Hey Heartbreaker

By Dream Wife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1-OkjZZqHk

I've seen you on the silver screen
And I've seen you in the daytime
I see you everywhere I go
And I see you in my dreams
And then I see you talking to your wife
And I see you holding your child
And I see you everywhere I go
And I see you, and I see you, but they all know

[Pre-Chorus]
Hey, hey, hey
That you're one of them
Hey, hey, hey
We're having so much fun
Hey, hey, hey
Why did nobody tell me
Hey, hey, hey
That you're a

[Chorus]
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Yes, you, heartbreaker

[Verse 2]
I know I'm young
And I know you're old
I know I'm old
And I know you're young
But we have so many stories untold
And the way you move
And the way you tilt your head
And all I want is to
Crawl back in with you

[Pre-Chorus]
But they all said
Hey, hey, hey
Because they all knew
That you're one of them
Hey, hey, hey
We were having so much fun
Hey, hey, hey
But you're a

[Chorus]
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker

[Verse 3]
Another victim to your touch
Another fairy tale
But the way you move, the way you move, the way
And all I want to do is
And all I want to do is
And all I want to do is
Yes, all I want to do is

[Bridge]
And don't you break my heart
Don't you break my heart
Don't you break my little heart
Don't you break my little heart

[Chorus]
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker
Hey, heartbreaker

Gooch entered the lab with a cardboard box precariously stacked with various items nearly spilling out the top. Fred reached over to his I-Pod and turned the music way down, barely audible over the hum of the computers in the lab. He smiled towards Gooch.

"I found it!" Gooch said flashing teeth as he reached into the box pulling out a small silver Mac-Mini. "There wasn't much left in the way of computers but this survived the raid." Taniguchi placed the small computer on the edge of Mudi's overflowing desk. "I'm headed downstairs for tea; do you want a coffee?"

"You read my mind," said Fred. "and thanks." he said with a nod.

"No problemo compadre." Gooch said turning on his heel as he headed out the door.

Fred checked the monitor bank. Visual schematics were sprawled across the monitors. He was working on building a new firewall for Knight Tech. His workstation was a ramshackle conglomeration of screens, wires and pc towers that looked like the inner workings of a hole blown into the side of the Starship Enterprise by some overzealous Kilngon warbird. Although Linux and Windows were more comfortable to him, he was glad to have his Mac returned. There was some invaluable data in there that was irreplaceable.

The chore of getting situated with a new desk was always a tedious task to Fred. He had set up and broken down his station so many times he wondered if he should rather be a technician than a computer engineering consultant.
To make matters worse, while he was incapacitated, Fred had been robbed. All his belongings had been rifled through, leaving his personal Sherlock Holmes style office rudely disorganized and scattered. All his pertinent materials had been taken, including his retirement stash of silver bars, so at this point he was rather irate with the whole situation. Short of rape, there was nothing more violating to a person's wellbeing than having your personal belongings disrespectfully manhandled and rent asunder by a bunch of strangers in a place considered sacred. Now he had to start from scratch - again. He huffed a sigh, at least Gooch had a good portion of previous work archived, the Mac was a nice boost to his disposition.

The lab was a temporary setup, the thought of which sent Fred's head shaking in dismay. He'd have to set this all up just to break it all back down. They had a small office space just outside of the Holloman base provided by an anonymous outside investor. From his second story window, Fred gazed out his tinted window to highway 70 below. There wasn't a single car passing by and the stillness struck him as picturesque. He imagined the snow like hills of rolling sand as a white sea frozen still in a photograph. Fred caught himself staring out the window for an exorbitant amount of time. The sound of swooshing fabric and heavy steps snapped him out of it as Gooch returned, a steaming cup in each hand. Gooch carefully handed a mug to him as Fred inhaled the aroma. French vanilla. Fred smiled as he decided right there. That's what he'd name the firewall. It was being written in Java after all; at least initially.

Gooch spoke, "I have a few Mac power cables on the far shelf." as he pointed to the north east corner of the room. "How's the design looking?"

