Chapter 5

TherewasaknockonthesmallplastichatchleadingtoCaldwell’scapsuleandthesoundofscurryingfeet.Thesuddeninterruptioncausedhimtospillpartofthevial’scontentsdownhischin.Whatthehell?Whoorwhatcouldthatbe?Itwasdefinitelyhuman.Hiscapsulewasatleastsixfeetoffthegroundonthethirdracknoless.Atfirst,hecouldn’tquitebelievehisears.Thiswasthefirsttimeanyonehadeverknockedatthecapsuledoor.Therewasanunspokencodeofprivacyamongtheclienteleandcapsulehotelstaff,suchthattheyexisted,he’dneverseenone,wouldneverknockonacapsulehatchwhenitwasoccupied.Thatwastantamounttoagrossinvasionofprivacyandasurewayofreducinglifeexpectancy.

Caldwellhadadecisiontomake.Shouldhejustignoretheintrusionandgoaheadanddrinkthecontentsofthevialorshouldheseewhatthemotionwasallabout?Hereluctantlyoptedforthelatter.Itcouldbeimportant.Heplacedthevialgingerlyonthesideshelf,wipedthedropletsofdeathliquidfromhischinwiththebackofhishandandslowlytwistedhisbodyuntilhewasfacingtheentrancetothecapsule.Hereachedforthehatch.Thecapsule’splastichatchfeltcoldandawkwardonthepalmofhishands.Caldwellmovedhishandawayfromthehatch.

HepressedthebuttonnexttosmallLCDscreenintheceiling.Itdisplayedtheimagepickedupbythesecuritycameraoutside.Therewasnobodythere,butontheoverhangoutsidethehatchwaswhatlookedlikeapackage.Hereleasedthelatchandpeeredoutside.Themiscellaneoussoundsofvariousstatesofsleepgrewlouder.CaldwellcouldhearthemuffleddinofEuropornemanatingfromoneofthenearbycapsules.WhoeverhadleftthepackagetherehadalreadydisappearedintotheByzantinemazeofcorridors.Hewasn’tsurprised.Withitsproliferationofcheapcapsulehotels,Angel,despiteitsname,wasn’tthenicestofneighborhoods.AndtheAngelCapsuleHotel,oneofthearea’sbetterestablishments,wasstillthekindofplacethatcouldgiveeventhemosthardenedcourierpalpitations.

Caldwellstaredatthepackage,anexpensivelookinggrayboxbearingaDHLJapanlogo.Therewasasmallstickerattachedtoitwithhisname,capsulenumberandareturn-to-senderanonymouspostalboxatUnionMail.Itwasobviouslynotawrongdelivery.HewonderedwhocouldhavesenthimthepackageandperhapsmoreimportantlyhowthehelldidtheyknowhewasholedupattheAngelCapsuleHotel?Whatwasinthebox?Hehadmadecountlessenemiesincyberspace,disgracedmanyasys-op,putertechnicianorsecurityexpert.Oneofthemcouldhavetrackedhimdownandsenthimanexplosivepackageofrevengebutthatwasclosetoimpossible.Atanyrate,theywouldbedoinghimafavor.Heproddedthepackagewithhislefthand,expectingittodothevial’sjobinamuchquickerandmessierway.Nothing.Theboxfeltheavyagainsthisfingers.Hepickeditupcarefully,holdingitasthoughitcontaineduraniumrodsandretreatedcrawlingbackwardsintothecapsule.

Caldwellplacedthepackageonthefuton,slidthehatchshutandturnedhisattentiononceagaintothehalf-emptyvialonthesideshelf.Hewasn’tevensureifwhatwasleftwoulddothejobeffectively.Atleastheshouldseewhatwasintheboxbeforeproceedingwithhissuicidemission.Ifhehadn’theardtheknockonthedoorheprobablywouldhavebeendeadbynow.Thatfactwasnotlostonhim.Destiny?Heproceededtoopenthepackage.InsideaprotectivebubbleofStyrofoamwasyetanotherblackboxmadeoutofaductilesyntheticmaterial.

