When the regular guys can't handle something, you call the experts. But who do you call when the experts fail? Why, the fool of course. 'That's my job description,' thought Shiv Sebastian as he climbed down the huge staircase of the Global Investigative Bureau or Gib, as it was popularly known. 'What I know about computers can fit on a mite's egg, and yet they want me to solve a computer hacking case.'
The Chief had called him to his office. All he would tell him was that it was a 'sensitive hacking case'.
"You're our lucky dog Sebastian." The Chief said. "Your cases have a knack of wrapping up by themselves. It's a phenomenon."
That is what Shiv hated most about his reputation. He was famous for his luck, not his wits. He tried to stutter out an inadequate sort of excuse to get out the fix, but the Chief silenced him by hitting the table loudly with his fist.
"What's your Lifespan?" He growled.
"123," Shiv replied.
"123! You have already lost 27 life-credits by turning down important assignments earlier, and if you turn down this one, you will loose 35 in one sweep. You Lifespan will be 88!" he spat.
Shiv had never heard of a penalty this high for a single assignment. "This is absurd!" He almost yelled. "You can't fine me 35 life-credits for turning down a computer hacking job that's right out of my league. Why don't you give it to someone who know what he is doing?"
"Have a look at this," the Chief handed him a regular Gib assignment order. It briefly listed the assignment objective, the name of the agent, the penalty for failure or refusal, and the incentive for success. Shiv's eyeballs nearly popped out as he got to the incentive.
"That's right Sabastian. 150 life-credits! Your Lifespan will be 273. Can you believe that? I have done more for this agency than anyone else, and I am only a 214. It makes me mad. Real mad! Now pick up this stupid piece of paper and get out of my sight before I accept your refusal."
Shiv Sebastian paused only to say goodbye.
***
Outside Gib's office Shiv found an empty botcab and instructed it to take him home. The cab flew through the city, bringing him to the balcony of his 150th floor apartment in less than eight minutes. Shiv climbed down from the taxi into his balcony and entered his house. All the facts about the case would already be waiting on his computer. He would spend the night studying them.
Ten minutes later Shiv rose from his desk and went to bed. The shock of what he had just learnt left no room for analytical thinking. The computer that was hacked wasn't just any computer. It was GOTIC, world's biggest, most complex, and most important computer.
'This is certainly worth one-fifty years of extra life,' thought Shiv ruefully.
When dawn broke, he was still lying in bed, awake. Quickly he climbed out and got dressed. He had a lot to do, and he wanted to start as early as possible.
Another ride in the cab and he was at the laboratory of Dr. Martin Seppel, arguing with a tired looking woman to let him see Dr. Seppel immediately. He convinced her with a flash of his ident, and a subtle threat.
Shiv had always believed in consulting the best sources available for information, and for this they didn't come any better than Dr. Martin Seppel. Dr. Seppel was arguably the world's top computer expert alive. He was a bright, young assistant when GOTIC was designed 60 years ago. The project head himself had lauded Seppel's contribution to the project in glowing words. These days he headed the team that worked on maintaining and extending GOTIC's capabilities.
Seppel arrived looking haggard, but amenable. "You will have to forgive my appearance," his voice had no sign of irritation. "I went to bed only an hour ago."
Shiv flinched, but he had no time to feel guilty. "I am sorry Dr. Seppel, but I needed to talk to you about a very important issue." He handed Seppel his Gib ident.
Martin Seppel turned the ident around a couple of times. "I have never seen one of these before in real life," he said as he handed it back. "Looks as impressive as in the movies."
He settled back comfortably in his chair. "You want to talk about GOTIC?"
"Yes," Shiv was perplexed. "But how did you know?"
Seppel smiled slightly and adjusted his tunic. "If it involves GOTIC, it's my job to know." He leaned over the table and looked at Shiv. "This is ugly business Mr. Sebastian, if anything I know can help you, then ask me what you will."
