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I’d missed it when the computer first glitched since I hadn’t been watching this particular monitor at that time, but it’s right there. In ones and zeroes. Plain as day.
My heart beats wildly. I share a screenshot with the team. “Are you guys seeing this?”
Asad’s jaw drops until it’s out of range of the camera.
Dr. Young’s bushy grey eyebrows hunker low over eyes narrowed to concentrated slits.
The others scratch their heads.
Asad trembles. “Who on earth are we dealing with here?”
A strange wave tugs at my chest. It’s not of anger or fear. The wave carries with it… something I haven’t felt in a long time.
Hope.
Asad shakes his head. “This must be some sort of prank.”
“Who breaks into a billion-dollar simulation for kicks and giggles?” Dr. Young counters.
They’re all good questions. Great questions.
And the answer is…
I don’t know.
But I want them.
Whoever they are.
I run a hand over my buzzcut, letting the prickly sensation of new growth soothe me. My thoughts are rushing and I keep turning the string of code over and over in my mind. ‘HELLO WORLD’ is the first lesson that beginner programmers learn.
Beginner?
Is it even possible for a beginner to do this?
At that moment, a light bulb goes off in my brain.
“Asad,” I say, “let’s host a competition.”
“Right now? Between us?”
“No.” My lips curl up ever-so-slightly. “For all programmers. Open it up worldwide. We’ll expose the interface of our simulation and invite competitors to solve the connectivity problem we’ve been facing.”
Immediately, the engineers erupt in disapproval.
“That’s insane!”
“We all signed NDAs and now you want to expose the simulation!”
Asad trembles from the monitor. “If we share this with the world now, other people might copy the idea.”
I scoff. “We can’t even solve it ourselves. Who’s going to copy it and solve it ahead of us?”
Dr. Young scrambles to change my mind. “Cullen, I’ve been a part of big projects like this before and there’s another reason we keep these simulations under wraps. People are resistant to change. They get uncomfortable when they see things they don’t understand. And getting into an unmanned commercial airplane? The masses will shut us down before we have a chance to prove ourselves.”
“Just because someone’s afraid of change doesn’t mean change will stop coming,” I argue. “I’m not afraid of the public.”
Asad chews worriedly on his bottom lip.