{"id":126,"date":"2016-10-02T00:00:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-02T06:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aaronaanderson.com\/fiction\/?p=126"},"modified":"2016-06-26T20:10:35","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T02:10:35","slug":"nesson-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aaronaanderson.com\/fiction\/?p=126","title":{"rendered":"Nesson 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nesson<\/em> is a serial novel about living with technology and sprawl in the near future. Learn more<\/a>\u00a0or start from the beginning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Moon pushed aside a branch and maintained a smooth stride. Justin did his best to keep up. It was amazing how quickly she moved; he had been thinking of her as slow and thoughtful, but Moon propelled herself forward as if she were gliding. She dodged every bramble and pushed through the tall grass and tangling weeds without a pause. Was it growing up on the commune or sheer force of will that helped her navigate?<\/p>\n

On the map, it looked simple. A straight line to their destination. There were even hints here and there that roads once followed their path. These unused and abandoned pathways sank beneath overgrowing invasive plants did little to pave their way. The light, when it peaked through the trees, grew long and Justin began to wonder if they really would make it today. Maybe if they could both travel at Moon\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n

Justin did not realize how much he had depended on following others until he had to struggle to keep up. What if he lost her? He had no idea where he was. He could pull up a map, sure, but what good would it do him when there was nothing here and he did not know their precise destination. He set off from home alone, but he did not get anywhere until he started following. Herman was at least good for a free ride. Simon let him tag along too. Following Allison was the reason he was here in the first place. Here was following again, this time away from his sister and to an uncertain goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoon.\u201d He had to raise his voice to reach her ahead, making him sound more urgent than he was. She slowed a little and turned her head. \u201cAre you sure we\u2019re going the right way. We don\u2019t seem to be going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sighed. \u201cI\u2019ve been here before. Don\u2019t worry. We\u2019re almost there anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDefine almost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat depends on whether you would stop dragging ass back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey! What are you trying to say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m saying if I didn\u2019t have to slow down the whole time we might be there by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSlowing down? You mean\u2026\u201d Moon turned around and it was as if she had vanished. Justin had to jog to keep her in sight, though she seemed to be walking as casually as ever. Low hanging branches whipped his arms and scratched his cheeks. His lungs burned. Even through all the travels, he never had to run. He walked more than the rest of his life combined, but running was not something that interested Herman or Simon. They were happy to use cars and trains. Ok, maybe there were no passable road for cars here, but this running? It seemed a little gratuitous.<\/p>\n

He gave up, or rather his body gave up, and he went back to the crawling walk he had used before. He would just have to keep up the straight line and hope he was going the right way. The land rolled in peaks and valleys. Moon called these hills, but his legs told him different. What qualified something as a mountain? Surely these \u201chills\u201d had to be close. Every time he topped one he celebrated a little and let the relief wash over him. Every valley was a taunt from nature. He was nearing one of those taunts, a particularly cruel one with a creek bed at the bottom. There was just enough water to make the rocks slick. It should have been two long steps to get across, but he found himself baby stepping for fear of falling.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustin! What are you doing?\u201d Her voice was behind him. How could that be? He turned and did not see her. \u201cOver here! Where were you going, can\u2019t you even walk a straight line?\u201d He turned until he saw her, traversing the top of the hill he had just left. He took three quick steps back the way he came, flailing to keep his balance when his right foot slid on some moss. He walked just off parallel to the hillside, which turned out to be much easier than the straight up and down. At the top, he could see Moon\u2019s amused expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re worthless, you know that?\u201d She said. Before he could protest, she pulled him close and pressed her lips to his. His indignation turned to confusion, which melted into a thoughtless sea of physical sensations. She grabbed his hand, turned around and pointed across the hill. There was a latticed, steel structure jutting over the top of a mound. \u201cThat\u2019s their wireless tower.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, they don\u2019t use ubiquitous satellite?\u201d Justin had never known a time without the net of radio waves broadcasted from and received by millions of satellites in synchronous orbit around the earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, of course they could, but\u2026 Have you never met a hacker before?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a couple in Siege, wouldn\u2019t say I interacted with them. Their characters were pretty ridiculous, like something drawn by a 5th<\/sup> grader.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s probably because it was hand rendered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUhg, what a pain in the ass. Why would anyone want to hand render anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do pretty much everything the most pain in the ass way possible. You\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat. I hate to say this, but\u2026 lead the way!\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gone! That girl took him somewhere.\u201d Allison was shaking Marcus, who looked at her through a haze of drowsiness. \u201cI talked to those kids who they have been meeting with. They sent him away on some sort of, I don\u2019t know, mission or something.\u201d Marcus rolled over reaching for his glass of water. He took a sip and looked at her with an expectant expression. \u201cWhy are you looking at me like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust waiting for you to tell me what you want us to do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is wrong with you? We have to go get him. He can\u2019t mess around in these situations, he\u2019ll get picked up so fast. And who knows what will happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOk. Where did he go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother commune, Hexadecimal Hll<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that? I\u2019m not awake yet, I must have miss heard you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a hacker collective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh shit, those guys. They\u2019re so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnnoying, I know, but that\u2019s not the point. I couldn\u2019t get much out of those kids, except where Justin and Moon were going. I only got that because that Astrid girl slipped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably didn\u2019t slip. She has it out against Justin for some reason. Probably wants you to go drag him out of there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEither way, we need to go get him before Links does.\u201d Marcus rolled out of bed. As he dressed, Allison shoved a cup of coffee in his face. She sipped her own cup as she filled a backpack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSupplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what? How far is this place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a day\u2019s walk, but we don\u2019t know how long we\u2019ll be gone.\u201d Marcus grunted and dug around a drawer for a few minutes before throwing a tight roll into the pack. \u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHard cash, all I have left.\u201d Allison made a sad smile and zipped the bag closed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlight let\u2019s go!\u201d She said and walked out the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait you forgot the back pack!\u201d Marcus called. \u201cOh, you didn\u2019t forget it,\u201d he said to himself and picked it up. He nearly dislocated his shoulder; he had not braced for the weight of the thing. What did she think they were getting into?<\/p>\n

