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.