That changed at the dawn of the new millennium -- a time of revolution in both fields.
In late 1997, the university, being one of the few Space Grant universities in the country, began funding an eight-year project for the digital analysis of the outer solar system.
All went according to schedule until that fateful day in 2004.
At least that's what they tell us.
Supposedly, the probe had just passed Pluto when all contact was lost...
with the probe...
with the Bright Building...
with everyone...
everywhere...
Fortunately, most of the telecommunication systems around the world recovered easily enough by shutting down and restarting.
Unfortunately, that wasn't an option at the Bright Building, where years of work and millions of dollars had gone into studying everything the probe provided.
This last glitch had to be understood...
It seems that something from the darkness beyond our solar system had blasted some type of psychocyber virus into the systems collecting data. The only identifying markers were something calling itself "Quake".
At first seemingly benign, the virus went on to infect not only the software in the building, but everything, and everyone, that came in contact with it.
The rest of the world had survived with a simple reboot, but the effects on those in the Bright Building were devastating. The physical effects on the building were the disentegration of all furnishings, and digital systems, within.
More tragically, however, was the toll on the humans who had the misfortune of working in the building that day. Due to the excessive paranoia that the virus invoked in humans, a schism developed between the two groups in the Bright Building over who was responsible for the Quake virus that destroyed their lifes.
And it happened in a day's time.
And the world knew something was wrong...
The first mutant that left the building had people screaming and running away from its hideous features. But, there was more to fear.
It managed to kill 37 people before it was finally gunned down by more than 20 heavily-armed peace officers.
Supposedly, it was a frightening experience...
The hysteria, and subsequent investigation of those still in the Bright Building, forced the National Guard to seal the place in concrete before the sun went down.
The President said it was "...best for humankind..."
Those of us on the inside know what happened next. Some poor rocket scientists tried to pass through the fifth floor on their way to an imagined exit...
Let's just say, that, "bloody hell" doesn't begin to articulate the carnage the conspiracy theorist among the computer scientist had propagated...
[more later??? -- and, no, I've never considered myself an intentional writer of fiction 8^) }
|
|
|
|
|