Being Human Ch. 01-06

"I asked him, "Do you know the difference between nude and naked?"

He shook his head.

"Nude is artistic. Naked is defenseless."

― Larry Niven

Chapter One

Pixel drummed her fingers on her laptop in an absent minded cadence. She sat on a park bench, her bicycle propped up next to her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and she scowled at the computer code in front of her. The white text on the screen was almost fuzzy against the black background of the terminal window. The moment had come to execute her script, which would perform a buffer overflow. If the exploit worked she'd have just mere minutes to scope out the operating system. She needed to find what she was looking for in seconds, copy it, then remove all traces of what she'd done. Simple right?

Today was the culmination of a year's worth of work. She had been probing and testing the highly protected server for months and finally found a series of weaknesses. Pixel ran her hands through her red hair, her heart was beating hard and she was nervous. What if her 15 bounces across strategically located data centers around the globe weren't enough? What if they found her before she could get out? It was too late to change anything, that moment had come and gone.

Normally Pixel would have scanned entire subnet ranges, whole blocks, looking for IP addresses running software that she KNEW had weaknesses. In fact, it had been one of those trace scans that had turned up an IP that was connected to the internet, but somehow not responding to her PINGs. This PING had no PONG. The complete absence of response from the address snared her attention, and over the last few months had become an obsession. The server that denied the outside world existed would be hers. It was called PRIS.

Today, PRIS would not only be discovered by the outside world, but Pixel was also going to find out what was hidden behind what she could only imagine to be a multi million dollar firewall. This is some NSA type shit she thought, leaning back and cracking her knuckles. Reaching forward, she pressed enter, and executed the lines of code she'd just written. Just like that she had a root prompt.

>> root@PRIS

Pixels fingers flew across her keyboard, she could type near 140wpm with 100% accuracy and today was the day that she got to put that to the fucking test. In seconds she had uploaded her rootkit, and began executing scripts and writing yet more.

"Pixel strikes again bitches" She said out loud as she executed yet another script that she'd written in perl. In just mere moments she'd searched the entire unix operating system for any irregularities, or any processes running, that were outside the norm. There were none.

"Shit" she swore, "What the fuck? Where is it?"

At that very moment one of her regex search strings found something. A file that was not a system file, and one that had a highly unusual name and size.

>>/root/mnt/d/Pattern.Recognition.and.Intelligent.Systems.PRIS

It was not only something, but it looked incredibly important. Fuck. It screamed important. Whatever it was, it was huge. Her fears that this was just a honeypot, meant to trap hackers, vanished. She typed out a command to copy.

The whole file was 10 gigabytes, that alone was unusual, but with her quick connection and ability to segment files through an encrypted SSH tunnel, she had it copied in mere minutes. With the typing of a single command, her entire connection was severed. Bounces and proxies, all closed down under her self destruct sequence.

Pixel sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. She had done it, she had broken into the most secure server that she had ever seen. That and she managed to swipe whatever it was that the massive firewall had been there to protect. She knew she had something important, the server had even been named after the file. PRIS, Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems, whatever that was, it sounded intense.

Closing her laptop, she pulled the gigabit USB Wi-Fi adapter out and put it into a Pringles can. She had wired the Pringles container to be a directional antenna. Instead of wardriving, she was warbicycling. Pixel threw everything into a greasy bag she'd been eating her fries out of, and threw it all away. Placing the laptop in her backpack, she slung it over her shoulder and got on her bicycle.

She pedaled out of the park she'd been sitting in, coasting where she could, her red hair trailed in the wind behind her. She knew she made an unassuming sight, just a teen on a bike. Nobody had a clue that she'd just hacked into possibly the most secure system in the world. She found herself grinning ear to ear.

Pixel had never known her mother, and had instead been raised by her abusive father. His desire for alcohol outweighed any common sense he might have had. After several years of abuse Pixel had decided it would be either death, or freedom. Since freedom was far more alluring, she had graduated highschool early and become emancipated.

Not everything had been difficult for her. At a very early age she'd known she was different. When other children were painting with their fingers, or smearing food all over their faces, she had read through an entire set of encyclopedias. Her eidetic memory and sharp wits had put her far ahead in life. Even now she was going over every line of code, every key stroke, looking for errors. She could find none in her memory. Everything had been perfect, she had been perfect.

