Paracosma, Part 1

When Elway Harisson got fed up with movie studios botching the casting of their adaptations of his works, he decided to move everything in-house. He created Paracosma, a software for a VR headset that would track his brain waves and the images that flashed across his mind as he wrote. He had planned to send these to the film studios so that they could cast appropriately, but he ended up cutting out the middle-man and releasing these Para-programs for public consumption. Part virtual reality game, part faithful film adaptation, the idea spread like wildfire, and other creators adopted the Paracosma model for their own works. Elway Harisson was richer than Bill Gates.

But all highs come with corresponding lows. There was a flaw in Paracosma’s code that could allow someone to hijack the headset and lock it on, making it impossible to escape. A group of hackers called Nikt exploited that flaw to extort the unethically rich and give money to people who needed it. They called themselves the VRobin Hoods. The police called them terrorists. Various police forces tried to infiltrate Nikt, but none of them had been successful until they hired Aurelia Petrescu.

Part 1

“Petrescu! You still with us, kid?” The captain’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Sorry. Lost in thought. What were you saying?” I yawned, bored out of my mind.

“Honestly, how are you going to infiltrate a systematically suspicious group like Nikt if you don’t pay attention? How will you know what to expect?”

“What is there for you to tell me that I don’t already know? I go in, gain their trust, make them implode, I get the hell out of there! Simple!”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” interjected Detective Hayes, trying to defuse the situation. “If you don’t listen to the briefing, we can’t send you out. It’s a formality, but too many good officers have died trying to take these people down because they didn’t know what to expect.”

“Oh, since you ran out of good men, you send in a bad girl,” I quipped. “Got it.”

“Aurelia, we’re trying to give you an advantage they didn’t have. Would we be doing that if we didn’t value your survival?”

“…Fair enough. Proceed, I guess.”

The detective who had been giving the briefing looked to the captain, who nodded. She cleared her throat.

“Their compound is surrounded by a one-way jamming field, which means they can get signals out, but nothing can go in. Your line of communication will be your VR headset fitted with a direct link to our office, and whatever you do should transmit to us directly, without interference.”

“Should. Well, that’s comforting…” I muttered. Hayes sent me a warning look. I could feel my eyes glaze over again as I looked at the satellite photos of the compound. I didn’t realize that the detective had stopped talking until Hayes cleared his throat.

“Miss Petrescu, do you have any questions?”

“Yeah. uh, can I get this in print? I do a lot better with reading than with people talking at me.” The captain put her head in her hands. Hayes looked like he was somewhere between bursting out in laughter and dying from embarrassment. Captain Schmidt let out a heavy sigh and shooed him and Detective What’s-her-face out of the room.

“What is this to you?” She stared me down. I met her gaze.

“Come again?”

“What is this to you? Just some game to pass the time before we cart you back to prison? A way to have fun until you’re back behind bars? If you weren’t willing to help us, why did you volunteer?”

“Who says I’m not willing to help? I’m willing, but on my terms. No more stupid briefings, and no one pestering me about paying attention and being serious. Do you think I would’ve gotten where I am if I wasn’t serious about this? And I didn’t volunteer. I had no choice in the matter! If the police come to your cell door and you refuse them, you don’t fare so well. I’ve seen it happen too many times to take chances.” I was now breathing heavily about five inches from the chief’s face. I backed off, still panting. “My apologies, Chief Schmidt. I don’t take too kindly to people questioning my dedication to my craft.”

“So there’s the fire we’ve been missing.” The captain smirked. “I’ll have a file with all the necessary information brought to you ASAP.” She walked out, leaving me alone with my bewilderment.

The next morning I had an “interview” of sorts with the leader of Nikt. I sat at the open laptop, waiting for the secure chat to open. As soon as it did, I had my computer save everything.

Cyw1r3d: Is this M1nc1nOS?
M1nc1nOS: Don’t be coy. You have authentication protocols with higher standards than even the government’s. We wouldn’t be talking now if I wasn’t who I said I was.
Cyw1r3d: Good point. So what’s a talented technician such as yourself doing this side of prison?
M1nc1nOS: Would you believe me if I said good behavior?
Cyw1r3d: Maybe. How good?
M1nc1nOS: Never ended up in solitary, as much as I would’ve enjoyed it. No one attacked me, so I didn’t have to fight back. I was lucky.

There was no reply for a while. I started to get nervous, wondering if I’d done something wrong, when another message came through.

Cyw1r3d: Why do you really want to work for us?

I thought for a moment, then typed out an answer.

