Essay/Term paper: Creative writing: the big scoop

Essay, term paper, research paper:  World Literature

Creative Writing: The Big Scoop


Hello, my name is Jack Williams. I am a reporter you have been hearing a lot
about and this is how I gathered my information for my article on "Computers,
Hacking, And USA's Citizens" that has been causing so much uproar in many states
and even in the government. Recently, people have claimed that I fantasized
everything in the report and that I should work in the fiction field in stead of
journalism, so here is the exact way I received my information for my story. I
will start from the top and I will try not to miss a detail so you can fully
understand me. It was the first Friday of July and it was like any typical
midsummer evening at 6:00pm. The sun was still out shining down, just turning
red for sunset. It was not especially hot, but it was still tee-shirt weather.
I walked down the rather clean street towards the Citicorp building, thinking
excitedly about what was going to happen at the meeting and about what
information I could receive from this expierence. It was not long before I was
standing in front of the modern Citicorp building. The building exterior
consisted of mainly large glass windows which provided a very vivid reflection
of the neighboring buildings, almost camouflaging its presence on the block. I
thought of how the buildings appearence is suiting for what is happening inside
at that moment. I casually walked into the revolving glass doors that stood at
the base of the building. There were plenty of stores to my left and right.
They ranged from candy stores selling snickers bars and almond joy to fast food
restaurants selling burgers and french fries and all of the had people inside of
them, spending the money they just withdrew from the nearby ATM machines and the
tellers upstairs. It was the tipical gimick to make people spend their money,
let them have easy access to it, so it was nothing surprising to me. I continued
to walk towards the back of the building looking at all the stores to my sides
until I reached the very back of the building, right in front of Barnes & Nobles.

I saw a crowd of people standing there, all of mixed ages and nationality.
None were alike. These were not the normal people you would picture as vivid
computer lovers or people who liked to hack. People exchanged disks everywhere
in sight. There were all types of people sharing information about everything
from the latest computer security weakness or newest computer virii to what new
programs were released today. Forty year old men and women in suits and ties
standing, talking, and exchanging information with kids age ten to fifteen who
were dressed in skater outfits. In other places people from foreign countries
spoke with Americans overlooking their differences. They all shared the same
interest in hacking and computer technology. They live in their own world where
dollars mean nothing and disks mean everything. I casually walked into the
crowd towards a man who seemed rather interesting to me. He was a tall man,
about 30. The man was wearing Levis jeans, a clean white tee-shirt that said
"duh?" in large straight black letters, and a large red and black side bag full
of printed papers. He handed me some paper and told me in a semi-happy voice to
take a look at that and that it would explain everything. I threw the paper
into my bag saying to my self that this guy belongs in a mental institution if
he actually believed that one piece of paper could explain the whole hacker
world and I walked on to the other side of the room. There was a kid standing
there in the normal baggy pants and tee shirt working on a toshiba laptop.
Wanting to get the information I needed for my story, I walked over to the kid
and asked him what he was up to and to my surprise he asked me in a deep voice
if I was affiliated with any law enforcement agencies such as the F.B.I. or the
C.I.A.. I said to myself why would I be with a law enforcement agency, but to
get information, I tried to play it out very casually and said told him no, but
if I was, I don't think I would tell him. He said to me that by law, I would
be required to tell him the truth on that question if I was a member of a law
enforcement agency. I was shocked becuase I did not know about that. He asked
me again if I was a member of a law enforcement agency, and I replied that I
wasn't. He said that he didn't think I was but he is always better safe than
sorry. At this point I thought this guy was off the wall crazy or a really well
informed kid, but again I reminded myself about the story I was writing. I
asked him what he was doing in a nonchalant voice and his response astounded me.
He said he was trying to hack a computer server. It was not so much the idea of
hacking a server, because I knew everyone in the meeting was looking to do that
or to learn how to do that, but it was the way he said it. The way it flowed
was as if it was nothing special, nothing that did not happen everyday. This
kid seemed to be my story standing live in front of me. I played as what
hackers, phreakers (people who play with telephone companies), and software
pirates call a lamer, which is someone who is a complete computer idiot or knows
very little. I asked him if he tried to break into computer systems often and
he replied everyday and that he was usually successful on all of them. He just
continued typing his unix commands which went way over my computer training. I
figured that he was entranced enough with his hacking that I would be able to
ask him a few more questions. I proceeded to ask him about how many American
kids and adult like to hack and or phreak, what percentage of hackers were kids
and how many were adults and the like. The responses were astounding and I
checked with other people on these answers and they turned out to be
frighteningly correct. When I asked him, why hackers do what they do, he
grabbed my bag and pulled out the paper the man had given me earlier and rudely
said that I should read that and leave him alone. I could tell that I had
outlived my short welcome being a lamer, so off I went into a secluded corner
and read the document which the man had given me. It was written by a hacker
called the mentor just a few days before he was sentenced to a jail term, I
believe it was a fifty year term so he entitled it The Mentor's Last Words. It
told me about what goes on in a hacker's mind and why they do it. It also
showed me what hackers really are; they are not really criminals, at least not
all of them. They are curious and seek knowledge. According to them and this
document the true hacker never destroys, just looks. That is the essence of the
United States Hacker. He is neither male nor female. He does not age nor does
he have a nationality. People must realize most of these people will never meet
anywhere except in a virtual chat room and will never hear each others voice.
They have no choice but to judge people by what they do and not what they look
like or by their age.

The Citizen's view of hackers is completely distorted. All you see is what the
government wants you to see and by know even the most sheltered of American
citizens know how deranged the governemt can be. We are afraid of hackers
becuase we don't understand them and I don't blame you becuase that is human
nature to fear what you can not explain. What my article was trying to present
was the truth about hackers because the amount that you know is a joke, plain
and simple. This is where I received my story from. Yes it is depressing that
more and more people like to hack and phreak, but in a way, it is also good.
Now quite frankly I don't care if you believe me or not and probably if you do
believe me you will say you don't because you are scared to believe me, but that
is a battle I can't put to words as a story nor can I fight it for you. So,
having finished my explanation, I say good night and thank you for coming and
listening.