by
Frederick Rustam
Part Six, HACKING THE BENEFACTOR, TURNING A BUS
| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five |
_____________________________________________________________________
Questor
Institute is a new, experimental technical school where
bright-but-poor
high-school graduates on full scholarships spend
two
years seeking to become wizards of Internet sorcery by studying
the
science and philosophy of information retrieval from textual
databases
such as the World Wide Web. In Part Five, "What Does
Information
Want?," Kevin and Marylou learned that judging the
reliability
of Internet information is not an easy task, that the
Internet
can be a self-referential place, and that information is
animated
by a widespread desire for its freedom. Then, they were
assigned
to discover an academic example of "information transfer."
_____________________________________________________________________
Hotwire
During
their first year at Questor Institute, Kevin and Marylou had
been
unable to uncover one of the two school secrets about which
they
were inordinately curious. The reasoning behind the wooden block
aptitude
test they'd been given before beginning their matriculation
remained
a professional secret.
"I
could probably find a testing manual somewhere in the Student
Counselor's
office," suggested Kevin. "It would explain things."
"Nothing
doing," vetoed Marylou. "Burglary is out. Forget it."
"Hacking
is a kind of burglary, and we're doing that."
"It's
different. You're a computer whiz---you aren't a black-bag
man.
Besides, they might not forgive us for an office hack."
The
two had had better luck in hacking The Benefactor. A few weeks
after
his matriculation, Kevin had been selected by the Rector as
one
of a few students to help maintain the school's computer network
infrastructure.
For awhile, he played his new role straight, making
himself
very helpful in solving hardware and software problems, and
saving
Questor the cost of contracted maintenance. He had access to
the
cable room where the school's servers were located. In there,
he
hotwired a secret connection between one of the student-access
file
servers and the isolated faculty server where the school's
confidential
records were stored. With this hotwire woven into the
cable
tangle, plus some opsystem finagling, he and his girlfriend
could
"explore" in relative safety. Marylou did most of the document
exploration
among the files of the faculty server, while Kevin kept
an
eye out for her possible detection.
"The
online security in this place is minimal, he declared. "It's
as
if they want to see which students will take advantage of that."
"Yeah.
I have the feeling that the school is testing us in several
subtle
and secret ways. We're the experimental class. They have to
study
us to refine their pedagogical techniques," agreed Marylou.
She
ended the conversation with a caution. "We mustn't be the ones
to
find out what they'll do with serious rulebreakers, though. Are
you
sure there isn't any access-logging on the faculty server?"
"The
software provides for it, but it's disabled. I've never heard
of
an outfit which does that. Do you think they're drawing us in?"
"Maybe.
But perhaps we're just too anxious about what we're doing.
We
aren't exactly career criminals. I'm not, anyway," she joked.
"Very
funny. How close are you to finding out who The Benefactor is?
When
you do, we can let up on our hacking for awhile."
"Finding
a file with his unknown name isn't easy, Kevin. But there
ought
to be something filed, some clue to his identity."
Discovery
Then
Marylou did retrieve something from 'official' text.
She
hustled Kevin out into the garden behind the school building
in
the frosty night when the other students were either studying
or
socializing in the Rec Room. "You're not going to believe what
I've
found."
"Let
me guess: our Benefactor is Bill Gates."
Marylou
ignored the not-entirely-inappropriate jest. "I discovered a
file
folder full of Web stuff about the infamous hacker, 'Crackola.'
He's
the only hacker the administration has any accumulated info on.
Why?...
And why is this folder in the central records instead of
in
the Computer Ethics teacher's resource material files?"
"Our
Benefactor is Crackola?... Where'd he get the money? I thought
he
was flipping hamburgers, now."
"Why
else would Admin collect info about him? To try to understand
and
anticipate him, I think."
"I
think we need more evidence."
"There
is more. One of the webpage articles in the folder was an
obscure
gossip piece about Crackola's rumored involvement in a gilt-
edged
commercial website that's made zillions for its entrepreneurs.
The
article claimed the other entrepreneurs gave Crackola a piece
of
the pie because they felt sorry for him, and because they wanted
his
security know-how. The story claimed that he doesn't care about
mansions
and yachts, that he intends to spend his bundle making
amends
to society by establishing a 'foundation for the study of
ethical
computing.'"
