Earth Day

"Sofia, Sofia are you there? Dammit! I knew we shouldn't have tried this, it was way too soon. Guys, I think she's gone. But we won't know for sure until I get the final report."

Mason was conducting the online meeting of a lifetime. There were 7 members left, including himself. What they were about to do required a minimum of six positions. This was still promising...

"What do you mean she's gone?" Rebecca eagerly asked as she changed her eye contacts, again.

Mason pulls on the long black hair of his beard and replied,

"It means, she is no longer with this group. Her connection was terminated. This room is heavily encrypted, there is no way in but dozens of ways out. I'm not exactly sure what happened but letting her try to hitch was a mistake."

"Wait! I still don't get it." Josh said as he spit sunflower seed shells into his hand. "Can't you just reinvite her, you know... send an invite."

Mason sighs before he answers, "I wish it was that easy bro. In order to get her back. I would have to physically drive, no, fly to her home in Ecuador and wash her computer. The connection that brought you all here happened simultaneously. It took three weeks to code a path so secret, that not even the algorithms know where they are. It's okay, we needed her but apparently have to do this without her."

Mason called this group Unity. It was assembled with individuals all having the correct skills needed to gain access to the Circuit. In no particular order, the group consisted of: Mason- 28, a hipster computer geek with a calling to make the world a better place. Josh- 33, owns a landscaping business but on the off-season repairs laptops and smart phones. Jacques-26, a Canadian entrepreneur stockbroker, who loves the women and specializes in crypto. Rebecca-29, invented the Trojaneer a device that can find and detect the tell tell signs of any virus. Willy- 45, an ex-weatherman who knows a thing or two about longitude and latitude. Karly-39, who owns 2% of Microsoft and strongly believes in Mason's cause. And then there was Chance 13 (not his real name). He has major ties and connections in the dark web. A place you can buy anything, legal or not.

The goal was simple, infiltrate the Circuit. But the task would be complex, requiring precision of timing to complete. Everyone had been trained and knew their part before this meeting even took place. Sofia was eliminated because she thought she could hitch a ride into a crucial database using her software to mimic information that freely travels the net. Her particles were coded to adapt the identities of electrons carrying that information, but her calculations were wrong, or she missed a step along the way. Mason's security program detected an attempted breech of her position inside the database. Something or someone tried to trace her origin and her connection was automatically terminated. This ate away at their precious time.

Willy asks Mason "How long is this going to take now that we are down one position?"

"The time frame will be the same, we will be done in two hours. You guys keep practicing, while I figure out how to erase any remnants of Sofia's location in this room. I'll be right back."

Mason left his camera spot on the video screen. The others continued to exchange ideas and ask questions amongst themselves.

Mason believed the world was out of touch with reality. He truly believed in the power of one voice. In order to be heard across the globe, he created a communication program that had the ability to configure to any language according to the region in which it is broadcasted. The problem was synchronicity. He chose his team wisely, making sure they lived in different parts of the world. This way, he could triangulate the signal needed to hack into every satellite orbiting the planet.

In 2035, NASA scientist Zachary Plummer created the Circuit. It's a self-sustaining program that allows satellites to interlock memory banks virtually. Mason realized what that meant. If he can get every satellite to work together, they can act as one gargantuan loudspeaker in a sense. He could use the Circuit to send out billions of messages through every TV and phone service provider all at the same time. In fact, any communication device would receive the message through audio and or video. We're not talking about a news feed, or text messages. This was going to be a massive interruption of personal devices. Mason realized this was possible after discovering how the Circuit self-sustained.

The Circuit completes a cycle every two hours. It recycles its own memory at the completion of each time period. This reduces the amount of time it takes to reset by milliseconds. Once it has fully lost one second, it requires an upgrade to add the missing time back to the cycle. This was the opportunity for Mason to get in. All he had to do was figure out how long it took to lose a second in order to know when the upgrade would happen. His pursuit was two years in the making. He returned to the meeting and quickly sat down.

