This story was inspired by the Jack in the Beanstalk fable.
Sometime in the not-too-distant future.
In a typical suburban neighborhood, 30-year old Molly Spriggins lays on the couch in her living room with a damp cloth on her head, wearing slippers, loose-fitting clothes and a sweater. Her 14-year old son Jack, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that says "Code Monkey," sits on the couch by her feet while he types on a laptop. Except for an Einstein poster, several Rubik's cubes, and stacks of books on tables, the room is sparsely furnished.
Jack surfs to news.com and reads an article online.
Chairman and CEO Lawrence Giant of MegaPharma announces a free distribution of their cancer drug freelapine via a lottery system. "Normally, this drug is prohibitively expensive for low-income patients, but with these free doses, we hope to save even more lives," Lawrence Giant says.
"Mom, did you hear you get a year of this cancer drug for free if you are selected by the MegaPharma lottery system?" Jack asks.
"Forget the lottery. I’m more worried about affording new brakes for the car," she says.
"These are the last two." Jack brings her two pills and a glass of water. "Something will pop up. We’ll be okay."
``If I sell the car, I can afford more meds."
"I think Mrs Biggs is looking for a car. She’s the lady who ran the NSA summer computer camp."
"Give her a call."
Jack picks up the portable phone on the table, dials a number, listens for a dial tone, and punches in an extra code before speaking. "Mrs Biggs, this is Jack. ... No, she’s not doing well ..." Jack says as he walks to his bedroom, continuing his phone conversation.
Jack enters the living room smiling and holding a USB stick in his hand.
Molly's lying down on couch holding a photo. Her face is white and her eyes are puffy. "Do you remember this photo, Jack?" Jack walks over and kneels down near his Mom. "You were seven. You were so proud of your new bike. What ever happened to it?" she asks.
"Remember the ad 'Used bike for sale by owner. Lightweight chromoly frame.', Mom? You and Dad divorced that week. He sold the bike." Jack looks down and fiddles with the USB stick in his hand.
"I didn't about that. I'm sorry. A lot of things ere going on then," she says.
"Don't worry about it."
"Did you sell the car? What do you have there?" she asks.
"Some scripts, some computer programs. These are almost like magic, so rad."
"Can you magically turn that program into money?"
"No. These'll help me get to places on the internet I need to go."
"Oh Jack, what have you done? You spend too much time already on the internet. Now you’ve thrown away the only thing of value I owned. Go to your room, leave me alone."
Jack leaves, dejected.
*
The MegaPharma building is a concrete and steel monstrosity with a giant MR logo on the side of the top floor. CEO Lawrence Grant, dressed in an expensive suit, is alone, looking at his computer screen in his office. His phone rings. He snaps it up.
"Mr Chen! How are you?" Grant taps nervously with his pen. "No, that was not our agreement and you know it. We agreed to the price-fixing scheme in those markets provided you undercut Fipzer’s and Smerck’s prices world-wide in penicillin."
Jill, a high-school intern wearing a cute dress and blouse, enters his office and places some folders on his desk. "The folders you requested, Mr Grant." Grant ignores her but looks at the folders. Jill leaves.
"No, I don’t give one rat’s ass how you do it. ... What? You want IPO stock? Not for sale. Cancer drugs? I’ll rig the lottery. okay? Two million. Yep. Bye."
*
Jack's bedroom is a computer nerd's paradise. "The Matrix" posters, robot and computer parts, an unused monitor and a laptop decorate the space. Jack enters, ignores all this and logs into his laptop. His cell buzzes with a text from his friend Jill.
Jill: Rumor is megapharma rigs their lottery.
Jack types a reply.
Jack: How do you know that?
There's no reply. He plugs the "magic" USB stick into his laptop they types some more. He reads on the screen:
"Welcome to the megapharma.com internet site. Violators will be punished to the fullest extent of the law."
"Yada yada yada," Jack says. He starts up Freecell, a solitaire card game, running on the megapharma.com server. It opens in a new pop-up window with cards displayed in several stacks. He clicks on the "Help" tab and, instead of a help drop-down menu, a new white on back window with a command-line interface opens. He types some commands in the interface.
