'What the fuck is happening?' said Chris as he watched in dismay.

'Well,' said Prince, 'it looks like a virus to me.'

Chris shook his head. 'It can't be. This is the most sophisticated artificial intelligence I've ever created. There's no way it could have been hacked by anyone, and not a chance of a virus beating my security.'

Line after line of green and yellow code filled his computer monitor. It was never-ending, just on and on and on of endless code. 'What does it say?' asked Prince. 'Can you read it?'

Chris tilted his head, trying to get a read on it. 'It's just nonsense. From what I can see, none of this coding makes any sense whatsoever. I just can't understand it.'

Prince, who was today sporting a cap worn backwards, breathed a heavy sigh. 'If we can't get the AI to respond, what does it mean for Langorwine Limited?'

'What do you think it means?' asked Chris.

Prince Shrugged.

What it means, thought Chris, is, one, if we don't get this under control, then the company will suffer a loss it may not be able to recover from. Second, the fact the AI is a defence system created for the UK government means that it could potentially endanger the whole country. There are always screw-ups, even when you've got years of experience; life goes on, even if it's life with a little less confidence or reputation.

In the beginning, all of the contracts he had taken to get Langorwine Limited to the point it was today had been a cakewalk. Steadily, his team had taken on more significant projects, each with climbing difficulty, and Chris had learned that you just take the rough with the smooth. When it all began, he dreamed of creating the most incredible AI the world had ever seen. Something that could defend his home country from threats, but one that would not be aggressive or disturb the peace. After all these years, it seemed that he might have achieved his dream. And now this.

The chaotic maelstrom of mindless code on the screen threatened everything he had worked towards over the last nine years. All the sleepless nights, the late night pizza coding sessions, the maths, the arguments with himself and…Sarah.

Chris looked at Prince. 'It means if we don't work this out, the company is in some deep shit.' Chris tapped the screen in frustration. 'This is absolute chaos, Prince. I just can't get my fucking head around it. Only yesterday, everything was just fine. I mean, can you imagine what the government are going to do to this company if they find out what's happening?'

Prince wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. A coder of the highest calibre, Prince had learned his coding while still in his home town, until eventually making his way over to the United Kingdom, where Chris had eagerly snapped him up as assistant coder. Prince was one of the best he had seen in AI coding, and if he didn't understand any of it, there was small chance Chris could either. Prince just glared at it. 'I can't understand a single piece of it,' he said.

'There are few who can.'

On the way out of the office, Chris turned back to Prince. 'I've got a bad feeling about this,' he said. 'If this is a cyber attack, then it means whoever is behind it knows what I'm developing. And if they know what I'm developing, then they know what the UK government's defence plans are.'

Prince ran one hand across his hairless head. The soft dark skin across his wrinkled forehead glistened with sweat. 'Where are you going?'

'I have questions,' Chris told him. 'Questions that need answering. There is only one person I can think of that might be able to help.'

'Who?' asked Prince.

'Professor Night,' said Chris. 'My old teacher.'