The Liberation Paradox

Biting the Hand

Marcio Ruiz

23:45

(last night)

Datasphere: Darklands

Exchange: Distortion exchange

Domain: Marcio Ruiz's private domain

Marcio Ruiz wasn't most people.

Most people who log in to the datasphere do so to let their baser instincts off their leashes. Most people entered the virtual world of the datasphere in order to fight virtual wars with one another, to have anonymous or deviant sex with one another, or to buy and sell illegal software. The really freaky stuff usually happened inside private domains, which could (in theory) only be entered by the owners or those whom the owner invites.

But Marcio wasn't most people. Marcio's private domain was like almost no other. His domain had no sex dungeon, no illegal software to buy, and no battle arena. Above all else, Marcio's private domain had no guests. He came here to be away from people, not to interact with them. What Marcio's domain did have was a meadow, a woodland, and a cheerfully burbling stream. And it had Marcio's best friend, Clovis.

Marcio had found Clovis about ten years ago. Back then, when Marcio had been in his late teens, he'd been hacking into almost anything he could get into. One day, he'd found an exploit which allowed him access to someone's private domain. Within that private domain, Marcio had found himself in an expansive, virtual warehouse full of various types of AIs. Whomever owned this domain was an AI merchant and the warehouse had everything from sexbots to vanity pets.

All of the AIs were in their offline, resting states. Except one. Somehow, a single AI had been left online: a striped, ginger cat with a collar which read "Clovis." Marcio had been marveling at bears and tigers standing there offline and unmoving, as though they'd been stuffed. He likely would have never given a small, virtual cat a second glance if Clovis hadn't been online. The moment the cat had seen the teenage Marcio, it had trotted right over to him and began making affectionate figure-8's around his legs. Marcio had grown up on Ciudad Estrella, a space station where owning animals was something only the wealthy could afford. He'd never held a cat in reality before. When he'd first picked up the virtual Clovis, Marcio had felt the animal's soft fur, his lithe body, and he'd heard the softest, most satisfying sound coming from deep within Clovis's chest.

He'd taken Clovis with him. He'd stolen the valuable AI and now, all these years later, he still had his furry, orange friend. Marcio had never felt comfortable with people, but he liked animals. He like Clovis most of all.

Tonight, like most nights, Marcio unwinded after his workday by sitting cross-legged in the middle of his private, virtual meadow. He breathed virtual fresh air that smelled of flowers into his virtual lungs. He reclined against a fallen log as a yellow sun shone overhead, warming his dark curls and the orange fur of the virtual cat in his lap. Clovis purred as Marcio petted him. All around them virtual bees buzzed between flowers.

"Three more months, Clovis," Marcio said to the cat. "Three more months and we can go back home. Well, not home home, but to Gonaways, at least."

They could never go home to Ciudad Estrella, the station world where Marcio had grown up. A problem with Estrella's secondary reactor a few years ago had caused it to fold spacetime in on itself and implode into a pseudo-singularity. Ciudad Estrella, the oldest station world in the Darklands, was now deserted and slowly being consumed by its own imploded reactor. Since the disaster, Marcio and his sister, Lyssa had joined millions of Estrellans as they'd sought refuge anywhere that would have them. While most Estrellan refugees struggled to find even the most menial work where they settled, Marcio and Lyssa had made out pretty well. Both had found skilled work on Gonaways station.

Because Marcio had made a deal with the devil.

"That's why we're here, Clovis. Paying our dues."

The AI feline responded by rolling over and presenting his chest to the man. Marcio obeyed by scratching the cat's chest.

"After this job, we'll only owe one more favor. Then, as soon as we pay that one off, we'll be square with the Boaters and free citizens of Gonaways. I figure that by this time next year, this will all be behind us."

Officially, Marcio worked for Refuge Exnet Security Systems. Unofficially, he worked for the Boaters. Part mobsters, part political party, part street gang, the Boaters ran the criminal underworld on Gonaways station where Marcio lived. Need drugs? Need someone killed? Need to fix an election? Almost anything you want to happen on Gonaways station, the Boaters can make it happen.

If you're willing to pay their price.

Are you and your sister refugees from one of the worst station reactor disasters in Darklands history? Need expedited citizenship and work permits for yourself and your sister? Sure, the Boaters can take care of that for you. If you're willing to owe two favors, one for yourself, and one for your sister. If you have a valuable skillset, like hacking. If you're willing to spend six months inside the fortress of a psychotic gangster, stealing said gangster's accounting data. Are you willing to do all that or are you willing to watch your sister starve in the refugee camp?

Marcio scratched behind Clovis's ears. The cat massaged his forepaws into Marcio's leg and purred. "Three more months, Clovis. Then one more job after this and we'll be free. Lyssa need never know what we've done for her."

Clovis was a good confidant. He didn't judge, he could keep a secret, and he was always happy to see Marcio. And Marcio needed a confidant he could trust with his secrets. He knew all about secrets and how dangerous they could be.

Marcio was a spy. He stole secret data from dangerous men who would kill him if they caught him, and he was stealing that data for equally dangerous men who would kill him if he didn't. Marcio needed this peaceful meadow and his ginger friend. He needed this virtual place where he could be himself.

Even though it was midafternoon in his private domain, an owl hooted from deep within the nearby woods. Marcio sighed dejectedly. The owl was his alarm program, letting him know it was midnight in the real world, time to disconnect and go to bed. He was always loath to leave, but his real-world body needed sleep. He would have another busy, stressful day tomorrow of spying right under the noses of large men with big guns and small minds.

"It's bedtime, buddy," he said to Clovis. "I gotta log out." He gently lifted Clovis from his lap. The cat registered his dissatisfaction with a plaintive groan and a minor nip at Marcio's hand. Sometimes Clovis did that. Clovis never bit hard. Occasionally, for whatever reason, the cat just felt the need to bite the man. Marcio was pretty sure that was just some glitch in Clovis's program. Surely no real cat would bite a hand that had just been stroking him. It just wasn't logical.

Marcio stood, stretched his virtual body, and took in the bucolic meadow one last time. He executed the commands to disconnect from the datasphere. Within a few seconds, he found himself once again in his own physical body in his small hotel room on the 14th floor of the Paradox Hotel. The little room had been his home for the past few months and likely would be until his contract was up in another few months. The boring, windowless room was a drab contrast to his beloved meadow. He sighed dejectedly, got himself ready for bed, and made sure his alarm was set for 07:00 the next morning.

He slipped under the covers and within minutes was sound asleep. He was completely unaware that his whole, tenuous world was about to come undone.