M1nc1nOS: Best way to get back at those who underestimate me. If I align myself with someone like you, who has the entire world scared, people will finally take me seriously.
Cyw1r3d: Didn’t someone already take notice of you, if you went to prison?
M1nc1nOS: No one important. It was a small crime, and it got a proportional response. I want a chance to make real, lasting change. You can give me that.
Cyw1r3d: …
Cyw1r3d: Consider yourself hired.
Cyw1r3d: Watch your e-mail for the coordinates. Nikt will see you soon.

The compound looked exactly like the satellite photos. Pulling up to the gate, I showed my ID to the man, trying not to care that his gun was right at my eye-level. As I drove further in, I could feel the dread start to tighten around my diaphragm. Despite my devil-may-care attitude, and the calm demeanor I project, I’ve never been a very good liar. Not in person, anyway. From the other side of a computer, I’m invincible. Behind a screen, no one can see my tells, no one knows the truth one way or another.

Someone was waiting for me: one of the most normal-looking guys I’ve ever seen. Brown hair swept over his forehead, and he had just a hint of stubble. If I’d passed this guy on the street, I’m not sure I’d know it, let alone realize that I had just walked by one of the most wanted criminals in the country. I took a deep breath and swung open my car door.

“Mi-si-nos? Did I say that right?”

“Min-chi-nos, actually,” I said with a grimace. “The “n” kinda gets buried in between the 1’s. It might be easier to just call me Rory.”

“Rory then. I’m Ed.”

“Ed. One of the most powerful hackers in the world is called ‘Ed?’”

“What did you expect me to be called? Sauron, Dark Lord of the Net?”

“I mean, maybe.” I shrugged.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint. I figured ease was more important than impressions. English speakers don’t tend to do well with Welsh.” He turned his back and led me into the facility. His legs were longer than mine, and I struggled to catch up with his quick strides. Looking around me, I saw several people wearing headsets, blackmailing people whose combined net worth was at least five times the U.S. national debt. Ed led me to a station where a man was pulling off his headset, blinking at the brighter lighting.

“Frasier caved, Ed. We should be getting the wire any minute.” His voice betrayed traces of an Irish accent, one that had probably faded after a long time out of the country.

“Nice one!” Ed gestured for me to step out from behind him. “Rory, this is-”

“What the hell, man? I told you not to tell anyone my name!”

“I was only going to call you my right-hand man,” Ed exclaimed, hands up in defense. “Is that acceptable, friend?” The men glowered at each other, then burst into the snorts and chuckles of barely contained laughter. The Irishman recovered first.

“Yeah,” he wheezed, “that’ll do just fine.” He looked at me for the first time in the conversation. “You must be the new recruit Ed’s so jazzed about. Apparently, you consider breaking into one of the biggest tech companies in the world and giving all of the money away so it wouldn’t be traced a ‘small crime.’ Why didn’t you keep any of the money, anyway?”

“Like you said, I didn’t want it to be traced. Also, I didn’t really need the money.” I surprised myself by telling the truth. “I was just pissed that they hired me to consult on their cyber security and then disregarded all of my recommendations. And it was a small crime, at least compared to what you guys do. I’m really only known to the police and a few corporations. You have the entire world trembling as they wonder what you’ll do next.”

“Fair enough! I’m glad you have such a high view of us. Most people think we’re the small fish because we’re only working through VR sets.”

“Thanks, friend, but I don’t think she needs the whole manifesto,” Ed chuckled with an elbow to the other man’s ribs.

“Why don’t you give your name to anyone?”

“Would you if you were a wanted criminal?”

“Well, no, but what harm can a first name do? Or an alias? Something other than ‘hey you!’”

Both men laughed, and I knew I’d made my way into their good graces.

“That’s a valid point. You can call me Sean.”

“Careful with words, that’s smart.”

“Well, they do have power. At least, that’s what my people have believed.”

“Fair enough. Nice to meet you Maybe-Sean.” I extended my hand, which he shook with vigor.

“Something tells me you’ll fit right in. Maybe Eddie was right about you after all.”

Ed shoved his shoulder and motioned for me to follow him as he moved on. We stopped in front of an empty station.

“We didn’t know if you needed a headset, so…” He held up a sleek black model. “This is a prototype model I developed specially to run a program to look for backdoors in the latest version of Paracosma. Any model will run it, but this streamlines the process a little.”

The instinctual drive to have the best equipment for the job almost made me take it, but I remembered that I had a job to do.

“Thanks, but I did bring my own.” I pulled my headset out of my bag. “What can I say? I work better with familiar equipment.”

“Well, you’ll still need the software. I can get you started on the download in a sec.” He tapped the mouse connected to the computer in front of him and the screen lit up.

“Before you get too far, I should tell you that I work better with reading instructions than hearing them. Something about my brain doesn’t like listening to too much when it could read the same information.”

“Well, I’m glad you know your limits. I’ll get that printed out for you. Go ahead and get jacked into the network, ok?.”

