posted 09-26-99 12:24 AM ET        

*****

Arrayed in the latest MorganNet holo gear, nine Morgan Operatives sat motionless in a semicircle in a nondescript but secure room in the Alpha Sector of the recently captured Hive city of Command Nexus. Every member had a shaved head, and ranged in apparent age from teenagers to elderly, although in truth these operatives could appear to be any age they wanted. The age they chose to show was a matter of personal taste, and what expensive longevity treatments could offer. Gender seemed to be about equal, but this was a matter of convenience. Apparent gender could and was changed as needed, or desired.

Each was covered from head to toe in a glistening black form-fitting body suit. Only parts of their bare skulls and portions of their faces were visible. Barely visible and intricately intertwined on the surface of the suit was a fine mesh of superconductors and sensors. These sensors and conductors met in small nodes, which held miniature transmitters that relayed neural impulses to waiting receptor at the speed of light. Each person's eyes were fully enmeshed in holo goggles, except for one operative who had had his eyes replaced by permanent holo transmitters.

His name was Rider.

[I]Our orders are as follows: invade the Data Repository at the Hive installation Great Clustering. Grab what we can, then leave. We are to minimize our exposure to harm.

Initiate interlink. Initiate diagnostic. Verify interlink stability.

Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. [/I] his team responded instantly.

[I] Ready for Intrusion.[/I]

The group sat motionless and in silence for several seconds.

Vera, seated to the left of Rider, sub vocalized, [I]Connected to Net. Connections enabled and secure. Pathways clear. Initiating Intrusion.[/I]

Several more seconds passed.

[I]Vista enabled. Visualization algorithms enacted. Ready to submerge.[/I]

The room dissolved for the intrusion team. Senses twisted and reformulated. Several of the younger members twitched uncontrollably as their nervous systems accepted the alien digital impulses of the Net, which were transmuted into the Vista by their Intrusion algorithm. Gradually the Real World faded and Vista coalesced.

*****

Rider was standing on a sunny beach surrounded by this team: Vera, Harlin, Sy, Edilvia, Laur, Vicrant, Geo, and Milosav. Each had on a comfortable swimsuit. Edilvia had broken the mold with a full body suit, but the rest were considerably more revealing. All members were perfectly fit and sun bronzed, musculature rippling in anticipation. In the background the surf crashed gently at their feet, hissing up on to the white coral sand beach. The beach curved and extended onto the horizon. Inland were palm trees and lush green vegetation. Above the sky was clear and blue with large white fluffy clouds. The air was clean and pure, with a clean salty sea smell.

Further inland was a smoldering volcano, dark and menacing. Whitish grey steam issued lazily from its generally conical top.

Rider smiled. [I]So this is Tahiti? Beautiful![/I]

"OK team. Look sharp. Let's go," Rider commanded as he started walking toward the jungle. His team followed single file in his wake.

The white sand was hotter as they left the area whetted by the ocean. Without thinking, Sy and Geo subvocalized and sandals appeared on their feet. They continued to walk up the gentle incline of the beach, now stepping over occasional driftwood and palm fronds. At the high tide mark vegetation started appearing, and within 10 meters the primordial jungle began. Almost on cue, the team's clothing reformulated from beach swim trunks to light canvas gear that covered much of their exposed skin, walking boots, and wide-brimmed hats. Harlin subvocalized a walking stick/javelin. In the lead, Rider thought a machete into existence.

"Time for the first Barrier: perfunctory entry codes. I'll chop. The rest of you stand ready," Rider told them.

With each swiping arc of his machete the vegetation fell away. He was quickly hacking through the routine barriers that kept out 'surface users' from sensitive areas of the Net. They were no barrier to an experience Hacker, however. The thick jungle would be impassible without his virtual machete, the simplest of tools. Fronds, entangling vines, and even small hardwoods fell to his weapon. He stepped around the more permanent obstacles that took the form of tall palms or hardwoods. These were static encrypted Hard Sites of no consequence. Destroying them would only cause a 'crash' as the site fell and alert watching 'birds' and 'howlers'. Better to keep quiet.

