Phoenix Phire

Eugene Moyot glanced through the case file folder, even though he had read the virtual version many times. Since this was their first in-person meeting, he wanted something that he could page through. Being old school, he liked the feel of paper and folders.

[Case File B10-432]

Name: Dexter Wallace

Age: 18

Height: 6'4 Weight 175lbs.

Known Alias's: Dextron

[Criminal Convictions]

Industrial Espionage 2nd Degree

Compliancy in a Class 3 Felony

Virtual Trespassing: 211 Counts

Gene glanced at the youth's photo. Curly black hair and brown eyes, the kid had actually smiled in his mug-shot.

"Are you my Parole Officer?" A tall youth spoke from the open doorway; looking down at the card in hand, he read the name. "Eugene Moyot?" His easy smile widened considerably.

The black man sitting behind the desk nodded and stood up. "I'm P.O. Moyot. You seem to be amused. Do you find this situation funny?"

"Funny? No… Fucking tragic? Yes. I'm Dex Wallace."

Eugene was built like a college linebacker; with his close-cropped hair and clean-shaven face, he could have easily graced the cover of any fitness magazine. "Normally, people don't smile when they see me."

Dex shrugged slightly. "Every time I get angry about my parents giving me one of the ultimate nerd names, I console myself by being thankful that my name isn't Eugene."

The black man laughed loudly; his dark brown eyes showed his good-natured amusement. "I tell myself the same thing. Only I'm thankful for not being named Dexter!"

Dex chuckled in reply. "Bet you don't go by Eugene."

"Gene." Another laugh escaped his lips as he motioned Dex towards an empty chair. "Have a seat Dex."

"Thanks, Gene." Dex took a seat in an uncomfortable metal chair, his sharp eyes taking in everything in the Parole Officer's office.

Gene took a moment to let his amusement simmer down, covering his actions by glancing through the folder. Then, after a minute, he looked up. "You were fifteen when your attorney plea-bargained your case. Had you been a legal adult at the time, you would have been facing a minimum of ten years in prison."

Dex nodded, thankful that his attorney had been able to stop him from being tried as an adult. He had spent the last three years under house arrest. All virtual and electronic devices were removed from his residence. This forced his parents to move him to his grandfather's property, where he lived in a renovated barn loft. His grandfather was still living in the main house at the time, but the old man had no use for electronics. "I understand. Are you going to remove this ankle tracker?"

The youth crossed his leg at the knee and rolled up his jeans. A rather bulky-looking electronic device beeped a steady green light. Its original setting limited him to his grandfather's property. He couldn't even cross the road to check the mail without the alarm notifying him. If the alarm sounded off, he had twenty seconds to return to his 'safe zone.' Failure to do this would result in the police making an appearance.

Gene shook his head. "Your house arrest has been completed, but you will remain on parole for three years." He turned to the last page of the file and pulled out a copied map of Massena.

Dex accepted the map, his face souring slightly. Massena, New York, was a small town very close to the Canada border. There were dozens of areas on the map that had been colored red. "Why's it marked like this?"

"As per your parole, the electronics ban has been modified but is still in effect. That being said, you are not allowed to venture into these areas."

"You realize that my grandfather died a few months ago. Living on my own without basic electronics will be difficult."

"My condolences, Dex. We understand that every appliance requires a software interface. Therefore, our people will create a closed network that includes all your appliances. You will not be allowed any electronic or virtual items that connect to the Internet or outside networks."

Dex shook his head in disgust. "What about software updates?"

"Every piece of electronics in your home will be cleared and inspected by us first. Then, these items will be placed in our database; when we're notified that an upgrade is available, our people will install it for you."

The youth let out a long breath; his restrictions were worse than expected. "I'll have to order a lot of new items since everything I had belonged to my grandfather."

"Did your address change?"

Dex shook his head. "As directed by his will, the house was sold along with everything in my living space. The proceeds from this sale were left to me along with the old barn and the ten acres surrounding it. As a result, I have a long list of things that I'll need to buy.

Gene activated his hud and keyed a name. Immediately a face appeared in front of him. "Hey, Kendal. Can you come to my office?"

"On my way," a voice spoke from the desk HUD.

Gene closed the communication hud and opened up a standard pathway to Shopnet, an internet site that offered just about everything a person would want to purchase.

Kendal appeared in the doorway a short while later. He had long red hair that stopped at his shoulders and more freckles than a person could count. When saw Dex, they did a mutual fist-bump. "Ride the wave, Dextron."

"Ride the wave, Kenji." Dex turned back toward the desk hud and leaned closer, only to be stopped by Gene.

"You have to maintain a distance of two meters between you and any open device capable of connecting to the internet."