Jack picks up his cellphone and dials a number, "Jill, can you talk?"
Jill sits in her cubical in the MegaPharma Corporate HQ. "Not now, I’m at work. I'll call you later."
"Wait, where did you hear that rumor?"
"Later. How's your Mom?"
"Not good. On you way home, can you pick up her cancer pills at the pharmacy and drop them off?"
Sure, my shift's over soon."
"Thanks, see you soon." Jack hangs up.
On his laptop, a pop-up window asks
"Chat with admin? Click: yes or no."
"What the hell." Jack clicks on yes.
Chat client: Who are you?
Jack: U 1st.
Chat client: Computer security at megamed.com. Your intrusion has been logged.
Jack: log it d00d
Chat client: You are playing free-cell. That is unauthorized. What is your employee ID?
Jack: I'm Jack Schitt. You really don’t know me?
Jack laughs. "I crack myself up."
Chat client: Your session is terminated.
The chat session closes and Jack’s login is cut off.
"I'm going to guess Lawrence Giant runs his own domain. I’ve got one more script." Jack types on his laptop again. With a DING! a message pops up on his screen.
"Welcome to the giant.megapharma.com intranet site. Violators will be punished to the fullest extent of the law."
"I’m just going to wget it all," Jack says. He types more on his laptop.
Jack hears his Mom groan in pain. Jack looks at the progress bar on his laptop screen: 2%. He stands up and goes to the living room.
*
Ignoring his expansive view of the city skyline, Giant frowns at his computer screen, punching his keyboard with his fingers in frustration. He picks up the phone on his desk and punches in a number. "Computer security? What the hell is going on? My computer's dead. ... You `have him?' Who is `him?' ... You know who did this? Meet me in the parking lot. I want to see this man arrested with my own eyes," Giant says.
*
Mom lies on couch. Jack enters. "Feeling any better, Mom?"
She reaches out towards the table. "My pills." Jack hands her a bottle and a glass of water.
"I’m getting you more medicine soon. You're going to be okay."
"Jack, if I don’t make it I want you to make up with your father."
"No."
"Don't argue. He'll give you a good life."
"You'll make it."
"You talked about going somewhere ... on the internet."
"I’m back. It's be finished soon." Jack holds her hand.
"What's are you talking --" BANG, BANG. There is a loud knocking at the door. "Who could that be?"
Jack goes over and opens the door. Giant and a uniformed MegaPharma security officer barge in.
"What do you want?" Molly asks.
Giant points at Jack. "Jack! I am very disappointed in you."
"Well Dad, maybe you can imagine how I feel," Jack snaps back.
"Don’t you talk to me like that!" Grant yells.
"Larry, get out of my house!" She tries to get up, coughs.
"Molly, I'm warning you, back off." Grant points to Jack. "Arrest him!" Giant barks to his security officer.
"No, stop. Both of you, get out!" Molly says.
"Mom, you need to lie down. I’ll get your medicine."
"You can’t afford medicine for her. Admit it, you stole it!" Giant says.
"How does someone become like you? I want to know so it never happens to me," Jack yells.
"Your Mother's turned you against me. It's all her fault."
"The lottery you rigged is her fault too, I suppose," Jack says.
Giant turns to his security man. "Don't just stand there, arrest them both!"
BANG, BANG! There is another knock. "Oh, what now? Come in!" Molly yells.
Mrs Biggs, a middle-aged woman in a business suit, enters. She flashes a badge, mostly for the benefit of the MegaPharma security officer. "Thank you, Mrs Spriggins. My name is Biggs, NSA security. Who are you?"
"Lawrence Giant, CEO of MegaPharma --"
"Not you. I recognize you, Mr Giant, I meant you," Mrs Biggs says, looking at the security officer.
"This is Mr Kanfield, the head of security at MegaPharma," Giant says.
Biggs nods at them and turns to face Jack. "Jack, I believe you have something for me."
"It’s in my room."
"Get it. And the stick."
