To the World's Greatest Hacker

I recently came across something fascinating in a house clearance warehouse last week. It appears to be a trophy or commemorative gift, featuring an old 1980s Astro Wars console mounted on a wooden base with an engraved dedication. It's quite old and solidly built, which likely explains why it has remained in such good condition. There's something about it that gives off this vibe, as if it once held some sort of special meaning.

The engraved plaque reads:

"TO THE WORLDS GREATEST 'HACKER' FROM YOUR MUTUAL APPRECIATION SOCIETY"

In an effort to learn more about it, I shared some photos on Reddit, posting to a few subreddits where I thought it might be a good fit. Unfortunately, all the posts were removed for apparently violating community guidelines. However, before one of them was taken down, a few people had commented and suggested I look into the famous hacker Kevin Mitnick.

Often referred to as the "World's Greatest Hacker," Kevin Mitnick has an interesting connection to Astro Wars. He once famously claimed that he could launch nuclear missiles simply by whistling into a phone using a technique known as phreaking. A quick Google search turned up some intriguing details about him.

Before the Reddit posts were taken down, I managed to uncover one more detail and that was that this particular Astro Wars console features a red logo on the front, which apparently indicates it’s an early model from around 1981. Since then, I’ve reached out to the Museum of Computing in Swindon about my find. I’ve visited the museum several times in the past and have spoken with the curator on a couple of occasions, but I’ve yet to receive a response.