Being in that kind of creative fog was weird. I just couldn’t put the machine down. Not having Internet access actually helped, since it meant that I couldn’t alt-tab away from my edit suite to check on my mail or read tweets or social media walls or the Web. I had to just get my head down and edit, create, refine. My world contracted until it contained nothing except for me and my computer, and before I knew it, the sun was rising and my phone was beeping at me, telling me it was time to wake up and get to the bus station, so I got started on the way to Cardiff. Except I hadn’t slept yet, and when I stood up, my back and hips made a noise like someone stepping on a bag of peanut shells. My wrists felt like they’d swollen to three times their normal size, and when I went to the toilet to sponge off and brush my teeth, I saw that my eyes looked like they’d been doused in chili sauce.
I didn’t feel bad, though. Tired, sure. But I felt amazing. The video was some of my best work, maybe my best ever. The most wonderful part was that it was looking exactly like it had in my head. After years and years of trying, I’d finally found a way to connect the thing I saw when I closed my eyes with the thing that showed up on my screen. It felt like I’d attained some kind of psychic superpower. It felt like I was a god. Sleep? Hah! I could sleep on the way to Cardiff.
* * *
My family was waiting for me when I arrived in Bradford: Mum and Dad and Cora standing awkwardly by the train turnstiles, and I spotted them before they spotted me. My parents were older than I remembered; Dad’s hair had gone from thinning to balding, and Mum’s shoulders were rounded and her head drooped forward a little as though her neck couldn’t support it. They both looked a little frail. Cora, on the other hand, looked like an adult, practically—give her the right clothes and she could have passed for twenty-five. But for all that, they were definitely my family and I felt a rush of affection for them as soon as I spotted them. For a moment I resisted the impulse to wave madly to them, then I gave in, though it made everyone else in the station stare at us, and I ran the last twenty meters to them and enjoyed an epic four-way cuddle. Something tight in my chest let go, and I felt something unfold there, a spreading warmth that I can only call “homecoming.”
Cora had just finished her school year with her usual top marks—pulled up out of the slump during the year when she’d been knocked offline. Dad had been getting more hours than ever, mostly answering the phone for an appliance warranty company and booking engineers to go on service calls for misbehaving washing machines. It didn’t pay anything like his factory job had, but it was more money than the family had seen in years, and not having to feed me also made a difference (though Mum thumped him in the shoulder when he mentioned it), so the flat was looking brilliant. There was a new sofa, a new telly, a new lappie for Dad with a top-of-the-range headset, and a chair that looked like it belonged in the cockpit of an airplane. And Mum had a new exercise machine that was part of the rehab for her legs—she’d done away with her cane, and unless you know to look for it, you wouldn’t have spotted her limping.
“What’re you going to say tomorrow, then, Trent?” Mum said as we rode the bus home together. The faces on the bus had a weird familiarity—they weren’t people I knew, but chances were they were people I’d seen once or twice or even dozens of times over the years. It seemed like I could go days in London without seeing a face I knew outside of the Zeroday.
I shrugged. “The same as ever, I suppose. I used to try to say something different everywhere I went, cos I knew that all the talks were going up on YouTube and that, and I thought it’d look weird if I said the same thing each time. But really, there’s only one thing to say: why TIP is terrible, why I think we can wipe it out, how you can help. And when I tried to say something different every time, I couldn’t really practice properly, so I was making mistakes all the time instead of getting better. Now I just say pretty much the same thing, and if someone sees two similar talks on YouTube, I don’t worry much about it. No one’s complained, anyway.”
Dad shook his head. “Son, don’t take this the wrong way, but I never figured you for the speechifying type. Fancy the idea that you’ve got people who show up to hear you talk!” He shook his head again.
I hid my grin. “What about Cora, then? She’s going to talk tomorrow, too.” It hadn’t been my idea—the local organizers who were putting on the rally had invited her separately, and truth be told, I was half afraid she’d show me up altogether with her brilliance. But mostly, I was delighted that my little sister was going to give a talk and I’d get to hear her.