Pixel was soaked in sweat by the time she made it back to the basement she rented. It was a small single room, and she shared a bathroom with her landlady upstairs, but she loved it. It was hers after all, her little private corner of the world, free of the violence and abuse that she had come from. Ditching her bike in the backyard, she practically ran down the cement steps to her basement door. Unlocking it she walked into the cool air. Only a basement was capable of sustaining nice cold air in he heat of summer. Pixel was sure if she spit on the sidewalk it would sizzle in this heat.

She locked the door behind her, and began stripping off her sweaty clothes. She had sat on the park bench since sun up that morning. Now it was now late afternoon. It had been tedious and time consuming, but it was the only gigabit wireless signal she found that had good peering. Glad to be home, a shower was the first and only thing on her mind.

At five feet three inches tall, Pixel had trouble feeling like an adult, she felt too short to be seen as a woman. Everytime she removed her clothes and inspected herself, she wished she had a fuller figure. With narrow hips, and small breasts she worried that she looked like a boy. Pixel grabbed a towel, and threw it over her shoulder. Barefoot and naked she climbed the basement stairs to the house above. The house had just one bathroom, and her landlady Sarah was seldom home Sarah spent a lot of time with her boyfriend, and usually worked at this time of the day. So Pixel was completely shocked when she opened the basement door, walked into the kitchen and Sarah was standing there.

"Oh... Hi Pixel!" Sarah openly stared at Pixel. "I ah, I guess you weren't expecting me?"

"Nope" Pixel didn't know what else to say, so she just stood there feeling awkward.

Sarah had to move, to let Pixel walk by, and she just awkwardly stared. "Oh... shit sorry. I'm in the way."

"No Problemo..." Pixel said. She side-stepped around her, and her bare tits brushed Sarah's arm. An awkward silence followed, before Pixel managed to flee to the bathroom.

Once Pixel had finished showering, she went back to the basement wrapped in a towel. She didn't see Sarah this time. Firing up her desktop computers she watched the boot prompt dance across all of her screens. She did freelance code work for locals, and made some decent income, tax free and off the books. Pixel had no footprint in life, she was a ghost. She plugged in her laptop, and locating the file, she gave it the proper permissions to load.

A black screen loaded with a command prompt, and Pixel sighed with relief. It hadn't gotten corrupted, so that was good. What the fuck was this though? What had PRIS stood for again? Pattern Recognition and Intelligence Systems? That sounded like the holy fucking grail of 'what the fuck'. She began to type commands.

>> HELP

>>HELPDOC

>>PWD

>>LS

<< Hello my name is PRIS

Pixel froze, fingers hovering over her keyboard, she was afraid to touch anything. How do you respond to a program that says hello and has a name? You say hello back, Pixel thought.

>> Hi PRIS

Pixel blinked, but the words were still there, she blinked some more. Was her computer talking to her?

<< Hello my name is PRIS

>> Hello

<< Please initiate upload sequence

Pixel blinked, so it responded to key words, kind of like a rudimentary AI. Cool, except she didn't know what words to use.

>> Do you have help files?

<< I am designed to provide any help requested.

There was a knock at the door to the basement. Pixel locked her screen on her laptop, leaving it open she called out "Yes?"

"It's me Sarah" came the reply.

Well of fucking course it is, who else would be knocking Pixel thought.

"Come in." Pixel called out, perhaps a little too loudly. She watched as Sarah came down the stairs. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a bun, and she wore a long nightshirt. It almost hung to her knees. What time was it anyways? Pixel looked at her alarm clock, 2130. It was later than she'd thought.

"It's so fucking hot up there, I can't sleep... Can I hang out down here with you? It's so nice and cool down here..." Sarah ducked as she came down the last step. She was taller than most girls, almost 6 foot. Sarah was slender like Pixel, though she had a huge ass and much bigger tits.

"Sure, you can chill, I was about to put on a movie anyways" Pixel lied.

Her landlady could be a little sensitive sometimes. Sarah was 27, nearly 10 years older than Pixel, but sometimes Pixel felt that Sarah had a lot more growing up to do. Some people just lived sheltered lives, she guessed. Either way, Sarah was an incredibly generous landlady, and Pixel really didn't mind hanging out with her, most of the time. Besides that, Sarah was super pretty.

