Saturday, October 30th, 1999. 9:43 PM.
...
......
Tha-clunk!
Whirrrr...
Niiiiiin...
Brrrrmbrrrmbr-brmbrm!
Clickclickclickclickclickclickclick....
MRRRRR!
beep!
The faint sounds of an old personal computer starting up fill an otherwise empty and noiseless void.
On the screen, various commands related to hardware are run as a Packard Bell logo appears in the top left.
“America grew up listening to us. It still does.”
After a rather long wait, the computer finally boots to an extremely familiar sight: CS-DOS 9.20.
C:\>
It’s waiting for a command to be input.
With the rather rough clicks of an ancient keyboard,
C:\>cd WINDOWSILL
C:\WINDOWSILL>
C:\WINDOWSILL>WINDOWSILL.COM
The screen goes black as the computer begins loading a legally questionable fork of Microsoft Windows 98, Chronospace Windowsill ‘99.
The screen lights up with a splash screen. The Chronospace logo engulfs it.
The splash text reads:
“Starting Chronospace Windowsill ‘99... Please wait... We mean that, by the way! Wait!”
The screen momentarily goes black with no more than a command prompt in the top left reading: “Starting Windowsill ‘99...” before going back to the colorful splash screen.
After what feels like an eternity, the computer boots to a log-on screen, with a risque picture of a posing rabbit woman as the wallpaper.
“Please input your Chronospace Windowsill username and password.”
User Name: Wade Harris
Password: ************
Enter.
A rather cheerful tune plays as an extremely unkempt desktop loads up. There’s a mouse cursor in the center of the screen.
The cursor moves over to a folder on the desktop labeled “Dreamscape!” and, with two quick clicks, it opens to reveal a list of files related to some sort of Internet access suite.
Slowly scrolling down the list, the cursor lands on a file: “Dreamscape.exe”.
Double click.
What appears to be a mix between a Web browser, an instant messenger app, an electronic mail client and a phone dialer all simultaneously appear on the screen.
In the bottom right corner, what looks like a heart monitor isn’t looking too happy... It’s red, and flatlined. According to the .txt file that hasn’t been opened in months, this means the client is disconnected.
A pop-up appears on the screen.
It’s a log-in prompt for a dial-up network connection.
E-Mail: [email protected]</a>
Password: *********************
Phone number: 1+(484)-820-1337
Access type: Modem
Service: Dreamscape!
* Do you want to save these details so that sign-on is quicker next time?
Sign-on!
Click.
Rrrrrrrr-
Beep, boop, beep, beep, bop, boop, bop, bip, bip, beep.
Riiiiiiiiinngg......
Riiiiiiiiinngg......
The rather shrill sound of this computer''s internal modem dialing out to Chronospace echoes through the dark void, piercing the ears of anything in a 500 mile radius.
After a while of back and forths between an Internet service provider and this computer, the modem finally shuts up as the heart monitor in the bottom right turns green and starts pulsing up and down.
[SIGN ON REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED FOR: [email protected]</a>]
[PLEASE WAIT]
[CONNECTION STARTED]
A Web portal with an abundance of hyperlinks and uppercase text appears on the screen.
The main page shows an abundance of hyperlinks to various websites.
Doodaloo!
The instant messenger client chimes.
One friend is on-line.
It’s your friend Wallace, better known as [email protected]</a>.
You click on his name to start a chat.
A one-on-one chat-room opens up.
Wade Harris ([email protected]</a>) has joined the chat.
Wallace Clark ([email protected]</a>) has been added to the chat.
wallpaste: yo
wadebraid: Hey man
wadebraid: I think you need to get a computer man
wallpaste: fuck off
wadebraid: You know i’m right lol
wallpaste: no ure not
wadebraid: I think i am bro
Doodaloo!
Another friend is on-line.
