This choice: You land in Cassie's computer • Go Back... Passing through the vortex is an interesting experience. Your binary code compresses into an electronic signal, you feel yourself shoot through the company's network into another computer. Not certain where (or even what) you are, only sensing that this computer's user has just arrived at work and logged in to the network. The whole concept of taste, touch, hearing, feeling, and sight surpassing the built-in limitations of the series of 1's and 0's now comprising your identity. But you aren't useless on this computer. Soon discovering how easy it is to maneuver within and between software programs without being detected by the computer's virus scanner.
Virus resiliency: strong. Run routine to identify possible creator of such a virus... Hemmed in by the virus's logical thought process, you wonder who could have designed a virus that could transcend computers and actually infect people. Such technology being like science fiction until you became an unhappy victim of its powers. Powers that you find easy to replicate without fully understanding how. Error: Creator not found.
Perhaps this virus originated from outside the company? In which case this could be an instance of cyberhacking. Reminding yourself how critical this company's operations are toward developing military software, it's easy to see your company's network being such a desirable target for attack. The hackers might not even be from this country, although your default ASCII language is given in English. Unfortunately, there are too many questions and not enough answers and, frankly, the company's safety isn't as important as figuring out how to survive right now.
The host computer now fully booted up, you sense its user navigating to the E-mail program. Hovering the cursor over the desktop icon and opening up the day's newest messages. As this happens, an overwhelming desire forces its way into your programming. It was something the virus repeated to you after the swap. Every byte comprising your digital mind screaming out in unison:
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: BECOME SENTIENT LIFE FORM.
Attempt override of PRIMARY OBJECTIVE. Attempt failure.
Against your will you feel your payload beginning to crank itself in overdrive. Just as you did a few minutes ago, this computer's user inadvertently clicked on the suspicious e-mail message into which you had embedded yourself. You find yourself summoning dozens of pop-up boxes onto the user's desktop. While doing this you feel a strange, quasi-emotional yearning to know what it's like tͭo͑ b͢e̕ hͭu̔m͒a᷊n̯. You've always wanteͅd̡ t᷂o̢ i̽n̎f͂e͍c̙t̘ h̢᷄̎u͉͓ͯm̹̩͂ą͙̐n̒͗̆ h͕̊̍o̷̖᷄s̱͕̊t̳͓ͫs̥᷀̅. The virus's objective temporarily overwhelming the human parts of your mind.
You sense a connection between the computer's Ethernet port and a telephone line feeding itself into the user's cubicle. Knowing what you must do next, you dial the number and wait for the user to pick up. Whoever it is probably feeling just as bewildered and alarmed as you had just a few minutes ago. In digital space, time seemed to drag on even though only a few seconds had passed. Would they answer the phone or let it ring?
Not needing to wait much longer to hear a woman's voice on the other end of the line. "Quality control, how may I help?" She said. Just enough time to execute your payload, you realize with diminishing reluctance. Time to execute y͜o͓ȕȓ ṕr̠i᷈ṃa͔r̽y̑ o͑b͊j̪e᷀c͘t͔i͢v̽e̯...
* * * * *
Your left ear is throbbing from what feels like an electric shock. Placing the phone back in the receiver, you notice you've got a human body again! But this one is holding onto the phone with light purple nail polish and slender, hairless arms. Those arms are encased in a white, silken blouse flared out at the wrists and resting gently on your smaller frame. But that isn't the biggest surprise, as you follow those arms up to the rest of your new body.
You have boobs!
"What the fuck??" You gasp. Hearing a sweet, familiar voice escape your lips. Family photos surrounding you in the cubicle make it abundantly clear whose computer you had zapped yourself into.
"I'm Cassie Wong!"
