“A clever computer programmer discovers a plot to strip people of their freedom in the name of security and must bring down her uncle’s company to stop it. The action (in the story) makes a solid case for the means to get consumers to gradually accept the introduction of increasingly invasive technologies into their lives. The Dyrette system helps to manage hacking threats, personalized VR systems helps take the frustration out of shopping, and everyone loves the idea of the health benefits of constant monitoring, giving most people good reason to believe that Hayward is a fundamentally good company. The philosophical debate that this produces, pitting security against freedom, is where this script is at its strongest. Mags efforts to protect people like her friends from hacking has led them to put trust into a system that is fundamentally corrupt. The twist when Kimbareta reveals that he is on her side serves well in building tension into the climax, simultaneously exposing their insurrection because of his own Hayward implant. The eager buy-in from people at the end, happy to compromise their freedom out of fear of a mysterious outside threat, ends the story with a solid statement on the fragility of individuality in a dangerous world.”
-Reviewer
