H Trope: Realism-Induced Horror (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealismInducedHorror), specifically Mundane Horror – https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MundaneHorror
Current Event: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57707530
Inna Safin looked up and shook her head, saying, “There’s nothing we can do. Everything we try, they block.”
Semyon Kazansky sighed, staring at the meter-wide screen, “The thing is that they’re just as smart as we are.”
Inna snorted, “Smarter. They’re making money hand-over-fist, and we’re sitting here, pretending to be Americans, and driving to work in the middle of the night for government pay.”
Semyon nodded, smiling faintly, “At least our pay is in American dollars and not bitcoin or Rubles.”
“There is that.” She reached out to turn off the screen, “I think I’m done for the day. I can’t think of anything else we can do.” She stood, groaning, hunched over a moment before she could straighten a spine bent most of the night. “I always feel like crap when I’m done. My back hurts, my feet are swollen, If it weren’t for helping the world be a safer place, I’d quit and join the cyberterrorists.”
He looked up at her, “You wouldn’t. Your heart is too pure.”
She sighed. “I was a captain in the Russian Space Force. I couldn’t have been TOO pure.”
He hummed. “Didn’t know that part of your past. I was in the SVR.”
Her eyes widened, “You really do everything people whisper about?”
He looked up, raising his eyebrows. He looked both ways, grinned an evil grin, widening his eyes and leaned toward her, whispering, “Way, way worse.” He bounced his eyebrows.
She burst out laughing, then abruptly sobered. “What if we could do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make our response to cyberterrorism actually painful?” She sat down again, turning on her screen. She hunched over her keyboard a moment later, typing furiously. Her English words morphed into Cyrillic, which came out as gibberish until the computer corrected and started to respond to her typing correctly.
His eyes grew wider and his jaw dropped open. He turned to his own computer and started typing. Shortly his own words drifted into Cyrillic, though his keyboard changed faster.
When she sat back, Inna looked at Semyon. She whispered, “I think this is just barely short of Frankenstein’s Monster.”
His voice was soft as well, “More like an avenging angel. Or demon.”
“Either way, they could cause some really serious damage,” she said.
“Worse than that,” Semyon’s voice dropped to a bare whisper, “This thing is like a nightmare come-to-life.” He paused, adding, “I’m pretty close to messing my pants just sitting here.”
“What if we tested it?” said Inna. “Just one cyberterrorist. One that targeted kids…”
Names: ♀, ♂ -- Russian
Image: https://cdn.britannica.com/40/11740-004-50816EB1/Boris-Karloff-Frankenstein-monster.jpg
Inna snorted, “Smarter. They’re making money hand-over-fist, and we’re sitting here, pretending to be Americans, and driving to work in the middle of the night for government pay.”
Semyon nodded, smiling faintly, “At least our pay is in American dollars and not bitcoin or Rubles.”
“There is that.” She reached out to turn off the screen, “I think I’m done for the day. I can’t think of anything else we can do.” She stood, groaning, hunched over a moment before she could straighten a spine bent most of the night. “I always feel like crap when I’m done. My back hurts, my feet are swollen, If it weren’t for helping the world be a safer place, I’d quit and join the cyberterrorists.”
He looked up at her, “You wouldn’t. Your heart is too pure.”
She sighed. “I was a captain in the Russian Space Force. I couldn’t have been TOO pure.”
He hummed. “Didn’t know that part of your past. I was in the SVR.”
Her eyes widened, “You really do everything people whisper about?”
He looked up, raising his eyebrows. He looked both ways, grinned an evil grin, widening his eyes and leaned toward her, whispering, “Way, way worse.” He bounced his eyebrows.
She burst out laughing, then abruptly sobered. “What if we could do that?”
“Do what?”
“Make our response to cyberterrorism actually painful?” She sat down again, turning on her screen. She hunched over her keyboard a moment later, typing furiously. Her English words morphed into Cyrillic, which came out as gibberish until the computer corrected and started to respond to her typing correctly.
His eyes grew wider and his jaw dropped open. He turned to his own computer and started typing. Shortly his own words drifted into Cyrillic, though his keyboard changed faster.
When she sat back, Inna looked at Semyon. She whispered, “I think this is just barely short of Frankenstein’s Monster.”
His voice was soft as well, “More like an avenging angel. Or demon.”
“Either way, they could cause some really serious damage,” she said.
“Worse than that,” Semyon’s voice dropped to a bare whisper, “This thing is like a nightmare come-to-life.” He paused, adding, “I’m pretty close to messing my pants just sitting here.”
“What if we tested it?” said Inna. “Just one cyberterrorist. One that targeted kids…”
Names: ♀, ♂ -- Russian
Image: https://cdn.britannica.com/40/11740-004-50816EB1/Boris-Karloff-Frankenstein-monster.jpg
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