Dystopia

by Jason Chapman

  ‘If as you say this virus can do anything then why are they being so specific in their targets?’ Fuller asked.

  ‘We believe that the Russians and their allies have modified the virus.’ Baldwin replied. ‘When we developed the virus we designed it to have one goal.’

  ‘Which is.’ Mayflower asked.

  ‘In the event that the United States would be caught off guard with a full nuclear strike, this virus would be deployed as a last resort. Its sole function is to attack every server linked to every computer in the world and above.’

  ‘Above?’ Fuller stated.

  ‘All satellites orbiting the planet would be disabled. Every server would be wiped clean of all data. No computer would be safe. Even computers which are not linked with the internet would be wiped out.’

  ‘How can you infect a computer not linked to the internet?’

  ‘Every computer that is manufactured has a network card, capable of wireless transmission. The minute any computer with a network card is switched on the virus homes in on it. The Internet we know today started in the early nineties. You’d have to go back before 1990 before you could have a computer which would not be infected. You’d have to go back to the computer stone age.’

  ‘Great, I think I have an old ZX81 in my attic.’ Fuller said with a sarcastic tone.

  Mayflower paced the room. ‘Ok, so we have a virus that could potentially wipe every computer in the world. Most of us in this room remember a time before the internet. A time before computers ran our lives. We could rebuild.’

  ‘Madam Prime Minister, you have to understand that since the end of the cold war computer technology has increased tenfold. Most of our infrastructure is now reliant on a computer system of some kind. Everything is wired in to such an extent that if this virus went global it could cause irreversible damage to systems.’

  ‘We can’t make any kind of statement until we have more to tell the public.’ Mayflower insisted. ‘I cannot go to the public knowing that we are only seventy percent sure that it’s the Russians and their allies doing this.’ She looked at Fuller. ‘I want you to find as much information as to why those people went berserk yesterday. I don’t care how small the detail.’

  Fuller nodded. ‘I’ll get started right away Prime Minister. The bodies of the attackers have been shipped to Boscome Down. We should have results within the next few hours.’ He turned and walked towards the door.

  Mayflower turned to face the chancellor. ‘I want you to arrange a meeting between myself and the chief executives of every major bank at ten O’clock. I need to reassure them we are doing everything in our power to combat Dystopia. Also I want a full report on how much Dystopia’s exploits cost our economy yesterday.’

  Prosser nodded. ‘I’ll get started immediately.’

  Mayflower watched as Prosser left the room. She looked at the two men remaining. ‘If you say this virus can do anything it wants. I take it you mean that it can hack its way into our military systems.’

  Baldwin nodded. ‘Yes ma’am, in the event of a nuclear strike against the United States the virus would be used to target an enemy’s military systems and disable them. That way it would give us a chance to rally our remaining military forces and organise a counter offensive.’

  ‘So effectively it could access our nuclear submarines and our nuclear silos.’

  Baldwin nodded. ‘Yes ma’am.’

  ‘I remember a time when things were simple and we didn’t have to rely on computers. We only had three TV channels and no internet. Now look at us, drowning in our own ignorance. I want solutions gentlemen and I want them as soon as possible.’

  Both Parsons and Baldwin nodded in unison and left the room.

  Chapter 24

  New Scotland Yard – Westminster – 6:36am

  Sam looked at the scruffy looking man sat opposite her in the interview room. She glanced down at her notes. ‘Mr Nicholls, you’ve been brought here to assist us with an enquiry. Do you understand that you are not under arrest at this time?’

  ‘What I understand bitch.’ Mark Nichols snarled. ‘Is that your fucking Gestapo police raided my house in the middle of the night without a search warrant. When I get out of here I’m going to wipe the floor with the fucking lot of you.’

  Sam leant back to distance herself from the foul breath emanating from Nicholls’ mouth. ‘First off Mr Nicholls, we did not raid your house. You were the one who put up a struggle when my officers asked you to come here and help us with our enquiries.’

