(Zero Protocol) Check with the king

[Samaritan]

Bishop had requisitioned the small meeting room at Hostel Hi again, where he had last met with his white knight. It had been an impressive display of talents, even though Bishop was old enough to question, whether or not he had actually been smart enough to realy pose a challenge. He was involved on the inside. Up to his neck. Probably even deeper - deep enough, that his head was under and his eyes clouded to the perceivable reality.
<Ah, the joy of the Lie.> he thought, partly very ironic, partly dead serious.
But the knight had proven a valuable source of perspective so far, so Bishop was grateful...and dying to get her opinion on his whole enterprise. If she would tell him. He had a feeling, that he was seriously outmatched. Should he have invested more time into his personal skills? Intrinsic advancement before external ressourcing?
But this city...this consilium had displayed no defense mechanism so far. And besides counciliar bickerings, Bishop had decided to just...do.
<Ah, maybe that is the problem. I am under the illusion, that it is done. Well, old man, you are very wrong.>
So, there was maintenance to do. Thus, it was smart to have someone, who knew the workings. But Bishop was not someone to simply hand out the keys to his car without having someone drive it first. In his opinion, it was time for one final trial. To see, if his knight merited a new lance for jousting, so to speak.
In the meeting room, his laptop was set up. He had prepared a coffee just like last time. Now he waited.

Djinn Zodiac

[Zodiac]

Zoey was timely, if nothing else, but she prefered to be timely and elegant in that arrival, so it was one of her favourite dresses that she wore to visit with Bishop, making her way in with more practiced comfort than she had before, making her way inside with a little bag over her shoulder. The bag held her notes, and there were many things she was rather excited to speak with the man about, leaving her to smile warmly to Bishop as she slipped into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Bishop," she greeted politely, slipping her way over and taking a seat, before pulling out a little packet and setting it on the table. "Good afternoon. I hope you're in good health and spirits?" Manners... it was important to keep things like that in mind. She knew better than to run on pride in herself, but that didn't mean she wasn't reasonably pleased with what she'd learned and accomplished. She had any number of things she was ready to share with Bishop to help him strengthen his project.

After all... that was the point of what she'd done, wasn't it?

[Samaritan]

Bishop rose and turned towards his guest, giving her a firm hand-shake.
"Ah, Mrs. Zoey. Welcome to H-2. I see your looks match your skills. Dangerous combination, but that makes all this..." he gestured towards his laptop, "...so much more entertaining." He smiled.
"Please, have a seat." he offered, before serving her a coffee, which was prepared exactly as she had it last time she was in this room.
"To answer your question, I am in acceptable health, but my spirits have received a good shake after reading the email of an apparently malaysian intruder dropped right into my very own, very personal and supposedly secure server." he said playfully, while taking a seat himself and helping himself to some camomille tea. "So, would care to share some of your knightly graces?"

[Zodiac]

She laughed softly at that as she shook his hand in turn and smiled. "I know my way around a variety of boards, it would seem," Zoey took the coffee with a soft 'thank you' before looking up again.

"An email from Malaysia? What a thought," there was mock-wonder in her tone though she knew as well as he precisely who had sent that. "I think we'll need to see about setting up a stronger defense, won't we?" Her expression didn't show a trace of pride, though there was a little delight in her features as she spoke. She wasn't rubbing it in, she wasn't trying to make him feel bad. But she was happy about her accomplishments, too.

"For one thing, breaking ciphers is much easier to do when you make it as clear as you do where the baseline is. Turing isn't a hidden figure in the slightest, even to someone like myself who doesn't exactly specialize in the Maths and Sciences. That was one big bit of insight," she explained as she pushed the little packet across the table to the other. "This is a short note record of speculations and the like that led me the heart of things. Admittedly, without some of the knowledge that I have it would have been more difficult to figure out who was you, but to sort out who the owner was..." she gave a light shrug.

[Samaritan]

Bishop listened carefully, holding the bundle of notes in his hands, but not taking a look at them yet.
"Yes, security needs an apparent step up. Which is entirely doable." he concurred, taking a sip of tea. "Turing is a figure-head. A visible one with roots in common knowledge. So that anyone hearing about a mystery around him likes to indulge himself. It is the entrance to the labyrinth, if you wish. A honey-trap." He had had exactly the same thoughts before initiated the whole affair. Was Turing too visible? Too public?
"I chose him because of necessity. The consilium was...and probably still is...lacking in defense mechanisms. You can run these things two ways. Fast or sophisticated. Due to our woefully underequipped guard, I opted for fast. Turing attracted people in short enough a timeframe to set this up in mere months rather than years. Those that were capable of swimming through the honey got fed a piece of fiction. Which was initially used to...well, inspire is the correct word...a co-worker of mine to write an article. The challenge of the zero-host was tough enough to get only those with sufficient skill on the inside. A meritocracy of the inner circle."
Bishop started to skimm the notes.
"Ah, yes. You knew I was a guardian. That is important. And you are right in that it is a liability. While it is of no consequence to sleepers, our adversaries will undoubtedly speculate along your lines of thought. Hmmm." He turned a page.
"And this. The conference-influx. Too good an opportunity to miss, but apparently a weakness which you expertly exploited. I had to do this with delicate sleeper work, because I am found wanting in the Arcanum of Mind. Looks like I will change my handle immediately...and develope a new one." He closed the notes, placing them in front of him. Bishop leaned back, placing his fingers together in front of his mouth.
"I am open to suggestions. You obviously knew what you were doing, so I'd appreciate assistance."

