Only 3%? What the hell?
- Hello?
- Hey, Dad.
Cara! There you are.
Hun,
Cara finally called us back!
- Sorry, I've been busy.
- You--
You're supposed to be
taking it easy.
I am taking it easy.
Uh, the connection's bad.
You're not in that
bunker of yours are you?
It's not a bunker.
It's just...
intentional country living.
Hi, Care Bear.
Mom, please,
stop calling me that.
Oh.
Hey, we heard
there was another
power outage on the hill.
- Are you okay?
- Yep.
One of the perks
of having my mining rigs
and connections off-grid.
How's the, uh,
hydrogen fuel cell system
- working out?
- Like a dream.
I wish you
hadn't helped her
with that generator, Walt.
You know, I read that
those are very dangerous.
For the thousandth time, Mom,
you need to stop believing
everything you read online.
Any progress
on your game project?
Some.
You know,
we worry about you
being out there by yourself.
Grandpa lived out here
on his own for years.
That was very different.
I'm fine.
You know, you're never
gonna meet anyone
cooped up there.
I have plenty of friends
Going to the grocery
store 20 miles away, it's...
not a social life, sweetheart.
Well, you haven't met
the local cashiers, so...
And online
doesn't count either.
Is there something you guys
actually wanna talk to me about
other than questioning
all my life choices?
Just checking in.
It's been busy, I have lots of
potentially lucrative
irons in the fire.
I saw a computer class
at the community college.
I'm good, Mom.
Thank you.
Look, we miss you,
Care Bear.
We'll take
a fun trip together
once all my projects are over.
Hey, why don't
you come stay with us
for a few days?
I really can't right now.
It's better
to face your problems
than run from them.
- I'm not running from--
- Yes, you are.
I just needed a break.
By moving 300 miles away
to the middle of nowhere.
You don't get it. Okay?
Burnout is real.
All right. Look,
please don't be mad at us.
Do what you need to do.
We love you and we just wanna
make sure you're recovering.
Oh, my God! Yes.
I'm fine, Mom.
How about we bring you
nother casserole next weekend?a
That would be nice.
Thank you.
I really have to get to work.
We're glad
you're doing well, Care Bear.
- We'll see you soon.
- Love you guys.
- Love you.
- We love you, too.
Ah, this always looks
so much more fun in the movies.
Okay.
Cara, you got this.
We can do this.
Okay.
Just-- just do it.
Okay.
Hello?
Damn raccoons.
Don't let it bother you.
I bet you made more
than your dad ever has
as a professor.
Harsh,
but probably true.
Yeah, they still haven't
wrapped their heads around
this whole freelance thing.
I hear ya.
Every day I work from home,
my parents think
I'm taking the day off.
- Because you are.
- Shh. Don't tell Clint that.
I can't believe that assh*le
hasn't been fired yet.
You'll win the lawsuit.
Give it time.
Yeah.
Waiting on others to act
isn't exactly my strong suit.
I plan to move on
as soon as this project wraps.
I don't want any more to do
with those bastards
after how they treated you.
On to bigger and better things,
I suppose.
Not that
I'm getting anywhere.
My latest iteration of my algo
was only 3% gain.
I expected more.
Damn.
I'm coming up short too.
The real money's in hacking.
Playing with fire, dude.
Nah, everything I dabble in
is borderline legit.
You're wasting your talents
on mining.
Figuring out how to capture
all the wasted computer power
-is gonna change the world.
-Oh, so virtuous.
-I'm serious.
-Well, you know where
to find me if you ever want
come over to the dark side.
No, I'm gonna--
I'm gonna cr*ck this.
-I'm close.
-If anyone can, it's you.
Okay, food break.
Catch you later.
Winning. Yeah.
Hm.
Going for a gold star
mental health report today.
Yeah.
Get it. Okay.
Have the positive affirmations
been helping?
Sure.
Well, remember
to practice the phrases
whenever you feel stressed.
Close your eyes, breathe,
visualize your peaceful place
and repeat the words.
- Yeah. I have been.
- Good.
Feeling better
about the upcoming trial?
Coping okay.
Any feelings
about seeing Clint again?
Um, yeah.
But I'm handling it.
That's great.
And how about your parents?
Have you opened up yet?
No.
I've been sticking
with the burnout story.
How could I tell them
that my creeper boss
sexually harassed me,
and I was too scared
of losing my job to report it?
I can help you
with strategies.
It may be helpful
o have their support at trial.t
- I-- I'll think about it.
