Where would an intelligent boy's imagination end up, you can't say for sure. They truly say: 'Sky is the limit', and here we have an evidence of that.You would relish Ahmed Ali's flight of imagination in this story. Do give this a read if you aspire to give your mind a little stretch. A beautiful short story with lots of APPEAL!

‘It was the same bus I got onto every day, but that day as I sat down I sensed something was different.’

That night too, like every other night for the past two years, I was sitting in front of the computer screen, tapping on the keyboard at a speed of 50 words per minute. But then I sensed I needed more caffeine in my system to go on with the project I was trying to accomplish. I prepared coffee, gulped it down and resumed my work. As the clock chimed 4 a.m, I reached the milestone. Eureka!

“Yeeeessss! Huhu!”, I let out a triumphant squeal, hushing it in the nick of time, not to wake everybody up.

Yes, I am a hacker, an amateur one though. I am just sixteen but already I have decided what I am going to do. Hacking is my passion and I ultimately aim to contribute my expertise to Pakistan’s cyber defense. As they say, World War III will be a war of computers. That night, I pulled down the website of one of USA’s sensitive departments, which I noticed was being used to spy on Pakistan’s web users. This irritated me too much, and I decided I had to teach the bloody Americans a lesson. I was ecstatic when I finally did it.

The next day at school was a boring one; I slept most of the time along with my fellow backbenchers. At last, the bell rang announcing the pack-up time. I sultrily walked to the bus stop. It took unusually long, but it did come in the end. I climbed it and scurried towards the last seat.

It was the same bus I got onto every day, but that day as I sat down I sensed something was different. Firstly, it wasn’t the same, aged driver. This one was bald and dressed in English dress unlike ours. Secondly, I noticed others were not present either. Then an alarm went off in my head. “Men in black! Men in black!” it clanged. There were three of them with black glasses and matching shoes. I remembered that secret-service men dressed like that. At that moment, one of them galloped towards me; he took hold of my neck and made me inhale chloroform from a handkerchief. I fainted immediately. The last thing I remembered was being hurled into a Mercedes.

I returned to the world in an interrogation cell. The strange men around me had sinister looks. I feared the consequences. Then one of them spoke:

“Boy, your life was under threat. You teased the Americans by hacking their sensitive website, and they are after you now.”

I froze hearing those words.

He continued speaking,” But you have done something that we couldn’t, in spite of endeavouring painstakingly. You seem to be very good at this stuff.”

Another man continued, “Therefore, we offer you the position of chief hacker in ISI. I am sure you won’t complain of the salary package. We undertake the responsibility of convincing your parents”, he smiled.

I couldn’t believe my ears. My dream had materialised quite fabulously. My vision had come true in a way I had never expected in my wildest dreams.

So here I am, one year later, working for my country, loving every moment. I have already strengthened Pakistan’s cyber fortresses to the extent that they are unable to be infiltrated by even the toughest of hackers.

Written by:

Ahmed Ali

O’ Level Final year

PakTurk Schools, Islamaba