Beyond The Network

John52fe, Chels9b01, Jeremy1449, and Andy2ddf woke up early the next morning. It was around 4:00 AM; they were to leave within 15 minutes so as to get to the skycar station by 4:30. Curfew was lifted at 4:00 AM.

John52fe made sure to leave a message for his mother over the OmniLink: "Mom, I'm going on a little trip, see ya in a week or so. Don't worry bout me. Love you!" He hoped that would be enough.

They packed light, for they knew they could buy food and such on the way if necessary, and they probably wouldn't need it in the first place. After all, the first mission was to find N3ox. Andy2ddf made sure to lock the door and activate the anti-trespassing field as well. And they were off.

The group arrived at the skycar station, where they paid their fare and went aboard. The trip would take only 3.5 hours. They were the only passengers aboard the large skycar save 3 others, for nobody wanted to go to Town 429 from Town fb2 at 4:30 in the morning.

The skycar was a fairly spacious affair, holding up to 60 people at a time. Soft, comfortable seats lined the length of it, and one could simply connect to the skycar's wireless interface to invoke the robotic service system that could bring water and snacks.

The skycar began its takeoff procedure. First, it rose vertically in the air to a height of about 500 feet; then, it quickly accelerated, until it was flying in a direct line to the city in which it would land.

Three and a half hours later, they arrived in Town 429, Sector 0322. There was something different about this town, something they couldn't quite place at first. John52fe and Jeremy1449 had never been outside of Town fb2, and this whole experience was new to them.

"Control: open Fido."

"Fido is online. Please enter your request."

"Search 'N3ox' in '429:0322 residents', find address".

John52fe knew Fido: it would take a bit of time to find the necessary information. Also, Fido only performed searches on public information, and by far not everything was public; thus John52fe did not have huge hopes of getting anything. He was surprised at the result:

"N3ox: last of the hackers. Address is Street 32, Building 882, Apartment 45."

"Fido: disconnect. Control: open Atlas. Display directions from here to Street 32, Building 882, Apartment 45."

It was about an hour's ride on a transport module, according to Atlas. They boarded a module and were taken to Street 32. Andy2ddf and Jeremy1449 went to buy some things, while John52fe and Chels9b01 went to find N3ox.

Chels9b01 and John52fe walked down the street. It was similar to those back in Town fb2, with its line of office buildings. After they passed an intersection, the office buildings gave way to apartment complexes, similar in design to the office buildings, but with a slightly homier feel to them. They talked about life back home. Chels9b01 lived with her mother in a smaller house; her father had been killed in a fire after the office building where he worked had been burned to the ground thanks to an improperly connected electrical device. This was why she would often sit in front of the Cloud Café; her father's office building, now rebuilt, could now be seen.

N3ox, a blond-haired young man of 25, was standing outside of his apartment, waiting for them. As he saw John52fe and Chels9b01, he smiled and extended his hand in greeting. "Hello, John52fe... I've been waiting for you."

"Wait... how did you know we were looking for you?"

"I'm a hacker. I know things." This response made everyone feel better for some reason, and all three burst into laughter. "Well, we'd better come in. Where are the other two?"

"They went to get some things. I don't know what."

"Oh, OK." They went inside, waiting for Jeremy1449 and Andy2ddf to arrive.

Presently, the others arrived, and the five sat around the table, talking and eating a snack. Andy2ddf was the first to bring up the subject of their meeting here in the first place.

"So, N3ox... how much do you know about The Network?"

"Oh, me..." N3ox smiled broadly. "I think I know more than any man alive. But," he added, his smile fading, "it's not much."

"What exactly does 'hacker' mean?" Jeremy1449 asked.

"A hacker is simply someone who knows enough about something in order to be able to manipulate it in various ways. That's why people come to me – they want me to do something that they ordinarily can't."

As an afterthought, he added, "That's why AdvA will say that I can make impossible things possible."

The five made their plans for the next day.

"Probably the best place we can go to is the Edge of Civilization."

"The Edge of Civilization?" John52fe had never heard that term before.

"It's where the outer cities come to an end, and after that, there's nothing, or at least that's what we've all been told. Maybe something there will give us a clue. The closest city to the Edge is Town 00a."

Judging by its relatively low number – the tenth city founded – Town 00a must be fairly old. Thus, The Network must have started somewhere around that area. It all made sense: if they wanted to find their way out of The Network, they must come to its source.