City Spies

Computers and hacking are a recurring motif in City Spies and serve to illuminate the intelligence and resourcefulness of protagonist Brooklyn, propel the plot by aiding in the fight against Umbra, and demonstrate the level of connectedness in the modern world. Brooklyn is fully aware of the amount of power she holds as a hacker and uses her abilities to fight Justice. She meets Mother after being arrested for hacking into the juvenile justice system in an attempt to expose her criminal foster parents. Ironically, Brooklyn is the one who is treated like a criminal, illustrating how the definition of Crime and what it means to be a criminal are not as objective as commonly assumed. It is also because of Brooklyn’s ability to hack computers that she is invited by Mother to join his team of spies. This brings Brooklyn to a new sort of Family, which is something she may never have otherwise gotten to experience. Furthermore, both Brooklyn and Charlotte, the two best hackers in the novel, are female. By pursuing their passions, they both rebuff gender norms. Monty is a cryptographer and uses computers to develop technology for advancing the secrecy of communication in MI6.