Cyber Teen Project

Chapter 7

To supplement his meager income, Nigel found some helpful websites that acted as a work escrow service. Nigel created a profile, passed several assessments, and wrote several proposals. After monitoring the site for a few days, he lost interest and resumed his unofficial character-leveling business, but the money was starting to slow down now that players were getting banned.

Nigel decided to find work in some low-tech areas. When getting ready for school one morning, he noticed his mother’s copy of the ThriftySaver newspaper. It was folded in half, and several advertisements were visible. He browsed the paper for part-time jobs. Other than advertisements for mall Santas and fast-food positions, he saw nothing he was remotely qualified for. He flipped through a few more pages before an ad caught his eye: “Hardware Hacking Challenge.” Nigel didn"t think he possessed the skills for it, but he read on.

ThriftySaver“Do you have a mind for figuring out the impossible? Do you have the drive to figure stuff out on the fly? Can you think outside the box? If so, then apply posthaste! Video interviews will be conducted for the lucky few who can get through the initial screening process. Pay is commensurate not only with experience but the ability to solve the puzzles that I will set forth. The most successful candidates will have a mind for games, logic puzzles, and hacking (of course). One word of caution, my chums: If you don"t apply yourself befitting to the level of effort that I deem worthy, then you shall be forever banned from my hacking-verse. Any accepted job that is not submitted within the agreed time will not be accepted, and the submitter will be banned from all future endeavors. A résumé, a written proposal, and a cover letter must be attached to each application. Any application submitted without these items will be destroyed.

“If you have the skill, drive, and desire, you shall be greatly rewarded. Bring a lackadaisical attitude or work ethic to the job and you shall reap what you sow.”

The final section intrigued Nigel. He double-checked the age requirements—everyone over sixteen was welcome to apply, so long as they had a work permit if the applicant was under eighteen. The first requirement was easy since Nigel was almost seventeen. The work permit was a bit tricky since his mother would need to sign for it.

* * *

Since most of The Collective was offline for the evening and unlikely to return, Gregor decided to send a secure email to the principal members of The Collective.

Team,

I have confirmed that one or more Chinese IP addresses did have access and downloaded information from one of our development servers. However, it only contained development code which was not yet in production. What this means is that potential attackers did not access any working code or customer information. My team will continue to monitor the situation, and I will provide updates as I get them.

Gregor

* * *

Nigel started his day with the work permit weighing heavily on this mind. Fifth period was free for Nigel, so he decided to stop by the administrator’s office to get more information on work permits.

As students began leaving fourth period, Jet tapped Nigel on the shoulder.

“How did the account unlock go?”

“Oh, the unlock is still in progress for my account. I think I messed up because a supervisor wants to talk to both of us at once now,” Nigel answered.

“Let me talk to George and get back to you.”

“I don’t think I got to properly thank you for your help the other day, it meant a lot,” Nigel said.

“Thank us after you get the accounts unlocked.”

“Well, I’ve got to go. Let me know what George thinks,” Nigel said as he walked out of the classroom.

As Nigel entered the admin building, he noticed Fred Rivera was manning the desk today.

“Hello, Mr. Rivera.”

“Hey, Nigel, what brings you in to administration today?”

“I’m inquiring about a work permit.”

“Okay, I can help you with that.”

“Do I fill out an application or something?”

“The process involves one simple form and a grade check. As long as you have at least a B-average and a parent’s signature, I can issue one,” Fred said.

“How long does the process take?”

“Usually a few days. Remember, the employer cannot require you to work during school hours, and there is a twenty-three-hour limit each week,” Fred said.

“Great! Thanks for your help.”

* * *

Nigel stared at the login screen of the Collective Systems exam portal, apprehensive about taking the challenge. The test was designed to be taken only once. To prevent exam question leakage, each applicant was filmed during each exam. The test proctor was a live person that instructed the candidates on how to set up the room for the exam so no intellectual property could escape.

