It begins with a chip. The chip is an implant. Goes into the brain. The chip then proceeds to alter the chemical substances in your brain so that you can react faster, think faster, and be faster. But the chip, if programmed incorrectly, can also cause hallucinations and insanity. In ways, it is only another step in the advancement of technology, but in others, it’s the ultimate weapon of sorts.
Everypony has one now, a standard issue chip, bright and shiny, all labeled with the same logo. Ain’t that fun. Everypony gets exactly the same code, so that exactly the same software can modify it. That’s where I come in. It’s already well documented, how to manipulate the chip. The only thing left is to bypass the custom security that everypony’s learning to use. The ones on the market are easy to crack, but that doesn’t pay well. It’s also a boring desk job. There isn’t a pony who doesn’t adhere to the honor code, and in general, as long as you leave others alone, you get left alone.
What I do though is usually classified. Not always, but usually. Can’t be too careful, especially because of the profiles of the job. Also can’t be too obvious. It’s more of an art than anything else. Sure, you need some knowledge, but it’s not that hard, once you get the hang of it. Really just the same old every time. The only thing that matters is remembering to cover your ass on the way out, so they can’t trace back to the source.
All those in my line of business are all connected to Network, a backend internet alternative. It’s not super widespread, as it’s localized, but any place we need a node in, it’s easy enough to set up. So here I am, sitting in a cafe. I have my laptop out, and it’s running through boot processes. I sip my coffee, and wait. The fun part is about to come, and I’m getting impatient, fast. Then I see my login screen that I customized myself. I type in the user and password, and then I’m into the verification pane for Network. I type my user info for that too.
//Verifying access credentials
-User confirmed: *******
//Loading modules
-Complete
//Loading GUI
-Complete
//Launching
Then the screen pops up, and I have access to all the coding tools as well as the various software suites that may or may not be useful. I know what I’m looking for already though, and with a couple of taps, I can see everything I need to know. I run the usual queries anyway, just to make sure everything checks out. High risk, high reward is the name of the game. As I scan through the data that’s now scrolling across my screen, I note the various exploits I can use. Some are more risky than others, but then again, I can afford to take a little risk. Cracking of high profile ponies is pretty common. Those that manage to succeed are usually unrefined, and get caught. They do provide a nice smokescreen though, and for that, they have my thanks. Makes everything easier. Nobody suspects a thing when the death is less suspicious than usual, well in a different sort of way.
I see from the video uplink of a camera that the target is drinking coffee. That’s interesting, could make for a good way to disguise what I’m about to do. But first things first, I have to break in. I bounce a few pings again, checking to see if anythings changing, If it is, it could be more troublesome. I see though, that everything seems to check out. I open another program, and type in a line of code.
//sudo install modn352.fpm
Then I press enter.
//Verifying Install
-Check
//Installing 0%
//Installing 25%
//Installing 50%
//Installing 75%
//Installing 100%
-Complete
//Loading Subroutines
-Complete
//Launching
-Complete
/user/cms7
The final line flickers, waiting for me to type in something, so I do. The screen clears, and then a single line appears that tells me I’m in,
Complete
I grin, because the little program I’m writing is working. It can crack all basic and even some of the harder encryption schemes known to ponies. If I can manage to sell this without dying, I would make it rich. This code here is almost the holy grail for our community. It would put a lot of ponies out of business. I know a bunch of ponies who would hire assassins of their own to kill me for it. But I must focus a little longer. I observe a bit more, and decide to hack another pony’s chip. Then I make him sprinkle a little something in the coffee while my target isn’t looking, and get him to walk away. When my target takes his next sip, that’s when I make my move. Suddenly, he’s on the ground, convulsing from the poison that is now circulating in his brain, but when the autopsy comes, it’ll show that all of it was from the drink. Even as ponies start to scream and cause the general chaos they’ve been causing, it’s already too late, and he takes his last breath. It’s neat and clean. I send an email to my contractor, and moments later, my payment in sitting in one of my various bank accounts.
I close my laptop, and slowly trot back to my apartment. I need to get back to my day job, which is a consulting hacker. I know that term sounds like I might as well just go full time with my side job, but that’s not the right use of the term. What hacker really means is programmer. If too much money comes in, and I’m not employed on the government books, things start to look suspicious you know? I’m careful to only accept difficult jobs, because I can claim that those take time, and be able to sneak in my other work here and there. The others have their own way of bypassing this problem.
