I woke up about seven hours later. It was a bit warm in the house, so I fixed some lime Kool-Aid, and went outside for a minute. It was late afternoon, and the temperature was in the upper 90's. The delta breeze sometimes gets stuck in the delta. This time, the wind was coming from the north. When that happens, it's going to be a hot day. The weather dweebs said that there was going to be a string of 100-plus degree days. Luckily, we don't get the high humidity that you might see on the East coast or the Southern states. A favorite saying around here during our 100+ degree days is "But it's a dry heat!".
But it wasn't too bad. Yet. Right now, on the front porch, in the shade, with a big glass of cold lime Kool-Aid, it was bearable. And I found that sitting in the heat helped me concentrate on a problem. The glass of Kool-Aid was dripping condensation on the arm of the chair. It was quiet outside; the local bird population was laying low. I looked out over the grass on the front lawn, absently noticing that it was probably time to cut it again.
I sat on the front porch for several hours, just staring out into the neighborhood. I had to wait for the programs to do their jobs. I knew what was happening. Someone out there had set up the Net to slow down the data. From the viral router code I had looked at, there had to be some sort of master command that started and stopped the data delays. And that command had to come from somewhere. My programs were looking for the sources of the delay packets, which also had to originate from one source, at least to start with.
What I didn't know was why. What would be the purpose of the delay packets, other than just general mischief? That was the big question that was on my mind as I sat on the front porch, sipping my cold lime Kool-Aid, staring out into the neighborhood.
And then it hit me. I knew why.