Forgettingforamomenthispreoccupationwiththequestionofhowwhoeverhadsentthepackagehadfoundoutwherehelived,CaldwellremovedtheblackboxfromitsStyrofoamnestandshookit.Thecontentsoftheboxdidnotmakeanysoundbutithadaweightthatborenorelationshiptoitsperceivedsize.Whateverwasintheboxwasdense.ThenhiseyecaughttheedgeofatriangularplasticcardhalfhiddenbelowtheclutterofStyrofoamintheouterbox.ItwasaholographictagfromaKenzoYamamotoanditread:Awindowintoyourfuture,Caldwell-san.Theletters,writteninsomecalligraphicfont,seemedtofloatinmidair.ThenamemeantnothingtohimbutitwasJapaneseandCaldwellfeltabubbleofhopestarttoform.Herubbedhishandovertheblackboxandforthefirsttimenoticedthatitwasmadeoutofminutegeometricshapesheldtogetherbysomeinvisibleforce.Heliftedthecoveroff.

Insidethebox,wrappedinasmartprotectiveskinsatasmoothblackputerconsoleandanexpensive-lookingsetofvirtualrealitygogglesandgloves.Hewasnoconsoleexpertbuthehadseenstate-of-the-artconsolesbeforeandnothingcameevenclosetowhathewaslookingat.Acyberspaceconsole.

Handstremblingandhismindloopingthroughallthepossibilities,Caldwellpickeduptheconsoleandexamineditcarefully.Therewasnopowersocket,nostandardinputdeviceinterface,justtwotriangularopticalsocketsofashapeandtypehehadneverseenbefore.Thegloveswheremadeofatranslucentmaterialthatmayormaynothavebeensomekindofplasticpolymer.Thiswasaclosedsystemconsoledesignednottoconnectwithanyotherhardware.

Embeddedwithinthematerialofthegloveswasathinlayerofresin.TransparentopticalcablesfloatingintheresindisappearedintosmallsensorsatthetipsofeachfingerwhichwerecrownedwithLEDs.Therewascircuitryembeddedwithintheresin,etchedonathinlayerofplastic.Thegoggleswereashinyoblongofblackopticsbehindwhichsatsixtinydevices,threeforeacheye,andabankofsmallLEDs.Hedonnedtheglovesandthegogglesandpluggedthemintotheconsole’striangularsockets.Thesocketslookedidentical.Despitetheblackcoatingonthegoggleshecouldseejustasclearlyasifhewasn’twearingthem.Thesewerenomirrorshades.Therewasalowwhirandaswitchilluminatedwithgreenlightemergedfromthefrontoftheconsole.

Caldwellheldhisbreathandpressedtheswitch.TheLEDspaintedawallofpixelsonhisretina.Avirtualkeyboardappearedbeforehim,virtualfingersattheready.Millionsofluminescentpixelsswirledaroundthescreenandthencongealedintoadigitalrenditionofahumanface.Itwasanorientalface,aJapaneseface.KenzoYamamoto?

“Caldwell-san,Iseeyoureceivedthepackage,”saidtheface,inavoicenottoodissimilartotalonsscrapingonanantiqueblackboard,modulatedslightlynottogratethenerves.Themovementofthelipsonthefacewasinperfectsymphonywiththevoice.Therewasnodiscernablelag.

“YesIdid.Whoareyou?Andwhydidyousendmethis?”Caldwellasked.Therewerepowerfulmicrophonesandspeakersembeddedsomewhereinthegoggles.Hecouldhearthespeakerandhimselfasthoughtheywerebothinanacousticallyenhancedroom.

Thefacebrokeintoasmile.

“YoucancallmeKenzo,Caldwell-san.Yamamotoisthesurnameifyouwishtobeformal.Inanswertoyourotherquestion,you’veprovenyourselfoverthemonthsCaldwell-san,withtheexceptionofSumitomoBankofcourse.NowIamabouttogiveyouthebiggestfreakingscoreinallofEurope,atickettothebigtime.”

Caldwellwasspeechless.Itknewaboutthat.Heeyedthemasksuspiciously.

“HowdoyouknowaboutSumitomo?”wasallhecouldmuster,dreamsofcyberspacerisingphoenix-likeinhismind.KenzoYamamoto,orhisassociates,musthavebeenbehindmanyofthescoresingoutofJapan.

