Brain Jack Read Online Free PDF Page A

opened the carton.
    On the top, in a flat section of the inner packing, were the manual and a Blu-ray of the software. He put them to one side.
    Below were some cables and other paraphernalia that he couldn’t identify just yet, and underneath another layer of cardboard was the prize itself.
    He lifted it out and examined it. It was the first time he had seen a neuro-headset up close. They were still quite expensive, certainly out of the budget of a high school student, although admittedly, they were getting cheaper all the time.
    It looked most of all like a swimmer’s cap, except for the slight protuberances that were the receptors. From each receptor a thin wire emerged, running backward across the cap to the base of the neck, merging into a thick black wire that ended in four separate, multipinned plugs, each a different color.
    Under the next layer of cardboard in the carton he found the receptor box. Gunmetal gray, it was the size of a box of chocolates. It was the biggest, heaviest thing in the carton. On the rear of the receptor device, there were four sockets, color-coded to match the plugs.
    He studied the instruction manual before connecting the cables and plugging the connector into the USB3 slot on his new laptop.
    He inserted the Blu-ray into the drive and installed the software, then, with a growing sense of excitement, he slid on the headset.
    And nothing happened.
    There was no strange sensation within his skull. No sudden flash of oneness with his computer. Nothing.
    He looked over at Fargas, who was wearing his headset and playing some kind of simple game involving airplanes.
    He loaded the training software and followed the setup wizard, agreeing to the terms and conditions (without reading them) and selecting all the default options.
    The Blu-ray drive whirred for a moment, and his screen went entirely black, changing resolution before a face appeared on his screen. The young woman from Fargas’s computer. She was gorgeous but with a slight plasticity of skin and an unnatural smoothness of movement that showed she was computer generated rather than a real person.
    “Hello,” she said in a honey-sweet voice that was entirely too natural to be simmed. A real person must have recorded the dialogue. “My name is Ursula,” she said.
    “Hi, Ursula, I’m Sam,” Sam responded, knowing that she could not hear him.
    “I’ll be your tutor and guide as you discover a whole new way to operate your computer, connect with friends and family, and access the Internet. Your brand-new neuro-connection,” Ursula said.
    “You’re right. She’s awesome,” Sam said.
    Fargas looked over. “Reckon she gives private lessons?”
    “She’s not real, dude. Just a bunch of pixels,” Sam said.
    “Works for me,” Fargas said.
    Sam laughed. “If she was real, I’d love to meet her.”
    “Get in line,” Fargas said.
    Ursula continued, “Your neuro-connection will allow you to put away your keyboard and mouse, and eventually even your computer screen, and interact with your computer simply by using your brain. If you haven’t already plugged in and attached your headset, do that now. I’ll wait,” she said with a beguiling smile, then added, “If you need help with any of the equipment, press F1 now. When you are ready, press Enter.”
    Sam did exactly that.
    Ursula’s face shrunk to the top right of the screen, and a graphic appeared, a three-dimensional image of the headset, rotating slowly.
    “You are now wearing the latest technology Neurotech 1.2 headset. Embedded sensors detect signals produced by your brain that you know as brain waves.”
    Sam ran a hand over his head, feeling the slightly raised bumps on the headset.
    “There are four main types of brain waves: alpha, beta, delta, and theta,” she said. “The ones we are interested in are the higher-frequency but low-amplitude waves, known as beta waves.”
    The graphic changed to show a colorful chart, a little like a topographical map.
    Ursula