FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The pearl-white smartphone rattled on the wooden desk.

Matthew Roth stepped up to the vibrating phone and snatched it up. An unknown number. He noted the time of eight-thirty and smirked. Right on time. He tapped the answer button and brought it up to his ear. "Yes?"

"Good evening. Our mutual client would like a status update," a woman's voice replied in a silky tone.

"You can let them know that I am on schedule. I'll have the package ready to be delivered by tomorrow afternoon."

"The usual time?"

"Yes. Twelve-thirty. Same as always."

"Thank you, Linecutter," The Voice acknowledged him by his handle and with a click, the call was finished.

Matthew withdrew the phone from his ear. The Voice was punctual and to the point. He respected that. Perhaps that is why they had such a long-standing work relationship. He dropped the phone back onto the desk without a second thought and walked over to the nearby window. He pulled up the blinds and pushed the window open to let a wave of cool air wash over him. It felt stuffy in his apartment and he felt that some fresh air would do him some good.

The sun had set nearly an hour before and he watched the cars drive by beneath the yellow glow of the streetlamps. He stood a little taller than the average Human at nearly six-foot and sported a lean build that could be attributed to his penchant for drinking caffeinated beverages instead of eating most times of the day. Most would be winding down their days now, spending time with loved ones before retiring for the evening only to start their routine all over again.

His daily grind wasn't much different than most. He got up in the morning, showered, dressed in business casual attire, and drank a cup of coffee on his way to work. And like most who held a job in the technology field, his days tended to be rather routine. Day in and day out, he did what most low-level programmers did at his company: do whatever his boss asked of him. If he wasn't programming, he was an impromptu tech-support agent. But that was his day job. When he came home in the evenings, he was free to do as he pleased and that is when he felt most alive.

By night he was a computer hacker - one of the best on the Realm if his reputation was anything to be considered. The Realm was the networked infrastructure of billions of electronic devices around the globe. If you knew what you were doing, an untold number of those devices could be accessed and exploited from anywhere on the Realm. His skill had earned him the respect of his fellows and after several years he had earned the title of a Realm Runner. Only the best were referred to as such and his exceptional skill and ability to get in and out of the most secure systems had raised him to near-legendary status. While he broke into some systems for fun, he hacked into others for the challenge and secret knowledge held behind near-impenetrable barriers. He had never considered hacking for a profit, but The Voice had given him the opportunity to turn his passion into a lucrative part-time venture.

She had tracked him down after he had released some classified information belonging to a multinational company and caused a media frenzy. His actions had caught her eye and after several meetings they had agreed to forge a business relationship. She acted as a broker between those who sought services like the ones he could provide and those like himself. In exchange for his services, he could often make a few month's salary with less than a week's worth of work. Minus her commission, of course. The work was infrequent at times, but there was a fair bit of money to be made in the black market of information acquisition. He wasn't one to pass up something so ripe for the taking and any qualms about hacking for a profit had long since been silenced. The increase of his disposable income had made it more than easy for him to put a positive spin on it.

He inhaled the crisp evening air before stepping away from the window. The night was young, but he knew from experience how quickly an early evening turned into an early morning. Besides, he had a job to do. The earlier he got started, the more sleep he would have. That was an idea he could get behind.

Matthew took a seat at his desk and swiveled to face the array of monitors and computer hardware that stared back at him. He pulled the keyboard out from underneath the hutch that his monitors sat upon and went to work. Program windows opened and closed in rapid succession as he made the necessary preparations for diving into the Realm. It was an old habit of his to do a full check before making a connection, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The necessity to double check his work and to take his time had been lessons hard learned over the years. There was no such thing as being too careful in the line of work he did; it was always best to cover one's ass. Preemptively if possible.

Satisfied after his round of checks and rechecks, he glanced at the computer's clock: nine o'clock. Perfect. He swung his arms above his head in a quick stretch. A satisfying sigh escaped his lips as he felt a spot in his lower back pop. Rolling his head from side to side and shaking out his fingers, he now felt ready to take on whatever challenges that would be thrown his way.

He pushed aside a small pile of papers and books to retrieve a square black and chrome box that had been tucked away behind the clutter. The device blinked at him with its electric-blue LEDs and while it resembled a miniature video disc player, there was so much more under the hood. He grabbed the end of a long, electronically-shielded cable that sat atop the box and ran his other hand over the back of his neck. Fingers brushing over his short-cut brown hair, he felt what he was searching for: the access ports to his subdermal neural implant.