- Okay.
Recovering from trauma
is a process,
but you don't have to
go through it alone, Cara.
We're overtime for today,
but talk to you next week.
You bet.
- Hey.
- How was dinner?
My favorite noodles,
so, pure perfection.
You need some variety
in your diet, girl.
I've got better things to do
than cook.
Quick and easy is the way.
Have you ever considered
a less stressful line of work?
Sorry, I've already got
a therapist,
and I can't afford another one.
This is how I relax.
Yep, that's you.
Miss Chill.
On that note, since you get
such deep fulfillment
from these headache-inducing
endeavors,
can you look over a thing?
Oh, now you appreciate me?
Sure. Send it.
Llamaz! My man,
we've been over this!
I know. I know.
I think it's close.
This hashing protocol
isn't scalable.
Focus on optimizing
the consensus method
to speed up
the confirmation.
Is that how
you're doing your algo?
I've got my own thing going.
- No hints?
- Not to my big payday, baby.
Tease.
I can't help my brilliance.
All right!
7% gain.
Now I'm getting somewhere.
Speaking of which,
I should probably
get back to that.
quiet suspenseful music plays][
Any bright ideas?
Real helpful. Thanks.
Maybe I'm thinking
about this all wrong.
If something isn't working,
try something new.
That can't be right.
Holy sh*t.
Okay, let's-- let's do a cycle.
Check her hash rate.
Damn it!
Okay, so the algo efficiency
is working,
but it's corrupting
all the data.
Processing too fast?
No, it can't be that.
This all looks solid.
Nothing should be corrupting
the data.
Maybe we'll just
troubleshoot with one for now.
Save ourselves the headache.
You're okay.
This show's so cool.
I mean, yeah.
I'm digging it.
I had a slip today.
Oh? It's been a while.
Yeah. It passed quickly though.
I might take the day off
tomorrow still, you know,
just clear my head.
Not a bad idea.
- Hey, do you know Cyfr?
-No. Which group?
I just got a DM.
Shared group with CryptoKids.
Incoming "help me" spam.
Mash that block button.
Uh, Cyfr just offered me
$2 million for my algo.
What the--
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Gotta be a scam, right?
You're amazing, darling,
but legit business people
don't offer millions
over a DM.
If only, right?
Yeah.
Definitely too good to be true.
You're right.
I should have just blocked him.
Bye, fantasy millions.
Morning, bud.
Is this guy a ghost?
Why am I trying
to track down a scammer?
Okay, Cara, time to unplug.
Miss you, Grandpa.
Oh, man.
I didn't see that one coming.
- Time for another one?-
- Heck yeah. I mean,
we can't end
on that cliffhanger.
sh*t! I gotta go.
- What?
- Rigs are down.
No, you don't.
Okay,
let's see what happened here.
Hello there.
What the hell is this?
sh*t!
Is the genesis block corrupted?
Thank you, Poncho.
Where did this all go wrong?
Yes! Yes.
See? Nothing to it.
Okay. Let's do another one.
Oh, boy.
What the...
If it's not corrupted then...
Let's see
what the file header gives us.
Transmission.
Someone has
quite the sense of humor.
Just for kicks...
No way.
Two is only a coincidence.
So, no wonder no one noticed.
What's going on here?
Wow. Okay.
What else
do you have in common?
What did you use to look like?
Down the rabbit hole we go.
sh*t's getting weird.
We need to go back
to the beginning.
Time to bring out the beast.
There you are, bud.
I've missed you.
Let's go.
What the hell's going on here?
Is this is from aliens?
This is crazy.
You're losing your mind, Cara.
And now you're talking
in third person.
Okay,
even if this was from aliens,
there's, A, no way
that our signal would reach
1,200 light years away in,
what, 60 years?
And B,
even if this were possible,
that we'd get a response.
It's just too far away.
Right?
Science saves the day.
What the hell?
Stupid freaking party neighbors.
Pull yourself together, Cara.
Ah, you've got work to do.
Let's get back online.
Secure the network.
And you're still
talking to yourself,
so that's cool.
Please let these patches
do the trick.
Yes!
All right.
We're back in business.
And she's back.
What a freaking nightmare.
I had to rebuild
my entire security protocol.
You know
I'm happy to help any time.
Nah, I got it. Thanks though.
Any idea
what caused the breach?
Uh, the general idiocy
of the internet, I suppose.
You've gotta be kidding me.
Another att*ck. Gotta go.
Screw this.
How can I research this
without being online?
Hello?
