Flight of waiting

The walls were a sickening shade of green, he didn't in distend how it had happened, but he was stuck for now, and had to find a solution ... And fast ... If someone found him inside so far out of hours he would have to do some serious explaining.

Most likely to ExoFo. And he had yet to actually meet anyone back at the company after explaining or providing background for them. Someone always got a message or a call from them a while later, explaining how they had got a great new opportunity in a different department. But he had never met the one who got the message - it was always once, twice or three times removed.

That had irked him, but not enough to bother actually checking what really had happened to the person in question. But this time he might get to find out firsthand. And probably his voice would leave a message, somewhat flustered , but sounding fit enough.

...and he said this is picking up pace

Uncertain

He awoke with a cough, sitting up in the bed and looking around. Where was he? how had he got here, he should be in front of the computer, testing... suddenly it dawned on him. The noise from the floor below, the extra run to figure out just what it could be. and with that he found himself back in the system, that fateful night the year before.


a tractor pulled out from between the trees, a single orange light flashing on top, as it roughly mowed the snow in front, pushing it partially forward, partially off to the side of the road, and leaving behind a smooth hard surface


the noise was getting stronger. So he definitely was on the right track, but it seemed to stay just around the corner from where he was. He had tried speeding up, but it hadn't helped, so he conceded that he was not following, as much as being lead - somewhere and by something inside the system, where there really should be nothing other than him and the other testers. and since this was officially a "freeze and fix" day, even the testers had the day more or less off. Pushing around another corner, he entered a big room. Too big to be allowed in the system without a doubt. It stretched onwards and upwards, walls filled with small alcoves, each holding a single red crystal. as he walked into the room, he thought he could see a pattern - the crystals were glowing ever so slightly, sending a message
...or perhaps
...no, it couldn't be...
...COMMUNICATING?

the testing system was simple, yet worked good enough with people like him steadily pushing the boundaries of automation and optimalization. What had taken a full day or more only a few years earlier, would now be completed be a full afternoon shift, thereby giving the coders more than enough to fill the night and early mornings hours. He enjoyed the set up more than the actual testing, mostly because at this stage he cared less about the scope or content of the reports he generated and the "features" he discovered, than the overall purpose of the system.

he was well aware of the official line, and the toned down marketing hype. He had also picked up more than enough of the gossip between the coders, but it was getting more and more obvious that there was something - or even several things - more going on in the back corners of the system. Never mind the extra runs on the border, and the breach, there was a whole different feeling when you left the main paths and started traversing some of the "off routes". He could almost smell it, figuratively speaking off course - thankfully the "immersive full sensory environment" pioneered some years earlier had been a major flop and pulled from production faster than you could say "I'll be back".

the girl

a meeting

darkness

voices - metallic and hollow sounding, discussing him and the border

finding a way, then darkness again


and he was sitting in the bed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, looking out into the darkness that still surrounded him. Third time is the charm? He had to hope for it, so he slid gently out of the bed, tested his footing gently and set off straight away from the bed - into the darkness

...and he said there most be another way of doing this

Back left forward down

The test went well. Almost too good, considering how much new code was in there this time around. The features list was twice as long as for the original version, and a few of them were rather complicated - especially since it all had to be sidelined in the main source before the release.

He had just one more set of test to complete before calling it a night (or an early morning more likely, he didn't want to look at the timer right now). That's when he thought he heard the sound again. Coming from somewhere below his current position - even if he was supposed to be in the metaphorical wine-cellar of the system. Obviously someone else had been busy adding 'utility' layers to the new version.

