“Playing games just with my eyes and thoughts is neat, but not something I want to do a lot of,” Zoe muttered to herself a few hours later after downloading several free card and puzzle games from the net.

“What are you doing?” Zane asked as he brought Zoe’s lunch to her.

“Was playing some games I got from off the net.”

“Need to be careful doing that. Free is often a cover for viruses.”

“Yeah, I found that out the hard way. Thankfully, my ICE handled it.”

“Maybe. I’ll send a note to Doc Brown so she can double check your system anyway.”

“Thanks Zane. What’s for lunch? More tasteless slop?”

“Ha. You get a salad with tasteless dressing,” the nurse replied sitting the tray on the bedside table.

“Zane?”

“Yeah?”

“Doc warned me not to try my daemons on any of her systems or equipment. Do you think she would be mad if I tried them on a few sites?” Zoe asked giving the nurse a sweet smile.

“I didn’t hear that. No. I see that look on your face. Anything you do on your own is your business and it’s best I don’t know about it,” Zane said winking at Zoe.

“So, just don’t get caught.”

“Enjoy your lunch,” Zane replied tapping the side of his nose.

*

Zoe checked her list of daemons. She started with her intrusion software. She had chosen three. Two for stealth and one for brute force.

Aperture was a stealth daemon developed by Alpha Force that cut through most corporate ICE with ease rarely leaving a trail behind the hole it created. The variant loaded in her Allegro was a newer version that closed the hole leaving no trace of intrusion. How CyberBionic got Aperture and sold it, she didn’t want to know. Zoe decided she would check each line of code before using it.

Kunoichi was the second stealth daemon. It was a favorite of the Japanese mega corps that masked itself as normal processes and requests. This made the daemon extremely hard for most ICE to counter.

Tomahawk was the brute force intrusion daemon she had chosen. It was another Alpha Force program. Tomahawk hits harder and faster than the older Battering Ram brute force daemon. With proper setup and care, Tomahawk’s approach could be somewhat masked or hidden. That is what Zoe liked best about the daemon.

Zoe checked her offensive daemons next. CyberBionic offered a wide range of them. Some attacked systems, others attacked people, and some attacked both. Zoe had chosen six attack daemons with only two being ones that could attack systems. She figured she wouldn’t want to destroy a system as much as plant a worm or steal some data.

About half of the hundreds of daemons that CyberBionic offered were lethal. Zoe wasn’t comfortable with the idea of killing someone, so she had chosen nonlethal daemons despite Claire, Zane, her cousin, and the corporate sales rep advising her to go the lethal route. Claire had surprised Zoe and simply told her that you had to cut cancer out and not to leave a living enemy behind that wanted you dead.

Caveman was the first attack daemon Zoe had selected. This program stunned people and was named after a cartoon character from the 1950s and 60s. The daemon’s hairy icon is what had attracted Zoe at first.

Flamethrower attacks by producing heat in people or systems causing them to pass out or fail. Flames can be produced if the daemon is used past the point of failure or the person faints. Even though Flamethrower is considered nonlethal, Zoe assumed it could be deadly if used to the point that you caused a person to burst into flame.

Dazzle is a nonlethal attack daemon that blinds or confuses a person using bright light and sounds. Zoe thought the description of the daemon made it a version of a flashbang grenade. Teens and kids loved to use the daemon as a prank.

Shocker is another attack daemon that is like Flamethrower, except it uses electricity instead of heat. Can be used to attack systems or people. Zoe had imagined herself cackling and telling her victim to join her on the dark side when she first chose Shocker.

Silence stopped a system from communicating. Zoe figured it would be useful to stop alarms and guards from reporting her if things went south.

Bigboy was the final daemon Zoe had chosen. It tricked a person’s frame into thinking the person weighed a ton or two which caused their cybernetic limbs to fail or at least slow the person down. Most considered the daemon more of a prank than offensive weapon.

“Hey Zoe.”

“Hi Claire. I thought you had more patients to see this afternoon.”

“I do, but I decided to check on that virus you had. It won’t take long, and I have a few minutes. What are you doing?”

“Going over the list of my daemons and other software.”

“Ah. As long as you’re careful, I don’t mind if you test your stuff out on outside sites. Just don’t mess with my systems and if you get caught, you’re on your own.”

“Thanks Claire.”

“Don’t be too proud to plug,” Doc Brown told Zoe holding a cord out. Zoe started at it. “Don’t be nervous.”

“Can’t help it. This is the first time I’ve used my port.”

“It’s better to let your cyberdoc or a friend be the one to pop your cherry,” Claire quipped.

“Not funny,” Zoe replied.

“I thought it was,” Claire said as Zoe plugged the cable into her port. “And just like that, it’s over with. Just like a virgin having sex.”

“You’re in a mood,” Zoe observed.

“And I should be too.”

“Why is that?”

“Zane and I are going on a date tonight.”

“Isn’t he a little young?”

“Are you saying I’m old?” Claire asked glaring at Zoe.

“No!” Zoe quickly replied making Claire laugh. “I thought I saw a wedding ring on your finger the other day.”

“Zane’s my husband.”

“Oh. Oh!” Zoe replied. “No wonder he is quick to do what you want.”

“He’s always been eager to please me,” Doc Brown replied smugly.

“I bet. So, did you rob the cradle or does Zane just have a thing for older women?”

“Both,” Claire laughed. “You’re clean and can disconnect now.”

“Thanks,” Zoe replied disconnecting the cable and handing it back to Doc Brown, who put it back where it had been. “Is Sonya working tonight?”

“No. Bill will be handling the nightshift tonight and tomorrow,” Claire answered. “Do you prefer Sonya?”

“No. She promised to show me the better music streaming services though.”

“Ah. Zane and I use Laurent’s music service. It’s 30 credits a month for the family plan we have.”

“That’s sort of pricey.”

“We think it’s worth it,” Claire replied walking to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Enjoy your date!”

“Oh, I will.”