Disclaimer: I'm a poor college student, please don't sue me. Besides, I'm making diddly squat off this. The Matrix and many of these characters belongs to Warner Bros., Wachowski brothers and company. I'm just.....borrowing some of them for fun.
Chapter 5
Catherine took one last look around her living room. It was the room she spent the most time in, the room with the computer, and this was probably going to be the last time she saw it for a while. She had spent the last month thinking about her plan: how she would carry it out, whether it would work, what she would do afterwards, where would she go, and if this was a really stupid idea. Her plan, while not foolproof, was the best she could do given the scarce information she had. No one knew what was in the Kansas City IRS d-base, but it probably wasn't tax records. What she would do depended on what she found inside. However, she did her best to prepare for the worst, knowing that chances were slim that she would be able to continue her life as Catherine Morgan, high school junior. She was ready to move on though, sick of going through the motions at school and just doing her time. The homework was a nuisance, the kids were all oblivious to the real world-they still played their stupid popularity game-and even the teachers seemed to know that this was really just the government's way of babysitting teenagers. She didn't have anyone who would really miss her, except maybe the Cabaleros and maybe her mother, and she would check in on them every once in a while. She was ready to go.
The sun had set, she had gotten the afternoon off from work, and her clothes and anything else she'd need for the month had been stuffed into a large backpack and hidden underneath a bush in the city park. Her bank account was almost empty now; she had withdrawn most of her savings-$1,000-in uneven increments over the last two months and stashed it in an envelope taped to the back of the couch so that her mother wouldn't find it and use it to buy booze. Also, this way, whoever was watching her couldn't trace her whereabouts through the bank system.
Catherine sighed, thinking of her mother. Over the last three years, her mother had slowly descended into alcoholism. She seemed to soak the habit into her skin just like cigarette smoke seeped into her lungs. As the pile of bills got higher, so did the pile of empty beer cans and pilfered liquor bottles. Now all Catherine's mother did was go to work, come home, curse her life, and drink herself into a stupor. Catherine had tried to talk with her mother and to help out-she worked twenty hours a week at the grocery store-but to no avail. Her mother had resigned herself to a slow downward spiral.
Tonight, Catherine made a sandwich for her mother, placed it on a paper plate, and put a note underneath it:
Dear Mom,
I have decided that it is time for me to leave. Please eat something healthy and take care of yourself. You know that drinking is only going to make matters worse. I remember how you used to be full of determination and hope. Maybe my leaving will serve as a wake up call and you will remember how you used to be too. You can still get your life back together, it's not too late. Mom, I love you and I believe in you. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, but it's time for me to move on.
Love,
Catherine
Checking that all the lights were turned off, that she hadn't left anything behind, and that everything suspicious on her hard drive had been erased, Catherine closed the door quietly behind her.
****************************************************************
She had chosen the busiest Internet café in the area for her attack, so that she would be somewhat lost in the crowd. It was a Friday night, and there were a good number of people milling around. This was only her second time at the place; she had purposely avoided it to save it for just this occasion. She had passed by the place several times before, observing the workers, the waiters, and the layout of the place in case she needed to make an emergency exit. If she was going to concentrate on hacking into the IRS database, then she would need the front cashier be her lookout. Most of the cashiers were teenage cyberpunk-nerd guys, the type who appreciated girls with a pretty smile, a nice body, and girls who knew the difference between Common Lisp and Scheme. A lot of them also played video games and probably dreamed of saving some scantily-clad damsel in distress. Perfect.
Tonight, she waited until a station in the far corner was open, next to the kitchen door where waiters brought out food. The station was on the other side of another, so that the monitor faced the wall and no one could peer over her shoulder. She could survey the crowd without being easily spotted. Also, the kitchen door made for a quick exit. When the station she wanted was finally free, she went up to the cashier and smiled sweetly.
"Excuse me, Jason?" she said, reading his nametag.