Should he ignore it? Just finish of the test-set and log off, write up the commentary to accompany the automatic results and recommendations? Yeah - that would be the best thing to do. But then, if he had been the kind of guy who did the right thing - he would probably not be working for the company - most definitely not on the system - and no way what so ever on this kind of added actions.
Five minutes later he was down below, having seen the door to the lift real easily when he actually bothered to look around rather than just sticking to the test of his own boundaries and interfaces. He opened the next door - and the sound was gone. An empty room greeted him, no traces of anyone or anything that might have been making the noise. And no obvious ways out. But since the door he was standing in was impossible to make out, the other exits would probably be equally blended into the general surrounding. The craftsmanship was amazing. Classy and delicate code, blending so seamlessly into the walls that he actually put in a pin before closing the door behind him - rather safe than messed up big time inside some room so secret it made his stuff look like a regular billboard. He had almost forgot why he came down in the first place, so good was the design, so subtle the shifts, that for the first time since joining the company he actually felt that there was something to learn.

Now, he only had to find out what - then maybe how and by whom, in order to get a better grasp on the whole level below. But that would obviously have to wait - his test set was still due, no point in giving the impression that the test were overly hard (or that there were any flaws in his design). No, the exploration could surely wait another day or two - and then maybe he could do some mock-ups over the weekend. So, he started back towards the elevator - just as the sound started again. From somewhere really close by this time. He was certain of it.

...and he said am I awake, dreaming or just tuned in?

Rebooted

And then it was night. But it didn't really matter, as he was still sitting in front of the screen - waiting to have another go at the test set. It was getting close to a new release, so he had to put in the long hours, no matter what he felt like - or what else might be needed outside the system.

A sudden flicker in the left corner caught his attention as it was starting to drift onto the mail and message client. There. It is ready. And once more he logs in, picks up the interface and starts off down the corridor.


Things are different, but still it easy to find the path into the deeper parts of the system - where his module is sitting, somewhere behind the main paths, but still hidden from the casual users - and more importantly; from their watchers. Because there was no point in watching - if somebody was already watching you. So, they had to hide it well, test it better and design it out of this world.

And so he turned the corner once more - into the hallway were they had met that first time, more than a year ago already. Yet still he felt the impact of crossing the spot she had been standing in, trying not to step in the virtual (or imagined) footprints of her system. What had gone wrong? Or for that matter - what had seemed right enough to get the entire thing started? He had known all too well what it meant to discuss his work - even with someone else working on testing the inner part of the system. But still he had given it a shot. Sure in his own work - and his ability to spot the more 'shoddy' systems in place in the company's messaging framework.

...and he said how can I actually be here again?

Stuck or moving beyond?

And then it was time to go in again. To face the new system and make it even better. He felt like a kid again, being in school, having to do the same tasks and assignments over and over. No time to grow. No time to learn. Just repetition. And endless hallways, sometimes ending in rooms with new hallways and choices to be made. But he couldn't really choose. He had to take the path set up for his run, and then the next one and the next one - until they had covered all the main areas.

Once more he entered a room. Empty of course. Five new hallways leading out. And he just stopped.

Let time pass by. Seconds? Milliseconds? Impossible to tell inside, since everything happened when the system wanted it to. Selecting a way could take a second, or a minute if things were busy.

Where next he tried to say...

...and he said how do I know - if anything is really happening, when all I do is dream of somewhere else

meeting like this

dup - dip - dup - dup
the sound made it's way to his ears even if he tried hard not to pay attention to it. the new girl had brought in her equipment and set up close to him. no way around it now. he had to talk to her and find out what it was. so he got up, switched his display over to secure mode and walked over.

she was deep into the maze, doing a rapid search and path job, when she heard someone approaching in the real world. putting the flow to one side she looked up and saw the guy with the black jacket. she had noticed him when she came in, something had caught her attention and she was sure he was the one the boss had both warned her about and praised as the best on the team. naturally she had taken one of the vacant seats close to him when she set up earlier that morning.

...and he said we must speed up if we can't stop

Steps

He got back to his appartment late, but returned to the office in the night. He had an idea. Fortunately the system was back up for testing - the border had been patched for now, and the night was filled with testprograms running through the basics. Basically anything that had already been tested during the last month had to be redone, just in case somthing had been corrupted by the breach.

His new approach was a "step back and forward again" approach; he would tell the system to choose one of the opertaions door (usually 0001 to 1000, or 1 to 8 in the old decimal notation) then backstep into the room and test a random data or path door. That way he hoped to speed up the base testing by an order of magnitude or more.

