(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting

Chapter Twenty-Six - Metamorphic Code

RILEY

I FOLLOWED LUC out of the gardens and into the elevator. Thirty minutes later, we'd received the phone call. This was it. We would discover who kept sending me those strange texts. "Did he say anything else?"

He seemed preoccupied when he pressed the button. "No, but it shouldn't have taken that long to crack an ordinary cellphone."

We entered Michael's office and I felt more agitated than ever. Could Freecore Tech itself not be able to reveal who messaged me anonymous texts? Michael paced in the office, a hand over his lips. When he saw me, he gave back my phone.

"I apologize for not being able to reveal the person's identity or location. There's a beefed up metamorphic code encrypting the stranger's payload." He shook his head, deeply troubled. I didn't think he'd met any technical resistance in the last decade until now. "This... this is something I've never seen except on some viruses."

Luc's eyebrows knitted. "How is this possible?"

"English, please?" I chimed in. 

"A  metamorphic code is an encryption system where the code shifts with unpredictable patterns. It would protect the phone's algorithm by constantly transforming configurations on every level, Sunshine, including the algorithm itself. If you want to crack the code and get the answers, you need to find the underlying pattern. Basic polymorphic codes are already a pain in the ass but this is just..."

"You mean we're screwed." Desperation ran through me.

Michael sighed, and the intelligence sparkling in his eyes was ageless. "I simply couldn't retrace the message with all the methods I knew. Some high-ranked officials have tougher cellphones to break into because they're encrypted, but this one was impenetrable. My guess is the individual's phone is guarded by an unknown type of defense, maybe even custom-made. If it works with a code I can't understand, then I can't hack it."

I traced the outlines of my phone, wondering what kind of crazy genius would be interested in setting me on a treasure hunt and why.

"Lauren was good at this. Maybe she could have helped by now if she could have continued. She learned so fast, like it would kill her to slow down." Sadness mingled with admiration tautened his features. "Riley, if this can be of any help, this is probably someone you know, someone who can have access to this degree of security. Make sure you pay closer attention to the people around you."

I didn't know any hacker or computer whizz. I contemplated Luc, who seemed lost in thought.

"Maybe we should try to lure it out," he suggested, snapping out of it. "Make it show itself."

Michael dismissed the idea with a hand. His face paled. "If it ever tells you to go somewhere else again, do not listen to it. Don't even go to that address again. We lost your sister, and we don't need to lose you." He glanced at me briefly. "More and more people are going to depend on you. You can't only think about yourself."

"I think about everyone all the damn time. It's what I've always done."

Michael moved behind his desk, putting an arm on either side. He started to look disturbed. "I'm asking you to tread more carefully."

Luc's eyes narrowed. "You know, maybe you're the one who's out of touch. We live with this risk. We've always known maybe they were still out there, just never this close. I can't ignore that. Not if—as you said—people depend on me."

"You've never heard about the saying poking the bear with a stick?"

"Yeah, you're doing it right now."