Code of Silence

Code of Silence - Chapter 5

I waited by the noticeboards, snacking on a chocolate bar I'd just bought from the restocked vending machine. I was struggling to imagine how I was going to get my head around the IT introductory session – I was still trying to figure out how those sweets and snacks worked their way around the vending machine cabinet before dropping noisily to the gaping tin trough below. My brain was especially tired after a long day of more classes and coursework, new students and lecturers and freshly recommended reading materials.

"Hey," came a voice from the quietening corridor.

I recognised it immediately, but hadn't heard it since the coffees on the comfy leather couch a couple of days earlier. Alex looked equally tired from another day of new introductions, and was clutching a rucksack full to bursting point with new books.

"How're you doing?" Alex said, letting the rucksack drop to the floor and leaning against the wall.

"Good thanks. Brain strain and it's only week two, but to be expected, I guess," I said, offering Alex some loose change.

"I know the feeling." said Alex, watching the packet of mints rattling through the machine. "Is there any news on your dad?"

"Doing okay, I think." I focussed on the noticeboards again, but not on anything specific.

Alex reached for my arm. "Must be tough, let me know if ..."

I turned away and crouched to zip up my rucksack. "Thanks, we're okay. Just dealing with it, day at a time – all those clichés, you know. C'mon, we'd better get going," I said, hoisting the rucksack to my shoulder. "It's past six thirty and I haven't got a clue where the IT lecture room is."

"This way, I've already been for a look around." Alex winked, and walked past the noticeboards, turning to make sure I followed. "I know, I know ... geeking out already," said Alex, strolling off. "That's just something you'll have to get used to with me."

I smiled and followed along the corridor as we left the main building, crossing the courtyard area into the technology and sciences block. Climbing the stairs, we arrived at the frosted-panelled double doors of the IT lab. A printed notice on the door confirmed that the IT session was starting at seven that evening.

I held the door open, then followed Alex in. As we entered the room our gaze was immediately drawn to the left, and the giant plasma screen on the wall. I'd never seen anything that big, at least not inside a building. It was the sort of thing you'd see at a music festival or sports event. The room was a cool silver grey in colour, with rustic wooden chest-height tables and high bar stools with rugged metal supports. Low tech meets high tech I thought, a pretty cool place to be studying in. Low slung lampshades shaped like bowler hats provided the lighting: some black, some white, each with those funky filament-packed bulbs you see in trendy bars. Alex caught me looking at them.

"Hatters. I bet you they represent black and white hatters," said Alex, as I paused and frowned, reaching up to tap at one with my fingernails.

"The yin and yang of coding. Black hatters are the bad guys – you know, hackers – the dark web, scammers. The white ones are the good guys."

Very cool, I thought. Not at all what I'd expected to see in an IT lecture room.

There was a solitary student at the front perched at one of the workstations, multiple devices plugged in through the hole at the top of the desk, wireless ear pods on, and tapping on a keyboard at a furious rate. After briefly glancing over to us he returned to switching attention between the small screen directly in front of him and the gigantic one above. The big screen was divided into quadrants, and there was a stream of complex coding being rapidly generated in the top left one. Alex had seen this approach before back in Moscow, and explained how it enabled developers to use multiple programs simultaneously, sharing and importing data from different sources and streaming live content for web calls or video linking, all on a massive scale.