← Gone Away
Sir Gawain and the Dragon 5
(to read the first episode, click here)
The buzz reached Sir Gawain as he was making his way towards the crawler room to reset the crawlers. Bumble had intercepted something already. The knight changed direction and headed for the firewall.
There was no sign of Sir Mordred in the tunnels and Gawain presumed his interview with Andy was taking longer than expected. It suited Gawain that the affable giant should be out of the way for a while for, as well as the need to see whatever Bumble had received, the knight needed time to think about the strange facts he had gleaned that morning. So many odd and apparently unrelated discoveries raced through his processes: the unsuitability of Mordred as a system defender, his transparent simplicity, the unexplained copy of the Geek's operating system and the tune that formed Mordred's entire repertoire. There had to be a pattern to it all but none presented itself to the knight. Something was missing; something that would draw all these facts together and enable him to make sense of it all.
At the firewall he found Bumble still ensconced with the emailer codes. The crawler pushed a small box of glowing electrons towards the knight. "Incoming," said Bumble. "I can't open it."
Sir Gawain examined the box. Encoded. Of course, he thought, it would be. And the key would be stored in Andy's emailer.
"Good work, Bumble," said the knight. "You let it go through?"
"Yes sir. That's a copy."
"Excellent. Well, keep monitoring and I'll see if I can open this thing."
Sir Gawain watched as the crawler disappeared back into the firewall. The emailer's address showed that it was near the surface of the system, in the busiest section of the metropolis. He would have to be very careful if he were to enter and leave unobserved. This was going to be difficult.
The knight hid the box in the pouch at his belt and left, heading for the upper levels.
At the entrance to station 2, he paused. This was Andy's territory, his interface with the system. If the programmer were alert, he was bound to notice the increase in activity as the knight entered. And, if Mordred was in there, the giant would sense it immediately. What was needed was some form of diversion or legitimate reason for the sudden drain on the station's resources. The knight stood motionless as he considered the problem.
The walls hummed and glowed with energy, crawlers wandered through the tunnels, some entering the station, others passing it by. Gawain watched without seeing as his processes sought a solution and it was not until two crawlers began to tussle at his feet, both trying for the same route around the obstruction, that the idea came to him. The crawlers were part of the normal activity in a station. They could enter and leave unnoticed, barely a blip in the usual processes.
He bent down quickly and grabbed one of the squabbling crawlers. The other, its way now unbarred, continued along the tunnel. Gawain thought for a moment, then programmed his crawler and let it go. It scuttled off and turned the corner into the station.
For a few seconds there was no change in activity, but then the walls began to scintillate with bright color and a sign appeared above the entrance: Virus scan - no crawlers. The knight grinned and entered.
The layout was the same as all the stations. Gawain hurried through the tunnels confidently, aware that his presence was now masked by the scan as it poked and prodded its way through the unit's code. His time was limited, however, and he must be quick.
At the station's monitor room, he stopped and listened. Mordred's deep voice had risen above the chatter of the scan.
"...just about complete, Andy."
Another voice came, intense and insistent, "It's good, Mordred, but we have to hurry. I want that nerd out of here. It worries me that he might find a way to interfere with the plan. Get that source code today and no excuses."
"I'm not even sure he has it," answered Mordred. "There's no reason the Geek would give it to him."
"No, of course not." The other's voice was sharp with impatience. "But he will know where the backups are stored. That's where you'll find it."
"Oh, uh, yeah." Gawain could imagine the look of dawning understanding passing across the giant's face.
"So what are you waiting for? Get busy, man. I'm running out of time here."
Sir Gawain moved on quickly before the giant could emerge from the room. There was no time to think about what he had heard, but any doubt about the new programmer's evil intentions had now vanished. He must find that key and report back to the Geek immediately.
The emailer was open, minimized on the desktop, and Gawain slipped in and began the search. He came across the address list and hastily copied it for later reading. A copy of received and outgoing mail followed. But the key was proving elusive and the seconds were ticking by. It was not until he had searched the entire program that he found it, alone in a nest of sub-directories far from the core. He copied it and ran from the emailer with the scan grumbling around him as it processed the last few files.
Through the tunnels he ran, a blur of light as he raced the scan. It had finished now and was giving back memory as it closed itself down. There were nanoseconds left as he hurled himself out through the entrance and crashed into the wall of the tunnel outside. As the knight turned from his crumpled position, he saw the sign above the doorway blink once and disappear. Two crawlers, buzzing in circles at the entrance, moved forward, suddenly purposeful, and entered the station. The light faded to normal activity again.
Gawain picked himself up and strode off in the direction of the Assignment Room.