"Rather rudimentary." answered Fred. "I've been a bit flustered with the packet dynamics. As you know, they are too easy to breech and I do not have the math skills to write what I see. I don't think Java is secure nor robust enough to handle my vision."

"How so?" inquired Zakari.

"I want to weave the threaded processors into a hyperspace funnel or sync. The problem is extracting the individual IPs from the other end. I was going to ask you if C++ would be more appropriate for the problem or just invent our own characters and language? My drawings exemplify the process beautifully but the translation into code is another matter entirely." Fred explained as he crossed the room and scoured the shelf for the proper cable.

Gooch laid an arm across his chest, resting the other arms elbow on top. He scratched at the five o'clock shadow on his chin as he leaned in towards Fred's monitors. He studied the swirling lines in the diagrams carefully letting go a quite whistle before replying.
"Mail these images as .png to my Linux account along with what executables you have so far and I'll review them with our tank and get back to you as soon as we come up with something tangible."

Fred exclaimed a "Ah ha!" as he thrust his fist up victoriously clutching a white power cable. "No problemo." he said. "How long do you think it will take?"

Standing up straight, Gooch beamed, "With my guys? Just a few hours. They might not have the same capacity for spatial perceptions for one such as yourself but once I give them this design, they'll be all over it like bees on honey."

Fred approached Zak and his desk, when he stopped he smiled saying "That sounds sweet!"

Gooch let out a giddy giggle. The devious nature of the work made them both feel like little kids again. As if they were going to be sneaking cookies from the jar when their mothers weren't looking.

Gooch extended his index finger and tapped the mini "So what's in this bad boy?"

Fred began clearing space at his station as he plugged the device and other appropriate cables in. "Remember how you forced me back in '08' to cast that I-Ching reading the day they fired up Cern? Before the magnet broke?"

Gooch's right eyebrow raised, "Yeah..."

"Well, I have a feeling there is something in that reading that we need now. Don't ask me why or how, it is just an urge to check it out." Fred suggested.

"AAhh... I like the way you think Mudi!" exclaimed Gooch. "I'm not sure how that would correlate but that is the exact 'outside the box' thinking that makes you so invaluable. I'm so glad to have you back!"

"Me too." said Fred from under the desk. He scuffled out and stood. "There we go." He input a few strokes on his keyboard, switching the display settings, entered one of his notoriously short passwords and waited a moment for the Mac to boot. Gooch was all grin. They both stood silent as Fred searched for the file. "Here we are!" he said. "I'll shoot it over now, check it out."

Zak sailed to his station and plopped into his ergonomic chair. A few touches on the screen and he had the document open. He was taken back to memories of a decade prior as he contemplated the old info as a new dataset.

卦 F.M. I-Ching reading 05/02/2008 13:44

Cast Hexagram:

26 - Twenty-Six
Ta Ch'u / Recharging Power

Heaven's motherlode waits within the Mountain:
The Superior Person mines deep into history's wealth of wisdom and deeds, charging his character with timeless strength.

Persevere.
Drawing sustenance from these sources creates good fortune.
Then you may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There are important precedents in this situation.
Others have trodden this Path before you, overcoming the same obstacles facing you now, and making crucial decisions at the same crossroads.
Study their journals, watch for their trail markings.
Gain inspiration and wisdom from the heroes and learn from the mistakes of those who chose a sidepath.
All were Seekers, explorers whose daring mapped a course you can follow.
The words and deeds of the finest can imbue you with the courage necessary to face what lies before you.

Changing Lines:

There are no Changing Lines.

Transformed Hexagram:

No Changing Lines.
Only the Cast Hexagram applies.

Upper Trigram:
Kên / Mountain
Image: Mountain.
Qualities: Tranquil, Immobile, Still, Perverse, Waiting, Patient, Calm, Stubborn, Inert, Methodical, Eternal.
Direction: Northeast.
Family Member: Youngest Son.
Body Part: Hand.
Season: Late Winter.
Time of Day: Dawn.
Animal: Dog.
Color: Emerald Green.
Element: Stone.
Miscellaneous: Byway, Mountain Path, Pebbles, Doorway, Opening, Gateway, Seed of Fruit, Eunuch, Watchman, Doorkeeper, Fingers, Rat, Black-billed Bird, Gnarled Tree.

