Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling Page A

food.”
    David was stunned. “You mean they’re afraid to eat our food? They think we’ll poison them, is that it?”
    â€œDavid, it’s a sign of their great trust in Rizome that the three banks have agreed to meet here in the first place. It’s not us that they distrust. It’s one another.”
    David was alarmed. “What exactly are we getting into? We have a small child here! Not to mention our staff.”
    Emerson looked hurt. “Would you feel better if this Lodge was full of armed guards from Rizome? Or if Rizome even had armed guards? We can’t confront these people by force, and we shouldn’t try to. That’s our strength.”
    Laura spoke up. “You’re saying that because we’re harmless, we won’t be hurt.”
    â€œWe want to reduce tension. We don’t mean to arrest these pirates, prosecute them, crush them. We’ve decided to negotiate. That’s a modern solution. It worked for the arms race, after all. It has been working for the Third World.”
    â€œExcept for Africa,” David said.
    Emerson shrugged. “It’s a long-term effort. The old East-West Cold War, the North-South struggle.… those were both old fights. Struggles we inherited. But now we face a truly modern challenge. This meeting is part of it.”
    David looked surprised. “Come on. These aren’t nuclear arms talks. I’ve read about these havens. They’re fleabag pirates. Sleazy rip-off artists who won’t pull their own weight in the world. So they call themselves bankers, so they wear three-piece suits. Hell, they can fly private jets and shoot boars in the forests of Tuscany. They’re still cheap rip-off bastards.”
    â€œThat’s a very correct attitude,” Emerson said. “But don’t underestimate the havens. So far, as you say, they’re only parasites. They steal software, they bootleg records and videos, they invade people’s privacy. Those are annoyances, but it’s not yet more than the system can bear. But what about the potential? There are potential black markets for genetic engineering, organ transplants, neurochemicals … a whole galaxy of modern high-tech products. Hackers loose in the Net are trouble enough. What happens when a genetic engineer cuts one corner too many?”
    David shuddered. “Well, that can’t be allowed.”
    â€œBut these are sovereign national governments,” said Emerson. “A small Third World nation like Grenada can profit by playing fast and loose with new technologies. They may well hope to become a center of innovation, just as the Cayman Islands and Panama became financial centers. Regulation is a burden, and multinationals are always tempted to move out from under it. What happens to Rizome if our competitors evade the rules, offshore?”
    She let them mull over that for a while. “And there are deeper questions that affect the whole structure of the modern world. What happens when tomorrow’s industries are pioneered by criminals? We live on a crowded planet, and we need controls, but they have to be tight. Otherwise corruption seeps in like black water.”
    â€œIt’s a tough agenda,” David said, thinking it over. “In fact, it sounds hopeless.”
    â€œSo did the Abolition,” said Emerson. “But the arsenals are gone.” She smiled. The same old line, Laura thought. The old baby-boom generation had been using it for years. Maybe they thought it would help explain while they were still running everything. “But history never stops. Modern society faces a new central crisis. Are we going to control the path of development for sane, human ends? Or is it going to be laissez-faire anarchy?”
    Emerson polished off the last of her chile relleno. “These are real issues. If we want to live in a world we can recognize, we’ll have to fight for the privilege. We at Rizome have to