3.4 Viveka
Do you wish to enter the Vortal?
I stared at the question on the screen. It looked like one of Mikey's hacker things. Some kind of security program he had installed to prevent anyone else from accessing his private files. Maybe I had accidentally clicked on something I shouldn't have clicked on.
I know how touchy hacker wannabes can be: I've known my share of them back in the States. So when that weird black screen and the question came up, my first impulse was to just walk away. No point wasting my time trying to crack this or whatever it was. I could have gone to my own comp and SeeMailed Steve from there just as well.
But Steve's film was in this comp. The file. And I didn't want to lose that. So I decided to just tap a few keys and see if I could get past the security screen. Maybe if I pressed Escape? In my somewhat limited knowledge of computers and their glitches, that was one that almost always worked, so...
So I pressed the button.
And the screen changed instantly. But instead of the program quitting, as it should have, the screen went black again.
Then another line came on. This one said:
Are you willing to pay the Price?
I sighed. I hated this hacker crap. I tapped the button again, several times, then I tried holding down Alt-Control and hit Delete. That should definitely Quit the program.
Instead, the screen went black again for a moment, and then another line appeared:
For the duration of your visit, your soul will be forfeit to the Webmaster. If you agree, proceed.
This time, I actually stopped and took my hands off the keyboard.
I mean, there was something weird about this whole charade. Even if it was one of Mikey's hacker programs, what sort of question was that? "Your soul will be forfeit". I didn't like the sound of that. This may sound a bit strange, coming from a States-returned Michigan U grad with a post-grad diploma from Columbia U, NY, but I happen to be spiritually self-aware. Not religious, mind you, but definitely spiritual...And the idea of forfeiting my soul, even if it was only a figure of speech, didn't appeal to me.
I decided to stop right there. Forget the file. I would go call Steve from my comp and when Mikey got home that evening I'd ask him to retrieve the file.
But as I turned to go, I thought I heard a voice whisper: "Viv."
It was Steve's voice. I was sure of it. I turned back and stared at the screen. But it still showed only that last creepy statement.
I frowned, trying to understand what was going on. The only logical thought that occurred to me was that somehow I had connected to SeeMail and Steve was already online, talking to me. But because of this weird glitch on Mikey's comp, I couldn't see him.
As if on cue, he spoke again. "Viv?" he said. "Did you see it?"
"Steve!" I said. It was him then. Damn this hacker program. Then I had an idea. Maybe if I just pressed the SeeMail button again, it would make this stupid Vortal thingie go away and...
Without thinking, I reached out and pressed the SeeMail button on Mikey's computer keyboard.
And the screen changed. Snap.
And my whole life changed with it.
I stared at the question on the screen. It looked like one of Mikey's hacker things. Some kind of security program he had installed to prevent anyone else from accessing his private files. Maybe I had accidentally clicked on something I shouldn't have clicked on.
I know how touchy hacker wannabes can be: I've known my share of them back in the States. So when that weird black screen and the question came up, my first impulse was to just walk away. No point wasting my time trying to crack this or whatever it was. I could have gone to my own comp and SeeMailed Steve from there just as well.
But Steve's film was in this comp. The file. And I didn't want to lose that. So I decided to just tap a few keys and see if I could get past the security screen. Maybe if I pressed Escape? In my somewhat limited knowledge of computers and their glitches, that was one that almost always worked, so...
So I pressed the button.
And the screen changed instantly. But instead of the program quitting, as it should have, the screen went black again.
Then another line came on. This one said:
Are you willing to pay the Price?
I sighed. I hated this hacker crap. I tapped the
Instead, the screen went black again for a moment, and then another line appeared:
For the duration of your visit, your soul will be forfeit to the Webmaster. If you agree, proceed.
This time, I actually stopped and took my hands off the keyboard.
I mean, there was something weird about this whole charade. Even if it was one of Mikey's hacker programs, what sort of question was that? "Your soul will be forfeit". I didn't like the sound of that. This may sound a bit strange, coming from a States-returned Michigan U grad with a post-grad diploma from Columbia U, NY, but I happen to be spiritually self-aware. Not religious, mind you, but definitely spiritual...And the idea of forfeiting my soul, even if it was only a figure of speech, didn't appeal to me.
I decided to stop right there. Forget the file. I would go call Steve from my comp and when Mikey got home that evening I'd ask him to retrieve the file.
But as I turned to go, I thought I heard a voice whisper: "Viv."
It was Steve's voice. I was sure of it. I turned back and stared at the screen. But it still showed only that last creepy statement.
I frowned, trying to understand what was going on. The only logical thought that occurred to me was that somehow I had connected to SeeMail and Steve was already online, talking to me. But because of this weird glitch on Mikey's comp, I couldn't see him.
As if on cue, he spoke again. "Viv?" he said. "Did you see it?"
"Steve!" I said. It was him then. Damn this hacker program. Then I had an idea. Maybe if I just pressed the SeeMail button again, it would make this stupid Vortal thingie go away and...
Without thinking, I reached out and pressed the SeeMail button on Mikey's computer keyboard.
And the screen changed. Snap.
And my whole life changed with it.
posted by Ashok K. Banker at 12.10.05
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