As the team got deeper the jungle became darker and more obscure. It also got very moist, and the undergrowth became scarce as the canopy of Hard Sites, in the form of the enormous tropical hardwoods, became dominant. In the gloom there was occasional movement along the forest floor, but very little sound except for a very soft sigh of the breeze passing through the leaves high above.

A they walked along what looked like an animal trail, which was in reality a well-used data path, the signs of 'active' animal life became more obvious. These 'animals' were other users, typically using automated dumb programs searching for data. Almost all were harmless and were left alone. Some of these Searchers were malicious, however, and were just out to destroy: tapeworms or veta viruses. It was sometimes hard to tell these small moving Searcher forms apart. The team subvocalized small pikes and killed any that got too close. The killed Searcher undoubtedly will have irritated users in Reality as their thread became 'lost', but they wouldn't realize that their search programs had been purposely killed. Still, if the malign programs got to one of the team they could be incapacitated or killed. So, all Searchers that got too close for comfort would die.

The team continued in silence. They had only general orders to raid, so the target was not important, only success. This was the easiest kind of Operation, and it was the least dangerous. But, all Operations were fraught with peril and success was far from guaranteed.

After several virtual hours the high-canopy jungle of Hard Sites gave way again to the low and thick vegetation of a Barrier. Instead of hacking through this time three members of the team, Rider, Geo and Sy, got on hands and knees and cautiously and slowly inched their way through the Barrier. They wanted to see what was on the other side instead of bludgeoning their way through. Being surprised so deep in enemy territory was likely to be terminal.

Rider turned to his subteam and hand signaled for them to stay where they were. Carefully, Rider pushed aside the last large broadleaf fronds and looked into a clearing. The sunlight was once again bright, offering no shadows to hide in. An open field extended for several hundred meters in each direction, and in the approximate middle of the field stood a heavy stone temple: the Great Clustering Data Repository. It was composed of light grey coral limestone and had a definite pyramid motif. Stairs in the front steeply rose to a ceremonial platform standing about 25 meters above the courtyard floor. Five richly carved stone obelisks rose in the courtyard. Interspersed among the obelisks were five stationary Sentries.

The tips of other temples rose above the jungle canopy in the distance. This was, however, the biggest temple and would be the target of opportunity.

Rider carefully backed his way into the foliage, and then turned to address his assembled team.

"We have the Data Repository in the clearing. There are at least five Sentries, probably of a trip wire variety, knowing Yang. We'll incapacitate them. Then we Shadow across the compound. Geo, be prepared to Demo. Sy, be prepared to Download. Edilvia get your capacitors ready. Vera and Milislav will be defense. Sy and Harlin will be offense, silent at first and anything on the way out. Vicrant and Laur will prepare the Portal."

The team broke into action. Sy and Harlin subvocalized a blowgun into existence, crept forward to the edge of the Barrier, and sighted the Sentries. Each inhaled sharply, and rapidly discharged into the blowgun in quick succession. The sentries went down within a minute. In the meantime the rest of the team went into Shadow mode, and their outlines shimmered and lost definition and finally they became almost transparent.

The group brushed through the Barrier and sprinted across the field. As Rider approached the monoliths he noticed they were all depictions of Yang as the Gods of War, Pestilence, Disease, Death, and Deceit. Rider smiled at the sense of humor of the algorithm formula programmers. The ground was open, and the sentries remained motionless on the ground - their programs were either in terminal loops or were slowed by 'garbage' data. If they were killed they would derez, and an alarm would sound. So far there wasn't an alarm: at least, not an alarm that the team could detect.

Sy stationed himself at the base of the stairway as the team bounded up. Harlin took point. As they passed the area around them shimmered as part of the Shadow effect, as if they were a mirage or a ghost. Sy followed. In short order everyone was at the ceremonial platform. Arrayed at the top was a series of doorways framed with massive cut rectangles of limestone. Ten portals lead into the darkness of the interior.

