inserted his flash drive into his computer. On it was the program he had written in the basement of the farmhouse when he first found about his brothers joining the army. The virus would invade the mainframe and disable the microchips. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the table as he waited for the virus to attach itself to a file and begin running.
He glanced at his watch nervously. This is taking too long, he thought. He was overjoyed when the word ‘Deactivated’ lit up in red letters on the screen. The chips were turned off! He had done it! He wanted to jump up and shout and dance, but thought better of it. This is it! Now it’s time for phase two , he said to himself.
He hoped he could use the same method for hacking into the Helena news station’s system as his recent internet research led him to believe that the government was controlling and monitoring many aspects of the media. He accessed the Channel 9 Helena News mainframe and entered the Secret Service Agent’s password. The words “Access Granted” lit up across the screen. “Holy hell! I’ve hit the jackpot!” Zane whispered to himself.
The eight o’clock news was about to come on, which would be the perfect time to stream the video he had recorded the day before. He inserted a different flash drive into his computer and began streaming the video. In a matter of seconds it would be shown to everyone in Helena who was watching the Chanel 9 News. As the video began to play, he gathered his things and calmly walked out the back door of the library.
Jesse’s Bar in downtown Helena was open and busy at eight A.M. Workers from the factory nearby stopped in after their shift to order breakfast and chat among themselves before going home. This morning was much livelier than usual. The men sat at the tables, talking loudly while their breakfast was being prepared. Earnest sat at the bar, quietly sipping a beer.
“What are you doing drinking this early in the morning?” Zachary, the youngest member of their group, called across the bar.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Earnest replied.
“Now for the Helena eight o’clock news,” the TV above the bar said. Instead of seeing the usual reporters, there was an image of an unkempt man with long hair and a full beard seated in front of a computer in what looked like an abandoned building.
Earnest raised his eyebrows in shock. “Turn it up,” he told the waitress. “SHHHHHHHHH!” he hissed to the loud men across the bar. Everyone stopped speaking and turned to face the TV.
“Hi, I’m Zane Marsh,” the man said. “As most of you already know, I’m on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. They’d like you to believe that I am a terrorist. They’d like you to believe anything but the truth. I’m running for my life because of what I know, and I’m about to share it with you. When the government passed the bill requiring everyone to have a microchip implanted in their arm, there’s something they neglected to tell the general public. I have deactivated your chips so you can fully understand what I’m about to show you. The following is a video documenting the studies of Dr. Raymond Eldridge, a former Brain and Cognitive Sciences professor at MIT. This may be the most important video you will ever watch.”
Zane disappeared from the screen. The video of Eldridge’s research, experiments, and hypothesis followed. Zane had edited it for time. Everyone watched in silence until it was over. Channel 9 News announced that it was having technical difficulties and asked everyone to please stand by. A color bar followed accompanied by an obnoxious beeping sound.
“This is bull,” Earnest exclaimed, breaking the silence, “I spent ten years serving my country and now they’ve put a chip in my arm that tells me what to think?! What will they do next?”
“Those lying , no
He glanced at his watch nervously. This is taking too long, he thought. He was overjoyed when the word ‘Deactivated’ lit up in red letters on the screen. The chips were turned off! He had done it! He wanted to jump up and shout and dance, but thought better of it. This is it! Now it’s time for phase two , he said to himself.
He hoped he could use the same method for hacking into the Helena news station’s system as his recent internet research led him to believe that the government was controlling and monitoring many aspects of the media. He accessed the Channel 9 Helena News mainframe and entered the Secret Service Agent’s password. The words “Access Granted” lit up across the screen. “Holy hell! I’ve hit the jackpot!” Zane whispered to himself.
The eight o’clock news was about to come on, which would be the perfect time to stream the video he had recorded the day before. He inserted a different flash drive into his computer and began streaming the video. In a matter of seconds it would be shown to everyone in Helena who was watching the Chanel 9 News. As the video began to play, he gathered his things and calmly walked out the back door of the library.
Jesse’s Bar in downtown Helena was open and busy at eight A.M. Workers from the factory nearby stopped in after their shift to order breakfast and chat among themselves before going home. This morning was much livelier than usual. The men sat at the tables, talking loudly while their breakfast was being prepared. Earnest sat at the bar, quietly sipping a beer.
“What are you doing drinking this early in the morning?” Zachary, the youngest member of their group, called across the bar.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Earnest replied.
“Now for the Helena eight o’clock news,” the TV above the bar said. Instead of seeing the usual reporters, there was an image of an unkempt man with long hair and a full beard seated in front of a computer in what looked like an abandoned building.
Earnest raised his eyebrows in shock. “Turn it up,” he told the waitress. “SHHHHHHHHH!” he hissed to the loud men across the bar. Everyone stopped speaking and turned to face the TV.
“Hi, I’m Zane Marsh,” the man said. “As most of you already know, I’m on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. They’d like you to believe that I am a terrorist. They’d like you to believe anything but the truth. I’m running for my life because of what I know, and I’m about to share it with you. When the government passed the bill requiring everyone to have a microchip implanted in their arm, there’s something they neglected to tell the general public. I have deactivated your chips so you can fully understand what I’m about to show you. The following is a video documenting the studies of Dr. Raymond Eldridge, a former Brain and Cognitive Sciences professor at MIT. This may be the most important video you will ever watch.”
Zane disappeared from the screen. The video of Eldridge’s research, experiments, and hypothesis followed. Zane had edited it for time. Everyone watched in silence until it was over. Channel 9 News announced that it was having technical difficulties and asked everyone to please stand by. A color bar followed accompanied by an obnoxious beeping sound.
“This is bull,” Earnest exclaimed, breaking the silence, “I spent ten years serving my country and now they’ve put a chip in my arm that tells me what to think?! What will they do next?”
“Those lying , no
Similar Books
