#Accountable Science

[terristre]

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The true post-cyberpunk hero is a noir forensic accountant

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TOMORROW (Apr 17) in CHICAGO, then Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

I was reared on cyberpunk fiction, I ended up spending 25 years at my EFF day-job working at the weird edge of tech and human rights, even as I wrote sf that tried to fuse my love of cyberpunk with my urgent, lifelong struggle over who computers do things for and who they do them to.

That makes me an official "post-cyberpunk" writer (TM). Don't take my word for it: I'm in the canon:

https://tachyonpublications.com/product/rewired-the-post-cyberpunk-anthology-2/

One of the editors of that "post-cyberpunk" anthology was John Kessel, who is, not coincidentally, the first writer to expose me to the power of literary criticism to change the way I felt about a novel, both as a writer and a reader:

https://locusmag.com/2012/05/cory-doctorow-a-prose-by-any-other-name/

It was Kessel's 2004 Foundation essay, "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality," that helped me understand litcrit. Kessel expertly surfaces the subtext of Card's Ender's Game and connects it to Card's politics. In so doing, he completely reframed how I felt about a book I'd read several times and had considered a favorite:

https://johnjosephkessel.wixsite.com/kessel-website/creating-the-innocent-killer

This is a head-spinning experience for a reader, but it's even wilder to experience it as a writer. Thankfully, the majority of literary criticism about my work has been positive, but even then, discovering something that's clearly present in one of my novels, but which I didn't consciously include, is a (very pleasant!) mind-fuck.

A recent example: Blair Fix's review of my 2023 novel Red Team Blues which he calls "an anti-finance finance thriller":

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/05/13/red-team-blues-cory-doctorows-anti-finance-thriller/

Fix – a radical economist – perfectly captures the correspondence between my hero, the forensic accountant Martin Hench, and the heroes of noir detective novels. Namely, that a noir detective is a kind of unlicensed policeman, going to the places the cops can't go, asking the questions the cops can't ask, and thus solving the crimes the cops can't solve. What makes this noir is what happens next: the private dick realizes that these were places the cops didn't want to go, questions the cops didn't want to ask and crimes the cops didn't want to solve ("It's Chinatown, Jake").

Marty Hench – a forensic accountant who finds the money that has been disappeared through the cells in cleverly constructed spreadsheets – is an unlicensed tax inspector. He's finding the money the IRS can't find – only to be reminded, time and again, that this is money the IRS chooses not to find.

This is how the tax authorities work, after all. Anyone who followed the coverage of the big finance leaks knows that the most shocking revelation they contain is how stupid the ruses of the ultra-wealthy are. The IRS could prevent that tax-fraud, they just choose not to. Not for nothing, I call the Martin Hench books "Panama Papers fanfic."

I've read plenty of noir fiction and I'm a long-term finance-leaks obsessive, but until I read Fix's article, it never occurred to me that a forensic accountant was actually squarely within the noir tradition. Hench's perfect noir fit is either a happy accident or the result of a subconscious intuition that I didn't know I had until Fix put his finger on it.

The second Hench novel is The Bezzle. It's been out since February, and I'm still touring with it (Chicago tonight! Then Turin, Marin County, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, etc). It's paying off – the book's a national bestseller.

Writing in his newsletter, Henry Farrell connects Fix's observation to one of his own, about the nature of "hackers" and their role in cyberpunk (and post-cyberpunk) fiction:

https://www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-accountant-as-cyberpunk-hero

Farrell cites Bruce Schneier's 2023 book, A Hacker’s Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society’s Rules and How to Bend Them Back:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/06/trickster-makes-the-world/

Schneier, a security expert, broadens the category of "hacker" to include anyone who studies systems with an eye to finding and exploiting their defects. Under this definition, the more fearsome hackers are "working for a hedge fund, finding a loophole in financial regulations that lets her siphon extra profits out of the system." Hackers work in corporate offices, or as government lobbyists.

As Henry says, hacking isn't intrinsically countercultural ("Most of the hacking you might care about is done by boring seeming people in boring seeming clothes"). Hacking reinforces – rather than undermining power asymmetries ("The rich have far more resources to figure out how to gimmick the rules"). We are mostly not the hackers – we are the hacked.