[Zodiac]

"Speed over efficiency...?" she mused thoughtfully, tilting her head as she considered the notion. She wasn't sure she agreed with it, but it was what it was. He did what he'd felt was necessary.

"I certainly noticed the Inspiration that had happened," she chuckled a little, "at least what was left over of it. My recommendation would be to make all admin handles along some sort of a theme - an abstract theme. It will make people think and wonder about it, even if it's unrelated. That can help divert attention and make things a little more... hmm... anonymous, I suppose is the word.

"What I can do is spend a little time with the mainframe and see about sealing up some of the gaps I was able to find, buff up its security and clean it up, but it's important to clarify this to you: I didn't seek assistance for what I did. I also am working on a very, very old computer. If I were working with newer equipment and a team, think of how much more quickly I would've burned through those defenses." It was a warning, to be certain.

"The system needs to be amped up quite a bit. Puzzles need to be more complex..." a wry smile lit her features, "and on the subject of puzzles, did you solve the riddle I posed to you?"

[Samaritan]

Bishop raised an eyebrow. "I did answer your riddle. Or did I text someone completely different and we have a serious breach on our hands now?" he inquired, half expecting a serious problem now. "And the admin-handles go along a theme. There are two 1's and two 0's. Their names are network-related terms. But yes, these things can be made more sophisticated."

He pondered for a while. "I suppose every network has two flaws. The first one is the administrator, that thinks he has created a secure environment. The second one are users believing him. So if you used no assistance whatsoever, then congratulations, you are successfully making me feel very old. You tell me what you need and I will supply it. And since I am about to set up a workspace with a multi-core terminal for intrusion of the campus security of Sacro's university, you can use that for all your doings."
He looked up, his face serious.
"However, I am all for earning privileges, and while you certainly bested me quite easily on virtual territory, I have a challenge for you, that is taking place in this magnificent place called downtown sacramento."
There was a mischievous glitter in his eyes.
"If you are up for it?"

[Zodiac]

A brow raised, and the mischief in his eyes was not lost on her, even as the curiousity bloomed on her own face. Ah, he did know just the strings to pull, didn't he? "I will state it precisely the same way that I stated it before, Bishop. I cannot accept a challenge when I don't know what the challenge is," she smiled, but he very clearly had her interest.

"Once you've set up the terminal, you're welcome to look over my shoulder while I work. I'll do my best to strengthen and secure the systems," she stated as she sipped at her coffee. "Perhaps that way we can be certain that you know how your own system works, and thus you can make adjustments along the lines as necessary without needing my involvement. After all, this is your project."

[Samaritan]

"Yes, this is my project." Bishop sighed. "Unfortunately, people like will usually not die of old age. The Epopt concurred, that having someone else know the ropes would be useful."
He massaged his temple gently, shortly closing his eyes, before opening them again.
"So your challenge is to locate the ropes. The good thing about all things virtual is, that they are stored somewhere physical. I suppose you already know in which building of town all of this currently resides. So let's make this a final exam, shall we?"
Bishop reached into his jackets pocket and produced a small chess figure. It was a white knight, carved from wood, nothing too fancy, but not the kind of stuff you would get for ten bucks in a shop either. He set it on the table.
"Place this on the server, which hosts zero.nets architecture at the Headquarters of the Sacramento Bee. It is as simple as that. And I know, it is not actually a riddle. If you want, you can take your cabal mate as a helpful hand as well. That would settle my curiosity a bit, because I honestly have no idea about his skills."
He winked at her.
"Rules are simple: I find you during your intrusion or locate you on any security camera footage, then I will consider myself not too old for the job. And you will buy me a drink of my choice."

[Zodiac]

The expression that Zodiac gave the older man was rather blank. Did he realize precisely what he was requesting? He did realize he was speaking with a Mastigos, did he not? She wasn't even certain if she'd need Star's assistance in this task - between her computer knowledge and her skills with Space...?

Reaching to take the knight from the man, Zoey offered a little chuckle, shaking her head. "I don't imagine you'll be locating me on any security cameras, Bishop, sadly. I do look forward to this, though I'm reasonably certain you've given me a task that is easier for me to accomplish than you might think."