[automan]

The Clockmaker Diary - entries 00001 - 00003



entry 00001

It is a truly unique time when mankind joins together to create for the common good. Knowledge is power. The consolidation of power in too few hands yields tyranny. We decided that information must be free to all.

We fucked it up.

By an overwhelming vote, we started a free network. From dark fiber, a light was lit that was to enlighten the world... to rejuvenate the beacon of hope in that shining city on the hill. A free network. Free from wires. Free from cost. Free from the hands of those that manipulate information to gain power over others. The idea spread with the sound of a billion peoples' synchronistic demand for equality. A world of free information. That beacon had never shown so bright, nor cast a shadow so long.

It started with sharing. It ended with sharing.

His name was Ashida Shin-ra. He ran a torrent tracker on a server in Singapore. He liked anime. He was in university. He was average height and build. He wore glasses, no contacts. He was afraid to touch his eyes. He is famous where we come from. His was the first site banned from the Worldnet. An outcry rang like the ripples of a tear in the ocean... unrelenting, yet invisible after the initial rings. The second torrent tracker was brought down. Another tear in the ocean. When the 50th tracker went down, no one really noticed. No one except for us.

#50 - Fernando Gomez, Costa Rica. torrent tracker.
#143 - Allan Greenfield, Ohio. private ftp.
#233 - Adrienne Laroque, France. pornography (assumed child pornography).
#1224 - Sasha ?, Russia. anarchist calling for violence.
#23111 - Mark Hammond, California. political satirist.

Complacency Is Slavery

At #50,000 (Allison Belue, Kentucky. reason unknown), a small group of us decided to build a second net. A free net.

The Clockmaker



entry 00002

Two computers, one line. That is how it started.

It was a network built without plan or design, just people linking to each other. Then these pairs paired off with pairs. The second net was thousands of private networks isolated from power, yet isolated from each other. Out of each of these private nets, leaders arose, counsels were established, freedom breathed new life.

The meeting was called.

It is unknown who initiated the line that lead to the Great Hall, but by air and by sea, 19 made their way through the snow to that relic of empires past. That Great Hall. We knew we had to go. Some of us leaders, some of us emissaries, all of us unified in the belief that freedom is a
right. For six days and six nights, we worked towards an agreement. A document. A set of beliefs. In the end, it came down to the Four Principles.

1) Our net is free from censorship.
2) All material posted on the net is copyrighted to the creator with an "attribution, noncommercial, no derivative" license. All else is public domain. The creator may remove any part of this license, but may not add to it.
3) All material posted on the net moves into public domain 15 years after being posted, regardless of license.
4) The net will remain neutral. No person, company or organization will have preference in speed, access, or connection.

The actual document was longer, but these were the main points. These points could not be altered. There were other sections that were meant to be changed as time passes by a 2/3 majority, but the Four Principles were an enduring, everlasting agreement committed to repairing the mistakes of the past.

Our net thrived.

Though never overtaking the size of the old net, our net was a sanctuary of freedom. What are a few million people when compared to the billions on the Worldnet? The older generations either never knew about us or did not understand us, yet most of the software they used, goods they
bought, and art they loved came from us.

It was a beautiful day in the autumn when the world turned it's eye towards us.

We thought the red hue on the horizon would never fade...

It never really did.


The Clockmaker





entry 00003


Six explosions on as many continents in as many days.

Chicago
Sao Paulo
Bombay
London
Sydney
Alexandria


We called them one explosion, but that would have been too clean. In reality, one major explosion was made in the heart of each city, then the smaller bombs struck the evacuation routes three hours later. Same story in every city. We lost 4 of the 19 that day.

The word anger does not seem strong enough. The word hatred does not do justice to the feelings towards those that would diminish the light of the world by 1.27 million flames. Again, everyone joined together for the common good of humanity. Again, that beacon of light was twisted into the sour beast of control.

It was when we first heard that word that we began to see what was happening directly before our eyes, yet hidden behind the green curtain of power.

There are moments in time that are different from all other moments. Moments that mark a split time. There is time before this moment and a time after this moment. Shortly after the attacks we saw such a moment pass. On a little screen, we watched a little man utter a single word. A word that would change our lives.

Terrornet.

They dubbed our freenet... Terrornet.

We did not realize it at the time, this was the actual moment the war began. Though, there would not be a shot fired or system dropped until 40 days later.

With that one word, the old world declared war on the new frontier in a last effort to claw back from the depths of obscurity.

Complacency Is Slavery.

And so the war begins.




The Clockmaker