Kendal's eyes widened slightly. "Brutal, man."

"Fucking tell me about it," Dex agreed.

Gene glanced from one guy to the other. "You guys know each other?"

"No," Dex replied.

Kendal shook his head. "Never actually met, but the circle we live in is very small."

"Why did he call you Kenji?"

"That's his hacker name," Dex offered up with an amused grin.

Kendal cleared his throat. "User name, bro! When you work on the legal side of things we call it a user name."

The statement made Dex laugh but he offered no rebuttal.

Gene moved from behind his desk and motioned for Kendal to use the open hud. "Dex has a list of items he needs. Have them delivered here first for inspection and software updates. I will bring them to his home afterward."

Kendal nodded. "Got it, boss."

(One month later)

[1000 hours, Saul's Pon shop Massena, New York]

Saul's Pon shop was famed locally as a virtual treasure chest of uncommon goods and electronics. The middle-aged Italian man was known for two things, being able to fix electronic gadgets and his propensity for white, sweat-stained tank tops. The shop owner scratched his overly hairy shoulder and turned to face the only customer in the store. "Interested in a stasis pod, Dex?"

Dex had been surprised to find that the Pon shop wasn't on his banned list. He studied the stasis pod; it had definitely seen better days. The four cover panels had all been salvaged from different models. He was surprised that Saul even carried such a high-end item. Since it was currently powered down, looking at it didn't violate his parole. "Does this thing even work?"

Saul glanced at the door before leaning back in his chair and lowering his voice. "Six of these were dumped in a landfill a few weeks ago; I salvaged this one by cannibalizing the other five."

Dex whistled softly. "Dumping pods is illegal; these things are filled with all sorts of corrosive materials." He glanced casually at the security camera mounted in the corner, the led indicator was off. "Something wrong with the security system, Saul?"

"No. I turned it off before I brought this thing into the store, just being safe." Saul waited while the kid inspected it. "Truth is... I'm hoping to get rid of this pod quietly; I need the creds."

"I'm really just browsing," Dex glanced around the store, scanning for anything he might be able to use.

"Wait! Half price, Dex. That's two thousand creds; this is top-of-the-line gear. Normally you'd back five times that!"

The teen rolled his eyes. "Don't bull shit me; it's complete crap."

"Twelve hundred! And I'll throw in a gaming card for free." Saul's tone took on a measure of desperation. A number of people had come into the shop in recent days, men wearing suits who inspected the pod while writing things down.

"I told you about my situation, this would violate my parole. By the time it passed their 'inspection,' the server interface would be completely disabled. Besides, if you had a legitimate gaming card, you'd never throw it in for free."

Saul grinned suddenly. "No server connection necessary! It's a single-player card!"

"Single-player?" Dex had played trial accounts on many of the current VRMMOs before he was arrested. Some of them offered single-player versions of their popular games, but you'd still have to pay a one-time fee. In a single-player game, it would just be you and the NPCs. There was no server connection other than a one-time download at the start of the game. "I suppose Kenji could supervise the initial download. What game?"

"Colonial!" Saul pulled out a drawer from behind the counter and removed a large Ziploc bag.

Dex considered it for a moment before shaking his head. "Pass. This thing won't last a month before it falls apart."

"Eight hundred! This is Gladis Corp gear... You know what that means."

"Gladis Corp?" Dex didn't bother to hide his doubt. Gladis Corp went bankrupt nearly a decade ago, but their gear was still considered cutting edge and made to last. "It's filled with mismatched parts. How can anyone tell what brand it is?"

"Some odds and ends for sure, but the four main components all have the same serial number!" Saul's fat, hairy fingers reached under the counter and pulled out a ledger. He pulled down the reading glasses that were perched on his bald head and scanned the columns. After finding what he was looking for, he lay the book on the counter and turned it around. "Look for yourself."

Dex followed the component type to the numbers on the far right. "The numbers match, but I'll have to check the components to verify this."

Saul nodded. "Of course! I'll start opening panels."

"And I'll need a print-out of the registry!" Dex smiled at the middle-aged man, if he hadn't known better, he would have suspected the pod was stolen.

Saul shook his head. "Listen... I'm not entering these serial numbers in my database. You remember what happened to Gladis Corp, odds are these machines were already written off. I'll take it back to the landfill before I do that."

Dex motioned for Saul to start opening panels. "Fine, no serial registry. I will still verify the numbers match. And I'm not paying more than four hundred credits, single-player card included."

"You're robbing me, kid." Saul frowned but continued to open the panels.

An hour later, Dex was checking the last of the four main components. "One hundred zettabyte hard drive, serial number 1467-777, everything matches up."