  ‘Fucking bollocks.’ Nicholls hissed. ‘You want me to help you track down Dystopia. Well if you think I’m going to help you with that then you and the entire Met can go and fuck itself.’

  Sam composed herself. ‘Mr Nicholls, do you have any information regarding the cyber-attacks that have happened over the last twenty four hours.’

  Nicholls extended his middle finger.

  ‘Ok then do you know the whereabouts of your former group leader, Mathew Teller?’

  ‘Why the fuck should I tell you.’

  ‘Oh I don’t know but it may have something to do with the fallout he had with your group.’

  ‘Teller is a fucking traitor!’ Nicholls shouted. ‘He just upped and left us without so much as a goodbye.’

  ‘Mr Nicholls, you have two choices you can either help us in our enquiries. Or you can sit here for the next forty eight hours contemplating your future.’

  ‘You can’t charge me with anything bitch. I’ve done nothing wrong.’

  ‘Really, so why were you so eager to hide that USB stick we found at your flat this morning. Not to mention the four thousand pounds in cash we also found.’

  ‘Fuck you bitch I earned that money honestly.’

  ‘Selling fully loaded Kodi Boxes is a criminal offence Mr Nicholls. Punishable by up to ten years in prison.’

  Nicholls laughed aloud. ‘Good luck with making anything stick you silly cow. My lawyers will have me out in a heartbeat. Perverts get less than that. Not to mention the millions of people who use Kodi. Have you seen what Sky are charging for all their TV packages. So people can sit there and get hypnotised by all the crap they put on.’

  ‘People have a choice Mr Nicholls, they don’t have to subscribe to these services.’

  ‘You really are blind aren’t you. People so addicted they can’t do without their precious football. Well they’re going to have to. Now that the clubs haven’t got any money, along with the football players. Rooney is going to have to tighten his belt now. Can’t afford to blow half a million every time he goes down the casino.’

  ‘What happened to you Mark?’ Sam asked looking down at his file. ‘You were one of the best IT analysts for one of London’s top financial firms.’

  ‘Like Edward Snowden I woke up and opened my eyes.’

  ‘You had a wonderful girlfriend who wanted to marry you, parents who doted on you.’ Sam said scanning the information in front of her.

  ‘My Parents are dicks.’ Nicholls stated angered at the mention of family. ‘That silly cow I went out with obsessed with celebrity culture. Wanting to be just like the Kardashians. You can shove that lifestyle up your arse. I’m not selling out, not me, no way.’

  ‘So your solution is to sit in a dingy flat.’

  ‘I’d rather sit in that dingy flat all day long than admit that I’m addicted to pointless cat pictures and people saying how long their last shit took.’ Nicholls stared at her. ‘You’re addicted to social media, I can tell.’

  ‘And how is that?’

  ‘Because of your perfectly brushed hair. Your flawless make up, manicured nails. You dress smartly to impress others. Not your workmates but those you chat to on skype or on Facebook video chat. You’re typical of the social media class.’ Nicholls paused. ‘But you’re missing one thing.’

  Sam inhaled. ‘What am I missing Mark?’

  ‘You’re a sad and lonely bitch crying out for attention.’

  Sam could feel anger welling up fr
om within. For a fleeting moment she imagined herself jumping over the table and kicking Nicholls in the face.

  ‘Truth hurts doesn’t it.’ Nicholls smiled.

  ‘Ok then Mr Nicholls why do you think Dystopia carried out these attacks?’

  ‘For fun.’ Nicholls said shrugging.

  ‘I wouldn’t call killing all those innocent people yesterday fun, would you?’

  ‘Casualties of war nothing less. Does the bloke flying a drone over Afghanistan give a shit if he kills an entire family just to take out one man, no. I’ll tell you why, because he’s sat in some office thousands of miles away from the battlefield. Drinking a can of coke, eating a bag of Doritos while casually killing two four year old children. And why, because their father was a so called threat to national security. Do you know what his crime was?’

  ‘Are you saying you’re sympathetic to middle eastern terror groups?’

