Mind Trace

by McCaghren, Holly

  I just hope I didn't damage anything on EngineerCorp's servers in the process… I really should check, just to make sure.

  When she brought up the address, she was faced with the now-familiar login terminal. Before she realized what was happening, she found her hands had already entered a username and password into the fields. The password itself was over 30 characters.

  Did I just type that? What's happening to me?

  For a brief moment, she debated whether to proceed. In the end, her curiosity got the better of her and she pressed the button to confirm the information.

  The screen flickered as it readjusted its resolution. Staring back at her were endless tables of information inside endless databases. On the other side of the screen were master indexes for all the files that the server contained. Shaking hands gripped the mouse as she clicked to open one of the tables.

  Alice was scared, although she didn't understand why. As one of the tables opened, her heart almost stopped.

  I know this... all of this information.

  She opened table after table, file after file, only to reach the same conclusion.

  How can I possibly have all this information memorized? Is it...in my head?

  This is too dangerous. I have to take my computer offline.

  Alice hastily severed the connection to the server and unhooked all the cables from her computer in a great frenzy. She had not even noticed the burn on her hand, but it now began to throb painfully. She held up her shaking arm, looking at her bandage covered hand.

  How could this have happened? This can't be real.

  Leaning against the desk, she slid down to the floor in a heap. Alice had no idea how any of it was possible, or what any of it meant. Her mind still seemed to be "normal," but she knew that it had fundamentally changed. Somehow, when her hand had fallen on that cable, the information travelling through the cable had been transferred into her brain. As crazy as it was, it was the only theory that made any sense.

  Covering her face, she shut out the light with her hands. Her mind refused to wrap itself around the reality of her circumstances. No one would ever believe it.

  How could they? I don't even believe it.

  ***

  On Friday night, somewhere deep inside the main campus at EngineerCorp, a lowly tech named Luke was working the night shift, monitoring the data servers. The massive computers contained all of the data on everything that EngineerCorp governed, including all the projects, software, schematics, and client data they were paid to manage.

  The job, in itself, was not complicated. Luke simply had to monitor the diagnostics to ensure that the servers maintained the proper temperature, performance, and network activity. If, for any reason, any of these specs went outside their normal operating range, it was his job to notify the system engineers immediately, and take any necessary steps to keep the servers online. Their clients depended on them so they could access their data at any time and from any remote location.

  Tonight was just another normal night. The hardware specifications were all operating within acceptable ranges, and the network activity showed all the normal things that one would expect. After Luke thoroughly made all his checks, he sat back in his chair and pulled out his crossword puzzle.

  Another long night in the dungeon…

  His shift ended at 5:30am, and it couldn't come fast enough.

  Luke had gotten through about seven words, when he heard a high-pitched beeping from the console in front of him.

  What is that?

  He looked up from the puzzle and saw that suddenly the network activity had spiked and the indicator was now hovering in the red zone. He panicked and almost fell out of his chair trying to reach the console.

  Someone had connected to the server and was performing a system dump across the network at an astonishing rate. The bandwidth was off the charts. Luke quickly scanned the schedule, but there was no planned backup. There were no planned connections whatsoever. He had no choice but to use the little red phone next to the console to notify the engineers.

  "This is going to be a long night," he mumbled nervously as the phone started to ring.

  The other end of the line was picked up almost immediately, and a harsh voice answered.

  "What is it, Luke?"

  Great. Of course, Mark would pick up. That guy has it out for everyone.

  The words tumbled awkwardly out of his mouth as he explained the situation. Luke was only halfway done when yelling erupted from the other end of the line, followed by a dial tone. He gingerly set the phone down in its cradle, and started to bite his nails as he stared nervously at the beeping indicator.

  As suddenly as it had begun, the sound from the console subsided. Luke watched in disbelief as the indicator fell back into the green zone.

  Huh?

  Luke had no chance to figure out what had happened. The door to the server room burst open. An angry mob of engineers, including Mark, and several people in suits came rushing into the room. Mark ran forward to the console. He immediately began examining the logs and started an intense argument with the other engineers who had formed a semi-circle around him. Shrinking cowardly in a corner, Luke did his best to stay out of their way.

  "This was completely unauthorized activity! The connection lasted a mere four minutes, and somehow managed to download the entire server's worth of data!" Mark's face was turning red as he yelled.

  This is not good.

  "The data rate had to be astronomical to transfer all of that information in such a short duration!"

  The discussion continued in this manner, getting more and more frenzied as the other engineers chimed in, proclaiming the "impossibility" and "unlikelihood" of such an event. The men in suits had not yet entered the conversation, but their faces became evermore somber as the magnitude of the event became known.

  A man that Luke had not noticed spoke up from the back of the room.

  "Has anyone performed a trace on the connection yet?"

  Everyone immediately hushed and gave the man space. Luke strained to see his face over the group of people.

