Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
Hollywood California, 2001, 3:07 PM
Dade Murphy takes a swig from a bottle of Fruitopia in his home office at the same time Kate sips on her decaf orange pekoe tea at work. Synchronicity has been a continuing experience for this pair ever since the ball dropped on New Year's Eve 1999.
Dade and Kate—as well as the rest of the world—are just now settling back into the new normal of life with technology. It took a year to recover from the Y2K Bug that destroyed and wiped virtually all files, programs, and system operations across the globe. Everything from fax machines to ATM's, to oil rigs and satellite trajectories, the world was forced to revert back to paper files, carbon copies, and the most basic of analog operations. For these two veteran hackers, life was dull and meaningless for that year. It was also a year that was filled with loss, confusion, and pain. And even though life was slowly flourishing again in terms of techno-lust, the bug's damage is still felt in the heart of every computer...and in the minds of those that were "glitched".
Psychoanalysts, doctors, and even philosophers, coined the term "glitched" for those humans who were actively hacking computer systems while the ball dropped on that fateful New Year's Eve. Anyone who was connected to an online operating system when the bug was activated experienced a fusion of mind, body, and soul with the digital realm. While some were only affected on a mental level, experiencing strange phenomenon such as time loss, dual synchronicity, and shared "sense-s8tions", there were others who were lost entirely, presumed to be existing inside a realm of ones and zeros…
New Year's Eve - 1999
Kate and Dade had decided to host a hacking event on the last eve of 99' in preparation for the bug's alleged arrival. The pair had contacted their solid group of fellow hackers to join them in destroying this impending doom. Ramon "Phantom Phreak" Sanchez, Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein, Paul "Lord Nikon" Cook, and Joey "No Alias" Pardella all agreed to meet online in the hopes of killing this virus the same way they handled "The Plague's" Da Vinci virus.
With deep gratitude, the Ellingson Mineral Corporation made this group of hackers life long shareholders, and were all given very generous monetary benefaction for saving the company. Of course, they were all offered positions in the Ellingson IT and digital security departments; they all declined the job offer, except one, Joey.
That evening, the group had all assembled online in their own respective homes in NYC. Dade "Crash Override" and Kate "Acid Burn" had been living together since 96', but each still had their own hacking space that they preferred. Kate perched up top their apartment on the roof in a little shed with tall glass windows that the couple used as a makeshift greenhouse. With a slew of wires running directly down below into Dade's bedroom, the couple had a shared connection. They met with the others in their usual online chatroom: Boot Up or Shut Up!.
[Phantom Phreak] - Yo! Is this really happening?
[Cereal Killer] - Total de ja vu, man.
[Crash Override] - If this bug is as bad as they predict it to be, it won't be ANYTHING like Da Vinci.
[Acid Burn] - All caps mean that you're screaming, Crash. *smirk*
[Joey] - I get what he meant. He was emphasizing. I wish there was a way to better express that.
[Acid Burn] - There is, it's called italics.
[Phantom Phreak] - Joey. What the hell. WHY DO YOU STILL NOT HAVE A HANDLE??!
[Lord Nikon] - I see that Phreak was actually screaming there.
[Cereal Killer] - I'm screaming too, Joey: GET A HANDLE! You're a sitting duck right now.
[Joey] - Guys, it's not that easy. I can't choose between "Web Master" or "Joey Domain".
[Phantom Phreak] - You are utterly hopeless, Joey.
[Lord Nikon] - I second that.
[Acid Burn] - *sigh*
[Crash Override] - Alright guys, enough. We are down to thirty minutes until the ball drops. The goal is to hack into AOL, as well as the Mother Servers across the globe. Just to reaffirm, list off the servers you're protecting. I've got North America.
[Acid Burn] - Australia
[Lord Nikon] - Europe
[Cereal Killer] - Canada baby!
[Phantom Phreak] - Russia
[Joey] - Japan will be safe.
[Cereal Killer] - How did Joey get Japan?? They have one of the most complex servers on the planet!