It’s your other friend, Betty, better known as [email protected]</a>.
wallpaste: uh oh
wadebraid: Sht up
Betty Kristoff ([email protected]</a>) has joined the chat.
bettyboop: hey
wadebraid: Yo
bettyboop: what’s going on?
wallpaste: nothin
bettyboop: still haven’t got a pc yet, wallace?
wallpaste: those goddamned idiots won’t pay me more than like 7 bucks an hour man
wadebraid: Maybe if you didn’t go home early to whack off you wouldnt be fucking broke lol
wallpaste: like you dont do the fucking exact same
wadebraid: what
bettyboop: guys, did you hear the news?
wallpaste: what that wade is a fuckface? Yea i heard it LOL
wadebraid: Get serious, wallace, we all know you sold your body out to those gang boys outside that 7/11
bettyboop: he did WHAT?
wallpaste: wade you weren’t supposed to tel anyoney ou FUCKER
wallpaste: tell* anyone* you*
wadebraid: Bet you wish you had a computer, huh
wallpaste: fuck yourself
bettyboop: chronospace has openings for the tech position!
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
wadebraid: Say what? I thought they had robots or something in tht shit
bettyboop: they must hve run out or something lol
bettyboop: anyways, i was thinking maybe we could sign up?
wallpaste: us? Why lol
wadebraid: Nah she kinda has a point...we already break into their shit enough,this’ll give us a chance to get in and stay in legally
bettyboop: exactly!
wallpaste: maybe we’ll get access to this “wi-fi” thing theyre testing
wadebraid: maybe...betty, what’s the url again?
bettyboop: it''s here (https://vinnyflowers.neocities.org/apply)
wadebraid: thx
Wallace Clark ([email protected]</a>) has left the chat “[CONNECTION TERMINATED; CLIENT HUNG UP]”
wadebraid: LOL i think u crashed his box
bettyboop: lmao
wadebraid: Betty...?
bettyboop: what?
wadebraid: They have our names on this website
bettyboop: HUH?
wadebraid: they blocked my IP too
bettyboop: weird, i can see the apply button
wadebraid: Don’t clear ur cache, click it, those old clients don’t refresh their cache properly when clicking through a site
bettyboop: ok, hold on
Wallace Clark ([email protected]</a>) has joined the chat.
wallpaste: im back
wadebraid: wallace, they’ve got our shit on their website
wallpaste: that doesnt surprise me, we totally wrecked their shit last time
wadebraid: Haha yea true
bettyboop: GUYS I GOT IN
wadebraid: Told you
wallpaste: told her what
wadebraid: You so stupid
wallpaste: no
bettyboop: i registered apparently, they’re gonna contact me soon
wadebraid: And then send the Feds to your house
bettyboop: very funny, wade
Wallace Clark ([email protected]</a>) has left the chat. “[CONNECTION TERMINATED; CLIENT HUNG UP]”
bettyboop: oop
wadebraid: Shitty ass webtv moment
wadebraid: anyways, i think i’ll go see about getting into that tech system they got
bettyboop: alright then, i’ll see you around
Betty Kristoff ([email protected]</a>) has left the chat. “[DISCONNECT FROM CHAT; USER LEFT]”
You click the “Leave chat” button.
[DISCONNECT FROM CHAT; USER LEFT]
The chatroom window closes.
You click various links in the main window, looking for something interesting. Maybe the forums are good today?
You click on a link labeled “Dreamscape! TalkCity”.
A list of chatrooms drops down. You click the top one, labeled “General”.
...
The chatroom window opens.
[email protected]</a> has joined.
wadebraid: List
There are 5 other people in this chatroom right now:
[email protected]</a>, [email protected]</a>, [email protected]</a>, [email protected]</a>, [email protected]</a> (marked as away)
littledog: So basically yeah, they left this BIG ASS link that leads straight into Testdrive on their portfolio lmao
skcro: no wonder chrono keeps getting breached lol
skcro: they should literally just hire me to do their website for them lmao
littledog: true that
bluuudroks25669: hi wadebraid :3
wadebraid: Yo
nolannips: Hey there
skcro: hi
littledog: hey
wadebraid: I see you’re discussing the TestDrive breach
littledog: yea that shit was crazy lol
wadebraid: You won’t believe me but i helped do it
littledog: Man get out lol
wadebraid: Nah i’m serious lol
...
wadebraid: I dug into the source, found this loophole that allows me to circle into the admin log-on screen, which let me open the editing panel.
