Luke Jennings (The Fox)
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| Appears in | The Fox |
| Year | 2018 |
Luke "The Fox" Jennings is a supporting character in the technothriller The Fox by Frederick Forsyth.
Character creation
The character of Luke is inspired by the cases of Lauri Love and Gary McKinnon. Both are autistic hackers from the United Kingdom whose extraditions to the United States were blocked, partially on account of their autism.[1]
Biography
Luke Jennings is an 18-year-old living with his parents and younger brother in Luton, England. He is recruited by British intelligence agencies after he hacked into the databases of the American intelligence agencies, which were up to then considered essentially unhackable. Luke did not intend to cause harm with his hacking, he instead wanted to show that there were flaws in the security systems so they could be fixed. Because he was so difficult to catch, he was nicknamed "The Fox".
The British intelligence gets him to hack various targets (a Russian ship, an Iranian uranium enrichment facility, a North Korean missile, and a gas pipeline between Turkey and Russia), which in turn leads enemy forces to try to kill him and his family.
During a benign walk outside he trips and hits his head, resulting in a brain bleed. While he recovers almost completely, he has lost his gift for hacking—though it is also noted "since his return from hospital [...], he seems to be developing into a much more well-adjusted young man." Since without hacking skills he no longer poses a threat to the countries whose systems he hacked, he and his family will be able to live out their lives in peace.
Autism
Luke is initially described as mentally fragile. Later on it, it is revealed he has Asperger syndrome. He is a highly skilled hacker, and spends most of his time on his computer. He relies on his mother for emotional support. He is very sensitive to changes in his surroundings, and needs everything to be in exactly the right spot.
References
External links