"What's up?" he said, sizing her up from behind the elevated cashier stand. The elevated platform allowed him to survey the entire cafe from his perch. It also allowed him to look down girls' shirts, if any happened to come in. Most of the customers were teenage boys like himself. He liked what he saw at the moment though. She was pretty in a cute sort of way, with short dark hair, clear skin, killer blue eyes and from what he could see, a nice body.
"Can I get station #23?" she asked sweetly.
"Uh, sure, how long do you want it for?" he said, smiling a little.
"Two hours would be nice. Also, would you mind doing me a big favor?" Catherine said, making her voice just a bit huskier and leaning forward just a bit.
"Um, sure," said Jason, obviously a little intrigued.
"There's this perv who's been stalking me, he's old enough to be my dad," she said. "If you see him, he's probably wearing some type of suit, could you send me a message through the network? Just anyone who looks suspicious."
"Someone's been giving you trouble, eh?"
"Yeah, could you help me?" Cue wimpy damsel-in-distress look.
"Sure, no problem, anything you want."
Bingo. Piece of cake.
"Thanks, I knew I could count on you." She flashed him her best smile and sauntered away, trying not to either laugh or gag. So that's what it felt like to be one of those cheerleaders at school. She felt like a piece of meat on display, but it was worth it if Jason would act as her lookout.
Settling into her seat, she took one final look around to make sure no one was paying attention to her and that she had a clear line to the kitchen door. Satisfied, she set about unraveling the mystery that had cost her her friend and any chance of leading a blissfully ignorant life.
************************************************************************
*90 minutes later*
"Oh my God," she whispered to herself, looking at what was on her screen.
She had managed to follow in Dion's steps by picking up on traces of his activity that he left behind, sort of connecting the dots. Then she went two steps further than he had gotten and actually broke into the system. The amount of security she had to break through showed that this was top-secret information. It wasn't just tax records. What Catherine saw before her nearly knocked her to the ground, and she wasn't easily shaken to begin with.
On her screen were records of different people the government was keeping an eye on. There were files on terrorists like Morpheus, but also ones on people she knew from online and also one on her. It was her file that caused her to swallow hard and wish this was all a dream.
Name: Catherine Morgan
Alias: Trinity
Age: 16
Address: 303 E. Hart Dr., Allentown, KS
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 118 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
File started: 04/03/87
Status: Active, high interest
Last action taken: Termination of Joseph Cabalero, a.k.a. Technicolor.
Recommendation: Monitor actions after termination. Subject appears to have ceased suspicious activities, although recently started emptying bank account. Suitable for termination upon further activities.
What followed was a report on everything Catherine had done since she first started using computers. It listed all of the viruses she wrote, all of the places she hacked, everything. It also listed personal information like her acquaintances, hobbies, her parents' divorce, medical history, everything. The government had been watching her all along and not only that, had taken steps to stop her activities as Trinity. Killing Joe was one of those actions.
Going through random files, she realized that similar things had happened to other hackers. Some were killed, others "re-educated" (she shuddered to think what that meant), and still others were manipulated until they did not have the means or the will to continue hacking. In some cases, files showed that the hacker's entire family was killed in a freak "accident" so that the hacker would become so depressed that he or she would stop hacking or doing anything really. Other cases had hackers arrested under bogus charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison. It was a conspiracy to destroy "troublemakers."
Catherine felt her stomach turn to ice at the enormity of these revelations. Even if she got away with this, she would have to keep on looking over her shoulder for a long time, if not for the rest of her life. Her life would never be the same. It didn't sound so bad when she was planning it out, but now the seriousness of the situation finally hit her. She would be hunted, and if caught, she would be killed. There would be no trial, no jury, just an execution and a cover up, like what happened to Joe.
Catherine looked around her at the people in the cafe. Some looked like they were engrossed in video games, others were sitting at tables sipping coffee and chatting. They were all oblivious to the conspiracy controlling their lives. They didn't know that their government was killing people and covering it up, was throwing people in jail and ruining people's lives. They were going about as if everything was alright. From the way they were smiling and her mind was whirling though, ignorance really looked like bliss.