Cora pretended she hadn’t heard and looked out the window, but I could see she was blushing.
Dad waved his hand. “Oh, Cora. Well, of course we always figured Cora would be some kind of politician or professor or a famous inventor or something. But Trent—” He opened and closed his hands, as though he was trying to pluck the right words out of the overheated, slightly smelly bus air. “Well, I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re proud of you, son.”
It wasn’t a very northern thing for him to say. It was a sentimental, London kind of statement, really. And of course, that’s why it meant so much more than it would have coming from any of my southern pals. My dad, my actual, cynical, hard-as-nails dad, was getting all soppy with me. What I felt then, well, it wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt before.
Dinner was better than any I remembered from home, and we all watched some telly together afterward, and after that, I showed Cora my new Scot Colford video, and she gushed that it was my best work so far. Then I went out to the community center and played snooker with some of my old mates, who all seemed to have got younger even as my family had got older. They were full of talk about who was snogging who and who was pregnant and who’d been banged up for public drunkenness or stupid, petty crimes. I made a real effort not to seem aloof or condescending, but I musn’t have done much of a job, because before long, they were passing sarky remarks about how I’d “gone London,” and I was too big for little Bradford. I pretended these didn’t bother me, but they made me miserable, and my triumphant day finished with me staring in frustration at the ceiling as I tried to find sleep in my old bed, thinking of clever, cutting things I should have said to my so-called pals.
* * *
Cora talked before me, and as I expected, she was dead good. She’d changed her makeup and hair and put on her school uniform, and she looked years younger than she had the night before. It made her speech come off all the better, as she spoke about being a student and trying to keep her marks up and how she’d learned that sharing knowledge was better for society than locking it up. She finished out with something that made the whole room laugh:
“Back in the old days, they didn’t have science, they had alchemy. Alchemy was a lot like science, except that every alchemist kept what he learned to himself.” She made a wry face. “Alchemists were always ‘he’s’—and particularly daft specimens of the type at that.” That got a chuckle. “And that meant that no alchemist could benefit from what he’d learned. Which meant that every single alchemist discovered for himself—the hard way—that drinking mercury was an awful idea.” That got a bigger laugh. “As you might imagine, alchemy didn’t progress very far.” That got a bigger laugh still. She was working them like a comedian, and her timing was spot on. I couldn’t believe that my little sister was kicking quantities of arse.
“Until, one day, everything changed. Some alchemist decided that rather than keeping his results secret, he’d publish them and let his peers review his results. We have a word for that kind of publication: we call it ‘science.’ And we have a name for the time that followed from this innovation: we call it ‘the Enlightenment.’
“For hundreds of years, the human race has dreamt of a world where knowledge could be shared universally, where every human being on the planet could have access to our storehouse of knowledge. Because knowledge is power, and shared knowledge is a superpower. Now, after centuries, we have it within our grasp to realize
one of our most beautiful dreams.
“And wouldn’t you know it, some people are so bloody stupid and greedy and blinkered and ignorant that they think that this is a bad thing. The greatest library of human knowledge and creativity ever seen, ever dreamed of, and all these fools can do is moan about how they can’t figure out how to stay rich if kids go around downloading rubbishy pop music without paying for it. They think that the Internet’s power to make sharing easy is a bug—and they’ve set out to ‘fix’ it, no matter how many lives and futures they ruin on this stupid mission.
“I may just be a kid, I may not be rich or brilliant or powerful, but I know that copying is a feature, not a bug. It’s brilliant, it’s wonderful, it’s only because it snuck up on us so gradually that we’re not on our knees in wonder.
“I think they’re going to fail in the long run. In the long run, though, we’re all dead. The question for me is, how many lives will we destroy before we wake up and realize what we’ve got is worth saving—worth celebrating?