"Ok, listen up everyone. We need to do a necessary delay test. I need everyone to count, using one number for each person by typing it on the screen when it's your turn. We will go according to your frame position on your monitor. Which means I'll start, and it will end with Chance 13. If you don't know your number then say so now... Alright, it looks like everyone is on the same page. As soon as you see the number appear on your screen, type yours as fast as possible. Matter of fact, keep your finger on your number until it's time to press it. Is everyone ready?"

Everyone knew when it was their turn and typed the correct number. Mason analyzed the data and repeated the exercise two more times. He briefed them on the results.

"This doesn't make sense. Who is number five?"

"Jacques is number five" Willy promptly offered.

"I know what my number is! I was about to speak up but Willy, you beat me to it. I bet you were the guy in school who squealed to the teacher about everyone else. Ha Ha!" His Canadian accent was heavy.

"Right! It's Jacques." Mason interjected. "Why do you have a delay? Wait! Where are you right now?"

"I'm at my office. Don't worry, no one is here."

"Your fucking kidding with me right! You HAVE to be at home for this since it's the original location Willy gave me the coordinates to."

"I don't remember you saying I needed to be home, you just said what equipment I would need. I brought it all with me."

"Jesus H Christ bro! We don't have time to fix this! Look Jacques, I will be in touch. Sorry you won't be a part of this. Your location has changed and it's creating a delay that can make this operation fail. Goodbye Mon amie."

"Wait wait wait wait wait wait-"

Just like that, Jacques was gone. Mason had no choice but to sever his connection. Jacques wouldn't be there to witness the world's first targeted video message that would be translated into more than 7000 different languages. Mason left the meeting again, this time to clean up Jacques' position.

They had less than 40 minutes before the upgrade would open the Circuit for 28 seconds. This window of opportunity was narrow but it's all they had. There was no way to extend it.

Willy was integral to this part. He was the one who figured out the precise date and time of the next upgrade. According to the results of his findings, they occur every four months. He could predict them with an error margin of .0009%. Mason was satisfied with those numbers and decided to move forward with his world-wide proclamation. He returned to the meeting with a somber look on his face.

"Listen very carefully. Is there anyone else not where they are supposed to be? Any more surprises? If we lose another position, we fail. You know what an important step this will be toward world peace. I need everyone to stay with me...Okay?" Everyone began to mumble and nod in agreement. They wanted him to succeed.

"It's time to review our timeline. Rebecca will take over from here. She will manage the flow leading up to the 28 seconds we have to do this. My part is to get us in there. Please don't hesitate to chime in and ask any and all questions you may have. We've already lost close to ninety minutes with the previous two setbacks. Let's get this right, please! Rebecca it's all you."

Rebecca sat up straight, took out her contacts and put on a pair of reading glasses. She moved her hair from in front of her face to the back of her head with seductive finesse, she looked the part of a glamour girl but acted the part of a genius. She cleared her throat and began.

"Alright boys and girls, time to clean out your ears, put your phones down and no bathroom breaks. I will try and get through this twice if I can, so pay close attention, thank you... At approximately 2:23 am central time, I need you to turn on the yellow box in your Project Cotton Candy care packages. I'm in Minnesota, so obviously this is my time zone, it won't be that exact time for anyone else. Use 2:23am as a reference for what time it will be where you're at. Got it? Next, at 2:26 I need you to switch to audio mode. This will lessen the number of frequencies traveling to your computer. At 2:27 Chance 13 will send you a link to your phones, follow it to a site that will prompt you to reset your password. Don't worry about what you're resetting. Just know that it's necessary for privacy and remember what the password is. At 2:28 check the yellow box to make sure the meter is above 60%, if it's not, turn the dial one notch at a time until it raises past that point. Don't let it go over 80%! At 2:29 Karly will open the zip drive titled PCC on her computer. All she has to do is open it. The program will do everything else. Since Karly is at a prime location in Amsterdam, her position is the hub of all activity. From that point on she must monitor the yellow box. It can't fail. Mason has equipped her with a second box in the event the first one fails. At 2:31 everyone else will open their zip drives except Josh. Josh is in Ireland; he is stationed near the last satellite to be integrated during the upgrade. As a failsafe, Josh will concentrate on infiltrating the satellite before Mason's program uses the final seconds to reach it. This means it should be fully integrated at the same time as the rest... let's hope and pray we worked out all the kinks for this part. Got it? At 2:34, it's game time. The upgrade will happen at 2:35 am... Any questions?