Catherine felt alienated from the people around her. She had never felt so alone in the world. It was the truth that she saw before her, the answer to the question that had driven her to learn everything and escape something she couldn't define. The government controlled everything and manipulated people to achieve its ends.......of what? She didn't know, but she knew that this was why she always had that feeling of being trapped and why she was always trying to escape that invisible thing. What was it? She had found the answer, but she wasn't sure of the question.
She didn't have much time left. There was a good chance that the government was already aware that she had hacked into the database. She shuddered at the thought of what would happen. Suitable for termination upon further activities.
She was searching for one file in particular: Morpheus. Her problem was that hackers were listed by their real names, and she didn't know Morpheus' real name. She had only stumbled across the name Morpheus three months ago when searching for the answer to Dion's posting, "The Matrix is everywhere." He was a former hacker and a terrorist quickly climbing up the FBI's most wanted list. Every time she tried to find more information on him though, she only ran into walls. From what Catherine found, Morpheus appeared on the FBI's radar about six years ago and they had been trying to find him ever since. What he did or why he was being sought was never explicitly stated, just that he was responsible for various "attacks."
Searching through the files frantically, Catherine notice that a few hackers had been labeled "resistance member," followed by the words "terminate upon sight." Dion was labeled this way. Before she could question what was the "resistance," a message scrolled across the intercom at her station. She was expecting it to say that her two hours was nearly up, but instead it said, "Look up." She did so, and felt the color drain from her face. Three men dressed in suits and wearing sunglasses were entering the cafe.
They knew. And they had found her.
************************************************************************
Author's Notes:
1) I obviously don't know anything about hacking and programming. If anyone wants to explain things to me and help me flesh out Trinity's attack on the IRS d-base, feel free to e-mail me. Also, I dunno how long it would take to hack something, so if anyone wants to clue me in, feel free.
2) No more spring break for me, so updates will probably come less frequently. I do intend to finish this fic though, so I'll hopefully update at least every weekend. It's going to be a long ride though. I'm not even halfway done (sitting at about a third of the way there).
Chapter 5
Catherine took one last look around her living room. It was the room she spent the most time in, the room with the computer, and this was probably going to be the last time she saw it for a while. She had spent the last month thinking about her plan: how she would carry it out, whether it would work, what she would do afterwards, where would she go, and if this was a really stupid idea. Her plan, while not foolproof, was the best she could do given the scarce information she had. No one knew what was in the Kansas City IRS d-base, but it probably wasn't tax records. What she would do depended on what she found inside. However, she did her best to prepare for the worst, knowing that chances were slim that she would be able to continue her life as Catherine Morgan, high school junior. She was ready to move on though, sick of going through the motions at school and just doing her time. The homework was a nuisance, the kids were all oblivious to the real world-they still played their stupid popularity game-and even the teachers seemed to know that this was really just the government's way of babysitting teenagers. She didn't have anyone who would really miss her, except maybe the Cabaleros and maybe her mother, and she would check in on them every once in a while. She was ready to go.
The sun had set, she had gotten the afternoon off from work, and her clothes and anything else she'd need for the month had been stuffed into a large backpack and hidden underneath a bush in the city park. Her bank account was almost empty now; she had withdrawn most of her savings-$1,000-in uneven increments over the last two months and stashed it in an envelope taped to the back of the couch so that her mother wouldn't find it and use it to buy booze. Also, this way, whoever was watching her couldn't trace her whereabouts through the bank system.
Catherine sighed, thinking of her mother. Over the last three years, her mother had slowly descended into alcoholism. She seemed to soak the habit into her skin just like cigarette smoke seeped into her lungs. As the pile of bills got higher, so did the pile of empty beer cans and pilfered liquor bottles. Now all Catherine's mother did was go to work, come home, curse her life, and drink herself into a stupor. Catherine had tried to talk with her mother and to help out-she worked twenty hours a week at the grocery store-but to no avail. Her mother had resigned herself to a slow downward spiral.
