[1.5]: Truth Pt. 1

Simon's fingers danced across the keyboard rhythmically. The click-clack-click-clack metronomic sound echoed in the room threatening to ensnare the minds of the unsuspecting. He was fully engrossed in his task; his attention was affixed to the four screens before him. While many nowadays preferred to use the more modern holo-keyboard due to its ubiquitous usability irrespective of surface or environment, Simon preferred the reliable tactile feedback that the old mechanical keyboards provided.

It was 14:20 OET, just after lunchtime. Since humans had expanded to other star systems, time-keeping was a hassle. With each planet having a different rotation and revolution, there was a need for synchronicity. Hence, it was universally designated to use the Old Earth's rotation and revolution cycle, and the date-time along the Greenwich Meridian as a standard of reference labelled as Old Earth Time (OET). There were additional considerations placed on planets and bodies near gravitational anomalies such as Black Holes and Neutron Stars according to modern theories on relativity.

Simon's family had dispersed after lunchtime, and he was working on his legitimate business. With laxer laws enforced by the UPA on consumer data privacy and sale, over the past three centuries there have been growing concerns of data theft and targeting. While most corporations promise that their consumer's information is safeguarded behind the highest levels of security, without any form of accountability there is essentially no guarantees in this matter. Although the UPA had implemented legislation requiring corporations to be transparent in their interactions with their consumers, the consumers aren't always willing to read through pages of complicated jargon. And thus, those that choose to scroll to the end of the page and blindly click the agreement to the corporations' terms of service, have to then suffer the consequences of having sexual paraphernalia tailored to their fetishes being mailed to their addresses.

In the Age of Corporations, information is akin to crude oil of yore. While frowned upon, the sale of consumer data between corporations has now become commonplace to such an extent that it would be understandable if a corporation not operating in a consumer's star system - and with their base, three star systems away - to have a detailed spreadsheet of the individual's bowel movements based on just their daily expenditure. Again, while frowned upon, consumers are helpless because nearly all corporations include a clause that forces the consumer to relinquish all rights to their personal information, directly or indirectly, if they wish to use the company's goods or services.

As a result, an occupation that benefited off of this development was one that Simon and his Grandfather's legitimate business specialised in - Scrubbers. A non-exhaustive list of tasks a Scrubber is responsible for includes eliminating or limiting 'licit' and illicit trades of client data, improving net security to reduce undesired intrusions into private information, and counterattacking malicious attempts to phish client data.

Their business was called, "Clean Slate". A non-incorporated sole proprietor aptly named after its highly sought Scrubbing service. While it didn't generate huge profits, it was sufficient to feed and shelter a family of five in a Rank 4 star system. In the beginning, Simon's Grandfather single-handedly managed the business. But after he found out that Simon had an inherent proficiency in programming, he brought him into the fold and taught him everything he knew. Nowadays, Simon handled most of the clients' requests, leaving a few easy ones for his Grandfather to exercise his skills.

While Simon was working, the shop door slid open and a client strode in. She tapped her shoes on the grate next to the entrance to dust off any residuals and sauntered over to the shop's counter.

As she approached the counter, she spoke with a hint of frustration, "What's the deal? I thought it was just Scrubbing, can't you just do it remotely?"

Simon turned to face the client. She was a teenage girl, with pink shoulder-length hair. Her features suggested that she had Asian roots. However, one would automatically know after a glance that she was a local, given the hallmark Eatonian tan.

As she rightfully said, most Scrubbing could be done remotely. However, this was a special case. Over his years of experience, Simon observed certain trends. Teenagers and young adults formed a market segment that required the greatest amount of resources with regards to Scrubbing. With their lack of experience, they would often opt-in to obscure services at a higher frequency making it harder for the Scrubber to keep track.

"I've been Scrubbing your profiles for over two days now, and finally finished yesterday night. But today morning when I checked in, I found that while accessing a pornographic website you, I'm guessing unknowingly, opted in for a trial-based 'Monthly Dildo Draw' event which required you to input your address. Now it was a good thing that I caught this early because that particular site is established in a Rank 2 system. If I hadn't intercepted it today morning, by now not only would your personal information be stored in some pornographic company's server farm, but in the future, you may one day receive a dildo in your mail. I'm guessing you wouldn't want that?"

Embarrassed, the client shook her head. Putting on his most convincing and welcoming smile, Simon started his spiel.

