Page 107 of Nitro

“Someone tried to log into my computer.” He stabs away at the keyboard without looking up.

“Did they get in?” I ask.

“That’s the thing. I can’t tell. It’s almost like they managed to hack it, but according to my detection software, there’s no log of any events since I went into the hospital.”

“How can you tell someone hacked it when it doesn’t look compromised? Did you run a virus scan?”

“It’s running now.”

The computer dings. A report pops up.

“Oh, fuck.” Matrix runs his hand over his face.

“What?”

“They’re good.”

“Who?”

“The hacker. They didn’t try to log in manually. It was a remote hack. Super strange, though, because at first, I thought it was attempted on the laptop. But now it looks like a back door was installed remotely? I don’t know. I need more time to figure this out.”

“You should rest.”

“No. Can’t. Too much to do.”

“Bro, you’re going to get too stressed out. This can wait.”

“Found it.” He leans back in his chair. “They left a breadcrumb.”

“And?” I move my hand in a circular motion, so he’ll explain his techie shit.

“I’ve got a screen name: Mnemosyne.”

“Any idea what that means?”

“Yeah. Mnemosyne is a Greek goddess associated with memory or remembrance. She was the mother to the nine Muses. Her nephew Zeus was their father.”

“Roll tide. Alabama has entered the chat.”

“Very funny.” He rolls his eyes, letting me know what he really thinks about my joke. Oh well.

“So, why choose a goddess as a screen name? Do you think the hacker’s a chick?”

“Could be. Do you remember the mnemonic devices Nina taught us for remembering stuff?”

“Yeah, like ‘Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally’ for the mathematic order of operations.”

“Why do you play dumb when you’re not?” he asks.

“What makes you say that?”

“Never mind. Anyway, Mnemosyne is derived from the same source as the word ‘mnemonic’.”

“Okay. Why is that important?” I ask.

“I don’t know yet. But there’s a connection. I know it. I just can’t see it yet.”

“You should go lay down. Get Daisy to give you a back rub or something. You can figure this out later.”

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