“I’m getting . . . updates on the security situation. They’re going hall to hall knocking on doors. They’re coming this way.” Her voice was getting more and more tense.
“Do you guys trust me?” I asked them.
Sip looked at Peanut and, before Peanut could answer, said, “Yes.”
“Sippy, bring your rig, we’re going to the server farm.”
We hustled down the hall toward the common area, but then April signaled for us to stop.
“There’s two of them in there,” she whispered.
“How the hell do you know that?” I asked.
“I . . . I can’t explain it right now,” she said, a little angrier than I thought was necessary.
“So, what are we supposed to do?” Peanut asked.
“We’re going to run. I’ll go first,” April said, “and all of you need to follow me as fast as you can. On three. One. Two. Three.”
And then she shot out into the common room. She was tiny, but she was going so fast when she slammed into the two security guards. The three of them toppled over in a heap as the guys and I ran past and through the busted door. I wanted to look back to see what had happened to April, but I kept moving. The sky was starting to lighten over the mountain in the predawn. I slowed my pace to let Sippy and Peanut keep up with me.
We were around halfway through our run when April flew past us. I heard shouting behind me. I looked over my shoulder but couldn’t see anyone except the guys—it was too dark.
“Faster!” I shouted to Nut and Sip.
“Running . . . isn’t . . .” Peanut said, but then didn’t finish.
I could see the door to the high-security building up ahead, and I moved to full speed, leaving the guys behind. April was already holding it open for us. I piled through and then turned around to see Sippy and then Peanut and then two men in uniforms just meters behind them. The guys tumbled through the door and April slammed it shut behind her. But the lock was busted.
“Go,” April said, pushing her back into the door.
The two men’s bodies crashed into the door, and then pounding came from the other side. But it didn’t move, not even a little.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’m going to make a video,” she said quietly, seriously.
“But . . . the lock’s broken.”
She looked up to me, her face as solid as her feet on the carpet. “I’m stronger now. You need to do your thing, and I’m going to do mine. Go.”
TRANSCRIPT: “LET’S END ALTUS”
YOUTUBE VIDEO
April May: Hello, everyone, it’s April. We find ourselves in a situation. I don’t know a ton about Altus, but I have been watching it with interest. The potential of that technology is massive. It could bring people together, make us more empathetic, educate people, and decrease inequality. At the same time, I have been concerned about it.
<banging noise from behind>
I’ll explain about the banging shortly. I’m worried that one company having control over this massively useful and powerful thing is a recipe for disaster. I’m worried about people who don’t have access or cannot access the Space. I’m worried, as I have been for a long time, that we’re simply moving too fast. But I was quiet about those worries, because I don’t know any more about these things than you do.
Well, now I know more. My friend, Miranda Beckwith, was hired to work at Altus. But then they decided she violated company policy, and instead of firing her, they have been holding her prisoner. Not just locked in a room, but also locked inside of the Altus Space, with modified software that left her aware that she was inside, but unable to leave it.
This, obviously, is kidnapping and illegal imprisonment, and it’s deeply disturbing and unethical. I came here to see if it was true, and it is. While trying to determine the truth, I was attacked and shot at by Altus security.
<banging continues>
I am now in significant danger of being killed and am trying desperately to prevent people from entering this building because I believe they will hurt me and my friend. So please, while you can, listen to this tape of Peter Petrawicki explaining the situation.
<recording of Peter Petrawicki inserted>
I have spent a lot of time observing Altus, and also reserving judgment. The story of people is the story of sharing information, and Altus could be an extremely powerful platform for that. But I’m done reserving judgment, and I think the rest of us are as well. There are two problems with Altus.
<muffled yelling>
First, at some point, we have to realize that the places where we share information are not services we use, they are places where we live. And if we live in the Altus Space, Altus will control our lives. This platform should not be something that a few billionaires have complete control over. In this building, hundreds of people spend twenty-four hours a day mining AltaCoin for Altus. Altus imprisoned my friend, they responded to my being here by attempting to murder me. But more than that, they created their own currency and built their business on a remote island so that they wouldn’t ever have any threats to their control. They rushed to market without considering health or economic impacts.
When we asked Peter about these ethical and legal violations, here is what he said.
Peter Petrawicki: Fuck ethics. Fuck morals. Altus is the future. Governments are over.
AM: You have to ask why they pushed so hard. Is it because they wanted to control our lives before we found out something awful? Or is it just one more step down the path toward ever-bigger and more reckless companies controlling more and more of our lives? The inevitable conclusion is a company that owns and controls everything, and Altus is that.
And now we are all feeling the impacts. But it doesn’t matter, there is nothing we can do. We’re all quietly preparing to live our whole lives under the shadow of this thing,
