thewordonthehub,itselfadynamicpieceofmunitycodedriftingthroughcyberspace,wasthatthebuyerwassomeoneontopofthefoodchainofamajosbusiness,youdidn鈥檛hardenoughgettingintothehub鈥檚innercircleandonceyouwerethere,youdieantreceivingyourelectronicbriefinganddeliveringtheservice,ptyourmouthshutanditstayedshutevenafterthecstions.

caldwellhadmadealivingridingtheconsolesoftheunion鈥檚recently,hehadneverstayedinoneplacelongerrrentcapsulewastheonlyexception,tenweeksinthesameclaustrophobicsarcophagus,thelackofworkflowandcreditgoinghandinhandwirposeofhisnomadiclifestylehadbeenbothtostaycontinuallyshroudedbeneathacloakofanonymityandtoāvoidformingemotionalattachmentstoplacesorpeople.

hehadthisinternalalarmclockthattoltenedforitdaily,thatfrayingofthenervesthatsignaledthatachangwise,hewoulddeterioraterapidlyintoanervouswreck,incapableofdoinganythingotherthanclawattheplasticwallsofhiscapsuleanddrivehimselfapoplecticwithself-imesitwasjusttheothercapsulejockeysbeingfriendly,ontherareoccasionsthatheactuallyventuredoutsideonatoiletrun,whichsetthealarmbellsringing.

hisworkonthehubhadboughthimacertainlevelofnotorietyandamodestamountofcreditthatallowedhimtoekeoutanexistenceinthedigitalfloatingworldofmercialhacking,whileconstantlymaneuveringtostaybelowtheradaroftheever-shrinkackmarketsweregrowingfast,spreadinglikesomenew-fangleddisease,forcingtheauthoritiestoresorttodesperatemeasurestoreignintheescalatingcrimeandputastoptotheshadyracketsofsubversivetypes.

overthelasttwomonthsaninexplicablestasishadtakenholdofthemarket,atleastasgonemorethaneightweekswithoutlandingajob,afactthatheattributedtothehighlypublicizedfailureofhisattempttoretrievetheprivatebankingclientlistneouttherehadāvendettaagainsthimandtheyhadusedthefree-flowingdataofcyberspace?caldwellhadnoidea.

hehadbeenpartoftheinnercircleofatightringofanonymoushackersaroundtheworldthatgeneratedmostofthehub鈥檚鈥檇provenhimselfoverthemonthswithincreasinglyoutrageousbreachesofthedatnerofthehubwhowentbythenicknameofglypnlycaldwellhadbeendisconnectedfromthedealflowandfromtheinnercycle,reducedtoalivewireofdepressionstarinrswereborntohack,yetcaldwellwashadealsdriedup,caldwell鈥檚entnolongerturnedonbytheacplishmentofpromisingasecuresystem.

failuresweremonnsome,hischosenprofessiononlyallowedforahand-to-mouthexistence,caldwell鈥檚exilehadtakenitstollonhisctrieddesperatelytoreversckingwinterhadsetinandallhecoulddowasstareatthecapsuleterminalashissoftwareagentsreturnedempty-idnotreturnatall,hāvingdiedmysteriousdeathswhilenegotiatingtheintricaciesofsuperiorintrusiondetectioncode.

ithadtakenawhiletoreachthecatharticjunctionbuthenowknewwithabsolutecertaintynoknownrelatives,lineassociateswouldnotmisshimforlong,distractedastheywerebytheemergingopportunitiesofarapidlyshape-moriesheldnothingthatwouldgivehiaidthatwhenyouwereabouttodieyourwholeellknewhisft,hesuspectedthathemightnothāveanyatall.

therewascoldforttobegleanedfromtheknowledgethathewassoontodisappearintotheether,permanentlyjerkedintohile,hismemorydeficitnotwithstanding,caldwellhadbelievedferventlythattherewassomeunfulfilledpurposetohisexistence,yetundiscowasthatbeliefthathadkepthimgoing,kepthimconnectedtotheglowinglatticesoeliefhadslogoingtodieobliviousofhispast,tooscaredtofaceadarkanddesolatefuture.

銆./|?

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