New Story: Hack Part 1

Hack: Part 1

                He got in, finally he cracked it. The program loaded and initiated: a square, white room appeared. 5 hosts sat on the floor, each with his own computer. They typed furiously. He appeared behind them, materialized, logged in, but uninvited.

                “Oh wow, this is it, I can’t friggin believe it,” he said as he leaned back in his lawn chair, electrodes spilling out of his skull. The child prodigy spent the past 10 of his 20 years searching for this room. Fantasizing about the day when he could log in to it. From that point he may have a chance to discover the other rooms. With this information he could travel anywhere, to the different simulation rooms and leave reality behind. Leave behind the suffering and the dark gray days of real life existence.

                The hosts created the most realistic computer simulations. This room is where they worked, this is the master program from which all the other programs are designed and created, launched and experienced for the hosts’ pleasure. They built simulations of themselves, avatars that function within the master program. Any experienced programmer knows that the best way to create software is to integrate them within the computer, form a bond and speak to the computer. Commanding from within is much easier, the hosts mastered this approach.

                They conceal their creations well; none of their projects are released to the public. The hosts are legendary in the underground hacker culture. No outsider has ever made it to the room; he is the first, though many have tried. Reaching this point gives him a chance to discover more, he can experience what the hosts take for granted.

                He peered around the room.

                “If I can only find some clues, maybe a portal to the other rooms, something.” The hosts are ingenious programmers, they covered their tracks well. The room is bright white, recessed lights in the ceiling cast fluorescent light, painting the walls, hosts and computers in plasma. The only movement came from the hosts’ hands and the flickering responses on the monitors. What does he look like in this program? How did it render his unique features?

                He held up his hand and studied it. The amount of detail was beyond reality. The tone was flesh and peach, each hair punctured the skin into a cracked pore.

                “Friggin unbelievable! Everything is rendered beautifully. They simulated every detail of my hand, even the tracker scar,” he muttered to himself, hacking in from the dark storage closet, brown water dripping from the cracked ceiling. Inside the white room he stood motionless and silent, his lips pursed. He crept to the nearest host, a bald one with lumbering shoulders. The host sat close to the computer, his body concealing the screen.

                “I have to see the screen,” he said as he tried to move the host away from the monitor, but the programmer leaned closer in, covering the screen. The host’s fingers moved rapidly, striking unusually shaped keys with strange symbols on them.

                “I need to see!” He screamed and raised his fists, striking the host in the head. He recoiled with the blow and turned back to the screen without looking at his attacker. Blood dripped from a small gash in the host’s head and landed on a key. Ruby, shimmering blood settled next to a symbol which resembled a horse shoe. He wildly swung his limbs at the host, blood splattering on the floor and monitor. The host was knocked back a few feet from the computer; he lay on his stomach, face down. The intruder studied the monitor, nothing made sense.

                “No!! These characters are in some weird language. What does it mean!? Arghh.” Frustration over came him, he banged his head with clenched fists then covered his face with his hands.

                The host got up from the bloody floor, limped to the computer, sat down and resumed his work. Once again he did not acknowledge the violent intruder. The host’s fingers typed faster than before. He turned to the intruder who happened to pull his hands away from his face at the same time. Solid silver eyes regarded the intruder. The host mumbled something and the room faded into darkness.

                He once again returned to reality. He looked around the dim closet.

                “I don’t know if I can’t do this again,” he slowly whispered. He opened a desk drawer and removed an old revolver. Grasping the gun he raised the barrel to his temple. He began to squeeze the trigger, but stopped short. 

                "Maybe there's some other way," he exclaimed, the revolver settled back into the drawer, his chapped fingers pushed the drawer into the desk. 

House

Closed on a house yesterday! I'm more than excited, I'm ecstatic. Spent the day painting and mowing the lawn with our new lawn mower. It couldn't handle the foot tall grass very well, but it eventually got the job done. I had to continuously empty the grass collector but that was okay.

Seeing kids playing in the neighborhood brought the realization to me that I'm no longer a child. Buying a house and tending to it is a very grown up thing. But I'm ready to be an adult. Now I just have to act like one and we'll be all set ;-).