“We’ve got a chance to start making the kind of world that’s safe for the Internet and the people who love it—the people who use it to work, use it to stay in touch with their families, the people who use it to create art or do science. I’ve spent the past six months down at my MP’s surgery every week, telling John Mutanhed about all the wonderful things we can use the net for, and how many innocent people are facing jail or ruin because a small handful of greedy companies have bought miserable law after miserable law, until we’re all guilty, and it’s only a matter of time until we’re all in for it.
“Now there’s this bill, you know it, the one they call TIP-Ex. Loads of people who know more about government than I do tell me that it stands a real chance of passing, of undoing some of the harm Parliament caused when they voted in that daft Theft of Intellectual Property Act. It stands a chance, that is, if you and the people you know get off your bums and go down to your MPs’ surgeries, call their offices, write them a letter, and tell them what this means to you.
“These people are supposed to be our representatives. They’re supposed to be doing what’s good for us, not for gigantic American film companies. We can make them do what’s right, but only if we pay attention, all the time, every day, and let them know we’re watching. There’s an election coming, and if there’s one time that people like us can make a difference, it’s just before the election. Maybe your MP thinks he’s in a ‘safe seat’ where he’ll never get voted out, but the dirty secret of safe seats is that the winner in those seats is usually ‘none of the above’—quantities of voters just stay home rather than hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. If you’re upset about your neighbors losing their Internet access and their jobs, if you’re upset about kids going to jail, you tell them, ‘I will turn up at the polls come the day, and I will vote for anyone, no matter how big a bastard he is, if he promises to do away with this rotten, stupid, filthy, dishonorable business we call the Theft of Intellectual Property Act!’”
She had them. They roared with one throat, a sound so ferocious it made my balls shrink. My god, my sister was a brilliant speaker! I’d had no idea. I knew she’d given little talks at school, and had been in her debate society, but this—this was like watching a master performer.
And I had to go on after her!
* * *
I stumbled through my talk as best as I could. I was thankful that I was giving a speech I’d given so many times before, because I’d have got lost otherwise. As it was, I could have recited the words in my sleep, and that familiarity let me focus on delivering them with all the fire I could muster, trying to live up to the standard Cora had set. They applauded me, but not like they had for Cora. After a moment’s jealousy, I decided that I was more proud than jealous. My sister! Who knew she was so brilliant? (Well, I had, of course, but I hadn’t known that she could speak like that!)
Mum and Dad took us out for curry that night, a posh place with a huge menu that went on for pages and pages and a long wine list. Dad had an expression on his face like he was some kind of millionaire out on the town, and Mum kept reaching over to pat us on the shoulder or the leg, or touch our cheeks. Cora and I were the stars of the night, and we felt it. Big grins all round, and I slept like a baby that night, getting up early for a bowl of cereal with Cora before I dashed out to catch my coach to London—back to 26, back to the Zeroday, and back to my new life.
* * *
It was a beautiful day in the Kensal Green cemetery, the grass so green it looked artificial, watered into a lush growth by a wet and miserable spring. There were fresh flowers on the newer graves, and families strolled through the grounds with broad-brimmed antimosquito hats, the sound of zapped mosquitoes a punctuation to the cars in Hornton Street.
I squeezed 26’s hand, and said, “I don’t understand, why is Letitia meeting us here?”
26 squeezed back. “Like I said, I have no idea. But she insisted and it sounded important. I’m not bothered, anyway—much nicer to be out here than in her office, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Why wouldn’t she want to meet us in her office?”
We found out soon enough. Letitia was right where she said she’d be, on a bench near a slip road behind the crematorium. She was wearing a broad-brimmed sun hat and sunglasses and a sundress, but for all that, she didn’t look very sunny. As we drew near to her, I could see the slump of her shoulders, and it was pure defeat.
She patted the bench beside her and we sat down. She didn’t bother with any niceties, just started in with, “First of all, let me say that I think the two of you have been magnificent. When I first discussed this with you, I never dreamed that you and your friends would be able to drum up so much support for my bill. You have every right to be proud of yourselves.”
