MINDLYFT (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER 12

I went with Nash to his lair, a decrepit old abandoned aircraft hanger surrounded by a junkyard, on the seaside of GutterVille. Old Santa Monica they called it. A once prestigious neighborhood before encroaching waters and sea sludge washed up on its beaches.

Men stood by the doors, guarding with shotguns and automatic rifles. Weapons had been banned in North America over a decade ago but they were still all over the place. Authorities never enforced the law unless you shot someone and of course at that point it was too late. When we got inside we went through a series of mazes, make-shift walls set up into a cube farm, with old furniture and an army of solar powered fans blowing hot air through our hair.

"This is our headquarters," said Nash. "We have an array of servers in the basement where it's a little cooler and an array of transmitter antennas on the roof. For when we launch our virus attack."

"Virus attack? I figured you were planning an armed insurrection from the men you've got stationed outside." I hadn't seen anyone who even looked like they would know a computer code from a Spanish menu on my way in. Global virus attacks seemed unlikely.

"We're ready for anything," said Nash. "This is a serious operation Jenna. We can use your help but you gotta take it seriously. We're not gonna put up with any slackers."

"Oh, does that mean my clones aren't welcome?"

"To be honest, a lot of the group didn't want you because of your clone conviction. If one of your clones was still alive we'd probably take her over you. We're against slavery no matter what form it takes, and your complicity in it, doesn't win you any points with us."

One of my clones was still alive. I'd didn't dare admit that to him. Still, I got their point and had to admit to feeling a little bit guilty about it. I'd been so busy thinking about myself I'd never considered the consequences to my "sisters'." Another characteristic I shared with my father. "What can I do to help?"

"You know how to hack a ThinkingCap. That means you might be able to hack all the Caps. Help us design a virus that would make people wake up and realize what they were doing to themselves. To each other."

"I can certainly try," I said. "If you have a powerful enough transmitter maybe it could work. I'll need some Caps to experiment with."

"We've got hundreds in storage. Stolen from Gridders mostly. A few handed over to us when peeps went rogue," said Nash.

"Let me ask you something Nash?" He was tall and good looking despite his missing teeth and the haggard look of his eyes. Charismatic even. He almost looked like an actor or politician. He was well spoken and at least intelligent enough to sound intelligent in elementary conversation.

 "Why don't you launch a more political legal movement? Why not start an ad campaign or run for office. Why are you camped out here in GutterVille risking prison or worse, violating MindTech laws, just so you can free a bunch of citizens who are too stupid and addicted to take these braces off their heads?"

"Take a look at yourself," said Nash. "You were smart enough to take yours off. Or hack it at least. Yet you're still here living in the squalor. One smart person isn't enough. All these stupid addicts as you refer to them are unwittingly prison guards. No man is an island the saying goes. If they aren't free then neither are we."

I nodded. Couldn't argue with that point. Each node in the network was like a bar in a cage. All of them together made up a prison cell.

"We tried advertising, flyers and conventional political campaigns years ago. Hell, it's still going on," Nash continued. "People just don't listen. Those Caps make them dull and blind. The only way to talk to them is through the Caps, but the Caps are all censored, so our messages won't get through unless we hack our way in."