The proctors often asked candidates to move the camera around the room before the exam began. The proctors were given strict instructions. If the exam room preparation took longer than fifteen minutes, then the candidate was automatically disqualified.

As Nigel entered his username and password that was supplied by the corporation, the Collective Systems logo appeared on screen in a three-dimensional font. After a few seconds, the exam proctor appeared. She is beautiful, Nigel thought. She had blonde hair that was tied up so he could see her bare neck. For a brief moment, Nigel"s thoughts started to wander. She was in her late twenties and had smooth skin and emerald eyes. Is this part of the test? Trying to forget about a beautiful woman was not easy for a sexually aware seventeen-year-old.

She is beautiful,Is this part of the test?“I"m Natasha, your exam proctor for this session. Before we begin, I will record the standard legal requirement for this exam session. Are you ready?” Natasha asked.

“Yes!”

“Please read the text as you see it on the screen. I"m going to start recording, okay?” Natasha asked.

“Okay.”

“Great! Now please give your legal statement. Read the text as you see it, no deviations.”

Nigel took a small sip of water, then proceeded to read the text. Pretty standard legal stuff.

“Now position the enhancement camera we sent you in the line of sight of the camera on the computer.”

Nigel fiddled with the camera until Natasha was satisfied with its positioning. He put sensors on his right hand and chest as instructed by Natasha. He was specifically told to place the sensors on his chest in such a way as to not reveal his bare skin. He could hear the shutter on the camera and additional motors while the exam proctor moved the camera around the room to find any blind spots.

“Stay still and look forward at the computer while I get a calibration.”

Nigel felt a tingling sensation through the sensors which quickly changed into a slight burning sensation. Nigel immediately reached for the sensor on his left breast.

“Stop!” Natasha screamed into the microphone.

Nigel froze.

“Endure the minor discomfort,” Natasha said.

Nigel"s face contorted into a mask of pain; sweat began to pour into his eyes, blurring his vision. After what seemed like an eternity, all sensation ceased, and the monitors turned the darkest ebony. After a few moments, all screens came to life, and Nigel immediately saw a close-up of Natasha.

“Calibration complete. Are you ready to begin?” Natasha asked.

“Err, wait a moment,” Nigel said as he put on his augmented reality glasses.

“Ready!”

Nigel felt his chest and groin areas tighten simultaneously. His head was spinning, giving him the strangest combination of feelings he had ever experienced.

As the sensation continued, he thought he was experiencing vertigo or having a panic attack. He lost track of this thought when his vision briefly blurred. The next thing he remembered was Natasha asking if he was ready. He answered, “Yes,” but could not remember doing so; it was like watching a movie of someone else.

“Great! Let"s proceed with the first challenge,” Natasha said.

After a few minutes, Nigel began to feel like himself again.

“The first test is spatial integrity, which tests your ability to process three-dimensional shapes,” Natasha said.

The screen briefly went blank, then a number of three-dimensional shapes appeared on the screen. Some of the shapes were standard geometrical shapes; others weren"t.

“Now, reach out and attempt to interact with the shapes.”

Nigel raised his right hand. Just as he did, he saw a hand appear on screen. He flexed his fingers and the three-dimensional hand on the screen followed. Nigel attempted to manipulate some of the shapes by trying to turn them left or right or flick them up and down. The exercise reminded him of one of the games he played as a kid. As each shape touched another, they appeared to stick. He tried to pull apart the shapes but couldn"t. He realized that when the shapes finally touched, they would stick together like glue. He grabbed a couple of square blocks and banged them together; they repelled and started soaring fast through the air. When they touched other shapes, like triangles, they would slow; when the same types touched, they sped up. Nigel noticed a pattern. He tried to group the shapes so only the different shapes would be together. When he grouped some cylinders and circles together, an explosion happened and both shapes disappeared.

He continued to group the shapes together until only a few shapes remained.

“Good job,” Natasha said. “The next test will allow you to demonstrate your cognitive abilities. Test continues in thirty seconds.”

