Few residents of the Boston Sprawl have yet to hear about Knight Errant's "Hacker Crackdown '56," the sweep that netted a dozen top-notch console cowboys in as many days. Though it's been since June since the last of these arrests was made, the computing community still feels ripples, and corporate intrigue is at an all-time low while youngbloods vie for the newly open slots in the unspoken hierarchy.

News like this fails to amaze, and even fails to inform. But Slider has his ear tuned to the electrons, and he knows that not all the mighty have fallen.

While few of my electronic friends dare to drop even their handles, for fear they are next to fall, they don't mind talking to me. And the things they say! It seems that, despite Knight Errant's refusal to comment, the shadows know that the list came from a certain electronic equipment shop, run from the basement of Tall Willy's Exotic Theater & Gift Shop.

The techno-wizard that ran the shop, a man known only as "Ralph" to his clients, was arrested in early June. This bust confiscated several million ¥ (yes, that's right, boys and girls, several million) in illegal electronics, including cyberdecks equipped with chips to facilitate illegal activity, and software designed to