The Blue Nowhere-SA (51 page)

"Ours?" he whispered.

She nodded.

Gillette thought back to the last few nights they'd been together before he'd surrendered to the prison authorities to start his sentence, lying in bed with her, pulling her close He closed his eyes. Lord, Lord, Lord He remembered the surveillance at Elana's house in Sunnyvale the night he escaped from CCU - he'd assumed that the children the police saw were her sister's. But one of them must have been this boy.

I saw your e-mails. When you talk about Ed it doesn't exactly sound like he's perfect husband material He gave a faint laugh. "You never told me."

"I was so mad at you I didn't want you to know. Ever."

"But you don't feel that way now?"

"I'm not sure."

He gazed at the boy's thick, curly black hair. That was his mother's. He'd gotten her beautiful dark eyes and round face too. "Hold him up, would you?"

She helped her son stand on her lap. His quick eyes studied Gillette carefully. Then the boy became aware of the Plexiglas. He reached forward with his fat baby fingers and touched it, smiling, fascinated, trying to understand how he could see through it but not be able to touch something on the other side. He's curious, Gillette thought. Thafs what he got from me.

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Then a guard appeared and announced that visiting hours were over and Elana eased the boy to the floor and stood. Her mother took the child's hand and Ed and his grandmother walked out of the room. Elana and Gillette faced each other across the Plexiglas divide.

"We'll see how it goes," she said. "How's that?"

"That's all I'm asking."

She nodded.

Then they turned in separate directions and, as Elana disappeared out the visitor's door, the guard led Wyatt Gillette back into the dim corridor toward his cell, where his machine awaited.

Bot (from robot): A software program that, operating on its own, assists users or other programs. Also referred to as an agent.

Bug: An error in software that prevents or interferes with the operation of the program. CCU: The Computer Crimes Unit of the California State Police.

Chip-jock: A computer worker who specializes in hardware development or sales. Civilians: Those individuals not involved in the computer industry. Code: Software.

Code cruncher: An unimaginative software programmer who performs simple or mundane programming tasks.

Codeslinger:A talented software programmer, whose work is considered innovative. Also referred to as a samurai.

Crack: To illicitly break into a computer, usually to steal or destroy data or to prevent others from using the system.

Demon (or daemon): An unobtrusive, often hidden, software program that isn't specifically activated by a user command but that operates autonomously. It usually becomes active when certain conditions within the computer where it resides occur.

Firewall: A computer security system that prevents unwanted data from entering the computer it's intended to guard.

Freeware: Software made available by its developers at no charge.

Guru: A brilliant computer expert, a WIZARD.

Hack: Originally this word meant to quickly write a software program for a limited purpose though it evolved to mean the study and writing of innovative software programs. Increasingly the term is used by
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CIVILIANS to mean breaking into computer systems for malicious purposes - a practice more properly referred to as CRACKING. The word is also used as a noun to mean a clever piece of programming. ICQ. (I seek you): A subnetwork of the Internet similar to the IRC but devoted to private conversations. Similar to instant messaging.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat): A popular subnetwork of the Internet, in which a number of participants can have real-time conversations in online chat rooms devoted to specific interests.

.JPG (or.jpeg) for joint photographers experts group): A format for digitizing, compressing and storing pictures on computers. Pictures in such formats are designated by the extension.jpg after the file name. Kludge: A quickly written, often improvised, software program that serves a particular purpose, often intended to fix a BUG or remedy some other setback in computer operations. Machine: A computer.

MUD (Multiuser Domain, Multiuser Dimension or Multiuser Dungeons): A subnetwork related to the IRC in which participants play real-time games or engage in simulated activities. MUDhead: One who participates in MUDs.

Packet: A small string of digitized data. All information transmitted over the Internet - e-mail, text, music, pictures, graphics, sounds - is broken down into packets, which are then reassembled at the recipient's end into a usable form.

Packet-Sniffer: A program loaded on a computer ROUTER, SERVER or individual computer to divert PACKETS to a third-party's computer, usually for the purpose of illicitly reading a user's messages or learning passcodes and other information.

Phishing: Searching the Internet for information about someone.

Phreak: To break into telephone systems primarily for the purpose of placing free calls, eavesdropping or disrupting service. The word is also used to describe one who engages in this practice. Root: In the UNIX operating system the word refers to the SYSADMIN or other individual in charge of a computer or network. It can also describe that control itself, as in "seizing root", which means taking over a computer.

Router: A computer that directs PACKETS through the Internet to their desired destination. Script: Software.

Server: A large, fast computer on a network - such as the Internet - on which are stored data, Web sites and files, which users can access.

Shareware: Software made available by its developers at a nominal charge or for limited uses. Source Code: The form in which a programmer writes software, using letters, numbers and typographic symbols in one of a number of programming languages. The source code is then converted into machine code, which is what actually runs on the computer. The source code is usually kept secret and is highly

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guarded by its developer or owner.

Sysadmin (for systems administrator): The individual in charge of the computer operation and/or network for an organization.

Unix: A sophisticated computer operating system, like Windows. It is the operating system most computers on the Internet use.

Warez: Illegally copied commercial software.

. wav (for waveform): A format for digitizing and storing sounds on computers. Sounds in such format are designated by the extension.wav after the file name.

Wizard: A brilliant computer expert, a GURU.

The End

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