Rider motioned for the team to enter the first dark corridor. First Harlin, then the rest of the team, plunged into the dark.

*****

"Is he OK?" Rider asked, looking at Harlin's prone form. A sliding floor, which was actually a false data path, had taken Harlin by surprise and he had become impaled on a series of poisoned meter long barbs at its base. The barbs were computer memes that were now disrupting Harlin's image and he was quickly entering into dataspasm. Harlin's image grabbed at Edilvia as he arched upward in pain, and a torrent of dark blood erupted from his mouth and covered his chest. His face contorted in agony, and then he relaxed. Slowly his imaged faded and disappeared.

"Complete ID destruction meme. He's gone," Edilvia commented. She stood and nodded and the team continued down to the temple core. No time to grieve. They would have plenty of time for that later at Harlin's funeral, if they survived.

Rider took lead as they continued down the corridor. Pale flickering light issued from infrequent torches, creating wavering shadows as they passed.

No one was present the in cold stone pathway, which was becoming increasingly damp. Rider was alarmed, since there should be active Sentries present. Tension rose in the team.

A faint chittering whispered around the remaining eight interlopers. The whites of Laur's eyes shone out against her ebony skin. Her eyes became wider as she recognized the chittering sounds.

"Trip Wire Defense! Burrowers! Defensive!" she shouted.

The team formed an informal circle as the chittering became louder, then overpowering.

A mass of thousands of beetles, each 10 centimeters long with iridescent carapaces and razor sharp mandibles, erupted from the walls and swarmed toward the team from all directions. Burrowers are a much feared semi-autonomous defensive programs that borrows into the virtual forms of attackers and destroys their code. It is one of the primary tools of Programmers against Hackers, and the program evolves and mutates to combat Hacker tools. In short, the program learns, which makes a set offense a very dangerous thing.

Sy and Vera subvocalized an Insecticide destructor program and used the acrid fumes to wash over the advancing horde. Vicrant and Laur chose a brute force Flame to destabilize the Burrower elements, and a flamethrower appeared in their hands. They sprayed the incendiary fluid in a wide arc in front of them. The rest of the group chose Kinetics, which killed individual elements. This method was tried and always effective, but there were thousands of Burrowers.

Sy stated in panic, "Insecticide not effective! No joy! Switching to Flame." His fumes did little more than slow the advancing horde, and subvocalizing took time. Time they did not have.

The Flames were having more luck, as over 70% of the Burrower Beetles were crisped and cooked where they stood, their code flayed and fragmented. Those that remained were partially incapacitated, but still advanced. The survivors were now immune from additional Flaming, so Vicrant and Laur formed Kinetics to kill the slowed beetles. Long spear-tipped poles appeared in the hands. The crunching of pierced and crushed carapaces filled the hall and the Kinetics took their toll on the now much reduced horde.

Vera screamed as two beetles broke through her defenses and started to tear at her left leg. In seconds the ravenous Burrowers had consumed much of her foot. Sy broke off and speared the Burrowers, but the damage was done. Blood, which was Vera's unraveling code, poured from her ghastly wound. She sank to the ground as was slipping into Virtual Shock.

Rider grabbed Vera's sinking form and dragged her into the center of the circle, trusting his teammates to kill the remaining beetles. She was in bad shape, and extreme methods were needed. Steeling himself, he used his right hand and ripped part of his left arm off and slapped it into Vera's gaping wound. Rider's image wavered as part of his severed code adjusted and reformulated itself, and his left arm now dangled uselessly at his side. Rider's virtual image had been compromised, but his severed code would act as a temporary patch to stop Vera code hemorrhage. His patch held, and the Vera's hemorrhage stopped.

"Vera?" Rider asked. She looked at him with a knowing calm. "You are badly wounded, and we can't Portal you back. Not here. Give me your backup ID packet, just in case."

