The Conscience of a Hacker
Written By :
The Mentor
Written on Janu
ary 8, 1986Another one got caug
ht today, its all over the papers. TeenagerArrested in Co
mputer Crime Scandal, Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering...
Damn kids. Theyre all alike.
But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950s techn
obrain,ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did
you ever wonder whatmade him tick, what forces shaped him, w
hat may have molded him?I am a hacker, enter my world...
Mine is a world that begins with school... Im smarter t
han most ofthe other kids, this crap they teach us bores me.
.. Damn underachiever. Theyre all alike.
Im in junior high or high school. Ive listened
to teachers explainfor the fifteenth time how to reduce a f
raction. I understand it. No Ms.
Smith, I didnt show my work. I did it in my head...
Damn kid. Probably copied it. Theyre all alike.
I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second,
this is
cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, its because
I
screwed up.
...Not because it doesnt like me...
...Or feels threatened by me...
...Or thinks Im a smart ass...
...Or doesnt like teaching and shouldnt be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. Theyre all alike.
And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing thr
ough
the phone lines like heroin through an addicts veins, an electric pul
se is
sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incometencies is sought... a bo
ard is
found.
This is it... this is where I belong...
I know everyone here... even if Ive never met them, never talked to
them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. Theyre all alike..
You bet your ass were all alike... weve been spoon-fed baby f
ood at school
when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip
through were pre-chewed and tasteless. Weve been dominated by sadist
s, or
apathetic. The few that had something to teach us found us ignored by
the
willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.
This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the
beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without
paying
for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasnt run by profiteering gluttons
, and
you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We s
eek
after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin c
olor,
without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us crimina
ls.
You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat and lie to us
and try to make us believe its for our own good, yet were the crimin
als.
Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is tha
t of
judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.
My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will
never forgive me for.
I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual
but you cant stop us all... after all, were all alike.
The Mento
r
May the members of the phreak community never forget
his words -KL
Written By :
The Mentor
Written on Janu
ary 8, 1986Another one got caug
ht today, its all over the papers. TeenagerArrested in Co
mputer Crime Scandal, Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering...
Damn kids. Theyre all alike.
But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950s techn
obrain,ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did
you ever wonder whatmade him tick, what forces shaped him, w
hat may have molded him?I am a hacker, enter my world...
Mine is a world that begins with school... Im smarter t
han most ofthe other kids, this crap they teach us bores me.
.. Damn underachiever. Theyre all alike.
Im in junior high or high school. Ive listened
to teachers explainfor the fifteenth time how to reduce a f
raction. I understand it. No Ms.
Smith, I didnt show my work. I did it in my head...
Damn kid. Probably copied it. Theyre all alike.
I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second,
this is
cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, its because
I
screwed up.
...Not because it doesnt like me...
...Or feels threatened by me...
...Or thinks Im a smart ass...
...Or doesnt like teaching and shouldnt be here...
Damn kid. All he does is play games. Theyre all alike.
And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing thr
ough
the phone lines like heroin through an addicts veins, an electric pul
se is
sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incometencies is sought... a bo
ard is
found.
This is it... this is where I belong...
I know everyone here... even if Ive never met them, never talked to
them, may never hear from them again... I know you all...
Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. Theyre all alike..
You bet your ass were all alike... weve been spoon-fed baby f
ood at school
when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip
through were pre-chewed and tasteless. Weve been dominated by sadist
s, or
apathetic. The few that had something to teach us found us ignored by
the
willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.
This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the
beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without
paying
for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasnt run by profiteering gluttons
, and
you call us criminals. We explore... and you call us criminals. We s
eek
after knowledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin c
olor,
without nationality, without religious bias... and you call us crimina
ls.
You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat and lie to us
and try to make us believe its for our own good, yet were the crimin
als.
Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is tha
t of
judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.
My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will
never forgive me for.
I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual
but you cant stop us all... after all, were all alike.
The Mento
r
May the members of the phreak community never forget
his words -KL
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