Algorithm Page #3

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Then, Bitchan and I will get together and bootstrap a homebrew version for ourselves.

Because copyrights, patents, trademarks, and all the other

ephemeral concepts of ownership are a time-bomb.

Animal trainers teach a dog by giving the dog some treat it likes.

They call this paying the dog.

I do what I do for love. Anything else is a form of slavery

a reduction of my humanity.

Which is why I feel the moral liberty to search through Emergent See's

network and download all of their recently developed programs.

After all, they are a government contractor. In this country, that means they work for me.

Ownership is an illusion. I don't value money.

I acquiesce to social norms only in so much as it's required

to keep myself alive... and connected.

Take a look at the world around you.

You get in your car, which is run by a computer.

You watch TV, which is run by computers.

Any concept you have a world that doesn't involve electronics is naive.

Of course, you can manufacture a reality to suit your delusions if you like.

What difference does that make to me?

It's just one less person I have to deal with.

Because, if that's your choice, then you are irrelevant.

You cease to exist in any meaningful way

except as extremely low-hanging fruit.

That is, until you get a seat on the senate and make idiotic laws

like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Copyright hinges on two interrelated ideas:

One, scarcity.

Two, if we want a section of our society dedicated to making cool stuff

then we've got to keep the people who create that stuff alive

and doing what they do best

like Emergent See's program called Shepherd.

I open it up, read a few lines of hex, and quickly recognize none of it.

But Hash... he codes like stream-of-consciousness poetry.

Maybe he can make sense of Shepherd.

I slurped a bunch of programs from a network I hacked into.

Any cool ones?

One's interesting.

Where did you get it?

Emergent See.

That's some serious sh*t, man. Did you disable Wi-Fi?

Yeah. But, I don't know what it did.

Okay. To hell with it. Let's take a look.

Okay. So, type shepherd.

Shepherd? They called it Shepherd?

Pride comes before a fall.

I know, right?

Okay. It's a bit sparse.

This part looks like a standard terminal...

But, this code here looks like it's trying to start an SSH tunnel.

Where's it calling?

It's calling? I don't... I don't know.

Do you think it's government?

Who knows? We need to give it access to find out.

Well... they'll know where we are.

And that's why, my friend, we're so close to the neighbors.

It'll buy us a couple minutes.

Any preferences?

Ah... I love the communal nature of San Francisco.

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