Rambler - An Excerpt

Below is an excerpt from a book idea I had a few years ago. I took the idea and wrote a rough draft free flow and this is what we have here. There is much more to this world, and many ideas to help make it have more depth, not only to the character but to the world itself. Let me know what you truly think, but remember this is a very rough idea and a very rough draft. I am just putting it out there because I decided to work on it again, and I wanted to see an initial reaction. Enjoy:

Rambler

Most people think of me as a wanderer. Perhaps I am, if only to find my true place in life. These past few years that have gone by were fast. Many would say they were a waste of great talent and a good life. I do not understand this logic nor shall I pretend to. It seems problematic to think that what we call civilization as even remotely civilized. I have lived more in these years past than I could have ever, before I left.

It was hard at first, lying to myself, but there was no mistaking what was needed to be done. I had heard that withdrawals could be hard, but never would I imagine the pain in loosing all that you care for, the kind of pain that cannot be healed with a shot or pill. I cut myself off from everything that I knew and had become. It seemed to be only a terrible nightmare.

First came the night tremors - then there were the cold sweats, but worst of all were the splitting headaches that would blind you, if you weren’t careful. Finally the dreams would come; terribly-wonderful dreams. For the first time in my life I was able to dream. It is difficult to say what it was I had envisioned during my slumber, but it truly did not matter. These dreams were more magical and uplifting that any virtual world or experience could ever be. There were no limitations, no control, and that is what scared me and, even more, thrilled me to the bone.

This new revelation opened up a whole new world to me. A world where magic is real, where wishes come true, and where fairies can dance from star to star. Perhaps it has always been this way. The more we seem to creep toward technology the further we move from our core foundations, our “true-selves.” We loose sight of what hope is, what love is, and the beauty of what life really holds. We seem to only think of Data Manipulation, Quantum Cryptography, Simulated Date Scenarios, and the Possibility of being connected all the time, everywhere.

I can’t say we didn’t see it coming. Society simply turned their heads, cranked the music, and forgot that an outside world even existed. I am undoubtedly sure that by now my name is only a footnote, a small caption of assembled data logged on some forgotten server. No one wonders where I am, they simply accept that I am no longer here, if even I ever was. Even when I was at the top of the game I had only remotely heard of some people disappearing, going wireless or underground is what they called it. I had never imagined that this is what they would have gone through. I simply believed it was just another, less active data plane for those who could not handle the pressure of the whole core of the web. In simple terms, people who couldn't keep up with me, but then again that would have been a lot of people.

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Perhaps I should start from the beginning, a time when I was only 23. Many knew me as “The Rambler,” but my analog or real name is Jo vãn Perry Corvus. My job, a Data-dog, an Information Broker, or even a Word Puppet. Which meant my life centered on finding, manipulating and selling information, data, just ones and zeros and all the surprising things in between.

It all started on a cool day in September; there was the slight chill moving in from the north. Autumn leaves fell, coloring the ground in beautiful reds, yellows, and oranges. At night the wind blew like a lone wolf howling at all that could not be seen. When the moon is full and the sky is clear we seem to live as though there is no tomorrow. It seemed that most of my days were spent plugged into the net. I had dreams of nights as a child when I would sneak out and wander past the Secure-Walls and play in the forest. I would wake up in a cold sweat and stare out at the black sky, only to convince myself that it was an effect of to much data retrieval. This night was much like any other night, in that I never really slept. Data streams flashed over the back of my eyelids when I slept, an after affect of being wired for more than 36 hours. My fingers tapped access codes, and Boolean logarithms in the air like a pianist taps Beethoven’s “Fur Elise,” In his sleep. I could tell today would be hard, I could already feel a headache moving in, and it was only 3am. I got up and walked to the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the full moon. It always seemed to ease me when I could see it; it always grounded me and made me feel more connected to the real world.

I found my pills and popped two reds, just in case. I hurried down to the separate floor of my open loft, and switched on the shower to 86 degrees. While the shower got warm I selected “Moroccan tea” at 76 degrees, watched as the autonomous bots went about their business. I wondered if we would ever come to a point where these bots would control themselves. I quickly shook the thought out of my head when the shower signaled it was ready.

(To Be Continued...)