FAILED TO LAUNCH
By Caitlyn Lee
office building and was greeted stepped in and pressed the elevator doors opened and I walked echoed on the glossy marble tiles, I large letters were the words smiled. “Good morning!” he engineer that we have accepted the most elite think tanks in bathrooms, break rooms, and Thank you.” Looking to my right tree from the 20th floor. I bathrooms and water fountains with a wave of his hand. “And you so much,” I replied. When I a customized name placard,
“Charlotte Tan,” as well as some other documents for new hires. As I sat down at my chair, there was a tap tap tap at the door. “Come in.” I said, expecting a fellow coworker. Instead, a tall woman strolled in and grinned.
“Charlotte, good morning! Welcome to ThinkBeta. I’m Chloe.” I recognized her voice immediately.
“Thank you so much for this opportunity. It is so nice to finally meet you in person!” I said. As my boss walked out of my cubicle office, I opened up my email to read the details about my first assignment.
We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest published author, Sloka Edara! Sloka recently published her book, Bridge of Starlight, through our Fresh Ink publishing program. In Fresh Ink, youth authors with a completed draft of a novel are mentored through a chapter-by-chapter revision process. At the end of the program, the author is guided through the publication process resulting in an ink-and-paper book they can hold in their hands and share with other readers!
Two weeks previously - January 29, 2022…
A hush descended on the auditorium. “And the winner of this year’s Hackathon is … Charlotte Tan!” the announcer exclaimed. I screamed in delight as my parents beamed. I couldn’t believe I had actually won! CyberConnects had sponsored the competition and the first place prize was an internship at their prestigious headquarters in one of the cities in Silicon Valley, Los Altos. Plus, $5,000 in prize money which would help my family’s down payment on the house.
Six days later - February 3, 2022
My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences? My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences?
I haphazardly tossed a water bottle and snack into my backpack and hopped onto my beat-up bike to go to the public library. I was planning to start working on my first assignment for CyberConnects. Since I didn’t have access to a computer at home, I often went to the library to use theirs. CyberConnects had offered to give me a device, but I had turned them down because I liked the library ones better since they had bigger screens compared to laptops. As I biked to the library, my mind drifted to my first assignment. It had arrived in a padded envelope the night before. The packet described a program for a launch system in a rocket, and how I was going to help program it! As I approached the library, suddenly, a bump in the sidewalk knocked me out of my thoughts. As I entered, the familiar scent of books greeted me. Silently walking over to Computer #8, I hauled the chair out from under the table. Plopping down and setting my stuff on the floor, I pulled out my library card to sign in. I waved the card over the reader and looked up at the screen. However, instead of the normal sign-in screen for books, a computer-coded note popped up. “Hello Charlotte. This computer you are looking at is not a library computer. It is a CyberConnects computer specifically designed for your assignment. Please follow the instructions prompted on the screen to continue.” I sat back in surprise. The computer looked identical to the one I normally used. But my eyes were drawn back to the screen and I continued to read. “We would like you to bring this computer home so you can continue working on this assignment.”
are thrilled to introduce you to our newest published author, Sloka Edara! Sloka recently published her book, Bridge of Starlight, through our Fresh Ink publishing program. In Ink, youth authors with a completed of a novel are mentored through a chapter-by-chapter revision process. At the of the through the ink-and-paper hands and share with other readers!
“Okay,” I thought to myself. “That was weird… and a little suspicious. But, maybe this is normal for this company,” I told myself, trying to convince myself that this was standard. However, I still whipped my head around, taking note of the people sitting nearby just to make sure that there was nothing particularly suspicious - a man with sweatpants and blue glasses, a high-school student with a high ponytail and slumped posture, and a family of three. “Never mind,” I told myself. “I was probably overreacting.”
Two hours later, at 5:00 PM, I left the library with the CyberConnects computer in my backpack. I had signed out the computer with my library card. I knew my parents needed help preparing dinner, especially since my little sisters, Nicole and Evelyn, were already home from elementary school.
The second I stepped into the door, I was greeted with the scent of frozen wontons cooking on the stove. After inhaling a dozen wontons, I helped my little sisters with their bedtime routine. It was after 8 PM when I finally sat down to continue working code.
Within half an hour, I had finished practice, I decided to create three programmed. But, as I looked CyberConnects wanted me to Additionally, when I double che became clear to me that I definite rates CyberConnects was using were much higher than needed for a rocket.
I felt deeply disturbed as I reread back in my chair, pondering what evident that I wasn’t coding a broke into a sweat. But what program dawned on me and I felt my wontons. I was actually coding a flight system for a hypersonic missile!
From what I knew already, I realized that a hypersonic missile could kill thousands of untold lives, and there is no stopping it once it is in flight. I started to feel light headed and I could feel my face getting warm - I definitely do not want to use my coding skills to create a deadly weapon. Conflicted and exhausted, I looked up at the clock. Realizing that it was already 11:23 PM, I decided that the best thing for me to do is to send an email to clarify CyberConnects technical requirements.
