CHAPTER 7


 

ONCE HOME, CARLEY put on the teapot then sat at her computer staring at the blank screen. If her plans were to work, she would have to get busy. Time was of the essence. Once Solaria escaped, Future Dynamicon would spare no expense to locate and capture her. The first thing was to establish a new identity for Solaria.

Accessing the Internet, she activated a special software program that allowed her to travel the Net anonymously. The last thing she needed was spying eyes intercepting any of her communications. Within seconds Carley found the site she was looking for and emailed the webmaster.

"I hope Dana hasn't forgotten me," she mumbled.

The instant reply gave her the answer. Clicking on the blinking icon of a griffin's head, Carley watched a window pop open.

"Well, well, what brings you to the dark side of the Net?" a mechanical voice asked.

"You really need to perfect your avatar's voice, Dana. You sound more like an old television robot than a person."

"Not everyone has the resources you have, Carley. Some of us have to make do with whatever we can beg, steal or borrow."

"The last time I remember, you were pretty adept at all those skills."

"Tsk! Tsrk! You're getting jaded, my dear. Now what can I do for you? It's been a long time since you've graced me with your presence."

"I need a favor and quickly."

"How quickly?"

"By tomorrow morning if possible. Hopefully, before I go to the lab."

"And this favor?"

"I need to set up a new identity for someone."

"Geez, Carley! You don't want much, do you? That's a complicated process and costly under normal circumstances."

"I know, but this is important!"

"That's obvious. Why the rush?"

"It's the only way to save this person's life. As it is, I'm afraid mine isn't worth much anymore, especially if I help her."

"Her? She must be special. I've never known you to get so involved with another person. Is she your lover?"

Carley laughed.

"At my age? Don't be ridiculous. She's just a good friend."

"Right! Good friend, huh? Well, whoever she is, she must be extremely important for you to go to these extremes. I'll see what I can do but you'll need to give me a few details about her and a picture... and you're going to owe me big time if I pull this off."

"If I live long enough, anything."

The silence that followed was almost deafening.

"That serious, eh?"

"That serious, Dana. I want you to use the name on the files I'm sending as the primary identity and then destroy your copy."

Inserting a micro-disk into her computer, Carley punched a few keys, hit the send button and waited.

"Damn, woman, she's gorgeous. Who'd she piss off?"

"No one yet, but once she disappears, a lot of people are going to be looking for her. Can you set up the holograms on the I.D.s to make them easily alterable?"

"I can install a subprogram to accept new data if needed."

"You've come a long way, then. I thought only the government had that technology."

"What Big Brother has Little Brother quickly gets. We were able to break that kernel in less than two weeks but I don't think the gov's aware we've gotten this far. Only Hackattack and I know how to do it and we're not telling. Listen, Carley, I can have two sets of I.D. for you."

"I don't think so. If they find one on me, it'll alert them to what's been done and endanger everyone. I think it'd be better if I just try and tough this one out, but I appreciate the offer."

"Well, just in case you change your mind, I'm making up an extra set. If you find you need it, I can get it to you thirty minutes after you call."

"Thanks, Dana. Let me know how much I owe and I'll make arrangements for the funds."

Dana's mechanical voice sounded almost warm as he chuckled.

"Consider it a favor. Anything that pisses off Future Dynamicon is payment enough. Now I'd better get to work. Expect the package by five a.m."

"I appreciate it. Oh, one more thing. Do you mind if I give Solaria your access code? She may need an ally."

"If she's a friend of yours, she's family. Later, Carley... and be safe."

Unconsciously, Carley nodded her head and ended the conference. Next she accessed her finances and began moving most of her assets to an offshore account. Even Future Dynamicon hadn't been able to intimidate the financial institutions in a few of the island countries. It insured the stability and security of the governments and the banks. There were plenty of rich and powerful people who could create problems for Stalling if he interfered in their business. Once she finished, she ended the connection.

Sighing, Carley leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. The last thing she needed to do was destroy her hard drive, literally. Years of data pertaining to her artificial intelligence research was stored on the drive. Once it was gone, it couldn't be duplicated, not even by her. Still, it was the final link between everything she had accomplished and Solaria. It was going to be a long and sleepless night.

Like clockwork the doorbell to Carley's condo rang at 5AM. When she opened the door she noticed a small box sitting on the welcome mat but no one was in the hallway. Picking it up she opened the container and pulled out a federal I.D. card, driver's license, international passport and a note instructing her on how to have Solaria imprint her own biodata on each document. All government identifications required retinal and fingerprint information which was immediately transmitted to the proper bureau for verification if the scans didn't match the individual's cards or passport. Knowing Dana, he probably hacked into the Homeland Security records and planted files to insure there were no glitches if someone suspected the I.D.s were fakes. Her longtime friend was extremely good at what he did... and what he did was to be as big a thorn in corporate and government sides as possible; anonymously, of course.