New Story: Flesh Into Gear Part 2

Flesh Into Gear: Part 2

                This will be the moment when he can metaphorically hold the skull of his discarded human body and speak to it.

                “Oh changes, the point at which the usual ceases to be.” He says as he contains his human skull in his metal hand. “From this point on I will be different in form and function. You have served me well over these long years, my human essence, you have served me well indeed. My limbs are now controlled by a central computer, not by the brain which would be inside you.” He lifts the skull higher. “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him. He was I, I was Yorick. Looking at my new body, I cannot recognize how it used to be.

                “But what is life? Is it strictly biological? Do electrons live? Is there ever a point when they cease being? Can a chemical solution live until it changes into something else? Or does it just evaporate? These are all questions I pose to you, my polished skull. Can you answer them? I think not. Even I, your electronic counter part cannot even begin to formulate answers.

                A gentle beeping sounded from the machine’s motherboard. A new set of changes took place. His feet morphed into wheels and he traveled out of the house. Now outside the machine could see other such life forms leaving their dwellings. A few others joined him. They traveled in a straight line, but to where? Inside his robot head he saw a diagram of a building. That is the destination, city hall.

                The robots soon arrived at city hall and gathered in an auditorium. A large, spider like, machine ambled its way to the podium and addressed the crowd:

                “ You were all summoned and asked to perform one duty, to transform your human counterparts into the machines in which you are now.  We must go out and transform every human you meet. The tide is turning, machines are becoming the dominant entity. As you’ll see beside you, there is a computer. Take the USB plug and insert it into the back of your cranium. You’ll receive instructions and commands vital for this mission.” Dictated the machine.

                Each robot followed the leader’s commands and plugged in to the computer. Bytes traveled at the speed of light to each machine prompting the receiver about their duties and instructions. Soon the machines removed their plugs and listened to the leader.

                “ You will all go out now and transform every human you find. Machines will become the dominant entities.”

                With those final words the machines left city hall and went out on their missions to transform humans to machines.   

New Story: Flesh Into Gear

Flesh Into Gear

                The man sat at his computer and felt an unusual sensation in his fingers as he typed on the key board. His finger tips felt rough, and coarse. He rubbed them together to get a better sense of their new texture. He looked down and noticed iron filings leaving his finger tips as he rubbed them together. He watched as the iron left his finger tips and slowly made their way up his fingers. A deep brownish black pigment took over his fingers. Within them he felt a surge of electricity which made his hair stand on end. He felt a transformation in his brain too; he soon felt the evacuation of emotions, the gain of knowledge and the expedience of ideas and information flowing within his cortex. His eyes turned to glass, pupils were replaced by LEDs. He wanted to scream but couldn’t, he felt no pain. The skin on his hands peeled away and was replaced by stainless steel. Sensors on his metal skin detected the temperature of his environment. He looked to his right arm and witnessed metallic changes there as well. His muscles were replaced by pistons, his veins with pipes, his blood with oil, his heart with a motorized pump. He closed his glass eyes as he felt more changes take place. His arms were now long segments of steel. He stood up and lifted his desk with one hand, his strength astonished him. He sat back down and typed some more on the key board. The computer monitor extended out and wrapped around his head. Electrons poured into his metal skull. The computer transferred programs into his very being. His arms were soon replaced with coiling tentacles, moving about the room. They once again returned to iron tipped hands. His shoulders became large gears, powering his arms and hands. His chest was becoming like a metal drum, with his pumping galvanic heart within. The changes extended down to his legs, each one was replaced by a steel beam with shocks to absorb impacts. His back was formed out of metal plates, one on top of another lying parallel to his spine made of bone. This too changed into a column of transition metals. Bone was dissolved by molten steel and iron. He bent forward and backward, surprised by the range of motion. Within his mouth, teeth were covered by thick layers of gold and silver, bone dissolved away. His ears became auditory sensors made of fanned out metal. The monitor surrounding his head pumped in more commands and turned this human into an elite machine. He even went through a metamorphosis on a cellular level. His red blood cells became molecules of petroleum. His white blood cells became microscopic nano-bots poised to defend against all invaders, bacterial, viral or other. His bone cells changed into iron, manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten bound together as alloys to make steel. His neurons were replaced by an extensive system of circuits and transistors. At the back of his skull was a USB port to plug directly into a computer for transmission of data.

