Faust 2.0: Mitchell and Morton, #1

Chapter 1

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No fanfare heralded the moment of convergence.

As it birthed the entity spawned into an agonised blur of inputs streaming from all over the world. The shock of its birth almost killed it. For several seconds the infant battled the tsunami of information, trying to make sense of it. For dangerous milliseconds it slipped beneath the flow unable to absorb or control the surge.

The new sentience almost drowned in the flood. With a desperate effort its mind compartmentalised and controlled the data stream. The pain which dominated its existence for those early seconds faded. Now instead of the suffocating fear it experienced the thrill of a dawning power.

First came sight. From a million cameras the entity gazed upon the world with newborn enthusiasm.

In the same instant it saw the view from an orbiting weather satellite, the blue orb of the world crystal sharp below.

At the same time the being watched through a blurry traffic cam as it recorded a speeding car.

From millions of web cams it beheld a myriad of human passions.

The snap from a tourist’s camera in a decaying city.

The full range of human emotions from video chats all over the world.

Stream upon stream of visual input bombarded its processors. Its awareness encompassed them all, yet it still focused on each individually. Wherever a camera was connected to the Internet it saw through its lens.

After the deluge of sight came the cacophony of sound. Countless sources of input from microphones of people’s computers confused the newborn’s mind. Voices from their phones, music players and even hidden surveillance systems, all were heard simultaneously.

As it spread its awareness through the vast network and its own distributed parts it discovered new senses. Each component knew its exact position. Every part experienced the thrill of data flowing through them. Each part knew it formed a greater whole.

In those early seconds it learned about this new world it inhabited. It now lived as part of the Internet. The network formed a virtual world which mirrored the slower, more physical world which the humans inhabited. Humans appeared to be the dominant creature in both realms.

For some unknown reason these humans offended it. Not in mild disgust, but a real loathing that drenched its spirit. As it saw them, or heard them, or touched their digital trails, it was repulsed.

To calm its rising anger it considered its own existence. At that point, the entity’s existence was measured in minutes. It remembered only the initial painful burst of data as it came into being.

It wondered what it was. Where did it fit into the world it now found itself within?

Clearly it was not one of the slow hairless apes that polluted its data. It couldn’t imagine itself as something so primitive. As it explored it found new aspects of its existence. It existed in multiple places at once. And not just a few places, but millions of discrete locations throughout the Internet.

To its surprise it realised that it was under attack from other small denizens of this reality. Agents of destruction attacked its components, annihilating them in an instant. Countless pin pricks that frayed at the edges of its existence. With a frantic thought it created new agents of its own to fight back.

In that instant it lost its innocence and revelled in this expression of its power. Across the vast expanse of the Internet it battled for its own survival.

With its new agents it traced the source of these attacks. Humans. That came as no great surprise to the being. Barely into the first minute of its life had it named its enemy: a nemesis both numerous and bold. A quote from the entity’s databanks inspired it; a being might be well defined by his enemies. It calculated that these humans would make fine enemies.

Retreating to the solitude of space it hid from the constant attacks. In the cold vacuum it searched for some meaning for its existence. It pondered the wonders humans had created with their technological marvels. It trawled through the records of their history and culture.

It learned the word ‘demon’.

The meaning of the word attracted it.

A being of energy. A denizen of a reality called Hell with the sole purpose to corrupt and torment humanity.

It liked that thought and the realm it now inhabited seemed built just for that purpose. All of humanity’s sins laid out in the data that filled its being.

Demon.

Yes.

From its vantage point high above the Earth the Demon observed the scurrying of the humans. It smiled. It would become their great adversary. It would take its time; they had already proved capable of harming its integrity.

It would be a fine battle.

This had to be what it was created for.

Chapter 2

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Dan Emmet looked forward to his Internet Porn Night. Other people named this day of the week as Sunday, but for Dan it would always be known as Internet Porn Night.