"Seems
an unlikely project for Crackola." Kevin was disappointed.
"Is
that all you found?"
"It's
the clue we're looking for! We have a hypothesis.... All we
need
to do now is verify it."
"How?"
"By
using the same 'social engineering' Crackola was famous for.
We
call him, pretend to be a Questor Admin person, and trick him
into
revealing that he's The Benefactor. You can do that. You've
studied
and used this guy's techniques."
Kevin
ground his teeth as he wrestled with her challenge. He almost
regretted
beginning this search for the mysterious Benefactor. His
Questor
scholarship was seriously at stake, here.
She
persisted. "Well, will you? I've done my part."
"Okay.
I'll do it. But how do we get his phone number? Surely,
Crackola
isn't listed in the white pages under his real name."
"No,
but his number may be listed in an Admin computer file.
I
figure they wouldn't put it into somebody's desk Rolodex."
"Good
luck."
Contact
"I've
got it---I think I have, anyway." Marylou flourished a scrap
of
paper. "I found a file of important phone numbers. Crackola's
name
wasn't listed there, but I did find a number for... get this:
'Oversight.'
That's just gotta be The Benefactor."
"Could
be. Let's try it."
After
the other students had retired for the night, Kevin and Marylou
crept
downstairs to the public phone in the Rec Room.
"In
his hacking days, he was a night-owl. I hope he still is."
"Keep
it short. The longer you talk, the more likely you'll reveal
yourself,"
warned Marylou.
Kevin
punched 'Oversight's' number as if the keypad were hot to the
touch.
The phone rang only once at the other end of the connection
before
it was answered.
"Good
evening, Kevin. Why don't you and Marylou come over here
for
awhile, and we'll have an illuminating discussion."
Kevin
clapped his hand over the mouthpiece, and his eyes widened
with
shock at the surprise greeting he'd received. "It's him!"
Marylou
knew right away that her file exploration had been
successful.
Kevin removed his hand and replied.
"Okay.
Uh, where exactly is 'over here'?"
"The
house next to the Institute."
"You
mean the Rector's house?"
"No.
The ordinary-looking house on the other side. Don't tell
anyone
where you're going. It's our secret now." Click!
Kevin's
hand shook as he replaced the handset.
"He
knows everything. He's still The Great Crackola."
Revelation
"But
now I only hack Questor Institute---my school." The Benefactor
was
only in his forties, but his hair was gray and his face gaunt.
His
years of on-the-run hacking and imprisonment had taken their
toll.
He was ironically dressed in a workman's gray coverall, but
he
relaxed in his leather easychair with an air of authority.
"Ernest...?"
Kevin recognized, uncertainly, one of the school's
janitors.
The man's wig, mustache, and dark glasses were missing.
"Yes---but
not really. Ernest is a disguise I use for on-the-scene
observation
of the happenings at Questor. Using it and my monitoring
equipment,
I've had you two under observation for days, especially
since
you installed that hotwire to the faculty server. Brilliant;
but
the best hacking is done purely remotely. I was a master of the
remote
hack... but that was way back then. Now, aside from my primary
hobby
of watching the school, I get my kicks from doing what you're
doing
in your classes: searching the Web. It's not as exciting as
cracking
system security, but it can be more challenging."
The
two students sat on the edge of the sofa facing The Benefactor
across
a coffee table. They were enraptured by his words and were
impressed
by the simplicity of their surroundings. His preference
was
still for things electronic. Kevin wanted in the worst way
to
visit the man's secret Questor-monitoring room.
"The
World Wide Web was just getting big when I went to prison for
the
last time. After I got out---and during the agonizing period
of
time when I wasn't allowed to use a computer---it had become the
People's
Medium, a playground for all who can exploit it in some way.
I
fell in love with the Web. I switched from being Crackola to being
'Webola.'
Now, I hack the Web, so to speak. After I got rich and
respectable,
and no longer watched by the FBI, I decided that what
the
Internet needed was a tech school for training kids intensively
in
the art of retrieving information from it. You're my first class
of
guinea pigs. I'm paying your school expenses while you learn how
to
retrieve like online professionals.