Jack goes to his room, sees the progress bar is now at 100%. He picks up the laptop, with the USB stick still inserted into it.
"You want to arrest your own son, Larry?" Molly asks Giant.
"Oh, like everything is my fault!"
"You really don’t know Jack, do you?"
Jack returns with his laptop. Giant indicates to his security man to take the laptop. Biggs elbows them both aside and Jack hands the laptop to her. "I didn’t mess with the stick."
"Still with the original scripts, not transferred or copied anywhere?" Biggs asks.
Jack nods. "Correct."
"Good. Thank you Jack. That is the evidence we need. We’ll handle it from here."
"Jack, what is going on?" Molly asks.
Biggs walks a few steps to address Giant and his security man. Biggs flashes a phony smile at Giant. "Mr Giant, I've heard so much about you!" Giant beams and self-consciously adjusts his suit and tie. "Could I look at your ID?" Mrs Biggs asks.
"I’m happy to oblige," Giants says. Giant fishes out his ID with a smile and hands it to Biggs. Giant is about to say something but Biggs interrupts him. "And yours, officer?" Biggs asks the MegaPharma security officer. She checks them both carefully and returns them with a smile.
"Excuse me, Agent, or Mrs Biggs, we were going to arrest this young man for computer intrusion --" Giant says.
Biggs smirks and pulls out her cellphone and punches a number. "When you say 'We', you mean you two?"
Giant nods.
"They’re here. ... Understood," Biggs says into her cell phone. She hangs up and pockets it.
"Well, is someone coming to make an arrest?" Giant asks.
"Be patient, an arrest warrant has been issued," Biggs says.
Giant faces his security officer. "It’s about time." His nervous security officer wipes a bead of sweat from his brow. Biggs walks to the door frame and turns.
Giant looks sternly at Jack. "Jack, did you hear that? Arrest warrants are issued. The long arm of the law is about to teach you a lesson the hard way. Next time I see you and you Mom --"
Wearing an FBI windbreaker, an FBI agent comes in the front door, with a piece of paper. He enters but does not knock. "Agent Thompson," he says as he enters.
Biggs nods to Giant. "Mr Giant, you are under arrest for corporate fraud."
Giant points at Jack. "What, me?! What about him?"
The FBI agent cuffs Giant’s arms behind him. "You means, Agent Spriggins?" As he leads Giant out the front door, he says rhetorically "You really don’t know Jack, do you?"
Jill comes to the front door. She knocks politely and waits at the door. "Come in, Jill dear," Molly says, then starts a coughing fit..
"Hi Jill," Jack says. Molly stops coughing. Jill walks over and kisses Jack’s Mom hello.
"I have the medicine," Jill says. Jill gives Molly a bottle of water and a pill bottle. Then Jill fusses with Molly's blanket and pillow.
"You must be a very proud Mom, Mrs Spriggins. Here." Biggs hands Molly a set of car keys. "Jack told me you were ill and it needed repair," Biggs says.
"Oh my! Jack never told me.... " Molly says, almost in tears.
"Well. you know Jack ..." Mrs Biggs says with a smile.
"Remember the ad 'Used bike for sale by owner. Lightweight chromoly frame.', Mom? You and Dad divorced that week. He sold the bike." Jack looks down and fiddles with the USB stick in his hand.
"I didn't about that. I'm sorry. A lot of things ere going on then," she says.
"Don't worry about it."
"Did you sell the car? What do you have there?" she asks.
"Some scripts, some computer programs. These are almost like magic, so rad."
"Can you magically turn that program into money?"
"No. These'll help me get to places on the internet I need to go."
"Oh Jack, what have you done? You spend too much time already on the internet. Now you’ve thrown away the only thing of value I owned. Go to your room, leave me alone."
Jack leaves, dejected.
The MegaPharma building is a concrete and steel monstrosity with a giant MR logo on the side of the top floor. CEO Lawrence Grant, dressed in an expensive suit, is alone, looking at his computer screen in his office. His phone rings. He snaps it up.