As I walk up the stairs, I think of my sister, who’s in the hospital. That’s the only real thing keeping me in the business, besides the thrill of course, since the bills are getting expensive, as more and more ponies seem to be catching the same disease. A plague, their calling it, but I think it’s a plot. Everpony thinks I’m a crackpot conspiracy theorist because of it, but I’ve seen some records that I’ve managed to extract on some of my more dicey excursions. Not that I’m going to do anything about it, because I’m just one pony, and it isn’t worth the risk just yet.
I enter my office, where I find my main terminal, which is connected to the normal internet. No need to provoke unnecessary suspicion, when anypony could walk in and mess with it. Then I see that something’s wrong. Somepony has been in here, trying to snoop through my computer. It’s subtle, but I’ve designed my security program well. I can’t trace the attempt though, as it’s local. If somepony is doing this, there must be a reason. My only guess is that they know I know.
That means I have to look around my apartment, and to my displeasure, I find several cameras. This probably means I’m being followed. I find a good corner, which I thoroughly clean out, and run some searches, as there isn’t going to be anywhere I can go just yet. But I find nothing, which is really odd. The only thing left to do is to try to shake them.
The best way to shake somepony is to draw them into a large jostling crowd, so I head for the nearest mall. I look into the mirror on occasion to see if there is anything suspicious, but I can’t. This means that if someone is following me, they’re good. I park, and then walk in. There is a twinge of pain in my head from exhaustion, but I ignore it. I continue walking, weaving my way through the multitude of ponies. I double back and triple back, just to make sure, then I walk out the entrance again, and drive off, making sure not to leave when others are. There aren’t any cars that drive off after me, so it appears I’m not being followed which is strange.
From the cameras I know they are interested in me though, so I need another opinion on this. A colleague of mine is an expert, so off I go, driving to him. It’s uneventful, but I still can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. In fact, the feeling only grows as I near his flat. By the time I’m at his door, I can feel my hoof shaking in anticipation. I knock on the door. When nopony answers, I yell in a loud voice, “Is anypony there?”
And nothing, so I take the emergency key which he’s been kind enough to lend me, and help myself in. What I find is an absolute mess. It’s not like his usual tidy self. I make my way through his things carefully, because I know he doesn’t like it when his crap is disturbed. I think he’s been caught, but I can’t be quite sure yet. He’s been known to go on some crazy fits of paranoia at times. What I’m looking for is his terminal. I’m not really a regular Sherlock, so nothing else is really telling me anything besides the fact that my friend has run himself into a spot of trouble. I find his computer, except for the fact that his monitor is smashed in. I take out my toolset, and open up his case, and find that his hard drive has been removed as well.
There’s nothing for me to save, so I trot away, carefully avoiding his stuff in case he manages to come back. When I arrive at the door, I notice something that I didn’t notice on the way in. There is a paper taped onto the door, with writing on it. Maybe it’s a warning, so I read it, just in case. But it’s not anything but a poem. I’ve never liked poems really. I keep the note though, because it might be important later on.
I don’t know who else to go to, so I just drive home. It’s been an interesting day, to say the least. I think back to what I’ve learned. First off, I have a bunch of money sitting around now, no surprise there. Secondly, I’m being watched for some reason. Third, my friend is gone. All of this makes for something really suspicious. I’ll probably need to recheck everything, including my OS to make sure nobody has installed any snooping programs.
When I get back to my apartment, I’m relieved to find that nothing is changed, even though I’ve removed most of the cameras. That means I’m not important enough to put under full time surveillance, not just yet anyway. It also means I can use my computers without being observed for the most part. So I log into Network and send some inquiries around, as well as on the normal internet. When I get nothing back, I’m even more confused. It’s been a while, so there should be news that something is going around, especially if it’s not just me.
But nothing. That must mean that something big is going down, something that involves my friend and I. And it’s big enough that nobody is telling us, meaning that whoever has started it is a big shot, and knows what they are doing. Unless the right ponies have been paid off, there would still be at least a rumor for me to pick up, but even that’s not there. I’ve even got a few emails asking me if I’m crazy, so I know this is a well done scheme. That means I’m going to have to crack into some very secure databases in order to figure it out, because I sure as hell would rather take the risk than stay in the dark like an idiot.
