Background Notes

Background Notes

WARNING! - For those who haven't finished reading "Duel of the Hackers," these notes may spoil the story. --xjaymanx
Act I - The Challenge

Tons of research - "The Matrix Shooting Script," hacking and phreaking history, hacking tools and phases, Commodore computers and modems, IRS service centers and computing centers, IRS statistics and consolidation, and the Kansas City Royals.
Screenplay format - Halfway into writing the first act, I realized that the character dialogue didn't seem to fit the novella format. So I tried something else; it's much better suited to a screenplay.
Hacking phases - There have been numerous interpretations or divisions of the various hacking phases, written over the last five years, but basically my fic phases = the following phases: (1) Reconnaisance = Reconnaisance, (2) Flaw Identification = Vulnerability Identification or Enumerate/Assess, (3) Penetration = Compromise, (4) Domination = Control or Escalate, and (5) Implantation = Embedding or Maintain/Leverage.
Kansas City, Missouri - Based partially on Kansas City, Kansas, in KM's "Left" and Meridian's "The Promise of What Is" (ch.12), but modified to match the KCSC in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the ten IRS service centers in the US. The Kansas City Royals is the hometown Major League Baseball team.
IRS consolidation - In September 1997, the IRS initiated the Service Center Mainframe Consolidation (SCMC) project to cut the number of mainframe computers it used, from 67 in 10 locations to 12 in just 2 locations, over the next three years. Upon project completion, the mainframes were consolidated to 20 in just 3 locations: Memphis, Tennessee (TCC); Martinsburg, West Virginia (MCC); and Detroit, Michigan (DCC).
Act II - The Duel

Samsung auto-sliding cell phone - The same phone that appears in "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Animatrix: Final Flight of the Osiris."
Hacking tools - Tons of research. In "The Matrix Reloaded," Trinity uses Nmap in her hack of the City Power Grid. She executes a ping sweep, port scan, and OS fingerprint of IP addresses 10.2.1.3 and 10.2.2.2. I presume she skipped the first IP because it yielded a best-match OS of AIX 3.3, probably Windows-based. Meanwhile, the second IP yielded an inconclusive match, so she gambled that it was probably Unix-based. Since one of the more famous Unix attacks is the SSH service on TCP Port 22, she tried it. And her gamble paid off.
Streamlight mini flashlight - The actual Streamlight Jr. mini flashlight. "Streamlight, builders of the world's most trusted flashlights. For over 25 years, Streamlight has provided professionals both here and abroad with a constantly evolving line of personal lights. From the New York Fire Department to the Canadian Mounties, from Alaskan hunters to New Zealand mountain rescue teams, Streamlight products are a trusted source of light."
Apartment 101 - Based on 101, Neo's number, which appears throughout "The Matrix Trilogy."
"There's a difference between luck and skill." - Homage to the lines in "The Animatrix: Detective's Story" where Trinity says: "There's a difference, Mr. Ash, between a trap and a test." Also: "There's a difference between a test and a choice."
Intel Pentium III - The latest Intel CPU in 1999. On Feb. 26, 1999, Intel Corporation introduced the Pentium® III processor, the first microprocessor designed "to power a new internet experience filled with rich audio, video, animations and 3-D that make information come alive." The Pentium III processor was available at 450 and 500 MHz, while the 550 MHz version was available in the second quarter of 1999.