Vera nodded, and seemed to reach into her head near her left ear. Her fingers emerged with a small black ball, which she gave to Rider. Rider took the ball and morphed it into his torso.

Vera stood weakly, but steadily. She was a two-decade veteran of the Morgan Ops Corps and knew what to expect. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and hopefully it wouldn't be the last.

*****

The Ops Team reached a large chamber at the center of the temple. In the hellish light of the blazing fire in the center of the chamber five alters could be seen, one to each of the Evil Yang Gods: War, Pestilence, Disease, Death, and Deceit. On each alter shining golden chalices and figurines were displayed. This was obviously the Datacenter of the Hive City of Great Clustering. Without study, which would take precious time, they could not know what the Gods represented in their virtual world, and they wouldn't be able to divine what the glittering object represented.

"Sy, this is the time of truth. Pick one of the objects, and pick it fast. We have to get out of here," Rider ordered.

Sy nodded and sprang into action. As he ran toward the unearthly alters he made his choice: Yang the God of Death. He approached the alter and grabbed a golden representation of Yang the Fanged God. Holding his heavy trophy, he held it to his chest and closed his eyes. With great effort he forced the statuette into his torso. Waves of intense pleasure and pain washed across his face as the enormous torrent of data cascaded into his memory buffer. In seconds it was done.

A deep rumble started, and the Ops Team looked around. A swirl of black formed over the fire pit, and Yang the God of Death coalesced from the black ribbons of smoke.

"HOW DARE YOU VIOLATE MY HOLY TEMPLE! PREPARE FOR DEATH AT THE HANDS OF YANG THE ALMIGHTY!" the God's voice boomed through the room. Ugly swirls of electricity began to form within the broiling cloud, forming critical mass.

Rider uttered one word: "SCAT!" With that, the team made a b-line for the entrance.

Before they could get there a huge stone Block fell from the ceiling of the entrance hallway, sealing them in.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Yangs voice boomed, mocking and cold through the chamber.

"Miloslav! PiercerMax! Stat!" Rider yelled through the echoes of Yangs cruel laugh.

Continuing to run, Miloslav subvocalized and a bazooka-like weapon appeared. He paused and aimed at the stone blocking their exit and fired. A coursing wave of energy, crackling with intensity, leapt toward its target. It impacted, but did not explode. Instead it ate away at the stone Block, with miniature explosions going off as code that held the structure of Yang's Data Repository was raped and subsumed by the Piercer Meme. Black showed through as the entire electronic edifice was shorn. The infection destroyed the Block, and then spread to the walls, which also started to destabilize.

Yang's voice stopped its maniacal laugh as the Great Clustering Data Repository rushed resources to the widening breach. Slowly the tattered edges started to reform and the Piercer Meme was fought to a standstill.

"THROUGH! NOW!" Rider yelled, still running at full tilt. There was extreme danger, in that a Piercer Meme would destroy any code it could, including that of the Ops Team. They, however, did not have the resources to fight back like the Data Repository did. If the Meme infected them they would die - permanent derez.

The Ops Team rushed through the maelstrom. Last through was Vera, who was weakened and slow from the trauma inflicted on her by the Burrowers. Passing the portal she was a little too slow and the blackness caught her injured left foot. Transfixed, the Meme tore at her code and she watched her companions depart.

With her last strength, she turned toward the Data Repository Chamber and subvocalized another Piercer Meme and fired it at the image of Yang. The program leapt and impacted. She had the satisfaction of watching a second infection start, spreading over the far wall of the chamber before the crackling destruction of the Meme froze her form. The world seemed to be a blaze with light, then fade.

Blackness.

*****

"We have to get out of the Null Area of the Data Repository! Through the Barrier," Rider yelled to his six companions as he emerged atop the Temple of Yang into the sunlight. In the Temple Courtyard was now a throng of at least 50 Sentries moving slowly toward the Ops team. They were slow, but if they grabbed hold they could not be dislodged. They would paralyze through strength of numbers. It was the Repositories last defense, unless some Mobiles were following. Rider fervently hoped there were no Mobiles. They were not stupid programs, but were Virtuals like the Ops team and controlled by humans. And they were deadly.