The implant had marked what had become known as the fourth generation of the Realm. The Realm Interface Implant made it feasible to navigate the Realm like never before, offering a new level of interaction and presenting a new range of possibilities that were up until recently the stuff of science fiction. By interpreting the person's thoughts into actions, the device allowed a user to experience a whole other world. It became possible to literally see and interact with friends and family from across the world without ever leaving home, online shopping turned into virtual malls, and the art of hacking had been changed forever.

Matthew had decided to purchase the implant and go through the medical procedure nearly three years ago. He never liked adopting first generation technology and had opted to wait and see the results. Needless to say, he was enthralled and saw its potential. When the second generation of the devices hit the market, he jumped at the opportunity to purchase it and never once regretted the decision. The benefits it offered were hard to ignore and without a doubt, it had made his job easier and even possible in some cases.

He positioned a fingertip on either side of his spine to mark the holes and expertly navigated the twin gold-plated jacks into their respective homes. He felt a tingle run down his spine as the contacts connected. The feeling had been unsettling at first, but after so many years of using the device, it had become a familiar sensation. He watched the lights on the desktop console turn from blue to green to indicate that it was now possible to initialize the link. He leaned back and closed his eyes.

Matthew sensed a powerful light flash across his face. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was no longer staring at a row of computer monitors, but was instead looking out across a cityscape from a lofty penthouse suite. A large airship floated idly by in the distance while several smaller ones circled it like hungry birds. Spotlights affixed to its undercarriage swung lazily around and cast beams of white light across the metropolis. He was connected to the Realm. He was in the Realm.

A beam of light swept across his face once more and he turned away from the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Windows: Opaque," he ordered and a white frost spread out from the corners of every window in his residence. In a matter of seconds, the glass had lost all translucency and he had become completely isolated from the outside world.

Walking down a hallway that led to a spare room, he ran his fingers along the top of a slender glass and steel table. Matthew knew the sensations he felt were his brain's interpretation of the materials; it was filling in the blanks that even the complex programming of the Realm couldn't deduce. Damn if it didn't feel real though. The sharp and angular features perfectly embodied his choice in style when it came to furnishings: modern. Polished metal and glass were the primary materials amongst the furniture, fixtures, and appliances that had been precisely programmed into the space. His linens were a sterile white and his pillows continued the modern motif with black and white patterns.

Matthew opened the door to what had once been a bedroom and stepped inside the darkened interior. He had deleted the windows from this room and had turned it into his personal workshop. He swept his gaze over the room of half-finished projects and rows of pull-out drawers with labels neatly identifying the contents of each. Whether it was a collection of screws, spare components, or tools, everything had a place in this room.

He grabbed a backpack off a nearby table and began pulling various supplies from the drawers. A tablet computer, a wireless headset, and a myriad of tools that ranged from a handful of screwdrivers, a heavy-duty drill, and even a handheld blowtorch all found their way into his bag. The research he had done the night before suggested that his target wouldn't pose too difficult a challenge to hack into. The system appeared to be running software that was a few months old and if that was the case, it would make his job that much easier. All the same, he felt that it was better to be prepared and not to assume things would go smoothly.

His knapsack now full of equipment, he turned to leave when he eyed a large crowbar hanging off its peg. He knew it would be unwieldy to bring along and the chances of him needing it were slim, but still... After several moments of contemplation he relented and found a home for it in his bag. Sometimes it was best to bring a little good old-fashioned leverage with you. One never knew when it might come in handy.

With his bag slung over his shoulder, he made a beeline for the living room. Matthew descended the handful of steps to the lower level of his flat and stepped up to the wall next to the large flat screen television. He pressed his hand against the wall and waited. The square wall panel became semi-translucent as it began to glow and he felt a slight warmth beneath his palm. Several seconds passed before he heard an audible click from behind the wall as a mechanism released; his presence had been recognized and authenticated.

The wall next to him pushed inwards and slid to the side to reveal a concealed doorway. It was elegant in design: a simple brushed aluminum-looking frame with a large pane of white frosted glass occupying its center. What made it different from most other doors was that there was no door knob or handle. Instead, a small screen had been embedded into the frame. Through this portal he could go anywhere his heart desired within the Realm. He could step through to a secluded beach, to an evening of dancing at a nightclub, or even to a secure location. Everywhere in the Realm was at his fingertips through this portal.

