stage and looked at the other two finalists. The man who had pitched the home security system was standing next to another, one who’s pitch Kurt couldn’t quite recall. There was no girl — no Kate. “So is this guy doing the SycaPhone now?” he asked Amos.
“I don’t know what you think you knew, Mr Jacobs, but it was never our plan to announce a smartphone this evening, or at all. You’re going to look like a fool if you keep going on about it.”
“Are we really doing this? You know I know.”
“Even if that were true, how would you know?”
“How did I intercept the UltraLenses’ transfer protocol? It’s not my fault that none of your systems are protected in any serious way.” The silence was real now. So quiet were the crowd, Kurt couldn’t help but wonder how they managed it.
Amos looked annoyed for a second before forcing a laugh. He studied Kurt’s outfit and pointed to it. “Speaking of looking like a fool…. yellow sandals, tough-guy jean-shorts and a Taylor Swift t-shirt? Wow. What happened to the bad-ass who left us all hanging?”
“First of all, they’re espadrilles. And look, the fact that you called me back here after what I said shows how much you need me. I was only in such a rush to get dressed because you were so desperate to see me again. Millions of people are watching. It’s not like you can steal my chip and pretend it was your idea, so don’t try and turn this around by putting me down. I’m in charge here.”
Amos fought to suppress his admiration for Kurt’s tenacity. “You certainly are a feisty one, Mr Jacobs. All I meant was that you don’t really look like a computer guy.”
“And what do computer guys look like?”
“Well, your fellow finalists.” Amos tilted his head to the two other men. One was tall and thin, the other... not so much. Both stood awkwardly.
“Computer people don’t have a typical look,” said Kurt. “Those are just stereotypes. But I don’t think of myself as a computer guy, anyway. I’m more of a...” his sentence trailed off.
“It’s okay,” said Amos. “You can say it. Hacker isn’t the dirty word it used to be, and we know who you are now, anyway. The internet has been abuzz since your exit and some viewers linked the name Kurt Jacobs with the moniker of your youth. Kurtonite, if I’m not mistaken?”
Kurt moved his eyes along the front row and saw that Sycamore’s army of suits were studying him closely. Terrance Minion was smiling. “You’re not mistaken,” he eventually replied, “but I haven’t been involved in any of that for years.”
“And yet your reputation still precedes you. Your antics caused an awful lot of headaches for an awful lot of people.”
“I helped a lot of people, too,” Kurt said, somewhat defensively. “Real people. If corporations didn’t plan for obsolescence by selling us ‘premium’ products made of years-old tech that ship with pathetically-closed operating systems then maybe there wouldn’t be a need for the community’s antics. But you don’t think like that, do you? You just push for more laws to restrict how people can use the things they pay for. Justice isn’t supposed to be a weapon of the powerful. You can’t steamroll over a user base and then complain when it throws a few jailbroken stones back at you.”
“We don’t do that,” said Amos.
“I didn’t mean ‘you’ as in Sycamore, I meant the industry. Apart from the whole lying about the SycaPhone thing, you’ve actually been alright.”
“Why thank you. It’s good to know the community is on our side.”
“I can only speak for myself,” Kurt qualified.
“Of course. And I have to say: this ADHD, want-it-now, hacker mentality... it’s the best thing your generation has to offer the world. Most of your peers sit at home moaning about how much everything ‘sucks’ and how the world ‘just doesn’t understand’ them, but people like you take that as a challenge to change things. You buy a
“I don’t know what you think you knew, Mr Jacobs, but it was never our plan to announce a smartphone this evening, or at all. You’re going to look like a fool if you keep going on about it.”
“Are we really doing this? You know I know.”
“Even if that were true, how would you know?”
“How did I intercept the UltraLenses’ transfer protocol? It’s not my fault that none of your systems are protected in any serious way.” The silence was real now. So quiet were the crowd, Kurt couldn’t help but wonder how they managed it.
Amos looked annoyed for a second before forcing a laugh. He studied Kurt’s outfit and pointed to it. “Speaking of looking like a fool…. yellow sandals, tough-guy jean-shorts and a Taylor Swift t-shirt? Wow. What happened to the bad-ass who left us all hanging?”
“First of all, they’re espadrilles. And look, the fact that you called me back here after what I said shows how much you need me. I was only in such a rush to get dressed because you were so desperate to see me again. Millions of people are watching. It’s not like you can steal my chip and pretend it was your idea, so don’t try and turn this around by putting me down. I’m in charge here.”
Amos fought to suppress his admiration for Kurt’s tenacity. “You certainly are a feisty one, Mr Jacobs. All I meant was that you don’t really look like a computer guy.”
“And what do computer guys look like?”
“Well, your fellow finalists.” Amos tilted his head to the two other men. One was tall and thin, the other... not so much. Both stood awkwardly.
“Computer people don’t have a typical look,” said Kurt. “Those are just stereotypes. But I don’t think of myself as a computer guy, anyway. I’m more of a...” his sentence trailed off.
“It’s okay,” said Amos. “You can say it. Hacker isn’t the dirty word it used to be, and we know who you are now, anyway. The internet has been abuzz since your exit and some viewers linked the name Kurt Jacobs with the moniker of your youth. Kurtonite, if I’m not mistaken?”
Kurt moved his eyes along the front row and saw that Sycamore’s army of suits were studying him closely. Terrance Minion was smiling. “You’re not mistaken,” he eventually replied, “but I haven’t been involved in any of that for years.”
“And yet your reputation still precedes you. Your antics caused an awful lot of headaches for an awful lot of people.”
“I helped a lot of people, too,” Kurt said, somewhat defensively. “Real people. If corporations didn’t plan for obsolescence by selling us ‘premium’ products made of years-old tech that ship with pathetically-closed operating systems then maybe there wouldn’t be a need for the community’s antics. But you don’t think like that, do you? You just push for more laws to restrict how people can use the things they pay for. Justice isn’t supposed to be a weapon of the powerful. You can’t steamroll over a user base and then complain when it throws a few jailbroken stones back at you.”
“We don’t do that,” said Amos.
“I didn’t mean ‘you’ as in Sycamore, I meant the industry. Apart from the whole lying about the SycaPhone thing, you’ve actually been alright.”
“Why thank you. It’s good to know the community is on our side.”
“I can only speak for myself,” Kurt qualified.
“Of course. And I have to say: this ADHD, want-it-now, hacker mentality... it’s the best thing your generation has to offer the world. Most of your peers sit at home moaning about how much everything ‘sucks’ and how the world ‘just doesn’t understand’ them, but people like you take that as a challenge to change things. You buy a
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