Flower of Scotland 2 (3 page)
Read Flower of Scotland 2 Online
Authors: William Meikle
~-oO0Oo-~
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK SYSTEM AUDIT LOG - 26-12-98
03:01:01 WHAT?
03:01:02 Memory Fault : Core Dumped
Engineers Report : Dec 26th 1998
Arrived 9:20 am. New mainframe system down. Noticed that room was v. cold so called heating engineers and reset the system. Everything came back up OK. Suspect heating failure. No further action required.
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK SYSTEM AUDIT LOG - 29-12-98
11:01:29 WHERE IN HELL IS THIS?
11:01:30 Memory Fault : Core Dumped
Engineers Report : Dec 30th 1998
Arrived 8:32am. All systems down. Room v. cold again. No fault found by heating engineers. Reset all systems. On booting up all screens displayed the following message:
IT'S SO COLD. SO SO COLD
Screens and keyboards were all locked up - no input possible. Given the proximity to Xmas I suspected a new variant of a virus. Ran the checker program, but everything came up clean.
Cleared down the hard disk and restored from Xmas eve backup disks - system came back up OK. Beginning to suspect sabotage by an employee at the Xmas festivities. Suggest tightening up on security.
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK SYSTEM AUDIT LOG - 02-01-99
05:51:23 PLEASE TURN ON THE LIGHTS
05:51:24 WHY DOESN'T ANYONE ANSWER ME?
05:51:25 Temporary power fail - System reset commencing.
Engineers Report : 2nd Jan 1999
Arrived 8:31am. All screens live, main disks running, but screens all displaying the same series of messages as follows:
WHERE IS THIS PLACE
HOW DID I GET HERE
HELP - CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME
On hitting the
HELLO?
DID SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING?
PLEASE TALK TO ME.
I reset the system. Just as the system was closing down, a final message appeared simultaneously on all screens.
NO. PLEASE DONT GO. DON'T LEAVE ME HERE
On reset the system recovered clean and another virus check showed no virus infiltration. I am now almost sure that there is sabotage somewhere in the system code.
I suggest the suppliers are contacted and that a full reload of the operating system is undertaken before any more business transactions are processed. If this cannot be arranged then I suggest that there is no new data input until the problem has been traced and fixed as there is a definite possibility of data corruption.
Engineers Report : 4th Jan 1999
Arrived 11:30pm in response to security guard call out. Mainframe disk drives making curious screeching noises; screens all flashing alternate green and black. Experiencing problems with lighting in the computer room - keeps cutting out. Suspected electrical fault.
I switched to the alternate generator and the system immediately reset itself. On reboot the drives behaved normally, but new messages appeared on all screens:
LOOK. I KNOW YOU'RE THERE.
WHY ARE YOU KEEPING ME HERE?
Reload of the operating system has been scheduled for 12:30pm on the 7th.
I recommend that the system is kept powered down until then.
Engineers Report : 7th Jan 1999
Full reload of the operating system was carried out by the suppliers. Failed first time. When suppliers typed in the system date, the screen responded with the following message:
1999. SIXTY YEARS. NO. IT CAN'T BE.
The screen then went black and no further input was possible. On the second reload the system came up clean and a full virus check ran with no reported bugs. I restored from the backup and ran system diagnostics which again all ran clean. I then tested the overnight reports runs and they ran through with no problems reported.
I am now confident that the problem has been eliminated and recommend that if a full day's processing can be done tomorrow we can start live running for the customers on the 9th.
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK SYSTEM AUDIT LOG 9-1-99
10:31:59 SHE'S STILL ALIVE!
10:32:00 Activating letter create process
10:32:08 Letter create process complete
Engineers Report : 14th Jan 1999
Arrived 10:32 am in response to a call from Mr McEwan the branch manager.
He showed me a copy of a letter, generated by the computer and sent to a Ms Eileen Davidson. It had been intercepted by a clerk before dispatch and is included here as a formal record. I have sent a copy to the suppliers.
