Simulated, p.5
Simulated, page 5
Harrison is shaking his head. “Get your stuff and come into Com-Hall. It’s an emergency.”
The hacker’s voice rings in my ear. You shouldn’t have opened this door. You’re going to regret this.
He’s right. What have I done? Whatever is wrong, I just made it worse.
Chapter 5
COM-HALL IS A secure conference room with no windows and a long oval table. Ten prods sit around the table with buds in their ears, tech on their wrists, and tablets sprawled out in front of them. Everyone is glancing at each other nervously. I don’t meet their eyes. It’s not every Monday Ms. T calls for an urgent meeting, on top of job acquisitions. And it’s certainly not every Monday I decide to be stupid enough to break one of the most fundamental rules and let a dangerous hacker have his way in our system. What have I done?
I take my seat, mouth dry. We’re surrounded by PSS tech so micro you wouldn’t be able to detect it, reminding me of how easily they track everything. A mole on someone’s skin, for example, could be a mini-camera or a bio-detector. I sigh.
Ms. T is not in the room yet, so I take a moment to process what just happened in my sims.
Harrison and Pens rush in and sneak to my side. The look on their faces makes me wish I had actually gone down in the helicopter.
“How bad is it?” I ask, clenching my jaw.
“Well, as you said, Coral Hacker got in,” Harrison whispers.
I nod, wondering how much I should say. “And?”
“He was sneakier than we thought. He had help. While Coral Hacker was in your sims, his accomplice slid in and cracked our secure database and stole a file.”
My eyes close, a dread sinking into my gut. “Which file?”
“We don’t know which one yet. It was a virtual, holographic file. He’s that good.” Harrison exhales, his eyes narrowing.
“Or that bad,” Pens adds.
Pens leans in. “Whatever file it was, we’d better find out before Ms. T or Mr. Barrios does.” We look at each other grimly.
I push up my sleeves and start tapping the table. Stupid. They told me he was dangerous. I didn’t listen. Without my gift I keep making really bad decisions.
“We’ll get it back,” I say. “I’ll get it back. No matter how long it takes. We can start after the acquisitions meeting. Where is Ms. T, by the way?”
Pens shrugs as she and Harrison exchange a look. “She told Felicia to start without her, which is a first.” My body stiffens. It isn’t like her to be late. A different Monday indeed.
My head hurts. “I’d better get coffee.” I make my way to the counter where a voice activated espresso machine named Ledger greets me as it picks up my voice waves.
“Hello, Jo,” the robotic voice says. “What can I get you today?”
“Hi, Ledger, a triple shot macchiato, extra strong please.” Ledger gets to work while humming a Chinese folk tune I taught him. It doesn’t bring me joy this time.
Felicia enters the room with her clipboard and sits at the head of the table. “Alright, prods, Ms. T will be in soon. We’ve got some fantastic new opportunities this week…” Her tone is optimistic but the awkward smile on her face says otherwise.
“Felicia, tell the truth,” sighs Eddie. “This week’s PSS jobs are mind-numbing.” Of course Eddie would say that.
“Boring is still important,” Felicia retorts.
“Boring is what I need to tell my dad,” I whisper to Pens. But it won’t get my gift back. My mind jumps to the helicopter sim where my gift surfaced with the rush of an adrenaline high. I shake my head. What are we going to regret? What was he telling me? What do Kai and PSS have to do with this? What did he take?
Felicia reads the assignments one by one. Torturously slow. The assignments are located all over the world: Seoul. Abu Dhabi. London. They all involve an economic, agricultural or technological problem, all of which involve a ton of reports and accounting. Apart from a few enthusiastic yesses from kids who actually like reports, moans and groans fill the room. Definitely not as fun as the jobs that require inventing, testing new products, or hacking into things.
Felicia continues reading the brief job descriptions as the team logs possible solution starters into the thinktank app. But I can’t focus. PSS jobs usually get me excited, but not today. I can’t stop thinking about the missing file. And I need to talk to Agent Bai or Detective Hansen about Kai, tell them about Coral Hacker. Besides PSS doesn’t need me for these jobs. Everyone on the team is more than capable of solving these problems.