"Yeah, I've got a question" Willy raises his hand and fumbles around with some notes. "Can't we save time by sending us this password link ahead of time."

Chance 13 chimes in, "I'll answer this one. Simply put, no we can't man! I don't trust that you will prematurely open it, even if it's by mistake. Once you do receive it, all the passwords need to be reset within one minute, so chose a password now and just stick with the program, wait for it."

Karly chimes in, "I have a question. What happens if, let's say, the meter goes over 80%?" Mason chimes in to answer this one. "We don't exactly know. We just know that the range between 60 and 80 is the sweet spot. We think it may crash the position if it's above 80 for an extended amount of time. We can't risk it. Any more questions? It's 2am . We have very little time before this starts."

There were no more questions. Everyone began to unload the rest of their care packages in preparation for game time. Mason was in Alaska, he dreamt of this day for a long time. He knew if and when he accomplished this, it would be the beginning of a new era in communicating.

The human race is evolving at a quickened pace. Technology is at the forefront of this evolution. It makes you wonder what people did before the radio was invented. What did they do before television? It may have all started long ago with cave paintings to communicate what plants and animals were safe to eat. Smoke signal and drums were used but were not very practical. Then came the telegraph and the telephone. Communcation was slow and arduous during those times, but technological evolution never stops, and we continue to see drastic improvements in the way information travels.

Mason was a scholar on the subject, he knew everything about communication. He hoped his effort will change the way we see other cultures and their struggles to maintain peace with their adversaries. He hoped to one day be known for bringing the world to a universal understanding that we are truly in this together.

He paced around the den of his condo, double checking everything in his mind. He triple checked all the settings on the equipment while occasionally glancing at his monitor to see what everyone else was doing. A few of them were on the screen talking. The rest of them were off screen, hopefully taking care of last-minute details.

Rebecca chimes in, "I need everyone to take their seat, it's 2:20. We all know what we need to do. This starts in three minutes. Wait for my signal!"

Mason's face was drenched in sweat. Anxiety and excitement were the two emotions that arm wrestled for superiority. He sat down in his chair facing the left where he had another computer that was part of an array of equipment he had lined up. He put on headphones and a pair of hi-tech sunglasses that displayed real-time information that he needed to keep track of...

2:23 am

Rebecca chimed in, "In three, two, one... NOW! TURN ON YOUR BOX!" Everyone complied.

Their signals quickly reach the edge of space and began to spread like an umbrella opening on a rainy day. Within 30 seconds, all of the signals had reached the others and covered the entire globe of the earth. The first phase was successful.

2:26 am

"Switch to audio only and Chance get ready!" Everyone complies. One by one their faces disappeared from the screen.

2:27 am

"Ok Chance!" Rebecca gave him his prompt.

"I'm on it, I'm on it. Did everyone get the link?" He quickly replies.

Josh chimes in. "I didn't get it, I got nothing."

"SHIT! I'll send it again... Did you get it this time?"

"Yeah, I did. What is this?"

"It doesn't matter, just reset the password now!"

Josh complied. Everyone had finished this step just in time.

2:28 am

"Time to check your boxes. Willy, yours is showing 47% crank it up now!"

Willy chimes in. "It says 66% here, I've kept my eye on it!"

Rebecca chimes back in, "Mason! Are you seeing this?"

"Yes! I also see 47%. Willy, if you're seeing 66%, crank it one notch just in case. I'm not sure why we see something different. Maybe it's because of your location in South Africa. We don't have time to look into it."

