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soon as Astrid’s happily snoozing wavy gray lines across my Gizmo screen, I switch to a stealth server so I can log on to the Dynasaurs network, using my hacker name, HectorProtector.
    My dad is the one who showed me how to access these private, hidden channels without being traced. When I was twelve, he took me to an electronics graveyard, where I stood in disbelief at the mountain of motherboards, cascade of keyboards, and sea of screens. We picked through the surprisingly well-organized piles of digital detritus until we had everything we needed to build an old-fashioned homemade tablet from scratch, which dad called a jalopy because it reminded him of the beat-up old cars that guys like his great-grandfather built and raced way back in the 1950s. Next, Dad showed me how to access the Dynasaurs chat room so I could take my jalopy out for a spin without being traced. When I asked him why he was showing me how to talk to the enemies of One World, he said he wanted me to understand that One World’s appearance of total market domination was only as good as everyone’s acceptance.
    These are the skeptics, he told me. The ones who will question the system and keep it honest if it becomes corrupt.
    If One World wants complete freedom on the Web so they can dominate the global marketplace, then they have to let everyone else have access, too. Which is why it’s legal for the Dynasaurs to exist, even if what they do sometimes is against the law. Their existence is a prime example of why Libertarianism works, Dad told me. If there were no outlets for the skeptics One World would be perceived as a corporate dictator and more people might rebel. It just so happens, One World is very good at distracting most people from questioning the system by keeping everyone’s belly full and brain entertained. Except for the Dynasaurs. Their greatest source of entertainment is throwing wrenches in One World systems. And that means people like my dad are continually trying to outsmart the Dynasaurs by creating better cyber security. Honestly, I think my dad likes the elaborate chess game he’s playing with these guys more than he likes making new products.
    Now when I log on to the Dynasaurs network, I don’t use a jalopy like I used to. Instead, I figured out how to crack the operating system of my Gizmo and reconfigured it to hop from stealth server to stealth server all over the world. So, within seconds of logging on, I’m having an untraceable conversation with my pal AnonyGal.

    Hey HP was that you who pranked the ProPool Meet-Up Site last wk?

    Unlike a lot of hackers, I work alone and I don’t leave signatures. This is a point of contention among some Dynasaurs who think that not signing your work is cowardly. I think those people get some weird kind of rush off the cat-and-mouse game they play with cyber security. Constantly changing servers, wiping cyber lives clean, and re-creating online identities seems like a lot of rigmarole for a little infamy. Personally, I’d rather stay under the One World radar, but I don’t mind recognition in the Dynasaurs forum every now and again, depending on who’s asking. And since AnonyGal has been around on the chat boards for a long time, I feel safe texting back.

    What makes you think it was me?

    AG writes,

    Had all the hallmarks of an HP smack. Clean, elegant, and hilarious.

    I never thought about my pranks having personality, but AG is kind of right. The hack was supersimple but had big results. I found a back door in the Procreation Pool Meet-Up Site system, then changed a few lines of the algorithm so that instead of being paired up with someone who shares the majority of your interests, you’d get a request from someone who was completely different. I write,

    Grandma always said that opposites attract.

    AG sends me a smiley face with the message,

    Wish I could have been a spybot on some of those dates!

The thing is, I wasn’t trying to be unkind. I really do think it’s