prepare them for our future.
Somewhere between the third and second floor, the elevator stops cold.
Worse yet, the light goes off.
I’m in complete darkness, except for a fluorescent green glow of elevator buttons.
Has the power gone off throughout the whole building? That would be very odd.
Once again, I push the button to the ground floor. Nothing.
Instead, over the elevator’s intercom, a man’s voice proclaims playfully, “ My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere, you must run twice as fast as that .”
Well what do you know—it’s the Mad Hacker.
“You’re quoting the Red Queen.” Despite my matter-of-fact tone, my heart is beating quickly. “Who are you, anyway?”
He chuckles. “ Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle .”
“Yes, I know, Alice said that,” I retort angrily. “I get it, you’re one clever dude! And as for the hack job on the IC database, bravo, you’ve made your point. Everyone from POTUS on down is impressed.” I try to keep the trembling out of my voice. “So, get to the point. What do you want, a big payday? You know the U.S. can outbid its enemies if it comes to that, so now it’s my turn to quote Alice: ‘ I think you might do something better with the time than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers.’”
The elevator drops many feet, and I bump my head on the ceiling. Before I can recover, it flies back up, and I crash to the floor again.
“If you knew Time as well as I do, you wouldn't talk about wasting IT,” Mad Hacker retorts angrily. “It's HIM. ”
He’s quoting the Mad Hatter. “Okay, I get it! You’re trying to tell me—that it wasn’t you. Am I right?”
I hold my breath for another drop—
Nothing.
Maybe I’m on the right track now.
“Look, Mister Hacker—um, would you prefer I call you Mad? Obviously you see me as someone who can negotiate on your behalf. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be hacking my phone and email. But if it wasn’t you, then who released the virus in the IC database?”
He doesn’t say anything for the longest time. I know why. He doesn’t want to break the code hackers’ oath of silence.
So that he believes I’m here to help him, I quote the unicorn: “ If you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?”
He sighs. Finally: “ Speak roughly to your little boy and beat him when he sneezes! He only does it to annoy, because he knows it teases !”
He sneezes?
Of course—Carl.
“Are you telling me the vulnerability is the handiwork of Director Stone?”
“Yes, that's it!” the Mad Hacker exclaims.
“But why would he deliberately hack into a system where he already has full access?”
“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality,” he says, quoting the Cheshire Cat.
I think for a minute, then I throw out my interpretation to this clue. “So, what you’re saying is that he wants it to look as if we’ve been hacked by a major enemy, am I right?”
“ She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it.)”
It’s a direct quote from the book, but no arguments here . “If you want him to pay, as I do, it’s best that you tell me directly and specifically what you know,” I warn him.
“Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction ,” he responds with a line spoken by the Door Knob in Alice’s story.
“At least give me a clue,” I beg.
After a moment, he says, “ A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. Alice thought this a very curious thing, and she went nearer to watch them. ”
A rose tree. White roses. Three gardeners. I’m stumped. Still, I throw out a guess. “You’re trying to tell me that Carl is working with three other co-conspirators. Am I right? And I’m supposed to
Somewhere between the third and second floor, the elevator stops cold.
Worse yet, the light goes off.
I’m in complete darkness, except for a fluorescent green glow of elevator buttons.
Has the power gone off throughout the whole building? That would be very odd.
Once again, I push the button to the ground floor. Nothing.
Instead, over the elevator’s intercom, a man’s voice proclaims playfully, “ My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere, you must run twice as fast as that .”
Well what do you know—it’s the Mad Hacker.
“You’re quoting the Red Queen.” Despite my matter-of-fact tone, my heart is beating quickly. “Who are you, anyway?”
He chuckles. “ Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle .”
“Yes, I know, Alice said that,” I retort angrily. “I get it, you’re one clever dude! And as for the hack job on the IC database, bravo, you’ve made your point. Everyone from POTUS on down is impressed.” I try to keep the trembling out of my voice. “So, get to the point. What do you want, a big payday? You know the U.S. can outbid its enemies if it comes to that, so now it’s my turn to quote Alice: ‘ I think you might do something better with the time than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers.’”
The elevator drops many feet, and I bump my head on the ceiling. Before I can recover, it flies back up, and I crash to the floor again.
“If you knew Time as well as I do, you wouldn't talk about wasting IT,” Mad Hacker retorts angrily. “It's HIM. ”
He’s quoting the Mad Hatter. “Okay, I get it! You’re trying to tell me—that it wasn’t you. Am I right?”
I hold my breath for another drop—
Nothing.
Maybe I’m on the right track now.
“Look, Mister Hacker—um, would you prefer I call you Mad? Obviously you see me as someone who can negotiate on your behalf. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be hacking my phone and email. But if it wasn’t you, then who released the virus in the IC database?”
He doesn’t say anything for the longest time. I know why. He doesn’t want to break the code hackers’ oath of silence.
So that he believes I’m here to help him, I quote the unicorn: “ If you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?”
He sighs. Finally: “ Speak roughly to your little boy and beat him when he sneezes! He only does it to annoy, because he knows it teases !”
He sneezes?
Of course—Carl.
“Are you telling me the vulnerability is the handiwork of Director Stone?”
“Yes, that's it!” the Mad Hacker exclaims.
“But why would he deliberately hack into a system where he already has full access?”
“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality,” he says, quoting the Cheshire Cat.
I think for a minute, then I throw out my interpretation to this clue. “So, what you’re saying is that he wants it to look as if we’ve been hacked by a major enemy, am I right?”
“ She generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it.)”
It’s a direct quote from the book, but no arguments here . “If you want him to pay, as I do, it’s best that you tell me directly and specifically what you know,” I warn him.
“Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction ,” he responds with a line spoken by the Door Knob in Alice’s story.
“At least give me a clue,” I beg.
After a moment, he says, “ A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. Alice thought this a very curious thing, and she went nearer to watch them. ”
A rose tree. White roses. Three gardeners. I’m stumped. Still, I throw out a guess. “You’re trying to tell me that Carl is working with three other co-conspirators. Am I right? And I’m supposed to
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