Everythingontheuniversitycampusseemsghostlikeinthequiet,mistydarkness—everythingexceptthecomputercenter.
Here,twentystudentssittransfixedattheirconsoles,tappingawayontheterminalkeys.
Witheyesgluedtothevideoscreen,theytaponforhours.
Fortherestoftheworld,itmightbethemiddleofthenight,butheretimedoesnotexist.
Theseyoungcomputer“hackers”arepursuingakindofcompulsion,adrivesoconsumingitovershadowsnearlyeveryotherpartoftheirlivesandformsthefocalpointoftheirexistence.
Theyarecompulsivecomputerprogrammers.
Someofthesestudentshavebeenattheconsoleforthirtyhoursormorewithoutabreakformealsorsleep.
Somehavefallenasleeponsofasandloungechairsinthecomputercenter,tryingtocatchafewwinksbutloathetogettoofarawayfromtheirbelovedmachines.
Mostofthesestudentsdon'thavetobeatthecomputercenterinthemiddleofthenight.
Theyaren'tworkingonassignments.
Theyaretherebecausetheywanttobe—theyareirresistiblydrawnthere.
Therearehackersatcomputercentersallacrossthecountry.
Intheirextremeform,theyfocusonnothingelse.
Theyflunkoutofschoolandlosecontactwithfriends;theymighthavedifficultyfindingjobs,choosinginsteadtowanderfromonecomputercentertoanother.
Theymayevenforgopersonalhygiene.
“Irememberonehacker.Weliterallyhadtocarryhimoffhischairtofeedhimandputhimtosleep.
Wereallyfearedforhishealth,”saysacomputerscienceprofessoratMIT.
Computerscienceteachersarenowmoreawareoftheimplicationsofthishackerphenomenonandareonthelookoutforpotentialhackersandcasesofcomputeraddictionthatarealreadysevere.
Theyknowthatthecaseofthehackersisnotjustthestoryofoneperson'srelationshipwithamachine.
Itisthestoryofasociety'srelationshiptotheso-calledthinkingmachines.