“But?” I said. I could hear the but waiting to come out.
“But,” she said. “But. But politics are an ugly business. I have had a series of increasingly desperate meetings and calls with various power brokers in my party, and, well, let me say that I was lucky not to have to withdraw the bill altogether. But they made it very, very clear that all the whips had been firmly told by the party bigwigs that my bill must not pass, under any circumstances. I think it’s likely that I will be expelled from my party if I vote in favor of TIP-Ex. Despite that, I plan to do so, because—well, because, all jokes notwithstanding, a career in politics shouldn’t mean a life without integrity.”
We sat there in numb shock.
26 said, “I don’t understand.”
I said, “She’s saying that we’ve lost. It doesn’t matter what we do. It doesn’t matter how many voters shout at their MPs. It’s fixed, it’s rigged. It’s done. Parliament is going to vote against her bill. End of story.”
“But I thought with the election coming up—”
Letitia looked grim. “The election only matters if some MPs vote for the bill. If all the parties vote against it, there’ll be no one to vote against, because there’ll be no one to vote for.”
“Someone got to them,” I said. “The big film studios, or maybe the record labels, or maybe the video-game companies.”
“Lobbyists from all three, I rather suspect,” Letitia said. “They can be very persuasive. My guess is that there’ve been a number of very good, lavish parties lately, the kind of thing that’s just packed with film stars and pop stars and that, and MPs and their families were invited—maybe weekends in the country where your wife gets to go to the spa with a famous film star while your kids frolic in the pool with their favorite musicians and you go for cigars and golf with legendary film directors. The content people can be very persuasive at times. It’s their stock in trade, really.”
“We didn’t stand a chance,” I said. “Might as well have stayed at home. What a bloody waste.”
Letitia slumped further. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought you could win it. I really did. I thought that my party, at least, wo
uld welcome the chance to distance itself from unpopular legislation just before the election. But the simple fact is, I was outgunned and outmaneuvered. These people are very, very good at playing the politics game. Better, I’m afraid, than I can ever hope to be. I am so, so sorry for this. I know it must break your heart.” She drew in a shuddering sigh. “It’s certainly broken mine.”
None of us said anything. Then 26 stood up, and said, “Well, there you go. Bugger it all. Government’s for sale to the highest bidder. Always has been, always will be. No wonder someone always ends up throwing bombs. No matter who you vote for, the bloody government always gets in, doesn’t it?”
Letitia looked like she wanted to die. I knew how she felt. I was torn between wanting to sit and comfort her and wanting to chase after 26, who was walking away as quickly as she could without breaking into a run. I went after 26. Of course I did. Letitia was a grown-up, she could take care of herself. 26 and I were a unit.
“Hey,” I said as I caught up with her. She kept walking quickly, head down, arms swinging.
“Hey,” I said again. “Hey, 26. Come on, it’s going to be okay. You explained this to me, remember? We’ll build momentum up. People will see how unfair this is and more of them will come out next time. It’s awful, sure, but it’ll get better eventually. They can’t put us all in jail, right?”
She stopped and whirled to face me. I took a step back. Her lips were pulled back from her teeth, and she’d cried mascara down her cheeks in long black streaks. She had her hands clenched into fists and her arms were held straight down at her sides. For a second, I was sure she was going to hit me. “Forget it, Cecil. Just forget it. My stupid father was right. This is a ridiculous waste of time. We’ll never, ever change anything. Rich, powerful people just run everything and the whole world is tilted to their favor. We were stupid to even think for a second that we had a chance of changing things. All those people who believed us and worked with us? Idiots. Just as bloody stupid as we are. I’m going to go to school, keep my stupid head down, get a stupid degree, get a stupid job, grow old, die, and rot. Might as well face it. None of us are special, none of us are geniuses. We’re just little people and we’re lucky that the giants let us go on living and breathing.”