Echo Down

Echo

My screen went blank in front of me. A green light blinked on and swelled. It slowly grew brighter and took up more of the screen until I was basked in the brilliant green glow. I then faded leaving me with a map of New York. Slowly, green dots began to fill my screen, consuming the entire map. 

Connection complete. Echo is now online.

The map automaticlly zoomed into my block, bringing the dots into detail. They were really shapes with symbols. A helpful key on the side let me know what was what. For example, dimonds mean cell phone and if that dimond contains a phone, that means it is a phone call. I clicked on one of these and a pop up apeared.

Name: Thomas Fite     Ocupation: Video Game tester     Age: 19     Calling: Kelson Lorenz

While I was reading these bits of information, an audio file began to play. It sounded like an excited child was speaking.

"Tommy, I heard you were going to play at Valve's convention today. Is is true that Half-Life 3 is confirmed?"

Another voice chuckled on the other end.

"I can not disclose, you better come I guess."

I exited out here when I realized it. I was connected. I had access to everyone. Nothing was private to my eye. I clicked on a square, laptop. I immediately saw the users screen, all there files and secrets at the tips of my fingers and they wouldn't even know they were gone. It was scary. 

Amber walked in an hour later and I was still staring at my blank screen. She sat down on the bed next to me. While I just sat there.

"Dinner is done if you want some, if you want to stay here...We understand."

I was to overcome with everything in the last day to even knod. I just sat there. She left the room after a minute of tense silence  The first tear dripped down my face, and soon a second. They rolled down my face and then fell onto my lap. Each one creating a new line of moisture down my face. I spent the next five minutes letting emotion flow. Then it slowly faded, being replaced again by anger, and a fuel to find out who did it. Who killed the 200 people and shut down New York. 

I walk down and sat with Amber's family which consistanted of only her dad. The conversation was quiet and brief. Nothing more than comements on the weather or the noise of the city. The blackout was noticably missing even though it was obviously the most obvious conversation topic. Amber's dad, Rodger, had to leave for a second job and left Amber and I do clean up.

We made small talk about school and our homework until finally when we were done she turned to me. 

"Jake. Last night, is what you said about me true."

I laughed about it for a moment. I had been expecting something worse of a question.

"Yup, every single word."

She just knodded and went to her room the change into pajamas. I decided to go load up Echo again. The system went straight to the map this time and I saw every device and system in the area. This time instead of being random, I decided to see how good the system was. I entered in our adress and watched as it closed in on a blueprint of our appartment. It had every 2 phones listed as well as 2 computers and a gaming consel hooked up to the internet. I clicked on my phone.

Owner- Jake Ringenwald    Current usage - Sleep mode    

Do you wish to acess. 

I clicked yes and it allowed me to enter into my own phone. I could serf it like my normal phone and see everything like contacts and messages. There was also a log of every thing I had ever opened that too a little longer to siphin through and was nearly immpossible to find any one site but sure enough, it was there. Everything I had ever done. 

I went back into the apartment blueprint and decided to go to Amber's laptop, just to make sure it wasn't only working beause of me.

Owner - Amber Sciroto    Current usage - Notepad

Do you wish to acess.

I clicked yes again. Her screen came up on mine. She had a document opened and was adding text to it. I decided to see what music she had. Just to make sure I could have free riegn over anything. As I went to minimize her document and traverse her comuter it gave me an option.

Do you wish to interfer with the current users session?

I clicked no and it let me go without her knowing a thing. It worked. I went to open her music folder when it alerted me that the user had left the session. I quickly shut down Echo as Amber opened my door. 

"Could we talk. I feel that somethings need to be said between us."

I told her yes and made her a seat next to me. The only thing that crossed my mind was the fear that she knew of Echo, and the power over everything I held.