From Idler to Tech Tycoon: Earth

Richard leaned back in his chair with a tired stretch, one hand cradling a mug of fresh coffee, the other flicking through tabs on his main terminal. It was too early for complexity, but the blinking notification on his center monitor promised just that. A familiar voice echoed through the office—a voice without tone, yet unmistakably her own.

"Good morning, Sir Richard."

He sipped and set the mug down. "Morning, Lina. Anything from our little... fisherman?"

"Yes, sir. The Trojan signature was detected at 03:17 UTC," Lina responded without pause. "Its current operational environment is now localized to 675 North Randolph Street. Arlington. DARPA Strategic Tech Office."

Richard raised an eyebrow, then chuckled to himself. "Virginia? Huh. Not exactly a mom-and-pop server farm."

He leaned forward, gaze narrowing slightly. "They triggered the payload?"

"Affirmative. The embedded Trojan activated following a successful compromise of the Quantum Key Distribution layer."

Richard snorted. "Of course they did. Couldn’t help themselves. Why’d you have to make the QKD so complicated? That thing gave me a headache and I already knew the answer."

"My encryption design parameters were selected to offer resistance appropriate to a state-level actor while appearing civilian-constructed. A challenge, but not insurmountable. It creates the illusion of value."

Richard nodded slowly, tapping a finger against the mug. "Right. Big lock, small secret. Make them think it’s worth stealing. Then you bait the trap."

"Correct. Human actors often overvalue assets earned through labor, regardless of actual utility."