LINK: The founders of LINK were people who regarded technology with suspicion. Of course, they could not avoid it. There were so many things that needed to be done on the inside—some of which were undeniably convenient—and there were so few things to do on the outside—live music or theater were only privately played and becoming increasingly uncommon as more and more people were seduced by the possibilities offered by the virtual offerings of the I-CASQUE.

In the beginning, the members of LINK, which was yet to come into being as an international secret society, did not even think of concealing their identity. They would simply arrange to meet outside for reading, for conversation, for games, or just for a walk. All over the world, in different communities little local cells of outsiders were formed. Nobody seemed to mind, and truly almost nobody cared too much about anything that went on the outside. One individual, however, did mind. MR. NOID minded quite a bit.

MR. NOID became aware of these groups and decided that they presented a challenge to his absolute power. They were therefore to be regarded as seditious and quickly and effectively dealt with. Knowing their identities, and being able to track their communications and their behavior on the inside, he attempted to seduce them further into the inside. He would have them receive surprise discounts or special offers or privileged access in their favorite spheres. Some were taken in and stopped engaging with others on the outside. He also jammed the outsider’s interaction and conversation on the inside—which tended to be richer, livelier, and more meaningful for their references to their outside encounters—and some of the groups fizzled because it was extremely hard to communicate by material means—for a while graffiti became the outsider’s preferred channel of communication. The more stubborn of the outsiders saw their inside privileges cut, their virtual identity o identities wipe out expunged—which for all intents and purposes meant ceasing to exist. The NOIDS might also pay them a visit. Eventually all outsiders would either become insiders or nothing at all.

The MAQUISARDS, who were also aware of the outsiders, realized that preserving and fostering the outsiders was the only way they could hope to challenge MR. NOID’s grip on power. Very discretely, they started contacting some of the outsiders. They shared with them the phantom hacks that would allow them very hard to trace on the inside. Then they revealed to them MR. NOID’s true agenda and the MAQUIS’ attempt to undermine its progress. The MAQUISARDS also linked outsiders from different parts of the world. Thus, the resistance movement began to take shape. It became known as LINK.

The MAQUIS also had a plan to liberate humanity from the CORPORATION’s grip. They could not carry it out within the CORPORATION without revealing themselves to Mr. NOID. It had to be accomplished by outsiders working inside, by the LINK society. The plan involved the creation of a VIRTUAL VORTEX*.