I wanted to do a voice-duet here… I wanted to have the music underneath clearly describe who was speaking. Then I wouldn’t have to say “then Exclusivor said”, “I said”… etc.

But, that didn’t work. Following this release, I got super-busy in life, and ended up not producing another one for months, but I produced a number of trial/test pieces (see Waking/Swim). This one is cringy, pretty much just an argument. I needed to have a whole other voice, or somehow execute it some other way. Well anyway, I was experimenting. Sometimes experiments fail.

Transcript

What a wild ride; I tried to break away from Exclusivor
Only to be ratted out by my Mom!
Now we were on a vanilla bean boat on Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia

As soon as I walked up the warped wooden plank from the soggy land to the boat
Exclusivor stepped out with a stern look
Pointed at the stern of the boat
Followed me back and said
“What on earth are you doing?
I vouch for you, telling you that you are second in command
And immediately you scurry off in the bugout?
When you doxxed me, I was pissed
I admit this, I was madder than I’ve ever been
I closely guarded my true identity my Whole Life
I was only ever a name
A legend
Never any fingerprints, no hair, no DNA, no pictures, no recordings
You tossed that all away when you told Fishburne
Distinctive, I thought we were friends
You might have just started a war

Oh my God.
Does Exclusivor mean that if she doesn’t get her way, she’s gonna start a war?
I told her: I never asked to be your second in command
I never wanted to help you out
And I’m definitely NOT stealing an Atomic Lathe for you
I feel like a pawn in your game
I feel like for all my problems, you’re to blame
Maybe everyone else idolizes the Legendary Exclusivor
Well, I don’t.
I don’t like you
I don’t want to help you
You are not my friend
You are my nightmare!
I want to divorce myself of everything you are involved in
I am going to turn myself in,
throw myself on their mercy
Find Avanta,
get my job back,
find a mountaintop
and live in peace.

Exclusivor said:
The mountaintop is not an option
Distinctive, you know we are in the middle of a cyber world-war
It’s about to break out and become an entire analog war
You’ve heard of Sindictive, right?
Well, Sindictive wants power
He wants a war to restructure the global power dynamic
In war you can ‘rise up’
I’m sorry I didn’t convey the urgency sooner
The world needs a cyber Switzerland
A neutral party to navigate and negotiate
If we can’t kill the cyber war,
We can fight to prevent it from blowing up into an entire war
Let’s create a cyber-Switzerland, you and me
We show the world how a beautiful life can be lived
Shift the paradigm of government, control and power

Exclusivor, you’ve lied about so many things
Your brother Sergei, your back, this hack and that
Now you have intel about some war?
Why should I believe you?
I had been in my sweet spot
Meaningful job, friends, hacktivism
You want to fight, fight to give me that back
I’m not buying the war thing,
I was fighting in my own way, hacking to help
I hacked Banca de Espana to spread the wealth,
unveil hypocrisy
I don’t want money for money’s sake
Status, for status sake
Fame, for goodness sake
Fight for me, if you want to fight
Stop lying to me
Clear my record, set things right
Me and Avanta, we could reunite
Replenish my spent bank account
You’re the best hacker in the world
Exclusivor, make your next hack giving me my life back

E:
Distinctive, I get where you’re coming from, I really do
I shouldn’t have lied to you;
yes, Sergei is my brother, and, he’s actually alive
I love him, but he’s stoner and lives in Van Nuys
I didn’t lie about my back, just exaggerated
Telling you the truth was too complicated
I’ve learned that when men crave, men cave,
So I wanted you to see me naked, but yeah, that was wicked
I was in a hurry, this situation is dire
The world is catching fire
Distinctive, we’re in the middle of a library-quiet cyber war
No one is winning, but everyone is about to lose
I need you to help start a Virtual Country
A country unbound by geography,
Our people will be the same nationality,
But live no where near each other
Our common bond will be our intellect and our beliefs
We’ll bleed good but never spill blood
We’ll have a flag, a currency, rights
But no army, no taxes, no oil and no land
Our industry will be hacking, and we’ll export our new ideas
We’ll report corruption, watch elections ???

D: A Virtual Country? That’s insane.
E: It’s not insane, I call it Exclusivoria
D: Your a narcissist!
E: If you help me, maybe I’ll rename it Distinctopia
D: Oh. My. God.
E: Whatever it takes, Distinctive
D: Zoe, what if all governments were replaced by Virtual Countries?
E: That would be a dream come true
D: It would be a disaster
E: No taxes, no physical violence;
D: Taxes are collected to provide services
E: My Virtual Government would provide anything necessary
D: Streets, police, firemen?
E: No not that, but we’ll figure it out.
D: What you advocate would create anarchy
E: Think about how much better the world would be if people were grouped by belief, not by geography?
D: We would devolve further into tribalism! The echo chamber of your own bubble would go nuclear!
E: It’s not a perfect plan
D: It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard
E: We’re drafting the Constitution right now; that’s why I brought Lita in
D: Lita buys this BS?
E: Stoney and your mom are in, too
D: You’ve brainwashed them!
E: No, they are just open-minded
D: They are so open-minded, their brain fell out!
E: Distinctive, do you want to lead, or follow?
D: Do I want to …
E: Do you want not to just survive, but to be happy, or do you prefer to wallow?
D: Happiness of cou –
E: Or is the only decision you want to make is whether to spit, or whether to swallow?
D: Exclusivor! Enough! It’s enough.
E: Here’s my offer: I can get your your life back. I’m not sure how, exactly, but I’m sure I can do it, just like you
said. Your job, your apartment, your hacks. I can’t guarantee Avanta, but I can do the rest.
D: There. That. Thank you. That’s all I want.
E: In exchange, you need to steal the Potomac lathe for me.
D: Come on!