"That is very entertaining science fiction man, but you didn't need to make up something that elaborate for an excuse to come and see me."

Adam Holland stared with wild eyed frustration at his tubby, balding, middle aged mentor, Daniel Stein. He was the only person Adam could turn to for help with his new program and was the closest thing to a friend he had despite the more than twenty year age difference. Dan was a computer engineer and had worked for some of the biggest tech companies back in his younger years. One of those had been a company that Adam's dad had worked at, and Dan had been invited over for a meal at their house.

It was there that Adam had shown Dan his talent for hacking in an attempt to impress someone who actually seemed to have some computer skills. Adam had quickly gained access to his school's records and changed grades of several students. Dan had not been impressed. When Adam upped his game by gaining access to one of the more heavily secured government sites, Dan conceded that this kid knew his way around a computer. Instead of telling him off or getting him in trouble with his parents, a bond was forged, and Dan took Adam on as his apprentice in what he called the war against the man.

Dan left Adam's city shorty thereafter for a new job that was in an adjacent government sector. The sectors were akin to the states of old, but each had been divided up by population to help create maximum efficiency in monitoring the citizens within. Each sector had its own large government facility that kept a close eye on an ever decreasing crime rate and closer eye on the money spending habits of each man and woman for the corporations that controlled it all.

Dan and Adam were now three hours apart, but it meant little as they communicated almost entirely online. It was through Dan's influence that Adam had become so inspired to perform his greatest hacking feat, gaining access to the government's most powerful tool in keeping tabs on the masses. It was known as Peace Of Mind, or POM, and until three weeks ago, it had been impenetrable. Then Adam used a program he had cobbled together off of websites of hackers that had tried before him, and added his own …