2:29 am

"Karly, it's time... Open your drive!" She complies and is startled from how the box jolted and glowed as it reacted to the PCC program. She voices a concern,

"Guys, what's happening? I smell smoke, I think it's coming from my computer."

Josh chimes in, "It's okay mam, stay calm and make sure all other programs are shut down. The PCC requires a boatload of memory to work correctly."

Rebecca chimes back in, "Did everyone hear that? Turn off any unnecessary programs before you open your drives. And Karly, turn on your second box but leave it set to zero!" Karly complied.

2:31 am

"Ok! Everyone except Josh, initiate your PCC. Josh will open his at 2:33."

Everyone complied. Mason's breathing increased. He had a stern, focused look on his face. The sweat dripping from it was creating a pool on his glass desk.

The PCC program synchronized with the boxes and released information in the form of electrons that quickly surrounded the earth. It created sparkling blue energy that could be seen from the ground. It was as if an electric particle grid was tuning in. Wherever there was a clear nighttime sky on earth, people gazed upon it, wondering what this anomaly was. They had no idea. The energy was harmless, it didn't alert the Pentagon or any other defense protocols.

"I'TS GAME TIME PEOPLE! MONITOR YOUR BOXES AND WAIT FOR MASON FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!"

2:35 am

The Circuit pauses as predicted and the 28 seconds began. Mason was a multitasking madman. He had a total of 5 computers set up, each of them needed for a process important for the infiltration. Josh was also working speedily to complete his part. The others continued to monitor the boxes and watched the timer on their screen count away the precious seconds, one loud click at a time. When the timer stopped, there was nothing but silence. Everyone saw a message appear on their screen. It read. Thank you for participating. Your meeting is adjourned. Their connection was then automatically terminated. They sat there wondering what happens next. They thought they would be witnessing a profound message sent out across the world. They didn't even know if this stressful string of events worked.

Two hours went by when they each received an identical email from Mason. It contained an audio file. They each listened to it.

To the members of Unity. I'm pleased to announce that Project Cotton Candy was a success. Each and every one of you played a crucial part. Thank you. Please Grab a pen and paper before I continue.

Everyone scrambled around for the requested items.

Today, history was made. This has never been done before. We successfully executed the heist of a million banks. I couldn't have done it without you...

Everyone's jaws dropped; confusion swept across their faces. They didn't know if this was a joke or not but listened on.

Don't worry, it's untraceable, the funds cannot be traced back to any of us. I simply lifted a thousand dollars from a million different banks across the world. Money that will eventually be written off as petty theft or a glitch. I apologize for the deception. I truly want to change the way the world communicates but needed more resources at my disposal. The password you reset was actually an account you created which contains twenty million dollars for each of you. Spend it, donate it, do what you will with it. You earned it. Please write down the following sequence. XF83DT447P. When you're ready, follow the link Chance 13 originally sent you, use the password you created and enter it. Then, in the top left corner of the screen there will be a question mark. Click that, then type in the code I just gave you. This will authenticate the allocation of funds to you. Unfortunately, it's in cryptocurrency. This was the only way to gift it without raising suspicion. Cash it out using the stock market into an account of your choice. Bam! you just legitimately made an awesome return on an investment. This is how you explain your sudden wealth. You will never see or hear from me again. Any previous contact info you have for me is null and void. XF83DT447P. I hope you wrote it down correctly because this audio file cannot be altered and will terminate now. Goodbye.

Everyone was flabbergasted and had mixed feelings about what just happened. Many wondered if they took the money, if it made them a criminal. Josh had no problem with it and immediately cashed out. Chance 13 was in on it the whole time; he created the secret accounts. The other 3 members sat on it for weeks, until they ultimately came to terms that it wasn't going away, and they couldn't go to the authorities with a cockamamy story about how they helped to steal it. They had no proof other than the care package items. They also had no way of contacting each other. Mason was very meticulous in his ways. Till this day, he has never resurfaced. I just know he's cooking up something delicious for the world.