Hacker's Memory

I'm not one of those gaming cracker types. When I'm waiting for a network's off-peak hours, I don't settle in with some classic (or otherwise) soft... I usually do some test rehearsals of what I'm going to do followed by a few dull hours of nothingness. That night was no exception. I waited very patiently for 22:00 local before I sat back down at my computer and hooked up the neural interface to my brain. Set up is usually pretty dull... hook your head up to the 'net, configure a line of servers to use so covering your tracks isn't so hard, and finally connecting to your target server. It's the same procedure hackers have used for thirty years, and I'm not one to break with tradition.

Login was fairly painless, as far as they go... my neural interface allowed me to literally shove tendrils of my consciousness through data streams and access logins in a limited capacity. I was on a job to retrieve some research data, then destroy the information and erase all signs of my entry. The data was new enough that it wouldn't get downloaded to the weekly network backups, so I had just a couple days before my work would be useless.

The hack was going better than I had expected... no unforeseen security had crossed my path, and the system hadn't even recognized my illegal presence on the server. It took me a bit longer than I wanted to access the research data, since it was on a different system and firewall, two precious pieces of information that my test run had failed to show me. A little less than five minutes into the hack I finally got the file and started the download when something happened. If you've never had it happen to you, it's useless trying to explain what a neuro-feedback pulse feels like. Burnout... burnout is like a million tiny electrical pulses hitting your brain at once, then everything blanks out as this burning white tidal wave hits you. If it happens to you too many times your brain shorts out and you end up like a junkie that overdoses.

I didn't understand what had happened, so I went outside for a walk to clear my head, at least what was left of it. The rain was pouring down like it does almost every night. The crowds were out, and all the brilliant lights downtown near my apartment had come alive. I was nothing but a shadow moving down the sidewalk, ignored by everyone. It took me a few minutes for my mind to come back and for me to pay attention to my situation. The hack had been perfect... I'd disabled all the security on my way in, even that pesky integrated program that had kicked me off the server earlier. There had been no traces, no detections, nothing. Nothing. The thought suddenly hit me that maybe someone had been on the other end watching me and waiting to turn my brain into mush. I rejected the thought immediately... but the concept still lingered for a while afterward.

Somehow I found myself in front of Chen's Sushi Bar. Chen runs a great place, and most people who care say he has the best sushi in Newport. The line had thinned out since the 19:00 rush, so getting in and getting an order didn't take me that long. Half a dozen Newport Special rolls and a small bag of vegetable tempura heavier, I left the bar and started walking again. I still didn't care what I was doing as long as I was walking. Newport Specials don't have anything raw in them, so time wasn't much of an issue. Eventually I found a spot to sit down away from most of the big crowds and eat my dinner. My mind was almost completely back by then, but every time you hit burnout something inside your mind dies and never comes back.