by Ray Jason
This is fiction … or is it?
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This time the Shadow Sailor found me.
Usually, I spot him hidden away in some rarely visited cove here in The Archipelago of Bliss. Although his modest 42-foot sailboat is over 30 years old, he keeps her in very good shape. Her only unusual features are a large array of solar panels and a satellite communications dome.
When I first met him, I asked him about these incongruities. Since he barely knew me, he told me that he was an avid “gamer” and was constantly competing via the Internet with opponents scattered all around the world.
Later, when I had earned his trust, he revealed the true reason for his over-sized communication package. He was dedicating himself to trying to unravel “How the world REALLY works.” The SatCom system allowed him to do his research via the World Wide Web from very remote anchorages and even from the middle of the ocean.
He is a man of no country, but he has visited many … more than many. He enters and departs quietly … and unofficially. He is a master at finding hidden spots where the authorities seldom visit. However, although he lives in the Shadows, his life is not gray and dreary and unhappy. He has managed to battle The System without letting the frustration of that combat poison him.