Tonight, Catherine made a sandwich for her mother, placed it on a paper plate, and put a note underneath it:
Dear Mom,
I have decided that it is time for me to leave. Please eat something healthy and take care of yourself. You know that drinking is only going to make matters worse. I remember how you used to be full of determination and hope. Maybe my leaving will serve as a wake up call and you will remember how you used to be too. You can still get your life back together, it's not too late. Mom, I love you and I believe in you. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine, but it's time for me to move on.
Love,
Catherine
Checking that all the lights were turned off, that she hadn't left anything behind, and that everything suspicious on her hard drive had been erased, Catherine closed the door quietly behind her.
****************************************************************
She had chosen the busiest Internet café in the area for her attack, so that she would be somewhat lost in the crowd. It was a Friday night, and there were a good number of people milling around. This was only her second time at the place; she had purposely avoided it to save it for just this occasion. She had passed by the place several times before, observing the workers, the waiters, and the layout of the place in case she needed to make an emergency exit. If she was going to concentrate on hacking into the IRS database, then she would need the front cashier be her lookout. Most of the cashiers were teenage cyberpunk-nerd guys, the type who appreciated girls with a pretty smile, a nice body, and girls who knew the difference between Common Lisp and Scheme. A lot of them also played video games and probably dreamed of saving some scantily-clad damsel in distress. Perfect.
Tonight, she waited until a station in the far corner was open, next to the kitchen door where waiters brought out food. The station was on the other side of another, so that the monitor faced the wall and no one could peer over her shoulder. She could survey the crowd without being easily spotted. Also, the kitchen door made for a quick exit. When the station she wanted was finally free, she went up to the cashier and smiled sweetly.
"Excuse me, Jason?" she said, reading his nametag.
"What's up?" he said, sizing her up from behind the elevated cashier stand. The elevated platform allowed him to survey the entire cafe from his perch. It also allowed him to look down girls' shirts, if any happened to come in. Most of the customers were teenage boys like himself. He liked what he saw at the moment though. She was pretty in a cute sort of way, with short dark hair, clear skin, killer blue eyes and from what he could see, a nice body.
"Can I get station #23?" she asked sweetly.
"Uh, sure, how long do you want it for?" he said, smiling a little.
"Two hours would be nice. Also, would you mind doing me a big favor?" Catherine said, making her voice just a bit huskier and leaning forward just a bit.
"Um, sure," said Jason, obviously a little intrigued.
"There's this perv who's been stalking me, he's old enough to be my dad," she said. "If you see him, he's probably wearing some type of suit, could you send me a message through the network? Just anyone who looks suspicious."
"Someone's been giving you trouble, eh?"
"Yeah, could you help me?" Cue wimpy damsel-in-distress look.
"Sure, no problem, anything you want."
Bingo. Piece of cake.
"Thanks, I knew I could count on you." She flashed him her best smile and sauntered away, trying not to either laugh or gag. So that's what it felt like to be one of those cheerleaders at school. She felt like a piece of meat on display, but it was worth it if Jason would act as her lookout.
Settling into her seat, she took one final look around to make sure no one was paying attention to her and that she had a clear line to the kitchen door. Satisfied, she set about unraveling the mystery that had cost her her friend and any chance of leading a blissfully ignorant life.
************************************************************************
*90 minutes later*
"Oh my God," she whispered to herself, looking at what was on her screen.
She had managed to follow in Dion's steps by picking up on traces of his activity that he left behind, sort of connecting the dots. Then she went two steps further than he had gotten and actually broke into the system. The amount of security she had to break through showed that this was top-secret information. It wasn't just tax records. What Catherine saw before her nearly knocked her to the ground, and she wasn't easily shaken to begin with.
On her screen were records of different people the government was keeping an eye on. There were files on terrorists like Morpheus, but also ones on people she knew from online and also one on her. It was her file that caused her to swallow hard and wish this was all a dream.
