Spyder Web

25

Grin was in early, as always, caring for the computers that he referred to as ‘the toys.’ MARC might materially own the hardware that toiled under Grin’s care, but no one ever questioned his dominion over the machines.

After an early-morning workout, Kilkenny arrived at MARC looking a little more tired than usual.He dropped his backpack and coat in the chair beside the Cray console and walked over to the computer lab’s refrigerator, where he stored a large container of orange juice.

‘Getting your vitamin C for the day, I see,’ Grin commented without even looking up from his monitor.

Kilkenny hoisted his glass in a toast before taking another drink. ‘Everyone has their vices, and mine could be a lot worse. How are we doing today?’

Grin scanned his systems monitors. ‘Everything this side of your processor is working just fine. The Cray is happy as a clam and ready to go to work.’

‘Let’s do it.’

The program was to simulate nuclear fusion in a new reactor design. An accurate, real-time model of the problem required the Cray to process thousands of variables simultaneously in order to mimic the theoretical, manmade sun. Physicists from around the world had collaborated on the development of this model, hoping to one day solve the riddle of a sustainable, energyefficient fusion reaction.

The graphic display on Grin’s console showed two new signal lines, each representing a distinct electronic link between the MARC network and the outside world.

‘Nolan,’ Grin called out from his console, ‘are you hooked into the university’s mains?’

‘Yeah, I’m downloading from the Engineering Library.’

Grin studied the report from the network closely. ‘I can account for that. Are you doing anything else, like a network query or E-mail?’

‘No, just a lengthy download off an old mainframe.’ The fusion problem’s program and data set occupied several terrabytes of memory. ‘If it wasn’t for the new optical cabling that campus recently installed, this would take all day.’

‘That Light Speed Network Backbone has lived up to its name, for which I am truly thankful. I save many hours every week because of it.’ Grin turned his attention back to the strange signal. ‘I wonder what that is.’

Kilkenny walked over to Grin’s station and looked over his partner’s shoulder. From this console, Grin could survey the performance of the mainframe computers and information network within MARC. He zoomed in on the window that monitored all of the Cray’s network connections; only two lines were in use.

‘That’s odd,’ Kilkenny said, ‘I should be the only user connected to the Cray.’

‘Got that right. Your physicists aren’t scheduled to log on until this afternoon.’ Grin tried to bring up a listing for the second signal, but each time the program told him it didn’t exist. ‘I wonder what that is.’

The signal they were tracking was strong and steady, but neither of them could identify it. Kilkenny was just as puzzled as Grin. ‘Well, wherever that signal is coming from, it doesn’t appear to be affecting the Cray. Do you think it’s a hacker cruising in over the network?’

Grin considered Kilkenny’s suggestion for a moment. ‘It could be, but it would have to be a damn good one to bury his tracks like this. I’m lucky to have found this signal at all. It’s times like this I wish we’d picked up a Gatekeeper for our net when we got that one for your project.’

‘A Gatekeeper?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘Yeah, a Gatekeeper,’ Grin repeated. ‘It’s a tricked-out neural-net chip that was specifically designed to manage high-speed signal traffic and to secure computer networks. The government began installing ‘em on their computer networks a couple months ago.We managed to snag one of these babies because of the high priority the government places on Kelsey’s project. It’s line-management capabilities were the important thing for us, but the government’s using them to keep hackers off their systems.’

‘Well, I’ve always believed in safe computing. We wouldn’t want to catch a computer virus.’

Grin rolled his eyes but politely refrained from further comment. ‘From here, all I can tell is that we have an open line to campus. I’ll call up my buddy down there and see if he can find out who is holding a door open to our Cray.’

For the Spyder, the MARC installation was not ideal. Instead of being housed completely within a machine, where it could mask its activities as part of the host computer, it sat as an independent switch gear on a highspeed data-transmission line. It could still perform its covert duties, but it could not conceal itself completely. Per its built-in programming, the Spyder waited until system activity picked up before seeking a connection to the outside world — that way, its signals might be masked by the other users on the network.

The Spyder passed through the Cray to a campus mainframe and, from there, opened a line from the interuniversity network to Central Michigan University. A tap into CMU’s Internet server allowed the Spyder to access its E-mail and receive instructions from Parnell and Roe.