Interlude 1: James

                                    

                                          
A/N If you want to skip the interludes and jump to the next chapter of Meta then that's OK.

                          
POV James:  The Govsys Acadamy New Torronto. New-Am.
                          
Packed in his student dormitory, next to his bed, James liked to play Halo when he got stressed. He had been playing it quite a lot recently. It distracted him from the ills of the world. He would untie the black novice uniform and sit back in the aluminium chair. Time would fly by, sometimes he would look up and find it was midnight or he had even missed Professor Graystone's 9:00 Introductory programming class. James lent back so far he nearly touched the grey metal bunk bed frame. There was a ping and James looked up from his grandfather's play station. He was expecting one of his friends on Discord so he paused the game and grabbed his phone.
                          
James, the message began. "WE BOTH KNOW WHERE YOUR ESSAY FOR PROFESSOR GREYSTONES CLASS CAME FROM. IN FACT, WE KNOW WHERE THE OTHER ESSAY FOR DR WENCHI'S CLASS CAME FROM TOO. Let's FACE IT IT WOULD BE REALLY EMBARRASSING IF YOU WERE TO BE PUT ON ACADEMIC TRIAL FOR PLAGIARISM. WITH YOUR DAD BEING SUCH A LEADING LIGHT IN THE PERMANENT PARTY."
                          
"Who are you?" James typed. Then he typed the question mark.
                          
"IT DOESN'T MATTER JAMES" the text came back. "WHAT MATTERS IS YOU WON'T LIKE IT. YOUR DAD WOULDN'T LIKE IT. YOUR FRIENDS WOULD FIND OUT AND NO ONE LIKES BEING LAUGHED AT."
                          
"How did you find out?" James began to type desperately.
                          
"DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO TELL YOU? YOU CAN CALL ME NABERUS  STOP PLAYING FOR TIME JAMES. DO YOU WANT TO BE THROWN OUT OF UNIVERSITY IN THE DEEPEST SHAME? YOUR IN AN ELITE PROGRAM FOR AN ELITE UNIVERSITY. YOUR PARENTS WENT TO A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT TO GET YOU THERE. IMAGINE JAMES, SAYING YOU GOT KICKED OUT FOR CHEATING TO YOUR DAD. I THINK YOU CAN SAFELY CROSS OFF THANKSGIVING FOR THE NEXT THIRTY YEARS FROM YOUR APPOINTMENTS. IT WOULD GO ON YOUR RECORD. EVERY TIME YOU WENT FOR A JOB THEY WOULD KNOW YOU WERE A CHEAT AND A FAILURE." The message came back.
                          
James literally rubbed his eyes. No one knew about this. Well, only the remote essay mill. They didn't know him. They were supposed to be reliable. James sat up.
                          
"Rob, is this you?" James typed desperately. Rob was James' friend at University. He had his weird moments. James hadn't told anyone about the essay.
                          
"YOUR SISTER BETH, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH SHE HATES CHEATS? WELL, SHE PROBABLY WILL NEVER TALK TO YOU AGAIN. BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY."
                          
James threw the phone across the room. His eyes started to burn like he was at the front row of a riot. His stomach felt heavy like he was being trodden on by horseman of the apocalypse. Someone had found out. Who? He hadn't told anyone. The guilt had made him feel slightly panicky at university. Ever since he had done it. He had felt everyone had stared at him. Now, this.
                          
The phone buzzed another message arrived.
                          
"I DON'T LIKE BEING IGNORED JAMES. I'M A BUSY MAN AND NEVER DO THAT AGAIN."
                          
There was an animated gif of a wagging finger. James deleted it.
                          
"NO ONE NEED FIND OUT. WHAT I ASK IN RETURN IS SO VERY VERY LITTLE. I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH MONEY NOW. SO I'M WILLING TO OPERATE ON THE LAYAWAY PLAN. I DO NEED SOME 'HONEST' MONEY AS A DEPOSIT TO YOUR AGREEMENT THAT YOU WILL GIVE ME THE PAYBACK YOU OWE ME LATER JAMES."
                          
"What do you want?" James typed he noticed his fingers where shivering.
                          
The message came back beginning with a smiley. "TWO THINGS. JOIN THE FREEDOM PARTY. USE YOUR REAL NAME. PAY WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD. IT CAN BE AS LITTLE A $5 I DON'T MIND. JUST DO IT"
                          
"You want me to Join the Freedom party the one lead by that twasak Kane?" James relaxed slightly. This must be Rob. Rob had figured something out. He was playing a joke or something.
                          
"MASON KANE IS *YOUR* TWASAK JAMES." The message came back.
                          
James started a new line.
                          
"Rob is that you? Ha ha." James typed.
                          
"DON'T BOTHER PLAYING GUESSING GAMES, JAMES. I HAVE TWO OF YOU. WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME. MAKE SURE YOU ATTEND CLASS TOMORROW. SOMEONE IS GOING TO BE THROWN OUT FOR PLAGIARISM. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S NOT YOU. THEN CLICK HERE."
                          
The message ended with a link to the Freedom party web site.
                          
"FUCK OFF," James said now blocking the user.
                          
James got out the old worn Halo disc. He ejected the old game and dropped it to the floor like a junky dropping a used needle. The electric motor of the drive buzzed and Halo came up in all it's retro goodness. James put his headphones on to get the best sound and kicked the game off.
                          
*****
                          
The next morning James got the word from Rob that some 'Asian dude' had been thrown out by Professor Greystone. They met up. Rob said the dean had come down when the announcement had been made and wasted a huge amount of the lesson lecturing them on how they shouldn't ass around. Rob looked completely shocked. It was clear from the way he acted he wasn't on the other end. To check James unlocked his phone in the student union. He pretended to go to the John and then spied on Rob.
                          
He unblocked "Naberus" and then followed the link, filled in the form and sent the money.
                          
"OK, I've done it happy?" He typed and looked at Rob chatting with Kevin and looking like a wolf at the waitress. From this distance, James could see Rob down to the crumbs in his black beard.
                          
The response was almost immediate. Whoever this hacker was they were efficient.
                          
"THANKS. I KNEW YOU WOULD JAMES. THE DONATION WAS THE FIRST PART." The message came.
                          
There was a paused "I NOW NEED A SECOND DONATION. I WANT A PICTURE OF YOUR DICK. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IN RETURN I WILL SEND YOU A PHOTO OF THE PROFESSOR'S SPOT TEST FOR THIS AFTERNOON'S WORKSHOP. I THINK IT'S A PANIC AND REVENGE THING. FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE I'VE INDICATED THE CORRECT ANSWERS. YOU'RE GOING TO THE TOP JAMES. WE ARE A TEAM NOW."