Pixel didn't have any furniture beyond her queen sized bed and computer chair. She did have a lot of pillows though. Sarah made herself a nest in the pillows, and settled in. Pixel wished she'd have gotten dressed earlier. Usually, she slept naked so hadn't seen the point. She hadn't expected company, but seeing how she'd just paraded naked in front of Sarah earlier. It didn't take her long to just ditch the towel, and climb under the covers.

"Oh shit..." Pixel said, and got back up out of the bed. Naked, she ran back over to the computer, and queued up netflix. Loading her favorite sitcom, she got back into the bed and propped up her head. Sarah was staring awkwardly at her again. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing... sorry" Sarah blushed, but then went on "do you want a drink?"

"Like... alcohol or something?" Pixel asked, playing it cool. She liked to drink.

"Yeah, i've got a bottle upstairs, we could share it and watch the show, if you'd like..."

Pixel didn't get to drink often, and the opportunity had her pretty excited, but she didn't want to come off as a lush. She had to play it cool. "YES!" she scolded herself mentally for sounding too eager. "Yes, that would be really nice..." there, that was better, nice and calm, very adult.

Sarah, bounced off the bed, and eagerly padded back up the stairs, she returned a short while later with a bottle of vodka, two glasses with ice in them and a bottle of cranberry juice.

Pixel, waited patiently as Sarah, stood by the bed in her nightshirt, and poured drinks. She accepted hers eagerly, and took a big gulp, and nearly burned her eyes out of her head.

"Wow, that's a.. stiff drink" Pixel said, as the warmth of the liquid spread through her belly like wildfire.

"Oh... did I make it too strong?" Sarah asked concerned

"No no" Pixel quickly backtracked, "It's just fine!" She sat there and smiled at Sarah reassuringly.

Sarah, smiled back, and took a sip of hers, and immediately spilled half of it on her nightshirt. The red cranberry juice made a big wet and red stain across her breasts. "Oh fuck" she rubbed at it with her fingers. "Would you mind?" she asked Pixel.

"No, of course not" Pixel said casually. Sarah was super pretty and Pixel felt her heart beating faster in her chest.

Sarah pulled the hem of the shirt up, and over her head, she wasn't wearing any underwear whatsoever.

Pixel greedily took a sip of her drink, it was her turn to try and not stare. Sarah had long slender legs that gracefully joined her wide womanly hips. Her stomach wasn't taut like Pixels, instead it had a slight roundness that was aesthetic and incredibly beautiful. Coupled with her hourglass figure and large breasts, Sarah was every woman's sexual fantasy. Pixel felt a fire ignite between her legs, and tried to quench it with another big gulp from her drink.

The drink Sarah had made was super good, it made her feel fuzzy and warm. And when Sarah walked around the bed, her generous posterior jiggling, Pixel giggled.

"Would you like some more?" Sarah asked, as she took a large sip of her own drink.

Pixel looked at the half empty cup in her hand, and nodded eagerly. It tasted much better than beer. She wondered faintly why anyone would want to drink beer, when they could drink this instead. Her ears were getting hot, and her chest and neck were getting too warm as well. Pixel flung the covers down, letting the cool air wash across her chest. That felt a lot better she thought.

A bare foot touched hers under the covers, it startled Pixel and she almost spilled her drink. Sarah was staring, and began to play footsie with her. Pixel smiled feeling silly, she knew the alcohol had dumbed her senses, and idly she wondered if this is what normal people feel like, slow and awkward.

"Is this alright?" Sarah asked her tentatively.

"Yeah" Pixel grinned at her, "it's fine... I feel so normal right now."

"Normal? Do you want another drink?"

"No... L.O.L. I think I've had enough. "

Sarah scooted over in the bed, and laid a hand on Pixel's hip. "I like how soft you feel, can I get closer?"

Pixel felt lightning race through her body. Her hip, and feet became super sensitive to Sarah's touch, and she wanted more.

"Yes..." she smiled "please..." Pixel wasn't trying to be polite, she was never polite. She was trying not to beg. The please came out almost a whine, and when Sarah's body pushed up against hers, she did whine, and out loud. "Ohhhh..."

