The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1) by Brian Terenna (best ebook reader .txt) 📗

After doing some research about how it works, I start coding. It takes a couple of hours, but it looks like it will work well. I lie back on the blanket and take a breather.

After several minutes, I decide to test the software and find an old woman’s face to use.

Sunny kneels near the rat hole and looks in.

“Sunny, help. Something happened to me.”

He stands and turns, then tilts his head. “You’re old. What’s happening, Fae? How can I help?”

“I don’t know. But please help me.”

He runs over. “I don’t know how. What do I do?”

I motion my hand to my q-link, and my face returns to normal. “You fixed me.”

He tilts his head again, then nods. “A joke. Very good.”

“It looks like the program was a success.”

I just need one more thing. I devise another hacking program and code for a half-hour until it’s ready. “Now, let’s get out of here and make some money.”

I transfer the face-shift software to Sunny, and since he has multiple projection points, he can entirely transform. “You’re going to be my little brother.”

I check my q-link’s power level.

Eighty percent remains, but it’s so important now that I worry about running out. “Let’s go.” I boost what looks like a boy out of the window, but my hands feel cool metal.

Sunny drops to the ground outside.

I alter my own face to a girl around my age, then grab our bags and jump out the window. My ankle throbs when I hit the ground, but it’s bearable. It should be healed enough as long as I don’t have to run.

We pass by a family with a little girl. A Foster Buddy who looks just like Sunny walks next to her.

“Look, like me,” says Sunny.

My eyes widen, and I look to see if they heard. “Shhh. Remember, you’re a boy.”

“Sorry,” he says and pouts just like a real boy.

In a short time, we reach a broad street with brick buildings on one side and a church on the other. A remote charging tower connects to my q-link, and I pause to let it boost my battery. While I wait, I consider a theoretical hack that would remove the safety limits and let me charge faster.

A few people in dress clothes meander around the church. They must not mind the heat. Nearby, a woman sits on a bench, her eagle-shaped drone pet flying above her. Its predatory eyes scan the area. Next to her, a tall gruff-looking man in a stained hoodie leans against a streetlight.

He lifts his head, and his eyes meet mine. I quickly look away. The few people shouldn’t be a problem for my plan.

I walk toward the ATM at the end of the block. I’m not even sure if I can hack an ATM. I better not fail, though, or I’ll be calling the cops right to me.

Two people in suits exit the building to my left. A large sign posted on the wall reads, ‘Norms need not apply.’

I shake my head and snort, then keep walking to the ATM. For some reason, I get the feeling the gruff man is following me, so I glance over my shoulder. He’s not there. I relax but decide to go around the corner of a building where there’s a different ATM.

On the way, I catch my reflection in a window. It’s strange to see a green-eyed girl with freckles instead of my Dominican features. I get to the ATM and look around to make sure no one is watching me.

I plan to speak through my voice-changing program, so I’m not recorded. It’s something I made for fun years ago, but now, it will be a lifesaver. “Chim, access the nearest ATM.”

“Failure,” says my q-link. “It’s illegal to access ATM networks.”

Hell. I never needed to worry about that before. Like that will stop me, though. I scan through my settings until I find the relevant one, then program in a workaround.

“Chim, access the same ATM.”

My q-link connects to the network, and the firewall appears before me. I grin and initiate my attack program. I researched how to hack ATMs, but information like that is always outdated. Still, it gives me a starting point. I’ll need to be active to make this work. Nobody ever said it would be easy to hack a bank.

Verbal programming commands are best, but hand movements speed the process even more. My fingers fly into motion. “Strike line seven and replace with variant C. Initiate lines eight through ten.”

Defensive programs protecting their firewall spring to life. They are complex and powerful and begin to stall my attack.

I pore over the code, looking for anything that I can use against them.

A tracker comes online and immediately tries to locate me.

Oh hell. I can’t let them find out who I am. My breathing accelerates, and sweat drips down my side as I imagine police throwing me into a jail cell. I do my best to shake off my distraction and work faster. I just need to…there. I find an exploit. “Initiate hotkeys seventeen, three, and seven.”

The defensive programs freeze, and their firewall crumbles. I’m in. Seconds later, digital dollar bills are piling up in the money slot. I grab them and shove them into my bag.

Sunny, the boy, squats and watches pigeons that peck at insects.

“Come on, Sunny. We did it.”

I turn around and crash into someone.

The gruff man in the hoodie stands in front of me, his hard eyes fixed on my bag.

Panic instantly grips my heart. I try to step around him.

He moves to block my path. “Give me the money, and I’ll let you go.”

Possible actions flood my brain. Fight? Talk? Run?

In Silent City, I would knee him in the