Doesn't anybody read anymore?
Sounds legit.
I can't be the first person
to find this.
"Hey, I'm new here.
"Lots of great stuff
on this site.
"I've been doing
some research into crypto
"and wondering
if anyone has come across
"coded messages embedded
in the blockchain data."
Here goes nothing.
Yeah,
because reptilian overlords
in the government are legit.
Okay.
"Sorry!
"Didn't mean to step
on any toes.
"I do have data.
"I found some weird stuff
in the genesis block data
"and wanted to see
if anyone else had found it too.
"Compare notes?"
What the hell?
Assholes.
"The target of the message,
star cluster M13,
"was thought to be
a prime candidate
"for extraterrestrial life.
"Unknown technology potential
"even faster than light travel
or communications."
They could have intercepted
the message on the way there.
Wouldn't necessarily take
1,200 light years
to make communication.
Check the back.
I have plenty of variety.
Is there really something here
or am I just losing my mind?
Let's pretend for one minute
that this is
actually one big message.
If each crypto
contains instructions
to decode one part,
then the message
is here in its entirety.
But the file
isn't big enough.
Of course.
That's why all the mining
has to be done online,
because it pulls
from the master data
and disguises itself
as peer validation.
If I can find
the instructions
controlling which
section of code to access...
catalog all the segments,
then we have ourselves a map.
What the--
Are those...
chapter headings?
So if each range
is one currency,
then let's make a new one.
Damn it. Great.
This is just a header outline.
I have to get online
to access the source file.
That ought to do it.
More schematics,
but why encrypt these?
Let's say you did have
a lot of data to process.
I mean the best way to do it
would be to crowdsource.
But you couldn't very well
tell people
that the message is from aliens.
No, no,
you'd have to have a cover...
like crypto mining.
Then you could keep
whatever's decrypted a secret.
Like advanced
technology designs, right?
Maybe I'm just reading
too much into this.
Could just be
someone's fun Easter eggs.
Holy...
Damn it!
I don't think so.
Who are you?
Uh, good morning,
Ms. Hammond.
This is Chris with Ace Bank.
How are you today?
Um, fine. How are you?
Great, thank you for asking.
I'm with
the fraud detection department
and was calling to check on
some suspicious activity
- we flagged on your account.
- Okay.
Would you mind verifying
your date of birth
for me, please?
May 10th, 1994.
Great, thank you for that.
Now, are you currently
in Europe?
What? No.
Hmm, that's interesting.
Tell me which
of these transaction amounts
sound familiar.
All right, I'll try.
- 1,650.
- What?
I'm sorry.
Is that transaction familiar?
No!
On October 10th
for the amount of $892.
No.
October 5th, 10,600--
I don't even have
that much in my account.
Yes, I see here
some overdrafts.
But not to worry,
we automatically deduct
any overdraft amounts
from your savings.
I don't even have that much
in my savings account
or all of my accounts.
Once we verify
the fraudulent transactions,
the funds will be replaced
in five to ten business days.
Okay, great, well,
what am I supposed to do
for money until then?
I can connect you to
our new credit card applica--
Running dark.
Everything goes wrong
at the same damn time.
That should do it.
This is private property!
What do you want?
Who are you?
Who are you?!
All right,
let's figure this out.
Hello, mysterious stranger.
- Hey.
- Age, sex, location?
Gross.
Clever name.
Took me a minute.
Shut up a sec, okay?
This is serious.
- I think I'm in trouble.
- Trouble like before?
No, like I pissed off
the wrong people.
What's going on?
I think
I've been doxxed.
-sh*t.
-Is it possible
for Accord to be hacked?
You wanna stalk someone?
Other way around.
I-- let me set up
some things.
I will send you a secure link
in a few minutes.
et away from other electronics.G
Okay.
Hey, there.
This program will block out
everything on your phone
except this encrypted call.
How'd you learn
how to do all this stuff?
A master never reveals
his secrets.
So what's up
with this doxxing?
- You remember that Cyfr guy?
- Yeah.
Banhammered his ass.
Yeah, I think
he's the one behind all this.
Ever since I got that DM,
things have been just
really weird.
Lame.
Has there been other stuff
aside from
your network att*ck?
What hasn't happened?
I mean,
multiple firewall penetrations.
- My identity got stolen.
- What?
Why didn't you say
anything sooner?
It's been a crazy few days.
I thought
it was all in my head, but...
someone showed up here
last night.
Holy sh*t.
Yeah, but they never got
out of their car.