I start with the well known ones, because those are the easiest, but to my annoyance, and expectations, there’s nothing. Whoever it is has gotten most of it, which narrows the field significantly. It still could be any one of the factions though, so I still have to look. It takes me a bit longer, but soon I have a wealth of information dancing across my screen, scanned by a program I quickly hacked together. It’s looking for any mention of my friend or me. There’s a lot of data, as this is what ponies normally use, so it takes a while.
So I wait. I’m getting hungry, so I make myself a little something, a pick-me-up. I’ve always been particular to a nice plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce, even if all the health specialists claim it’s not healthy. I also grab myself a nice tall glass filled with apple juice. I eat and drink slowly, savoring every droplet, as there’s nothing to do, and I’m getting bored. After I finish, I clean up and lounge around. Then I hear the ding, a tone that tells me that my program is done. I get up out of my couch, and walk to the computer.
What I see surprises me. Zero matches, the screen reads. Whatever is there, if it is at all, is encrypted with a non-computerized method. Everything has been thought out, and well too. I beat my desk with my hoof in frustration, which only gets my hoof hurt, making me even more angry. I sit there for a moment, calming down so I won’t do something stupid. I’ve got a long night ahead of me anyway.
The sun comes up, its rays shining into my eyes and telling me that I haven’t slept. Night has passed, spent sifting through the data manually, and I’ve found nothing suspicious at all. Not only is it ciphered, what I’m looking for, but it’s done remarkably well. So well, that I can’t find it, even with all my math and cryptography that I’ve learned. There’s only one thing left that I can do, and that’s going into hiding. I don’t like doing that because it’s the most boring thing, but I don’t have much of a choice anymore.
It’s not hard, erasing my identity from both the Network and the internet. That I do with a program I’ve written so long ago. It’s practically one of the first that I’ve made, just for emergency purposes. But the hard part is coming up. I have to arrange my death so it doesn’t look too bad. It’s harder, because the ponies in my business know what to expect. For this, I’ve created a husk of sorts. Basically it acts as my double. I’m glad I called in the favor from that bio associate of mine, because I actually need it now.
It has a chip too, one which has all the data in my chip that I’ve copied over. That way, it’s identifiable. It also has some of my genes spliced in from the blood I donated to my associate. If it turns up somewhere, badly beaten and burned of course, because it’s not really anatomically accurate, ponies will assume that I’ve died. The only question is, how does one go about burning without making it obvious that it’s not real. I suppose a gas leak would do. Those are pretty common as well.
I drag my fake into an abandoned building out in the middle of nowhere. These buildings are the most likely to have gas leaks, as I’ve noticed. Then I make a small hole into the pipe. As the gas leaks out, I start to smell the toxic fumes that are filling the air. I don’t want to smell them for longer than I have to, so I start the preparations. I put a small amount of explosive around the hole in the pipe, then attach a crude timer. I start the timer, then I walk out of the building and onto a busy street. I hail a cab to take me to the nearest airport, because space travel is pretty expensive, and I still have things to do on this planet.
As the cab rolls off, I take a nap. It’s been a long day, and I haven’t gotten too much sleep in the past few hours. I open my eyes, and I’m at the airport. On the various screens scattered around, I can see that the gas leak explosion has been reported. Soon, they will identify the corpse, and know that I am dead.
I walk up to the counter to buy a ticket. It doesn’t matter where, because I have to take a few more steps before I can fully be born anew. It only takes a short while, as it seems less and less ponies are traveling. The internet is a very convenient alternative, especially with the VR (virtual reality) rooms that have started appearing en masse. I get the ticket, and look at it briefly. It looks solid, which means that whoever it is has gotten everything covered, or I’m almost home free. Either way, I take the tram to the respective building where I’m supposed to be waiting for said airplane. It’s funny, how much we ignored aerospace research, because pegasuses could already fly, but now, with the new engines, pegasuses are getting more outclassed every day. It only really pays to be a unicorn now.
Then my plane arrives at the airport. I stand in line as we all go in through the small hatch, one by one. I find my seat, 22B, and sit down. I can feel the plane start to take off, after everyone is in the plane, and safely buckled. This time, I take a much longer nap.
