Many years ago, when I traipsed the streets of Belfast city with the menacing incisors of a 15-year-old who did not get braces when he should have done so, I often met with a pal and mentor in sub-criminal activities. Let s call him “Firebastard”. Firebastard was a good friend, and a knower of various clandestine arts. We all have that mate who downloaded The Anarchist s Cookbook. That glorious walking disorder who taught us the value of smashing bottles under the flyover in an idle fugue. Firebastard was that friend. One day, he gave my brother and I another book, a real book. Steal This Computer Book Vol 3. It can teach you to be a hacker, he said. It s full of viruses.
Hacknet is a game that lets me pretend I understood that book.