Next to him, Matilda utilizes the MOLLE system on her tactical vest to position her combat knives. James looks down at his own vest to check that the ammunition pouches are filled with magazines and secured. When he looks up, Tor is standing next to them.
“I know we went over this, but I say it again because it’s important. Rule number one, no matter what you see or hear down there, we stick together as a team, and watch each other’s back. Rule number two, we don’t slow down. Time flow is different in the Dark and can mess with your perception. Your goggles can only keep you grounded for two hours before they start losing focus. Rule number three, if we are attacked, control your shots. Don’t waste your ammo spraying and praying. A few rounds to the heart, and they’ll go down quick.”
James nods. “Understood. We’ll follow your lead in there.”
The Taciturn scowls at the thought of the Deep’s inhabitants. Those who get lost in the Dark invariably lose their sanity, becoming one with the roaming bands of creatures trapped within. Their ends would be unspeakable.
One of the soldiers approaches Tor and says with a British accent, “Sir, we’re good to go and ready to dive on your mark.”
Matilda’s eyes widen. “Sean, is that you?”
The man pulls down his baklava to reveal a grinning face. He winks.
“Don’t worry luv, we’ll take care of you down there. Stick with me and it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to the Pyramid and nasty old Simmons.”
Matilda laughs, and James smiles. The Taciturn gives Tor a thumbs-up. “We’re ready when you are.”
Tor gestures for a technician to activate the access panel, and everyone moves to the hatch. Tor adjusts his goggles and tests his comms. The Onikuma Commander’s voice crackles in James’ headset.
“All right everyone, follow me in one at a time. James, then Matilda. Sean and Jeong, you bring up the rear.”
The metal hatch opens to reveal a bubbling, impenetrable blackness. Without hesitation, Tor gives his own thumbs-up – and plunges into the dark.
James moves to the edge and peers down into the strange substance. Closing his eyes, he climbs down through the hatchway, immersing himself in the Deep.
In that strange and inky darkness, he feels complete weightlessness. Submerged in the black, James lets himself sink into the void. He feels the eerie sensation of decoupling first from his attachment to physical space, and next from his own course in the flow of time itself. James keeps his eyes closed, his mind alert, his treacherous imagination in check.
His memories and musings bow to no chronology at all.
Not many people knew of its existence back in the real world, but lack of awareness did nothing to stop its potency. Created at the very birth of the Internet itself, the darknet was a lawless, borderless bazaar where anyone could satisfy desire for any deviancy, vice, predilection or perversion – could procure drugs, prostitutes, assault weapons, assassins and, of course, credulous victims beyond counting – all without fear of being traced by the authorities. Governments spent countless man-hours trying to shut down the occasional meaningless handful of sites or put a few of the more egregiously reckless offenders in jail – but for the most part, the harder they tried, the more prolific the darknet became. Eventually, users viewed it as a sort of bunker for protecting their data and liberties. It became a breeding ground for revolutionaries – and a network for illegal operations.
As opposition to the darknet grew from more civilized quarters without, solidarity formed and burgeoned from within. It inexorably changed itself into a thriving subculture, a closed but influential society that increasingly operated by its own rules. Clans, enclaves, consortiums, cliques, congregations, collaborations and all types of collectives grew ever more connected via encrypted channels. The darknet couldn’t exist for long without governments and corporations attempting to either infiltrate or integrate into it. Corporations began to see the darknet as an opportunity, and discreetly attempted to influence its marketplaces.
The backlash was severe, with most darknet users unifying against government and corporation interference and using their resources to upend corporation and state economies – while they remained unaffected, insulated by their collective blockchain economy. Eventually the governments and corporations caved to public pressure and left the darknet more or less alone – and the attacks ceased.
When humanity started transferring into the Cyberside en masse, the primary concern was getting as many people into the new world as possible, as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this meant the initial screening process was quickly abandoned. What happened shortly after the Transition was not expected by Fall Water Lake.
The global sodality that called the darknet its collective home set out to create an analogous haven for themselves within the Cyberside. They ultimately succeeded in hacking the System to create an exosocietal sanctuary-space for themselves – but it came with a heavy price. The relative safety of navigating the darknet from their homes would no longer be possible in the Cyberside. Post-migration, their digital bodies had to abide in the darkness they had created. Despite its oft-alleged noble, revolutionary inception, the darknet was founded with a corruption endemic to its very core. As the legions of the darknet openly embraced its newest incarnation, it twisted them into something else.
A noise draws the Taciturn from the murky depths of his thoughts.
“James, can you hear me?”
The female voice is familiar to him, but James can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from. Something touches him, but it feels distant.
Another voice speaks this time.
“His goggles got knocked off, somebody tell him to keep his eyes closed!”
His goggles, that’s right. James felt them come off, and he instinctively closed his eyes. But that felt like eons ago.
“I found them! Hold on, James!”
A voice calls to him, and a touch on his shoulder tries to help him to his feet. Something pushes past his head – and with a click, James can see again. Matilda holds his arm while the rest of the squad stands around.
The Taciturn turns his head from side to side, getting a better look at the Deep. It’s identical to Metropolis… and yet everything is set in a dim, hallucinatory haze. Dark magenta and indigo skies cast eerie shadows on the ground as flickers of data signals race and twist through the air like flying eels.
James stands up and motions to the others around him.
“I’m fine. I’m fine.”
Matilda grasps his arms to steady him. James reaches out to touch her hair. It floats about her as if she is underwater, the black strands replaced with silver – accentuated by her now blood-red eyes.
“Whoa.”
Matilda blushes. She steps away, and Tor grips the Taciturn’s shoulder.
“You didn’t have your goggles off for long, but there still might be some side effects with your reflexes. I wish we could take a minute, but I need you to shake it off.”
The parts of Tor’s skin that are visible shimmer like polished metal. James shakes his head.
“Seriously, I’m okay. I just wasn’t prepared for what you guys would look like.”
Tor motions for Sean and Jeong to take point.
“I know, buddy. The Deep fucks with you like that. I’d say you’ll get used to it, but it’s always a trip.”
James bends down to pick up his rifle.
“Do I even want to ask what I look like?”
Tor smiles, “You’re glowing pretty hard, buddy. I’ve never seen anything like you. Or her.”
James pulls back the charging handle, chambering the first round.