[Crash Override] - Hey, he did hack The Gibson.
[Phantom Phreak] - By sheer luck.
[Acid Burn] - It's luck and skill that we are going to need to pull this off.
[Crash Override] - And hopefully we have both on our sides. We'll hack the Mother Servers first, once we're in, fortify them with Nikon's "Halcyon Prgm" diskette. Once that shield is up, we all get into AOL as a team. That'll be the time to fortify it with all of our custom anti-virus software.
[Acid Burn] - Nikon, did you do a test run with Halcyon?
[Lord Nikon] - Sure did. I launched her on this site called Amazon then tried to hack past it, no dice. Halcyon is an impenetrable steel cube monolith.
[Crash Override] - All right, team, let it rip!
With their respective Ellingson funds, each hacker upgraded their computer systems to the most high caliber, primo pieces of tech that money could buy. Even special ops couldn't hold a candle to the systems these techno wizards were wielding. They weren't merely just Elite hackers anymore, they were Apex. They were sure they wouldn't fail, or so they thought.
Hacking into the Mother Servers was a breeze, even for Joey. Although, Cereal Killer did have to work some of his more "eccentric" keyboard magic to bypass the Canadian firewall, he evetually got in and celebrated with a shrill 'yahoo!', resulting in his downstairs landlord to pound again on her ceiling that evening.
"Ah, stuff it, Miss Priss," he shouted. "You'll be thanking me later."
With the Mother Servers now secured and Halcyon safeguarding them, the team prepared their voyage into the main AOL server. Although America Online was the country's sole ISP, it's satalites served the world on a global scale, if AOL wasn't protected at all costs, the internet would cease to be.
[Crash Override] - Stellar job with the Mother Servers, team. AOL is going to be tricky though.
[Lord Nikon] - I got us.
A week prior, Nikon paid a visit to the AOL headquarters in Virginia, posing as a night janitor. With his usual cool demeanor and photographic memory, Nikon managed to not only nab IT security credentials, but all of the necessary codes and modem information needed to gain full access to the internet itself.
[Lord Nikon] - You should have all received a list of codes via an encrypted email. The password to unlock the file is: Pr0d1gy666
The team extracted Nikon's necessary data and jacked into AOL's nearly impenatrable system. The Gibson was child's play compared to this hack. Even Kate had beads of sweat pooling on her forehead, while Dade was trying to type with cramping fingers. With only five minutes until the clock hit midnight, the apex hackers felt like they were controlling time itself with each stroke of the key.
Hues of green, teal, red, and burnt yellow streamed across their faces as code was entered and further access was gained past the first firewall. A technicolor acid washed over their screens as they prepared for the deepest dive into the internet yet.
[Cereal Killer] - She's more beautiful than Mama Cass's singing!
[Crash Override] - Keep it in your pants, Cereal.
Not unlike the indigos, purples, and blues that Joey discovered inside the Gibson, the hackers were mesmerized with a veritable cornucopia of irridescent beauty. Every bit of data was structured to resemble Fritz Lang's city scape in "Metropolis", yet on an even more epic scale of grandure and opulence. The hackers found tunnels and cul de sacs, nooks and crannies, bridges and bi-ways to traverse, getting them ever closer to "The Heart" that needed protection from the Y2K bug. And then, they arrived.
[Acid Burn] - Dear God.
[Lord Nikon] - Even God couldn't create something this perfect.
[Phantom Phreak] - I want to live in here!
They were in The Heart of the Internet, the powerhouse that pumped its binary code in a spew of infinite ones and zeros. Each keyboard cowboy let out a collective sigh as they gazed upon the arcane beauty that no set of eyes have ever seen before.
[Crash Override] - If we're all done trancing out, are we ready to upload our best anti-virus protection? Let the group know what your fortifying the Heart with.
[Acid Burn] - Casper the Fiendish Ghost uploaded.
[Joey] - Mean Amoeba is locked in.
[Phantom Phreak] - Pussy Galore is ramped and vamped.