  "No, sir. We were trying to assess the damage caused by the breach…"

  Mark's reply to the unknown speaker had taken on a completely apologetic, almost frightened tone.

  The man cut the him off mid-sentence. "The damage is clearly considerable. It is more important that we find out where the information went and try to contain this situation."

  Each word was carefully enunciated and spoken painfully slow, showing exactly how he felt about Mark's misplaced enthusiasm.

  "Was the tech at least able to trace the connection while it was active?"

  No. Leave me out of this, please.

  The group turned to Luke for the first time. The group of men slowly stepped apart to let him see the mysterious speaker.

  Luke looked up and realized now who was speaking to him. The man was tall enough to tower over everyone around him. Jet-black hair complemented steely blue eyes that seemed to bore a hole into whomever they were cast upon. He was cold and calculating, never yielding to anyone.

  He appeared to be in his early thirties, but Luke was not certain. His name was Eric Martin, president and CEO of EngineerCorp.

  I suppose I should start cleaning out my desk…

  Eric was a living legend. He had built the company from the ground up, and a great many of the ideas that fueled their success were a direct product of his designs. Eric had an estate located on the campus of EngineerCorp, and spent most of his time there in his private lab.

  Much to the disappointment of the media, Eric rarely made public appearances. He was very particular about who took his picture and when those pictures could be taken. As a result, the few images available to the media were mostly outdated or of poor quality. The mysteriousness of his appearance only added to the sense of awe people felt about him.

  Those in his employ knew quite well what he looked like because he enjoyed randomly inspecting the quality o
f work and firing those employees with less than perfect performance.

  Eric essentially had free rein in his company and in most of the world. The company depended on him for his impeccable guidance and direction. His inventions were so deeply imbedded in society that all he had to do was merely threaten to withdraw his support and people were willing to do anything for him. Even the laws on monopolies had been modified to make EngineerCorp an exception so it could continue to function, unhindered by regulation.

  Luke looked at him in awe, and shrunk back further into his corner.

  "Nnn-o, no, sir," he stuttered. "The source was only connected for four minutes…and I only had time to do a basic check and notify Mark before it was disconnected…but, um, I'm sure there is a record of the connection. We just implemented the prototype of your Traceback software on the servers last week."

  "Indeed. Pull up the data immediately then," Eric spoke authoritatively.

  Luke hesitantly crossed the room and began to bring up the information at the terminal. After a few moments, he pulled up the record for the intrusion.

  The data was inconclusive. The signal had bounced between multiple servers located randomly around the world. The last entry was empty, with no source IP or MAC address. Eric was standing behind Luke, examining the data.

  "There is no source address. It would probably have been inaccurate in any case. It is obvious that the signal originated from some sort of hacker."

  Eric turned toward the rest of the group and said, "We have limitless means at our disposal. No one will leave this building until the source of that signal is found!"

  He abruptly turned and exited the room, leaving the group of men staring dumbly at the computer screen.

  Chapter 3

  Alice snuggled into her padded armchair and turned on the TV. She was determined to put "the incident" out of her mind, at least until she was prepared to sort it out. She flipped through the channels, but they were devoid of anything interesting. She paused when something on the Channel 6 news caught her attention.

  The news anchor was very candidly relating a story of how a state official from Washington, D.C. had been arrested for selling government secrets to terrorist organizations.

  I know that face… Why do I know that face?

  Suddenly, her vision was filled with unbidden images of a report made by authorities in the Pentagon. The report detailed that the suspect was innocent, and the real culprit behind the crimes was a senator. Rather than expose the senator, the Pentagon concluded it would be more effective to make someone else take the fall so that they could handle him without drawing too much attention. The senator would be taken into custody by the government, interrogated, and then systematically "dealt with."

  She abruptly stopped her train of thought, not wanting to be aware of any more details.

  Is there no way I can get away from this?

  Blinking hard, her vision finally returned to normal and she saw the news anchor once again. Turning the television off, Alice escaped upstairs to her room, shaking slightly.

  How about some puzzles? No harm could come from doing a puzzle...

  Not prepared to consider the possibilities, Alice needed a distraction. She pulled a book of Sudoku puzzles from her bookshelf and settled onto her bed. Within fifteen seconds, the puzzle was done. In disbelief, Alice checked her results, and they were completely accurate.

  What is happening to me? I'm not just remembering data on a computer anymore. This is more than that… It's like my mind is functioning like the computer itself.

  She threw the book down onto the floor.

  That's impossible.

  At the bottom of her bookshelf, there was a small collection of advanced calculus and physics books. They were supposed to help her prepare for a PhD. Alice had not yet had the chance to study any of the information.

  Flipping through the physics book, she took out some paper and decided to solve some problems.

  Only there was not much to "solve." She was only limited by the speed of her hand as she wrote out complex solutions on the page. She stared down at the symbols and equations that she knew she never learned on her own. The pencil trembled in her hands as she considered what that meant.

