"Theo! C'mon, this is our chance to get out of here, see the City. Unless you've chickened out..."
"Huh?" Theo was jolted from his sleep by the cry outside his window. "Be quiet, John! Are you trying to wake my mom up and get us caught?" Theo switched on his bedside lamp. It flickered once and went out. "Stupid piece of junk!" Cursing, he stumbled around his room until he found the bag holding all his stuff. "Alright, let's get out of here."
The two boys had already bought tickets for the bus to the City. They had no money, but for them that wasn't a problem. As long as they got away from here. The trip was long, but uneventful. At the city border, they were flagged down by one of the Men who Wore Suits. Both Theo and John caught their breaths and tried to look small. When the driver and the Man started talking, Theo felt that he needed to hear what was being said. As carefully as he could, he inched his window open, just a crack. Then he settled next to it to listen. When a person was as small as he was, it paid to listen, always.
"What do you have tonight?" That was the Man.
"Nothin' special. Coupla old geezers, paira runnaways..." The boys flinched at this. "Not much."
"No rebels?"
"Nope."
"Good."
"So we c'n pass?"
"We really do not care about children and old humans trying to escape their miserable lives by going to the City. You know that. Leave, now, before my superior comes." The driver hurried to comply, and they traveled on.
When they arrived in the city, the two went their separate ways. Theo never saw John again, but several years later he heard that John had ended up getting arrested. He had no idea why.
Theo lived on the street, surviving by his wits. He knew, however, that this couldn't last forever. Winter was coming. The other denizens of the streets were just too violent, he was no match for any of them in a fight. He needed a way out. But how? He had no money, he hadn't finished elementary, let alone high school, so he couldn't get a job. He had nothing and no one.
One day, his way out found him in a very unusual way. He woke up, feeling the refrigerator box he had been living in being kicked. He crawled out and saw that he was surrounded by about eight children, ranging in age from seven to fourteen. Each had a gun. He had no idea how or where they had gotten them, but it seemed almost everyone but him had one.
"Hey you! We heard that you have a buncha food in there, and we're here to get it. Out!"
Theo left the box. "Whatever you have heard about me having food is a lie. I have no food..." That was true enough, he was always on the edge of starvation. He lived off what he happened to find, beg or steal. He couldn't bring himself to eat of garbages, though. He had tried, once, but had thrown it all back up. He had just kept on thinking about all the parasites and diseases in it until he had upset his stomach enough to throw it up.
One of the surrounding boys, or was it a girl, sneered and came closer. "Huh! You think you're so smart, talk so fancy. We don' t like you around here!"
He felt the first bullet hit him, followed by two more. He fell over, sure he was dead. Darkness fell over him. He couldn't help but feel some thanks.
He awoke in a house. An old man was standing over him. "You're alright now. The doctors took the bullets out, you're gonna live." He was a little bitter at this, that he wasn't dead. The way Theo thought was, he didn't like being alive, but if he was alive he wasn't going to go out of his way to change that. But if he had tragically been shot to death...
Unfortunately, he lived, just as the old man had said. As soon as he was well enough, his saviour took got him a job at a store that sold computers. Theo had never had much to do with computers. It wasn't like his mother could afford one, and his school was much too cheap to. Pretty much the only ones he had ever used had been at the library. He didn't especially like the job, but it meant food, money, and he felt safer than he had on the street.
He had enough money for his own small apartment. In his spare time, he got his employer, a smallish man named Jenkins, he didn't know if it was his first or last name, to teach him about computers. He learned basic programming, repairs, terminology, and everything else he could. He loved it, as fast as he was taught, he wanted more. Eventually, he knew everything Jenkins could tell him. By that time, however, he had enough money saved up to go to college.