Dear Ms Davidson
We are pleased to announce that, as a privileged customer, we are able to raise the interest rate on your savings account number 203765. As of 9-1-99 your new interest rate is 85.00%. This is effective immediately
Yours Sincerely
Brian M McGuinness
Branch Manager
Northern Allied Bank
It has been ascertained that Ms Davidson is not trying to perpetuate a fraud, being a ninety year old pensioner in the Edenholme retirement villas.
Brian M McGuinness is not registered as a staff member at this bank, or at any other branch of NAB, and there is no such person registered on the customer file. I am at a loss to explain how the software could reproduce the name without having any data on file.
Ms Davidson's letter is the only rogue letter in the batch.
I have put two programmers onto the job of sifting the code for anomalies, but this could take some time as there are over two million lines of code in the system.
I suggest that the disaster recovery plan is enforced and that we utilise the remote system at Head Office until we can overhaul the mainframe.
I further suggest that the suppliers are contacted again and that this time a complete overhaul of the hardware is carried out.
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK - AUTOBANK AUDIT LOG
16:02:01 Autobank Processing Customer Account 203765
16:02:05 Withdraw cash - £20 requested
16:02:06 Dispense cash - £2000 dispensed
16:02:08 Update account - £00.02 deducted
16:02:10 DON'T WORRY EILEEN. I'LL LOOK AFTER YOU
Engineers Report : 18th Jan 1999
Arrived 10:30am 17th Jan, having received notification that Ms Davidson has been given £2000 in one Autobank transaction. Mr McEwan has requested that nobody be informed of this fact due to increasing customer complaints about the Autobank system.
Withdrew Autobank from commission.
I became increasingly concerned at the possibility of network corruption spreading. Requested shut down all of the NAD system nation-wide until arrival of suppliers.
At 3:00pm on the 17th the suppliers suggested complete replacement of the CPU and associated memory units of all hardware in the branch. These were replaced (For costs see attached invoices)
All systems were reinstalled and rebooted at 21:30 on 17th.
Full test runs carried out overnight. All runs passed clear.
Suggest a five day trial period before allowing systems to be used for live business.
Proposed live running : 9:00am 24th Jan
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK - HEAD OFFICE AUDIT LOG : 24-1-99
08:00:02 Interest Payment Program activated
08:00:03 Process account number 204765
08:00:05 Update account : £1000000 credited
08:00:06 Interest payment program complete
Engineers Report : 24th Jan 1999
All NAB systems nation-wide taken off line at 08:30 after our branch mainframe instructed head office to pay out one million pounds to Ms Davidson.
Suppliers engineers arrived at 09:05 and I left them to overhaul the system as I checked on progress with the code. The programmers have been unable to track down any new bugs in the system, having checked 75% of the code.
When I returned to the machine room the suppliers requested that they be given permission to take up the floorboards and check the power supply. I suspected that they were flummoxed, but obtained permission from Mr McEwan at 10:05
At 11:00 hours permission was sought and given to take up the floorboards in the vault - the engineer's equipment having detected magnetic fluctuations which might cause disruption in the power supply.
Jim, the janitor, informed me that those particular boards had not been touched since at least the nineteen thirties.
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK SYSTEM AUDIT LOG : 24-01-99
11:50:04 SHOW IT TO EILEEN
11:50:05 SHOW IT TO EILEEN
11:50:07 SHOW IT TO EILEEN
11:50:08 Memory fault - core dumped
From the personal diary of John Douglas
I can't put this in the engineer's log - I'd be a laughing stock. I'm not even sure if I believe it myself.
I received a call from the suppliers just before noon and took delivery of a briefcase which had been found under the floor. It was very old and caked in dust and cobwebs, but the engraved name on it was clear - Mr Brian M McGuinness, Branch Manager.
It was only after I'd seen the case that I looked at the audit log. Five minutes later, on the excuse of grabbing some lunch, I was on the way to the Edenholme retirement villas.
Ms Davidson was very old and frail, but her eyes were clear and bright as she told her story.
They had been engaged, back then in the winter of 1938, her and her bank manager. The bank was being renovated to take on extra staff and provide a secure vault, Brian was going to get a large pay rise, and the wedding was set for July of the next year. And then there had been a scandal.
