LevelUP: an 8-bit novel by Micah Joel. Author's definitive online edition.
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“An access point on LevelUP property. Does it host a node?” Max asks, holding his perforated hand above his heart, a torn-off strip of his shirt serving as a makeshift bandage.
“We’re about to find out,” Isidore says. He’s unpacked a bigger antenna on a tripod, connected to a grey box with a black racing stripe. A NES. And a flat screen the size of a paperback.
“Nice screen,” Molly says.
“You wouldn’t believe the lengths we had to go through to get our hands on a portable monitor. it wouldn’t do to lug a CRT around on a mission like this,” Isidore says.
“Oh? What is this mission like?” Molly says.
Isidore smiles. He calls up an SSH window. “Back at the hangar, our agent discovered three new zero-day exploits. I’m betting LevelUP hasn't patched them yet. That’s our way in.” He thumbs through his notebook, poring over handwriting so terrible Max would’ve written it off as meaningless chicken-scratch.
Isidore’s fingers fly over the keyboard. It’s the opposite of the firewalled keyboard experience. The keystrokes flow so quickly, the text flashing across the screen and scrolling away at such speed that Max can’t keep track of what’s going on.
Isidore slams the Enter key repeatedly. “It’s not working. Their network security folks are better than I give them credit for. Oh well, still have two more exploits to unleash.” He cracks his knuckles and flexes his fingers before diving back into the keyboard.
A tiny wrinkle forms on his forehead, between his eyes, and the furrow grows steadily deeper as Isidore works. He makes a frustrated noise and pores over his notebook again.
“It’s not like these guys to learn from their mistakes,” Isidore says. “Ah well. Saving the best for last. This last one’s not software patchable. They’d have to physically pull their rack switches and re-flash them one-by-one. I’d be surprised if they could get that done in a year, much less a day.” He thumbs through the notebook, nodding, then back to the keyboard.
But only seconds later he stops. Isidore massages his temples.
“Are we in?” Molly asks.
“We’re on the network, but every door is locked. None of the zero-days are working.”
“What does that mean?” Max asks.
Isidore sighs. “That we need to break out the heavy artillery.” He fishes out a cable from his backpack and connects it to the NES.
“Wait,” Max says. “Is that what I think it is? After all that talk about firewalling, you’re going to unleash an AI to roam free on LevelUP’s network? Just like that?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, this isn’t the same agent I showed you at the hangar. For one, this has been backported to run on more restrictive hardware. Sub-Turing but should still get the job done.”
“Turing is a unit of measure now?” Molly asks.
“That’s right,” Isidore says.
“And it’s got no firewall. It can do whatever it likes, and you might not even know. You’re okay with that?” Max asks.
“Considering the consequences if Hemera gets her hands on that trophy…yes,” Isidore says. He jabs the power button.
Text flows into the SSH window, at first slow and cautious. Probing. But gradually building in speed and confidence.
“Can you keep track of what it’s doing?” Max asks.
“They,” Molly corrects.
“Sorry?” Max says.
“You called them an ‘it.’ That’s not the proper pronoun,” Molly says.
“Um, sorry?” Max says.
“They seem to be running through a list of zero-day exploits. But nothing’s working,” Isidore says. “Let it play out, we’ll see what happens.”
“What was that?” Isidore says, suddenly alert. He slaps the Reset button on the NES, and the flow of text halts. He takes over where the console left off. He enters a few more commands, and blood drains from his face. “I’m so sorry,” he says.
“What?” Max asks.
“Well, that only shows us what we’re up against,” Isidore says. “She must be stopped.”
“What’s happening?” Molly says?
“It’s Hemera,” Isidore says. “She’s discovered our earlier hack. That’s why the defenses are on full alert. She’s…”
Max wants to shake the words loose from Isidore, but he’s afraid he’ll know exactly what he’s about to say.
“She’s restored the demolition order for the camp,” Isidore says.
“How long do we have?” Molly asks.
“Never mind that,” Isidore says. “All that matters now is that we stop her, and as soon as possible.” He looks at Molly. “I understand that you have a special cartridge. Might I see it?”
“Hold up,” Max says, “are you sure you want to do this?”
“What other choice do we have?” Isidore asks.
Max doesn’t have a good answer for that. He nods toward Molly, and she hands over the circuit board, once again ensconced in its golden cartridge. With his good hand, he clicks it into place and hits Reset.
The screen scrambles, blinking squares and scattered alphanumeric everywhere.
Molly pops the cartridge out, blows across the contacts[27], and puts it back in. Power up again.
The screen reads:
METAKEY: FINAL LEVEL
WELCOME TO THE VELDT
(END OF LINE)
Just like the previous time he activated the cartridge, Max’s HUD lights up in unison. It shows:
3
Huh. Three what?
2
Wait, did it change? Didn’t that say three just a second ago?
1
Oh…
0
footnotes
[27] See similar footnote in Level 0-8.
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Copyright 2018, 2019 Micah Joel. All rights reserved.