He passed the exam with flying colours, he was, after all, a genius. He read his text books within the first week, and found that this just wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to learn. He didn't know quite what he wanted to know, but it wasn't any of this business-related computer junk. It felt WRONG to him to use computers for boring things like accounting. No, he thought, they must have a special purpose. He amused himself with the internet for a while, but he knew that even that wasn't 'it'. One day, however, he found it. His true calling. It was just a small site, called 'So you want to be a hacker', or some trash like that, but it called to him in a way nothing had before. He quit college, his job, and bought himself a computer. He learned everything he could about hacking, from books, magazines, word of mouth, whatever he could. He was happier than he ever had been before. He was respected, no one saw him face to face, he had power, money... What more could he want? Well, women, he supposed, but he was just so busy...
One day, he found something very, very odd in his email.
"What? Who the hell is hacker_underground@untracable.com? I had stupid hotmail on highest filter..." He opened the email, cautiously. He could NOT afford a virus... The message was short and to the point.
"It has come to our attention that you are an up-and-coming hacker. Come to 405 Morgan Lane at exactly 6:00 tomorrow."
There it was. No explaination, no signature. No name. Nothing. He didn't know what to do. Should he go? In the end, he did. He thought it might be a trap of some sort, but he didn't especially care.
The next day found him outside the building, a dingy duplex. No one appeared to have lived in it for at least twenty-five years, and it had a condemned sign. No one could be seen for at least a block.
He started to get nervous and talk to himself. "It's either a trap... or a weird joke. In either case, I shouldn't have come. It was stupid. I should just get out of here..." But he didn't. It was at least 6:30 before one of the duplex's doors opened. He jumped at the sudden movement, and only caught sight of an arm beckoning him to a side door before it slammed shut again. He was very aprehensive, but he thought 'Well, I've come this far...'
He walked up the crumbling driveway, and walked through the open side door. The interior was totally different than the exterior, and if he hadn't known better, he would have said it was a different building. He just stood on the fancy doormat, blinking, until he heard an impatient voice from down the stairs in front of him.
"You! Kid! You just gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna find our what's going on?"
He was so nervous that he jumped, and almost fell down the stairs. He swallowed, hard, and started down the heavy, red carpet, past doors leading to modestly rich rooms.
"Huh?" Theo was jolted from his sleep by the cry outside his window. "Be quiet, John! Are you trying to wake my mom up and get us caught?" Theo switched on his bedside lamp. It flickered once and went out. "Stupid piece of junk!" Cursing, he stumbled around his room until he found the bag holding all his stuff. "Alright, let's get out of here."
The two boys had already bought tickets for the bus to the City. They had no money, but for them that wasn't a problem. As long as they got away from here. The trip was long, but uneventful. At the city border, they were flagged down by one of the Men who Wore Suits. Both Theo and John caught their breaths and tried to look small. When the driver and the Man started talking, Theo felt that he needed to hear what was being said. As carefully as he could, he inched his window open, just a crack. Then he settled next to it to listen. When a person was as small as he was, it paid to listen, always.
"What do you have tonight?" That was the Man.
"Nothin' special. Coupla old geezers, paira runnaways..." The boys flinched at this. "Not much."
"No rebels?"
"Nope."
"Good."
"So we c'n pass?"
"We really do not care about children and old humans trying to escape their miserable lives by going to the City. You know that. Leave, now, before my superior comes." The driver hurried to comply, and they traveled on.
When they arrived in the city, the two went their separate ways. Theo never saw John again, but several years later he heard that John had ended up getting arrested. He had no idea why.
Theo lived on the street, surviving by his wits. He knew, however, that this couldn't last forever. Winter was coming. The other denizens of the streets were just too violent, he was no match for any of them in a fight. He needed a way out. But how? He had no money, he hadn't finished elementary, let alone high school, so he couldn't get a job. He had nothing and no one.
One day, his way out found him in a very unusual way. He woke up, feeling the refrigerator box he had been living in being kicked. He crawled out and saw that he was surrounded by about eight children, ranging in age from seven to fourteen. Each had a gun. He had no idea how or where they had gotten them, but it seemed almost everyone but him had one.
"Hey you! We heard that you have a buncha food in there, and we're here to get it. Out!"