Shiv liked the doctor immediately. "Dr. Seppel, I am not much of a computer expert, and I need all the help you can give me to understand what is happening."
"You know what GOTIC does?"
"I know what everybody else knows," Seppel looked at him expectantly, waiting for more.
"Well.. for instance I know that GOTIC is in the charge of managing the Lifespan of every individual who has chosen to become a member of the Full Lifespan Program."
"You know what that means Mr. Sebastian?" Dr. Seppel straightened up. "GOTIC is the most important and sensitive piece of machinery in existence. Without it the world will cease to exist as we know it."
Dr. Seppel stood up from the chair and walked to the large window that framed the wall behind his desk.
"When we first discovered immortality Mr. Shiv, it seemed the world would come to an end fighting itself over it." He turned to look at Shiv. "Nobody wants to die."
"Luckily, before we reached the point of no return, somebody got back his senses. The world decided that immortality was impractical, and replaced it with extraordinarily long Lifespans, but only for the deserving. They created the Full-Lifespan Program." He paused for a moment. "You are a member of, aren't you?"
Shiv nodded in agreement.
"Do you remember the ritual?"
As if it was yesterday, Shiv thought. At the age of eighteen he was given the option of becoming a member of the Full Lifespan program, or opting out forever. He had chosen to become a member like 90 percent of the population. A minor surgery was performed to embed the life-chip behind his ear. Everybody got 150 life-credits, or a Lifespan of 150 years when they signed up. Whether they lived longer or lesser than that, was up to GOTIC.
"Most people loath GOTIC," said Seppel as if reading Shiv's thoughts. "Who would like a machine that records his every deed, every thought, every impulse, and then uses it to decide how long he will live?"
"This life-chip is an intriguing device," Seppel tapped the area behind his left ear. "It serves many functions through its direct connection to the brain. Once you have it, GOTIC knows everything about you," he paused dramatically. "In complete confidence of course."
"It keeps your body's metabolism in perfect order. Your cells re-generate infinitely because your brain tells them to. Then, one fine day when you reach the end of your Lifespan, it kills you by just asking your brain to stop." The chilling idea silenced them both for a moment.
"And now GOTIC isn't working as it should." Shiv broke the silence.
"Yes," the doctor's face became very serene.
Shiv took out the printout of the report that he had taken from his computer, and handed it to Dr. Seppel. "This is a very serious matter Dr. Seppel, GOTIC is reducing and increasing individual Lifespans at random."
Martin Seppel reacted sharply, "There's nothing random about GOTIC Mr. Sebastian," he chewed every word as he spoke it. "GOTIC is a computer. It cannot even grasp the concept of random."
Shiv was surprised by his vehemence. "Then what do you think is happening?"
"Isn't it clear to you? Someone wants to destroy the trust that people have in GOTIC. People trust it with their lives. When that trust is gone, there will be no GOTIC, there will be no Full Lifespan Program."
"But why would anyone do that?"
"We live in troubled times Mr. Sebastian. There are terrorists, hostile world governments, demented individuals, it could be anybody."
"Dr. do you have any idea how they are doing this?"
"I wish I did!" The scientist almost yelled. "But you must find out, or the program is doomed."
Shiv decided to end the interview before he worked up a kill-frenzy in the professor.
"Okay Dr. Seppel, I guess that's it for now. I hope we can meet again in the evening."
"Anytime you want Mr. Sebastian. I want to personally kill the doggone bastard who is forging the life-chip signals!"
A little surprised at such vehemence, Shiv silently shook Seppel's hand and left.
***
The first thing Shiv decided he needed to do was talk to someone whose Lifespan had been changed. He spoke to the Chief and found out that even the individuals themselves didn't know it was a random change. "They all believe they did something to warrant the change. You must ensure that they keep believing that."
Placed topmost on the list was Christi Josceline, her Lifespan was now 212. She was a singer in Thugs - a club in the dingy section of the town. It wasn't sleazy, but the classy folks stayed away.
