The Penetrator - Chapter 2: Knowledge is Power

The Penetrator - Chapter 1: Gray Hat

WARNING: this story deals with dark themes and includes mature content such as drug references. It is purely fictional but I'm attempting to create a realistic atmosphere so I'm trying to not to sugar coat anything, however I will censor bad language to conform to the terms and conditions of ATS.

Some times I envy younger generations, knowing they will live to see technical developments that I wont be around to see... other times I feel sorry for them, knowing they didn't get to experience the retro age, the first video game consoles, the era of the phreaker when whistling the right tone into a public phone could get you a free call, when owning a copy of the Anarchist Cookbook wasn't considered an act of terrorism... man I printed that thing and carried it around in my school bag, just imagine the reaction if a kid were to do that today.

Admittedly, I was a bit more troublesome than most kids, but times were different back then and we could get away with a lot more... I guess that's what led me down the path of becoming hacker, I wasn't afraid to push the limits or challenge the rules, and I had the intelligence and ingenuity for it. That's the thing about smart criminals... they will always find a way around the limitations of the system. A terrorist only needs some basic chemistry knowledge to build a bomb capable of killing hundreds, and banning bombs wont prevent that.

Even creating a makeshift gun isn't that hard with the right knowledge, especially if you have access to a 3D printer, or you use non-traditional firing mechanisms such as electromagnetic coils which propel metal ball bearings (aka a rail gun). I'm aware what I'm saying may seem controversial and careless... my point is this is the reality we live in and banning certain technologies isn't going to eradicate criminals, the same way banning encryption wouldn't stop criminals using encryption, they'd end up being the only people with any privacy.

Consider what will happen in the future when everyone is taught highly advanced knowledge... even if they try to suppress some technology it will eventually be discovered or reverse engineered by hackers. A highly efficient energy source may in fact be the most dangerous technology to have publicly available because it could be used to create high energy explosives or power devices such as particle accelerators or high powered lasers, among countless other things. If we cannot trust our fellow man with such knowledge then how can we possibly progress...

Instead of being liberated by technology it would seem that as we progress we lose our liberty... we lose our privacy and real human connections as our lives become entwined with social networks... we lose control over our own body and our own lives as we merge into a social collective and the government grows to an unsustainable size... we lose our jobs to machines that can automate it... yet we always seem to work longer and harder for less, even with all our modern conveniences we work more than our cave dwelling ancestors because we've overcomplicated everything...

"They're getting closer dude, we need to move!" Jordan warns me.
"We have to destroy this computer first, we cannot leave any evidence behind!" I exclaim.
"We don't have time to zap it, just smash the drive or something!" Jordan suggests.
"I've got a better idea, we'll blow it up!" I respond.
"Are you crazy, they will hear it!" Jordan replies with a concerned tone.
"I've still got some of that black powder left over from the other day, it wont be loud." I explain.
"Ah **** okay hurry up and do it then!"

I coat the insides of the computer in a layer of black powder and light a match.
"Ok grab that laptop and lets go out the back way, we can hide in the old gold mines." I instruct Jordan.
"That a dumb plan, how long can we hide out in abandoned mining tunnels?" Jordan asks.
"We can try hiding in the bush but we're more exposed that way... at least we can go places without being seen if we move through the tunnels." I answer.
"This is ****ing insane! Fine we have to go." with no better ideas Jordan reluctantly agrees.
"We'll figure out our next move once we're safe... don't worry every-"

As I'm trying to comfort Jordan I suddenly notice something moving very fast travel in through my window and the expression on his face changes from concern to shock. As I see the small dart sticking out of his neck he collapses to the floor and with his last bit of strength sputters out the word "run". I grab the laptop from Jordan's limp hand, sprint down the hall towards the back door and without thinking I jump onto my dirt bike and ride into the bush.

"It appears the other suspect has escaped sir, there's no one else on the premises." the agent informs his superior.
"We cannot allow that classified material to be disseminated... I want a team searching every inch of bush in the area, and see if we can pull anything from this smoking pile of ****" the lead agent orders.
"There are old tunnels all over this area and it will be dark soon, we may have difficulty locating the suspect at this time." the agent responds.
"Son of a *****... we might have to use this other one as bait." the displeased lead agent groans.

In fact I did still have a copy of the files, they were uploaded to my cloud drive right after I got them just in case something like this caused me to destroy the original copy. If only I could find a wifi hot-spot I could share the images with the public... once the pictures are public they have less reason to hunt me. "Don't be so naive" I mumble out loud, the sound echoing through the tunnels which are dimly lit by my laptop screen. Damn only 30 minutes of power left.

Deciding to take action before the battery dies I search the tunnel for small twigs and sticks to light a fire, luckily I still have the matches in my pocket. I sit there for hours staring at the fire listening to the sound of dripping water as it ever so slowly erodes away the rock... wondering what is happening back at home, what did they do with Jordan, did those men stay and confront my father, is my life now over forever...

To be continued...