Gupta Gubbins Online
Lynden runs a brush over the floor of a dimly-lit storeroom in an Electronics Emporium. His supervisor, Serge, fixes a gadget on a workbench through a narrow doorway in the adjoining workshop.
“Hey, all that stock sitting by the terminal in there ain’t gonna book itself in you know. And I’m outta here in a few minutes,” Serge warns.
The unconcerned expression on Lynden’s face doesn't change as he reluctantly joins two piles of dust with his broom at the far side of the storeroom. He stops as his gaze lands on a gadget in ruins stacked beside a shelving unit. Lynden props the broom against the wall next to the gadget and crouches down in front of it.
“What's the story here?” Lynden shouts through to the workshop pointing to the gadget. “Is this rubbish too?”
Serge flings a tool drawer shut and peers into the storeroom.
“Ah, you mean Gubbins. What a sorry pile of dross that turned out to be. Some desperado dumped it here in a blind panic and asked if I could fix it a while back. I told him I’d have to get specialist tools and would probably take a few days of labour. I never heard from him since. So yep, it's for the garbage too.” He peels off his gloves.
Lynden looks over the device. The display section is roughly the size of a microwave oven with angular edges partly concealing an intricate looking circuit board. It has a keyboard mounted inside the bottom casing. On top of it lies a power supply. Lynden pokes at one of the keys with the handle of his broom. A sticker has been placed on the device with a stock number GG768 and above that, the words Gupta Gubbins have been neatly laser-burnt into the casing.
“Well I’m done here for today,” Serge concludes. “Make sure you book in all that stock tonight and tidy up before you go.” He switches off the workshop lights and leaves.
Lynden stands at the vending machine and jabs a few buttons until a half-filled coffee cup appears at the dispenser window. He bangs the machine in annoyance then walks over to the pile of stock next to the booking-in terminal.
“Ah, Hell.” He hits a key to wake the terminal then walks back over to Gubbins and makes a note of the stock number before returning to the terminal into which he types GG768 then hits ‘RETURN’.
GG768: Main circuit board and processing unit appear in working order but unable to remove. Some connections faulty. Time to complete work unknown. Pybolt error message on main board. Awaiting disposal. Owner of unit deceased shortly after delivery.
Lynden heads outside where garbage is piled up to see if there is space for Gubbins and wonders how its owner had died since bringing it in for repair. He flings open the lid of a grimy wheelie bin then notices at the back, a manual with the words Maintenance of Gupta Gubbins and programming guide using Pybolt, in black bold writing on the cover. He plucks it out and wipes old coffee grinds and grease from the cover.
Pybolt? Must be the programming language. Lynden reasons.
He skims through the pages then wanders back over to Gubbins and connects the power supply to the unit. An error message flicks onto the device’s display. He checks the section within the manual for fault codes and finds it's a start-up program corruption. He reboots the device while holding a button underneath the main board as the instructions indicate, before pressing a few random keys on the keyboard which returns:
>> Pybolt command line idle mode...
Lynden zips through the manual until he finds the section on programming using Pybolt.
Limited functionality exists within idle mode. Interactive mode should only be accessed by a proficient operator.
“Makes sense.” Lynden says to himself as he continues interpreting the manual.
Lynden works late into the night, learning programming terminology such as variable syntax, semantic algorithms, integers and functions. Sitting at the device’s terminal he types line after line of Pybolt code as he references various sections from the manual.
At last the words appear on the display:
>> Verifying checks to enter Pybolt command line interactive mode...
From the top section of the terminal, Lynden thinks he sees for a fraction of a second, a green light flash on and off. A flood of anxious excitement grips him as he assumes anything he does from here on could potentially be catastrophic. He naively types:
>> backup data
Then hits RETURN.
>> I’m Gupta Gubbins. No backup required, Lynden...
Lynden types:
>> ? <<RETURN>>
>> I know little about you other than you are not content with life. You looked for something by way of a challenge...You may just have found that challenge.
Lynden stares through the console and senses insecurity curl in his stomach as he fixes his gaze on the screen once more.
>> I am a complex mechanism. But it is within these silicon chips and through my command line that you will find all you need to know.
>> Use me wisely and I will assist in releasing your full potential,
or else learn the fate of my previous superior.
>> Are you ready to proceed?
Lynden hangs over the keyboard and feels his heart beating in his throat. He looks around the silent storeroom. Ready for what? He muses. It’s just an old computer.
As he types Yes and hits RETURN, he is reminded of the swollen moment of panic he felt at school after he’d agreed to meet the bully at home time.
>> Pybolt interactive mode.
>> Initializing modules 654789321.
>> Gupta Gubbins Online. Lynden you are now my new superior. You just haven't met me yet.
Lynden sits open-mouthed, holding the half-filled coffee cup, then laughs aloud. After an elongated silence the following appears on the command line in green:
>> The vending machine’s fault is fixed by resetting the control board under the isolation switch.
End