  ‘Don’t try and play mind games with me you sad bitch. You won’t find anything on the laptops you took from me this morning. I don’t support anyone like that.’

  ‘You just said it yourself, these children are casualties of war because their father was a known terror suspect.’

  ‘I’ll tell you what their father’s crime was. Living next door to someone who the NSA considered a threat to national security.’

  ‘That’s different.’

  ‘Bollocks is it.’ Nicholls seethed. ‘The guy in the office gets to go home to his family knowing full well what he’s done. But he doesn’t give a shit, because it’s all just a video game to him. He’s conditioned to think that way.’

  ‘Mr Nicholls over one hundred innocent people lost their lives yesterday, doesn’t that mean anything to you.’

  ‘One hundred people lost their lives in Mexico yesterday to the drug cartels that run the fucking government. One hundred people lost their lives yesterday in the lawless streets of Bagdad, which are patrolled by death squads who get a kick out of killing innocent people. One hundred children starved to death yesterday while the west looks on and does nothing. I could go on and on, we could be here all day.’

  ‘Why are you so angry at the world Mark? What has it ever done to you?’

  ‘I’ll tell you what it’s done to me. It’s stuck its jackboot on me so I can’t be free. Everything I do is monitored. I’m tracked everywhere I go. I’m living in an open fucking prison with no walls. It’s the fucking nightmare that George Orwell predicted.’

  ‘You had a life once Mark, you had a family who cared. You can get that life back again it’s your choice.’

  ‘You can shove that life up your arse!’ Nicholls shouted.

  Sam drew breath doubting she would make any progress with Nicholls. She glanced at the clock on the wall.

  ‘Tick tock sweetheart the longer you keep me here the more time Dystopia will have to reek havoc on the world.’

  ‘Mr Nicholls do you know anything about Dystopia?’

  ‘I know they’ll bring this world to heel.’ Nicholls paused for a moment.

  Sam took advantage. ‘Feeling a little guilty are we Mr Nicholls.’

  ‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this.’

  ‘Like what Mr Nicholls?’

  ‘Dystopia was supposed to stand for Justice. They were supposed to frighten the shit out of the wealthy. Not do the things they did yesterday.’

  ‘So you do know who Dystopia is.’

  Nicholls glared at the woman sat opposite him. ‘No.’

  ‘No you don’t, or no you’re not telling me?’

  ‘I mean no I don’t know what Dystopia is. Don’t you get it, no one does.’

  ‘But you do know something.’

  Nicholls nodded. ‘The hacking world has been prophesising for over a decade there would be a virus created that could virtually do anything it wants. The Russians and Americans would create something that could infiltrate any system no matter how strong it was. A virus that could pass through any firewall like it wasn’t there.’

  ‘Do you know anyone who might know who Dystopia is?’

  Nicholls looked down at the table in front of him shaking his head. ‘That’s the thing, no one does. Most hacker groups out there are aware of other groups. Anonymous, the Shadow Brokers share a mutual understanding.’

  ‘Mutual understanding?’

  ‘It’s like a cyber cold war. There are groups that exist who have a certain amount of respect for each other. But they have been stockpiling arms in the event of all out cyber war. It’s exactly what Russia and America did during the cold war. They spent over forty years stockpiling nuclear weapons. Building a bigger bomb to destroy the world with.’

  ‘What do you mean stockpiling arms?’

  ‘Viruses, Trojan Horses, malware, ransomware. You name it most hacker groups have developed it.’

  ‘A virtual war on computers isn’t something to worry about.’

  Nicholls smiled at Sam. ‘You really are naive aren’t you. A war in cyberspace would be devastating. There are rogue hackers out there who have itchy keyboard fingers. All around the world, Russia, China, North Korea, America, Great Britain are hackers who hate each other’s guts. They want something like Dystopia to happen because it will give them a chance to unleash holy hell on the world. At a click of a mouse these people can turn off power stations, wipe out every computer on the London and New York stock exchange, everything will be decimated.’

