Okie dokie, so as the room gets darker and bluer… Is that a word? Bluer? More blue? Who cares?! As my room becomes more of the true blue it wants to be, I crack my fingers and watch my computer screens sort of unfold alongside my desk.
The desk itself surrounds me like it did before Mels showed up and the screens multiply back to their original five. Once that's done I bring up the tabs for my company and have a quick scan through the notes again. Not for any particular reason though. Just gotta get in the right mindset.
It's like, when I'm programming I'll watch videos of robots milling about in the background or beforehand. Just to get my robotic spirits pumping. I don't even know what I'm saying at this point but you get the idea right?
So I give the company numbers a quick scan and go into company mode. I never did mention the name of the company did I? Well see, I'm not really that good at coming up with cool names when it comes to public stuff. Like Mainframe sounds really cool and all and makes absolutely zero sense which is exactly what you want in a name.
But my company name is just something generic like Framed goods LTD. I know boring right? Like I think I used up all my magical naming energy coming up with the name Mainframe and now I'm just re-using it like a broken record. Buuuuuuut don't worry about it.
Anyway our stocks are rising, perhaps a little too fast honestly. At this rate I'm totally gonna get caught by flux and they never deal with competition well. Even though we have completely different target audiences. Like I make high-quality stuff mainly for civilians and my arms stuff is all on the side and under the table so I'm not stepping on their toes.
But still they make firearms and mine are just unequivocally better than theirs. Hey! I can't help being a genius. I'm just that good. Of course being that good means that they are annoyed I'm in the same market as them. Because I still make machines and tools. I actually specialise in AI, robots and whatnot mainly for household chores and stuff like that.
So I'm not really interfering with them but they were probably going to expand into that market eventually and when they do I'm totally screwed. My tiny company could be squashed if I don't take some serious action against them. They're just huuuge as a company and I'm like not.
So sucks to be me I guess. Anyway, now that I'm in Frame goods LTD. Mode. It's time to get started. Without further ado, I access my own company servers and check for any foreign IP addresses that accessed the file and on what date.
So I know leaving an entrance means that everyone has an entrance and that's like the biggest taboo for a hacker. But I'm tottaaaallly better than everyone else in that respect. Plus I left a honeypot in the entrance anyway for anyone who doesn't know how to get past it. Man they're getting a rude awakening if they think they can just break open my servers and get in.
Though even the honeypot isn't easily found. Gives them a sense of accomplishment before crushing their puny pride into pieces. "Haahahahahaha you're 100 years too early to challenge the Mainframe demon lord" I cackle to myself with malicious glee. Though coming from my voice it sounds really innocent despite how cruel and cool I wanted to sound.
See this is the problem with being me! I'm just not cool. I'm super cute and no one will deny that but I'm just not cool. Even my cool monicker Mainframe means nothing when on the other side of the screen you see a girl with messy long turquoise hair all the way down past her shoulders and a baby face.
Even my eyes are baby blues. Like even the name screams kid. They're literally called 'BABY' blues. I can just feel my coolness factor diminishing as I describe myself. So screw it. I'll leave the rest to my imagination. I do not exist you cannot see me. If my existence is vague no one will know how uncool I am. I'm a genius!
I mean I already knew that. Suddenly my amazing idea flies out of my head as I see a foreign IP address reflected on my screen. "There you are little mouse. Come to mama Mainframe" I mumble with an absolutely dastardly smile on my face. Well it's supposed to be dastardly but… You know what, just shut up me.
So without further ado. I use the IP address and trace it. Obviously it doesn't immediately lead to the person who used it. If this guy was that stupid Emily could've done this herself. The only reason I'm involved is this dude has half a brain on his shoulders. I say that but they could totally be a cute girl like me. We'd totallllly have stuff to talk about. Like how uncool we-
Shutting myself up before I go any further I decide to focus on tracing this mysterious hacker through their various proxy servers until I come upon their base of operations. They went all the way around the star-system and then some.
