Hinterland by Steven Lang

Author:Steven Lang
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Published: 2017-03-29T04:00:00+00:00

‘What would happen if you went into these places with your own name?’ Nick asked. ‘I mean this is what I don’t get, all this anonymity. I prefer people to be who they are. People behave better when they’ve got their name attached to what they’re saying. At least some of the time.’ Thinking, as he spoke, of Cooper’s older brother, abandoned by him for the crime of imparting wisdom. ‘I must sound horribly straight,’ he added.

‘No, you’re right. We would be. It’s just that privacy’s been compromised, hasn’t it? Government agencies watch everything, particularly this sort of shit.’ Tapping his wallet. ‘Don’t be fooled it’s just metadata. If they can get more they do. Never think twice about it. Not just them, of course.’

‘God, but they must have to wade through some shit.’

‘Just think about your browsing history,’ Cooper said. ‘They have.’

Paranoia and conspiracy being, Nick thought, both enticing and infectious. Like ghost stories, providing shivers of scary pleasure; only now it was government.

Cooper clearly deeply in their thrall. Leaning in again, ‘But if you want to find out what’s really happening, the things people don’t want you to know, well you need to come in sideways. It’s the one reason I don’t mind being at Dad’s house. He has a direct line to fibre, superfast, for currency trading. One gig per second. Fantastic encryption. With speed like that you can get around some things you couldn’t otherwise avoid, it gives you that edge.’

Nick having come out on the off-chance of meeting a woman and ending up sitting on a porch in the rain talking to a teenager with false ID about gigabits. Which he’d be happier about if the business of Bain had been sorted. Not sure how to bring it up.

‘Everything’s sort of fine the way it is, now,’ Cooper was saying. ‘But when it starts getting nasty, when they start rounding people up, it would be good to be someone else, wouldn’t it?’

‘Who’s they?’

‘The government. The church. My dad.’

‘Your dad?’

‘Well, Mayska Coal & Gas. That’s what buying CoSecOr’s all about.’ He took a sip of beer. ‘You interested to hear what happened to the people who beat me up?’ he said.

‘I am, yes,’ Nick said, more interested than he was prepared to admit. Here it was then, coming back around.

Cooper looking straight at him, no escaping his gaze. ‘Zip,’ he said.

‘I’m sorry?’

‘Nothing. Zilch. Zee-ro.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Martin’s been doing a bit of research,’ Cooper said, giving that cute smile again. ‘You know how it is, beat me up and what do you know? My curiosity’s piqued.’

‘It’s probably my fault,’ Nick said, getting it out there, coming clean. ‘I didn’t report it. I should have. I was going to, if that makes any difference, I’m sorry. Bain asked me not to. He said your father wanted to avoid publicity and they’d sort it out.’ Then told him later it had been sorted, that the thug had been punished. Foolish, he guessed, to ever trust a politician.

‘Bain?’

‘The local member? He’s in the Shadow Cabinet.

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