Lower Trigram:
Ch'ien / Heaven
Image: Heaven
Qualities: Creative, Strong, Light of Day, Firmness, Inspiring, Power, Aggression, Completion.
Direction: Northwest.
Family Member: Father.
Body Part: Head.
Season: Early Winter.
Time of Day: Daytime.
Animal: Horse.
Color: Purple.
Element: Metal.
Miscellaneous: Round, Prince, Jade, Cold, Ice, Tree Fruit, Upper Garment, Word, Prehistoric, Flesheater.

Gooch leaned back in his chair interlocking his hands behind his head as he cooly exclaimed:

"Holy cow!"

There was the sound of a beep bringing Fred Mudi out of the darkness. His eyes fluttered open. His vision was obscured. A white mesh shrouded his sight but the memory of his dream still lingered, emblazoned in his minds eye. His right hand moved towards his face but was stopped short. His arm was bound at the wrist.

Beep.

He tried using his left hand only to find the result the same. He realized that by slightly leaning forward he could reach his face. He pulled the bandage up and away from his eyes. What he saw left him somewhat perplexed as the EKG machine before him beeped again. Both his left and right wrists were tightly secured by velcro straps which were fastened to the gurney he was lying upon.

Beep.

The walls of the room were a bland shade of white. A large rectangular picture frame hung on the wall to the right of him displaying an old black and white photo of the Golden Gate bridge still under construction. A man was shown fishing on the north shore with the three sections of the uncompleted bridge as the backdrop. Seemed appropriate, Fred's head seemed as if it was still swimming in the fog.

Beep.

Damn machine... why did it have to be so loud? He didn't need to hear it. Wasn't that noise for the doctors and nurses? That beep should be heard by the staff at the front desk, not by the patient in the room. Mudi had nearly run out of patience already. A hospital? Again? What the hell was he doing here? Where was here? And why was he restrained?

Beep.

Patience... first the dream. He had to remember what he was just dreaming about or he'd loose it. Something to do with Nazis and snow. Lots and lots of snow. Nothing but snow. There were machines too. Big gray machines. Machines on tracks. Track vehicles like tanks. But they were not tanks, they were more like tractors... but faster, a lot faster. They had big white numbers painted on the side. numbers and a cross. A military cross with double pinstripe. Maybe they were tanks... but they didn't have the cannon tubes; but they did have uniformed men in cupolas with mounted machine guns.

Beep.

It was coming back. Fred could suddenly smell the aroma of coffee. In a hospital again? Why was he restrained? Why was his head bandaged?

The dream, focus on the dream or you'll lose it.

Beep.

Right before he awoke, he'd been laughing at a comment that one of the men in his distended parka with a furry ringed hood had said. What had he been laughing at?

Damn that coffee smelled good. Mudi closed his eyes to better concentrate.

Nazis. He'd been laughing at Nazis. Well, a statement the soldier had made about Nazis. Yes, the man on the tractor-tank was a Nazi soldier who had declared the rise and final domination of the 4th Reich. Mudi then realized that was someplace in Antarctica in this dream and that he had been detained or caught by some 4th Reich Nazi soldier. They had been discussing what they (the Nazis) were doing down there. Supposedly the rumors of a Nazi escape to Antarctica was true and the soldier and tank were evidence of the fact. But why had Mudi been there? From what Mudi had gathered from the interaction, the Nazi's had been hiding out since the "end" of WWII, except that a certain contingent of the German Nazi Army had never surrendered. They had escaped via a small fleet of submarines and Luftwaffen.

Beep.

How strange thought Mudi. Why had he been dreaming this? And why did he want a cup of coffee so bad? He tried to scratch an itch on his nose but his hand stopped short on the restraint. He sighed and then heaved himself forward. He itched his nose and tried to completely remove the bandage from his head only to discover that it was tightly wrapped and secured. He couldn't even reach the back of his head because there was also a restraint around his chest preventing it. That served to only piss him off as he tried to remember what his last memory was before awaking here but a voice in his head said "Remember the dream"

Beep.