For Henry, Marty Hench is a hacker (the rare hacker that works for the good guys), even though "he doesn’t wear mirrorshades or get wasted chatting to bartenders with Soviet military-surplus mechanical arms." He's a gun for hire, that most traditional of cyberpunk heroes, and while he doesn't stand against the system, he's not for it, either.

Henry's pinning down something I've been circling around for nearly 30 years: the idea that though "the street finds its own use for things," Wall Street and Madison Avenue are among the streets that might find those uses:

https://craphound.com/nonfic/street.html

Henry also connects Martin Hench to Marcus Yallow, the hero of my YA Little Brother series. I have tried to make this connection myself, opining that while Marcus is a character who is fighting to save an internet that he loves, Marty is living in the ashes of the internet he lost:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/07/dont-curb-your-enthusiasm/

But Henry's Marty-as-hacker notion surfaces a far more interesting connection between the two characters. Marcus is a vehicle for conveying the excitement and power of hacking to young readers, while Marty is a vessel for older readers who know the stark terror of being hacked, by the sadistic wolves who're coming for all of us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I44L1pzi4gk

Both Marcus and Marty are explainers, as am I. Some people say that exposition makes for bad narrative. Those people are wrong:

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/

"Explaining" makes for great fiction. As Maria Farrell writes in her Crooked Timber review of The Bezzle, the secret sauce of some of the best novels is "information about how things work. Things like locks, rifles, security systems":

https://crookedtimber.org/2024/03/06/the-bezzle/

Where these things are integrated into the story's "reason and urgency," they become "specialist knowledge [that] cuts new paths to move through the world." Hacking, in other words.

This is a theme Paul Di Filippo picked up on in his review of The Bezzle for Locus:

https://locusmag.com/2024/04/paul-di-filippo-reviews-the-bezzle-by-cory-doctorow/

Heinlein was always known—and always came across in his writings—as The Man Who Knew How the World Worked. Doctorow delivers the same sense of putting yourself in the hands of a fellow who has peered behind Oz’s curtain. When he fills you in lucidly about some arcane bit of economics or computer tech or social media scam, you feel, first, that you understand it completely and, second, that you can trust Doctorow’s analysis and insights.

Knowledge is power, and so expository fiction that delivers news you can use is novel that makes you more powerful – powerful enough to resist the hackers who want to hack you.

Henry and I were both friends of Aaron Swartz, and the Little Brother books are closely connected to Aaron, who helped me with Homeland, the second volume, and wrote a great afterword for it (Schneier wrote an afterword for the first book). That book – and Aaron's afterword – has radicalized a gratifying number of principled technologists. I know, because I meet them when I tour, and because they send me emails. I like to think that these hackers are part of Aaron's legacy.

Henry argues that the Hench books are "purpose-designed to inspire a thousand Max Schrems – people who are probably past their teenage years, have some grounding in the relevant professions, and really want to see things change."

(Schrems is the Austrian privacy activist who, as a law student, set in motion the events that led to the passage of the EU's General Data Privacy Regulation:)

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/15/out-here-everything-hurts/#noyb

Henry points out that William Gibson's Neuromancer doesn't mention the word "internet" – rather, Gibson coined the term cyberspace, which, as Henry says, is "more ‘capitalism’ than ‘computerized information'… If you really want to penetrate the system, you need to really grasp what money is and what it does."

Maria also wrote one of my all-time favorite reviews of Red Team Blues, also for Crooked Timber:

https://crookedtimber.org/2023/05/11/when-crypto-meant-cryptography/

In it, she compares Hench to Dickens' Bleak House, but for the modern tech world:

You put the book down feeling it’s not just a fascinating, enjoyable novel, but a document of how Silicon Valley’s very own 1% live and a teeming, energy-emitting snapshot of a critical moment on Earth.

All my life, I've written to find out what's going on in my own head. It's a remarkably effective technique. But it's only recently that I've come to appreciate that reading what other people write about my writing can reveal things that I can't see.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/17/panama-papers-fanfic/#the-1337est-h4x0rs

Image: Frédéric Poirot (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/fredarmitage/1057613629 CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

[esha-isboogara]

lyrical lies

i am a fuckinf degenerate and i’d like to apologize for how disgusting i have become.this is the longest thing i’ve written in a while..i’ve gone off the deep end if it isn’t clear🤭

here is more rick stuff not one person asked for find it here and here and here and here and here and here

✰let’s be honest rick is his own warning, smut , afab reader, age gap!!, calling him god, a bit of manhandling, a bit of dacro (?), shitty porn trips turned full blown story

“he doesn’t bite..just go ask him”. summer whispered, nudging you towards the garage door.

you shook your head in muted panic. you’d seen how angry her grandpa could get over small things and the last thing you were going to do was set him off over a stupid question.

