M3SS3NG3R
03-06-2013, 11:16 PM
Critiques welcome! ~Keh-Harng Feng
-----
The Hacker
“Facing his fear and rage, sense and restraint seem to pale in comparison. So John’s knife
disappeared into Jane’s chest. She just whispered, 'I love you.'”
“So? What do you think?” The man reciting the line asked the small person sitting across the table.
“What do I think? Huh. Listen, Frankie. I’ll be honest with you. It sounds like a line from a cheap
soap opera. I’ve been in this business a long time, bud. You want to be a writer? That’s fine. But if
you want to be famous, that just ain’t gonna fly. I mean, come on! John and Jane?”
“Ted, I don’t want to be famous. I mean, if I can be famous, that’s great, too. But it really just all
boils down to how I want to start writing. I get this urge, you know? And how long have we known
each other? Ten years? Fifteen? You could at least try to be a bit more encouraging.”
“Frank, you don’t even have a computer! If you really want to write, start by getting one at least.
My niece happens to have an old one for sale. Here you can have it for cheap. Drop by the place
tomorrow. Let it be known that my benevolence has no bounds.”
The small man pushed a piece of paper across the table and promptly walked out the coffee shop.
Frank stared at it absentmindedly. Was this really what he wanted? He thought to himself. He was
neither rich nor handsome. At thirty-eight he was by no means a young bachelor. He probably should
be socializing more instead of typing words on a box filled with wires and trinkets every night. But
this was his hidden passion. To project himself into all these characters and give forms to his
desires.
-----
“And...let there be light!” Electricity courses through the circuits in the monitor. The shapes on the
screen gradually become visible. Frank’s fingers moved awkwardly over the grid of plastic squares.
“John walks down the alleyway in the rainy night. Despite the dissonant sounds of cars the silence
is heavy. That’s when the lone shadow around the corner startles him. The shadow speaks, 'Hi, my
name is Jane.'... “
“Huh, I guess that could work. Wait, no that’s terrible. How did that get there anyway? Wasn’t that
in the first page?” With a couple of keystrokes Frank deleted the uninvited text.
-----
“Ted, remember that computer you sold me three weeks back?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“Well it’s acting weird. Like it keeps randomly typing in lines I already wrote in the novel I am
working on.”
“See, this is why I shouldn’t help anyone in the future. You help them once, and they just demand
more help. Listen, computers don’t randomly type in lines for you. You sure you weren’t drunk and
just forgot about the stuff you wrote down?”
“Ted, seriously I quit drinking already. Stop bringing it up all the time. And yes I am sure I didn’t
write those lines myself. I mean, I did but they were in the previous pages you know what I mean?”
“Okay okay. If you are *sure* something other than you did it then that leaves only one
explanation. You are being hacked. Are you connected to the internet?”
“Connected to the internet? Oh yeah you mean that internet explorer thing? I clicked on it once
and it showed me all sorts of advertisements.”
“My niece must have set the computer to connect to unsecured wireless networks automatically.
That stupid girl. Anyway stay away from those access points and you will be fine. Or just unplug
your transceiver. I gotta run, bud. Later.”
“Wait, wha...” Frank watched Edward’s back disappearing into the crowded street. What was he
mumbling about? Unsecured wireless networks? Access points? The big words were starting to blur
together. The letters danced and intertwined then turned into Edward’s mocking face. Frank shook
that image away from his mind. Guess he would just have to live with the computer for now.
-----
“As Pam talks about clothes and past boyfriends John feels more and more disconnected to the
world...” Frank’s fingers darted about the keyboard deftly. His own life started to materialize on the
screen.
“...despite the dissonant sounds of cars the silence is heavy...”
Frank chuckled. Yes indeed. Wait, he didn’t type that. It must be the hacker!
“Who are you?”
“Hi, my name is Jane.”
Frank panicked. Someone was sneaking into his secret lair. Should he run away or confront her?
“Why are you invading my space?”
“....lone shadow around the corner...”
The hacker again spoke with Frank’s own words. However the disjoint sentence seemed to contain a
shred of logic. Was that a reply?
-----
“l talked to Jane yesterday.”
“Jane?”
“Yeah. You know, the hacker that has been invading my computer.”
“You talked to the hacker? What did she say?”
“I am not exactly sure since she only used my own words from the novel. But they kind of make
sense... Why doesn’t she speak like a normal person? Why does she only quote my words to
communicate?”
“I have no idea, Frankie. But if I were you, I’d unplug the wireless transceiver immediately.”
“You really think it’s such a big deal?”
“Of course! Listen, you don’t have to lie to me. I know what you are putting into your novel. All
sorts of would’ve could’ve should’ve, and maybe a couple of things you actually did but no one
knew about. Thing is, I do it, too. And the last thing I want is for someone else to read it.”
-----
His fingers trembled as they found the keys.
“Why do you insist on speaking to me with my own words?”
“...disconnected to the world...”
“Stop sending me cryptic messages. You have violated my privacy and rendered my work half
unreadable with your nonsense. I am deleting my draft because of you. Please don’t come back
again.”
Filled with shame and anger Frank pressed the enter key. As the file disappeared into electronic
void his notebook caught his attention. A small piece of plastic was sticking out of the pages. When
he opened the notebook his wireless transceiver fell into his lap. On the page it read, “Facing his
fear and anger, sense and restraint seem to pale in comparison. So John’s blade disappeared into
Jane’s chest. She just whispered, 'I love you.'”