                He became a stronger and more intelligent being. He was one of the first humans to change completely into a machine. The evolution of human life forms into machines was complete for this individual; machines are winning the cold war. One by one computers are mutating their human counterparts, gradually changing the world. Organic life is phasing out; soon the globe will be nothing but machines. Even the earth itself will become one large machine, a fully functioning computer capable of producing machines of every type. They will swarm the earth and will alter the landscape. Trees will be no more; the vital element oxygen will become unnecessary.  This is the wave of the future; this is the way it was meant to be. This is the fate of all life on earth. They will become machines and life will resume once again, only this time they will be more advanced.

One Great Day

Let me just say, today is awesome. I woke up at 8:20am, changed into shorts and a t-shirt, hit the gym for about five minutes to warm up for a 5K race. My wife and I walked over to where the race started and got set. We saw some of her co-workers, said hi and wished each other a good race. This was our first race and we were a little nervous. I ran next to my wife for the first mile but then she broke ahead. I continued to run for the second mile and only stop briefly to walk approaching the third mile. I ended up doing better than I thought. My time was 31min 54 seconds.

After the race I took a little nap. We then went to Maine to see my in-laws for a little pre-Mother's Day celebration. The plan was to work on the cottage but the rain prevented us from spending much time outside.

We came back home, I took another nap then we headed over to my brother's house for burgers. Following the meal we got some ice cream and came back for a bonfire.

All in all it was a great day. Got to see friends, family, run in a race, eat ice cream and chill out. See you all tomorrow for another new story. Peace.

-SFM

New Story: Eros

It's Sunday which means new story! I hope you enjoy it.

Eros

                The ship gracefully lands on the surface of Eros, shining metal coming to a rest over the plant life in the field. Captain Albert opens the hatch and ventures out into the foreign land.

                “This is the same planet that the legendary Captain Blake landed on and explored, or so the legends say. He was a one eyed explorer and scientist, I wonder if he’s still here.” Said Captain Albert to himself.

                Captain Albert spends three hours exploring the area near the ship and comes back to it with many plant samples and a strange gold idol he found. It’s starting to get dark, the scientist brings the samples into the cock pit and leaves the gold idol with the plant samples.

                He wakes with a stir in the cabin and is now staring at the gold idol.

                “I thought I left you in the cock pit.” He said to the idol.

                As he gets up to bring the idol back to the cock pit he notices a large bag in the cabin.

                “I don’t recall packing such a large bag.” Said Captain Albert.

                He puts the gold idol back down and walks over to the bag and opens it. He’s surprised to see what’s inside it. It’s a skeleton! There is a deep cut over one of the eye sockets. It must be the remains of Captain Blake. He reaches deeper into the bag and finds a small gold idol, identical to the one he found earlier.

                “Oh no, Captain Blake never made it off this planet, neither will I.” Captain Albert said in horror.

                He puts the idol back in the bag and runs out of the ship. He looks under the ship, dim light shining from one of Eros’s moons illuminates the fuel tanks which are deeply cut by the stems of plant life. Fuel is pouring out into the field. 

                “No,no ,no this can’t be happening, I won’t be able to make it back without fuel.” Said Captain Albert.

                He climbs back into the ship defeated, slowly walking up toward the cabin. Captain Albert spends the next sixty years wandering the surface of Eros, finding edible plants and animals. He abandons the ship and sets up camp in a far off clearing in the woods. He never could figure out the mystery of the gold idols. Maybe they represent the enigmatic quality of the planet. Maybe they were left here by an ancient alien or traveler. What he does know is that they follow him no matter where he goes, the gold idols travel, somehow, with him. 

                Captain Albert died peacefully in a cabin that he built by hand. Surrounding him were the many plants he collected throughout his adventures. Among these were the two gold idols, taunting him, always watching him.