We’re not finished with the job list when Ms. T marches to the front of the room. Her short but commanding presence steals our attention. Her straight back coupled with the stark expression on her face reminds me of a military leader coming back from combat. Each step on the tile floor is tapped out for us to count. The way she holds a file in her hand, like it’s evidence of a murder, silences us all.
“Team, can I have your attention? I have grave news.”
Chapter 6
LIGHTS IN THE room snap off and a glowing red bulb turns on. A zing from an overhead buzzer vibrates the table and every piece of tech, tablet or smart watch in the room zaps to black. Dark-Eye. It’s a protocol I’ve only heard about. PSS is now completely locked down, highly secure and soundproof.
“Don’t worry, everyone. We’ll be up and running again soon. None of your information will be lost,” Ms. T explains.
Five other PSS mental calculators who I don’t know well squirm in their seats at the tension. They don’t take field jobs and only provide internal assistance to the teams. Right now, they’re fish out of water. The field team sits still as ice, hyper-aware, but not afraid. For me, this tense atmosphere almost feels normal, like I’m back in China.
“Earlier today we received a warning from the Government-Ops sector that unless we sterilize our Blacklist by the end of this week, they’ll have to shut down PSS. Which means, Harrison, we need to lock up that virtual file in Cyber Island.”
I raise my hand. “Cyber what?”
Ms. T glances my way. “All of the programs created by PSS are fully encrypted. Every time the program runs, a public-key and a private-key is fetched from the Cyber Island command server. If there’s a potentially sensitive file, we’ll lock it up in our Cyber Island. If there’s tampering, then the command server will not respond with the appropriate key to decrypt, instead, it will respond with an order to delete the file and everything related to it. That way, even if the attacker has backups of the program, it would be nothing more than jumbled text without the encryption key. Basically, it’s a kill-switch for our Blacklist files.”
“You know, so the world can be a safer place,” Eddie says, shaking his head.
All of PSS’s inventions, including everything on the Blacklist, contain cutting-edge technology or scientific breakthroughs that only certain government experts are allowed to review. Some of these technologies are sanctioned for public use, conforming to safety and privacy laws, while others are for government and scientific use only. All PSS breakthroughs are highly sensitive, but Blacklist tech in the wrong hands could be truly dangerous.
Ms. T’s lips flatten to an angry slash. “Which brings me to the grave news. We’ve been hacked. The perpetrator penetrated our system and knew exactly what he was looking for. A virtual holographic file containing Blacklist tech.”
The room gasps. No one can steal a virtual holographic file without stealing a PSS invention called the Holothumb, a holographic thumb drive to carry the designs in. It’s new PSS tech, and it’s a big deal. Whatever the thief stole will now be encrypted with his thumbprint.
“That’s right,” Ms. T says. “After looking into it, we discovered a trail. There’s evidence the hacker has been in this secure database before.” She stares at all of us, her eyes dark like a storm is brewing. “What I’m saying is, our entire Blacklist is in the wind.”
The gravity of guilt is crushing.
I nearly fall from my chair. Idiot. How could I let this happen?
I tuck my hair behind my ears and jam my fingers into my temples. Have I lost my mind? Newton’s third law runs through my head, shaking its finger at me. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
My mind darts to my sims—my assignment—Kai, PSS, Ms. T, they were distractions so he could take the Blacklist file. The desire to get my gift back has now made the world an infinitely more dangerous place. Anything else I do might make it even worse.
Ms. T passes a paper to her left. “Eddie, I want you on this immediately before it leaks to the government. Harrison, you wrote the Cyber Island program so get on it. We have to do anything it takes to strip the Blacklist from every server it’s ever touched.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Harrison rubs his forehead, which now gleams with sweat.
This is my fault. I did exactly what Kai told me not to. I let the hacker get under my skin. Ms. T told me he was a threat. He wasn’t trying to help me. He was using me to get the Blacklist—which means he is more dangerous than I let myself believe.