The place was filled even though Shiv got there before noon. He asked a waiter where Christi Josceline was, and was pointed to the girl performing on the small stage. Shiv asked him to pass her a message when she was done. He took a seat, watching her with interest. Her voice was nothing special and she wasn't very attractive save for her eyes. Large and innocent, the eyes sprang out and made the face worth looking at. She was singing a slow haunting song from the last century when music was still played on real instruments. Her performance ended and she left the stage after a polite bow amidst weak applause.
The next performer was prettier and more energetic, and the way the audience cheered it seemed she was the one they were waiting for. She jumped on to the stage and started a popular number.
A few minutes down he was so engrossed in the performance that he didn't notice Christi approaching him.
"Hi!" She said, sitting down on the chair opposite his. "I see you are really enjoying Nea's performance."
"Yeah, she's real good!" Then he saw the cloud pass over her face and realized his mistake.
"But I really liked your performance better," he gestured with his hands, trying to add substance to his words. "It had this subtle, special quality that was... special." Shiv smiled in embarrassment.
Christi laughed, and her eyes sparkled. "You are not a very good liar. I didn't expect that from a Gib man." Shiv started to protest but she silenced him with a gesture. "No, it's alright. I know the truth. I just perform before her so that she can look better than she really is."
They both laughed at the joke open-heartedly.
"You must be very pleased." Shiv said when the laughter subsided.
"About what?"
"You know, about the extra life-credits," Shiv said in a casual voice, trying very hard to avoid making it sound like an interrogation.
"Oh that. Well, I don't know what to think," she shrugged.
"Why not?"
"Well you've seen me now. I am just a club-singer. Okay, maybe my singing has made some people happy, but I hadn't saved the world when I last checked. I got 62 life-credits out of the blue. In my book that is very weird."
"Well you never know. I am sure you have something special."
She laughed her sparkling laughter again. "I can't believe you are saying that to me. I mean here you are-- a Gib man. Obviously here to investigate how I got the extra life-credits, and you're telling me I have something special!" She shook her head in mock disbelief. "You really are a very bad liar."
Shiv just smiled guiltily and said nothing.
"You want to buy me a drink?" Christi asked, changing the topic.
Shiv was instantly grateful to her. "Sure!"
Half an hour later they were still laughing and chatting. Even Shiv had sidelined GOTIC for a little while.
After lunch they walked out of the club together. Shiv was convinced that she had nothing to do with the hacking.
"I must go now," he said a little sadly as they stood outside the club. "My business can't wait."
"I understand," she said feeling equally downcast.
Shiv fumbled for the right words to say goodbye with.
"I hope I see you again."
"Okay," Christi nodded.
"Bye," Shiv waved and walked away a few steps. Then suddenly he blacked out and fell down on the ground listless.
***
Shiv woke up with a throbbing pain behind his left ear in a dark room. He brought his hand up and winced as his fingers touched the wound.
"What the hell!" He groaned.
"Welcome back," he heard Christi's voice and turned around to find her sitting on a tiny stool, watching him carefully.
"What happened to me?" He asked.
"You died."
"No shit!" He exclaimed. "I must be my ghost."
"Don't joke. I mean it."
"Explain." he said and sat up.
Christi let out a deep sigh as if she had just been given a very difficult responsibility.
"What is the last thing you remember?" She asked Shiv.
He thought for a moment. "Falling." He replied.
"That's right. Your Lifespan elapsed. You fell down and died."
"But... I still have 91 years to live. How can my Lifespan elapse?"
"Answer that question, and you'll know how my Lifespan became 212," Christi said rising up from her stool and moving to a cabinet to pour herself a drink.
"It's really happening then." Shiv said with incredulity. Then a fragment of doubt set in, "If my Lifespan elapsed, then how am I alive?"
"Because of this," Christi drew a tubular device from the cabinet. "Your brain had only a minute to live after your life-chip asked you to die. Luckily I realized what had happened and ran for this," She handed it to Shiv.