"They've gotta have some serious resources if they can make me jump through this many hoops" I mumble to myself, so inaudibly that even Frame's microphones probably didn't pick it up. Regardless now that I've done their tricks and received my treat it's time I bite the hand that feeds.
First I search up the location for the origin of the hack. As it turns out it's a warehouse a little ways out from the planet I'm currently on. It appears to be a facility of little importance at first glance but obviously I'm not that stupid.
So with a little digging I find that the warehouse belongs to the flux corporation. Wait huh?! Flux? What would they want with my servers? Deciding to dig a little deeper I search the files of all the computers connected to the same router as the one that hacked me and any in the same network through a virus.
They obviously wouldn't be able to detect me because I'm just that good. So with a little virus here and a worm planted there I have access to their cameras annnnnd they're blank. Figures. They probably put tape over them or something. I can still hear through the camera's microphones though.
Well the quality's pretty bad but not nearly as bad as Emily's was way back when. So I take a quick listen through the camera's microphones but all I hear is the tapping on keyboards. Presumably they work in silence.
I can at least work out however through the amount of computers on the network and the incessent tapping on keyboards that there are a bunch of people all working on computers in the same space. Presumably they are the secret hackers Flux sends after their competitors or those working on cyber security.
Well that's all useless in front of me though. I mean I simply slip through their defence measures and head on to Flux's servers. Just as I do though I hear someone shout on the cameras by coincidence. "SOMEONE'S IN THE SERVERS!" and just as suddenly as it was announced the sound of tapping keys increased in velocity and gasps, grunts and all other sorts of sounds of concentration resound throughout the room as they try to track me down.
Wait seriously?! They found me? How? I look at all the computers they're using and realise something. "Ah shi-" I curse out loud because of how ridiculous their security measures are. They have people watching the access logs constantly in this room. I could always have just fudged the logs but usually companies don't have that kind of manpower to put on something so menial so I just forgot about it.
"Wellllll this isn't good" I mumble to myself and furiously tap at my own keys in response to the emergency situation. This isn't the first time I've been caught in someone's systems, though it might be my fastest accidental discovery to date. Oh the shame!
I still want something out of this though and I'm gonna get it. So with that mindset, I access their security system in the local flux branch and while I'm at it I overload their computers. Suddenly I hear a blinking or crackling sound from the cameras and then the feed cuts off. Before I could see a black screen but now I see nothing.
That should buy me enough time to get in and get out. So I quickly hack the entry levels of the security system through the network and manage to send an email to one of their employees with a virus that can corrupt the rest of it once they open it.
Once I finish my task I shout at Frame with a sigh of relief. "Disconnect and faraday my computer." Just as soon as I slump in my chair my computer's screens all go black and then turn off before the computer itself is put in what looks to be an old rusted cage.
I'll have to change up my proxy server locations later and mix up their IPs on the quantum network so I can't be tracked next time I want to do anything. That's gonna be a real hassle for Emily but I pay her enough that she should be doing anything I say.
"Whhhheeeeew" I let out a massive breathe of relief once again and slump even further into my chair. My eyes even start to close a little. I mean I've been up for a while now and that drained me. I'm a fragile flower after all. Can't have me working so hard. I demand better labour conditions. From who? Uhhhh me.
How am I going to give myself better labour conditions? Just as I'm about to slip off into the land of dreams with that thought however… "Beep! Beep!" An annoyingly loud alarm starts blaring off across the entirety of my house and I hear the sounds of impacts outside my door.
I even changed up the ambience of the place so when this happens my room starts darkening into a red colour and increasing and decreasing in brightness alongside the alarm. It's such a cool alarm system! What coolness doesn't matter in an alarm system? Says you! I think it's awesome and no one can persuade me otherwise.
Anyway this is bad right? If I remember correctly blaring alarm means someone's breaking my door down. I see. I seeeeeee. I what?! I quickly spring out of my chair and give Frame instructions. "Get me the backup computer and only use the substitute network for it's access. Also as soon as it starts up get me access to the feed outside now!" The orders come out so high pitched it's practically a screech and my breathe becomes ragged from the effort I just used jumping out of my chair.
