FutureBlog for January 18, 2106

January 18, 2106 posted by Pete III

Last night came and went and it didn't do either without event. Upon hearing the news that my flat had been tapped I was decidedly paranoid about even this blog. Should they discover how I am able to blog back in time, it would surely be something they could not resist to take control of and exploit for their own ends. How am I able to resist it? I come from a long line of Pete's that all had discipline as their middle names.

Then again, any rational human wouldn't believe that I was really blogging back in time at all--that I was simply making up a story that I could later turn into a movie script or something. Perhaps I'll go with that assumption for now.

As I entered my flat, I immediately scanned the area with my eyes. If my employers at the SNA had tapped my flat I wouldn't be able to spot the taps with special technology. The key in spotting SNA taps is finding something that looks so indigenous that it stands out.

That seems an odd concept, I know, but have a look around your home. You'll see things that should all look familiar to you. Things you've had for a good portion of your life as well as things you've only just acquired are on shelves, coffee tables and in closets. However, do you have a perfect mental record of every water faucet, door knob and cabinet fixture?

Of course, in the year 2106 we have technology that would blow away anything that you might find impressive, there, in 2006. You probably think nanotech is cutting edge.

I apologize, I don't mean to insult my predecessors. Obviously, if you're reading my grandfather's blog you are among the intelligent and open minded. Besides that, it's not your fault you live in the technological dark ages.

I stood just in side the door of my flat for a good ten minutes before I moved. I examined every part of my living room that I could see from the location I stood at. The couch, facing the huge wall of windows overlooking the next building over, was about ten feet from me. There was nothing suspicious about the couch. I knew Plecksi didn't vibrate enough for a parabolic sensor to pick up my voice from the next building over.

No--this would have to be something that could be added to my space. Something I wouldn't notice...

I began walking along the wall, bringing my eyes up and down it as I moved toward the windows. My flat is decorated with several sheets of electronic paper hung with Maghesive. There are three on the wall I walked along and three more on the opposing wall. I had them programmed to cycle through pictures of old train yards from the twentieth century. I examined each page closely, making sure they were the same models I bought three years ago when I moved in.

They were.

I glanced over to my coffee table. The books I had left there in case I ever had company were stacked neatly in order of size from largest on the bottom to smallest on top. I don't read actual books, so they stay right where I put them, unless, as I said, I have company and they do read books.

I reached the windows and slowly moved past them as well. It was night time at this point, but I needed more light, so I used my dev to change the Plecksi setting to day. The windows instantly illuminated the room, casting light down onto it as though the sun were up.

My shadow stretched across the floor in front of me, almost hitting the door to my bedroom. I found my attention drawn to the knob of my door. It was brass and strictly ornamental. I placed my hand on it and pulled. It didn't budge and there were no signs on the door around the knob to suggest it had been replaced--not a single scuff. I couldn't recall whether or not it had been brass when I moved in, but I suspected it had been.

However, trying to imagine the door knob being silver seemed to jog a memory of the knob on the inside of my flat's front door. I turned toward it but only moved as far as the island that separated the living room from the kitchen. I put my elbows on the island and glanced about the room only letting my eyes fall on the door after a few moments. You see, I had a clear recollection of the door featuring all matching brass fixtures when I moved in.

As I glanced over at it that moment, I could see the inside knob was silver.

I withdrew my dev from my pocket and placed it on the counter. I activated the floating keys, or FK as it's usually called, and began typing. The dev projected a 2D display image in front of me. I angled it so that it was only visible to me.

I was looking up the site for a security supply firm I had used on a case once before. I quickly found my way to their indigenous sensor line and found an item that resembled the door knob with disturbing similarity. I accessed the schematic and saw that it's entire surface was a sensor, able to read light, heat and audio impressions that it could then translate and transmit wirelessly to the nearest Airnet hub. From that point, the data could go to your company's computer system or even one person's dev.

I knew I couldn't examine it closely without letting on that I had found it. I switched of my dev and moved into the bedroom. Again, I took my time examining the space. I looked at the photos on my dresser as the EP they were printed on switched out a picture of my mother for a picture of my sister. Have I not mentioned her yet?

Then, I looked to the photo of my high school sweetheart, who, I'm afraid, I still carry a bit of a torch for. I picked it up and eyed it. I had set all of my other EP displays to cycle every forty-five seconds, but I held it for over a minute before it switched to a photo of Ayana and I at the holo-beach.

That was odd--I didn't remember adding that picture to the playlist of that EP nor did I recall specifying that this one EP should switch out photographs every seventy-five seconds instead of every forty-five.

Someone had been quite sloppy with this particular tap, though on a technical level I'm not sure how they were able to tap a piece of electronic paper. Perhaps it transmitted its data to the knob?

Regardless, I had found the taps in two rooms with just the bathroom left to work out.

Inside the bathroom, I quickly decided the mirror, itself, could be made of nanoskin. It can be produced in such a way as to make light reflect while still being able to impress visual data onto nanoparticle sensors.

Of course, there was one weakness to tapping any water closet--the shower. A good steaming shower would obscure any visual, audio or even heat data. I suppose with a sensitive enough sheet of nanoskin you might be able to get a sensitive enough reading that would allow you to clean up the data in Photoshop, but that would be quite cutting edge.

Still, Ryca had said my closet was the only tap-free space in my flat. I wondered if the EP sensor on my dresser was sensitive enough to pick up sound waves from the closet.

I could only assume that Ryca had taken that into consideration.

At that point, all I could do was wait for Ryca to show up in my closet. How she was going to do this without being detected by the taps was quite beyond me.

So, while I waited, I once again withdrew my dev, and began writing the last blog entry.

The rest will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm afraid I'm being watched by more traditional means as I type this...