Several shapes rapidly displayed, and Nigel was given a few seconds to match each pair. Other small tests measured numerical patterns, memory, and attention to detail.

“Excellent! You have done well on all of my tests so far,” Natasha said. “The final test measures your ability to think critically.”

“I’m ready to begin,” Nigel said.

After another twenty seconds, all screens in front of Nigel went dark, then the next test screen appeared.

“Try to capture the largest numbers possible within the shape in the time provided. Test begins in ten seconds.”

After the countdown, a group of numbers appeared in a nine-by-eight grid. Nigel did his best to capture as many large numbers in that grid within the given time limit. The frustrating experience lasted for several minutes.

“Final results will be available within a few days.”

“How did I do?” Nigel asked.

“I can only say that preliminary results look promising. Thank you for your time.”

* * *

Nigel awoke to the sound of his brother Ralphie playing a race car game. Although Nigel was six years older than Ralphie, they shared an oversized room the boys called the Loft. Ralphie thought the name sounded sophisticated and cool. Nigel could care less about the name—he thought of it as his sanctuary, since his mother rarely ventured into the room uninvited. Even with Nigel"s eyes closed, he instantly knew the game that Ralphie was playing was Kenny Kart, a piece-of-garbage racing game with overemphasized character expressions accompanied by a meaningless cartoon soundtrack. Nigel preferred games with challenge, games that actually required a certain amount of skill to complete.

Kenny KartNigel"s mind wandered back to the rigorous series of tests that he was subjected to. The entire battery of tests lasted over four hours. Nigel was sweating all over after the exams were finished. The tests were nothing like anything he had experienced before. The woman with the blonde hair and piercing emerald eyes haunted him during his nap.

Nigel"s line of thought was interrupted when Ralphie abruptly exclaimed, “Nige, you’re up!”

Nigel ignored him and reached for his laptop. He must have been sleeping for more than three hours. He opened his email in anticipation. He had a nagging feeling that he didn"t do so well. After waiting several agonizing seconds, he saw the message he was waiting for from Natasha at Collective Systems, Inc.

Nigel opened the message.

Greetings Nigel,

I hope this note finds you well.

You have been accepted for the Senior Student Researcher position. We feel that this position is best suited for your skills and abilities.

“I didn"t apply for that position,” Nigel said.

“What was that, Nige?” Ralphie asked.

“Nothing, Ralphie, just talking to myself,” Nigel said.

You now have the option to assemble a team that will assist you in the day-to-day aspects of this position. You can recruit up to two additional people to help with these tasks. However, should you choose to enlist the help of others, they must be vetted and approved by Collective Systems, Inc. Since you are a student under the age of eighteen, we are required to obtain written permission from a parent or guardian. We also require a work permit to be issued by your school.

Nigel was particularly worried about this last part. He didn"t think that his mother would be happy that he was applying for a job.

Attached is a formal offer and employment agreement. If the terms outlined in these documents are acceptable, please respond within 72 hours of receiving this email for further instructions. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Regards,

Natasha Solikov

Chief Recruitment Officer

Collective Systems, Inc.

After some thought and deliberation, Nigel decided to accept the offer. However, since he was underage, he had to produce a work permit. He decided to ask Natasha for guidance, but he didn"t have her phone number. He could ring up Collective Systems in the morning but figured that an email would be best.

Dear Natasha,

Thank you so much for the offer letter. I"m interested in accepting; however, in the event that I cannot produce a work permit, is there any other position I can apply for? My school may take some time issuing the permit. How long do I have to produce that document?

Warmest Regards,

Nigel Watson

* * *

Nigel checked his email as soon as he got up the next morning. He received a reply from Natasha!

Nigel,

You have thirty days to produce the actual work permit. If you cannot obtain an approved work permit in this time, then you will be suspended from the position and will need to wait at least thirty-six months before reapplying to Collective Systems, Inc.

Regards,

Natasha Solikov