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I am 19 years old. I am a sophomore at the California Institute of Technology, where I am studying computer science. I am now an assistant scoutmaster with the Boy Scout troop I grew up in, as well as one other in addition. Today is Monday, and I am leaving work to go home. I work as the head network security analyst for Lockheed Martin. It's close to six O'clock, so I change my plan and decide not to stop at home and instead go directly to scouts. As I am driving home, I take a moment to reflect on my life, and the drastic difference between who I am now, and who I was as a kid. I came from nothing; a poor family with a disappointing mother, and no father to speak of, and now I am a successful leader in the network security industry. I got lucky, really. The competition I entered when I was 17 was fairly straightforward. We were given a file with a security code on it. Our goal was to protect this code however we saw fit, while still retaining the ability to access it from anywhere in the world. At the same time, we were tasked with the challenge of obtaining our competitors' security codes. We were given any and all technology and equipment we required; the operators of the challenge wanted it to be truly a competition of skill and cleverness, limited by our own abilities and nothing else. There were 6 other competitors, including programmers from highly prestigious corporations. The lead analyst from Symantec was there, as well as the programming lead from Microsoft's Anti-Malware department. One was employed by the NSA, and the others were foreign, two were Japanese, and the last was a security advisor for one of the largest banks in Switzerland. Anyway, to make a long story short, I was able to retrieve four of my six challengers' codes, while not a single one was able to take mine. I had spent the majority of my life teaching myself how to break into systems, and secure them, and it finally paid off. The prize for this competition was relatively small, I received $500,000, and a free ride scholarship to the school of my choice, but the real reward was the prestige I won for myself by winning the challenge. Within 3 weeks, I was offered jobs at over 70 fortune five hundred companies. Lockheed Martin offered me the best deal. I chose my own salary, was given full benefits, and was put in charge of their entire security department, which was I allowed to manage as I saw fit. I was allowed to choose my own hours, and design my own work environment, and my department was given a huge budget. Our specific mandate is to design security systems for the newest and most high-tech aircraft and weaponry designed by the company. Now, I have been working there for almost two years; I have a mansion built in the hills surrounding my home town, in which I built a supercomputer to supplement my own abilities. The AI that I named Moose is now running my supercomputer, and is managing a large portion of my life. I drive a Mercedes SLR McLaren; it's my baby. The first thing I did was customize it to meet my needs; it is now an extension of the computer in my house. Quite a change from the poor little kid who left home when he was 14. Anyway, back to the story. I take the exit from the freeway closest to where my troop meets, and follow the few turns before I arrive at the church that charters my troop. I parked my car, and pulled my uniform out of the trunk. After a few quick minutes spent in the bathroom changing, I entered the meeting room and made a bee-line to the scoutmaster; an old friend of mine from church who helped me out a great deal on my own journey towards Eagle Scout. "Hey Kevin, how're you doing?" "Can't complain. What can I do for you?" "I took the liberty of buying a bunch of wood staves for the troop to use for lashings and structures; I noticed that we seem to not have very many usable poles. I'm going to take a few scouts and bring them down to the storage room; can I borrow your keys for a few minutes?" "Great! Sure, here." "I'll bring them back when I'm done." "No rush." "Thanks." I wandered among the scouts looking for a few to help. All of them look up to me and respect me, and would help if I asked, but some of them are more annoying than others; so I took the time to pick some that don't irritate me. "Hey Aaron, Bradley, come here. I need you guys to help me bring some poles down to the downstairs room and put them away." "Sure, no problem." "Go find Brendon, see if he'll help too." "Ok." "Meet me out in the parking lot by the church's shed when you get him; I had a truck drop them off yesterday afternoon." "Ok." "Thanks." They were good kids. They joined the troop together about two years ago. Aaron is my favorite of them; he hasn't had such a great home life so far… his dad is in jail for a drug related offense, and his mom is off and on with drugs as well. I don't have proof, but I think he's been abused in the past. One time we were talking; it was about a year ago at summer camp. It was late, and I was sitting on a table, when he came and joined me without saying a word. Curious, I didn't say anything either, and