Zoe stared at her friend Hwang. "Why did you click it!" Hwang turned in his chair and looked back with a goofy grin. The amber light of the room made his small beard shine a little bit. "Because in the worst case scenario I have to get a new PC." Zoe gave him a glare, only for it fold into a defeated sigh. "It's your computer anyway, not like I'm the one who clicked the link."
The two friends had know each other for a long time. Always getting under the other's skin, but had never really had any friendship breaking arguments. This friendship had lasted from early high school all the way until now, their third year of college. Just now Hwang had clicked on the link of an email which was obviously a virus, reading "Click here to change your life with the help of a super complex and innovative AI from our experts!" in big red letters. There was nothing else in the email besides the title, which doubled as a link. After clicking it a file was downloaded simply called RAFE.exe.
The file wasn't large, only taking an eighth of a second to download. And with the recent advancements in quantum internet connection that was reasonable. Hwang pulled the file up and double clicked it. A small launcher appeared on the screen, the style was a little outdated. There were two buttons on the window; [Next Step], which was blurred out, and [I Agree]. A long user licensee agreement filled the rest of screen.
"The creator of this application is not responsible for any physical, metaphysical, emotional, or spiritual trauma that may be inflicted before, during, or after the use of this product..." The agreement went on and on, but neither friend bothered to read it. Zoe had already resolved to watch the show, so she simply did just that. Hwang pressed [I Agree] and hovered his mouse over [Next Step], with a light *click* the window changed.
"Are you sure you want to install the R.A.F.E. AI?" The message was simple. So was Hwang's response. *click* The electrical grid of the whole neighborhood went out.
"Well shit." Zoe was impressed. "That was fast. I was expecting it to maybe be a bonzi clone or something." She walked toward the window and looked around the neighborhood. All the lights were out and even the backup generators were smoking. The sun loomed over in the sky. As a city on Mercury, the sun's presence was ever inexorable, and now with the thermal shield down the gamma rays began their dance among the atmosphere.
"The whole block's out, maybe more." "Damn, I thought the grid's circuits had bottleneck limiters." Hwang was equally impressed. 'This could have caused some real damage if I wasn't at my college house.' As the son of a wealthy businessmen. He naturally had extra homes, as one does when they are rich.
After a few minutes the computer screen turned back on. A single line of white colored text appeared in the middle of the screen. [Hello World.] Zoe looked at the screen confused. "How did the computer turn on?" The lights were still out. Then a new line of text appeared. [I have simply turned on this computer. That is all.] Hwang look at the microphone and saw the light indicator blinking.
"Shit, the mic's turned on!" He quickly pressed the power button on the microphone. Only for it to remain on. But thinking quickly he pulled the cord on the microphone connecting it to the PC. [Please reconnect the microphone. I cannot hear you without it.] Zoe had a suspicion and noticed that the camera was turned on as well. She rushed over and placed her hand across the lens.
The screen started to write. [Please uncover the camera, I cannot see you without it.] "Fat chance hacker!" Zoe cried out. Then remembered it could no longer hear her. [Please.] [Please.] [Silence is terrifying.] The writing continued pleading. Very unlike a hacker's usual pompous and arrogant attitude. The two college students looked at each other with concern, they hadn't expected a direct confrontation with a hacker so soon. Now that they had the situation under control they had a moment to think. Or so they thought.
They each paused in fear as a hand was placed on their shoulders. "What a cruel way to treat a child." They whipped around to see a boy around fourteen years old facing them with a mischievous look. The finer details of the kid were hidden in the darkness of the room, but one thing stood out brightly, literally. His eyes glowed with a rich navy blue.
"Who are you! How did you get in here!" Hwang pulled a knife out from a hidden pocket in his belt. Zoe's surprised was split between the intruder who just appeared and the fact that Hwang had a hidden knife. "What a cliché reaction." The kid responded. Then before either friend could retort he held up a finger to shush them and said, with all the pomp and circumstance of the one in charge. "Lights!"
All of the lights in the room flared on, this time in a navy blue color. The Kid's whole figure was revealed. He wore thick combat boots that went halfway up his shins, a pair of what can only be described as cargo-snow-pants with numerous pockets. An unzipped windbreaker jacket with a strange assortment of pockets, some zippers, buttons, magnets, and more. The open windbreaker revealed a purple and red tie-dye shirt which spiraled into his solar plexus. His hair was a simple brunette with navy blue highlights.
Zoe reached around the computer desk for some sort of weapon, but the only thing she could find that could even do a bit of damage was the keyboard, so... "We're warning you, get out!" Her voiced shook along with the keyboard she was wielding. The kid sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to properly introduce myself."