Theo left the box. "Whatever you have heard about me having food is a lie. I have no food..." That was true enough, he was always on the edge of starvation. He lived off what he happened to find, beg or steal. He couldn't bring himself to eat of garbages, though. He had tried, once, but had thrown it all back up. He had just kept on thinking about all the parasites and diseases in it until he had upset his stomach enough to throw it up.
One of the surrounding boys, or was it a girl, sneered and came closer. "Huh! You think you're so smart, talk so fancy. We don' t like you around here!"
He felt the first bullet hit him, followed by two more. He fell over, sure he was dead. Darkness fell over him. He couldn't help but feel some thanks.
He awoke in a house. An old man was standing over him. "You're alright now. The doctors took the bullets out, you're gonna live." He was a little bitter at this, that he wasn't dead. The way Theo thought was, he didn't like being alive, but if he was alive he wasn't going to go out of his way to change that. But if he had tragically been shot to death...
Unfortunately, he lived, just as the old man had said. As soon as he was well enough, his saviour took got him a job at a store that sold computers. Theo had never had much to do with computers. It wasn't like his mother could afford one, and his school was much too cheap to. Pretty much the only ones he had ever used had been at the library. He didn't especially like the job, but it meant food, money, and he felt safer than he had on the street.
He had enough money for his own small apartment. In his spare time, he got his employer, a smallish man named Jenkins, he didn't know if it was his first or last name, to teach him about computers. He learned basic programming, repairs, terminology, and everything else he could. He loved it, as fast as he was taught, he wanted more. Eventually, he knew everything Jenkins could tell him. By that time, however, he had enough money saved up to go to college.
He passed the exam with flying colours, he was, after all, a genius. He read his text books within the first week, and found that this just wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to learn. He didn't know quite what he wanted to know, but it wasn't any of this business-related computer junk. It felt WRONG to him to use computers for boring things like accounting. No, he thought, they must have a special purpose. He amused himself with the internet for a while, but he knew that even that wasn't 'it'. One day, however, he found it. His true calling. It was just a small site, called 'So you want to be a hacker', or some trash like that, but it called to him in a way nothing had before. He quit college, his job, and bought himself a computer. He learned everything he could about hacking, from books, magazines, word of mouth, whatever he could. He was happier than he ever had been before. He was respected, no one saw him face to face, he had power, money... What more could he want? Well, women, he supposed, but he was just so busy...
One day, he found something very, very odd in his email.
"What? Who the hell is hacker_underground@untracable.com? I had stupid hotmail on highest filter..." He opened the email, cautiously. He could NOT afford a virus... The message was short and to the point.
"It has come to our attention that you are an up-and-coming hacker. Come to 405 Morgan Lane at exactly 6:00 tomorrow."
There it was. No explaination, no signature. No name. Nothing. He didn't know what to do. Should he go? In the end, he did. He thought it might be a trap of some sort, but he didn't especially care.
The next day found him outside the building, a dingy duplex. No one appeared to have lived in it for at least twenty-five years, and it had a condemned sign. No one could be seen for at least a block.
He started to get nervous and talk to himself. "It's either a trap... or a weird joke. In either case, I shouldn't have come. It was stupid. I should just get out of here..." But he didn't. It was at least 6:30 before one of the duplex's doors opened. He jumped at the sudden movement, and only caught sight of an arm beckoning him to a side door before it slammed shut again. He was very aprehensive, but he thought 'Well, I've come this far...'
He walked up the crumbling driveway, and walked through the open side door. The interior was totally different than the exterior, and if he hadn't known better, he would have said it was a different building. He just stood on the fancy doormat, blinking, until he heard an impatient voice from down the stairs in front of him.
"You! Kid! You just gonna stand there all day, or are you gonna find our what's going on?"
He was so nervous that he jumped, and almost fell down the stairs. He swallowed, hard, and started down the heavy, red carpet, past doors leading to modestly rich rooms.