TRIX: It gets dark fast here because of the supertalls.”

  Trix pointed up at a crowded skyline that showed only a sliver of distant, darkening blue. The neon signs closer to the ground were brighter than the sky above.

  TRIX: Come on, we’ve got to get off the streets.

  I laughed at that. I’d spent enough years on the streets to know that there was no getting off them, not for me.

  TRIX: What’s funny, honey?

  WILL: There’s no exit, Trix. That’s the first and last rule of survival down here.

  TRIX: That might have been true in the city you knew. But you’ve got to start thinking more like a data pirate. There’s information all around us. And information is currency. Information opens doors. But it’s getting darker by the minute out here, so we’d better be quick about opening those doors.

  WILL: What exactly are you so scared of once dark falls?

  I noticed the eyes of Trix’s portrait go blue for a second and then an image of mutated rats and crocodiles emerging from the sewers popped up.

  TRIX: Scavengers too. The system regulates how many mobs are around—and the strength of those mobs—but those regulations disappear at night. So, until we’re less squishy, we’re gonna find a way off the streets at night. Have you noticed the teams of guards standing inside most of the entrances to the supertalls? Those buildings aren’t going to be easy to crack into.

  In fact, I had noticed—ever since becoming a data pirate—that cameras were everywhere. They hung from street signs. They were mounted to the sides of buildings. A drone with two banks of cameras was even gliding overhead right now.

  TRIX: We’ve got to find a legacy building. They’ll have softer security. Look there.

  An armed soldier stood guard in front of what might have been the crown jewel of the skyline a century ago.

  WILL: Are you gonna brain bolt him?

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  TRIX: Maybe. But first you’re going to Snoop him.

  WILL: I only get to use that three times a day.

  TRIX: And this day’s almost over, babe. Go ahead. I’ll watch your interface so we can figure out what we can manipulate.

  It dawned on me that by virtue of being in a party together, Trix was getting the full benefit of the technocrat’s ring without any of the drawbacks. She was one smooth operator, and I was starting to understand the operation. I wondered how many Jaggers had come before Jagger.

  I focused on the guard standing in front of the mouldering art deco building—Trust Foundation Guard – Level 20—but noticed an option to read up on the history of the building behind him, something I hadn’t noticed before. I clicked on it, and my vision was confronted with a nearly infinite scroll about architects, project setbacks, crooked politicians, and loads of information about building materials and cornices. I’ll spare you the details. Heck, I spared myself the details, but I had a nagging desire to study that section on cornices.

  TRIX: Yo, data pirate, save the architectural history for later. Let’s speed this up.

  WILL: On it.

  I focused on the guard again, taking in his dark blue and black uniform. Once I did so, a black ring icon popped up over his head.

  TRIX: Neat!

  I clicked on it and immediately had access to his system files.

  Achievement unlocked! You snooped on an NPC with The Ring of the Dark Technocrat’s Heart. Is your wannabe technocrat’s heart racing from the thrill? Now you know what it’s like to be Mark Zuckerberg! Next thing you know, you’ll be called to testify before the Senate about data privacy.

  Reward: You may not have known this, so I’ll just leave it here. You get experience points for doing Data Pirate things. And snooping mobs that are 4x your level is beyond stupid, so, naturally, that netted you a metric ton of experience points.

  I heard fanfare again and multi-colored confetti dumped on me.

  Zing! You levelled up! But don’t get lured into a sense of false confidence. You’re probably going to die soon.

  TRIX: That guard hasn’t moved since you Snooped him. I don’t think he knows we’ve got access to his files.

  WILL: Yeah, I didn’t feel any resistance.

  The guard was armored, seriously armored. He had a ring that would give him a 5-second shield of impenetrability. It had a 30-second cooldown, so if he read his enemy right, he could avoid taking a lot damage.

  TRIX: I just noticed something. There’s no timer on this skill.

  WILL: What’s that mean?

  TRIX: It could mean that this guy will stay in your Technocrat’s Ring files for good.

  Once she mentioned the file, I noticed a new tab with the ring icon on it. I clicked on it and saw a selectable portrait of the Trust Foundation Guard.

  TRIX: Try focusing away from him and then going back in. I’ve already copied all of his data into a separate file. So even if it doesn’t let you back in, we’re good.

  WILL: Ok, focusing on something else now.

  TRIX: Don’t you dare read up on more building history!

  WILL: And it let me back in!

  TRIX: I knew it. Also, I think I’ve figured out how we get past this guy.