END
-----
The Hacker
“Facing his fear and rage, sense and restraint seem to pale in comparison. So John’s knife
disappeared into Jane’s chest. She just whispered, 'I love you.'”
“So? What do you think?” The man reciting the line asked the small person sitting across the table.
“What do I think? Huh. Listen, Frankie. I’ll be honest with you. It sounds like a line from a cheap
soap opera. I’ve been in this business a long time, bud. You want to be a writer? That’s fine. But if
you want to be famous, that just ain’t gonna fly. I mean, come on! John and Jane?”
“Ted, I don’t want to be famous. I mean, if I can be famous, that’s great, too. But it really just all
boils down to how I want to start writing. I get this urge, you know? And how long have we known
each other? Ten years? Fifteen? You could at least try to be a bit more encouraging.”
“Frank, you don’t even have a computer! If you really want to write, start by getting one at least.
My niece happens to have an old one for sale. Here you can have it for cheap. Drop by the place
tomorrow. Let it be known that my benevolence has no bounds.”
The small man pushed a piece of paper across the table and promptly walked out the coffee shop.
Frank stared at it absentmindedly. Was this really what he wanted? He thought to himself. He was
neither rich nor handsome. At thirty-eight he was by no means a young bachelor. He probably should
be socializing more instead of typing words on a box filled with wires and trinkets every night. But
this was his hidden passion. To project himself into all these characters and give forms to his
desires.
-----
“And...let there be light!” Electricity courses through the circuits in the monitor. The shapes on the
screen gradually become visible. Frank’s fingers moved awkwardly over the grid of plastic squares.
“John walks down the alleyway in the rainy night. Despite the dissonant sounds of cars the silence
is heavy. That’s when the lone shadow around the corner startles him. The shadow speaks, 'Hi, my
name is Jane.'... “
“Huh, I guess that could work. Wait, no that’s terrible. How did that get there anyway? Wasn’t that
in the first page?” With a couple of keystrokes Frank deleted the uninvited text.
-----
“Ted, remember that computer you sold me three weeks back?”
“Yeah. What about it?”
“Well it’s acting weird. Like it keeps randomly typing in lines I already wrote in the novel I am
working on.”
“See, this is why I shouldn’t help anyone in the future. You help them once, and they just demand
more help. Listen, computers don’t randomly type in lines for you. You sure you weren’t drunk and
just forgot about the stuff you wrote down?”
“Ted, seriously I quit drinking already. Stop bringing it up all the time. And yes I am sure I didn’t
write those lines myself. I mean, I did but they were in the previous pages you know what I mean?”
“Okay okay. If you are *sure* something other than you did it then that leaves only one
explanation. You are being hacked. Are you connected to the internet?”
“Connected to the internet? Oh yeah you mean that internet explorer thing? I clicked on it once
and it showed me all sorts of advertisements.”
“My niece must have set the computer to connect to unsecured wireless networks automatically.
That stupid girl. Anyway stay away from those access points and you will be fine. Or just unplug
your transceiver. I gotta run, bud. Later.”
“Wait, wha...” Frank watched Edward’s back disappearing into the crowded street. What was he
mumbling about? Unsecured wireless networks? Access points? The big words were starting to blur
together. The letters danced and intertwined then turned into Edward’s mocking face. Frank shook
that image away from his mind. Guess he would just have to live with the computer for now.
-----
“As Pam talks about clothes and past boyfriends John feels more and more disconnected to the
world...” Frank’s fingers darted about the keyboard deftly. His own life started to materialize on the
screen.
“...despite the dissonant sounds of cars the silence is heavy...”
Frank chuckled. Yes indeed. Wait, he didn’t type that. It must be the hacker!
“Who are you?”
“Hi, my name is Jane.”
Frank panicked. Someone was sneaking into his secret lair. Should he run away or confront her?
“Why are you invading my space?”
“....lone shadow around the corner...”
The hacker again spoke with Frank’s own words. However the disjoint sentence seemed to contain a
shred of logic. Was that a reply?
-----
“l talked to Jane yesterday.”
“Jane?”
“Yeah. You know, the hacker that has been invading my computer.”
“You talked to the hacker? What did she say?”
“I am not exactly sure since she only used my own words from the novel. But they kind of make
sense... Why doesn’t she speak like a normal person? Why does she only quote my words to
communicate?”
“I have no idea, Frankie. But if I were you, I’d unplug the wireless transceiver immediately.”
“You really think it’s such a big deal?”
“Of course! Listen, you don’t have to lie to me. I know what you are putting into your novel. All
sorts of would’ve could’ve should’ve, and maybe a couple of things you actually did but no one
knew about. Thing is, I do it, too. And the last thing I want is for someone else to read it.”
-----
His fingers trembled as they found the keys.
“Why do you insist on speaking to me with my own words?”
“...disconnected to the world...”
“Stop sending me cryptic messages. You have violated my privacy and rendered my work half
unreadable with your nonsense. I am deleting my draft because of you. Please don’t come back
again.”
Filled with shame and anger Frank pressed the enter key. As the file disappeared into electronic
void his notebook caught his attention. A small piece of plastic was sticking out of the pages. When
he opened the notebook his wireless transceiver fell into his lap. On the page it read, “Facing his
fear and anger, sense and restraint seem to pale in comparison. So John’s blade disappeared into
Jane’s chest. She just whispered, 'I love you.'”
END