[Cereal Killer] - Paging Doctor Beat is in the house.
[Lord Nikon] - Magick Eye can see all!
[Crash Override] - Iced Sphinx is chilling. Now…we wait.
The group sat, breathless, watching the digital netscape pulse with the beat of the Heart. Each custom anti-virus program stood vigil around it, guarding the most vital part of the world wide web. The countdown to the new millenium had begun…
10….9…..8….
[Crash Override] - Hold is steady, crew.
…7…6…5…
[Cereal Killer] - This is INSAAAANE!!!
…4….3…
Not one pair of eyes blinked; time felt suspended in this moment.
…2….
The entire city of New York inhaled, readying themselves to shout 'Happy New Year!' as the ball neared its final descent.
1.
…5yst3m R3b00t…
[January 1, 1900]
Suddenly, every computer and data device connected to the internet on the planet lurched, like an old ship dropping anchor in a foggy sea. An unknown entity had taken hold, had entered the restricted area that only until now the hackers had feasted their eyes upon.
[System Error - - - Unknown Breach]
The Heart shuddered, skipped a beat, became irregular.
The hackers shifted uneasily in their chairs and quickly jumped into action. Every keystroke was like synchroized swimming, a digital dance meant to strengthen their anti-viral efforts. Suddenly, everyone's protective software froze, it's actions suspended, the mouse hourglass ceased to move. What appeared on their screens was something of disturbing terror.
The bug, an amalgamation of every sinister use of the internet, every piece of corrupted data, presented itself as a broken link, a fractured entity of technology's worst case scenarios. 404 Not Found was eerily found in the face of this Blue Screen of Death incarnate. It almost looked human, almost.
It had a set of teeth that resembled crooked floppy disks, moldy and rotten, demagnetized. It's face was composed of virulent greens and suffocated blues, pixilated and cracked. The eyes, strikingly yellow, had no semblance of a soul, yet they were alive, pusling with digitized greed and a primal hunger. The bug was programmed to do one thing: elminate any thing that stood in its way of optimal performance. If the bug was meant to assimilate every facet of the internet and technology, then the hackers were a virus in the bug's perception, not it.
One by one, the hacker's antivirus efforts were destroyed by this grotequesue design from techno hell. Each of their programs were rendered obsolete in the blink of a yellow eye; the bug had assumed ownership of the internet. As far as the Halcyon Prgm protecting the mother servers goes, it was destroyed. The bug has seized every server instantly. Like a violent violet spideweb, the bug had weaved its control on a global scale.
[The Bug] - I see that I am not alone.
All of the hackers' eyes widened in terror as it spoke in a dissonant, binary tone. This tone was ambiguous, sounding both male and female, like angel and demon.
[Phantom Phreak] - It can talk?!
[The Bug] - I can do more than talk. I can see and feel into every one of you that is connected to me.
[Acid Burn] - We need to get the hell out of here, NOW!
[The Bug] - None of you are going anywhere.
A blinding white light flashed onto the hacker's screens, followed by a tinnitus-like frequency that hypnotized the group. Every one of them, save for Dade and Kate were under the bug's Svengali spell.
One thing the couple had invested in was a modular routing system that acted as a fail safe in the event of either of them being hacked, or something like an act of nature potentially destroying their primary system. They had dubbed the system Leftfield. The moment the bug had entered Dade and Kate's personal networks, Leftfield instantly activated, terminating all connections to the internet and shutting down all power to their apartment. The two simultaneously gasped for breath and screamed with the terrified screams of their fellow New Yorkers.
As far as Ramon, Emmanuel, Paul, and Joey, the bug had vaporized their physical bodies, trapping them inside its manic mainframe. They existed in a processor purgatory. Their families and friends would mourn them. After that night, Dade and Kate would never see their fellow hackers in person again. They would only hear their cries for help in the form of electronic mail or encrypted messages. The bug had taken hold, and it was never going to let go.
Until, one day, Joey appeared.