NEW SCI-FI THRILLER NOVEL "SEAGORA" - SLICE 13

After the sailing expedition, over the course of a few months, Setarcos and Cactus spent a great deal of time together.  They played cards.  Setarcos tried to teach the old man the higher math involved in gaining an advantage. They went fishing.  Cactus tried to teach Setarcos how to clean a fish with a knife, and the boy almost lost his lunch.  They brainstormed with Symphy about the possibilities to make Setarcos’s dark matter project a success.    

And Cactus told stories.  Boy, did he tell stories.  Setarcos was fascinated by stories from the so-called old days.  The days before the ubiquity of A.I.  How Cactus, Symphy, and the friends he’d lost along the way had helped bring so many people to realize what true freedom was.  The survival stories from the beginning of the SeAgora.  The secret codes and trade routes they’d employed.  The successes and failures of deep-sea gardening.  How to fool a biometric eye scanner.  The cryptocurrencies employed in facilitating trade.    

Cactus also let Setarcos even deeper into his strange past.  When he was in his prime, he had been a spy for the state, in an organization formerly known as MI6.  He told cloak-and-dagger tales from the U.S.-Russia war from the early 2020s.  Fighting 3 guys at once.  Sabotaging multi-billion dollar deals.  Sniping from rooftops and disappearing without a trace.    

Then he relayed how he had awakened to the err of his ways.  How he had learned that violence was always wrong and that following orders, instead of conscience, was immoral and harmful.  He expressed his regret about all the harm he had caused.  He explained how he had turned his path of actions to true anarchy.  Also, how he had used the skills that the state had trained into him, and used them in an attempt to bring the state’s demise.    

For example, he’d helped free children from the clutches of a criminal organization formerly known as the CPS.  He’d helped people defend private property from a mob called the IRS.  He helped expose crimes of the state and also pointed out the illegitimacy of external human authority.  He had dedicated a great chunk of his life to bringing true freedom into the world.    

It was all fascinating to Setarcos.  He soaked it all up as one great, entertaining history lesson.  He had had no idea about the extent of institutionalized criminality in the land-based societies.  It all seemed so fantastically foreign to him, having grown up mostly in the relative freedom and security of The SeAgora.    

For Cactus, Setarcos was a breath of fresh air.  He saw hope for the future in this smart and respectful youth.  He was somewhat how he imagined his own child might be like, if he had ever had one.  Cactus got a shot of renewed hope and energy from the boy.  He also knew deep in his heart that the best way to have true freedom, under the current circumstances on earth, would be to escape earth.  And that Setarcos was on the verge of a major discovery that might make this possible.  He knew that too much of humanity had sunk too far into an unconscious state of delusion and illusion, and that it was only a matter of time before the synth-controlled governments would launch a full attack and wipe out the SeAgora.  The only hope was to escape to the stars.  This renewed his sense of purpose.    

Cidel and Caro were overjoyed that Setarcos had found a companion.  The boy had always been painfully introverted, and it was a huge relief for them to see him have a close friend.    

Slice 14 Coming Soon!

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