"Here at Clean Slate, we don't believe in repeat customers, because that is a sign of a poor Scrubbing!"

Simon's smile faded as he continued, "I believe that the best rat trap is one that keeps working even after all the rats have died."

"What?"

Simon sighed as he reached under the counter. He took out a custom Holo-Comm module.

"I've scrubbed your profile as best as I can with the technology available in this star system. Some data repositories are beyond my level. I've sent the summary through the mail, listing all of them. You can look into it at your convenience. The summary also includes further actions you can take. You may have to contact a Scrubber operating in a Rank 2 system to clean up the rest. Furthermore, seeing how active you are on the QNet, I have here a custom Holo-Comm module not available in the market. Once I install it into your Holo-Comm Device it will act as a proxy every time a website asks you for your personal information. Unless you want to share your data, I would suggest you use this proxy as a go-between."

Unconvinced the client squinted close to the module and asked Simon, "What's so special about this one? Aren't there other proxies in the market already?"

"Yes. But, most of the companies that deal with proxies will in the end mine your data. Ours is different because it is completely offline and localised to your device. All you need to do is to update the software frequently by visiting our site."

"I still don't get it. Why do I need to come in for this? Can't you just ship it to me? I could've gotten it installed at my place."

"Ah. This is a little different. Unlike a regular Holo-Comm module, I need to interface it directly with the processing unit. It's better to get it done here as opposed to a third party. Also, doing this will in the end void most warranties provided by some of the well known Holo-Comm manufacturers."

"My warranty has already lapsed." she retorted.

Simon then pulled out his tablet and carefully placed it before the client.

"Everything is listed in our terms of service please take a look —"

"How much does it cost?" She interrupted Simon.

Unflustered, he replied, "Seeing as you opted for our more extensive Scrubbing package, this module comes free of charge with the service. You will only have to pay when downloading our bi-monthly release. Upgrading the module is also free of charge."

The client snatched the tablet and vigorously swiped up and signed in her name. Simon was a little dumbfounded by the fluidity and fluency of her action.

"Umm, Miss. You didn't read the terms?"

"Nah. It's too long."

"But it's only two pages…" Simon muttered.

Not waiting another minute, Simon nimbly opened up the client's Holo-Comm device and installed the module. The work was finished in less than 5 minutes, and the client left the shop immediately after.

With nothing left to do, Simon began to move around the shop and started cleaning up. Just as he was about to finish, the door to his Grandfather's room slid open and the occupant rolled out.

Looking at Simon, his Grandfather said, "Are you up for a final game of Battlefront?"

"Final?" Simon asked.

The old man smiled gently and moved towards the counter while simultaneously opening up the blackout curtains.

Simon positioned the hologram projector on the counter and set up the game. Before he could initiate the game, the old man stopped him.

"Let's try something more challenging."

He took out a data chip from his shirt pocket and gently slotted it into the projector's port. The projection distorted for a few seconds before it settled into a completely different menu.

"Is it a new mode?"

The old man nodded, "Each player will now have control over 2 different factions yet equal factions. The goal is to maximise victory points. There will be randomly generated events that may affect the environment, or the relationship between the factions thus shifting their goals."

Simon pondered for a while, "This might take a while, are you sure Grandpa?"

The old man nodded as the projection morphed and two statistics screens popped up in front of him and Simon.

____

Logistics and land usage in Eaton I, and in most other planets in Rank 4 systems, was always a concern. Given how the UPA takes on a completely hands-off approach, one obvious problem that people faced was access to common facilities that were no longer provided by a governing body such as safety, electricity, sewage and so on. With these types of services, essentially the first corporation to spread roots could secure the entire market. For instance, the Hartwell system's power was unanimously provided by Surya Inc., as they were the first to round up the relevant resource sites within the system. The other power providers were inevitably bought out or taken over by Surya Inc.

While many may fear that such unscrupulous behaviour would encourage the corporations to establish a monopoly and hike the service rates. Disseminating distrust and dislike amongst their consumer base was a dangerous prospect for any corporation. The consumers' apprehension to subscribe to a corporation's service inevitably provides their competitors with an avenue to infiltrate the market. If consumers find that certain companies are implementing unethical business practices, all it took is for them to back a competitor in the next local Meka Tournament.