presently he began to talk. He told me about his life, about his little half brother who was in the hospital being treated for leukemia, about his mother, about his father, or at least what he remembers of him, about his dog, who he said he sometimes thought was the only one who really loved him. At this point, nearly in tears, I put my arm around his shoulders and squeezed gently, and I could feel him shuddering slightly, as if he too were just this side of tears. We sat like that for a while after he was finished talking to me, until finally I got up and told him it was late and he should go to bed. The next day he came up and pulled me aside. "What's up little buddy?" "I just wanted to say thank you." "For what?" "For listening to me. I felt like you really cared about me last night. Not very many people do… so thanks." Then he walked away, before I had a chance to respond. (Back in the parking lot) "Hey guys, here are the poles. They need to go down to the downstairs room." Bradley replied: "Ok. Hey Brendon, help me carry a bunch of these." He and Brendon grabbed about half the poles and walked away with them. "Ok, Aaron, you and I will take the rest." "Ok." He said it with an odd inflection and a look… but I let it go without comment. We took the poles downstairs, passing Bradley and Brendon on their way back up. When we got there, I put the poles up above the cabinet containing the patrol gear, and turned to leave. I saw Aaron over by the light switch just before the lights went out, and I heard the door shut. Annoyed, I made my way over to the light switch, and just as I turned them back on, Aaron jumped on my back. I laughed, flipped him over, and caught him before he fell to the ground. I squeezed him tightly for a few seconds, and he mock-struggled back, before I loosened my grip, and he relaxed into my embrace. I held him like that for just a moment, and then released my grip, and we both walked back up to the meeting together. On the way back up, I asked him about the look from before. "I don't know… I just felt kind of weird about being left with you." "Why?" "Oh no, not bad… I like you… a lot... I guess I was just a little surprised by how happy I was about something as little as helping you move some poles." I didn't say anything, but I reached out and ruffled his hair a bit before we entered the meeting room. He went back to the meeting, and working on outdoor skills, and the rest of the meeting went pretty much un-eventfully. At the end of the meeting, he came up to me and asked if I could give him a ride home. I told him sure, no problem, and after the meeting was over, we both got into my car. For the whole ride, he kept behaving like he wanted to say something, but couldn't quite bring himself to spit the words out. He kept looking up at me, then back down at his lap. We pulled up in front of his house and I turned the car off, but he didn't get out. So I waited, expecting him to speak any minute. Finally he looked up at me again, sadly, said goodbye, and thanked me for the ride. Perplexed, I said goodbye as well, and watched as he walked the few yards to his front door, slowly. He seemed to have an odd manner about him, almost like he didn't want to walk through the door. He looked back at me once, as he walked over the threshold, but quickly turned his attention back towards the interior of the house, and shut the door. I waited there, in my car, for a few moments more; for what, I don't know. Finally, after nothing else seemed to happen I decided I was being stupid, and turned my car back on and left. The next day went fairly well. My department made a huge step forward on one of our more lucrative projects, and I treated my project heads to dinner at a very nice restaurant near the office. We ate, made small talk, and discussed future advances and current projects. Finally, we all stood up and said our farewells, then went our separate ways. An hour or so later I was driving along the road that leads to my mansion. The road is called Foothill; aptly named as it sits at the base of a range of steep hills that push high above the rest of the city. It's a two lane road that stretches across the entirety of the city, and this late at night I never expect to see anyone else on the road, certainly not pedestrians. So I was surprised, to say the least, when I rounded a bend in the road and passed someone walking along its side. I was past them before I was able to get a decent look, but I watched through my rear view mirror until I was out of sight. It looked to be a kid, maybe 12 or 13 years old. It was unusual, and I was curious, to be sure, but it was only about 11 at night, so I figured the kid was probably on his way home, and thought nothing more of it. I arrived at my house a few minutes later, and went to bed almost immediately. (3 days later) The day started off like any other. I made myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast (I know, right? Anything I could want, and I still eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast?), and watched the early morning CNN news broadcast. As I was leaving for