Sprite - Sprite as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary says: "Etymology: Middle English sprit, from Middle French esprit, from Latin spiritus spirit; 1a archaic : SOUL b : a disembodied spirit : GHOST".
TCC - The Tennessee Computing Center from "Really Good Noodles". In September 1997, the IRS initiated the Service Center Mainframe Consolidation (SCMC) project to cut the number of mainframe computers it used, from 67 in 10 locations to 12 in just 2 locations, over the next three years. Upon project completion, the mainframes were consolidated to 20 in just 3 locations: Memphis, Tennessee (TCC); Martinsburg, West Virginia (MCC); and Detroit, Michigan (DCC).
Route303 - Name based on the actual VisualRoute software and 303, Trinity's number, which appears in "The Matrix."
KD3V1LL3 - Hax0r language for KDeville, or Katie DeVille from "Really Good Noodles" and "Why You Live Alone". "Katie" is taken from Angelina Jolie's character "Kate Libby" from the film "Hackers" (1995). "DeVille" is a word play on "devil." Also symbolized by her red plastic horns.
Evils-in-One - Name of Neo's all-in-one hacking masterpiece. One anagram is "Lives-in-Neo."
Owen Patterson High School - Also appears in "Really Good Noodles". Owen Paterson (sic) is the Production Designer of "The Matrix Trilogy."
Script Kiddie - A hacking newbie. From Webopedia.com: "A person, normally someone who is not technologically sophisticated, who randomly seeks out a specific weakness over the Internet in order to gain root access to a system without really understanding what it is s/he is exploiting because the weakness was discovered by someone else. A script kiddie is not looking to target specific information or a specific company but rather uses knowledge of a vulnerability to scan the entire Internet for a victim that possesses that vulnerability."
San Pellegrino - One of the more popular name-brand carbonated mineral waters.
"Like a piece of paper that's been crumpled up, it can never be perfect again" - Reference to: "Forgotten" by Linkin Park, album "Hybrid Theory" (2000): "A little piece of paper with a picture drawn floats / On down the street till the wind is gone / The memory now is like the picture was then / When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again".
March 11, 1962 - His date of birth 3/11/1962 in "The Matrix" interrogation file, and taken from the plaque on the Nebuchadnezzar which reads "Mark III no.11". In the Bible, Mark 3:11 reads as follows: "And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out saying 'You are the Son of God!' "
Windows NT 4.0 - From the www.entmag.com archive article "Migration Shows IRS Has Personality," October 2000: "The IRS recently migrated to Windows NT 4.0 to standardize and upgrade equipment across the government agency... Because a Windows 2000 migration is a complicated task that makes significant demands of machines, the IRS chose to upgrade and standardize all desktops first. Windows NT 4.0 is the stepping stone for machines running Windows 98, 95, or 3.1... Another goal of the migration was to establish a standard desktop platform across all IRS offices."
Knights Technoir - From "Really Good Noodles". Name based on the similar-sounding Knights Templar where "Tech Noir" means "black technology," a body of film which revolves around the concept of "technofear." Literally an expression of underlying societal technophobia. The actual Knights Templar were knights of a religious military order established in the early 12th century in Jerusalem for the protection of pilgrims and the Holy Sepulcher.
Levi Stevens - From "Really Good Noodles". Taken from the name Steven Levy, author of "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution" (1984).

