The Crescendo & The Fall (Tell Me Your Sins... - Part IV)

A year of destruction. A year of chaos. A year of unmasking. A year of pain. All this because of his whim. His whim of ripping the pretentious facades and laying everyone, everything bare - watching his college burn. And none were spared his spite - student or staff, for none were truly innocent, some bone in every closet. A bone they fed him, and on which he feasted, akin to a rabid dog. But their bad times were to last only so long, his pleasures to last only so long. There came a crescendo leading him headlong to a precipice, then his sudden realization of it, followed by a vain attempt to undo that last teetering step. And then, his fall.

It is said of hacking, "Hacking is a crime later, but an art first". And as with all art, who knows when an artist may come pick up that gauntlet you threw and then one up you. He was good no doubt, his reign of pandemonium stands testimony to that. But he lacked wisdom, or else he would have seen it coming long before he did. His twisted notion of society blinded him to the bonds that do exist, even in the face of devastating times, the strongest ones. He forgot to factor the code of honor which exists among fellow hackers in his schemes. For if he had, he would have foreseen Adrivit finding solace from compatriots. If only he had the sense to mind his surroundings, he would have found out that there is one hacker out there in Adrivit's forum, who although retired but still helped young ones find their way. He surely wouldn't have dared to take on Adrivit, had he known that Adrivit was the retired hacker's protege.

He understood passion, obstinacy, obsession. Then how come he did not account for vendetta? After all it's just another form of passion, albeit with different goals. Had the realization occurred to him, he would have redoubled his efforts in protecting himself and launching counter-attacks when the initial hits came. But they were easy to fend off and he had little difficulty restoring his system. And the silent period that followed, his blown ego took it as a sign of defeat. Then to call what followed a surprise, is a huge understatement, for the blows came out of nowhere and hit him left, right and center. And man did they hit hard! In the previous bout he had figured out that the attacks were coming from Adrivit, but this? It traced back all the same, but the sophistication, the ingenuity was too good to be Adrivit's. It was then that the thought of going through Adrivit's hacker associates struck him. Alas, a day late and a dollar short. When he finally knew who his adversary was, of whom legends were repeated now and again in the deep dark net, he was too late. His security was blown to smithereens, and he was as exposed as a newborn babe. The old timer gutted him bad and hung him out to dry in front of the college administration, who were euphoric to have had the culprit handed to them on a golden platter.

Not only was he kicked out of college, but booked under several criminal offenses. The trials were swift, the sentencing severe. But did he feel any remorse? Did he bat a tear on seeing his parents devastated? If only. The crescendo had seen his face contort in maniacal joy, the precipice, fear. And the fall saw his smirk. The same smirk he carried way before all this started. From a time long past, when he had stopped believing in society. And as he was put away in a correctional system for anti-socials, his smirk went along with him, everywhere. The entire episode had vindicated his beliefs, and his humiliating defeat taught him some important lessons.

Now he just bides his time, to climb out of the hole. To hit the society again where it hurts. To put the humane to test again. All the while with a dirty little smirk.