"Mr Chen! How are you?" Grant taps nervously with his pen. "No, that was not our agreement and you know it. We agreed to the price-fixing scheme in those markets provided you undercut Fipzer’s and Smerck’s prices world-wide in penicillin."
Jill, a high-school intern wearing a cute dress and blouse, enters his office and places some folders on his desk. "The folders you requested, Mr Grant." Grant ignores her but looks at the folders. Jill leaves.
"No, I don’t give one rat’s ass how you do it. ... What? You want IPO stock? Not for sale. Cancer drugs? I’ll rig the lottery. okay? Two million. Yep. Bye."
Jack's bedroom is a computer nerd's paradise. "The Matrix" posters, robot and computer parts, an unused monitor and a laptop decorate the space. Jack enters, ignores all this and logs into his laptop. His cell buzzes with a text from his friend Jill.
Jill: Rumor is megapharma rigs their lottery.
Jack types a reply.
Jack: How do you know that?
There's no reply. He plugs the "magic" USB stick into his laptop they types some more. He reads on the screen:
"Yada yada yada," Jack says. He starts up Freecell, a solitaire card game, running on the megapharma.com server. It opens in a new pop-up window with cards displayed in several stacks. He clicks on the "Help" tab and, instead of a help drop-down menu, a new white on back window with a command-line interface opens. He types some commands in the interface.
Jack picks up his cellphone and dials a number, "Jill, can you talk?"
Jill sits in her cubical in the MegaPharma Corporate HQ. "Not now, I’m at work. I'll call you later."
"Wait, where did you hear that rumor?"
"Later. How's your Mom?"
"Not good. On you way home, can you pick up her cancer pills at the pharmacy and drop them off?"
Sure, my shift's over soon."
"Thanks, see you soon." Jack hangs up.
On his laptop, a pop-up window asks
"What the hell." Jack clicks on yes.
Chat client: Who are you?
Jack: U 1st.
Chat client: Computer security at megamed.com. Your intrusion has been logged.
Jack: log it d00d
Chat client: You are playing free-cell. That is unauthorized. What is your employee ID?
Jack: I'm Jack Schitt. You really don’t know me?
Jack laughs. "I crack myself up."
Chat client: Your session is terminated.
The chat session closes and Jack’s login is cut off.
"I'm going to guess Lawrence Giant runs his own domain. I’ve got one more script." Jack types on his laptop again. With a DING! a message pops up on his screen.
Jack hears his Mom groan in pain. Jack looks at the progress bar on his laptop screen: 2%. He stands up and goes to the living room.
Ignoring his expansive view of the city skyline, Giant frowns at his computer screen, punching his keyboard with his fingers in frustration. He picks up the phone on his desk and punches in a number. "Computer security? What the hell is going on? My computer's dead. ... You `have him?' Who is `him?' ... You know who did this? Meet me in the parking lot. I want to see this man arrested with my own eyes," Giant says.
Mom lies on couch. Jack enters. "Feeling any better, Mom?"
She reaches out towards the table. "My pills." Jack hands her a bottle and a glass of water.
"I’m getting you more medicine soon. You're going to be okay."
"Jack, if I don’t make it I want you to make up with your father."
"No."
"Don't argue. He'll give you a good life."
"You'll make it."
"You talked about going somewhere ... on the internet."
"I’m back. It's be finished soon." Jack holds her hand.
"What's are you talking --" BANG, BANG. There is a loud knocking at the door. "Who could that be?"
Jack goes over and opens the door. Giant and a uniformed MegaPharma security officer barge in.
"What do you want?" Molly asks.
Giant points at Jack. "Jack! I am very disappointed in you."
"Well Dad, maybe you can imagine how I feel," Jack snaps back.
"Don’t you talk to me like that!" Grant yells.
"Larry, get out of my house!" She tries to get up, coughs.
"Molly, I'm warning you, back off." Grant points to Jack. "Arrest him!" Giant barks to his security officer.
"No, stop. Both of you, get out!" Molly says.
"Mom, you need to lie down. I’ll get your medicine."
"You can’t afford medicine for her. Admit it, you stole it!" Giant says.