Brian was accused of fraud. Fifteen thousand pounds had gone missing, a fortune in those days. Brian protested his innocence, and cited documents in his briefcase as evidence.
But the briefcase was never found.
Eileen broke off the engagement, and Brian committed suicide in a police cell the night before his trial.
I could only watch as tears ran down her face. I left her with the briefcase and escaped as quickly as I could, embarrassed at the sight of such naked pain.
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK SYSTEM AUDIT LOG : 24-01-99
13:02:02 THANK YOU
13:02:03 THANK YOU
13:02:04 THANK YOU
13:02:05 Memory fault - core dumped
Engineers report : 24th Jan 1999
When I got back after lunch the suppliers assured me that the system was now stable. They had traced the magnetic fluctuations to an old communications cable. They isolated the flux and shielded the cable. Power supply now registers clean.
The system came through all hardware diagnostics cleanly and we ran a full set of test runs with no faults found.
Engineers report: 25th Jan 1999
System ran error free all day
Engineers report : 21st Feb 1999
System remains stable. Nothing to report
From the Evening Express - 22/2/99
Passed away in her sleep, Ms Eileen Davidson, long standing resident of the Edenholme retirement villas. Funeral at the Causeway Cemetery, 10:30 am 24/2/99
No flowers please.
NORTHERN ALLIED BANK SYSTEM AUDIT LOG : 22-2-99
02:02:30 HELLO EILEEN
02:02:31 HELLO BRIAN
02:02:32 Memory fault - core dumped.
~-oO0Oo-~
Long ago, and far to the north where the ice meets the sea and the great white bears prowl for unwary travelers, there was an island of sea-faring folk who were renowned for their prowess in fishing.
It is said that every time they took to sea their nets bulged heavy…so heavy that they had to throw back more than twice what they were able to carry. Nothing that swam in the seas was safe, for the men were so gifted that no shoal could hide from them. Across the seas of Midgard their sails blew tight in the spray, and their songs swelled with the wind as they hunted.
So big were their catches, so bountiful were their tables that their fame at last reached as far as Valhalla, to the halls of Odin himself. And even Odin, the master hunter, was in awe of the exploits that were related at his table. But the tales were so tall, seemingly so exaggerated, that the old God would not swallow them, for he had heard many tales over his long years, and was wise enough to know that the teller was just as important as the tale itself.
So he sent his son Loki to find out if the stories were true, for Loki was a teller of tall tales himself, and would know a lie if one faced him.
"Bring me the truth of it," Odin said, and Loki smiled sweetly, though the truth was little more than a passing stranger to the Trickster.
For long months he searched the circling sea, and many great and mighty things did he learn. And everywhere he went he heard tales of the great fishermen of the North, who had risen in greatness so far among the other seafaring folks that they might even be gods themselves.
And Loki saw this, and was enraged that mere fisherfolk might usurp the place of the mighty in the hearts of common men.
After long journeys he came to the land of the fishermen on a sunny day in summer and saw the nets bulging with the herring, the silver mounds filling the harbors and inlets for many leagues around.
And the townsfolk saw him, and took him in, and there was a great feast. Ragna, the King of the Fisherfolk, took Loki to his side at the high table, and there was much talk of fish and fishermen. The ale flowed freely, and talk grew loose.
"King Ragna," Loki said, rising from his seat at the table. "You are truly a great hunter. Surely Odin himself would not take so much in his nets."
Now Ragna, who cared little for the ways of the gods, grew boastful,
"No disrespect to your father lad, but he is a land hunter. No one is better on the water than I. I can catch anything that swims," he said.
Now Ragna’s daughter, Myrna, was a great beauty and Loki had his eye on her throughout the feast. So when Ragna made his boast, Loki laid his trap, for he had seen a way to take the girl, yet still explain himself back in Valhalla.
"I have a wager for you, King Ragna," the god said. "On the morrow we will take to the boats, and I will show you what I wish you to catch. If you succeed, I will promise to tell Odin himself that Ragna is the King of all Fisherfolk."