wadebraid: In the root directory, there was a series of links, one of which being to an unlocked TestDrive page, so i hid it on the page right on the hyphen in the second line on the third row of their portfolio
skcro: aint no way lmao
littledog: god damn man lol
littledog: so you’re wade?
wadebraid: Yea
bluuudroks25669: Harris wade???
wadebraid: yea that’s me
bluuudroks25669: noooo way what you did with that tech site was insane :3
wadebraid: So i’ve heard
jarhead: asbestos
wadebraid: What
bluuudroks25669: What?
littledog: what
skcro: wha
nolannips: huh
skcro: OH FUCK GUYS
wadebraid: ?
skcro: A TECH PERSON JUST SIGNED ONTO TALKCITY ??
bluuudroks25669: woaaaa
nolannips: man FUCK that i can’t get banned again or i’m perma banned
littledog: what?
nolannips: IM OUT OF HERE FUCK THIS
...
[email protected]</a> has left the chat. “[DISCONNECT FROM CHAT; USER LEFT]”
littledog: bro is overreacting lmao
skcro: maybe i am
A distinct cheerful chime plays as a distressing message is printed to the chat window.
Wackadoo! Raelyn Miller ([email protected]</a>) has joined!
littledog: OH FUCK
skcro: OH NO
cinnapoodle: What???
littledog: WADE GTFO
You reach for the phone cord at the rear end of your PC.
cinnapoodle: Oh... Hello, Wade.
skcro: i have NOTHING to do with this
You sit up straight in your chair and shove your face back up to the monitor.
wadebraid: Hello
cinnapoodle: I sure do wonder what you’re doing here... With ALL of these other known Dreamscape! Hackers.
wadebraid: We’re discussing the weather outside, fed
cinnapoodle: Listen, Wade... I don’t want to fight. And I don’t want you to get banned either.
wadebraid: Then why do you hunt me down?
cinnapoodle: Because you’re too... predictable.
wadebraid: Huh
cinnapoodle: I’m a technology specialist, Wade. I can see where you are on the Internet, and where you intend to go from where you are. You’re a hacker, Wade.
cinnapoodle: I know exactly when you’re going straight for a service URL, and I know exactly when you’re going to exploit the source code. You don’t hide your tracks at all. Even the smallest cursor hover over a service URL leaves a track. I would know... I’ve been in your seat before, Wade.
wadebraid: Have you now?
cinnapoodle: Yes. Why do you think I work for Chronospace? Because I broke into their main system. Got past their shit when they were still dumb in ‘94.
wadebraid: That was you???
cinnapoodle: Yep. And they, and me, have been making right sure... that nobody else is.
You have been disconnec9852jfsfdl2347&!-
Your speakers rather violently pop.
Your monitor goes pitch black as your computer’s modem emits a busy tone, before cutting to dial tone.
[CONNECTION TERMINATED; ADMINISTRATOR TERMINATED CALL]
The computer cuts back to the desktop.
The Dreamscape! folder is still open. Determined to get back at them, you double-click the executable again.
A pop-up appears on the screen.
It’s a log-in prompt for a dial-up network connection.
E-Mail: [email protected]</a>
Password: *********************
Phone number: 1+(484)-820-1337
Access type: Modem
Service: Dreamscape!
* Do you want to save these details so that sign-on is quicker next time?
Sign-on!
Click.
Rrrrrrrr-
Beep, boop, beep, beep, bop, boop, bop, bip, bip, beep.
...
Riiiiiiiiinngg......
Riiiiiiiiinngg......
The rather shrill sound of this computer''s internal modem dialing out to Chronospace echoes through the dark void once more, still piercing the ears of anything in a 500 mile radius.
After a while of back and forthing, your computer loads up a warning page.
[BANNED FOR TWENTY FOUR HOURS]
[DATE: Saturday, October 30th, 1999]
[TIME: 10:22 PM]
[MODERATOR MESSAGE: This Dreamscape! account was used to facilitate discussion about breaching internal Chronospace services. The associated users this account spoke with have been reasonably moderated as well. Enjoy your time in purgatory, Wade! <3]
Your monitor cuts to black once more.
[CONNECTION TERMINATED; NO ACCESS]