Kurt was thinking about it. Minion could see that.
“Kurt... if these guys up north really do have internet then it would take us less than an hour to end this forever. We can do this. You can win.”
“People definitely have internet,” Kurt insisted. “Stacy said they were using mobile internet from foreign companies and paying with foreign credit cards. She knew a lot about the resistance.”
“That makes sense. Did she ever talk about having family up north? Her dad, maybe?”
“She said her brother moved north after her parents died. Why do you care?”
Minion walked to Kurt’s table and called him over with a wave of his bloody hand. He opened Stacy’s notebook. “When you two were in The Treehouse, her notebook was open at this page. How much do you know about this Ernesto guy?”
“Nothing. She never mentioned him.”
“And this number?”
Kurt re-examined the three digits after the ripped-out section of page beside Ernesto’s name. “It’s probably the end of his phone number,” he guessed.
Minion shook his head. “942 is 94.2. It’s an old radio frequency. I know she brought a radio here. Get it and put it on; you need to hear this. We need to find Ernesto.”
Kurt fetched Stacy’s radio from the shower and tuned it to 94.2. A young-sounding dissident was midway through a looping call for support.
“The future may be Sycamore’s but only if we let them have it,” said the somehow familiar voice. “Right now, this moment… this is ours. All the lies in the world can’t take this away from us. Anyone with knowledge of The Seed and its operation will be especially welcomed and prior involvement with the company will be seen as an advantage rather than held against you. But whoever you are, if you are still listening, we need you. You aren’t happy. We aren’t scared. Revolution is not your enemy, she is your only friend. But revolution doesn’t happen by itself.”
Kurt stood up, moved by the dissident’s stirring address. His mind flowed like a river carrying romantic thoughts of revolution and justice for Stacy and the professor.
In that moment Kurt realised that Professor Walker had been right. The moral wasn’t “don’t try.” It wasn’t “give up when the system seems unbreakable.” The moral had always been the same: “hate the system and find the flaw that can destroy it. Hijack the system and use it to kill itself.” Suddenly it all made sense. The moral really was “always try.” It had to be.
Because from death came fury and from fury came passion — passion intoxicated by the promise of revolution. Deliciously attainable, man’s only friend was Kurt’s only option. Time alone stood between him and vengeance.
Kurt looked inside himself and decided he was in, even before the final line of the broadcast. He started towards his room to pack a bag while the message came through the speakers in an assured and empowered tone.
“I am Ernesto Palamino, and you are exactly what we need.”
Author's Notes
*** Sequel now available ***
Thanks for reading
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for spending time with my debut novel. I know that there is a mind-boggling array of competition for your attention, so I really do mean this. Thank you.
Kurt’s journey from idealistic graduate to would-be revolutionary touches on important issues of privacy, corporate power and societal distractions. The recent revelation of covert digital surveillance along with the release of augmented reality eyewear means that these issues are only going to become more important as we move forward. I feel they are worthy of more attention than they receive.
If you enjoyed reading Sycamore, please pass it on! I would greatly appreciate it if you could spare a few moments to leave a helpful review on Amazon. Reviews help readers find books they might otherwise have missed, and more readers ultimately means that more books of this type will be written. Sharing your copy of Sycamore with a friend or family member who might enjoy it is just as helpful.
Please don’t underestimate the difference your reviews and recommendations can make. Word of mouth represents an author’s best chance of finding readers in today’s crowded marketplace, and each kind word makes a huge difference. Thank you.
Sycamore 2
Sycamore 2 is now available on Amazon:
Amazon.com link
Amazon.co.uk link
There was a 23-month gap between the publication of Sycamore and Sycamore 2, but the wait is over. The sequel picks up exactly where Sycamore finished and is the definitive end of Kurt's story.
I originally intended the open ending to Sycamore to be the final ending; it was never supposed to be a cliff-hanger. But a lot of people wanted more, and after around a year I had an idea which I felt could do justice to Sycamore without feeling like a sequel tacked on for the sake of it. The sequel is 20% longer than the first book.
Although Sycamore 2 is the end of Kurt's story, I will likely return to Sycamore's world of Seeds and UltraLenses in the future. I'm interested in exploring some of the countless other stories which would have been taking place in the same timeframe we've been focusing on Kurt. The Seed and Lenses would affect so many different people in so many different ways, and things like CrimePrev and RealU definitely deserve another look.
My next book is a sci-fi conspiracy novel called Not Alone which will be released in 2015, probably in early summer.
If you haven't read my short story Funscreen, I think you'll like it. It's a spin-off from Sycamore (conceived at the same time) and is totally free.
You can stay up to date with my new and future releases at any of the following links:
craigafalconer.com
twitter.com/craigafalconer
facebook.com/craigafalconer
====
Thanks once more for reading Sycamore, and I hope to see you again soon for the sequel.
craigafalconer.com
Table of Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Author's Notes
Sycamore (Near-Future Dystopia) Page 28