work, however, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to stay home today. I went back inside, to my office, and called to let them know I would be working from home. It's not really a huge deal, but I try to avoid it whenever possible. The only real difference is I have to conduct my staff meetings via teleconference, which tends to make the meetings more difficult for all involved, if only slightly. Anyway, I set to work right away, with the intention of getting done the things I need to do quickly so I could spend the afternoon relaxing on my balcony. A few hours later my phone rang. I was so engrossed in what I was doing, I almost didn't catch it before it went to voicemail, but fortunately I awoke from my programming induced coma in time to answer it. "Hello?" "Hey Mike… this is Aaron. I got your number from the troop roster." "Oh, hi Aaron, what's up?" "I hope you don't mind… but I didn't know who to call… you were the only person I could think of." As he said this, I thought I heard a sob, but I wasn't sure. I spoke again: "No, no problem. What's going on?" "I'm out in Oxnard and I'm stuck… I need a ride home." This time I was sure, he was definitely crying. "Aaron, are you ok?" "Yeah… I'm fine… just… can you come get me please?" "Sure bud, no problem. Where are you exactly?" As he told me exactly where he was, my mind was full of questions. Why was he in Oxnard? Why was he crying? And why am I the only person he can call for a ride? I suppose I'll find out when I go get him. I spoke to my assistant quickly to let her know where I was going, then I got in my car, and headed down toward the freeway. The few minutes spent driving were occupied by my wondering about Aaron's predicament. As I pulled up to the corner he was waiting for me on, he stood to meet me. I got out of my car and walked around it, and he immediately pulled me into a tight hug, and buried his face in my shoulder. I returned his hug, and rubbed his back as he sobbed, and slowly he calmed down. After a few minutes he released his grip, and I help him at arm's length, looking into his tear streaked face. "Aaron, what's going on? Why are you in Oxnard all by yourself?" "I can't tell you… I'm sorry… thanks for coming to get me… my stepdad was supposed to meet me an hour ago, but he didn't show up and he's not answering his phone…" "It's ok kiddo… let's get you home." We got into my car, and headed back toward Ventura. As we approached his house, it was apparent that he was growing more and more nervous. I pulled up in his driveway and turned off the engine to say goodbye, but he interrupted me. "Mike… do I have to go home?" he asked. "What do you mean?" I responded. "I mean… do I have to? Can I stay with you for a while?" "I guess so… shouldn't we check with your parents?" "No, no… it's ok… they don't care." I found that odd, but I didn't want to press the issue. "Ok bud, sure; that sounds like a plan." I turned the car back on, and started off toward my house, along with a visibly relieved boy. I resolved to try to talk to him more about this later, but for now I asked him about normal kid stuff; how was school, homework, friends, etc. When we got within sight of my house he stopped talking and stared. "This is where you live?!" he asked incredulously. "Your parents must be loaded!" Chuckling, I responded. "I don't live with my mom. This house is mine." "Really? Cool…" he trailed off with a smile. He didn't say anything else until we entered the mansion. My assistant gave me a questioning look, which I waved off as I introduced her to Aaron. "Aaron, this is my assistant. Her name is Jennifer. If you need anything while you're here, and I'm not available, you can ask her and she'll take care of it for you." "Cool. Hi, nice to meet you." She responded in kind, and I continued to show him around the mansion. When we got to my office he again dropped his jaw in awe. "What is this?" he asked, in wonder. "This is where I work, when I'm at home, like I am today. These computers are state-of-the-art, and can do pretty much anything I need them to. Look, I still have what I was working on when you called up on the screens." "Wow… what is all that?" I explained to him my job as I showed him the code I was working on. "So… all those people work for you?" he asked. "Yes, they all work for me." "Wow. Ha ha… You're a nerd!" I punched him lightly as I laughed. "No sass, you little punk." I continued to show him around, saving the best for last. "This is the brains of my house. His name is Moose. I modified the code to create his base intelligence when I was 16. Since then, he has been helping me manage my life." "Wow." He said, impressed. Finally, the tour was finished. As we neared the living room, he began to speak. "So… you have all this money… all this stuff… what do you do for fun around here?" Laughing, I answered "Oh… did I forget? How negligent of me." His laughter at my use of the word negligent lasted all the way to a room we missed on the tour. As soon as he saw it he stopped laughing right away. He seemed to be speechless as he took in all of the awesomeness I kept in that room. A massive surround sound system, consisting of 32 