelligence it certainly didn't mean that wisdom naturally followed.
"Mwawawa," agreed Tomas, starting to doze off because of his full belly and the comforting womb-like temperature and feel of the subterranean environment.
"I wish we could stay down here forever buddy, just you and me and not a care in the world. But I am afraid that things are going to be very hard for you little guy, please don't hate me too much when you get older. Mommy did a bad thing but she didn't know what would happen, and that's the truth." Beginning to get upset again she got herself together, even managed to brush her hair properly and apply some simple cosmetics that made her feel almost human again. The mask of make-up making her feel like she could face the world again, maybe even with a smile.
Grumpy Old Man
Sarlic Acwell was not a well man.
He was sound of mind but his body was seriously letting him down. Pain was a constant now, and only getting worse. Each day he felt a little more worn away, finding it harder to focus on the tasks at hand. No matter, it was now all over anyway.
He watched the news with growing delight, a sickly sweet smile spreading across his gaunt features. His deeply set dark and hollow eyes glistened with moisture, so happy was he to finally see the results of his work come to fruition.
"That stupid bitch," he whispered to himself. "She thought she was so bloody clever, and now she will be miserable for the rest of her pitiful life, just what she deserves."
He sank back into his recliner, too tired and in too much discomfort to lift his feet up onto the stool to ease the pain somewhat.
He was a man fueled by anger, hatred and resentment. There was no doubt that he was a brilliant man, but he had been overlooked just once too often and it had affected him deeply. Never the most agreeable of people, over the years he had grown cold
er and more harsh with his work colleagues. A few incidents that he no longer dwelt upon (because he was right and they were wrong) saw him leaving legitimate research projects and going into the private sector. He was still surprised at just what facilities were available to him, and just how far away from the mainstream private companies had come in terms of what they would allow him to do in the name of the so called 'research' he performed.
Projects of the last few years had been some of the most exciting of his entire career. Without the restraints of government bureaucracy and the constant need to appease the 'do-gooders' he could finally take his research and obsessions into places he had only dreamed of in the past.
Then that fucking bitch tried to use his work, his lifetime's worth of knowledge and insight into the human mind, without paying her dues in time and brain-power. Well, he made her pay, he made them all pay. He didn't owe her, his bosses, or the entire fucking world anything at all. In fact he would be glad to be rid of the lot of them, so today he was a very happy man.
The world had changed since he was a young student trying to find his place in academia. It had never been easy, he never got along with the idiots and retarded people he was supposed to work under. From an early age he realized that his intellect was vastly superior to anyone else's he came across, the morality of some of his co-workers simply staggered him. He was a man of science and as far as he was concerned there would have to be sacrifices along the way if true achievements in the field were to be made.
His focus had always been on mind control of one form or another. From work designed to make government policies more appealing to the masses, to research into how effectively you can coerce people into actions very different to their usual behavior. For a long time it had all been government sanctioned, if very hush hush. But his bosses had finally had enough of him when certain tests went that little bit too far for them. Sarlic had no compunction about pushing things to the limit, the whole area fascinated him, so over the years he had gotten deeper and deeper into the field of subliminal messaging via imagery as a way to control the minds of the mostly feeble population.
He was more than aware that simple images shown for 0.0005 of a second or less could result in people being coerced. You just had to look back to the simple tests done by Vicary in the 1950's to see that a single image flashed at a movie screening could result in much higher sales of Coke and popcorn than would otherwise be the case.
Of course, this is the simplest of examples. Once in the private sector Sarlic felt like a kid in a sweet shop. He was given the resources to take things to levels he never thought would be possible. Access to vast databases of images he never even knew existed. Images too sick for most to even look at, and he could basically take his research to extreme levels to appease his Masters but also to stimulate his creativity at the same time.
There was no stopping him.
And then that fucking bitch tried to steal from him. Just as he had perfected what he called the War Flash. Huge amounts of research, testing on live subjects (unfortunate people) and the processing of millions of single images had resulted in perfection as far as he, and those he worked for, were concerned.
He never even knew the name of the company he worked for. He dealt almost exclusively with his bosses via an intermediary and anything he needed went through him. One thing he knew for sure was that this was a large operation with unlimited funds, he doubted it was government based but you just never knew. However, the research was definitely military, and this was what he was the best at. Bringing up the darkness in the average person's soul and making it run free with no moral governance. It led to some very interesting, although very messy times in the lab. He was still amazed at just what depths of depravity people could reach when they had been allowed free reign of their inner demons.
What we are looking at here, dear reader, in case you haven't guessed, is a not very nice man. You wouldn't want him for your Granddaddy, he would probably think taking you out to torture puppies was a fun time for the whole family. He's kind of like Mr. Burns but without the smiles (or the money). A viciously intelligent man who felt hard put upon for not getting the recognition and wealth he thought he deserved for his vast intellect and services to the world.
