#emacprod

John was having a good day. It almost wasn't so. So, Subject #19528 had a friend who was associated with hackers? Well, friendships were more than enough reason to expand surveillance. That signal loss earlier was surely a sign of hacker involvement. Control had put an end to that though. Dumb hackers. No one thought they were digital freedom fighters anymore. Now, they were always associated with crime. The days of hackers of conscience, guided by a lone manifesto and a love for free information were over. The only good hacker is a jailed one.

Still, it had been close for a moment. Whatever Subject #19528 (that's how he thought about his subjects, even when he knew their names) had used to jam his signal stream had been defeated by the backdoor key. He knew it would still go on his file. He had failed to maintain access and Control had to step in. He shook it off. Nothing would happen to him now. Everything was fine again, and that latest video had been quite enjoyable. Subject #19528's wife was pretty hot. He would bring some beer to work tonight and watch that video again. It was totally justified. Subject #19528 had put his job in jeopardy. More than his job, really. He shivered again at the thought of how close it had been.

Eugene didn’t know what to do next. It was normal to feel a little paranoid sometimes right? Normal to feel like someone was watching you? He had always assumed so, but now he had an answer.

He didn’t know why they were watching him, but Eric’s White Knight Protector box proved it was happening. It had identified and locked down the hacker’s stream. A choice lay before him. He could accept this intrusion into his life. He could say, “It’s the government, and they can be trusted. They protect us.” Or, he could put a stop to their intrusion.

Why were they watching him and his family? He wasn’t doing anything wrong! This was uncalled for. Offensive. Frightening.

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tVZj1ZWgM)