Right now, there are as many as five hundred BCC agents hunting us down nationwide. We have to be more careful than ever.”
“Have you heard from Devin?” asked Abby.
Kyle looked down and took a breath. “No, Abby, I haven’t heard from Devin since he left two weeks ago on his sixteenth birthday.”
“Well, he’s an adult now, Kyle,” said a thirty-something man with a flat top haircut, named Tom. “He can do what he wants.”
“I know he’s an adult,” said Kyle sharply. “But he’s still my son.” Kyle brooded for a moment. “Don’t you see that’s the problem? If he does get a File, he’ll either honor our rules and never contact me again, or he’ll break the rules and come see us. And if he does that, he endangers us all.”
“Perhaps you should go as well,” said Tom, “to keep us safe.”
“I’ve considered that,” said Kyle. “But if Mikayla and I leave, and remain underground, there’ll be no chance of ever hearing from Devin again – whether he gets a File or not. And even if we left, he could still try to come back here looking for us, which would put all of you in danger. Unfortunately, we’ve got a no-win situation that we’re just going to have to deal with for now.”
Tom’s face was a stone. He did not like the precarious position in which Kyle’s son had placed him and the rest of the cell. He said nothing, looking away in muted anger.
Kyle brought the meeting back on track. “Look, the FCA may be here to stay, but so are we. And I truly believe that as we continue to stand our ground, our numbers will continue to grow. Cooperation between cells is already increasing. And I think the tighter restrictions placed on the citizens are going to eventually have a backlash effect. A free people will only stand for so much. Last year’s Congressional election brought the New Whig Party into power. They are a more statist regime than any government we’ve had before. This new round of laws is just the beginning – more restrictions, more control, harsher penalties for noncompliance. The New Whigs are friendly with other nations whose corrupt governments control their peoples’ every move through the File. They are pushing a modernization agenda that will eliminate traditional industries. And I just don’t think the people will stand for it for long.”
“The people voted them into power, Kyle,” said Hank, an elderly man.
“The last election was a joke, Hank. We both know that File supporters stuffed the ballot boxes. Those votes didn’t represent the people as a whole, and when things start getting ugly, the people will stand up and take back their lives.”
“You’re a real revolutionary, aren’t you?” said John, in a tone that left Kyle wondering if he was mocking him or impressed by him.
“No, I just try to see the bigger picture, I guess.”
“So, what’s the plan look like in this big picture of yours, Kyle?” asked John. “What do we do now?”
“I’m not the brains of this group,” said Kyle. “We all are. We need to pool our collective talents, more so now than we ever have. We’ve managed to create a pretty good system of bartering for homegrown food and handcrafted items. Now we need to think bigger. Try to make inroads into other cells, so we can work together. Be careful, of course, but test the waters with your associates and see if you can make any connections. Our strength will ultimately come from our numbers. It’s easy for the BCC to label a few thousand people as kooks – call us ‘Ludds’ – but a few million is different story.”
“You are a revolutionary,” said John, smiling and nodding. “Alright, I’m game. I’ll talk to my brother back in Florida and see how he feels about the New Whigs, see who he likes for the upcoming presidential election – you know, get a sense of where he stands. And then I’ll just take it from there.”
“Good,” said Kyle. “Let’s all try to think of at least one other person we can each recruit. It’s time to take the offensive. No longer can we just sit here and wait for like-minded people to come to us and join us. We need to start being proactive, because the New Whigs and the BCC are being proactive, and if we don’t counter that, we’ll cease to exist.”
۞
Devin made his way past the corner of 45th South and State Street, then turned down an alley that led behind an auto quick-charge station. The alley was empty, save a cat that was devouring the remains of some Chinese food. He leaned against a wall and waited, eyes fixed on the narrow strip of road he could see between the walls at the end of the alley. This was the time, and this was the place - or so he had been told.
A vice-like grip came down on his shoulder, causing him to jump and catch his breath.
