From the Underground – From the BlackNet

S.G. Aureus, BlackNet author

Exclusive Interview with Zohar, the Leader of the Illegals
The City-State Government does not recognize the existence of this man. However, I was able to sit down with the man who claims to be Zohar, and I got him to answer a few questions.
SG: Zohar, what exactly is an “Illegal”?
Z: I wish I could tell you.  I don’t believe there is really such thing.  We are just people.  We only see the City-State government for what it truly is: a corrupt abomination of Ishmael’s vision – so we choose to live outside of City-State’s “proper” society.
SG: Where do Illegals live?
Z: (shakes his head) We live underground.
SG: No place specific?
Z: No place I’d like to reveal.
SG: Nocturnity?
Z: What’s that?
SG: Some people say that’s where the Illegals live.  Care to elaborate?
Z: (Shrugs, smiles) Never heard of it.
SG: I see. So, how do people “go illegal” if they don’t know where to find you?
Z: Most of the time, we find you.  Don’t worry.  We have our ways.
SG: How do you find people?
Z: We have our ways.  We keep tabs on people we think might be ready or willing to go with us.  We make contact.  We won’t tell you who we are at first, though. We need to make sure.
SG: Make sure?
Z: In the past, government agents have tried to “go illegal” in order to find us.  They didn’t recognize our existence until just recently, but it got ugly.  Those government agents never made it to their destination. And we lost some good people in the process.
SG: They were killed?
Z: Yes.  We had to protect ourselves.  There’s too many of us “illegals” to risk exposure.
SG: So after you make contact, then what?  How do they decide to go with you?  And what if they choose not to?
Z: No one we’ve ever contacted has chosen to stay in City-State.  We make sure they’re ready to go.  We are very selective – probably too selective.  Unfortunately, it means that many others who’d be willing to go never get contacted because we can’t be one hundred percent sure about them.
SG: How many Illegals have you housed?  You know, these Illegals who may or may not be living in a place called Nocturnity that may or may not exist?
Z: Let’s just say we’ve got more than six digits worth.  And that’s just the people living underground. We’ve got a few thousand more stationed around Layer Seven and Layer Six.
SG: That many?  Are you an army?
Z: No. We do not desire war or violence – let me be perfectly clear about that.  We’re not rebels.  Illegals want to save City-State, not destroy it.  The government has been pointing to us recently as the reason for all the explosions.  That is not us.  All the violence in this ordeal has been perpetrated by the City-State government, not by us.  My people are not responsible for the terror attacks, the killings, and the assassinations.  We believe that the government is doing this in order to make the people more accepting of the idea of a more militaristic government.  Martial law…
SG: Okay.  Hold on.  Lets back up.  The Illegals do not want violence and are not an army, correct?
Z: Correct.  But we have ways of defending ourselves.
SG: Okay, fair enough.  Now, you’ve said that all the violence has been caused by the government?
Z: That is what our sources say.  It is not us.
SG: And why would they, the government, want a more militaristic government?
Z: Our sources indicate that the Treasure Trove is empty, or nearly empty.  Without its monopoly on technology, new inventions, and intellectual property, the government will lose its power base.  The government uses the patents in the Treasure Trove and sells them to the industrialists who manufacture the goods for profits.  The industrialists in return offer campaign donations to keep certain officials in office.  Why else do you think there is a ban on all new inventions and new technology?
SG: That’s very cynical.  Quite the accusation. The government says there is a ban on new technology because The Builders knew how to make better things that we could.  That, and there is an entire trove of workable inventions, data, and discoveries.  Well, basically that we haven’t even scratched the surface. That we can’t even fathom the treasures inside. You’re saying that this is not the case?
Z: The Builders were just people. Not gods. This is all about power. And if I’m right, and the Treasure Trove is really empty, then the government is going to need a new power base. One it can enslave instead of buy.  We think that new inventions will soon be allowed.  But only at the cost of our freedom.
SG: How so?
Z: The intel that we have says that the government will simply pass a law that states that all new technology, inventions, you know… that kind of stuff… All of it will be automatically the property of the City-State government. So even if we did invent new things we would have no right to it. We want to stop this kind of corruption and oppression.
SG: Where do you get your information.
Z: Someone close enough to know. That’s all I can say.

There it is. The edited version of my interview with the head Illegal, Zohar.  There was more, but for safety’s sake, he asked that I didn’t post the rest.
Perhaps I will get another interview with this fascinating man in the near future.