They stopped a couple of people to ask directions. There was some confusion about why they would want to go to Hexadecimal Hill. The residents came by Open Acres from time to time to repair equipment and pedal their strange electronic inventions. Everyone tolerated the hackers for practical reasons, but no one particularly enjoyed their company. Hackers seemed incapable of speaking without condescension. Everything a non-hacker did with technology was simply bewildering and childish. The Open Acres denizens actively avoided conversation with hackers when they were on the commune. Fortunately, the average hacker was socially obtuse and never noticed the shunning.<\/p>\n

There were two ways to get to Hexadecimal Hill. Driving would take two or three days of winding through old, forgotten roads. Walking would only take a day, but it was a formidable hike. Allison and Marcus agreed that walking was preferable for speed and staying under the radar. Justin was probably already raising eyebrows at Links Corp, they did not need to be conspicuous by putting an unexpected car on the road. Marcus tried a few times to convince Allison to leave some of the supplies behind; his shoulders were already aching. She did not acknowledge the requests and just walked ahead, towards a dirt path leading into the woods.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

To whom it may concern on Hexadecimal Acres:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have tolerated your persistent subversive activities on my network. Your use of unauthorized devices, manipulation of security protocols, and viewing of private information is the least of your offences. You are allowed to access to the holonet because, frankly, it is not worth my time to block you. You may think your use of alternative infrastructure makes you untraceable and unblockable, but consider that a few well-placed firecrackers is all it would take to send you back to the 20th<\/sup> century you hold so dear.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That said, I am writing you directly regarding a matter of some interest to me. As I am sure you are aware, a faction on your compound has teamed with a neighboring group of eco-terrorists. Based on the communications I have intercepted, it seems that not everyone loves the Nesson development. That\u2019s fine, continue living in the backwoods of history, I don\u2019t care. However, I take direct threats to the private property of my citizens quite seriously. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seeing as you are in a foreign nation, I cannot take legal action, but do not doubt that there will be action. As a small token of my sincerity, all of your monitors will display this message and your workstations will be inactive until all visitors from Open Acres and all conspirators from your own group are brought to the following coordinates: 36.218904, -121.764549. You will find a dock and ship. Load all the conspirators on the ship; once it has sailed over the horizon, you are free to return to your 32-bit existence. <\/em><\/p>\n

Best Regards,<\/em><\/p>\n

Richard Links<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

To get updates on Nesson and my other works, follow me on twitter:\u00a0@aanderson2323<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

You can also\u00a0\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n

Nesson is an ad free serial fiction project. If you like what you have read, please leave a comment and share!\u00a0If you’re feeling extra generous, donate<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0help me keep the story going and build this site!<\/p>\n

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