Under the red light, Pens and Eddie shift in their chairs exchanging anxious expressions and twitching with nervous energy. Harrison and Felicia are already buzzing with strategies on how to trace the list. A fire roars inside me so hot I feel like I’ll combust if I don’t do something right now. I will get my gift back. I will find the Blacklist. When I track Coral Hacker down, I’ll stop him, expose him once and for all and bring him to justice.
Ms. T can feel the energy in the room. She claps her hands for attention.
“PSS rule number one. We never give in to panic or defeat. We work hard and in innovative ways. We got here by believing we could accomplish anything. I don’t need to remind you of the past solutions we have come up with.” She takes a deep breath, before the lights blink back on. “We will find the list and the hacker. That said, we also can’t forget our other responsibilities and those who need us.” She turns to Felicia. “Update me on acquisitions. Which job did we choose?”
Felicia snaps up the list. “We haven’t selected a job yet.” Felicia says, distracted. “There’s actually one last proposal to consider. It’s labeled 'crisis management' but in the details it looks like an Internet security reboot. The notes say their system is on the brink of breaking down; software’s causing crashes, and there are lots of hacker-vulnerabilities.”
Everyone groans under their breath as she continues reading the proposal. It’s a boring job.
“They could hire anyone to do this work,” Pens whispers to me. “Why call us?”
Felicia clears her throat. Clearly no one is interested. “Alright then, Eddie and Harrison are evidently more interested in the new diamond drill tech for oil discovery in Namibia. Pens chose deep-dive fishing sub tech to tap into the world’s untouched fish population, so since the job in Tunisia is a no-go, let’s vote between one of these.”
My head snaps up so quickly it hurts. “Wait,” I gasp. “Did you say Tunisia?”
Felicia nods.
My chair flies back hitting the wall as I stand abruptly, surprising myself as I blurt out, “You have to take that job.”
Chapter 7
TO SAY IT'S out of character for me to raise my voice for any job during acquisitions is an understatement, which is why the room falls silent and all eyes are on me. If only they heard what was in my head, maybe they’d understand.
Choose Tunisia. You have five days…
I straighten my shirt, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants. I must look like I’ve seen a ghost. In a way, I have. This can’t be a coincidence. Harrison and Pens are questioning me with their eyes, wondering what I’m up to.
“Interesting.” Ms. T folds her arms across her chest. “Want to explain why you think we should take this job?”
For two months I’ve listened in the back corner, taken notes, daydreamed that my gift comes back in full force and I’m the one who has the brilliant answer to solve all the problems of the world. But in reality, I haven’t been able to offer much more than an equation or mathematical perspective.
I grin awkwardly, my shoulders shrugging. I’m not sure if admitting to the team that Coral Hacker is pointing us toward Tunisia is a smart idea. It could frighten them—or him.
I slowly take my seat. “I’m with Felicia on this one. Boring jobs are also important,” I say, looking around the table. Felicia is staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
Ms. T cocks her eyebrows at me. She doesn’t buy it.
“And Harrison, our news guy,” I say, thinking on my toes. “Weren’t you talking about Tunisia earlier?”
Harrison gives me a blank look, clearly not excited I put him on the spot. But he catches on quickly. “Um, right.” He nods. “Actually, I did read about it this morning. The second biggest election in Tunisia’s history is happening this week and there is a group of radicals have been causing some tension in the capital.”
Ooh. I shudder and my hands go cold. That’s not good.
“Hmm. Any more information on the job?” Ms. T asks Felicia, her curiosity piqued.
Thankfully, Felicia takes over. “Sure. First off, this job has to be done in person. Their main concern is an information breach in the Ministry of Education.”
Pens darts me a sideways glare. Her lips are pursed, and eyebrows gathered in a tight knot. She’s angry and wondering what I’m not telling her.
My head cocks to the side as I mouth, The Blacklist. But she still doesn’t get it. I just shake my head.