Pealsoflaughteremergedfromthegoggles,attenuatedtoahighpitch.

“Caldwell-san,Caldwell-san.Thisisnotimeforquestions.Thisisatimeforanswers.Ihavebeenyourbenefactorforquiteawhile.Ofcourseit’sallquidproquo.Youdoforme,Idoforyou.SumitomoBankIstackedagainstyou,Isetitupsoyouwouldfail.Failure,Caldwell-san,honesthesenseslikenothingelse.”Themaskpausedfordramaticeffect.

“Thatwasasetup?”Caldwellaskedincredulously.Itwasallstartingtomakesensenow.Whatlookedlikearoutinescore,turnedouttobeahugefailureandwhat’sworsetheresultwasbroadcastalloverthehackerboardsofcyberspaceresultinginhismostseverehackingwinter.

“Yes.IwaspreppingyoufortherealdealCaldwell.ThebiggestfreakingscoreinallofEurope.Youhaveatalent,Caldwell-san.Butitiswastedonthekindofstuffyouusedtodo.Howdoesthreemillionsoundtoyou?UnionEuros,notthecurrencyoftheblackmarket.”

Caldwellcouldn’tbelievehisearsbutheknewhehadheardYamamotoright.ThreemillionUnionEuroswasasmallfortune.Hecouldbuyamobilehome,boatorvehicleitdidn’tmatter,outfittedwiththelatestcyberspacedecksandspendtherestofhislifegettinglostintheubiquitousblackzonesoftheUnion.

“WhatdoIneedtodotogetit?Andwhatdoesthisconsolehavetodowithit?”

“Athingofbeautyisn’tit?Thereiscurrentlyonlyoneotherlikeitintheworld.It’sexpensivebeyondyourwildestdreams,priceless.Theartisteresponsibleforcreatingthesetakeshistimebutit’sworthitsowetolerateit.Unfortunately,heiscurrently,shallwesay,indisposed.”

“Whatisitexactlyoristhatastupidquestion?”

“Caldwell-san.Icanseethatyourecognizethecuttingedgewhenyouseeit.Thisisnotjustaputer,Caldwell-san.Thisisaworkofart.Butlet’stalkaboutscience.Consoleandperipheralslinkedtoeachotherthroughahigh-speedproprietaryclosedwirelessnetwork.Transmittersandreceiverstothesameallbuiltin,rangeisfiftykilometers.Encryptedofcourse.Impressive,yes?Theconsoleitselfislinkedtocyberspaceandbeyondviaencryptedhigh-speedsatellitelinks.Taketheperipheralsontheroad,leavetheconsoleathome,stillconnected.I’msureyoucanseethepowerofthis.Paradigmshiftnoless.Thisisoneofthemostpowerfulconsolesavailable,Caldwell-san.Thesatellite-enabledgogglesmakesittrulyportable.Consideryourselfaluckymantobelookingatonenow.Letalonetouchingone.”

“Satellitelinkisalwayson?Whopays?”

“Yourstruly.Mysatellite.Stratelitetobeexact.Low-flyingbird.Restassuredyouwon’tbereceivinganybills.Whatyou’llbereceivingareinstructions.I’vebeenimpressedwithyourworksofarCaldwell-san.Considerthisaninvestmentinyourfuture.I’llbeintouch,”theJapanesesaid,voicediminishingintowhitenoise,pixelsreconstitutingintoblackscreen.

“Butwait”Caldwellprotested,hisvoiceechoingbackfromthedepthsofcyberspace.Kenzoorwhoeverthefacewashaddisappeared.

Caldwellremovedthegogglesandstaredattheblackconsole.Wasthisthelifelineheneededsobadly?Hadhereallybeensnatchedbackfromthebrinkofsuicide?ThisKenzoYamamotohadapparentlyengineeredhisdownwardspiral,spreadnewsofhisfailurealloverthehackerdomainsofcyberspaceculminatinginhisexclusionfromthedealflowofTheHUB.AllthisjusttosethimupforthisthreemillionEuroscore.ThebiggestfreakingscoreinallofEurope,Kenzohadsaid.OfcoursehewasreferringtotheUnion,whichhadsubsumedEuropepletelyalongtimeago.