While having a singular provider of essential services for an entire planet has its advantages logistics-wise, micromanagement is greatly sacrificed. Consider the case of power generation and distribution. Surya Inc. was known to be a reliable corporation originating from a Rank 2 system. As Eaton I is between two binary stars, the corporation relied on extracting power from the two suns. With endless days and near uninterrupted access to daylight, by plastering a large portion of the desert with high-efficiency concentrated solar panels, Surya Inc. essentially harvested a mountain of gold with pennies worth of investment. Furthermore, with their use of proprietary plasma HVDC transmission technology, they managed to provide the Oasis with uninterrupted and reliable power.

However, intermittent issues tended to pile up, forming a complaint queue extending for over one Old Earth year in terms of wait time. In Rank 4 and some Rank 3 systems, with one company having to cover a large market, the quality of service of the corporations regressed significantly.

Four months back, Halcyon Inc. in Eaton I lodged a complaint regarding a power overload on their 18th floor due to the addition of a second-hand coffee machine from their head office. Originally, their turn on Surya Inc.'s queue was set for 132 days from the day the complaint was lodged. But 'conveniently' a few individuals ahead of them dropped out of the queue, pushing Halcyon Inc.'s complaint ahead by 10 days. Well, that's what was written on the invoice on Nathan's tablet. A simple check into Surya Inc.'s website would have proven otherwise, but who has the time to do those things anyway?

Three individuals, two men and one woman, wearing a Surya Inc. issued technician's jumpsuit entered Halcyon Business Tower through the front. One of the men was carrying a visibly heavy bag, while the other was carrying a tablet and a device that looked like a tripod. The woman led the group and made her way towards the receptionist's desk.

"Welcome to Eaton I's Halcyon Business Tower! My name is Amara, How may I help you?" A cheerful voice sounded from their destination. An artificial beauty with doll-like eyes, a near symmetric face, and auburn hair smiled at the three technicians.

Karina smiled back in reply, "Good afternoon. We're from Surya Inc.'s customer service department, about a complaint filed on the 26th of April 2450 regarding a -" she waved her hand towards Nathan without turning her head. Nathan handed her the tablet. After taking a glance, Karina continued, "- overload on the line extension on the 18th floor because of an incompatible device."

Without a change in expression, the receptionist turned towards her computer.

"Hmm. It shows on our calendar that the complaint was set to be resolved on the 5th of September, aren't you a little early?"

Nodding in agreement, Karina handed her the tablet as she replied, "Y'all got real lucky this time. We were upgrading our distribution systems and some of the complaints localised to a region northwest of here, that was before you guys', got resolved because of it. Once they pulled out, you moved up the list hence our visit today."

The receptionist looked a little worried. This was a new scenario for her and was not involved in her employee training. This was the first time she ever saw a complaint resolution being pulled forward. Observing her hesitation, Karina calmly guided her, "Did you guys not receive a mail? No matter, why don't you scan this updated complaint ticket right here, it should update everything in your system."

Relieved, the receptionist faced the tablet in front of her computer for a quick second. Following an audible ding, the calendar on her screen immediately refreshed and three visitor badges popped out from the specialised fabricator behind her.

"Wonderful, here you go! Please wear these badges at all times. Following standard procedure, the badges have been programmed to only allow you access to the pertinent regions in the building. If you require further access, please contact my counterpart on the respective floors. Thank you, and have a Halcyon day!" She said with a blinding smile, as she handed the group their access cards.

Karina, Horace and Nathan were unperturbed as they made their way through the security scanner and towards the service elevator.

While in the elevator, the three scanned their badges and instead of the 18th, they pressed the button to the 20th floor.

Just as the elevator doors closed before them, they quickly unzipped their jumpsuits and adeptly folded and stored them in Horace's bag. Underneath their jumpsuit was another one belonging to Halcyon Inc. They were ready, even before the elevator reached the 10th floor.

Once settled, Horace spoke first while glancing at the dormant camera in the elevator, "Colin's getting better huh?"

"Not gonna lie. I was a little scared back there when she did the scan." Karina chimed in.

"Simon's been training him. I'd expect no less." Nathan assured them. As the elevator hit the 20th floor, Nathan reaffirmed the plan of action.

"Remember, don't interact with anyone for more than 10 seconds. Short and brief replies only. Don't talk too much, but don't be too curt with your responses. Don't let your eyes dart around too much. It is a simple in-and-out. We DON'T want to leave an impression. Understood?"