“why don’t you do it summer ? this was your idea, plus he’s your grandfather”. you shot back.

she looked just as scared as you were. “he’ll totally yell at me if i go in there. he can’t be mad at you, you’re a guest”.

“yeah but what if he does ? i don’t want to get on his bad side”.

summer took hold of your shoulders. “y/n. the quicker we get this done the quicker we can get away from my grandpa and do something more fun”.

the garage door opened suddenly caused you both to jump back in shock.

there he stood , an annoyed look on his face. “i’m right in the middle of something very fucking important- is there a reason the two of you are bickering right in front of my god damn door”?

his piecing gaze was enough to make you want to cry. “i..we need help on a science project mr. sanchez sir”. you managed to say fighting back the urge to turn around and leave.

he cocked his head in amusement, his demeanor softening a bit. it was clear you had played right into his ego for better or for worse.

“that’s it ? why didn’t you just say that come in come in”.

you followed him into the garage the papers clenched in your hands.

“not you summer, you - you forbidden from entering. i know you went through my shit two days ago”. rick said, slamming the door in her face.

if only that had actually been the reason. he couldn’t wait to have sweet,innocent little y/n alone. every since she’d bonded with summer over some college tour bullshit he was obsessed. he needed you and needed you bad, as embarrassing as that was.

“what can i help you with sweetheart”? his voice as sweet as saccharine.

you fidgeted with the papers once more. “well i have this project based around quantum physics and since you’re the smartest person i know i figured you’d be the best person to ask mr. sanchez”.

he couldn’t help but smile at that. he WAS a fucking genius and hearing it out loud always made him puff up in pride.

and she has manners too. this was not going to easy. it’s not that he cared about his granddaughters feelings - quite the opposite. but if summer were to find out how he really saw her friend she’d stop bringing you over. and that would just make things a million times harder for him.

“you’re not wrong, i am the smartest person you’ll probably ever meet. and lucky for you i have something that’ll give your professor a run for their money”.

as he rifled through us cabnets filled to the brim with countless inventions he piped up “and sweetheart”?

you felt yourself melting into his trap. “yes sir”?

“you’re a grown fucking woman right ? you can call me rick”.

—————————————————————————

you were like putty in his hands at this point and he’d be lying if he wasn’t loving every second of this. and it only took 30 minutes. maybe you weren’t as innocent as you acted but he wasn’t complaining.

not when you sat atop his lap so pretty asking- no begging him to please you.

“p-please mr. sanchez” you whined, wrapping your arms around his neck and grinding yourself against his leg. “i want you to touch me , use me please, please mr. sanchez”.

oh god how could he say no to those sweet noises. he’d take you apart right fucking there if he could but alas his family was home and they did not need to catch wind of the things he was doing. he messed with the idea of erasing their memories in his head for a while but figured it would be way too much work in the long run.

“fuuuck. i’ll give you everything you want and more but you have to promise me you’ll shut up. i would hate for your best friend to walk in and see what a slutty mess you’ve become”.

you nodded your head vigorously, happy to finally get some kind of satisfaction. as terrifying as rick was you’d be lying if you said the way he towered over you with such control didn’t turn you on.

“you’re so obedient- smart girl. do me a favor will ya ? get up and lift up that skirt for me , let me see what i’m workin with here”.

you did as you were told, climbing off his lap and giving him a slow twirl.

“good girllll”.

he clenched his hand into a fist. holy shit you were a fine piece of ass. he couldn’t wait to make you his. fuck what summer thought he was going to fuck you so good you’d come back for more.

“fuckk you’re a pretty thing huh ? it’s a wonder you haven’t already been claimed, guess it’s a good thing you came here cause i plan on doin just that”. with those words he was was hovering above you pressing your face down on the metal surface of his work table.

“you look even b-better like this holy shit” he admired from his standing position.

