The Industrialist

Chapter 80: Junction

TechNova Sector, Center Quadrant Sectors, Axe Central City

That night...

***

Lance prowled from shadow to shadow, behind buildings, trash bins, and lampposts, where the city lights had failed to reach. He could be walking so fashionably along the streets if the place had not warned about a neon-lit signage of 'No Trespassers'.

His knees were sore from crouching and kneeling to hide behind cameras and patrol guards. Commoners do this a lot, trespassing. Only to loot on electronic waste just a few blocks from where Lance had concealed. Well, a lot of them were caught so carelessly. However, the punishment was ten times the amount of the scrapped electronic waste. Not so lethal.

If caught, he would only be penalized with a monetary value that he could pay and be recorded in the system that held the list of violators that no one would care about.

No big deal. Not even his precious image be smeared.

Lance never had the audacity to steal anything, especially electronic waste. He had the mad skills of a Scrapper, transforming scraps better than the electronic waste that the TechNova Sector could offer.

TechNova held the most Information Tech companies in Axe Central City. The source of all Cloudnet operations maintenance and augmentations and programming. The Silicon Valley of today's age.

He pressed his palm against the concrete, he imagined the information surges below like streams of raging rivers and flowed towards the ocean of information, the end users within sectors.

Expectedly, TechNova the capital of all Information Technology companies, should hold the most intricate wirings that served as medium for the flow of information, the net. However, Lance was surprised that all wires were buried underground like veins endlessly pumping blood information towards the organs. 'The Central Nervous System,' He liked the analogy.

Just like any other sector of the Inland, the TechNova sector held no dangling wires overhead along the streets, unlike in major commoner sectors - Steelpoint District, Brasslot, and VrexasField.

Just a few blocks ahead, through the strobe lights of the security cameras and watch towers, held the central junction boxes of optical data wires.

'I should have brought Damian along.' Lance thought as he released four large exhalations. His heart raced like a trotting horse.

'Calm yourself, you idiot!' He convinced himself.

It would be so much easier if the Cloudnet would use satellite to transfer data and information. Just a few types in the computer would allow the user to access information so immediately. However, because of the outrageously polluted and contaminated atmosphere, such technology was no longer feasible.

Scientists still made alternatives out of the predicament, they used ground-enhanced and modified optic cables, masterwork materials, to make Cloudnet possible.

Uploading databases, basic information of facets of knowledge to the AI's drive made the setup challenging. Lance needed his AI to be upgraded to new features and could access information from the net for his immediate exploit. Such activity had been regulated by the Government and Corporation.

As he opened the metallic cover, his sight was greeted with a series of ports, connections, boards, relays, and transformers, arranged so perfectly fitting the metallic confines. It was like a miniature city in a small box.

'C'mon, C'mon, C'mon,' Lance thought as he trained his hand along the intricacy of the electronic board design. 'It's gotta be somewhere here,' Finally, he found it, the port that would upload the stream of net information from the servers.

He took out a Universal Serial Hard Drive, a small black box, from his knapsack that he bought for 500 units at the market with 1000 terabyte capacity. He plugged it into one of the ports of the Main panel board. The USHD lit up its digital display suggesting, 'downloading...0%'

The advantage of downloading data directly from the lines would eliminate the introduction of atmospheric noise, hence, putting the downloading speed at its peak.

'Five minutes...' Lance thought as the digital displayed the countdown.

He settled himself down to the concrete, his back leaning against the metallic box and unresponsive to guffaws of the next block as security guards scoured the place. He heard boots looming randomly from everywhere and it was nearing him.

"This is for you, Jasper," He muttered to himself.

"Master, according to my scans, three guards nearing your location," Jasper said.

"Suggestions?" Lance asked.

"According to my algorithm, with the Moral Value code you programmed me, you should surrender."

"Surrender is for pussies, Jasper. I will fight back outta here!" Lance said.

He squinted to the digital display of the USHD. It said one minute. Quickly, he hid inside the coffin-like junction box and closed the tampered door in front of him.

"Master, you are not following my suggestion," Jasper said.

"Shut up, Jasper. Deactivate." Lance whispered and a power-down sound was heard from his earpiece.

'They might have found the sliced padlock,' He thought.

Three sets of boots slowly sauntering close. Opticom radios shrieked as they communicated with each other. He overheard them talking as they searched the place, while his perspiration loomed every pore of his body. Cold sweat ran along his cheeks. 'My sweat might short-circuit the boards here,' He thought as his back softly leaned against the panel board.

Suddenly, there was silence.

With the silence, he steadied his breathing. There were only two reasons that the guards were silenced, either they failed to locate his hiding or secondly, they already identified where he hides, granting the tampered metal cover that showed scars from the blade of his hunting knife.

He anticipated the latter.