That effort was utterly useless as I just have to sit back in my chair again now but still… I just kinda did it anyway. It's the natural reaction to danger ok? I totally did not just do something so unseemly as to jump out of my chair from fright. It's all in your imagination. Well MY imagination. Whatever.
I have to run through these thoughts in my head to distract me from the fact that as I speak, or think or contemplate whatever. Anyway as I do the thing you do in your head when you think to yourself my computer is still loading itself up. It's not slow by any means. In fact this is a top of the line PC and starts up incredibly quickly. Like less than a second quickly.
But that less than a second is taking so long right now that I'm almost drawn to the idea of shouting at it to 'hi-ho silver' so it can hurry up and load. Not that I have any idea who silver is or any of what that even means. I just know that someone said it in a book once and their horse went faster so…
"Hi-Ho sil- Oh finally" See wishing on the stars works sometimes. Welllll in this case I was wishing on silver but it's supposed to be a holy metal or something according to some olden nonsense a while ago. I can't even remember but it's gotta be holy if it can kill vampires right? Not that it's actually true. I researched it and vampires are perfectly fine coming into contact with silver.
Probably an evolutionary thing. Maybe they got used to it over the ages or something. Whatever my computers up and I'm looking at the view from a camera I have placed over my doorbell as well as another two. One on top of my porch and one hidden beside the doormat.
Unfortunately the one on the doorbell has already been destroyed so the only thing I can see there is static. That reaaaally doesn't bode well. The other two are in perfect working order at least. So that's something I guess. Only issue though is what I'm seeing on them.
Outside my door is supposed to be a little terrace where people have to be pulled up a mini grav-tube and walk up to the door they want and then knock. Instead however the terrace has been blown to bits and my cameras were only safe because my door is made of some seriously sturdy metal.
It's not like this was an indiscriminate attack either. All the other doors on my floor are perfectly fine. Only the terrace outside my own door has become rubble. This is clearly targeted. I mean everyone else in this building is utterly unimportant or useless I made sure of that before I moved in.
Honestly if they weren't I considered buying up the building and driving everyone out other than me. I mean having important or smart people anywhere near me is not a good idea. They'd totalllly figure me out lickity banana peel and then I'd have to move away.
I even picked this place 'cause it was close to the orphanage so I can still meet Mels when she sees the others. Well that and it was close, cheap and as I said no important people nearby. Ok so I didn't meticulously search for places without important people I happened to find one nearby and move in but it just sounded better when I say I bought the place with a goal in mind.
Annnnyyyyway. I'm royally screwed right now. Because through the two still living cameras I can see a truly horrible scene. A few metres away from my destroyed terrace are a group of more than 10 men dressed all in black suits and sunglasses. That'd be suspicious in and of itself. I mean they're practically screaming 'we're posh and in the business of violence' buuuutt…
The real clincher is the laser rifle that they all appear to have in their hands and are aiming at my door. Suddenly they all fire in perfect synchrony. It's kind of impressive actually. One of the big looking dudes at the back who's also holding a rifle brought up his hand and then shouted something before bringing it down.
The moment his hand moved even a twitch their fingers were putting pressure on the triggers and my door was being blasted with laser fire. Annnnddd he's putting his hand up again. OHHHH noo. This is bad. Reaaaaal bad.
Quickly realizing that I'm utterly screwed I play my last resort without hesitation. I mean I don't really have a choice here. No matter what I do, I can't escape and even if I did manage that… I'm a frail girl they'd just hunt me down and it'd be far easier without my sturdy door and personal shield. I'd just be gone and that's that.
Soooo let's not let that happen shall we. I'm not one for going down without a fight and I have plenty of fight at my disposal. So I put power into my legs and push myself towards my computer screen using my swivel chair. I even forgot to add cool in my mind that's how flustered I am right now.
Then once there, I start furiously typing away at my keyboard. I try to ignore the beating of my heart and the shouts and blasts of laserfire outside as I focus purely on the task at hand. No time for extraneous thoughts. Get this done Soph. Once this is done you'll be ok.
