Cyber defenses for digitals were nothing other than empowered firewalls with semi-intelligent code created by the digital's mind. Something like the immune system of biologicals, only with the difference that a digital could empower and develop its own system.
I was no hacker but you don't become a digital without learning to do some code. So while I waited for Henry to do his work I enhanced my systems. I would still have to study programming some more to better my chances against a dedicated attack but for now it was enough.
I opened a homepage on a google server and made myself some databases for the purpose of dumb-loading my scans of the asteroid and other potentially interesting space data in them. For a small fee everybody could now access them and would be able to work with them. This way I was able to get some money and perhaps enhance the chance for others of my family to upload themselves.
That took some time as I wanted the homepage to be sophisticated and cool looking. The complete package should be a statement of professional work and efficiency. I hated the way currently things in the internet were programmed. Just because you have almost unlimited data volumes at your disposal you shouldn't just program sloppy.
It took almost ten hours until Henry called back.
“Hey there. I talked with some guys about the project and got a link to your new homepage too. Nice work there. They all wanted in on the work. There are more desperate space geeks on this planet than you would think after governments killed all inspiration to go to the space and the death of Evan Musk in the 30'.”
“Yeah, I hoped he would be the guy to step a foot on mars first with his company. After him and his ideas nobody came close anymore.”
“A real shame for humanity, but back to why I called. We have found the best strategy for your asteroid. Some guy from NASA is a real geek in finding the best fly routes for things and found a way to make the time for stopping the chunk go down significantly. If you follow the instructions closely you might be able to stop the rotation in less than 4 months.”
“Wow, that's quite the improvement.”
“Yeah and all he wants for this is complete access to your homepage without paying.”
“He can have that but he has to pledge to make no profits from that or share them equally with me.”
“That shouldn't be a problem at all. I'll give you his contact data and also that of the others on the project. They want all in. You got your own space agency at your disposal. Admitted we're mostly old geezers but we got the spirit.”
“You're more than welcome. While we speak I've made the first course corrections and began the maneuver. So in 4 months I can begin with dismantling this chunk of materials and make myself a proper spaceship.”
“Would you like some input from us for construction?”
“It wouldn't hurt but please keep in mind that life support isn't necessary for me. Redundancy in contrast is. I'll open a construction page on the homepage too for the spaceship but it won't be an actual plan for my own ship but maybe we can get some inspiration from that.”
“You're nuts you know that? Every space geek and bored engineer will flock to the page and try to add his personal touch.”
“I know and this way we can find the best configuration for future components. Imagine all the creative power gathered in that.”
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“You'll have to upgrade the processing power and bandwidth for your page two or better three iterations.”
“Yeah and that will cost money but with a monthly subscription fee of modest 2 credits per person that should state no problem at all.”
“Haha, getting rich with space geeks and sucking their brains at the same time. I knew you were an old sly fox but that is a new dimension.”
I was amused myself about the slyness of my plan.
“It's their own volition that helps me and satisfies a deep desire for them. I just use an old dream for my own purpose. A dream given up by our governments, may they rot in all eternity.”
“Yep. I'll take my own chances on adding my touch. Just get a good construction program for the homepage and you're golden. Henry out.”
His old-style communication made me laugh but he was just a creature of habit. He still was right about the program and the bandwidth problems. I took a look at the homepage and was flabbergasted at the number of people that had already flocked to it. Over 1000 users were registered and downloaded my scans with some of them questioning for some space pictures of Jupiter and Mars when they came into range of my equipment.
That would make me some decent money too so I added that to the things that needed done. I'd have to upgrade my cameras and deep space scanners until I began my mining operation.
I searched the net for any good design programs and took my time in finding the best. My money was unfortunately nowhere near the amount the price of it. What private person was able to buy the thing for more than 1 million credits?
I'd have to do it myself then and program the sucker the hard way. As benefit I'd be able to better my skills and I was sure that my community would have to add their own kinks to it.
You might think that a digital mind would be able to program such a program in no time and if you wanted a sloppy job you might be right but I wanted a real beauty of a design program with all the kinks added. No DLC here or there to add it everywhere. I'd have to make sure that is was only used for my personal projects so I didn't get into any problems with other digitals out there. So the program would have to be completely online and only accessible when in connection with the homepage.
The price for my homepage would go through the roof.
For now I increased the bandwidth and the volume of the data base. Google would become even richer with me. Not that the google dynasty didn't already rule over most of the net. Most of the largest stock holders were already digitals and had almost unlimited amounts of money at their disposal. Obscene amounts of it. For which purpose to gather that much money without really using it made no sense to me but hey, I was just an old geezer who had some luck and a dream to fulfill.
While a part of my mind was busy with the maneuver and keeping my solar panels as long as possible in the energetic solar rays, the rest of me began the work on the design program. My best guess would be a duration of 2 or 3 months of permanent working on the thing with implementing the additions of my future workforce.
Thousands of people working on space equipment would be awesome, and all of it would be for free.
I added the contacts of Henry to the homepage and gave them full access to my data and didn't charge them any costs. They would be the core of my development team for space equipment. Hopefully some of them had experiences in Human Resources. I didn't want to deal with thousands of eager space engineers.
I think there was a game someday that had the same name. I always wanted to play it but there was constantly another game that interested me more. Yeah, I was a vivid gamer in my biological days.
If my skills in programming got much better I could perhaps code my own game. I already had a vision of it but all of that would have to wait for quite some time.
The next month went by much faster than I'd had thought. The homepage took off like predicted and my first version of the design program was a solid start for the would-be space engineers, but man did they have demands for changes. Half of the times I was tempted to just kick the whole thing into the bucket and end my suffering by closing the connection to Earth but Henry and the others became friends over time.
Russia and China had intensified their war and thousands had died fighting over land that was a combat zone now. The idiots destroyed the thing they were fighting over. Typical politicians.
Not that the politicians were the ones to guide the conflict. The pyramid of society was still in power. Governments were just much farther down it than in the 20th century. Nowadays elite families like the Rockefellers or Rotschilds ruled the planet by directing stock markets and ordering central banks all over the world. After Russia had succumbed to capitalism and decades later China they took the last strongholds of governments and stepped into their position using the old systems to rule over the masses. Money ruled the world and they were money.
The problem was that in the last 10 years the families began to fight with each other where before they worked together to solidify their power. Now with their unbreakable choke-hold over the planet they could afford infighting. At least they thought that.
For someone like me it was borderline stupid to do that. I had to admit that their rise to power stopped humanity from wiping itself out with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons but lately with the possibility of digitalization the powers that be seemed to have decided they could afford to loose some millions or even billions of human lives. With more than 10 billions humans crawling over the plagued planet I had to admit that the loss of half of them wouldn't hurt the system much.
I was sure that when the families realized that they sunk their ship the rats would try to board mine or build their owns. I could stop them with better firewalls or just cutting the connection to the net but if the tried to build their own arcs I would have to stop them. No way would I leave them my new playground to do their old business again.
Oh no, if they wanted to play with humanity they would do it only on Earth and die with it when they killed it.