“fu-fuck mr. sanch- rick”. you corrected yourself mid sentence. drool was already starting to pool beside your mouth but you barely noticed with how hot and bothered you were growing.

“mmm that’s a good girl”. he flipped your skirt up. and pulled your panties down to your knees ignoring your small please for him to be gentle.

he smiled- a shit eating grin looking at how soaked your sex was. “you poor thing- i’ve d-denied you much too long haven’t i ? left this perfect pussy empty for weeks? how did you ever survive”?

usually he engaged in a little foreplay only because his partners were so dead set on it. but he was far too eager to do any of that bullshit right now. he’d been waiting for this.

without so much as a warning he thrust himself inside you, a scream leaving your lips.

his hand flew to your mouth covering it word word word

“shhh shh shhh. i know how much you love my cock but you have to stay quiet. got it y/n”?

he removed his palm for a moment to hear you answer.

you don’t answer though. you’re a babbling drooling mess already. the feeling of his cock filling you up and stretching your walls felt like heaven.

“you’re my god rick - please decide what to do with me and treat me like your slave. you control all my actions i’m nothing but your stupid worldly servant to fill with seed when you please”.

he was a bit taken aback as that comment seemed to come out of nowhere. when it sank in it gave him even more of a reason to keep you to himself.

if he wasn’t carful he’d be giving beth a new little sibling. but oh fuck- she looked and sounded so perfect begging for him.

“fuck yeah i am your god ! i’m a god among men and you’re my mortal pet i can use as i please”.

the whine that escaped her throat was almost pornagraphic. it was hard to keep your composure under the circumstances.

“good pet”.

[stimboard-radio]

Dr. Two Brains stimboard

✭ with cheese/ science stims

✫ RQ'd by @theappleconsumer !

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[jhardyfreak-blog]

[capitalism-and-analytics]

[accio-victuuri]

what wyb has allegedly been listening to lately. all the linkin park songs and then that one faye wong track ( dream person which is an ost from chungking express ). who just performed a song by her today? lol. what a coincidence. yep, tracks done in galas like this are definitely supervised by the tv station. they probably give certain artists a list of songs they could perform. but it’s also possible xz suggested this, and it is up to them to say yes or no.

[daguerreotyping]

Daguerreotype of a rather stiff young man wearing smart spectacles and a sharp frown, c. 1850s

[themintman]

me adding "it builds the economy" to every answer in business class (I have no fucking clue what it means to build the economy)

[machetelanding]

[bitchfitch]

this is a stupid pet peeve but idk. 'Cooking is an art baking is a science ' is bullshit. you can follow a baking recipe step by step mirroring the original cook Exactly and still get a crap end result.

this is because your kitchen is not their kitchen. unless you live very close to them, their ingredients might be Radically different from yours even if they're technically the same thing. and worse of all. even if you're roommates. if they made their thing first the conditions will be different when you make yours.

like. baking is just ratios. ratio of starch to water to binder to leavener to etc etc.

But you have to include things like. ambient humidity and temperature and where the crop your flour is from was grown and what strain of yeast your using and when your starch was harvested and what the cows and chickens who provided the eggs and dairy were fed and what microbes exist in your environment and how thety hurt or aid flavor and rise time. like. You have to know how to account for the messy nature of reality and there is no formula for that. just repetition until you figure out the flow.

[stimboard-radio]

Weird science by Oingo Boingo stimboard

✭ with mad scientist/ technology stims

✫ RQ'd by 🧪 anon!

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(p.s. TYSM FOR THE COMPLIMENT AND THE STIMBOARD REQUEST IVE BEEN OBSESSED WITH OINGO BOINGO RECENTLY AND I ENJOYED MAKING THIS 🙏🙏 /vpos)

[jhardyfreak-blog]

Come over and be my first fan from tumblr

https://onlyfans.com/butterflyhorror

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

one one time my friend had a dream about the bomb gianni plush playing a trombone better then them. he was really upset about it in the morning

Thank you for being the only normal anon of the night <3

How did your friend lose to a plush with no arms though. Skill issue tbh

[hussyknee]

[nat-20s]

I know it's kind of a negative stereotype to either headcanon or just canon make a character who's a weird little guy (gender neutral) asexual but unfortunately for me I fucking love a weird little guy who's asexual. I'm something of an asexual weird little guy myself.