I keep repeating this to myself like a mantra and continue to type away at my keyboard as the blasts become ever louder and my door begins to creak. The lines of code and graphical illustrations on my screen fly past my eyes so fast that no normal human would be able to comprehend what was in front of their eyes before the next one showed up let alone read any of it.
Since I'd seen it before and was just adding the finishing touches I didn't need to see it though and any mistakes here would cost me quite a bit but I just had to deal with that at this point. The little blue hexagonal lights that surround my door start to creak themselves and look to be flickering at this point and Frame's announcement resounds throughout my room. "Personal shield at 30% power." Her voice is robotic and doesn't appear to carry any urgency.
Yet I can see that the servers that are running her are whirring at top speed, meaning she's doing her own calculations on how to get out of this mess. "Chances of survival 10-" she continues to try and tell me about my chances but she doesn't know about my last resort so her calculations are skewed.
As such. "Don't worry about my chances of survival. I want you to send copies of yourself out to all my contacts. Oh and to another certain location that you'll learn about in a minute." I continue typing frantically as I hand out her orders absent mindedly. I need focus and having Frame distract me really isn't helping.
"C'mon, c'mon." I mumble to myself as I hear another announcement from Frame.
"Personal shield at 12% power" well this is clearly going to be really tight. If I make a single mistake I'm screwed. If I go any slower at any point I'm screwed. If I get distracted for even a moment-
Suddenly I hear the sound of a roaring explosion outside and a shattering sound before an alert blares throughout the room from Frame. I turn around for just a second to see what happened and my mind froze.
In front of me is the remains of my door completely blown off it's hinges and whatever power responsible for this destruction appears not to care about the surroundings. The others in my apartment building are in chaos as they scramble to flee from the building which is now on fire and in smithereens. A majority of them are corpses by this point but still there are some who managed to flee.
The carnage is absolutely staggering and seeing it in person would've made me utterly terrified if I wasn't me. It's ok this isn't happening to you just to other people. This is ok. I repeat that in my head as I type on my keyboard ignoring the open air behind me where I could be shot at any moment.
I just have to finish this. I'm almost done. Continuing to type I start hearing footsteps from behind me and don't have the time to look back. C'mon. Just a little more. Just a littttlllee. Just give me some more time.
The footsteps creep ever closer as if they are my doom incarnate and the screams from my mind are completely ignored. YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! My survival instincts scream at me incessantly but I push them down and continue to work. Finally the footsteps stop behind me and there's a sudden burst of sound. No more sound than an airsoft gun.
Or perhaps one of those experiments in science class where you pull back a piece of pliable plastic on a drum and it lets out air. Yet that sound is unmistakable to me. It's the sound of laserfire. I'm finished but will I make it in time.
Without hesitation. Without even looking at my incoming demise. I move my finger towards the F12 key. It seems slow in my perception. As if the world around me froze. As if that one finger is all I have. It's all that's left in the world.
With a slow and agonizing process. It finally reaches the key I wanted it to. Yet I don't have much strength to press it with at this point. I can feel my body growing cold. I can feel the life draining out of me from the 3 holes in my chest. Thankfully they shoot like a police officer. 2 shots to the chest and then another to stop me from moving.
Luckily for me. I'm quite a stubborn girl. But I need just one more push. So with all the weight behind my finger collapsing onto my keyboard and the strength of my will behind it. My finger finally lands on the F12 key.
An almost deafening sound assaults my ears as a CLACK! Resounds throughout the room. Well that's my perception of things anyway. To me it sounds like the roar of triumph. Like victory is sound and has become incarnate. That's what this sounds like to me. Apparently though the man disagrees.
As he pays absolutely no attention to my little tap of a key. With a victorious smile I lose consciousness and slip into wherever souls go after they no longer have a body to attach themselves to. If that's even a thing anyway. With that somewhat blasphemous thought. Sophie 'Mainframe' Felivar slips into blissful rest.