(to go directly to Part 6, click here)
The buzz reached Sir Gawain as he was making his way towards the crawler room to reset the crawlers. Bumble had intercepted something already. The knight changed direction and headed for the firewall.
There was no sign of Sir Mordred in the tunnels and Gawain presumed his interview with Andy was taking longer than expected. It suited Gawain that the affable giant should be out of the way for a while for, as well as the need to see whatever Bumble had received, the knight needed time to think about the strange facts he had gleaned that morning. So many odd and apparently unrelated discoveries raced through his processes: the unsuitability of Mordred as a system defender, his transparent simplicity, the unexplained copy of the Geek's operating system and the tune that formed Mordred's entire repertoire. There had to be a pattern to it all but none presented itself to the knight. Something was missing; something that would draw all these facts together and enable him to make sense of it all.
At the firewall he found Bumble still ensconced with the emailer codes. The crawler pushed a small box of glowing electrons towards the knight. "Incoming," said Bumble. "I can't open it."
Sir Gawain examined the box. Encoded. Of course, he thought, it would be. And the key would be stored in Andy's emailer.
"Good work, Bumble," said the knight. "You let it go through?"
"Yes sir. That's a copy."
"Excellent. Well, keep monitoring and I'll see if I can open this thing."
Sir Gawain watched as the crawler disappeared back into the firewall. The emailer's address showed that it was near the surface of the system, in the busiest section of the metropolis. He would have to be very careful if he were to enter and leave unobserved. This was going to be difficult.
The knight hid the box in the pouch at his belt and left, heading for the upper levels.
At the entrance to station 2, he paused. This was Andy's territory, his interface with the system. If the programmer were alert, he was bound to notice the increase in activity as the knight entered. And, if Mordred was in there, the giant would sense it immediately. What was needed was some form of diversion or legitimate reason for the sudden drain on the station's resources. The knight stood motionless as he considered the problem.
The walls hummed and glowed with energy, crawlers wandered through the tunnels, some entering the station, others passing it by. Gawain watched without seeing as his processes sought a solution and it was not until two crawlers began to tussle at his feet, both trying for the same route around the obstruction, that the idea came to him. The crawlers were part of the normal activity in a station. They could enter and leave unnoticed, barely a blip in the usual processes.
He bent down quickly and grabbed one of the squabbling crawlers. The other, its way now unbarred, continued along the tunnel. Gawain thought for a moment, then programmed his crawler and let it go. It scuttled off and turned the corner into the station.
For a few seconds there was no change in activity, but then the walls began to scintillate with bright color and a sign appeared above the entrance: Virus scan - no crawlers. The knight grinned and entered.
The layout was the same as all the stations. Gawain hurried through the tunnels confidently, aware that his presence was now masked by the scan as it poked and prodded its way through the unit's code. His time was limited, however, and he must be quick.
At the station's monitor room, he stopped and listened. Mordred's deep voice had risen above the chatter of the scan.
"...just about complete, Andy."
Another voice came, intense and insistent, "It's good, Mordred, but we have to hurry. I want that nerd out of here. It worries me that he might find a way to interfere with the plan. Get that source code today and no excuses."
"I'm not even sure he has it," answered Mordred. "There's no reason the Geek would give it to him."
"No, of course not." The other's voice was sharp with impatience. "But he will know where the backups are stored. That's where you'll find it."
"Oh, uh, yeah." Gawain could imagine the look of dawning understanding passing across the giant's face.
"So what are you waiting for? Get busy, man. I'm running out of time here."
Sir Gawain moved on quickly before the giant could emerge from the room. There was no time to think about what he had heard, but any doubt about the new programmer's evil intentions had now vanished. He must find that key and report back to the Geek immediately.
The emailer was open, minimized on the desktop, and Gawain slipped in and began the search. He came across the address list and hastily copied it for later reading. A copy of received and outgoing mail followed. But the key was proving elusive and the seconds were ticking by. It was not until he had searched the entire program that he found it, alone in a nest of sub-directories far from the core. He copied it and ran from the emailer with the scan grumbling around him as it processed the last few files.
Through the tunnels he ran, a blur of light as he raced the scan. It had finished now and was giving back memory as it closed itself down. There were nanoseconds left as he hurled himself out through the entrance and crashed into the wall of the tunnel outside. As the knight turned from his crumpled position, he saw the sign above the doorway blink once and disappear. Two crawlers, buzzing in circles at the entrance, moved forward, suddenly purposeful, and entered the station. The light faded to normal activity again.
Gawain picked himself up and strode off in the direction of the Assignment Room.
(to go directly to Part 6, click here)