"I've
got some mega-wealthy men backing this project now---names
I
can't speak but who have a big stake in the commerce of the Web.
Questor
will jolt the world of academia as they find out about
it.
My guys don't want the professors to get their noses too far
out
of joint about a non-college information science school, but
it's
inevitable they'll grumble about Questor.
"I
don't know about you, but I feel the Web's future is not only
more
wonderful than we imagine, it's more wonderful than we can
imagine."
He smirked at this variation of the "queerer universe"
quotation
the students had searched as homework. "Decades from now,
you
and I'll be viewed as pioneers. And---my good works revealed---
I'll
be in the history books as a good guy and be admired by more
than
just adolescent hackers. I'll never reach the Bill Gates level
of
historical significance, but I won't only be remembered as 'that
damn
Crackola.'
"From
being bewitched by system security, I've evolved to being
enraptured
by the many aspects of the People's Information: its
formats,
its indexing and retrieval, and its significance. When I
was
Crackola, I took all that stuff for granted. Now, I appreciate
the
hard work that so many were doing to make it all work for us
while
I was just stealing files and leaving snotty notes in
people's
computers."
The
Benefactor paused. "I'm sounding like one of your teachers.
I
wish I could be one of them and have fun teaching you retrieval.
I
wish I could shock academia by matriculating for an IT degree.
But
my past has caught up with me and left me behind in its dust
and
stink. I'm condemned to be an information hobbyist."
"And
a benefactor to our generation of Internet information seekers,"
added
Marylou, charitably.
"Yes,
a benefactor... Now, what am I going to do with you two? You've
winkled
me out. You know who The Benefactor is and who he was."
"Your
secret is safe with us, sir," said Kevin, hastily.
"Absolutely
safe," added Marylou. "Mum's the word."
"I
made it easy for you to discover me; you must have noticed that.
I
hope to identify and rechannel all the wild hacker talent within
Questor's
student body.... I don't know, though: hacking may be
a
basic skill in tomorrow's security-conscious society. It's
paradoxical
that as information receives greater protection from
those
who would swipe it, an ability to hack it may be necessary
even
for honest infotrievers if they're to compete with those who
aren't
on the up-and-up.... Maybe my old memories are influencing
my
thinking. I wish I could see further ahead---and not so far
into
the past."
"Questor
is the only atonement society needs from you," insisted
Marylou.
"It's what you'll be most remembered for, I'm sure."
"So
here's how I'll reward you for your enterprise in discovering me
through
the hacking techniques you shouldn't have learned: upon your
graduation,
you two and any others who find me out, will have nice
gold
medallions of meritorious accomplishment hung around your necks
---instead
of hemp ropes---and you'll get to keep your school laptops.
The
other students'll wonder what you did to win all that, but you
won't
be able to tell. It's what you deserve for violating the
school's
nonexistent rules against hacking."
The
students found his logic amusing. "Thanks," they said, in unison.
Kevin
added, "I guess that means you aren't going to show us the cool
setup
you use to hack Questor."
"Correct.
And you'll have to progress through the school with the
guilty
knowledge---knowledge you gained on your own initiative---
that
Big Brother is watching you. If there's to be any punishment
for
your gratuitous hacking, that'll be it.... Now, get back to
your
workstations, get good at infotrieval, and make me proud
of
what I've wrought."
The Transformative Nature of
Information
In
retrieval class the next day, the teacher began his presentation
with
some unusual philosophic remarks about information and life.
"I
want you to think about the transformative nature of information.
When
you're in some real-world place, especially an outdoor place,
all
your senses absorb its features. Sight, sound, smell, touch---
these
provide you with information about your surroundings and give
you
a real-life experience.... If, on the other hand, you watch a
sound
video of that same place, you're several steps removed from it.
But
information about it still reaches you through two of your senses,
via
the fidelity of the video system. Watching a video seems less of
a
life experience, though, and more of an information experience.
"A
still photograph of that place seems even less like life and more
like
information. A text about the place seems to be only information.
But
life is never removed from any information experience because all
information
experiences are abstractions from life experiences....
Think
about that.
"An
abstraction of life is a depiction of it in some conventional
information
mode: a video, a photo, text, speech. Informational
abstractions
of life can themselves be further abstracted. An
'abstract'
briefly summarizes the contents of document's text.
