Late

In nineteen eighty nine a programmer in the tools group at Microsoft wrote a testing routine that allowed him to bombard the kernel of the new operating system they were writing with packets of data until the kernel was overwhelmed. Because of the robustness of the test script in handling data packets the lead software developer on the project incorporated the packet router of the testing routine wholesale into his kernel. The product, named Chicago, never saw release, but the kernel and the packet router lived on in the system that became NT.

NT became Windows Two Thousand, and the packet router became immortal, embedded in the heart of every computer running Windows on the planet. Fifty Three years later it was still there. Unknown to all but eight people on the Earth, the tools group programmer had left a back door into the packet router, and thus the entirety of the system. Andrew Gardner was one of those eight.

And Andrew had written a routine of his own, a small bit of code with very large effects. Once it executed it called home, Andrew's server farm, and in the background of the Windows system it uploaded a far more insidious program. This program duplicated every bit of data passing through the router, and it sent that data on to Andrew. More, it allowed Andrew to remove and replace data at his whim.

"I've given them the false location, Miss Perrin," Andrew said. "They believe the Wanteys live in Ocean City at the decoy house."

"Tre Bien, Andrew," Janice said.

"Yes, excellent, Andrew," Hannah said. "The house in Cypress is still reporting in the system as belonging to us?"

"Yes, Miss Smyth," Andrew said. "They are focusing all their attention on Ocean City."

"Good, now all we have to do is gazer zem zere," Janice said. "How many did you say zey had on zeir roles, Andrew,"

He consulted his tablet. "Fifty three active, with thirty eight high threat potential," he replied.

"Well, Chen and Jason wanted in on the fun," Hannah said nodding. "Looks like we'll need them."

"We will let zee boys handle zee pawns, you agree, 'Annah?" Janice asked.

"Yes," Hannah said. "And Delray?"

"I desire Madam Delray for myself," Janice said lightly, brushed Andrews shoulder with her hand, and turned to leave. "Track her movements, please." Her voice was like a blast of artic air.

And that familiar thrill of fear went down Hannah's spine. She loved her partner, deeply and in several ways, but on not so rare occasions Janice scared the hell out of her.

As the French woman left the conference room in the office suite, Andrew stared at her back, and he muttered, "I almost pity the bitch."

Hannah nodded.

(*)

"Ekam… Dve… Trini…" Mindy was balanced above him as he lay on his back. Her left foot was in his right hand, her right hand grasping his left foot from above, and her left arm and right leg spayed out horizontally.

The back lawn and pool of their Cypress Texas mini ranch lay beyond the window wall that dominated the back of the house. In the pasture, Mindy's horse grazed next to the small herd of male alpaca pasture mates they acquired for him. Opposite the pool a greenhouse the same dimensions as the ones that would be built on Mars sat partially assembled.

Mark gently lowered Mindy to the mat. "That was the hardest one yet," he said.

Mindy smiled coyly as she crawled up his naked body and kissed him deeply. "I love you," she said. "So much." A tear leaked from her eye.

Mark was temporarily taken aback. Not from her declaration of love, they both did that often, but her manner the last few days had been more emotional than usual for his analytical wife. "I love you too," he said. "So, you've been unusually cuddly and affectionate the last three days. Not that I'm complaining, I'm not, but fess up." He looked at her with an air of expectation.

She smiled and hugged him again. "Last month was very hectic," she said, her head laid on his chest.

"Yeah," He said with a snort. "It'll let up in a few weeks when Annie comes back."

"Yes," she said. "But in the middle of all that I sort of… forgot a few things."

He nodded, and said, "Didn't we all, I was late for a class. I hate being late."

Mindy burst into laughter, and Mark looked at her puzzled.

She rose on her elbows and kissed him again. "I'm not hating it so much," she said, and giggled at his mystified dog look. "I'm late, Mark. Very late."

"We aren't due in until…tomorr…" Realization lit his face. "Late?"

She nodded slowly with love radiating from her face. "Almost a month," she answered quietly.

"Are you?"

"Yes."

(*)

The astronaut and his wife slept, the sheets in celebratory disarray. The Earth turned, and Mars rose on the horizon. Across the interplanetary gulf the robots of Mars kept up their constant work. Heedless of politicians and fanatics, spies and engineers, astronauts and administrators, they explored, performed science, gathered data, and made glass on mankind's next home.

Further out in the solar system a probe approached Europa, the lander attached to it would finally answer the question that had been plaguing scientists for almost fifty years. Was there a subsurface ocean at Europa? And if there was, did that mean Calisto and Ganymede also had oceans as the data indicated? And most importantly, was there life in that ocean? The answers would be found by the intelligent machines of Earth's intelligent, spacefaring species.

All of these amazing accomplishments made no difference to three people in a small rural Tennessee home. They didn't believe it had happened. They did believe, fervently, that they were privy to the mind of the creator. They believed that that creator was on their side, and more they believed he had instructed them to do the violence they were contemplating.

And lastly, much to their future dismay, they completely believed the false data that Andrew Gardner fed them. They made plans, they strategized, they organized their followers, and they fell completely into the snare that had been laid for them.