I sat down in the chair, finding the station better than my home setup. Not only did I have a top of the line system in front of me, but noise cancelling headphones to go with my headset. I could block out the whole world while holding it hostage from the comfort of this chair. For the moment, I settled for getting myself plugged in.

“I wouldn’t get too comfortable, if I were you.” A woman a little older than me had snuck up behind me. Her hair, black with electric purple streaks, hung down over half of her face. “The last few noobs who’ve come through here didn’t cut it. Something tells me you won’t either. Not every hacker is up to our standards.” She leaned in closer. “It’ll be even worse for you if we find out you’re a mole, like the last guy. He was good, but not good enough. He almost had us all fooled. Almost.”

“Ok, thanks for the warning. Now get your emo ass out of my personal bubble before I smack you out of it.” She backed up, hands raised.

“Ok, ok, don’t get all defensive! I’m just trying to share a bit of friendly advice.” She looked me over, analyzing everything from the bits of blonde growing in the roots of my otherwise red hair to the beat-up Converse on my feet. “The name’s Dahlia. You don’t seem like a cop.” She got closer again. “But neither did Dave.”

“Dahlia, lay off! You’re talking to the Robin Hood of SpierTech!” Ed had come back and stepped between Dahlia and me. Her visible eye narrowed as she looked back at me.

“You? You pulled off the SpierTech heist?” I nodded. She looked me over again. Her half expression turned from disbelief to intrigue. “Alright, new chick. Prove it. How did you get access to their systems?”

“They gave me access. They’d asked me to consult on cybersecurity because of my degree. They disregarded all of my recommendations, and I already knew their weaknesses, so it was easy.” I rolled my eyes at the memory. “It was even simpler than I’d anticipated, actually. A two-year-old with an ’09 Macbook could’ve gotten in, no sweat. The harder part was funneling the money into all of the different accounts.”

“Wait, let me guess, your dad’s an accountant for the Mafia or whatever and he showed you how to do it.”

“Close, but no cigar.” Dahlia stared at me, her eyebrow arched. “My brother’s an accountant, and I hit him up with some hypotheticals. But I did all the work myself.”

Without another word, Dahlia turned on her heel and went back to her station. Ed scratched at the back of his neck.

“Sorry about her. She’s been suspicious of everyone since Dave. They had a bit of a…thing? He tried to get her to go the straight and narrow with him, but she stayed loyal. That’s what I appreciate in a person: loyalty.” He stared into my soul and I did my best not to squirm under the intensity of the stare. He shook himself out of it. “I almost forgot why I came over here,” he muttered, holding out a stack of papers. “This is everything you need to know about how to use our systems, your first assignment, you name it. If there’s anything this doesn’t cover, just raise a yell. You won’t disturb anyone, and I rarely do much of the hands-on stuff these days anyway.”

“Alright, sounds good. Thanks, by the way.” I hefted the papers a bit. “You wouldn’t believe how many places hassle you for things like that.”

“I’ve found that, if the person is skilled enough, I can put up with pretty much anything. I mean, look at Sean.” He shook his head, smiling. “He’s my best technician, but he’s definitely on the eccentric side.”

“Geniuses often are.”

“You callin’ yourself a genius?”

“I don’t have to. My IQ says it for me.”

“Ok, ok.” He grinned. “I think once they get used to you, you’ll fit right in here.”

“I’ll try not to take too much offense to that.”

Ed laughed in response, turning to go back to his station. I looked through the papers, filled with detailed instructions made in the neatest handwriting I’d ever seen.

My target was Hazel Ashbie. The file on her was small, but informative. Her company was a lot like SpierTech: they saw themselves as too big to fail, and so they treated their lower-level employees like shit, lowering their wages with the excuse of a “hard few quarters” in a row. Ed had done some preliminary digging and found out that the numbers didn’t add up. I needed to figure out what Hazel had spent her employees’ money on and how to get it out of her hands.

I followed the instructions to find and open the backdoor into Hazel’s Para-program. Once it finished, I slipped on the silver headset and headphones, immersing myself in another reality: Hazel’s reality.

Upon seeing her choice of program, I started recording. It was definitely one of the steamier options in the catalog, one that could wreak havoc on a delicate reputation. I wish I could see the look on her face when she realizes that someone else knows about these “little indulgences” of hers! The unbidden thought was not the one of a police mole, but before I could process that fully the program finished. I had to make my move.

Hello Hazel Ashbie.

“Who are you? Who’s there?” She looked around the room, and I tried not to get dizzy as I had to follow her sightline. “Is this part of the program?”

No. I cracked my knuckles then sent my fingers flying over the keys. But I did see the program. I recorded it. I have your sight, your voice, everything. She tried to remove the headset, but the lock held tight.