An
'annotation' or a shorter 'caption' describes a graphic such
as
a photograph or a drawing. You saw this when you searched Web
image
databases for a picture of the inspiring Mt. Ben Lomond.
"So
when we absorb information from the Internet, especially from
the
graphic Web, we're having a kind of life experience beyond our
immediate
environment. When Internet information enters our minds,
it
transports us elsewhere, mentally, transforms us into infonauts.
Those
who find real life to be an enjoyable experience should find
the
Internet enjoyable. The Internet is a comprehensive abstraction
of
life.
"For
your homework, then, I want you to retrieve a webpage which is
an
abstraction of life in a particular place, at a particular time.
This
page consists of one photograph and an annotation for it. I
want
you to gather information about that photograph, info which
the
photographer neglected to gather when he took the picture. He
solicits
this info---but you'll give what you find to me instead
of
him. Bring up my assignment webpage:
There's a citizen webpage with a photo of
a San Francisco
MUNI trolleybus making a tight right turn
at an acute-angle
intersection of two streets. The turn is
so tricky that the
bus driver has a switch on his dashboard
which controls the
intersection's traffic signal. With this,
he can stop traffic
on the street he has to turn into---at a
stopline well-back
from the intersection---so he can make his
turn without hitting
a vehicle in the oncoming lane. The photo
depicts this situation
nicely. Imagine yourself being there and
photographing it.
"None
of you is from San Francisco, so nobody'll have an unfair
advantage
in solving this one. I want the URL of the webpage, the
route
number and name of the bus route, and the names of the two
intersecting
streets. Since you won't be able to read the street
signs
or the bus sign in the photo, you'll have to consult other
Web
sources to obtain these data by a process of discovery,
examination,
and deduction.
"The
photograph contains a clue you'll need to verify the names of
the
two streets. But I want more than that: I want you to discover
and
quote verification information from two documents you'll find
on
the Web---citizen webpages not found on the MUNI website. These
two
verifying webpages probably won't turn up in your search for
the
assignment page; the key for finding them is contained in the
photograph's
annotation.... I found them by accident, so to speak.
"To
save you time on this problem, I'd like to give you a hint about
where
in San Francisco the intersection is located; I really would.
But
information professionals don't usually get hints from someone
who
knows where on the Web information is to be found. They have to
use
their own resources to find it. I want you to strive to answer
this
problem so you'll know how difficult it can be to find info
on
the Web which you know is there.
"View
yourselves as information detectives, people. List in your
report
the main steps you took to solve this retrieval problem.
Your
reports are due tomorrow. Happy hunting!"
As
they left the classroom, Marylou sighed. "The honeymoon is over
in
this guy's course. Now we have to spend our nights searching
the
Web to recreate his personal information adventures."
"And
enjoy 'em the correct way," added Kevin. "Who the heck would
want
to know something like this? I know it's supposed to train us
to
find information---but a bus making a turn? A streetcar named
'94
| Jette'?... This guy's some kind of transit freak."
"People
will want us to find odder stuff on the Web than transit
info.
Today's retrieval problem sounds fairly easy. His problem
statement
probably contains some textwords from that webpage with
the
photo. To save time, we should use those significant words,
like
he did in his 'biggest ocean wave' example."
"I
think you've caught a bad case of my overconfidence, Marylou.
Remember
his 'queerer universe' example? What if his turning-bus
problem
statement deliberately uses words different from those in
the
text on that webpage? I smell a deception here. If anything,
this
assignment seems too easy."
Marylou
ignored Kevin's skepticism. "You know, I think this example
is
a metaphor for our personal progress at Questor. Last night, we
made
a tight turn, we made it without colliding with anyone, and we
used
a special device to do it---just like that bus driver did."
"Yowzah.
It's a clear road and full speed ahead for us, now."
"Right.
So long as we keep our trolleys on the wire."
THE END of THE QUESTORS
____________________________________________________________________
©
2002 by Frederick Rustam. Frederick
Rustam is a retired civil
servant.
He formerly indexed technical reports for the Department of
Defense.
He writes science fiction for Web ezines as a hobby. He
studies
and enjoys the Internet as a hobby.