<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/thumb/0/0f/Benedictcasual.jpg/400px-Benedictcasual.jpg)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Character name:</strong></td><td>Eric Cavendish</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Location:</strong> </td><td>Shacking Up</td></tr><tr><td><strong>With:</strong> </td><td> The rest of the team</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Doing:</strong> </td><td> Getting the Lay of the Land</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><hr/><em>"Eric, can you hack the WiFi from here? You'll be closer when the time comes, of course, but if you can get a feel for things now it would be good?"</em><br/><br/>Eric stared wordlessly at the team leader for a few seconds. Without his personality graft active he was entirely unclear as to whether she was telling a joke or not. The payoff matrix seemed to indicate that the cost of treating her statement as a joke if she were in fact serious was far greater than the negative effect of once again missing an attempt at humor. It was a calculation he had run many times in the past, usually to the same conclusion. And so he responded cordially and efficiently. "Yes, I can access their system from here."<br/><br/>Of course he could hack the WiFi from here. It was all a matter of which protocols he could scan without accidentally activating them. Closer proximity would expand his range of options considerably, and gaining a physical network link would remove the slight transmission delay that made real-time combat with security subsentients such a risky business remotely. It was the primary reason why such duties were still handled by field agents rather than homebound AI's. There was a need for air support, but without infantry the battle could not be won.<br/><br/>The shed afforded little in the way of amenities. Eric claimed a rusted potter's table, sliding an assortment of gardening tools and clay pots to the ground with a crash. In the newly cleared space he set up his SAPP, or Sirius Augmented Processing Pack. One thick cable coiled from the intricate yet durable electronics package to a hardwired access port at the base of Eric's skull. As he slid the locking cable into place his eyes rolled back in their sockets, though otherwise his actions continued unhindered. His long thin fingers flew over the unit, tapping configuration switches and adjusting the physical antenna for best possible reception.<br/><br/>Within his locally created cyberspace Eric immersed himself in the euphoria of direct data wash, a recurrent baptism of ordered chaos. Instantly his senses were multiplied a hundredfold, his own brain becoming the hub of a network of sensors and processors greater than any human could carry in their skull. He had no physical vision, true, but he was anything but blind. Each of the team's own cranial implants stood out like torches in the landscape of his mind, while the château's various intricate systems blazed in the nearby valley like bonfires. It was a complex system, a beautiful system, Eric instantly noted. He longed to explore it more fully, and despaired that he would be able to examine only a tiny slice of it before its inevitable destruction at Zhùhǎo's capable hands.<br/><br/>Eight seconds was more than enough time to sightsee. Now it was time to get to work. Eric began methodically cataloging all of the inputs and outputs to the system, from the main trunk satellite link all the way down to the lawn sprinkler control systems. A network was useless unless connected to the outside world, yet each connection was also a potential liability. It was his job to exploit them all. As he worked he posted terse progress notes on his cyberspace notification board, available for any in the team's network to view. It was easier than answering questions.<br/><br/><em>...<br/>Grocery delivery schedule captured and analyzed; no threat found.<br/>Estimated current ammunition stockpile, organized by caliber and date of purchase.<br/>Census of local wildlife, current as of four weeks ago.<br/>Agent Stack has entered the building. Cover intact.<br/>Analysis of last four garbage pickups with constituent compound breakdown.<br/>Structural properties of building materials used on roof.<br/>...<br/></em>