“Actually, no,” Elaine said. “Neither of these Universities shows a great amount of anomalies. What is anomalous here is that ASU generally receives a lot more graduate students from out of state than they do from their own undergraduate population. In this case, the opposite is true. Something Dr. Fedora said earlier today got me … Read more
Zane enthroned himself in his ergonomic computer chair in the living room as he, Elaine, Frog, Roger, and Hadaly all held an audience by the flickering light of the numerous monitors. Each one currently displayed scenes from different video games as they cycled through downloading all the various media feeds that Zane consumed during a … Read more
She waited for the girls to seat themselves before gradually descending back into her own. The sway-backed leather seat seemed to swallow her whole. “Today I received the most astounding surprise,” Fedora said. One of her spider hands scrabbled for her spectacles—a strange pair of glasses that looked entirely out of place on her thin … Read more
Frog grabbed her safari hat and snugged it atop her head. She flung the door to the hallway—she paused a moment there, a silhouette framed by the sudden brightness of the Computing Commons flooding into the dimly lit room. “I’ll tell Zane we’re going, I think he’s downstairs doing homework on the atrium computers,” she … Read more
The next day landed on a Friday, the results of the winners from the previous day’s DarkNet exploits would be revealed after the majority of classes for the day at ended 5pm. According to Elaine’s intelligence on the subject—from Zane via Frog mostly—it looked like his ARG team had tied with Brad’s team due to … Read more
“You’ll be able to stand in a minute or so,” Elaine said without lifting her eyes from the Enoch’s screen. “There will be no permanent damage. The nerves and muscles in your legs have been overloaded with an electroshock pulse.” “So clinical,” Susan said. “Larry, I didn’t know you were on one of the other … Read more
“Webcams show six people around the house,” Elaine said. She flipped open her phone and started plugging away at the keys. “All your computers in the house are still shielded and grounded? Zane?” “Uh, yes, always,” he said. “Good,” Elaine said. She smiled to herself as she loaded up an experimental program she’d been baking … Read more
The first members of Zane’s team arrived through the back door as she was lining the phones up. Frog firmly closed the entrance door, kicking some foam soundproofing against the jamb at Zane’s instruction. After she’d finished her task, she grabbed a stool, propped herself up against the door, and crossed her arms. The small … Read more
Elaine glanced up from the diffuse glow of code to see Zane at the window. For the third time in the past hour a streak of light from a break in the window blinds crossed his pale features, a pigmentation trait common to their family. It manifested genetically alongside what appeared to be a tendency … Read more