Cancer had made him even crankier.
It stripped away what was left of any kind of kinship with the rest of humanity and made him as bitter as a tequila shot without the nice booze bit — all lime and salt and none of the fun stuff.
His research of the last few years had obviously been strictly military, and by the time Ven had come across it the work was basically complete. What Ven had found, looking into ways to get the botnet to spread subliminal imagery was just what she was after.
She had no knowledge of the deeper research Sarlic had gotten into. What she found hinted at across the Web were tidbits of information pertaining to the man and the subliminal messaging research he had performed, for both the public and private sector. Tracking him down had been hard, he was not easy to find, but she had traced him eventually. Accessing his current work was impossible, encryptions and the lack of actual data stored on computers she could access meant that she was in the dark about his current project, and what it was going to mean for humanity.
But she did find plenty of stored data about his earlier work. Work Sarlic had not felt the need to hide quite so well, plus she found additional work that had been performed by others since he abandoned it to pursue darker arts. Ven realized that she could relatively easily manipulate just a few images from the packets that she found.
This was her one and only slip-up in the whole operation.
Sarlic was a highly intelligent man, and a very cautious one too. He knew how cut-throat the business was. He knew that his current project would be worth many millions, or more likely billions, to governments, warlords and God knows who else. It was information he wanted to guard very well. He understood his rewards would be handsome once he provided his findings to his employers, but he was also in no doubt it was information worth killing over. For his own protection he had put the vast computing power he was supplied with to good use. He learned in the few years he was employed by his current bosses just how to ensure that the information was safe from prying eyes, and he always had a bargaining chip if they decided to try to eliminate him. His data was extremely safe, even Ven could not access his current work.
This meant he was pretty much a world class hacker in his own right. Abilities that allowed him to access data of his competitors, tweak records and research of his so called peers to discredit findings, and generally make their life a misery while he sat smiling at his computer, pleased with their downfall.
When he found Ven sneaking around his firewalls, trying to access his current project he made doubly sure it was locked down tight. But not before getting a peek at her intentions. Following the trail back was impossible, Ven was good, but he found some interesting things before he eventually hit a dead end. He found snippets of code here and there. He found many versions of her botnet. He pieced it all together and realized that this hacker person was going to use his early work to pull off the biggest Online attack the world had ever seen.
Not only was he furious to have his work stolen, he felt sick to his stomach that he hadn't thought of it himself. It was an ingenious plan — daring, just how he liked it. With the technology he had daily access to, plus the research he now had at his disposal, he could unleash all kinds of attacks on parts of the populace and be rich beyond his wildest dreams. It was too late, he was a broken man, cancer riddled his body and his days were coming to an end, he was all too aware of this.
So he did the only thing he could, he wrote a simple program of his own. One designed for one purpose only. To substitute what for him was a waste of a good subliminal package and to pervert it into one much more deadly.
He had the data, he had the knowledge of just what happened if his deadliest, most successful package was seen by human eyes, and he had
nothing to lose. Weeks ago he watched Ven take his work from a very secure data storage hub and watched it move from zombie computer to zombie computer until he lost track of it. His work was done. He had substituted what Ven thought she had for something much darker. Best of all, when it was sent out to the world it would look like the packet she thought it was.
When she hit enter? Well, that was a different matter altogether. It would morph into the packet he had currently perfected, the images rearranging themselves into a series that would destroy a person's mind, strip away their humanity. Turn them into something new, pure. Something primal.
Now it had happened.
It was Ven's one major oversight. She never even thought about checking what she stole for encrypted data of its own. Finding it had been relatively hard, but not impossible. She assumed that what was taken was genuine. She forgot that others had knowledge almost, if not quite, as good as hers. Thinking that she had done the hacking and taken the subliminal package without being noticed she had no real reason to put any effort into seeing if deep encryptions were hidden within the images themselves.
All the research she had come across was about the sequence of images themselves, the speed of them flashing, the colors, the message they contained. So she never gave a thought to the fact that there was someone just as intelligent as her on the other end who could manipulate her so easily. More than that her mind could not even contemplate the depths that others would sink to, and the ways that such perfected techniques could be used for much darker plans than she was currently concerned with. A light push in one direction was what she was after, what she assumed was all such techniques could achieve. She did not for one minute think that it could be used to force the body to act in ways totally alien to the personality of the one viewing the messages. It was naive, a massive oversight, but it speaks well of her faith in humanity and the human spirit, even if it was a totally misplaced trust in her view of the world. Sure, she had no compunction about stealing money but souls were a different matter entirely.