speakers spaced evenly in the walls around the room and a subwoofer. An 84 inch plasma screen TV. A huge, excessively comfortable couch. And in an adjoining room, a computer set up for gaming, top of the line with graphics and processing power that would make graphic designers jealous. "This is… amazing. I've never seen anything like this." "So, what do you want to do?" As if I didn't know. "Can we watch a movie?" "Sure." "What movies do you have?" "I have anything you want bud." I took him to the wall where a panel slid aside to reveal an HP touch screen computer which displayed a search engine for movies. "You pick anything you want, and Moose will download it and play it for us in seconds." "Really? Cool!" I sat down on the couch while he picked a movie out. "Ok, I got one." He said. "Which one did you pick bud?" I asked. "Brother Bear." "Ok, cool." I said, as the lights began to fade, then slowly turn off. "Come on, have a seat, it's starting." He sat down next to me on the couch, and we settled in to watch the movie. As it progressed, he moved closer and closer, until finally he was leaning on me, and I put my arm around him. He looked up at me as I did that, tense suddenly, but only for a moment; then he relaxed and went back to watching the movie. After a while, he reached up and kind of awkwardly patted my arm. I reached around and across his chest, and held him to me tightly. He smiled and hugged my arm with his, and we stayed that way until the end of the movie. As the credits came to a close and the lights began to come on, I indicated to Moose's camera in the ceiling to leave them off. "Aaron," I began, "Why were you in Oxnard today?" Instantly, he was tense again. "I really can't tell you… I'm sorry… please don't be mad at me." "Aaron, don't be silly. I'm not mad at you bud, just worried. You know, if you ever want to talk, I'll be here for you." "I know… Thanks. Hey… do you think maybe I could stay here tonight?" "Won't your parents be worried? We should call them." "No… It's ok. They don't mind." "Are you sure?" "Yeah." "Well, ok. Want to watch another movie?" "Sure!" "Ok, how about this. Do you like pizza?" "Duh, who doesn't?" "Ok, you pick us out a movie, and I'll have my chef make us some pizza." "Cool!" As he picked out a movie, I went over to the intercom set under another hidden panel near the door. I placed the order with my chief, and then quietly called my assistant. "Jennifer, I need you to do something for me." "Absolutely, what can I do for you, sir?" "I want you to work with Moose, and see what you can find out about Aaron's family." "Sir?" "Just do it. I think there's a lot more going on there than he's sharing with me." "Ok." I gave her what information I knew about him quickly, and not a moment too soon. "Mike, come on, the movie's starting." Came his voice from the couch. "Ok bud, be there in a sec." Speaking again to Jennifer: "And keep this quiet please. I don't want him, or his parents, to know I'm looking into them." "No problem sir. I'll let you know what we find out." "Thanks." I headed back over toward the couch, where the opening credits were just finishing up. "What movie did you pick bud?" "Reno 911 Miami." "Isn't that rated R?" "Yes…" he said sheepishly. "Ok," I laughed, "I won't tell if you don't." "It's a deal," he said. I sat down on the couch again, and he quickly moved right up next to me, where I once again put my arm around him and held him to me. We cuddled for a while, watching the movie and laughing. After about an hour, my chef brought in our pizza, and we ate that while we watched. The movie finished up at around 10:30, and I decided it was time for bed. I showed him to one of the guest rooms, and told him if he needed anything, not to worry about waking me up at all. He reluctantly got into the bed, and I hugged him tightly, then tucked him in. "Good night Aaron." "Good night Mike. Thanks for everything." "No problem kid. No problem at all." With that, I retired to my own bedroom, where I reflected upon the day's events. Who was this kid, who after a year of interaction with, I barely knew. Why was he in Oxnard today? What's going on with his parents? All these questions; hopefully soon I'll have answers. After a while, I fell asleep. A few hours later, I was awoken by someone shaking my shoulder. Groggily, I opened my eyes to see Aaron standing next to my bed in tears. "Aaron, what's wrong little buddy?" "I can't sleep. Every time I fall asleep I dream about bad things," he sobbed. "Aww... come here bud," I said, as I sat up in my bed. I hugged him tightly, and rubbed his back. I did my best to comfort him as he stood there, his body wracked with shudders as he cried. As I cradled his head to my chest, he asked softly, "Mike… can I sleep with you? Please?" "I don't know bud… I guess it's ok." "Thank you," He said, even more quietly than before. "Alright, come on buddy," I said, as I got back into bed. He climbed up with me, and nestled up against me, with his head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, and held him as he fell asleep. I wasn't far behind him in that respect, and soon we were both fast asleep. |