  ‘So why haven’t these hackers gone to war?’

  ‘Because like Russia and America during the cold war, everyone has agreed that cyber armageddon would bring the world to the brink of destruction. Hundreds of millions would die fighting for commodities, the basic need to survive. We’d be thrown back to the stone age. But instead of a few hunter-gatherer tribes there will be billions of people all wanting one thing, to survive in a world without power. Without the means to mass-produce food. You think your precious IPhone is the most important thing in the world. Wait until you’re fighting over the last loaf of bread in the supermarket.’ Nicholls paused. ‘That’s why there has never been an all-out cyber war.’

  ‘Do you think Dystopia is trying to start a war?’

  Nicholls nodded. ‘A couple of weeks back I was surfing the dark web. I was chatting to some bloke from North Korea about Kim’s plan to build a missile with stealth capability. Apparently the North Koreans are eager to build an intercontinental ballistic stealth missile.’

  ‘Are you serious?’

  Nicholls nodded. ‘Yes, the Russians and Americans have been working on these kinds of projects for years. When Reagan announced his plans for Star Wars back in the eighties the Russians knew they were going to have to up their game. For years, they have been developing a missile capable of flying within our atmosphere and striking at a target without being detected on radar. A few years ago, defence magazines and bloggers started to get jittery when a Russian defence contractor announced that the former Soviet Union had developed a bomb capable of wiping out an area the size of France. Meaning if you dropped this bomb in Worcester it would have the capability to wipe out every major city.’

  ‘So what did you discover talking to the hacker in North Korea?’

  ‘It’s not what I discovered, it’s what happened. We were chatting away, it was all very friendly when my link was severed. I thought I had been booted out of the server until a popup screen appeared on my monitor with some guy in a hoody. A short video played. It was the same person who has appeared on social media over the last twenty four hours.’

  ‘What did this person say?’

  ‘Just that they were the reckoning.’

  ‘You mean like the second coming for something.’

  ‘The thing is, it wasn’t just me they targeted it was every hacker on the planet. For about thirty seconds the video replayed over and over. We are the reckoning and we are coming. Everyone thought it was a joke at first, some rogue hacker having a laugh.’

  ‘Until yesterday.’

  Nicholls nodded. ‘I
don’t know how they killed those people, no one does. This is something new. It’s got the whole world of hackers jittery. That USB stick you seized this morning. I was working on a counter offensive to try to shut down Dystopia.’

  ‘Were you having much luck?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘And what about your group leader. Mathew Teller?’

  ‘I told you he just pissed off.’ Nichols started to get agitated at the mention of Teller.

  ‘When did he take off?’

  Nicholls remained silent for a few moments.

  ‘Mr Nicholls, do you think Teller is behind Dystopia?’

  ‘No.’ Nicholls said defiantly. ‘He’s not Dystopia.’

  ‘But you said it yourself he just upped and left. What kind of problems were you having?’

  ‘Matt was a pacifist, he would never do something like that. Besides what those people did yesterday goes way beyond the internet. It’s one thing to hack the premier league and all their players. But making those people do what they did. it’s the stuff of science fiction. Overnight every hacker on the planet has been working collectively to stop whoever this Dystopia is.’

  ‘You’re sure that Teller isn’t part of this Dystopia?’

  ‘It’s not his style. He wanted chaos and everything, but not on this level.’

  ‘Why do you think he disappeared?’

  ‘Shortly after the video message appeared on the dark web Matt started to get paranoid. He said no one would be safe.’

  ‘From this Dystopia group?’

  Nichols nodded. ‘He started to erase his life, hacking government websites erasing his social security number.’

  ‘No one can erase their lives Mr Nicholls.’

  ‘Are you sure? Check the police database on him. You have been dragging him in for years. You won’t find a trace of him.’ Nicholls paused. ‘He knew this was coming. He knew a group like Dystopia would emerge at some point. Always said he had a plan, warned all of us that we should be prepared. No one believed him. Although he’s a genius he’s also a bit paranoid.’