Part II: An agent no longer

Chapter 8

The days following my arrival were relatively uneventful. Not in a sense that I was idle - on the contrary, there was a lot to do and even more to learn. Still, nothing world-shaking happened throughout that period, or at least this was how I perceived it. Maybe because nothing could compare with events that brought me here. Not every day you realize the side you were fighting for was an oppressive regime routinely killing its own people.

I once asked Vera how she dealt with it; Vera said she always suspected something was off even before she was betrayed. Yet even this did not overcloud a semblance of serenity I started to feel back then. It was the time when I broke through the first layer of deception and did not realize it wasn’t the last. I would relive it again if I could. But I can’t.

Linda remained a mystery: I’ve bumped into her several times, and every time she evaded my attempts to engage in conversation. But she was the best sharpshooter among humans, and I’ve picked up a trick or two just watching her shoot.

The network turned out to be arguably the biggest change. I felt myself a two-dimensional creature unleashed into 3D-world: components I could access before were just one aspect, and there were so much more things to see in it. But there were dark spots. Syncons relied on exploits and vulnerabilities, the sheer number and scale of which made me ashamed of the entire human species. However, leaked passwords often expired, compromised services were patched and certificates were replaced, just as new security holes were discovered. Thus distribution of accessible and inaccessible changed rapidly. All in all, syncons were not as on top of the game as I originally imagined. The whole network was treated as a stochastic system with inherent probabilities of access failure.

Nonetheless, this modus operandi was sufficient to know that Villa was recovering, and not in danger of being arrested, at least for now.

- Human command would not waste an agent unless there is some tangible confirmation of this agent becoming a threat, - remarked Rick when I raised this subject. - And she remained unconscious throughout this incident.

I could only imagine what Villa felt when she tried to find out what had happened while she was off and saw my status in military personnel database. It was, of course, “missing in action”: the story of my arrest and treason charge was either swept under the rugs or classified. But UI would show it as “killed in action”.

There were no sorties during that time. Apparently operations led by a sentient syncon weren’t frequent, and those involving humans even less so. Still, I engaged in a training regimen, which was more exigent than I was used to, in order to prepare for a possible mission in a human-syncon pair.

- We are easily recoverable, - Tess explained this team arrangement. - Even if the chassis is obliterated, I will not lose a moment of thought process. Only memories since the last sync if live link is disrupted, which rarely happens. But we can not risk human lives meaninglessly.
- In this case I am surprised you allow us to risk our lives at all, - I wondered aloud.
- Would you willingly agree to limit yourself to desk work? - she shrugged. - We cannot force you, you know.

There was another reason for occasional human presence, though: syncons could be detected by their electromagnetic signature, so a truly covert operation could only be performed by a human agent. Soon an opportunity for such an operation presented itself.

A message from one of keyloggers was flagged as worthy of attention. It read “I’m not free tomorrow. The boss is visiting”.

- Why is it such a big deal? - I asked looking at highlighted letters. - Do you intend to capture this boss?
- We do not capture humans, - Rick shook his head. - Only credentials.

This was a relatively effective, albeit not particularly common, attack vector. If we could observe someone typing a password, or grab a scan of fingerprints, we could assume this person’s identity and unlock, even if temporarily, some restricted parts of the network. And this “boss” was likely to have higher security clearance. But it could only work if the victim didn’t notice. Another problem was establishing where it was supposed to happen. There were many keyloggers, and most of them didn’t have any coordinates associated with them.

- The only thing suggesting at some location in this log is “brewery”, - stated Tess, pointing at the screen with scrolling text.
- Brewery? - Vera asked incredulously. - I know of no such thing anywhere around.
- I think I do, - I said hesitantly.

There was a recent rumor about seemingly leaked codename assigned to some newly repurposed warehouse. A bunch of troopers tried to check it out and came back disappointed: it wasn’t an actual brewery, unsurprisingly. It all happened after Vera’s disappearance, but I’ve heard of it and knew where it was.

- It can be a trap, - cautioned Rick after I recited this story.
- Or a wild goose chase, - mused Vera.

In the end, though, we’ve decided to give it a shot. So that very evening we’ve headed off into human space, intending to arrive before dawn. My first mission with Tess by my side was officially set in motion.