Daemon d-1
Page 48
Sebeck stopped. It had been many months since he’d been outside. His nostrils flared, taking in the fragrance. Balmy air whirled around him.
Sobol’s spectre beckoned him.
Sebeck strode down a short series of steps and into the sunlight. He hurried to catch up with Sobol, who was already moving across a green stretch of lawn beneath the shade of an ancient California oak. They were in a low-walled yard at the back of a great Victorian mansion.
Sebeck turned on his heels, drinking in the sun and the scenery. The Lompoc Valley lay around him. Rolling grassy hills dotted with oaks, blue mountains loomed on the horizon. Split-rail fences undulated over the contours of the land. The wind waved through the grass. The beauty of it almost brought Sebeck to tears.
He was alive.
Sobol stood next to the great oak, looking down at the ground.
Sebeck moved to catch up, and as he reached the tree he could see a small headstone there, set in the grass near the low wall. Sebeck read the simple inscription.
Matthew Sobol-1969
The inscription was centered-leaving no room for a date of death.
Sobol’s spectre gazed out over the valley below. “I loved this place.” He turned to Sebeck. “Are you familiar with the Fates, Sergeant? Greek legend said that they spun the threads of men’s lives and cut them at a length of their choosing. Like the Fates, I severed the thread of your life…”
Sobol faced toward the horizon and extended his hand. Suddenly a glowing blue line appeared in D-Space, extending from Sobol’s palm and tracing almost instantly down the nearby road and through the hills, to be lost beyond the horizon.
“Here is your new thread. Only you can see it, and it leads to a future only you can find.”
At that, Sobol’s ghostly image turned and started descending slowly into the ground of his grave, as if walking down ethereal steps. He moved methodically, slowly-like a monk in procession. Just before Sobol’s head disappeared beneath the soil, he stopped and looked up, directly into Sebeck’s eyes. “The guardian of this node will teach you all you need to know. When you leave this place, Sergeant, remember that they killed Peter Sebeck once. Do not doubt that they will kill him again if he reappears. Alive you’re a grave risk to their world-such is your fate.”
With one last glance, Sobol stepped down into his grave and disappeared beneath the grass.
Sebeck stared for several minutes at the spot where his nemesis had disappeared. His thoughts were turbulent-not yet forming into anything definite. Why didn’t he feel rage? Depression? He finally looked up, and the thread was still there, undulating over the land, projected from where Sebeck stood. He flipped up the HUD glass lenses, and the glowing thread disappeared. He flipped them down, and the line returned.
Sebeck heard the crunch of gravel, and he turned to see a black Lincoln Town Car easing to a stop just beyond the back wall gate.
Laney Price got out and moved to open the rear car door. He motioned dramatically for Sebeck to get inside.
With one last glance at Sobol’s grave, Sebeck approached the car, pushing open the wrought iron gate.
Price nodded, still holding open the rear door. “I’m supposed to help you, Sergeant. Sobol said you’d know where to go.”
Sebeck gazed back along the road behind them-away from the blue thread. He thought of his previous life. Of those he’d left behind. Of the sheriff’s department, Laura, and his son, Chris. Of everyone and everything he’d ever known. Peter Sebeck was dead.
He turned to face the blue line again, tracing a glowing filament down the road and toward a distant horizon.
“I’ll drive.”
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It’s been said that writing is a solitary profession, but I just don’t see it. On the long journey to get this book published, I’ve met countless people who gave both their time and effort to pass Daemonon to others. I would be remiss if I did not show my appreciation to the following folks:
Rick Klau and the whole gang at Google for finding a needle in a haystack. Stewart Brand and Peter Schwartz of the Long Now Foundation for opening so many doors. Jeffrey Rayport for making key connections. Don Donzal and the Ethicalhacker.net team for checking the details. John Robb at Global Guerrillas for bringing serious folks to the table. Jim Rapoza at eWeekfor being the first to note Daemonin print. Craig Newmark of Craigslist for being cool to an unknown writer. Brilliant individuals such as Thomas L. and the inimitable Alexi S., who impact your life in ways you’ll never know. Tom Leonard at Valve Software for early encouragement. Mike and Carol Caley for their friendship and confidence in me. Frank and Charlene Gallego for bringing Daemoneverywhere I could not. Anne Borgman for catching things everyone else missed. And my gratitude to Frank DeCavalcante, for inspiring a lifelong love of books and writing.
Profound thanks as well to my wonderful literary agent, Bridget Wagner, at Sagalyn Agency, and also to my editor, Ben Sevier, for taking a chance on me and for being a joy to work with.
Thanks especially to Adam Winston, James Hankins, and Don Lamoreaux, writers and friends whom I’ve long admired and whose advice on early drafts of this book was much appreciated.
Thanks also to Stuart McClure, Joel Scambray, and George Kurtz for bringing attention to cracks in the system, and to Thom Hartmann, P. W. Singer, Neil Gershenfeld, Carl Zimmer, John Perkins, Kevin Phillips, and Jared Diamond, whose published works helped to crystallize some of the sociopolitical themes in this story.
Finally, tremendous thanks to my wife, Michelle, for her tireless efforts to help this book see the light of day. And for knowing I was a writer but marrying me anyway…
FURTHER READING
You can learn more about the technologies and themes explored in Daemonby visiting www.thedaemon.com or through the following books:
Hacking Exposed by Stuart McClure, Joel Scambray, and George Kurtz-McGraw Hill
Fab by Neil Gershenfeld-Basic Books
Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer-Touchstone Books
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins-Berrett Koehler
Corporate Warriors by P. W. Singer-Cornell University Press
Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann-Rodale
Wealth and Democracy by Kevin Phillips-Broadway
Collapse by Jared Diamond-Viking
Copyright
Published by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 25 °Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Published by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright 2009 by Daniel Suarez
All rights reserved
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Suarez, Daniel, 1964—
Daemon: a novel / Daniel Suarez.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN: 1-101-00748-6
1. Computer programmers-Fiction.
2. Human-computer interaction-Fiction.
3. International economic integration-Fiction. I. Title.
PS3619.U327D34 2009
813’.6-dc22 2008044553
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Suarez is an independent systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies. He has designed and developed enterpri
se software for the defense, finance, and entertainment industries. An avid gamer and technologist, he lives in Los Angeles, California. Daemonis his first novel.
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Document version: 1
Document creation date: 01.09.2009
Created using: Book Designer 4.0, FictionBook Editor Beta 2.4 software
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