4.04: Touched by a virus.

[nofileext]

The task that Daemon lays out for Mouse and YT is simple enough: allow the Word to spread to its fullest extent. To that end, YT is sent off into the 'Net carrying a list of IP addresses and a copy of Mouse's encryption codes.

One by one, YT visits the systems Mouse has firewalled off. One by one, the firewalls drop, allowing the Word to spread to the systems beyond them.

Soon, only one firewall remains.

This one is special. What lies within this system is too important to be entrusted to an underling. There have been too many false starts already.

Surrounded by a fleet of Guardian transports, Daemon and her new entourage fly toward System Mainframe.

Comments

[nofileext]

Meanwhile, in Mainframe's Principal Office...

"It's no good!" wails Specky. "Her encryption is too complicated!"

[command_dot_com]

"We've got to keep trying. If-"

Dot glanced up at the screen displaying the true ENTIRE friggin Guardian Armada outside with a flagship. This was very, VERY bad, that many ships with Mouse, Matrix and AndrAIa likely to be there... It wasn't a matter of 'if they got in' ...now it was all of a matter of...

"WHEN Mouse gets here, we're completely defenseless! She knows the access code, we have to change it!"

[nofileext]

"B-b-but it's impossible!" Specky stammers.

[command_dot_com]

"No! There has to be something we can do." You can't take the fight out of this ladysprite.

[a1enzo]

Matrix stoops and picks up the baseball from the ground. "See if you can catch my... fastball!"

It's the wind-up, it's the pitch, it's... way wide.

[nofileext]

Welman's arm shoots out--way out--and his 'hand' expands into a mitt to catch the ball easily.

"You'll have to do better than that!"

[a1enzo]

His son's eyes go wide. "Alphanumeric!"

This is way cooler than an ordinary dad, even if hugs are out of the question.

[nofileext]

Welman tosses the ball back to Enzo, then makes a 'time-out' sign before turning to Phong, who is just rolling past where the technician binomes are busy putting the Gateway device together.

[nofileext]

"How is Enzo taking your transformation?" enquires Phong. It's a lot to get used to, after all, having his father back - and in such a strange form - especially piled on all the other adjustments the child has been forced to make in recent minutes.

[nofileext]

Welman hesitates. "Well..."

[a1enzo]

"Hi, Phong," exclaims little Matrix breathlessly, running up. "Dad's a null-monster now, it's soooooo cool! He can change shape and things! Hey," he adds, his attention diverted by a hailing bark, "there's Frisket!" And off he goes.

[nofileext]

"...quite well, actually," he continues with a shrug.

Kids. Go figure.

[nofileext]

Phong's amusement (not to say relief) at this is cut short by the noise of a squadron of CPUs taking off. "Now what?"

As Phong and Welman watch, the tanks head for the firewall. Each fires off its payload - a sender - to be embedded in the sky next to the firewall, and swings around to return to base.

"A second firewall!" says Phong, pleased, as it goes up over the first. "That should slow Mouse down. Clever girl!"

[nofileext]

"Who, Dot?"

Welman is having a hard time adjusting himself. Not only is his little girl a grown woman now, but she's in charge of the entire system. He never doubted her capabilities, but seeing her in action is something else entirely.

[nofileext]

"You should be very proud of her," Phong mock-admonishes Welman, with a slight twinkle.

[nofileext]

"I am," Welman replies, completely sincere. "And Enzo. He's a fine boy. He's grown so much..."

[nofileext]

Oh dear. Well, he had to address this sooner or later. But how in the 'Net to put it...

"Ah, well, there's... something else you should know. About Enzo, or... or should I say Matrix?"

[mendanddefend_archive]

The CPUs are preparing for battle, checking over their weapons and vehicles one last time. From one of the highest islands in Floating Point Park, Bob watches, feeling helpless. The firewalls won't keep Daemon out for long--and the sensors say she's got the entire Guardian Armada backing her up.

No matter how this goes down, a lot of people are going to die today.

And there's not a damned thing Bob can do about it.

[command_dot_com]

They're fragged. It's only a matter of nanos now before Daemon and the infected Mainframers get through the second firewall. Her father is putting the finishing touches on his invention with Phong's help- The Gateway Command. It split Gigabyte into two new Virii, leaving Lost Angles a wasteland from the energy released in the process, because it was keyed to bring anything through it to one point. Mainframe. Now it's being tooled for an entirely different purpose, to ping and send to all corners of the 'Net at once.

It's a long shot. It probably won't work. But it's the best Dot's been able to come up with under the circumstances. That's what contingency plans are for, as she stands near the huge upright ring, checking the door to the Principal Office before giving up in frustration. Where's the door when you really need it? She glanced at the sky for any signs of a incoming Game, if the door wouldn't show up... She'd just have to use that instead for her backup plan. Get Enzo somewhere away from Daemon's touch. Bob would never abandon Mainframe, but she can hope to persuade him otherwise should it come to it.

Get both Enzo and Bob away from here...somewhere where Daemon won't be able to touch them. She's going to go down with this city, should it come to that.

[mendanddefend_archive]

Speak of the devil... here comes Bob now, jumping out of his car as Hex lands it, a little clumsily, in front of the Principal Office.

"We're out of time! We'll never evacuate the city now. --Nice idea, the second firewall," he adds as an afterthought.

[command_dot_com]

"Thanks, but it won't hold Mouse for long. And who said we were evacuating the city?" Dot checks in on the programming one more time and glances to the sky again.

[mendanddefend_archive]

"But--I thought--"

Why in the 'Net were they rebuilding the Gateway, if not as an evacuation route?

[command_dot_com]

"...Spammit where's a Game Cube when you really need one..." Barring that the DOOR would be even BETTER...

[a1enzo]

"Hex!" Little Matrix races over to where the virus-cum-sprite has parked the car. Frisket bounds along behind. If they needed any further evidence that Hexadecimal isn't a virus any longer, it's that Frisket displays no more hostility to her than he does to everyone by his default settings.

"I-I wanted to thank you for bringing Dad back, this is so cool, he was dead and now he's not, and I missed him so much, so thanks, and he's totally pixelacious this way, he's stretchy..."

[red-cg-insanity.livejournal.com]

She had been looking for him. Stalking wasn't out of the question, it was just harder.

Why was Bob looking so sad? Maybe Hex could cheer him up.

"Hello, cheekie," said a Hex from behind Bob.