Background Notes	Background Notes WARNING! - For those who haven't finished reading "Duel of the Hackers," these notes may spoil the story. --xjaymanx Act I - The Challenge Tons of research - "The Matrix Shooting Script," hacking and phreaking history, hacking tools and phases, Commodore computers and modems, IRS service centers and computing centers, IRS statistics and consolidation, and the Kansas City Royals. Screenplay format - Halfway into writing the first act, I realized that the character dialogue didn't seem to fit the novella format. So I tried something else; it's much better suited to a screenplay. Hacking phases - There have been numerous interpretations or divisions of the various hacking phases, written over the last five years, but basically my fic phases = the following phases: (1) Reconnaisance = Reconnaisance, (2) Flaw Identification = Vulnerability Identification or Enumerate/Assess, (3) Penetration = Compromise, (4) Domination = Control or Escalate, and (5) Implantation = Embedding or Maintain/Leverage. Kansas City, Missouri - Based partially on Kansas City, Kansas, in KM's "Left" and Meridian's "The Promise of What Is" (ch.12), but modified to match the KCSC in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the ten IRS service centers in the US. The Kansas City Royals is the hometown Major League Baseball team. IRS consolidation - In September 1997, the IRS initiated the Service Center Mainframe Consolidation (SCMC) project to cut the number of mainframe computers it used, from 67 in 10 locations to 12 in just 2 locations, over the next three years. Upon project completion, the mainframes were consolidated to 20 in just 3 locations: Memphis, Tennessee (TCC); Martinsburg, West Virginia (MCC); and Detroit, Michigan (DCC). Act II - The Duel Samsung auto-sliding cell phone - The same phone that appears in "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Animatrix: Final Flight of the Osiris." Hacking tools - Tons of research. In "The Matrix Reloaded," Trinity uses Nmap in her hack of the City Power Grid. She executes a ping sweep, port scan, and OS fingerprint of IP addresses 10.2.1.3 and 10.2.2.2. I presume she skipped the first IP because it yielded a best-match OS of AIX 3.3, probably Windows-based. Meanwhile, the second IP yielded an inconclusive match, so she gambled that it was probably Unix-based. Since one of the more famous Unix attacks is the SSH service on TCP Port 22, she tried it. And her gamble paid off. Streamlight mini flashlight - The actual Streamlight Jr. mini flashlight. "Streamlight, builders of the world's most trusted flashlights. For over 25 years, Streamlight has provided professionals both here and abroad with a constantly evolving line of personal lights. From the New York Fire Department to the Canadian Mounties, from Alaskan hunters to New Zealand mountain rescue teams, Streamlight products are a trusted source of light." Apartment 101 - Based on 101, Neo's number, which appears throughout "The Matrix Trilogy." "There's a difference between luck and skill." - Homage to the lines in "The Animatrix: Detective's Story" where Trinity says: "There's a difference, Mr. Ash, between a trap and a test." Also: "There's a difference between a test and a choice." Intel Pentium III - The latest Intel CPU in 1999. On Feb. 26, 1999, Intel Corporation introduced the Pentium® III processor, the first microprocessor designed "to power a new internet experience filled with rich audio, video, animations and 3-D that make information come alive." The Pentium III processor was available at 450 and 500 MHz, while the 550 MHz version was available in the second quarter of 1999. Sprite - Sprite as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary says: "Etymology: Middle English sprit, from Middle French esprit, from Latin spiritus spirit; 1a archaic : SOUL b : a disembodied spirit : GHOST". TCC - The Tennessee Computing Center from "Really Good Noodles". In September 1997, the IRS initiated the Service Center Mainframe Consolidation (SCMC) project to cut the number of mainframe computers it used, from 67 in 10 locations to 12 in just 2 locations, over the next three years. Upon project completion, the mainframes were consolidated to 20 in just 3 locations: Memphis, Tennessee (TCC); Martinsburg, West Virginia (MCC); and Detroit, Michigan (DCC). Route303 - Name based on the actual VisualRoute software and 303, Trinity's number, which appears in "The Matrix." KD3V1LL3 - Hax0r language for KDeville, or Katie DeVille from "Really Good Noodles" and "Why You Live Alone". "Katie" is taken from Angelina Jolie's character "Kate Libby" from the film "Hackers" (1995). "DeVille" is a word play on "devil." Also symbolized by her red plastic horns. Evils-in-One - Name of Neo's all-in-one hacking masterpiece. One anagram is "Lives-in-Neo." Owen Patterson High School - Also appears in "Really Good Noodles". Owen Paterson (sic) is the Production Designer of "The Matrix Trilogy." Script Kiddie - A hacking newbie. From Webopedia.com: "A person, normally someone who is not technologically sophisticated, who randomly seeks out a specific weakness over the Internet in order to gain root access to a system without really understanding what it is s/he is exploiting because the weakness was discovered by someone else. A script kiddie is not looking to target specific information or a specific company but rather uses knowledge of a vulnerability to scan the entire Internet for a victim that possesses that vulnerability." San Pellegrino - One of the more popular name-brand carbonated mineral waters. "Like a piece of paper that's been crumpled up, it can never be perfect again" - Reference to: "Forgotten" by Linkin Park, album "Hybrid Theory" (2000): "A little piece of paper with a picture drawn floats / On down the street till the wind is gone / The memory now is like the picture was then / When the paper's crumpled up it can't be perfect again". March 11, 1962 - His date of birth 3/11/1962 in "The Matrix" interrogation file, and taken from the plaque on the Nebuchadnezzar which reads "Mark III no.11". In the Bible, Mark 3:11 reads as follows: "And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out saying 'You are the Son of God!' " Windows NT 4.0 - From the www.entmag.com archive article "Migration Shows IRS Has Personality," October 2000: "The IRS recently migrated to Windows NT 4.0 to standardize and upgrade equipment across the government agency... Because a Windows 2000 migration is a complicated task that makes significant demands of machines, the IRS chose to upgrade and standardize all desktops first. Windows NT 4.0 is the stepping stone for machines running Windows 98, 95, or 3.1... Another goal of the migration was to establish a standard desktop platform across all IRS offices." Knights Technoir - From "Really Good Noodles". Name based on the similar-sounding Knights Templar where "Tech Noir" means "black technology," a body of film which revolves around the concept of "technofear." Literally an expression of underlying societal technophobia. The actual Knights Templar were knights of a religious military order established in the early 12th century in Jerusalem for the protection of pilgrims and the Holy Sepulcher. Levi Stevens - From "Really Good Noodles". Taken from the name Steven Levy, author of "Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution" (1984).