Name: Catherine Morgan
Alias: Trinity
Age: 16
Address: 303 E. Hart Dr., Allentown, KS
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 118 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
File started: 04/03/87
Status: Active, high interest
Last action taken: Termination of Joseph Cabalero, a.k.a. Technicolor.
Recommendation: Monitor actions after termination. Subject appears to have ceased suspicious activities, although recently started emptying bank account. Suitable for termination upon further activities.
What followed was a report on everything Catherine had done since she first started using computers. It listed all of the viruses she wrote, all of the places she hacked, everything. It also listed personal information like her acquaintances, hobbies, her parents' divorce, medical history, everything. The government had been watching her all along and not only that, had taken steps to stop her activities as Trinity. Killing Joe was one of those actions.
Going through random files, she realized that similar things had happened to other hackers. Some were killed, others "re-educated" (she shuddered to think what that meant), and still others were manipulated until they did not have the means or the will to continue hacking. In some cases, files showed that the hacker's entire family was killed in a freak "accident" so that the hacker would become so depressed that he or she would stop hacking or doing anything really. Other cases had hackers arrested under bogus charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison. It was a conspiracy to destroy "troublemakers."
Catherine felt her stomach turn to ice at the enormity of these revelations. Even if she got away with this, she would have to keep on looking over her shoulder for a long time, if not for the rest of her life. Her life would never be the same. It didn't sound so bad when she was planning it out, but now the seriousness of the situation finally hit her. She would be hunted, and if caught, she would be killed. There would be no trial, no jury, just an execution and a cover up, like what happened to Joe.
Catherine looked around her at the people in the cafe. Some looked like they were engrossed in video games, others were sitting at tables sipping coffee and chatting. They were all oblivious to the conspiracy controlling their lives. They didn't know that their government was killing people and covering it up, was throwing people in jail and ruining people's lives. They were going about as if everything was alright. From the way they were smiling and her mind was whirling though, ignorance really looked like bliss.
Catherine felt alienated from the people around her. She had never felt so alone in the world. It was the truth that she saw before her, the answer to the question that had driven her to learn everything and escape something she couldn't define. The government controlled everything and manipulated people to achieve its ends.......of what? She didn't know, but she knew that this was why she always had that feeling of being trapped and why she was always trying to escape that invisible thing. What was it? She had found the answer, but she wasn't sure of the question.
She didn't have much time left. There was a good chance that the government was already aware that she had hacked into the database. She shuddered at the thought of what would happen. Suitable for termination upon further activities.
She was searching for one file in particular: Morpheus. Her problem was that hackers were listed by their real names, and she didn't know Morpheus' real name. She had only stumbled across the name Morpheus three months ago when searching for the answer to Dion's posting, "The Matrix is everywhere." He was a former hacker and a terrorist quickly climbing up the FBI's most wanted list. Every time she tried to find more information on him though, she only ran into walls. From what Catherine found, Morpheus appeared on the FBI's radar about six years ago and they had been trying to find him ever since. What he did or why he was being sought was never explicitly stated, just that he was responsible for various "attacks."
Searching through the files frantically, Catherine notice that a few hackers had been labeled "resistance member," followed by the words "terminate upon sight." Dion was labeled this way. Before she could question what was the "resistance," a message scrolled across the intercom at her station. She was expecting it to say that her two hours was nearly up, but instead it said, "Look up." She did so, and felt the color drain from her face. Three men dressed in suits and wearing sunglasses were entering the cafe.
They knew. And they had found her.
************************************************************************
Author's Notes:
1) I obviously don't know anything about hacking and programming. If anyone wants to explain things to me and help me flesh out Trinity's attack on the IRS d-base, feel free to e-mail me. Also, I dunno how long it would take to hack something, so if anyone wants to clue me in, feel free.
2) No more spring break for me, so updates will probably come less frequently. I do intend to finish this fic though, so I'll hopefully update at least every weekend. It's going to be a long ride though. I'm not even halfway done (sitting at about a third of the way there).