Matthew stepped forward and waved his hand in front of the screen. A semi transparent keyboard appeared before him, its keys outlined in an electric blue color. His fingers danced through the air, striking at the keys as if they were physically present. The door began to hum as he entered several security codes that he had long since memorized. "Yes, darling, it's time to go to work again," he said softly. It had taken him several months to create and iron out the bugs that came with engineering such a contraption, but she was undoubtedly his most prized possession. Several months had passed since he last needed her unique abilities and her personality was showing with the way she almost sang to him.

A message flashed on screen asking for his destination. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and looked down at the long series of alphanumeric characters that were punctuated by numerous colons. It was a Realm address. More specifically, it was his destination. He couldn't very well walk in through the front door of any establishment with the intentions of stealing from them. No, he had to get in a different way and this was his ticket in.

His right hand entered the address while he read it from his left. He took a moment to verify that he had entered it correctly and once satisfied with his efforts, struck the return key. The keyboard dissolved into a blue mist before his eyes and he he heard the familiar sound of the door's lock releasing. A connection had been established.

He slipped his other arm through the free strap and adjusted the backpack to settle the weight evenly across his back. Figuring there was no sense in delaying any longer, he pressed a hand against the glass door and pushed. A force tugged at his body and pulled him forward as he stepped across the threshold. Experience had taught him not to fight it. He closed his eyes and held his breath as he was enveloped in an expanse of white light and whisked away.

Fast travel was something that everyone experienced in the Realm on a daily basis. It was the way someone could travel across the virtual landscape in a flash. By typing in the desired destination on the door panel and stepping across the threshold, it would only be a matter of seconds before you would find yourself at your destination. His doorway was not like most others though, it operated under a slightly different set of rules.

Most users used doorways that led to static destinations; places that had been hard-coded into the system and that would rarely, if ever, change. These locations could be easily discovered and used by the user. The process of going to a non-predefined location was a lot harder. The only way to reach the most secure and remote locations in the Realm was to use a set of properly computed coordinates and the necessary hardware to send you there. Given how much of a security risk these types of connections proved, however, establishing and using such links were considered a serious cyber crime. Not that he gave it that much thought.

Since connecting to an existing portal would raise too many flags, a temporary doorway would have to be established to connect to. That is what made his invention so groundbreaking. It would generate a matching doorway on the fly at his destination so he could enter a location undetected and would serve as an quick and easy exit. Using the device had its downsides though. Even after dozens of trips, the nature of traveling through such an improvised connection never stopped being disorienting.

The bright light around him gave way to a creeping darkness as he found himself at his destination. Unable to completely shake off the wave of nausea that washed over him, he planted his hands on his knees and took a few moments to collect himself. He took several deep breaths and as his senses returned, he was happy to learn that the urge to throw up was subsiding. Standing up once again, he took a look around to see exactly where he had ended up.

Matthew found himself standing in the middle of a short and narrow hallway. Behind him was his escape route: the mirror image of the doorway he had just stepped through. When the time came to leave, all he would have to do was simply step back over the threshold and he would find himself back home in a flash. To his left on one side of the hallway stood a shut normal-looking door. The end of the hallway to his right, however, was occupied by a large and intimidating round vault-like door. It looked like he had come to the right place. He went straight to work.

His first priority was making sure no one came in unexpectedly. He quickly disabled the plain door from his side by jamming a screwdriver into the lock and hammering it in place. It was a simple precaution and would maybe buy him thirty seconds if things went sour. Perhaps a full minute if he was lucky. Next, he walked over to the vault door and examined the metal barrier. He pressed his hand against it and gave a slight push. It was solid and impenetrable to the unfamiliar and untrained. He smiled.

This specific vault door was something he had come across on several occasions during his time as a Realm Runner. It was a popular security measure by professionals and while it would deter or prevent the average burglar, he was by no means average. The first time he had come across one of these it had given him trouble, but he had since learned from his initial mistakes. When he came face to face with it a second time, he knew exactly what to do.