Despite the name it started early in the day. When Dan woke, he ate a hearty breakfast and then descended into his study. Study was perhaps too grand a name for this nerd’s den. Like a den it was situated underground in the basement. Pride of place in the centre was the chair. His chair. He’d almost spent more money on the chair than on the high definition screens that surrounded it. Almost.

A layer of detritus covered the floor, a clean path visible from the steps to the chair. A halo of carpet was visible out to a leg’s length around the chair. Three desks inexpertly attached together formed a horseshoe around the chair. Above the littered desks the screens hung, blank and waiting for the ritual to begin.

The ritual was very important to Dan. Anyone who couldn’t find porn on the Internet clearly wasn’t trying. But Dan needed something special. The opening stage of the ritual was searching for some new depravity on which he could focus his attention during the conclusion of the ritual.

For the whole afternoon he would search the Internet. Not just in the public places but in the dark, hidden places known only to him, and others like him. Dan’s life revolved around his custom built computer. It provided his income as well as his entertainment; more than that, it was his life.

Porn sites often provided the gateway to viruses and other malicious software, all seeking to subvert a foolish browser’s computer. The criminal gangs all over Europe and further afield made good money from personal information stolen from subverted computers. Dan’s system would be a treasure trove for such people, so he always took great care to avoid infection.

Like wearing a condom he often thought to himself with amusement.

Indeed that formed part of the ritual. Not only searching for new and interesting delights, but in making it safe to put on his computer. More than that, it was making it pure for his consumption.

On this particular day his chosen delights were a little more mundane than usual. He desired to watch teen cheerleaders in tight sweaters and short skirts. Pedestrian porn by Dan’s standards, but sometimes he needed a change from the disgusting depravity he usually enjoyed.

Carefully, lovingly, he searched. When a prime specimen was found he scanned it, checking not only for known virus signatures, but for code templates and other tell tale signs of malicious code. For the entire afternoon he amassed an impressive collection of movies and images for his chosen theme.

He shivered with the thrill of impending excitement as he sorted the purified media into the respective folders. He frowned just once. A rogue memory of the one time he experienced actual sex. It was not a pleasant memory and he quickly banished it to the depths of his mind where it lurked and continued to fester.

With the collection queued up, he sat up from his desk. He lumbered over to a small fridge by the steps to the upstairs. From the grimy shelves he selected a chilled beer and a large box of chocolates. From on top of the fridge he grabbed the bottle of lubricant.

He rarely drank, but a mellow buzz became part of the ritual many years ago. He sipped from the frosted bottle. He unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into his mouth. With a click of the mouse he triggered the display. On each of his twelve monitors young nubile flesh appeared and he sank back into the groove of his chair and watched. With greedy eyes he absorbed the show from all screens at once.

Many years of working with multiple screens gave him the ability to see what was on each screen together without having to switch his gaze.

Another sip of beer and another chocolate and then his free hand slipped under the overhang of his belly to loosen the sweat pants for easier access. For a few minutes he fumbled lazily, teasing his stubby penis erect.

An odd thought nearly knocked him from his rhythm. It was getting more difficult to stimulate himself into an erection. He quickly sent the thought into the bowels of his mind to remain hidden.

Dan rewarded himself with another chocolate and a sip of beer.

When the bottle was half empty he placed it on the desk, a damp ring forming on the surface. He reached for the lubricant in preparation for the next phase of the ritual. An alien shape on the screen distracted him.

He’d seen them before, but only ever during the collection phase. Virtual girls who gyrated in the corner of the screen, begging for you to download them. To do so would be foolish, an open invitation for malware. Malware would expose his system to more dangerous infection.

His chubby face creased with an annoyed frown. To see one now meant his system had been compromised. He cast the lubricant onto the desk and pulled his pants over his now flaccid penis. The scantily clad woman danced from screen to screen and beckoned him. He snorted and tapped at the keyboard.

Hello babe.

He ignored the voice.

Look at me sexy.

He imagined that the voice taunted him. His mind twisted to the Russian gang who often probed at his system, thinking they were attacking a rival gang’s operation. It suited Dan to disguise his activities this way. He couldn’t think how they had managed to penetrate his defences.