My mind is sparking, and my stomach is churning. Coral Hacker’s message. Ms. T in my sims. The stolen Blacklist. This job in Tunisia is connected.
And so is Kai…but I can’t tell them that. Coral Hacker told me I had all I needed to help them. I’m confused. Is this hacker helping us? Or is he baiting me to go to Tunisia? If he’s a threat, then why would he tip us off? And if he already has the Blacklist, why would he need anything else from PSS?
Numbers trail in and out of my vision. Like static, they only half appear, then sink under the surface. It’s like looking into a shattered mirror. Even so, I’m sure Kai and the Blacklist are there.
Harrison locks eyes with me, rubbing his chin. “Ma’am, we’ve done this job long enough to know that aiding countries during a transition is important.” Harrison has no idea why he’s helping me, but he knows it has something to do with the list.
Ms. T pipes in. “What’s important right now is tracing the Blacklist. An internet security job is too easy for PSS. I suggest we pass on a recommendation, then accept the job in Namibia.”
That feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach tells me she’s making a mistake. This job is connected to the Blacklist and PSS has the right to know.
I’m staring at Pens and Felicia, shaking my head no. Felicia shoots me a ‘what is going on’ look then says to the team. “Ok, let’s put it to a vote. Namibia or Tunisia?”
“Prods!” Harrison snaps his fingers, and everyone huddles into a group, excluding me from their decision. It has never bothered me before because I can’t take field jobs, but today it makes me nervous. They talk for a moment, maybe several minutes, before moving back into their original seating order.
The team turns to me. All of them have odd expressions plastered on their faces. Maybe they decided I couldn’t be trusted after my stupid plan to catch the hacker. Maybe they’re right.
Felicia clears her throat, then stands to make her announcement. “We’ll take the job in Tunisia on one condition.”
“Which is?” I ask, my feet go cold in my shoes.
Pens smirks, a mix of mischief and determination in her eye. “You’re coming with us.”
Chapter 8
YOU HAVE FIVE days.
A sharp hiccup in my gift kicks into gear. The numbers inject such a rush of adrenaline that it’s like a roller coaster ride of a hundred miles per hour and I don’t want to get off. For a glorious moment, I imagine myself stepping out of an airport; my father is supportive, and my gift is in full force.
Within five seconds, three graphs and nine maps of Tunisia I didn’t know I had stored away are pulled up and I’m mentally tracing highways all over the region. The equations then stretch into coral and coastlines and the imperfect symmetry of Kai’s face. Finally, they all land on one thing—the hacker’s robotic voice.
If I go to Tunisia, I will find him. He will help me get my gift back. I don’t know how I know it, but I do.
Ms. T patiently studies me. By the look on her face, she suspects my gift to be at work. I’m smiling from ear to ear until the numbers snap out like whiplash and the ride is done. I want to hop back on again, but it’s closed.
Reality rushes in like a headache after a sugar rush.
Tunisia is out of the equation. I’ve done enough damage today. My dad would never allow it. And I won’t make the same mistake twice by trusting a lunatic I don’t know. Kai, no matter how much I worry about him, can take care of himself.
“Sorry. I can’t go. You know I’m not very useful without my gift and my father won’t allow it.” The words come out like weak traitors. They know—like I do—it’s the opposite of what I really want, the opposite of what I should do. Especially if I’m the one urging them to take this job.
PSS is already in serious trouble. The Blacklist is gone. What if I am leading them into more danger? This could all be a trick if Coral Hacker is luring us there. And what does it have to do with Kai?
Breathe. I force myself to think positively. Kai knows what he’s doing. He’s due back in Shanghai in a week. Job done. I refuse to get worked up by the groundless ideas in my head.
“Jo, you think outside of the box more than any of us...” Felicia says. “Can’t you find a way to convince your dad?”
My gut is screaming in agreement with Felicia, and I’ve learned not to ignore that feeling but I can’t traumatize my father again. “He’d flip if I asked to travel to a country with heated elections coming up. His health is finally recovering.”
