There was a sticky note at the top of Hunter’s monitor that read in case of emergency, call Shawn. He’d hardly noticed the sharp black lines of the text before, but now, as the time passed two in the morning, he’d taken to reading the hastily scribbled phone number over and over again.
The words scraped along the lowest registers of the MESH, giving off enough distortion to rouse Mara from an idle daydream about the minibar back in her hotel room. She’d barely glanced at it when she checked in, but in the hours since, she’d imagined all sorts of wonderful spirits behind the pay-for-play glass door. Now the image of those gleaming bottles shimmered and broke down, replaced a...
The last echoes of a summer storm were passing when Lucas heard a voice say, “I can’t find my glasses.”
The more things change, the faster they change. At no time in our history was that more true than in the years between 2018 and 2026 when America and most of the civilized world was almost brought to a technological standstill by a group of hackers who valued privacy over regulation and freedom over democratically elected control. This is the story of how the Margate MESH brought us to the brink...
Mornings in the store were quiet, with only one or two locals dropping by to fill up deisel drums for their ancient combines and tractors. Mid-day, Nelson rotated the stock in the coolers, tossing out the milk that had gone more than three weeks past its expiration date. He spent time cleaning the spotless floor, wiping down the untouched glass doors, and rearranging the undisturbed bags of chips...