Mudi yelled out to no one in particular "Will someone shut that fucking thing off?" The dream was fading.

Beep.

He closed his eyes again concentrating. There was red snow. No, more like red ice. What was it? Like a frozen river of blood. For some reason he heard his internal voice say "McMurder".

Beep.

Damn. His anger had quickened his heart rate and the machine monitoring his condition was quickening. Another word was announced by his inner voice "Erebus" This triggered a flash of imagery from his subconscious. His eyes opened as he whispered the epiphany "McMurdo Station."

Beep.

There was movement in the hallway outside his room. Fred called out "Hey. Hey there!" as he fought against the straps in an attempt to sit upright. He frantically looked around for an escape which to his relief revealed a small call button attached to a wire by his left hand. He picked it up and mashed the button repeatedly with his thumb.

Beep.

What had he been laughing at in the the dream? Oh, yeah. It was his disbelief of what the Nazi trooper had claimed. That the Nazi 4th Reich "were about to close their fist around the world". He was laughing at the improbability... no the impossibility of the idea. Although it was also improbable to find "modern" Nazis in Antarctica but that thought had not occurred to him in the moment. The notion was absurd.

Beep.

Mudi saw a figure in white pass by his room door. He yelled out again "Hey! Hey, excuse me!" but the person seemingly ignored him as they zipped by the door frame. More of the dreams conversation and imagery was coming to.

Beep.

An underground base, soldiers, high technology and trees, lots of trees. Fred sighed as he suddenly desired a cigarette. What the hell was happening? Where had he been before he ended up here? His frustration was rising as well as his anxiety levels.

The voice in his head spoke again, "Enceladus".

Suddenly a dark haired man in a suit and tie walked into the room. He was of asiatic decent. It took a moment before Mudi realized it was his old pal Gooch.

Beep.

"Oh thank God" exacerbated Fred. "Would you please shut that fucking machine off?"

Zakari Taniguchi brightly smiled as he muted the volume on the EKG machine. As he pulled up a chair to the side of Fredrick's hospital bed he asked, "How's it going sleepy head? You feeling alright?"

"Hardly" replied Fred. "I'm still trying to figure out what happened." He looked grimly at Zak. "What did happen?"

Gooch sat up straight letting out a prolonged sigh. "Well, it is a long story but an interesting one." he reached towards Fred. "Let me get these off of you," Gooch began releasing the velcro from Fred's wrist. "...but whatever you do, don't move from the bed; your head is still jacked in."

Mudi's eyes widened. With his right hand free, he reached up to his head feeling around as Gooch worked the second velcro strap. Fred's hand recoiled when he felt the bundle of wires attached to the base of his head.

"Careful." stated Gooch. "We are still gathering data. We can unjack you in a bit. First we need to go over a few things."

Fred began rubbing his wrists with his freed hands. "What happened Gooch?" he asked.

"You got blindsided. There were subversive elements in play and someone hijacked your chip. We had to drop everything into standby till we could retrieve you."

"Who is we?" asked Fred.

"Knight Tech. I have a few interns and associated contacts. We found you in Oregon, in Angela's house. You were unconscious and bleeding from the head. We air lifted you here as soon as we arrived. Someone tried to physically remove your chip. Luckily we had friends already on duty in Reno proper. Otherwise you probably would not have survived the procedure."

Fred's brow scrunched into a furrow. "Where is here?"

Gooch scratched the back of his head "White Sands, New Mexico."

"How long have I been here?

"Since Jan. 8th... so that's what? Four, fifty, sixty five, eighty eight, ninety nine. ." calculated Zakari. He finally stated flatley "Four Hundred and fifty seven days, or sixty five weeks, which is one year, three months, and two days.

"Wha..? Fred gasped not even finishing the question.

"Like I said, it's a long story but the data is extraordinary. In fact, the last two hours of data you shot have been phenomenal. You've processed over two exobytes since getting here."

Fred was speechless. Beyond all words, his head went numb. He finally muttered "Talk to me Gooch."