Now, it was time to get it started...

...and he said it is getting to close, we need to do something soon

Back

It turned out to be a large hole in the border. The main team all had to extend their shift to close it properly, as the second shift was but straight on testing the other parts of the border for similar faults. He was relieved that it was not his job to fix or to design the border in the first place. For tonight someone would be getting a rather unpleasant visit from the EncFo. Mistakes were tolerated. Minor bugs viewed as regular occurrences. But a major re-working of the border this late in the cycle?

His test had gone pretty well, everything behaving as it should - except for the "incident" - and he could look forward to new and long runs over the next days. Provided that the main team got the border back up. Otherwise everyone would be on training and design for the time it took. And that would probably mean EncFo would make another visit.

...and he said nothing, just sat there

Bordering

It had come at him from his left. Flying low, close to the ground and avoiding his radar. Somehow it had made it all the way in to the main paths. It should have been stopped at the border. That was why they had spent so much time on building, testing and rebuilding that border. But now, somehow, it had made it inside. And now he was struggling to deal with it without loosing his place in the Textron. Minutes or hours passed by. Always hard to tell inside on a run, with things happening every nanosecond of "real" time.

Finally it moved away, back the way it had approached him, and he sent out a beacon. Hopefully the sentinels would pick up the trace, find out where it got in and allow him or the others on the team to analyze the breach later. If it was the only one that had got through that is. Otherwise the sentinels would be closing down the border and the system shortly. Maybe he would have time to finish the test. He was almost halfway when it came at him, so he prepared to go the last bit before tracing his steps back.

...and he said sometimes things just happen. But sometimes they don't

Try

Two weeks had passed with little but coding going on. Now they where finally ready. It was time to take the system for a testride - even if the risk was still there. He tried to forget what had happened last time, but couldn't get it all the way out of his mind.

It had started off well enough - a simple testrun, using the main paths in the system and staying well away from the border setup. But then, suddenly something changed. His moves seemed sluggish, rather than lightning fast as they should be. And in the corner of his vision a faint glow appeared.

...and he said this is not the day - but it is not yet night

Night

The system is up. The program looks to be running as planned. But after running the basic tests and shifting his way through the first four parts something happens. A golden book is sitting on the shelf among the titles for bioperl. It shouldn't be there. It can't be there. But it is. He looks at it for several long seconds - a minute stretches by as he considers the book. Everything about it is all wrong for the setting - the shape, the texture and most importantly the color. All the other books are red, green and white. But this is golden - like the autumn sun setting over the hills.

Outside the darkness had replaced the grey light of spring-rain. He felt heavy and confused. The silence was long gone. Night was coming on, but the need to sleep was distant, almost non-existent. There was too much to be done before the next day - and yet, he saw himself power down the machine and head downstairs. Something needed his attention. But somehow his mind kept wandering to a city far away, not yet visited but still a part of his memory.

And then he remembers.

...and he said But only one who does the search can find

First - and some

It was a silent Sunday in April. He remembered it well, even if it was almost 25 years ago. He had been sitting at the computer back in what was then known as Norway, and surfed lazily around for information and entertainment, not really looking for anything, not really bothering with thinking.
And the screen flickers as the program is compiled - and he snaps out of his dreamy state to focus once again on the task at hand. The program is almost finished, but still needs some tuning and adjustments before it can be handed off to the client, next week if all continues according to "schedule".

A white van drives slowly through the rainy street, then it turns around and speeds up - going back to the house it came from. Maybe the driver forgot something, maybe the passenger needed to make a stop before they went away. He muses on the possibilities as his head is slowly adjusting itself to being awake rather than just standing up. Last night was a distant, but overall pleasant, memory. Food, friends and no fights. First one, then suddenly two crows work their way across the hillside - heading into the valley, perhaps for shelter or simply to fly.

AS he clicks, everything goes black.

...and he said There really is a way