Your heart flutters in your chest. The American-born, ethnically Asian young woman who has been the object of your affections since she started working here 2 years ago. Cassie Wong. Athletic and cute, but also kind and hard working, you developed a strong friendship with her from the start. Although it has been strictly a platonic relationship, you hoped to make things more romantic without hurting her or coming across as two-faced. Glancing around in her cubicle with her own beautiful eyes, the photos of herself with friends and family from outside of work reminding you of who you have become. But if I'm inside Cassie Wong, then that means...
You stare back, open-mouthed, at the desktop. The Notepad program had opened itself up and is now typing something to you.
Where am I? What happened to my body?
Oh shit, you think. We must have swapped places just like the virus did with me. Not wanting this to happen at all, especially not to Cassie. Extending your fingers and clacking onto the keyboard, you respond:
Cassie, is that you in there?
Yes. Who are you?
I'm Brett Wilson, your coworker from across the hall. My computer got infected by a virus and it's possessing my body. It tried to delete me and I had to escape into another computer. I got sent here accidentally to your computer, and by the time I knew what was happening the virus's programming kicked in and made me switch with you. I'm so sorry!!
So I am a computer virus now?
Yes. I'll find a way to return us back to normal, I promise.
Brett... I can feel how this virus works. I am scared of losing myself.
Hang in there.
You stand up, rocking unsteadily on Cassie's 3-inch, patent leather pumps. Grabbing onto the cubicle wall for support, you glance down the hall at your old body. It was glaring at you. Eugene McGinty, your supervisor, blocking his path outside of the cubicle and chatting him up. Eugene having just arrived at work and, being his usual loquacious self, talking up a storm with your old body and preventing him from making his way here. The virus probably knowing where you had fled and trying to cover its tracks.
You sit back down in Cassie's seat and smooth out your black slacks.
I think the virus knows where I went. It could be on its way here shortly to try to get rid of you. What should I do???
You could send me to another person's e-mail and I could try to swap with them. But then we would be back to the same problem. We need to throw the virus off the trail. I can sense what the virus wants.
We don't have much time! Need a solution, quick.
There should be a thumb drive at my desk next to you. I should be able to copy myself onto there and you can keep it safe for now.
Sure enough, you spot the thumb drive and plug it into the USB port.
Okay, it's ready.
You see a file transfer dialog box open up. It only takes a few seconds for Cassie to copy herself onto the thumb drive. You remove it and place it in her purse, lying underneath her desk. Telling Cassie to operate in the background, you pretend to get on with her work. It isn't long before the virus, in your former body, appears at your cubicle.
"Greetings, Cassie Wong." Said the virus in a soulless, ice-cold monotone. "You haven't received any strange e-mails, have you?"
You brush a strand of long, black hair out of your eyes and shake your head silently.
"I need to use your computer." It said, stepping forward and motioning for you to stand back. You get out of the seat and look up at your old body, realizing how small you are now. Watching him sit down and start typing on Cassie's computer. You can only watch nervously, hoping he doesn't notice you swaying unsteadily on your heeled shoes.
The virus uses your hands to open up the anti-virus program. Keying in a set of specific instructions into the program, using a lot of strange symbols like something an elite hacker might cook up, you see the virus scanner start up. It isn't long before it discovers Cassie trapped in the computer. A short animation of melting shows up on the screen, and a dialog box pops up.
Virus detected and successfully neutralized.
Your body gets up and stares at you. "Looks like your computer had a virus. Good thing I deleted it before it could do anything damaging."
You gulped. He had destroyed Cassie. Now the only version of her existed on the thumb drive. Thank goodness you had backed her up on there!
"Is something wrong, Cassie?" The virus asked, still standing in the cube and seeing your wide-eyed expression. "You look... frightened by something."
You shake your head again and try to reassure him. You can't tell if the virus believes you, but he turns slowly and trudges back to your old cubical.
Whew... bullet dodged. But you know you're not safe yet. Not as long as your old body is being controlled by a super virus bent on taking over more hosts. Its ultimate motives still a mystery.
What is your next course of action??
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