The next day - February 4, 2022
“Nicole! Make sure you are careful with the milk. It spills very easily! Evelyn! Make sure you brush your teeth!” I woke up to my mom’s exasperated voice and my sisters banging around in the house. Sleepily, I rubbed my eyes and stumbled downstairs, knowing that my mom probably needed my help and I should continue working on my code. After my parents both left for work, I managed to get my sisters engaged with books and sat down to work. I opened my laptop, eager to see if CyberConnects had answered my questions. No email yet.
As I waited, I read my code again, and I was confronted with the enormity of the dilemma in front of me. On one hand, this CyberConnects internship was so prestigious and highly desirable by many, including myself. On the other hand, instead of a rocket launching system, I am programming a missile launch system and I don’t know how I would feel about that. I just hoped that they would tell me the truth.
As I waited anxiously, I did more research on CyberConnects. I found a website that showed reviews of different companies. CyberConnects only had a 2-star review out of 5 stars, which made me even more concerned. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, an email popped up onto my screen. It read,
“Dear Charlotte,
Thank you so much for your wonderful questions. At CyberConnects, we strive for excellence and we look for employees that will do the same. Since we are so happy with your current work, CyberConnects would like to offer you the following incentive package consisting of the following items:
A $50,000 signing bonus
All your student loans paid Housing allowance of $5000 dollars a month
Guaranteed medical insurance effective immediately
Thank you, Cyber Connects
But wait a minute. They hadn’t answered my questions! Instead, they send a list of great incentives. What were they hiding? Of course, five thousand dollars could really pay for a nice apartment or rent a house. Additionally, student loans are a big burden for our family, so it would be great if they could pay them off for me. I could also use the signing bonus to contribute towards the downpayment of our family’s house. I thought, as I read and reread the email confirming it was actually real.
10:00 AM, One hour later - February 4, 2022…
One hour later, I finished my code. The final step was to create one last command to integrate all the algorithms. My throat tightened as if the guilt was choking around my neck, making my face increasingly warm. As I pressed each key, I could feel my throat tightening, matching the intensity of my guilt. The heater in the room hummed a familiar hum, but this time it sounded like the countdown clock for a missile launch. The bright light from my computer screen glared back at me, and it was as if the words of the code separated into two, each side representing my two choices, and it looked like they were pushing me to make my decision. As I stared at my code, I realized submitting it would not be the right thing to do. Before I changed my mind again, I selected everything and smashed the Enter key on my keyboard. With that stroke, I realized that my code was gone forever. In this moment, I wondered if what I just did was the right choice. This feeling didn’t last long, though. Deep down, I knew what I just did was the right choice. My once-clenched jaws relaxed and I felt like I was breathing normally again. I wanted to make sure people knew about the true nature of CyberConnects. With my newfound assuredness, my fingers danced across the keyboard as I quickly submitted a code that would expose CyberConnects the second they pressed “Run” - print(“Hello, this is Charlotte Tan. The company I am currently working for is CyberConnects. They are supposed to be a prestigious and ethical company. However, they are deceitful and are employing coders for nefarious aims.”)
One week later - February 11, 2022…
After seven tense days of waiting, I finally got a phone call. Shakily, I picked up my cell phone dreading an awkward conversation. “Hello, is this Charlotte Tan?” a stern, cold voice asked.
“Yes.” I answered nervously.
“My name is Chloe and I am the Chief Engineer at CyberConnects.”
“Hi…” I croaked, my heart beating a million beats per second.
After a few awkward seconds of tension, she suddenly laughed delightedly. “Congratulations Charlotte! You passed the test,” she said excitedly.
“I think you got the wrong person,” I muttered slowly, confused, but also relieved.
“Nope. I am actually with ThinkBeta, a think tank which specializes in world class cyber security. CyberConnects is a simulated company that we use to recruit the best of the best technologists. We recognize that the CyberConnects’ incentive package was very difficult to pass up. In our experience, expert coders are hard to find, but people with high levels of integrity are even harder to find. During the course of your internship those skills to the highest degree and, the company. That is if you're up for it,”
“Oh wow, thank you so much!” I said, feeling disbelief, but most of all relief and joy. you a contract to be reviewed and signed,”
“Okay, thank you so much!” I said again, as I hung up.
The next day at ThinkBeta - February 12, 2022…
As I got settled in my plush chair, I opened my email to read the requirements for my first assignment. My eyes scanned over the message but I wasn’t really taking in the meaning of the words. I paused and leaned back in my chair, looking up at the ceiling as I mused over the rollercoaster of events of the past week, realizing I had learned many things. But perhaps the most important thing was that doing the right thing is always better than going down the slope of compromise.