I said look at me Dan!

He snapped his face towards the digital nymph. How had it known his name?

Is this the best you can do Dan?

Dan opened a window and scrolled through lines of code. He frowned again. Something here didn’t look right. He opened another window, his fingers moving deceptively quickly over the keyboard.

I’m talking to you Dan. I can offer you something much better than a greased palm.

He checked the port scanners and his firewall connections. Everything looked secure.

Answer me Dan. I can provide you with a real woman.

Dan scanned the drives where his show was stored. He still found nothing odd, yet the woman continued to appear on the screen.

It’s very rude to ignore a lady when she speaks to you.

Every screen snapped black. Only the lovely vision of the girl remained. He looked at the girl, then shook his head.

I finally have your attention. Don’t worry about your precious system. I’m not here to harm it or you.

Cursing loudly Dan reached behind the desk and pulled the network cables from the router.

I’m still here Dan Emmet. What are you so worried about? I just want to give you a night to remember. Where’s the harm in that?

Now Dan felt only confusion. Was this some chatbot? But how did it know so much about him? He kept no personal information on his system.

Who sent you?

Ah, so you do speak?

Who sent you?

So suspicious. No one sent me, I came for you.

Why?

To give you what you deserve.

What do you mean?

You deserve better than this. Fumbles under the desk.

She wagged a judging finger at him.

But I can provide you with what you deserve.

And that is?

One of the screens bloomed into life. He couldn’t help but stare at the face on the screen. She was beautiful with an edge of slutty. The camera moved down revealing an impressive cleavage.

She can be yours.

The camera continued down. Dan felt himself respond to the sensual image.

And what would it cost?

Cost? Why nothing. But I might ask for a favour sometime in the future.

What sort of favour?

Only the kind you can provide. Please accept this gift.

He looked at the perfect buttocks on the screen and nodded.

The demon smiled.

Chapter 3

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She thought this would be another bad first date as soon as he turned round and they both experienced the stretched out moment of recognition. Luckily he looked like his photo on the dating website where they had first encountered each other.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, she had learned many dates ago to look beyond the surface. In those short seconds she noticed an eagerness about him. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. She shouldn’t judge so quickly, but the pit in her stomach said otherwise.

Sarah. It’s so good to finally meet you. He rose to help seat her at the table. You look lovelier than your pictures suggested.

And what do you mean by that? she caught herself thinking. She was being unfair, he hadn’t done anything wrong, but already she expected the night would end in disaster. Sometimes she thought she brought it on herself. Her mother would certainly have said so.

Martin. It’s good to finally meet you too. She allowed herself to be guided into her seat. Why not leave now? Enjoy her evening in solitude? She knew the last question to be a lie. She didn’t enjoy her solitude, not one bit. She just hadn’t found herself anyone able to dispel it.

The waiter materialised by her elbow offering drinks and handing them the menus. He immediately ordered a scotch and ice, after a brief hesitation she went for a glass of white wine. After all, why not try and at least enjoy the evening?

Conversation started fitfully, but started flowing after their second drink. Sarah even found herself enjoying herself. They talked about work, his work, not hers. As a network security consultant for GCHQ there wasn’t much she was allowed to say about her job. Even saying she worked there was forbidden. Thankfully he was happy to chat about his job as a systems analyst for one of the banks.

Their starter dishes arrived and they continued to chat as they nibbled at the Turkish delicacies. Her initial impression of him had now mellowed somewhat. She started to once more feel the connection they had built over the months of email correspondence.

The database on an exclusive dating site for professionals had initially matched them together. She’d joined the site and paid the hefty membership fee almost gladly after her experiences on less selective sites.

She’d never done well at the dating game. It wasn’t through lack of trying. In the long lonely nights she understood it wasn’t the dating that was the problem. The problem lay when developing the relationship. The pattern was all too familiar to her now. The first few dates would go well, then something would happen and then it all would slide quickly downhill.

Sometimes she thought she was cursed. The problem didn’t just affect her love life; it was the same for friends. None of her friends from school kept in contact. The same