"What do you last remember" asked Taniguchi.

"I was dreaming of Nazis in Antarctica" Fred fumbled softly.

"No I mean your last conscious memory." said Gooch.

"I'm not sure." said Fred "I thought I was driving from lake Tahoe." he said.

"Yeah, we've been worried about that. You've overlapped the computer matrix environment with the quote/unquote real world." Gooch said gesturing parenthesis with his hands. He continued "Your last known bout of consciousness was at Angela Frey's house in 2017, it's now April the tenth 2018."

Mudi's jaw slacked as his mouth went agape silently.

"She was an agent Mudi. Not long after crossing her path, her cohorts went to work on you. We found they were working out of the Ukraine. She didn't attack you but she was deeply involved. To be fair, she was just a pawn in the game, she didn't know the overarching agenda."

Freds mouth remained open as his eyes darted left to right as he tried to compute.

Zakari studied Freds reaction before continuing. "We have all your cognitive data recorded. You've been sending out data on a continuous basis but only sporadic near conscious data was sent. You were too deep in a near catatonic state to get a steady steam and we couldn't wake you till you drifted close enough to the surface."

Taniguchi paused to let Fred settle with the information. "The Ukrainian spies had hit you with a sophisticated attack we had not foreseen. It's what we now call a 'Poison Ivy Attack' which is a modem style audio attack. You got hit when you picked up a phone call. It works in the same way as a syntax bomb. They basically tried to download your memory then scramble the data as they left. They couldn't access your memory through the phone so they came the next night to do it physically. Luckily the data was encrypted quantumly and it is impossible for them to decrypt. At least at this time. It's a wonder you could transmit any information at all."

Gooch paused again waiting for a cognitive que. When Fred closed his mouth and looked up to met his eyes he continued.

"You flatlined twelve times since then. We brought you back each time. You broke all state records. They jokingly call you undead, or zombie or say you've resurrected. It's not very nice but you know how some of these engineers and doctors can be. Anyhow, you are a miracle breathing." Zakari stood up and approached Fred gently placing his hand on Mudi's head. "You have done the impossible Mudi. No one thought it would work. But here you are and the data is groundbreaking. In fact, while you were out, you saved the world... twice. But this is a lot to take. The docs recommended I only pester you for five minutes or so. We don't want to overload you on your first minutes back but I know you'd have thrown a fit if you didn't get some answers. I'm supposed to let you rest for a few hours and by this time next week, we should have you on your feet and in physical therapy. Welcome to mission impossible."
Zakari let a grin flash across his face as he made for the door. "I have a dossier to get you briefed in full but you don't get that till the doctors clear you for such duty. If all looks good, I'll have that in your hands by tomorrow afternoon." Gooch's smile disappeared as his face went stern, "Any questions?"

Mudi slowly turned his gaze from infinite space to meet Taniguchi's eyes. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"A million."

Gooch smiled again. "All in due time Mudi. You've still got an uphill road to scale but we will get there. Although you've been through a lot, we have just started. Now rest up and for fucks sake, don't mess with your head jack. we can't pull it till your cleared so keep the chest restraint in place just in case. If you need anything just hit the button and a nurse will see you soon. And don't discuss anything with the staff here, you should only speak to me concerning anything of your recent experience. I have to get back to the lab. Your recent transmission needs deep analysis, it's a doozy." Taniguchi headed for the door before Fred called out.

"Gooch!"

"Gooch, your saying it was all a dream?"

Zakari stalled, carefully considering his words, "Yes and no. It's far more complicated than that. But you should rest now. It's too much to take in right now. Your going to want that mind of yours sharp in the coming days. The way you reprogrammed that A.I. was amazing, if not genius... and you did that while comatose. I can't wait to see what you do wide awake. Now please, rest up - these doctors will have a fit if I stay too long. You're going to be ok Mudi. Hang in there and we will cover all the basics soon. Then we will get into the fun stuff. I'll see you tomorrow trooper." Zak let another smile go before turning to leave.

"Gooch!" cried Fred. "One more thing!"

Zak stopped at the door and turned to look at Fred.

"Bring smokes."