KenzoYamamotohadsaidhe’dbeintouch,butwhen?Caldwellreckonedhe’dbehearingfromtheJapanesesoon.Afterall,hestillhadpossessionoftheexpensiveconsoleandthesatelliteuplinkworkedallowinghimtobootupandjackintocyberspacefromanywherehechose.IfKenzodidn’tmakecontactsoon,hecouldfencetheconsoleanddisappear.CustomjoblikethiswouldfetchtensofthousandsofUnionEurosontheblackmarket.NotquitethesameasthreemillionUnionEurosbutanOKlivingforaboutayearorso.Enoughtimetolandsomethingthatwouldkeephimincredit.Theconsolerepresentedarenewedleaseonlife.

Hedonnedthegogglesagain.Thistime,insteadofabarrageofpixelshewasgreetedwithasimplemandline.Theconsoleappearedtopossessnouserinterface.Caldwellsuspectedthatitcreatedinterfacesontheflydependingonwhatjobitwascalledupontodo.Itwasthestateoftheartnoless,thecuttingedge.

Caldwellenteredtheaddressofhisnetbaseandcrossedhisfingers.Thenetbasecameuplightningfastwithatotallydifferentinterfacefromwhathewasusedtoseeing.Theconsolehadrenderedavisually-richthree-dimensionalspaceontheflythathecouldwalkaroundin.Thegoggleshadanembeddedmotiontrackingdevice.

Helookedaroundthenetbase.Intheroomwasameticulouslyrenderedantiquewritingdesk,hisreadmessagesrepresentedinthevirtualspaceasopenedletterspletewithpostagestamps.Therewasoneunopenedletter,anewmessage.Hepickedtheletterupwithhislefthand,thetactilefunctionsoftheresinintheglovesfaithfullyreproducingthefeelofcoarsepaper.

Hefeltasuddenflashofpain.Today’squotaofmigraineshadstartedearlyandwasprovingunrelenting.Thequotientwasalmostintolerablyhigh,thepainrisingrapidlyandpeakingviolentlylikethefinaleofaparticularlyupbeatmusicalperformance.Hewipedthebloodtricklingfromhisnosewiththebackofhishand.

Caldwellignoredthepainandusedasilverletteropeneronthewritingdesktocutthroughtheenvelope.Heunderstoodperfectly.Theletteropenerwastheconsole’srenditionofhispersonalencryption/decryptionmodulewhichstoppedhismunicationsfromgettingintothewronghands,decryptingthecontentsofhismessagesohecouldreadit.Thisconsolewassomepieceofwork.

Ignoringthemountingpainthatwasgraduallycrestingdeepwithinhisbrainhebegantoreadthemessage.ItwasamessagefromGlyph,owneroftheundergroundhackerspaceknownasTheHUB.Themessagewasbriefandtothepoint.

Cad,getthehelloutofwhereveryouare.Theyareafteryou.Yourlifeisinsomuchdangerdude.MessagemefromThePuzzlepub,IsleofDogs.

Caldwellstaredatthesimpleparagraph.Hisheadachewassuddenlyunbearable.Hehadtogetoutofthecapsule.Hiscreditwasalmostupanyway.Heremovedthegogglesandglovesandstartedtopacktheconsoleawayinhisrucksack.Glyphwasnopracticaljokerandheonlyeversentmessageswhenabsolutelynecessary.Theyhadnotmunicatedinawhile.HehadtofindGlyphandhehadtonotblackoutfromhisheadache.Heloggedontothecapsule’sterminalandquicklywhitepagedThePuzzle.

Feelingthathismigrainewasrapidlyreachingthepointwhereapleteblackoutwasimminent,Caldwellmind-warpedbackintoanothermemoryspace,oneofthefewhekepthandytostophimselffromsuccumbingtothepain.Inthatspace,hefoundhimselfsittinginadecrepitillicitcoin-uplaunderetteinhisunderwearwatchingtheindustriallaundrymachineschurnthehelloutofhislastthreads.Kat’sblondeheadwasbobbingaroundtotherhythmofthewashcycle.Shewassittingnexttohiminherfloralunderwear,eyesmaskedbyascratchedupoldpersonalvideodisplay.