Matthew slid the backpack off his shoulders and retrieved a black marker from one of its side pockets. He sat in front of the vault on his knees and ran his free hand along the smooth surface. After nearly a half-minute of searching, he had found the spot he was looking for and drew a small x just below and to the right of the large rotary handle. Ex marks the spot. He clamped his teeth around the pen and pulled out the power drill he had packed. He inserted a large carbide bit into the mouth of the drill and gave a twist of the chuck to tighten it in place. Pressing the tip onto the center of his mark, he pulled the trigger.

The process of drilling went surprisingly quick. In a matter of minutes, he had successfully bypassed the glass panes that were positioned inside the door. The hard part was done; at least as far as the vault door was concerned. Had he shattered the panes, he would have undoubtedly triggered a lockdown and sent a broadcast altering the security administrators of his presence. His experience was paying off once more.

He exchanged the drill for a small mirror on a telescoping pen and pushed it through the bore hole. Using the mirror's reflection, he read off the ticks on the locking mechanism that indicated the combination and wrote the sequence onto the face of the vault with his marker. With the combination now his, it was time to see what was behind obstacle number one. He stood up and took a hold of the wheel. He spun the handle from side to side, matching the sequence of numbers he had written down. After several back-and-forths, he heard a resounding click and smiled. He gave a hard tug on the door and let its massive weight swing free on its fist-sized hinges. What greeted him didn't excite him.

Behind the massive door stood a gridwork of thick steel bars that blocked his path. The system had apparently been upgraded recently with tighter security. He swore under his breath. So much for his research. His face twisted in disapprovement as he could see his goal just beyond. Of course it couldn't be that easy. With brow furrowed and lips pressed together, he quickly calculated his options. Cutting through was always a possibility and he had the blowtorch for it, but it was a slow process. He had spent several minutes inside their system already and prolonging his stay would leave him exposed. He scanned the area between the vault door and the bars for any hint of a faster way.

"Ah ha!" Matthew exclaimed as he spied the outline of a small wall panel. It was barely noticeable against the otherwise smooth surface, but he felt that it was just what he had been looking for. He stepped over to it and pushed against it with a finger. A screen materialized on the panel and a translucent keypad appeared before it. The interface was clearly made for an employee to enter their security code to gain access to what lay beyond and it would definitely be faster than cutting through the bars. He noticed a small dataport on the panel that had appeared along with the screen. Excellent.

He retrieved his backpack and pulled out the computer tablet. His fingers swiped and tapped the screen several times as he navigated to his decryption program. Once his program had loaded, he attached a data cable between it and the security terminal. It only took a few seconds for the tablet to establish a connection and once it had done so, Matthew wasted no time. He activated his program with a few taps and watched it go to work as it began to crack the eight digit code in a flurry of numbers. The first decrypted number popped up on his screen.

It was several agonizingly slow minutes before the passcode was fully deciphered. He knew the chances of someone looking for him were slim, but he had started to become anxious all the same. He wiped a small amount of perspiration from his forehead with the back of his hand. It was a simple matter of probability. The longer he stayed, the greater the risk of being discovered. With the code in hand, he tapped the key sequence onto the security terminal's keypad. The sound of something unlatching reached his ears and he sighed in relief. Hopefully that would be it.

The bars in front of him parted and granted him access to the final door that lay no more than ten feet from where he stood. The need to keep moving was strong. He had been mentally keeping track of the amount of time spent so far and he was already over his ideal timetable for getting in and out of the system. It was time to go. He hoisted the backpack over a shoulder and marched forward. It was only then that he realized his mistake.

An alarm blared throughout the hallway. He cursed and looked around him, eyes scanning the walls and floor of the corridor. Spotting several motion sensors that lined the passageway, he swore again. A foolish mistake. His mind raced as he calculated how long he had. Three minutes, tops. Maybe three-and-a-half if his impromptu screwdriver-infused door jam held. Looking at the door, he knew his options were few and far between. He could run or he could press on and try to finish the job. In the back of his mind though, he knew the choice was an illusion: there was only one course of action to take.

Matthew rushed over to the door and tossed his backpack to the ground. He wrapped his fingers around the crowbar that stood out like a mast and withdrew it from the bag. There was no sense in going about things delicately now. He had never failed a job before and he was sure as hell not going to let his reputation be marred because of his impatience. With the bar of metal in his hands, he gave a yell and drove the flat end of the tool into the narrow gap between the door and its frame. Time was running out and brute force was his last, only, and best option. He threw his weight behind the large crowbar. Good old-fashioned leverage.