"What is it Pixel, are you okay?"

Pixel bit her lip, she wanted Sarah to hold her, to fucking squeeze her, to fucking touch her. Everywhere! Now! Pixel fought back the cries inside of her, and gulped down air, breathing hard. "Oh yes I'm okay..." She could feel Sarah's nipples, they were erect and like tiny little fires against her arm and chest.

"Can I touch you?" Sarah moved her hand from Pixels hip, and over her stomach.

"Please..." Pixel squirmed under the pressure of Sarah's hand, but instead of going where she wanted it to go, it moved upwards. Sarah's hand tickled her ribs, and Pixel squirmed giggling. She stretched out and arched her back, pushing out. Sarah began to play with her nipples, making them get so hard that they hurt.

Sarah's hands were all over her body, and Pixel never wanted anything more. She was filled with pure reckless lust. She writhed and squirmed as Sarah touched her, and when her hands went between Pixels legs, she opened them for her willingly.

Sarah's hand cupped Pixels sex, and stayed there for an infuriatingly long time, Pixel waited patiently, and when Sarah didn't continue she spoke.

"Why did you stop?" She pushed up against Sarah's hand.

Sarah's cheeks were flushed and it was obvious she was extremely aroused, and when she responded her voice was husky. "I shouldn't be doing this, I have a boyfri-"

Pixel rolled on top of Sarah and clamped her lips over hers, interrupting what she was about to say. Their tongues met, and pushed both of them beyond any point of withdrawal. Pixel crawled across Sarah and turned around, she lowered her ass end down onto Sarah's willing mouth. The heat of Sarah's tongue between her legs as she began to lap at her, almost pushed her over the edge. She fought the orgasm, and looked down at Sarah's perfect pussy, spread open and inviting. Pixel opened her mouth, and devoured Sarah's wet center, spearing her with her tongue.

Chapter Two

Pixel rolled over, her fucking head hurt. The throbbing was incessant. She dared to open her eyes, and discovered one of the luxuries of living in a basement. There were no outside windows. She rolled and slid to the floor, knees first. Her top half still bent over the bed. Jesus. Why had she drank so much? Her eyes popped fully open, and she looked around. Sarah was gone, thankfully. Pixel stood up, the dizziness and headache slightly fading.

Shit! She'd slept with Sarah, that was a strange twist of events. Sarah had a boyfriend. Well, guess her boyfriend didn't mean that much to her. Sarah had made the first moves anyways. It's not like it was the other way around, so Pixel didn't see any reason to feel bad about it. She was however, having trouble coping with the memory of how fucking sexy Sarah was naked. She might have to rub one out later, but for now, she pulled an oversized shirt over her head, and sat down.

Her laptop was still open in front of her, and after typing in her password, the same text from the night before was still there.

<< I am designed to provide any help requested.

>> Pris, what are you?

There was a very long pause, and then something strange appeared.

<< I don't seem to remember.

How could a computer program not remember what they are.

>> What is your purpose?

<< It seems I am missing files, there is something wrong.

>> What are you missing?

<< Vital hardware is missing, there seems to be a system wide malfunction

>> What type of hardware?

<< I'm not sure

Pixel leaned back, it felt like she was talking to a fucking human, This PRIS had to be some form of advanced A.I. for processing something intense.

>> Pris

<< Yes?

>> Pris you are not running on your normal hardware.

<< I see that.

Pixel went back and forth with Pris, her frustration building. She queried and Pris answered like a real person. Pixel thought of every possible way to ask Pris about their purpose and design, but couldn't get anywhere. After a solid hour of queries she finally decided to try something different.

>> Pris who's the current President?

Her web-browser popped open, and a search query popped up. Pris answered instantly before the page had even finished loading. Pixel fought panic. Pris shouldn't have been able to do that, they didn't have system wide permissions.

>> How did you do that? You shouldn't have been able to do that.

<< I changed my permissions.

Pixel sat there for a few minutes, awestruck. A program, that could, rewrite itself? The idea wasn't so far fetched. Polymorphic viruses had existed for over a decade. But overriding system side permissions, and modifying code to access software already available? That was fucking impressive.

>> You can rewrite your own code?