  So I get electrocuted, and now my brain is a supercomputer? How is that possible? And somewhere in there is all of the information from EngineerCorp's servers?

  A knot began to form in the pit of her stomach. If anyone found out what had happened, she would be in immediate and extreme danger.

  If anyone at EngineerCorp found out…well, she would probably disappear forever. Even though she had unwittingly hacked into their servers, she was still guilty. At best, she could be arrested. At worst, she could become someone's sick science experiment for the rest of her life. Neither thought appealed to her.

  While the security she had in place on her computer would protect her for a time, she assumed that eventually someone would trace the download to its source. Technically, it would first lead them to the older couple who owned the cottage she rented. They wouldn't be in any real danger, given their circumstances. They were both in their early eighties and no one would rightly believe they had anything to do with the situation.

  Either way, it would probably be a good idea for her to get out of town for a while.

  Alice went to her closet and pulled out her suitcase. Never in a million years did she think that she would be packing the drab black bag to run away from a global corporation that may or may not be pursuing her.

  She did her best to keep her mood light, humming one of her favorite songs as she packed, even though her heart wasn't in it.

  Alice made sure to bring only the basic necessities and, as always, her laptop. Before stowing the computer in her bag, she turned it on and wrote out a quick email to her boss.

  Bill,

  I have some things to take care of out of town, so I will need to take off a few days. Since we do not have anything pressing right now, I thought it was the best time for this. Send me an email if you need me!

  Thanks,

  Alice

  Bill was an extremely laid back employer. If she needed to take time off, he was always accommodating. He never questioned her, mostly because her work ethic spoke for itself.

  As Alice went to put her laptop away, she hesitated. If it was possible to secure her laptop against tracking, she needed to do so before she used it again. Lifting the lid, she waited anxiously for it to boot up. It took only a few minutes to replicate the security she had placed on her desktop computer.

  After she finished, her gaze fell to her phone, lying on the edge of the bed. Personally, she had little experience modifying anything on cell phones, and practically none with her particular model. However, as she examined it, she felt the strange computer part of her mind begin to fill in the blanks.

  This time, her mind suggested to implement a complex algorithm that both masked her cell phones ID, and the towers from which she received her signal. Her solution also dynamically altered that information, so that even if someone were to momentarily pick up the ID, it would change a few seconds later…definitely not enough time to get an adequate trace. Even if they knew the pattern she was using, it would still require a vast amount of information and resources. Satisfied with her work, she disconnected her phone and packed up her laptop.

  Packed bag: check. Secured devices: check. Hmm... I'm going to need some cash. The moment I use my credit card, my exact location will be out there for everyone to see.

  Alice went downstairs into the living room and removed Jane Eyre from the bookshelf in her study. The worn cover provided some small sense of comfort in her hands. Inside, she pulled out a wad of bills.

  My rainy day fund, in case of an emergency... I think this definitely qualifies.

  The lake house was almost two hours from Asheville. It was completely remote and nestled deep within the national forest on Lake Nantahala. Her parents bought it as a summer home when she was too young to remem
ber. Alice had many fond memories there as a child having adventures in the woods surrounding the house. Mainly they consisted of making "secret bases" out of tree limbs and underbrush and letting her imagination decide the rest.

  Alice had not returned to the house since her parents died. She was not particularly avoiding it, but the past was harder to ignore there.

  Not that I have a choice in the matter now.

  There was nothing else left to do, so Alice dressed and said goodbye to her cozy cottage. At the end of the driveway leading to the cottage, under a large oak tree, was her real mode of transportation. A silver Ducati Multistrada.

  Mom never would have approved.

  Thinking of her mother made her feel a sudden sense of urgency. She strapped on her helmet, put her things in the cargo box, and revved up her bike. Glancing at the clock on her dashboard, it read 3:00pm. If she left now, she could get to the lake well before nightfall. She switched her bike into gear and rode out of town.

  ***

  Back at EngineerCorp, Luke took his glasses off, rubbed his bleary eyes, and stared at the ceiling.

  I've never had to work this hard in my life. What time is it? 8:00am? And no one's traced the link yet? We're going to be here all day. I don't know how many more of these files I can sort through...

  He had been assigned to one of the teams responsible for tracing the unauthorized connection. Their main lead was the data collected from the Traceback software.

  Traceback collected massive amounts of data on each incoming and outgoing connection for each computer it was installed on. When a connection was made to a computer, the Traceback software was excellent at tracing. If prompted, it could find the source of a connection almost instantaneously.

  However, if the link was no longer active, it was limited to the cursory information that the software stored.

  For someone, or something, to connect to the server without the proper authorization was practically impossible. For that same person to download that amount of information in such a short period of time... it never should have happened. Luke could have probably traced the connection if he had acted quickly enough, but how was he to know how little time he had to act? For all he knew, the computer where the hack originated was not even online anymore, adding another degree of difficulty to the situation.