"What is it?" Shiv asked. He had never seen anything like it before.
"A life-chip neutralizer."
"You mean this can actually destroy a life-chip? I thought this was a myth. How does it work?"
"Do you think I would understand that even if someone bothered to explain? All I did was-- touch the chip with it and press a button."
"How did you get this?"
She smiled at Shiv. "Well... I have a friend. I told him about the life-credits windfall, and he got extremely suspicious. He gave me this and suggested I neutralize my life-chip." She shrugged. "I wasn't planning to, but I kept it anyway. Good for you."
"Someone who has access to this?" Shiv's mind boggled at the idea. "Who is it? The president of the world government?"
"I wouldn't make a friend of him even if he begged. Let's just say my friend is in a very high place in the defense business."
'The army,' thought Shiv. It wasn't surprising. They had all sorts of secret gadgets that no one ever heard about. Then he remembered the pain.
"What did you cut me with?"
"A pizza-cutter, I had to get to the chip to touch it with the neutralizer."
"A pizza-cutter? Was it sterilized?"
She threw up her hands in her air. "You think I keep sterilized pizza-cutters lying around?"
He staggered to his feet. "I've got to get this cleaned and sewed up, I've got to give a report to the Chief, and I've got to find the stinking bastard who did this to me."
***
Five hours down, Shiv had only got one of the three things done. The Chief had insisted on a personal debriefing as soon as he heard of the life-chip neutralizer, and after Shiv got to the headquarters he wasn't allowed to leave.
"Only till we sort out the neutralizer business," the Chief had promised. "Don't worry about the wound. Even if it festers, they will fix it."
The 'sorting out' took much longer than Shiv had anticipated. Luckily Christi was co-operative. The neutralizer was made by Lewin Lenz, a genius working with one of the research operations run by the army. He was summoned to the Gib headquarters and interrogated heavily.
"We don't have anything that can stick," the Chief told Shiv after the questioning. "He made this himself, and we can't arrest him for that. Frankly speaking I don't want any publicity," he picked up the neutralizer from the table. "This thing better stay in wraps."
"He walks away just like that?"
The Chief nodded noncommittally, "We are going to shake him up a bit. Make a lot of threats. I think that will keep him quiet. Besides, he knows a lot about life-chips. He might help you solve your case."
"Let's meet him then."
Lewin Lenz was everything Shiv expected-- thin, gawky and nervous. But his intelligent questions made his brilliance obvious. To Shiv's chagrin he categorically ruled out that it was possible for anyone else but GOTIC to change the Lifespans.
"GOTIC itself is the collection of all these billions of chips worldwide. I can't imagine how anyone but GOTIC can change the Lifespans."
"How does this work then?" Shiv hefted the neutralizer.
"This is completely different," Lenz said. "When someone's Lifespan elapses, the life-chip formats all its data and stops working after instructing the brain to die. The neutralizer has a recording of that blank state. Just place it in contact with a working life-chip and press a button, and presto! The neutralizer overwrites the live life-chip with the blank one and you have another blank life-chip."
"Can't you use something like that to modify the Lifespan?"
"No. If a life-chip is active, it's an integral part of GOTIC."
Shiv leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. "I feel as if I am missing something vital. Something that's basic but elusive," he told Lenz and Christi."
He sat for sometime with his eyes closed, thinking. When he opened his eyes, there was a strange gleam in them.
"I suppose the life-chips communicate with GOTIC some way."
"Of course. GOTIC has a network of dedicated satellites."
Shiv stood up from his chair. "I have a friend I want you to meet," he grabbed Lenz Lewin and started walking towards the door.
"Hey wait a minute!" the Chief yelled at them. "I can't let you out of my sight just yet."
Shiv turned back, "Then you better come along."
***
Shiv's destination turned out to be Dr. Seppel's lab. "Don't worry, I will let him know myself," Shiv said to the housekeeper he had met earlier. Her shrill protests died out when she saw the two Gib personnel who accompanied them in full combat regalia.
