《The Cycler Gangs of Beta Fornax》Prologue

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When I was 14, Uncle Alec told me secrets. He asked me to join him on a bike ride to check out a new, unclaimed, site.

"Juno," he said, as the wind whipped through his silver ponytail, “You've earned your place in Bandersnatch with some killer finds, and picked up astrocycling faster than any of the other snipes. It's time you rallied with the Order."

I squeezed my brakes and slid to a stop in between two glittering junkscrapers. "The order? What kinda smack are you talking, Uncle Alec?" I asked with a smirk. Lucky for me, he had already circled back and saw my smirk, otherwise that coulda sounded like disrespect.

He grinned broadly and stood over his bike. He scanned the horizon, but nobody was around for klicks. "Do you know what this is?" he rasped. And he peeled back his duster, showing me the emblem, deep within the pleather folds.

"No, uncle Alec, it's a funny pattern, though."

"This is the Crest of the Paisley Order. This, here, is a pattern called paisley. It's worn by none but the Order. Not even the Academics have records of this pattern—it’s been systematically expunged from all the ‘nets and databases since the migration from Old Earth, so they can't infiltrate us. We're an organization within and among the gangs, cutting across rivalries to pass on the ancient story of the Vintage Messiah. I want you to join us."

I was full of questions. Why me? What was the Vintage Messiah? How did they keep the pattern hidden? How many others belonged to this Order? What was the point of it, anyway?

But I just asked, "Huh? What for? Do I get a deck jacket like yours?"

I flashed him my Trouble Grin. I was just perfecting it.

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Uncle Alec chuckled deeply. "Well, the story goes that the members of the Order are charged with preparing the rest of the gangs for the coming of the Vintage Messiah. Nobody really knows who or what that is, but they say the Messiah will unite the gangs and help us spread the True Culture throughout the Priaspora."

"I don't understand, Uncle. We already bring culture everywhere we go by finding what Hipstamatic tells us and competing on the leaderboard."

He nodded slowly. "The story tells that the Messiah will help us bring True Culture even to the nerds―even to the Academies!”

My jaw dropped at first, but then I couldn't help myself and I burst out laughing and couldn't stop until Uncle Alec put a hand softly on my shoulder.

"Will you join us?"

I shook my head. "Uncle, this story is crazy. The nerds don't give a bronson about culture, how can this ever work?"

He smiled. "I know. It's a silly story. But it's a nice dream, no? There are very few of us in the Order left, and I want the story and the dream to endure, even if it never comes to pass. Again, I ask, will you join, if for no other reason, than to pass on the tales to the next generation of 'Snatchers?"

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