I, uh, I stared 'em down
with my grandpa's old shotgun.
- It was pretty epic, actually.
- Hold up.
Don't you live,
like, way off-grid?
Well, it's not that far
from town,
but, yeah, it's rural.
The new incognito user
is making more sense now.
Well, my other account
got banned.
- From what?
- From everything.
What in the world
did you stumble into?
I have to see your code.
This is too weird.
Yeah, I don't know
if it's safe.
Insatiable curiosity
gets the better of reason.
I need to be able
to research this thing
without making more suspicion.
For sure.
Go all James Bond.
Yeah. I remember you
saying something
about this black box thing
that you made for a guy
running an underground podcast
or something?
You think you could set me up
with something like that?
I'd have to come out
to your place to configure it.
It's a beast.
Oh, you're what,
like six hours from me?
A little more.
Okay, I'll DM you
a shopping list.
Get everything overnighted
and I'll head out
late tomorrow
and drive overnight.
Have to wrap up a few things
before I can go.
Thanks, Jay. I owe you.
Any time.
I'm looking forward to seeing
you face-to-face again.
Me too.
Have coffee ready,
and food.
I hope you like MREs.
Okay. Wow.
That is quite the list.
Okay, um, Dad.
- Hey, Cara.
- Hey. You got a minute?
Yeah, sure, hun.
What's-- what's up?
Cara, you there?
What-- um, yeah.
Um, hey, I got
this identity theft thing,
but I need to
buy some stuff.
Can I use your account
to buy some things?
Of course. You have the, uh,
info saved, right?
Yeah, you know, you--
you should really
change those logins,
like, monthly, right?
Well, then, how would you
borrow it all the time?
Thanks, Dad.
I'll call you later. Okay?
Is everything okay?
Yeah, yeah, fine.
I gotta go, thanks.
You better use
all this stuff.
Your order has been placed.
It doesn't make much sense
to point it
right at my hiding spot, Cara.
That could give it away.
Perfect.
I feel much better about that.
Back to it.
Okay.
We need the connection
to pull the master data.
But we override
the peer verification
by sweeping
the private network.
I mean, that should
speed things up exponentially.
Let's see what you look like
in your entirety.
Hey, what's up?
Sorry, I was busy.
Are you okay?
I am really not licensed
to answer that right now.
Seriously, Cara,
I'm worried about you.
I'm working on some stuff.
Well, you're freaking me out,
sending me data that's
ibberish and talking nonsense.g
How are you not seeing
what I'm seeing?
It's just noise
from a faulty algo.
No, it's not noise.
It can't be noise
that makes sense,
not across all those files.
But it doesn't make sense.
Have you heard of
the Arecibo message?
The message we sent out
to space in the '70s?
Yeah.
I think this is
a response to that.
Cara.
I mean, you can think
I'm crazy all you want,
but it's the exact same data
across every genesis block.
That can't be right.
I can't be
the first person to find this.
I mean, someone must have
figured this out before me.
But...
why don't we know about it?
Good point. Why don't we?
I mean...
unless it's the aliens
themselves coming after me.
Okay,
I'm on the way out there.
Will you just look at
the file again?
Okay? It's--
it's all right there.
And if you don't believe me,
then just stay away.
Probably safer that way anyway.
I really think
someone's after me.
The aliens?
Doubt it.
I mean, with what's happening
it's gotta be government
or big tech.
Is there
really a distinction?
Hey, we're gonna
figure this out, okay?
Yeah.
We got this.
I mean, it looks like
some kind of
communications array.
I'll just see what Llamaz
thinks when he gets here.
Okay.
- Who is it?
- Pizza delivery.
Just leave it on the porch.
Here?
I tipped in the app.
Okay, thanks.
Package delivery!
Hello?
We'll leave it outside.
Have a great day.
Are you freaking kidding me?
Oh, God.
Okay. Okay.
Your call
cannot be completed as dialed.
Please check the number
and dial again.
Thank you
for calling UCT.
How may I direct your call?
Hi, um,
can you put me through
to Professor Walter Hammond,
please?
Sure. Just a moment.
Oh, it appears
he's not in today.
ould you like me to forward youW
to his voicemail?
He's not there?
No, there's a note here
that his TA filled in
on this morning's lecture
and his class this evening
has been canceled.
Are you one of his students?
No. Never mind. Thank you.
sh*t!
Over here!
Over here.
I think I found something.
Bring the cutting torch.
Crypto Shadows (2024)
Moderator: Maskath3