Shiv found Dr. Seppel in his office looking at some papers.
"I thought you needed to sleep," he said softly.
The doctor gave a start. Then he put down the papers and slowly straightened up.
"You are still alive."
"I promised you we would meet again in the evening."
"An appointment I wish you hadn't kept." Dr. Seppel noticed the others. "I see you have brought some friends."
"You won't mind?"
"No, they are most welcome."
Shiv walked in and sat down on the chair in front of Dr. Seppel. "Why did you do it doctor?"
Dr. Seppel was silent for a moment. Then he smiled. "Would it make a difference if I tell you?"
"Maybe not, but I want to understand why you want to destroy something that you worked so hard to create."
"Mr. Sebastian, it was a mistake of colossal proportions, and if it is not corrected, our entire species will pay."
"What do you mean doctor?"
"Have you ever thought about the long term consequences of the Full Lifespan Program?"
"Apart from worrying about the frequent cuts that GOTIC makes on my Lifespan, not really doctor."
Even in that serious situation Seppel smiled, "I have. We are cutting down on the Lifespans of people who are misfits in the society: the rebels, the lateral thinkers, the unbelievers, aggressive people... They are all being filtered."
"How's that a bad thing? Aren't we encouraging people to be a better member of the society by doing that?"
"No!" Seppel's voice rose sharply. "We are encouraging everyone to fit in one mould. A few generations down, humanity will be a giant herd of meek cattle. Then where will we get the radicals to explore new frontiers? If everybody confirms who will bring new thought?"
"There are other ways to change things even if you are right doctor."
"Don't tell me about other ways Mr. Sebastian." Seppel said bitterly. "An individual voice always gets drowned in society. If I publicize my theory, at best I will get a debate arguments and counter-arguments, but nothing will change. I know that, and so do you."
Shiv sat there silent for a moment. "Could be so doctor. I am not as smart as you in these matters, but I have to do the job they've given me. You must come with us."
The Dr. recoiled away. "No. I can't. I have to go."
The Chief planted himself firmly at the door. "Dr. Seppel, the only way you will leave through this door, is with us."
"No you fool, I didn't mean through the door. I meant go..." The doctor's hand reached under the table and he slumped face down on it.
"Damn! I think his life-chip failed just like mine!" Shiv ran towards the fallen body.
"Somebody hand me the neutralizer!" he said, grabbing a letter-opening knife from the doctor's table.
He already had the knife inserted in the flesh behind the doctor's ear to make the cut when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Lenz.
"We left the neutralizer at the Gib heardquarters Shiv."
***
Two days later Dr. Seppel was cremated with full official honors. The president's office issued a statement expressing regret over the doctor's death in a 'freak lab accident' and the news channels ran stories on the doctor's career all day.
"Did we find out how he did it?" Lewin Lenz asked Shiv when they assembled again in the Chief's office later that day.
"Yes. He had told me when I met him the first time," Shiv responded.
"He told you in the first meeting?" The Chief reacted"
"He said he wanted to kill the person who was forging the life-chip signals. I wasn't paying attention to him then, but I remembered that after our conversation," he said to Lenz.
"We also found the device he was using to duplicate the life-chip signals. He had it hidden under the table, which he used to end his own life. He was the designer of life-chips, so he had no trouble duplicating the signal at all."
"But Shiv, how did you figure out it was he?" Christi asked.
"The only people whom I had met before my Lifespan ended were the Chief, Dr. Seppel and you. You were never out of my sight, so it could only have been Dr. Seppel or the Chief. I wasn't fully confident which until I talked to Lewin. Oddly, I feel sorry it was Seppel," Shiv shrugged.
"He was a passionate man Shiv." The Chief said. "He saw his creation become something he never intended, and decided to destroy it. I don't know whether he was right. But I sure hope to god that he was wrong."
They sat there silently for a moment mulling, then one by one they rose and the room became empty.