"How does someone become like you? I want to know so it never happens to me," Jack yells.
"Your Mother's turned you against me. It's all her fault."
"The lottery you rigged is her fault too, I suppose," Jack says.
Giant turns to his security man. "Don't just stand there, arrest them both!"
BANG, BANG! There is another knock. "Oh, what now? Come in!" Molly yells.
Mrs Biggs, a middle-aged woman in a business suit, enters. She flashes a badge, mostly for the benefit of the MegaPharma security officer. "Thank you, Mrs Spriggins. My name is Biggs, NSA security. Who are you?"
"Lawrence Giant, CEO of MegaPharma --"
"Not you. I recognize you, Mr Giant, I meant you," Mrs Biggs says, looking at the security officer.
"This is Mr Kanfield, the head of security at MegaPharma," Giant says.
Biggs nods at them and turns to face Jack. "Jack, I believe you have something for me."
"It’s in my room."
"Get it. And the stick."
Jack goes to his room, sees the progress bar is now at 100%. He picks up the laptop, with the USB stick still inserted into it.
"You want to arrest your own son, Larry?" Molly asks Giant.
"Oh, like everything is my fault!"
"You really don’t know Jack, do you?"
Jack returns with his laptop. Giant indicates to his security man to take the laptop. Biggs elbows them both aside and Jack hands the laptop to her. "I didn’t mess with the stick."
"Still with the original scripts, not transferred or copied anywhere?" Biggs asks.
Jack nods. "Correct."
"Good. Thank you Jack. That is the evidence we need. We’ll handle it from here."
"Jack, what is going on?" Molly asks.
Biggs walks a few steps to address Giant and his security man. Biggs flashes a phony smile at Giant. "Mr Giant, I've heard so much about you!" Giant beams and self-consciously adjusts his suit and tie. "Could I look at your ID?" Mrs Biggs asks.
"I’m happy to oblige," Giants says. Giant fishes out his ID with a smile and hands it to Biggs. Giant is about to say something but Biggs interrupts him. "And yours, officer?" Biggs asks the MegaPharma security officer. She checks them both carefully and returns them with a smile.
"Excuse me, Agent, or Mrs Biggs, we were going to arrest this young man for computer intrusion --" Giant says.
Biggs smirks and pulls out her cellphone and punches a number. "When you say 'We', you mean you two?"
Giant nods.
"They’re here. ... Understood," Biggs says into her cell phone. She hangs up and pockets it.
"Well, is someone coming to make an arrest?" Giant asks.
"Be patient, an arrest warrant has been issued," Biggs says.
Giant faces his security officer. "It’s about time." His nervous security officer wipes a bead of sweat from his brow. Biggs walks to the door frame and turns.
Giant looks sternly at Jack. "Jack, did you hear that? Arrest warrants are issued. The long arm of the law is about to teach you a lesson the hard way. Next time I see you and you Mom --"
Wearing an FBI windbreaker, an FBI agent comes in the front door, with a piece of paper. He enters but does not knock. "Agent Thompson," he says as he enters.
Biggs nods to Giant. "Mr Giant, you are under arrest for corporate fraud."
Giant points at Jack. "What, me?! What about him?"
The FBI agent cuffs Giant’s arms behind him. "You means, Agent Spriggins?" As he leads Giant out the front door, he says rhetorically "You really don’t know Jack, do you?"
Jill comes to the front door. She knocks politely and waits at the door. "Come in, Jill dear," Molly says, then starts a coughing fit..
"Hi Jill," Jack says. Molly stops coughing. Jill walks over and kisses Jack’s Mom hello.
"I have the medicine," Jill says. Jill gives Molly a bottle of water and a pill bottle. Then Jill fusses with Molly's blanket and pillow.
"You must be a very proud Mom, Mrs Spriggins. Here." Biggs hands Molly a set of car keys. "Jack told me you were ill and it needed repair," Biggs says.
"Oh my! Jack never told me.... " Molly says, almost in tears.
"Well. you know Jack ..." Mrs Biggs says with a smile.
No comments:
Post a Comment