“You D?” asked the man attached to the grip.
“Y-yeah, I’m D,” said Devin, sticking his chin out and trying unsuccessfully to sound tough. “You E?”
“In the flesh, brother,” said the man, smiling. “C’mon, let’s take this someplace else.”
He released Devin’s shoulder and led off deeper into the alley, then suddenly turned and walked through a section of the brick wall. He actually walked through the wall, which left Devin shaking his head in wonder.
“Are you coming, or what?” said E, poking his head out through the holographic masonry.
Devin smiled and stepped forward, passing through the disguised entrance to the building. Inside it was dark and stiflingly warm. The aroma of Mexican food wafted through the corridor, striking Devin’s nose and reminding him how hungry he was. Getting by in the city without a File was possible, but not easy - it had been several days since Devin had enjoyed a decent meal. Back home everyone knew how to work the land to produce fresh vegetables, and quietly traded food and labor in a private cooperative. Here in the city, things didn’t work that way, and it was one of the few reasons Devin missed home. The other reasons were his sister, and despite their disagreement, his dad.
Up ahead in the hallway, pale yellow light spilled out of a doorway, illuminating the dusty air. The stranger entered the doorway, beckoning to Devin.
Devin followed the mysterious E into the room and was invited to take a seat. He looked around cautiously, then slowly lowered himself into a torn leather chair.
“Alright, dude,” said E. “We’re safe here. My friends tell me you’re interested in a File installation.”
“And a clean NI account to go with it,” said Devin.
Legal adult File installations were very expensive, and recipients were subject to extensive background checks to try to vet Underground defectors, part of an effort to find and eliminate Underground cells. As a result, a black market had evolved. Suppliers dealt in low-end, outdated Files scavenged from morgues and other unsavory sources. Later, once they had access to the NI, a buyer could always upgrade their File’s operating system. NI access was the other commodity in high demand, and clean accounts – ones that had no government flags – were especially hard to come by. Buyers typically put their money into obtaining the account, and worried about the File quality secondarily. The danger was that older Files were less secure and subject to viruses.
“I’ve got plenty of previously owned Files, kid. But a clean account is going to cost you. What have you got in trade?”
Devin stuffed his hand into the deep pocket of his coat and pulled out a small wad of cloth. He carefully unwrapped it and handed the item from within to E.
“Gold, eh? Where’d you get this ring?” E inspected the jewelry closely, looking inside the band and reading the inscription.
“It was my mother’s. She doesn’t need it anymore.”
“Well, this is great, kid, but it’s not worth much more than six, maybe eight thousand dollars. Tell ya what I’m gonna do, though. I’m gonna cut you a deal. The ring, plus a line on some new business for me.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“Well, the only way I could afford to take a loss on doing business with you is if you could point me in the direction of some new business. You don’t happen to know of anybody who may be int
erested in what I’ve got to sell, do ya?”
“No, I don’t think so,” said Devin.
“C’mon, dude, think! You must know some people who don’t have Files, who maybe are thinking about making the big leap from the dark ages to modern life. Family? Friends? Anyone?”
Devin thought about the Underground, about his father’s cell. He’d been to their meetings. He knew that there were some members who were getting tired of life in the Underground. Maybe some of them would want to get a File.
“Kid,” said E, “this is a deal breaker, here. I need to be able to recoup my losses if you want get a File and a clean account for less than ten k.”
Devin pondered again. It had taken him so long just to get this deal set up. He wasn’t sure if or when he may get another opportunity to get a File and a clean account. And who knows – maybe he’d be doing a favor for someone like Fred back in the cell - he was always grumbling about the hardships of living without a File.
“Alright,” said Devin. “I’ll take you to some people I know who may be interested in doing business with you. But I want my File installed first. After I hook you up with some business leads, I want the NI account access – independent of whether you get a sale.”
“No deal. I’ll get you the File up front, with installation, but no activation until after I’ve met your friends. And you won’t get the