Cyberpunk Review » Sneakers Page 2

As promised, heres some more choice pics from the cyber-caper classic, along with some memorable quotes.

Let’s start at the beginning, December 1969:

Acoustically coupled modem.
Reel tape drive.

Acoustically coupled modem. Reel-to-reel tape drive. This is cutting edge for 1969.

Young Cosmo

Young Cosmo (after tricking Marty into making a pizza run): “One cannot trust anybody these days”

Fast forward to today, a.k.a. 1992, where Marty now leads a group of “white hats” that test security systems. Here, Marty gives his appraisal of a bank’s security.
Bank Execs

Marty: “Gentlemen, your communication lines are vulnerable, your fire exits need to be monitored, your rent-a-cops are a tad undertrained. Outside of that everything seems to be just fine. You’ll be getting our full report and analysis in a few days but first, who’s got my check?”

This is Professor Gunter Janek, a brilliant mathematician who comes up with a way to factor large prime numbers, like those used for encryption. As you can see, it’s a really simple solution.

“It would be a breakthrough of Gaussian proportions and allow us to acquire the solution in a dramatically more efficient manner.”

Whistler becomes curious about Janek’s box and runs diagnostics on it. He is the first to discover what it does.

Whistler discovers Janek’s secret

Marty: “… It’s THE codebreaker. No more secrets.”

An old friend returns, and the plot thickens.

Marty is reunited with Cosmo, who reveals why he wants Janek’s box, and expresses his desire to continue his quest to change the world.

Cosmo (whispering): “We were going to change the world. Remember? Did you ever get around to actually doing it? No? I guess not. Well, I think I can.”

To get Janek’s box back, they need to get past some strong security, like motion sensors in Cosmo’s office.

“Best motion sensor on the market… also responds to thermal differentials.” It can even detect bad breath!

Marty’s team does research on Dr. Werner Brandes (”The world’s most boring human”), whose office is next door to Cosmo’s. This research includes going through his trash. Proof that hacking is dirty work.
Liz

Liz: “The man who folded this tube of Crest is looking for someone meticulous, refined, … anal.” (The team turns to look at her) “What?”

The team needs to get a recording of Dr. Brandes saying parts of a phrase used in a “mantrap,” a secure “booth” that requires an ID card and a positive voice print match for access.
Mantrap
Mantrap hack

“Hi. My name is Hacker with Tape Recorder in hand seeking access. My voice is my passport. Verify me.”

In the 60’s, Marty and Cosmo wanted to change the world by hacking. Marty, for the most part, has given up that quest. Cosmo never gave up, and tries one last time to get Marty to rejoin the effort.
Cosmo on the roof

“The world isn’t run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money, it’s run by little ones and zeroes, little bits of data. It’s all just electrons.”
…
“There’s a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it’s not about who’s got the most bullets. It’s about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think… it’s all about the information!”

Word Games, Sneakers style.

After retrieving Janek’s box from his office, the team relaxes with a game of Scrabble. Curiosity gets the better of Whistler, who runs diagnostics on the box, while Marty discovers what “SETEC Astronomy” really means.

SETEC Astronomy
Montereys Coast
My Socrates Note
Umm… Never mind.