Without orders, everyone but Sy subvocalized weapons as they started down the steep temple stairs. Sy worked his way to the center of the group, and knew that he would be defended at all costs: he held the stolen data.

Area of effect Destructor charges exploded around the Sentries, derezing them or causing code collapse and paralysis. Impact weapons enveloped and frayed the coding of the lead Sentries causing them to freeze, and impede the progress of those behind. Within minutes almost all the advancing sentries were neutralized, which wasn't surprising. Sentries were the most base of defensive programs, and typically not a threat to Ops professionals.

One after another, the Sentries halted, lost resolution and vanished. The team quickly made their way through, ignoring and evading the few remaining Sentries as they were pursued. At the edge of the courtyard they crashed through the vegetative Barrier.

Rider looked back. Pouring out of the Temple Data Repository were at least 15 Mobiles. Their time was up. Humans ran Mobiles, and they were just as or more deadly than they were.

"Vicrant and Laur, Invoke the Portal."

Both stopped and dropped their weapons. Each stood still and gripped the others hands. Closing their eyes as the Portal was Invokedl.

A dark void appeared, tearing at the Static Site trees and creating a vortex. Sy jumped first, then the rest of the team. Lastly, Vicrant and Laur jumped through, still holding hands.

A little too late the fire from the Hive Mobiles washed over the Barrier, sundering the Static Sites and ripping the Barrier itself.

The Portal vanished just as the Barrier was shredded.

*****

The still sitting forms of the Ops Team in the former Hive city of Command Nexus took a deep breath and opened their eyes. Gradually real human senses reintegrated as the Vista interface with the Net withdrew. Seven of the forms rose from their chairs. Vera's body remained motionless in her chair, breathing deeply. The ninth was slumped with a trickle of now cold blood running down from the corners of his eyes, nose, and mouth. Cerebral overload. Harlin was dead.

Each team member, Rider, Sy, Edilvia, Laur, Vicrant, Geo, and Milosav, walked over to Harlin's body and touched him reverently. Another friend lost, but he did not die in vain. Vera would recover, but would have no memory of her exploits. The team had seen her fighting to the last - a true professional, dogged and determined. They would share this memory with her, if she wished.

Everyone looked expectantly at Sy, but no one said a word.

Sy reached back to the neural node on his neck and activated the diagnostic on his internal data storage system. It allowed him to read, partially at least, the contents of his download.

After a moment the corners of his mouth crept up, then became a full-fledged smile.

"Jackpot, ladies and gentleman. CEO Morgan will be [I]very[/I] pleased. We have just acquired the complete data and support for Bio-Engineering. A brief read of the specs shows it will allow us increased intrinsic resistant to genetic warfare [I]and[/I] will allow us to design self supporting military and civilian units with clean reactors! There are also the complete spec for the Longevity Vaccine Special Project!"

"Well, are we heroes or what? Let's get the data into the system. Then let's figure out what other havoc we can cause!" an enthusiastic Miloslav suggested.

Nodding, Laur added, "A good party wouldn't hurt, either. I certainly have some kinks to work out."

"Fine. Be at my place at 1900. If you don't wash you can't come. Two hours in these Ops Suits has made us less than fresh," Milo finished

Some of the gloom of losing Harlin drained away. They knew he wouldn't want them to be morose and brooding. All on the team knew the risks, and the pure rush of the surf and danger. Morgan Ops team left the room, except for Rider.

He stayed behind, as was his duty until the Medic arrived. Vera was going to be fine. He brushed the long blond hair from the face of her sleeping form, his fingers caressing her cheek as he went. Impulsively, he gently placed a kiss on her forehead and held her hand.

[I]She won't mind[/I] Rider thought to himself.